We were booked on the NCL Dawn on back to back cruises beginning in New York on April 28 and concluding in Amsterdam on May 24, 2022. The Dawn is a nice ship and the crew is very friendly and accommodating. Unfortunately, they became completely overwhelmed. On our second day we heard from other passengers that the main entertainment group was ill. This resulted in constant changes to the entertainment programs. Our Latitude privileges were changed as the Wines Around the World Tasting and the Behind the Scenes Ship Tour were cancelled due to covid protocol restrictions It was interesting that the Wine Tasting for Payment was still offered.
It became obvious especially with the disembarkation for shore excursions that crew members were pressed into service that had no idea of how the system worked. Ultimate chaos! Of the 8 ports that we were to visit we got to visit 3. The Dublin port was too windy for the tenders to operate and we were banned from the ports of Amsterdam, Brussels, and La Havre due to what NCL referred to as “Medical Protocols”. By law the ship must make a “Medical Health Declaration” to port authorities before getting permission to dock. Due to the high number of “illness” on board the European ports demanded that all passengers be tested prior to docking. So at 8 PM the night before we were to dock in Amsterdam we received an announcement that we had to be given an Antigen test. This was also chaotic as the crew again were pressed into service that was unaware of the procedures and as a result chaos ensued. At no time did the ship’s administration advise that there was an epidemic of covid on board.
The next morning we were told to remain in our cabin until we were contacted by medical. We were never contacted by medical despite many requests on our part. My wife and I were triple vaccinated and were A Symptomatic. Which one of us had tested positive we didn’t know and didn’t find out until we docked in Southampton, 4 days later. During this time we were told that we were to be disembarked in Southampton and would not be continuing with our next cruise. We were able to switch our flight from Amsterdam on May 24 to Heathrow on May 15 (additional cost of $848 USD)
This is where things got really bad. We were told on board that we had been Red Tagged and that we would be disembarked last. We were also provided with a list of instructions. US citizens who had tested positive for Covid would have to Quarantine for 5 days and were given the information to contact a Double Tree Hotel in London that accepted quarantine clients. We are Canadian and fully vaccinated so we were not required to quarantine before returning home. We were advised by the Guest Services Manager to book a hotel near Heathrow so we could catch our flight home the next day. She advised us to either get an UBER or a taxi from the pier to the hotel. We were encouraged by the passage in our departure letter that stated : “We Are Here To Support You: Our Southampton Team Will Be Here To Support You. They will be on site during disembarkation to assist you. “
Being one of the last passengers allowed to disembark because we had been RED Flaged with the other covid passangers , and my wife had to wait because she needed crew assistance because she is confined to a wheelchair. Again the Dawn crew member was very considerate and took her all the way to baggage pick-up area where we were hit with a shock. The baggage area was practically empty. We picked up our baggage and we exited. There was no one there from NCL to provide any assistance!
My phone wouldn’t connect to any British phone numbers, the Terminal had no free internet and we were at a loss as to how we could book a hotel. OK, yes we are not very teck savvy and that is why we would have appreciated someone from NCL to help us get sorted. In a panic we called my son in Toronto and he was able to book us a room at the Holiday Inn Heathrow. One problem solved.
It happened that there were four cruise ships in port. There were no UBER rides available and taxies were limited. We waited, and waited, and waited some more. The taxi person who was managing the line told me that the cost could be between 200 and 300. A driver approached and asked if anyone needed a ride to London. We said we were going to the Holiday Inn Heathrow and he said that he could do the trip for 200BPS, and his vehicle was big enough to accommodate our luggage and the wheelchair. After waiting for so long, about 4 hours, it was almost noon; we jumped at the offer as we were still in mid queue. After about 2 hours we arrived at the hotel totally frustrated and spent. After 2 months still waiting for cancellation expenses from NCL.
