julig22

Asking for FCC after final payment is NOT a rebooking unless something has recently changed.

Nope. I couldn't even get it at 111 days, when the BOGO offer was still in effect. First canned answer was "you have BOGO, prices didn't go down". When I appealed, they just said the price hadn't changed. They usually claim that the difference in the airfare price is always higher than the price difference you are seeing. Which might be true but I think they are just rubber-stamping a big NO anytime BOGO is involved. Note to self: ALWAYS take a screen shot of the prices/promos on the day you make your request.

Or were on the Jade last week. Those folks that booked on their own had to make new arrangements (NCL gave them phone and internet access). NCL taking care of rescheduling flights, plus arranging for hotels if needed - for those that booked through them. Win some, lose some.

2 hours only applies to the day you embark. Otherwise, it's usually 30 minutes before you sail, last tender/shuttle is usually 45-90 minutes before you sail, depending on the distance. And AFAIK, you can add the FAS package before your trip, assuming you didn't book sailaway. As to waiting, they don't have time to wait in Ketchikan. And there has been NO mention of when the ship actually left - maybe they did wait for as long as they could. Maybe the ship was already underway when they found out WHY the family was late. It's not like a ship can just turn around and come back.

Of course it's speculation - but certainly plausible since they were the last ones to leave. As to NCL making concessions - it's not uncommon for a company to just bite the bullet and take responsibility for something they could have pushed back on - easier than dealing with the bad press. You know the whole thing about bad headlines, retractions on page 25 if different facts come to light.

Thanks - that breakdown seems to work out, answers my question. Recently I got a $145 credit when I upgraded on day 2 on a 12 day cruise. On my upcoming cruise, the price to upgrade now does include the FAS credit but obviously not the reduced pricing I'll get for waiting a day or two - or my OBC.

You are correct that there is no reason to try BUT that's not always the case. I've seen it happen. I'm just pointing out that if there were people on the bus with tickets for a different cruise ship then either those people are on the wrong bus or the family was trying to get on the wrong bus. Guess you've never done a Lumberjack show excursion. NCL offers multiple excursions that end at the show, so yes, all the busses -for all the ships at Ward Cove- will be there to pickup passengers and take them back. For the ships with short port times (Bliss and Encore), there is no time to do anything extra after the show.

As I recall, there were multiple people at the show, directing traffic to the correct busses. Those who had just come to the show went to their busses, I was on a multi-stop tour and was directed, both by our tour guide and those at the show, to return to our assigned bus # (which I think was the last one to arrive). But there wasn't another ship in Ward Cove, so only NCL passengers had a reason to board the bus.

There is another scenario in play - the other ship in port. Family says people on the bus had tickets for the other ship and the driver wasn't checking. Does that mean that people from any ship were getting on any available bus - or that they were trying to get on the wrong bus that was filled with passengers for the other ship? Since there was another ship in town that was leaving several hours later, the driver may have been absolutely correct that there would be another bus - just not right away. But that driver could have also offered information regarding the shuttle that should have still been running.

Are you certain the prices are the same? I've never upgraded prior to the cruise, usually wait until day 2/3 but I thought I'd been told that if you upgrade prior to the cruise, you do not get the FAS discount/credit?

Yes to the upgrade after midnight, but you do not get any latitudes discount. That only applies if you are buying a wifi package, not upgrading your FAS.

It's only a 4 hour stop for 7-day cruises from Seattle, from 8pm-midnight. Hardly a stop to begin with. But required.

While the details probably won't ever be made public (no need), it could be fairly easy to actually determine what most likely happened. Phone records plus driver records - assuming their arrival time is documented. If the last bus to arrive was destined for Regent, they were trying to get on the wrong bus - and that driver might have been correct that there would be another bus, just later. If the driver for tour bus ### says 9 people didn't show up, they missed their bus. Or nobody was checking on anything and people without tickets took their seats. Or the NCL rep that should have been there to direct traffic didn't show up - or left. What will happen - NCL will just cover the expenses or the tour company will make a claim to their insurance. Just like NCL is being held responsible because they hired the tour company, the tour company is responsible because they hired the drivers. Most of the bus drivers are college students there for the summer so the actual employees might get sent home, more likely just told to step up their game. And NCL needs to make sure that there are NCL reps directing traffic at the end of the show.

Use it for an upgrade, assuming the FCC is 20% off of a future cruise.

Yes, there was another ship in port. Whether or not the family was actually trying to get on "their" bus - hard to actually say. Odd that only a family group of 9 had an issue. It's also possible that they were trying to board a regent bus (they said there were people on the bus from the other ship), not their own. And that bus was full. But doubtful anyone will ever know those details. But because the Regent ship had a much later sail time, the regular shuttle to Ward Cove would have still been running.

Prime Rib in the buffet on night one is fairly common in my experience. Other nights in the MDR.

There are multiple scenarios. If your excursion ends with the lumberjack show and the show ends close to sail time, there should be busses specifically for NCL tours. I believe when I went, I was on the same bus that had brought me to the show in the first place. If there is additional time for shopping, then you might be directed to the shuttle. The shuttle usually stops running about 1.5 hours before sail time. In this case, there were additional complications. Another ship in Ward Cove (probably also on ship excursions). But on the other hand, the shuttle should have still been running, since the other ship wasn't leaving for a few more hours.

Umm, from the NCL response that was also posted. And what is immediately? As soon as the bus left without them or after they realized that there wasn't another bus coming.

Sure, the family said they called. That wasn't my point. You keep asserting that they called BEFORE NCL tried to call them. Where was that timeline posted? Note, NCL said they tried to call, so that must also be true since that's what's been reported.

And you know that how? The family says they called at some point, have yet to see any timeline. And as a point of fact - since people seem to be nit-picking- I don't think NCL actually publishes a contact number for the ship - they give contact for the Port Authority. So no, they never called NCL at all. And the Port Authority is not NCL.

You know that how??? From previous reports from pier runners, NCL does try to call. If things are as stated, NCL would have known they were missing long before the family realized there wasn't another bus coming.

Also the reports (citing the NCL response) say that NCL called the port agent to assist with making arrangements for flights, transportation, hotels, etc. And that NCL tried to call the family. Totally not clear who called who and when.

I 100% agree. Merely stating the possibility that it was the family trying to board the wrong bus, not that there were 9 or more others on "their" bus. There is always the possibly they were late and their bus left without them if they hadn't arrived at the correct bus at the designated time.

Methinks you've creatively expanded on the "facts" as reported. "Their" reserved tour bus is something assumed IMHO. Have you ever actually been on the lumberjack tour from the cruise? Or even to Ward Cove? It's a S***show trying to get on the CORRECT bus. You are assuming that people not on the NCL excursion made it to the NCL bus - how would the last people to arrive even know that? It's entirely possible that family on the NCL excursion were trying to make it onto the Regent bus - pretty easy to assume that both ships offered excursions to the same showing. As to Regent being in port, it has everything to do with the story, as the family stated that there were others from another ship on the bus they were trying to board. So my comments actually support part of the story that wasn't originally making sense. Nobody is saying mistakes weren't made and that NCL isn't taking responsibility.

A little research shows there were 2 ships docked at Ward Cove - the Encore and Seven Seas Explorer (Regent). Encore set to sail at 1:15 pm, Regent at 5 pm. So it is entirely possible that the tour guide/attendant was absolutely correct that there would be another shuttle, just later, plus the regular shuttle should have still been available. What isn't clear is timing - were they trying to get on the NCL shuttle that had Regent passengers - or were they trying to get on the Regent shuttle that was full of Regent passengers?? An actual timeline would help for all of the back-seat detectives LOL.