Norwegian Dream - Buenos Aires to Valpariaso - maybe!

[CRUZIN TOM]

I am just curious if NCL had come up with an equitable compesion for the passengers of this cruise. I feel that the offer the ship made is more thatn enough. It's not that the ship had to go into port to complete all repairs and leave the passengers stranded. But sailed on to try and get to all the ports for the passengers. :)

[OceanDreaming2]

The OP must be talking about a different "Captain Mojic" since we had the pleasure of sailing with Nenad Mojic on the Dream last October. We had absolutely no problem understanding his command of his English and felt he was (and is) a superior captain.

[jack 74]

Hi,

 

My name is James I write for the newspaper Wales on Sunday in Cardiff. I am trying to find out if there are any Welsh passengers aboard the Norwegian Dream and what the situation is aboard.

If anyone can help me out I am available on 02920 583 793.

Please leave a message with contact details if I'm not available and I'll get back to you asap. Thanks for your help and time.

 

Kind regards,

 

James.

[salty dingo]

I can certainly understand the disappointment the OP and other passengers involved must be feeling. But I don't agree with all the rationale for the argument that the cruise fare should be 100% refunded (plus the OBC, etc.)

 

As disappointing as it was, the passengers still got the full number of days of food, lodging, and other items they paid for. Why refund that?

 

I especially do not agree with the argument that, because someone is old and statistically likely to die soon, that they should be compensated differently.

 

It sounds to me as if NCL did everything it reasonably should have done in a difficult situation.

[ging466]

Just wondering if you have received your 50% refund from NCL yet. A number of my friends already have...I haven't got mine and my travel agent doesn't know anything about it.

 

Even with all the problems on the Norwegian Nightmare (!), I still have a great time.

 

Cheers

Ging

[shwa65]

We're back home, with mostly good memories of the Buenos Aires/Norwegian Dream/Santiago experience. A few more comments:

1. In response to a question, we promptly received our 50% back as a credit on our credit card. We had booked directly with NCL.

2. Now that I'm home, it's easy to look up actuarial death rates and get better than back-of-the-envelope numbers (see, e.g., http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/STATS/table4c6.html ). Based on these numbers, and an estimate of the age distribution on the Dream, one would expect the number of the 1700 passengers who would die in the next year to be on the order of 20-50 (my initial estimate was "upwards of 100"). Plus one can figure that people who take cruises are likely to be more healthy than people who don't - that includes me, I hope! - so the actual numbers may be even lower.

My point was roughly the following (not just to be morbid): If NCL had chosen to make a "WOW! - NCL really cares about its passengers and its public image" offer to the passengers, one good option would be to give people the 50% credit already promised plus another 50% to be applied toward any NCL cruise or any cruise on a ship owned by NCL's parent company. For younger passengers, the added 50% would be equivalent to another 50% in cash. For older, less healthy passengers, it wouldn't because they might never be able to take another cruise, so it would be fair to give them the added (and, again, equivalent) 50% back in cash. It was interesting to see the level of vitriol on this thread against being nice to the older passengers - it will also be interesting to see if the attitudes of those people change as they become older.

But NCL has clearly chosen not to make such an offer, so the point is moot.

3. A friend of a friend who's a maritime attorney is shocked that NCL simply refunded the 50%. Standard procedure would be to send a check, with a statement saying that cashing the check releases NCL from any additional liability. Hitting a barge, shutting down the engines in mid-ocean, the refund procedure - the maritime attorney wondered if the amateurs are in charge. Maybe NCL never consulted with its legal counsel.

As it is, the refund by NCL could be taken as an admission of blame/liability and used against them in a lawsuit. I don't know the result of the inquiry into the cause of the accident.

4. Anbody who has followed this thread should look at the reviews on the Dream:

A negative review pointing out more problems:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=36205

But especially

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=35972

which is one of the funniest pieces you'll read anywhere (there's also a thread which includes this review).

Haapy New Year/Happy Cruising!

[jasminedreams]

I agree with others that blame should not be placed on the Captain. I cruised on the Norwegian Dream in the summer of 2006, at which time Captain Nenad Mogic was captain. The cruise itinerary was the Baltic Capitals. From what I remember, he was one of the few captains that really cares about the passengers. He not only cares for their safety, but makes a conscious effort to get to know all of the passengers. He even recognizes passengers from his ship while in port and he says hi to them. Also from what I remember, his English is not bad. I had a few conversations with him and found that he is very knowledgable and worldy. He has sailed in the Antarctic region. For the cruise that I was on, he was able to navigate our ship safely through the Baltics and through the Kiel canal. He was also able to maneuver the ship in the Russian port despite the limited space to dock due to the large cargo ships. So this collision with the barge seems very out of character. Regardless, I understand the pain and frustration one experiences in a sitatuion like this. I know that people often look for a name to pin the blame on, but Captain Mogic should not be personally attacked. People should stick to the facts of the situation at hand.

 

I'm not too sure of the details of what happened as I was not there and am limited to news coverage and cruise ship message boards, but I am glad that no one was hurt. It seems like it was an accident that was out of anyone's control. The fact that the ship slowed down (according to the person with GPS) shows that the captain on duty made a conscious effort to avoid a full-on collision. But any stop that was more abrupt probably would have had a more severe impact on passengers, throwing them off-balance and possibly injuring people. The turnout of the December incident was inconvenient, but from what I read in the news, it seems there were no injuries or fatalities.

 

I understand that this situation could put a damper on vacation activities FOR ALL (not just seniors), but as mentioned by someone else before, you need need to make the best out of the situation. Cruiselines do tend to reward their loyal customers handsomely, especially those who have stuck with them through bad times.

 

Does anyone know what happened to Captain Mogic after the incident?

[ToniDay]

I would like to echo my sentiment for the skills and abilities of Nenad Mogic. He is one of the friendliest captains beloved by both crew and passengers. His customer service excels and his English is fluent. I have had many extensive conversations with him on previous sailings. I hope that he will be in command of another NCL ship soon. To deny him that priviledge is a disservice to the company and cruising public. God Speed, Nenad....wherever you are