Dawn's Adrift!

[pieshops]

One thing that has not been mentioned on the news or on this board is that they scheduled 7 chartered flights out of Puerto Rico, however, this was ONLY for their "gold, silver, bronze" members. It didn't matter if you have small children, if you were older, handicapped, if you had flights to catch.

It's BULLSH*T.

.

I can say living in S. Florida for 31 yrs. and living through hurricanes Katrina, Wilma etc and not have power for weeks on end was the same thing I felt on that ship. Toilets that didn't flush, walking in other peoples waste on the floor, sleeping Friday night on the pool deck in a lawn chair because our room was 95+ degrees, no ice for hours at a time, eating BBQ on the grill for two days straight (grilled food that wasn't hot, cold food that was warm), the Atrium desk girls were clueless, we actually found out about getting 75% off our paid for cruise and 50% off a future cruise from the INTERNET because no one bothered to mention that to us at all!!

The first day I thought MAYBE NCL was making the best of a bad situation and I gave them the benefit of the doubt but this morning was chaos and they cared more about their appearance than about the poor people stuck on that ship.

!

 

 

the first part about flights only for latitudes members is totally untrue, we are silver and did not have a flight at all on saturday and was also told probably sunday or monday, so we chose to make our own arrangements also.

 

as far as finding out about the compensation, this is also totally untrue, every cabin had a letter either under their door or on the holder outside the door by midnight the night of the power failure friday/saturday.

 

Another point about the "clueless atrium girls" there were many announcments made not to go to the atrium and ask questions as the poeple working there had no more information then was announced.

 

 

i agree with the chaos saturday morning, but most of it was caused by cruisers who failed to listen to directions and clogged the halls etc and did other thing to make it more chaotic.

[pieshops]

an earlier poster had mentioned there was space available on regular flights and yes there were seats available on many airlines, and we also booked our own flight and got the last 8 seats on a jetblue flight to ft lauderdale, but can you imagine ncl trying to call each and every airline getting 2 people in this flight and 4 on that, maybe 3 on this flight. breaking up families, sending some to miami, some to ft lauderdale other to palm beach, etc

 

we had 3 cabins in our group, my inlaws, ourselves and my aunt and cousin. NCL does not know we are together, maybe they book my inlaws who are older and need help getting around into one hotel or on one flight and us onto another.

 

booking 2000 people plus onto individual airlines in about 24 hours is an impossible feat, especially on a weekend that is traditionally the busiest air travel weekend of the year.

 

the charter plan was the best and only plan, yes some people were not going to be happy, but what are you going to do, you can not put everyone on the ship onto one plane.

 

i will probably be accused of being an NCL cheerleader and thats fine, but you really need to take a step back and loose the emotion and be realistic, what could they have done, i agree they could have done many things better, but it could also have been much much worse, we had very calm seas the day we were drifting, this could have been the next day and we could have been in the atlantic not the caribbean with no power with 10 foot seas.

 

There is no plan that would have made everyone happy. NCL does not want bad publicity, they are in business to make money, i think they went above and beyond in compensation as well as making travel arrangements. before i went to sleep friday night i said to my wife i would have been happy with 25% off this cruise, since 7 of the 9 days were perfect.

[Taxguy77]

We were on the Sun heading for NY on 9/11/01.

NCL's efforts on behalf of the pax were excellent!. We sailed into Boston and got to Houstoon within 2 hours of our original schedule.

[MrPete]

Attack him personally? Not at all. The story just doesn't make sense. He booked flights, then cancelled them, then rebooked them yet he is complaining about the price of 2 bottles of wine but not rebooking fees? He said his father had no a/c but then when asked there is a/c and he is fine. If someone can take an hour and a half waiting for a refund for 2 bottles of wine, you would think they could take equal time to get all their loved ones off the ship.

 

I also have older relatives that are strong in body and mind but I would still want to see them safely on their way.

 

People have different priorities......

 

Yes. Allow him his.

 

How nice to think you would have been in complete control had this happened to you.

[netizen2]

Please let me know when your 85 year old dad makes it home safely...

 

"After only a couple of hours sleep in 90deg weather with our cabin doors open to try to get some airflow and with our kids sleeping on the floor (they had an inside room...), we weren't going to put ourselves through another night.

 

Oh, and I talked to my 85 year old father who is still on the boat with no A/C (it comes and goes), he still does not have a promise on when he will get home (likely Monday or Tuesday)."

[HlGHMAlNTENENCE]

as far as finding out about the compensation, this is also totally untrue, every cabin had a letter either under their door or on the holder outside the door by midnight the night of the power failure friday/saturday.

 

Another point about the "clueless atrium girls" there were many announcments made not to go to the atrium and ask questions as the poeple working there had no more information then was announced.

 

We NEVER EVER received a letter on our stateroom door about compensation. We left the ship at apx. 1:50 and we had to go back to the room to get our bags and not only did we not have a letter on our door but I did not see one on anyone elses midship-front of the ship on floor 10.

We read about the compensation at 9am from one of the Miami newspaper websites.

The "clueless Atrium girls" did have access to list 6 and 7 of the chartered flights which were not posted as of 1pm on Saturday as well so they did have information they were not releasing. They told other customers at the desk they were told not to release the names yet because, and from their mouths "there were another 684 people on Board NOT on those two lists who would be very upset about having to stay another day" so they weren't going to release those flights until later in the day.

[smeyer418]

Waaaa, Waaaa, Whine and cruise, whine and cruise...

 

Americans are so funny,

Very bloated with entitlements!

Unlike the rest of the world...

 

According to what I read in my "Contract With The Carrier", NCL owed absolutley nothing, and don't try to tell me it will put them out of business if they don't give, they deal with the masses, and when it comes right down to it, money talks and bulldung walks..................

 

They're a good carrier and take good care of their passengers.:D

 

no this is actually wrong. The contract required them to return them to the point of origin. That is what was contracted a cruise of a certain of days and a return to whence they started. When the ship broke down somewhere else, they were obligated to get them back to Miami.

 

As for the compensation that is somewhat up to the cruise line but they have defined rules about what they do(internally at least). Almost no matter what you do some people will feel more should be done and some would feel that less. You can't please every one. All you can do is try your best but always remember that no good deed goes unpunished...but do it anyway.

 

also the report now is that they are refunding 100%(on cruise critic news by twitter)

[lakeuser2002]

Attack him personally? Not at all. The story just doesn't make sense. He booked flights, then cancelled them, then rebooked them yet he is complaining about the price of 2 bottles of wine but not rebooking fees? He said his father had no a/c but then when asked there is a/c and he is fine. If someone can take an hour and a half waiting for a refund for 2 bottles of wine, you would think they could take equal time to get all their loved ones off the ship.

 

I also have older relatives that are strong in body and mind but I would still want to see them safely on their way.

 

People have different priorities......

 

I did ask if he wanted help to get off and back to FL. He said no... what should I do? He was in no hurry to get home.

 

Regarding the chaos, maybe not the best choice of words... but close. I was standing next to an old guy who was hovering over his wife who just passed out from the heat/stress in the front lobby ... he's shouting please someone get a doctor. And later standing next to a women who's sobbing and shaking (near panic attack) because she can't fly... hmm. I'm open to a better choice of words.

 

And the point of waiting to get refunded for $75 worth of wine, the point is not at all about the money. It's the fact that someone should be empowered to make a decision regarding the matter. Not bounce us back and forth. Heck, tell us to take it up with the customer service number when we return, that would be fine.

 

With no guarantee of when we would get a NCL provided flight to Miami and after different promises on what they would do and what we should do, we're very glad to get home.

 

And trust me when I say we are laid back travelers. I've got over a million miles flown, we travel 3 or 4 times a year. We got stranded 3 days coming back from skiing last year (on our dime, weather related). We never raised our voice (unlike some on the cruse). We could see that some were trying to work the system (we weren't). We didn't reduce the service charge (many were asking to do that) because we know how hard the service staff worked. We actually wanted to give some $$ to the day care, but they were closed and we didn't want to wait in the line for an hour to see what we could do. We just wanted someone who could give us a straight answer, and someone who could tell us when we would get home. Rolling out one more list of folks every few hours was not enough. We soon would of had to make calls to cancel my wife's practice on Monday. Employees told to stay home. Patients and surgery cancelled. We were just look for answers... and they never came.

 

Did I mention it was good to be home.

[jaja]

An opinion...upon reading all accounts...

 

This was a terrible situation for those onboard and those awaiting to depart today. And I truly empathize with those affected.

It appears NCL did a commendable job with arrangements and a generous gesture of compensation for all.

There are thousands of people to accomodate, a task made more difficult due to holiday travel..making rooms and flights difficult.

Could some things have been done better...probably--but the logistics of entire operation is mind boggling....

Knowing the great crew of the Dawn..I am sure they did everything possible for their guests and coordinating with NCL land based management.. Yes, problems happen and contingent plans are in place ...but emergency situations are just that....and not every plan can be flawless

[sjbdtz]

This is insane. I have never sailed NCL and will NEVER sail NCL. I was comtemplating doing one to Hawaii, but NOT NOW! They could have at least made sure everyone had a decent (mid-priced) hotel room to stay in until air accomodations were made!!

 

Uh huh....were they supposed to build one? The fact that it was a holiday weekend most likely meant that many hotels were close to capacity BEFORE the ship was disabled.

 

 

 

Attack him personally? Not at all. The story just doesn't make sense. He booked flights, then cancelled them, then rebooked them yet he is complaining about the price of 2 bottles of wine but not rebooking fees? He said his father had no a/c but then when asked there is a/c and he is fine. If someone can take an hour and a half waiting for a refund for 2 bottles of wine, you would think they could take equal time to get all their loved ones off the ship.

 

 

Indeed. If my 85 year old father who is quite capable lived in Florida, and I lived in Michigan....and my option was leave him on a ship in PR or find an alternative, I would have at the least flown him to Michigan with me....and then figured-out how to get him home.

 

Yes. Allow him his.

 

How nice to think you would have been in complete control had this happened to you.

 

And YOU, should allow Mema her's!

[saltmom1]

Is there any word on what the major problem is and how long repairs will take or when the Dawn will be back on track? A group of us are planning for the Jan 1 sailing.

 

Come join our roll call,lisa80 ! We are having a M&G on Saturday the 2nd at 10in the Star Bar.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=948625

[MrPete]

no this is actually wrong. The contract required them to return them to the point of origin. That is what was contracted a cruise of a certain of days and a return to whence they started. When the ship broke down somewhere else, they were obligated to get them back to Miami.

 

As for the compensation that is somewhat up to the cruise line but they have defined rules about what they do(internally at least). Almost no matter what you do some people will feel more should be done and some would feel that less. You can't please every one. All you can do is try your best but always remember that no good deed goes unpunished...but do it anyway.

 

Bingo. Good post.

 

I will also think that those that took things into their own hands, with assistance, will fare better than those that sat back and waited for thier turn to be helped. Oh, pity poor me.

[MrPete]

Indeed. If my 85 year old father who is quite capable lived in Florida, and I lived in Michigan....and my option was leave him on a ship in PR or find an alternative, I would have at the least flown him to Michigan with me....and then figured-out how to get him home.

 

 

 

And YOU, should allow Mema her's!

 

Had she been there? Maybe. Very easy to cast aspersions from ones armchair how others should react.

 

Personally, I'd rather read the POV's of those affected, not read those telling others how they should have acted, or reacted.

[Harleycat]

I probably would be happy with the way it was handled if I had gotten a slip of paper in the morning saying that I was on List 1 or List 2 (this getting out today on one of their charters). I'd also wager that most of those who still don't have an answer on any charter plans after waiting in the front desk line 3 or 4 times (an hour each time) probably aren't too happy.

 

When the front desk suggests changing flights... then the staff says not to... then NCL doesn't come through with the 'promise' to get everyone back to Miami by the time they would have (Sunday 10:00ish)... that pretty much defines Chios.

 

I'll stand by my statement. They should have a set plan, like a fire drill, on how to handle these situations. How do they decide who gets back first. I don't care if I'm first or last, just let me know. The cost for those of us to return on our own wouldn't be much different than the cost per person to charter a plane.

 

Heck, even getting an adjustment on the wine we bought took 1.5 hrs. We paid for 8 bottles at the beginning of the cruise (my wife enjoys good wine), but didn't use two due to the dining situation (it wouldn't go with the buffet food in no A/C). The front desk said to go to any bar. The bar sent us to another bar. They called to find a bar manager. After getting to her, it took 30 minutes because she wasn't sure if she could do it. Someone should have the authority to deal with this in 5 minutes.

 

I'm sure they did have a set plan to handle such situations but each of these situations are unique and all the drills and planning cannot account for everything that will arise. Refund requests for wine have to be at the bottom of the list.

 

Since you mentioned your wife is in the medical field I'll equate it to when hospitals have disaster drills. We would have those drills once or twice a year but they never fully prepared us for an actual disaster like the WTC. I worked in one of the nearest hospitals to the WTC when it was bombed in the early 90's. Believe me, that day was nothing like the drills. Things like minor patient issues such as incorrect meals, TV and phones services and dealing with patient accounts for discharged patients were put way on the back burner. Those were things that could get cleaned up after the situation stabilized.

[lakeuser2002]

In case I didn't say it earlier, the 75% refund was generous in my opinion.

 

While I was trying to sleep on Fri. night I thought that we would probably get 50% back, and I would of been happy with that.

 

I also hope that my posts wouldn't stop anyone from cruising on NCL. I like the boats, the dining, the kids had a great time, we liked the ports (most of them). We've cruised on others, but will stick with NCL.

 

I felt bad for the service workers and receptionist. They did a good job with what they had to work with.

 

But, I will stand by my belief that much could of been handled better (blame at the NCL management level).

 

Heck, tell us to book our own flights and the different will be reimbursted. Don't leave us hanging....

[mtwingcpa]

We have the NCL travel insurance. In the event they do cancel the Dawn Dec 4th cruise which we booked ( a year + ago! ) what happens to the plane fare we booked on our own? It is non refundable since we used USAir frequent flier miles for one of the tickets and got a good deal on the second ticket. I think it one cancels or changes a plane ticket, you have to pay $ 150.00 just to change it!

 

You raise an excellent question. My understanding is that the NCL travel insurance applies if YOU cancel the trip, but the cruise ticket contract itself governs if NCL cancels the trip. In other words, I'm not sure that having the NCL travel insurance leaves you in any better shape in the event that NCL cancels, but I'd love to be proven wrong about that. Whether THIRD PARTY travel insurance might leave you in a better position in the event that the cruise line cancels the trip is another question.

 

But back to the NCL travel insurance, my understanding is that it will only cover airfare (or other non-cruise travel, I presume) IF booked through NCL. So in your case, I would not expect any reimbursement from the insurance for the airfare even if the insurance is "responsible" in the first place (see prior paragraph).

[MrPete]

I hope the passengers left the full $12/day even for the cancelled days - they OWE that money!!

 

Actually disagree on this one.

 

Just like they charge pax if days are added on to a cruise for any reason, which I would gladly pay, if the cruise was cut short, I would expect that money to be returned to me.

[gvsucruiser]

Home from an San Juan (off the NCL Dawn) at 11:30 pm Sat evening booked out on our own as we were on no list at 11am Sat and no notification when we would be leaving... as others posted we were told to stay out of the atrium area but that is where they posted the flight schedule !! And feel the reimbrusment is more then enough !! Again the unknown as usual is/was the hardest part... Really enjoyed the cruise all in all !!! Sorry for the people that were suppose to cruise out today on the Dawn.... :eek::(

[G'ma]

We NEVER EVER received a letter on our stateroom door about compensation. We left the ship at apx. 1:50 and we had to go back to the room to get our bags and not only did we not have a letter on our door but I did not see one on anyone elses midship-front of the ship on floor 10.

We read about the compensation at 9am from one of the Miami newspaper websites.

The "clueless Atrium girls" did have access to list 6 and 7 of the chartered flights which were not posted as of 1pm on Saturday as well so they did have information they were not releasing. They told other customers at the desk they were told not to release the names yet because, and from their mouths "there were another 684 people on Board NOT on those two lists who would be very upset about having to stay another day" so they weren't going to release those flights until later in the day.

 

Well, if others have posted they received this information - and you didn't - it must be a conspiracy against you personally.

 

Honestly, there is a big different between a traveler and a tourist. A traveler knows that things can happen that are totally outside anyones control. They react calmly and proactively, without anger or panic, to remove themselves from whatever situation is at hand.

 

"Tourists" on the other hand, expect someone else to take care of them and spend a lot of wasted time complaining and casting aspersions on those around them who cannot reply.

 

Whenever we leave the comfort of our homes, we are "at risk" that our well-ordered little world is left behind. We must be prepared to face whatever comes at us - and be prepared to take matters into our own hands at times and to adapt to whatever circumstances are in effect at the time.

[Neiner]

A traveler knows that things can happen that are totally outside anyones control. They react calmly and proactively' date=' without anger or panic, to remove themselves from whatever situation is at hand.

 

"Tourists" on the other hand, expect someone else to take care of them and spend a lot of wasted time complaining and casting aspersions on those around them who cannot reply.

 

[/quote']

 

 

hmm...that's not the definition in my dictionary. :p

 

trav⋅el⋅er  /ˈtrævələr, ˈtrævlər/ [trav-uh-ler, trav-ler]

–noun 1.a person or thing that travels.2.a person who travels or has traveled in distant places or foreign lands.

 

 

tour⋅ist /ˈtʊərɪst/ [toor-ist]

 

 

 

–noun 1.a person who is traveling, esp. for pleasure.

[tjaker11]

An opinion...upon reading all accounts...

 

This was a terrible situation for those onboard and those awaiting to depart today. And I truly empathize with those affected.

It appears NCL did a commendable job with arrangements and a generous gesture of compensation for all.

There are thousands of people to accomodate, a task made more difficult due to holiday travel..making rooms and flights difficult.

Could some things have been done better...probably--but the logistics of entire operation is mind boggling....

Knowing the great crew of the Dawn..I am sure they did everything possible for their guests and coordinating with NCL land based management.. Yes, problems happen and contingent plans are in place ...but emergency situations are just that....and not every plan can be flawless

 

well said!

[sjbdtz]

Had she been there? Maybe. Very easy to cast aspersions from ones armchair how others should react.

 

Personally, I'd rather read the POV's of those affected, not read those telling others how they should have acted, or reacted.

 

 

....and yet, here you are.....sharing yours. :rolleyes: (repeatedly)

[MrPete]

....and yet, here you are.....sharing yours. :rolleyes: (repeatedly)

 

Oh, another contribution to this issue. The community thanks you. :rolleyes:

[RI_Lady]

nope... (on the insurance) tough lesson i guess.... felt that cancellation for a cruise is such an unlikely event that it wasn't worth spending the extra money... oh well-- I understand that emergencies occur, I am most upset at the horrid customer service offered by NCL this morning..... all the cruises going out of Miami and they couldn't get us on another one? Surprising to me.....

This was such a special event for us-- to coordinate 7 people to come from different areas of the country to celebrate a 30th b-day and bon voyage prior to a loved one leaving for Afghanistan on Dec. 29th was a difficult feat to accomplish and is unspeakably disappointing and heartbreaking for us. The likelihood of coordinating our very special garden villa prior to the 29th and everyone receiving permission for another week vacation is about zero percent... c'est la vie i guess.....

 

 

Your post touched me because we share the experience of having someone dear to us serve our country . My son served in the US Army 37th EN Bn as an airborne medic 2006-2007 in Afghanistan. I know how important our time together was. I hope your loved one is able to enjoy his days at home and that they come home safe to you. God Bless and you all and keep our military safe.

 

I am glad you were able to vent about this disappointing event in a safe place. We should all remember that there are many, many people who have a story behind their disappointment. Take care,

 

RI_Lady

[lakeuser2002]

Actually disagree on this one.

 

Just like they charge pax if days are added on to a cruise for any reason, which I would gladly pay, if the cruise was cut short, I would expect that money to be returned to me.

 

The service chargers are posted daily (we have 5 with the three kids) and I don't think that the last day showed up for anyone because the closed the accounts when we docked.