NCL Bad Customer Service / Compensation

[Joan G]

Are they letting passengers board and not sailing for a day or do people have to find last minute hotels? If they let them board and dine the compensation would seem fair.

[AuntieBarb]

OP1, do you have travel insurance for this cruise?

 

Your hotel, cab and meals, due to this circumstance which is completely out of your control, should be covered. Why should NCL reimburse for expenses you should have coverage for?

 

Nothing different than how health insurance companies make sure medical expenses aren't reimbursed twice.

[AuntieBarb]

Are they letting passengers board and not sailing for a day or do people have to find last minute hotels? If they let them board and dine the compensation would seem fair.

 

Very good question! Why wouldn't NCL still allow you to board?

 

Edited: My bad; wrong ship! ROFL

[op1]

The ship is the Crown

No, we can not board until till tomorrow we were suppose to board today.

 

BTW just for the record my experience with the Staff on the NCL cruises has been superb. I am upset with their management and their leaving us stranded.

 

OP1

[AuntieBarb]

 

I'm sorry if I came to a pro NCL site that will defend them. I did a search on google and found a number of sites that clearly

have a different opinion so I will take my information there. If enough readers read it Maybe NCL will do the right thing.

 

Sorry for blasting NCL

 

OP1

 

Sure! Run to another board rather than back your accusations.

[AuntieBarb]

No, we can not board until till tomorrow we were suppose to board today.

 

BTW just for the record my experience with the Staff on the NCL cruises has been superb. I am upset with their management and their leaving us stranded.

 

OP1

 

Then could you answer the TRAVEL INSURANCE question?

[Joan G]

I don't know where you live, but we are sailing out of NYC next month. We are flying in from California. I am staying at a hotel I booked months ago. If you need to find a hotel at a reasonable price I would imagine that would be hard to do. The cruise line should have offered some discounted rooms somewhere. Those of us who have never been to NYC would be very nervous about this.

[op1]

>>>Sure! Run to another board rather than back your accusations.<<<

 

I'm not sure what you would like me to do. If I say I am unhappy with the "compensation" I'm blasting NCL. If I go somewhere else I'm running away.

I thought I backed my arguments rather well. But let me sum it up.

 

They are partially refunding my fare as an OBC. Port charges and taxes not included. For the 1 night of service which I paid for months ago and now they will not provide.

 

I was stranded in NYC and had to go out of pocket for Hotel Meals and Cab fares. NCLs only compensation is a 10% discount on a future trips.

 

I guess I am a un-reasonable newbie that is just here to bash NCL.

 

I will re-iterate what I edited onto my previous post. In my past sailings with NCL I was very happy with the service there staff provided. It is their managements lack of consideration that I am very upset with.

 

Hinesight is 20/20 I didn't take out travel insurance. I tend to count on the people I do business with to deliver and make good on their services.

 

OP1

[op1]

I don't know where you live, but we are sailing out of NYC next month. We are flying in from California. I am staying at a hotel I booked months ago. If you need to find a hotel at a reasonable price I would imagine that would be hard to do. The cruise line should have offered some discounted rooms somewhere. Those of us who have never been to NYC would be very nervous about this.

 

We flew into Newark NJ our TA got us into the Sheraton in the Meadowlands near Giant Stadium.

 

OP1

[AuntieBarb]

>>>Sure! Run to another board rather than back your accusations.<<<

 

I'm not sure what you would like me to do. If I say I am unhappy with the "compensation" I'm blasting NCL. If I go somewhere else I'm running away.

I thought I backed my arguments rather well. But let me sum it up.

 

They are partially refunding my fare as an OBC. Port charges and taxes not included. For the 1 night of service which I paid for months ago and now they will not provide.

 

I was stranded in NYC and had to go out of pocket for Hotel Meals and Cab fares. NCLs only compensation is a 10% discount on a future trips.

 

I guess I am a un-reasonable newbie that is just here to bash NCL.

 

I will re-iterate what I edited onto my previous post. In my past sailings with NCL I was very happy with the service there staff provided. It is their managements lack of consideration that I am very upset with.

 

Hinesight is 20/20 I didn't take out travel insurance. I tend to count on the people I do business with to deliver and make good on their services.

 

OP1

 

Our cruise will now leave a day late, be cut short one day and eliminate one port.

 

OP1, you originally stated you are losing a port too. They would have to refund the port charge if that were the case. If you are not losing a port, then that would make sense.

 

You are entitled to be disappointed, but at face value NCL has been fair. Also, since you are not new to cruising, you KNOW what CAN happen and that you should have had travel insurance.

 

I do hope that you will somehow be able to find a way to still enjoy your cruise. Bon voyage!

[SeaShark]

OP1,

 

So as not to be judgemental...What do you think would be "fair" compensation?

 

Should NCL compensate those who purchased trip insurance in the same way that they compensate those who did not?

 

PLEASE...pretend that you are NCL. From a business standpoint what would you do? Don't forget to mention how you compensate all those people who are already on the ship and are going to be "stuck" there for an extra day. They will all miss their flights home. Most of them will have to be at work tomorrow morning. Now they'll have to use another vacation day...or go without pay.

 

You have two shiploads of passengers (incoming and outgoing). What do you think is the most fair method of compensating these people. Oh yeah, don't forget that you'll have to justify this to your board of directors and stockholders, too.

[Joan G]

This situation is a disappointment to anyone involved. Travel insurance doesn't compensate on emotion stress. Many people choose to cruise because you are taken care of on a different level than land vacations. I was on a Princess cruise that was very late getting back to port due to a medical emergency. Most passengers were going to miss their flights. They didn't just throw us off the ship and say go for it, find a way home, the entire staff went into gear making new flight plans for anyone who needed it. I think there is more involved here than missing one day of sailing etc. NCL needs to get into gear and help anyone who needs it to find accomodations while waiting to board the ship.

[Surfgirl]

I really don't mean to sound smug, but it the ports are the main interest, why not just fly to them? Aren't you cruising, because you love cruising?

 

NCL (or any cruise line) is hardly going to refund much more than what you lost, unless it's a major situation. This is hardly major.

 

Because some of us hate to fly.

[Surfgirl]

OP1, don't be upset by the NCL cheerleaders. They jump on anyone who says anything bad about NCL. You're not the only one.

 

I feel your pain. I'm sorry for what has happened to your vacation. Losing one day in Bermuda out of three is a very big deal.

[sailaway211]

Too bad the NCL cheerleaders don't get jobs on the cruiseline. Just think how much improved it would be!!!:)

[op1]

>>What do you think would be "fair" compensation?<<<

 

I expect that they would have done either the same thing the airlines do, maybe not a bump ticket but since we are losing 1 of 3 nights then a

24% to 30% discount on a future trip.

 

BTW I again want to be clear that if this were a weather issue or some act of god etc I'd be a little more understanding. It is not! This is a mechanical issue. Which they are probably insured for. I'm sure the people on board are not being charged an extra night or even service charges.

 

As far as the NCL cheerleaders are concerned its good to see that it won't bother some people. I sure that if and when it happens to them they will be as understanding. I'll look forward to seeing their post.

 

OP1

[Joan G]

OP1, I agree with you 10% discount is not a satisfactory payoff. I get 10% savings by checking prices with different cruise agencies. They could certainly come up with something better.

[op1]

Wow just noticed I'm not alone on this board. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=615417

 

Interestingly enough I didn't see any of the cheerleaders asking this person to defend their position.

 

I wouldn't be bashing if I were cruising,

 

OP1

[franklin123]

Wow just noticed I'm not alone on this board. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=615417

 

Interestingly enough I didn't see any of the cheerleaders asking this person to defend their position.

 

I wouldn't be bashing if I were cruising,

 

OP1

 

Not sure what the relationship is. The other posts seem to be about what is going on. This is about your personal unhappiness with your compensation

[tmeyers]

I've been on the phone with NCL. They are adamant, and clearly don't care!!

We haven't boarded the ship yet and they have already disappointed us.

 

OP1

 

There is nobody that you will be able to reach via the primary NCL numbers that will be able to help you(see the exceptions below). Escalate into the corporate offices. You can also work with management onboard(Officers only, I would recommend the Hotel director). Later you may get some satisfaction but your golden hour is now and upon embarkation. First thing tomorrow I would call Colin Veitch's office and work with his assistant. Be polite but very firm. If you intimate that you are not going away until they fairly compensate you they will want to make you happy prior you you gaining access to the other passengers. If you are happy you are much less likey to make trouble for them. If you are out of their normal processes they understand that you are savey and are much more likly to work with you.

 

A more things to keep in mind:

 

You are losing a day and a port, that won't change so get over it as quickly as you can.

 

Be direct, firm, polite and unmoving. Two good phrases to use if needed are: "Are you refusing to [allow me to speak to x (or whatever)]." and "I am willing to accept partial responsibility for resolving this but the burden rests with your company and you as an agent of NCL. You are not meeting me in the middle and are making this my problem. I understand that this may be somewhat beyond your control but it is much more within your control then mine. I am clearly not alone in feeling that you are making your customers carry the majority of the burden. What do you intend to do about it?".

 

Know what you consider to be fair compensation. If they don't offer it ask for it.

 

If you are not speaking to someone that is able and willing to help you Escalate, This rarely works in a call center. You can't get to someone that can help you 99% of the time. The call agents have their training and scripts and very little authority to do anything outside of what their procedures provide for. Their are exceptions in departments that only deal with customer escalations but it can be very hard to get to them. These are sometimes called the office of the president or something similar. NCL also has a group of folks that deal with stranded passengers they might be able to help you today.

 

Whatever the outcome please remember that this is your vacation. I would get this sorted out prior to boarding or as soon as possible after embarkation to allow you to get back to enjoying your trip.

[tmeyers]

My guess would be that most people end up using the credit anyway. The service charge, excursions, beverages, and other on-board purchases add up fast. While I wouldn't be happy about losing a day of my vacation, I would be satisfied with the compensation.

 

To me this is not much different than an airplane having a mechanical difficulty, and unfortunately anything with moving parts can break down or be damaged. I've lost travel days because of the airlines in the past and ended up with vouchers I've never been able to use. At least this credit I would easily use onboard.

 

You are very wrong, Even post deregulation airlines continue to be highly regulated and you have a lot more power then with a cruise line. You ticket refers to the Geneva Convention and Conditions of Carriage. You can't play the game if you don't know the rules. If you walk up to the side of a counter with a long line of frustrated folks are you are holding a copy of the conditions of Carriage you will be moved away from the crowd and helped as soon as they see you. You will very likely get much more compensation then is detailed in the conditions so that you go away and they can go back to providing vouchers for a free phone call and $15 meal. That same trick won't work here. Everyone is in the same boat so you have to show them that it is better for them to help you. Be respectful but unmoving. It really does work. Losing your cool does not and it shortens your life.

[op1]

Thanks Troy,

I emailed Colin directly and will contact his office first thing in the AM.

See you on board.

 

OP1

[jayzee]

Your situation is very unfortunate, and I hope you can put it behind you once you get onboard so it doesn't ruin your whole trip.

 

I am one of those people that works all year for a vacation too (harder than most I suspect - LOL!!) and expect to get my money's worth. Sometimes, though, you don't and you have to move forward.

 

I was reminded just today by my cousin who is the same age as myself but in a different financial boat-that life is grand no matter what! She cannot afford to cruise or any other type of vacation, her vacations are a weekend at her sisters cabin, and she just appreciates that soooo much.

 

I feel being "refunded" the cruise fare for the day lost is adequate - they aren't canceling the cruise (like your example of an airline cancelation) and they are giving you onboard credit so you can not charge your onboard purchases just to pay them with the credit they give you etc. I really can't imagine a vacation where I didn't charge onboard more than the credit, but I tend to do that.....

 

I'm sure NCL thinks they are being fare just like the employer that gives you a weeks vacation after working for them a year - most people think that it's "owed" them when really - it's not and they don't have to give it to you. We all know that the cruise line has rights to change things, etc, but when it really happens, it stinks!! I hope they do something extra onboard like an extra "happy hour" or 1/2 price for the specialty dining or something that most could enjoy, but you are never going to please everyone anyway.

 

All of that said - I have never had a cruise day canceled and I'm sure staying in NYC an extra day is going to be expensive! (I'll find out next month when I go for three days for the first time!!) We tend to cruise because on a daily rate it is cheaper than a land vacation so the refund is not going to cover your extra day in NYC. Have you tried changing your flights so your actually at home that day? Then your SAVING money!! (okay - I'm a woman and that's like saying Kohl's is having a sale and I HAD to buy it! LOL!:D )

 

I hope you can enjoy your cruise and that all ten of you really have fun!! and that if anyone gambles they win big in the casino!!

 

Good luck!

[op1]

Not sure what the relationship is. The other posts seem to be about what is going on. This is about your personal unhappiness with your compensation

 

I don't think the posters letter Colin Veitch was a note to thank him for great service.

 

OP1

[jayzee]

Didn't realize you were already in NYC!! No chance of changing your flights huh!

 

Then I hope you have a wonderful time and see something you wouldn't have otherwise to make up for it. I'm afraid the money is gone unless you get Colin to give you more than the rest of the ship gets......