Customer Disservice?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/01/27/left-dock-and-looking-for-refund-and-some-compassion-from-cruise-line/mszHE2cq2Po5k9ZY9EnPvL/story.html?s_campaign=breakingnews:newsletter

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Yes saw this one.

While it would have been nice if they could have found the luggage it truly is the passengers responsibility to have their passports on hand and they made a terrible mistake.

I really feel for them but they made the mistake.

Keith

Given that they are an elderly couple, I have some sympathy and think that Norwegian could have been more supportive. But frankly NO cruise line is going to allow people to board without proper documentation, To me it is obvious that said documentation should ALWAYS be with you and NEVER packed in luggage..

They can be forgiven if they have never traveled anywhere before but, that being said, when traveling ANY important documentation, prescription drugs, cash or valuables of any kind should be in your checked luggage.

Woooowwww....I’m usually a by the book kinda guy but looks like NCL could have done something more during embarkation. I understand everything this couple could have done and should have, but boy this is tough..

They can be forgiven if they have never traveled anywhere before but, that being said, when traveling ANY important documentation, prescription drugs, cash or valuables of any kind should be in your checked luggage.

I hope you meant that it should not be in your checked luggage....but rather on your carry on bags.

The author of the article seems to blame NCL, but NCL is just following procedures and was doing their job. I make sure my passport is in my left pocket and that I have my passport card in my wallet as well as backup.

I agree they are elderly and perhaps shouldn't even be traveling alone. I know that might sound bad, but I am saying this because of our age. We know our days of traveling alone are about over and we are very sharp, plus very experienced travelers.

I am thinking, as we know stories are written to lure people into reading them, which is normal. We are hearing one side of the story: NCL should have tried harder. This may be true but it is the port authority's porters that handle the luggage first I believe. I can't imagine anyone not carrying their ID with them. My heart goes out to these people, but to think they should expect NCL to refund their money is just beyond me.Let's just hope NCL did make the best attempt they could to help locate the luggage We will never really know what happened except these poor people got left behind.

I think we are going to start listening to our kids and cut off the traveling alone in the next year or two.

How very sad for this couple. Passport information is on the reservation and given this older couple had the passports in their luggage at the very least they should have been able to board. The article states that they did not need them to leave American ports. Sure they should have had it with their cruise papers and other IDs but gee whiz. If cruise ships can manage to allow wedding parties on and then disembark them before the cruise ships leave port surely someone could have assisted them.

The author of the article seems to blame NCL, but NCL is just following procedures and was doing their job. I make sure my passport is in my left pocket and that I have my passport card in my wallet as well as backup.

I think one of the statements that allude to NCL should be taking some of the blame is that the couple was asked to sit and NCL staff would get their luggage so they could retrieve their documents. That clearly did not happen as the sat there for over 3 hours waiting but the luggage never came and that is, in fact, NCL's fault and problem.

How very sad for this couple. Passport information is on the reservation and given this older couple had the passports in their luggage at the very least they should have been able to board. The article states that they did not need them to leave American ports. Sure they should have had it with their cruise papers and other IDs but gee whiz. If cruise ships can manage to allow wedding parties on and then disembark them before the cruise ships leave port surely someone could have assisted them.

They could not board without passports or photo ID plus original birth certificate, these are not NCL’s rules. You can’t just tell them you promise your documents are in your luggage! Try that at an airport.

I think one of the statements that allude to NCL should be taking some of the blame is that the couple was asked to sit and NCL staff would get their luggage so they could retrieve their documents. That clearly did not happen as the sat there for over 3 hours waiting but the luggage never came and that is, in fact, NCL's fault and problem.

Maybe it didn’t turn up in time?

This is NOT Norwegian's fault. NONE of the people ( porters or those checking you in) ARE NOT NORWEGIAN EMPLOYEES. They are employed by the Port of Los Angeles. Yes there are Norwegian employees working behind the customer service people.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/01/27/left-dock-and-looking-for-refund-and-some-compassion-from-cruise-line/mszHE2cq2Po5k9ZY9EnPvL/story.html?s_campaign=breakingnews:newsletter

Absolutely No disservice here.

I would expect nothing less than to follow immigration and customs regulations. Passengers are reminded of the travel document requirements. The rent-a-cops at the port should have caught it earlier.

Guess what. United States Immigrations take documentation rules very seriously. No passport, no travel. Plain and simple. NCL just followed the law.

In nyc they request your ticket and ID before you even check in, why was it not realized they didn’t have it then when it should be less then 5 minutes to run back outside to the luggage trolleys?

NCL did exactly what they were supposed to so how is this a lack of customer service?

The Globe should not have reported this to imply that they should have been allowed to board with just their driver's licenses, which is 100% not true. Now many people will think that is the case.

I agree that technically this wasn’t NCL’s fault. It was, however, their problem to fix and they didn’t. This must happen relatively often and I’ll guess they always resolve it. At least, almost always.

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This situation was made an IMPOSSIBLE mess !

So the Passports were in their checked luggage -

Follow along as to what happens after the luggage

is given to a porter at the Pier.

All baggage is taken to an assembly point and

loaded into fork loaded containers

It may be loaded by color code or other deck

defining methods but there anywhere from 40

to 50 bags in each container and 50-100

containers boarded on a ship

How soon the containers are loaded onto the

ship is a matter of how much luggage is being

checked in

Once on the ship the luggage is held in an

area for the ships crew to sort through it and

direct the delivery to the customers stateroom

Most of our readers here have found the checked

baggage delivered to their stateroom from about

3-4 hours after boarding - some are delivered

around dinner time and yet others wind up in

lost in found with tags missing ripped torn

OK their luggage is somewhere in this system

For those folks claiming luggage on disembark

you have no doubt seen the piles and rows

upon rows of luggage waiting claiming enough

to fill 10 747 jets - picture the scene on board

the ship for luggage waiting to be delivered

to the customers stateroom

At this point stop the world and find locate

the luggage and return it to the customer !

How is it possible to intercept the luggage

to return to customers to get their documents

out to get on the ship (timely before sailing) ?

AND the worse part is the ship sails away

with the customers luggage and identification !

This would be no different than like trying to

get on an airplane flight but you would not be

able to check your luggage without ID and ticket.

There in is the solution to this BUT for the

rest of the cruise customers 99.99 to the nth

power this does not happen.

NCL should not be expected to change the

existing system

The system works - sadly these customers

set themselves up to fail by not knowing what

to do.

Regarding a refund of the cruise fare - they

most certainly are due the Port Taxes and

any Government Fees as to the cruise fare

itself it would be in the best customer

relations to refund that also.

There is no Customer Disservice !

My heart goes out to the couple, but I'm pretty sure the author of this article got one very important part wrong. It states that under NCL's procedures the couple should have been allowed to board with a drivers license, which they both had on them. Is that actually true? I have always thought (and see on their website) that in addition to a government issued photo ID, you had to have proof of citizenship (most people use a birth certificate).

That'a a pretty crucial piece of the article to get wrong, and makes NCL come of a lot worse than they actually should here. Don't get me wrong, what happened is heartbreaking, but mistakes were made all the way around, including the person who wrote the article.

Edited to add: Oops! I guess I should have read all the responses! This was already pointed out several times above. :p

Feel badly for the couple. They didn't deserve this. However, as others said, the porters who receive and retrieve the luggage are with the Port Authority, not NCL employees. If there is a beef here, they are targeting it at the wrong party. NCL CAN NOT allow anyone on board without the proper documentation.

Perhaps if the couple asked for a discounted rate on another cruise they might have had better luck with NCL than to simply say they want their money back?

Again, feel badly, and some may feel more sympathy due to the fact they are so elderly, but much of this anger by them is misplaced. NCL did not forget their passport, or removed it from their person. The couple (and their daughter) did that.

I agree that technically this wasn’t NCL’s fault. It was, however, their problem to fix and they didn’t. This must happen relatively often and I’ll guess they always resolve it. At least, almost always.

 

 

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Why is it their problem to fix? Yes, it must happen at times. Maybe in those cases passengers accept responsibility for their actions and mistakes and don't turn to a newspaper for publicity.

I feel for this couple. Sure, they made a mistake, and they admit it. But to be stuck all the way across the country with no luggage, no meds, no passports... Have some empathy, people! I defend NCL all the time, but I agree this could have been handled better.

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Well-meaning but clueless granddaughter owes her grandparents a cruise. If they were my 87-year-old grandparents, I would have accompanied them to the terminal and waited to ensure they boarded with no problems.

Well-meaning but clueless granddaughter owes her grandparents a cruise. If they were my 87-year-old grandparents, I would have accompanied them to the terminal and waited to ensure they boarded with no problems.

Yeah, you're right, maybe... hindsight is 20/20. I feel so badly for this elderly couple and it is something for to be mindful if we have/are seniors. As we get older, it can become more difficult to focus when we're in unfamiliar surroundings. I wonder if anyone has begun a GFM page for them to try to recoup the costs and maybe if they can, someone could go with them to the terminal to ensure their safe boarding.

I don't know the answer and, for now, there really is none. NCL really doesn't owe them anything but would have been nice to see a bit more compassion...