Norwegian Sun Passengers Steamed Over Altered Cruise -- But Do They Have a Case?

[ATL2LAS]

Eventho I agree that NCL stands for Norwegian Cheap Line, it was the lack of communication skills that appears to be the problem. No way should the cruise fare be refunded, but this is what happens when the ship is run from Miami instead of on board.

 

I totally agree. My one and only cruise with Norwegian was on the Sun. The lack of communication and the hardness of the staff really turned me off from this line. I don't feel bad for Norwegian at all. Do they deserve a free cruise, no. If the guests had been able to get more info from the staff, it could have placated most of them.

[Planer's Edge]

Well, it appears as though some of the typical malcontents have showed up to bash NCL. It also appears the the vast majority of people here are in agreement that NCL did okay in this situation with the possible exception of poor communication.

 

Would the malcontents please offer a reason/explanation as to why they think that NCL did "everything" wrong. Considering you were probably not there it would be interesting to hear you assertions. It is not that they can, or want, to take us anywhere they want, sometimes they cannot take us where they planned. I personally have been on a few cruises that had itinerary changes for a variety of reasons, and believe it or not I still enjoyed the cruise. Go figure.

 

PE

[kas129]

After one experience with NCL, on the "Cruise from Hell", I wouldn't sail with them if they paid me - any line that allows food fights in the Main Dining Room, minors in the casino and in the bars, in addition to the most pathetic customer service on the sea, does not deserve "cudos" - I sent a Letter of Complaint and six (6) weeks later got a response offering me a credit on a future cruise - LOL

[ussenterprise]

A couple of observations;

 

1. Some of these people complained about the food, service, entertainment etc. yet they want a free cruise? That's like going up to the manager in a movie theater and saying "I hated the movie, but I want a free ticket to see it again."

 

2. Some of these people complained about the poverty in Samana. What would a citizen of that town give for one night on that cruise ship? Count your blessings, people.

 

3. DW and I have been on cruises that have had to divert to different ports. It's not the end of the world. Does it suck for the people who were supposed to get married on St. Thomas? Yes, but marriage should be about the who, not the where.

 

4. From NCL's web site;

 

Itinerary Changes

"In the event of strikes, lockouts, stoppages of labor, riots, weather conditions, mechanical difficulties or any other reason whatsoever, NCL has the right to cancel, advance, postpone or substitute any scheduled sailing or itinerary without prior notice. NCL shall not be responsible for failure to adhere to published arrival and departure times for any of its ports of call. NCL may, but is not obliged to, substitute another vessel for any sailing and cannot be liable for any loss to passengers by reason of such cancellation, advancement, postponement or substitution."

 

"The transportation of passengers and baggage is governed by the terms and conditions of the Guest Ticket Contract contained in the Passenger Cruise Ticket. Your acceptance of the Guest Ticket Contract and acceptance of passage on the vessel constitute acceptance of the terms, conditions and information contained in this brochure and the Guest Ticket Contract. The Guest Ticket Contract contains information that affects your legal rights, and we recommend you read the terms carefully."

 

If you don't like the terms, don't go on the cruise.

 

5. All of the problems going on in this country right now (do I have to list them??) and these people want Congress to investigate their vacation? That is so completely ridiculous, I don't even know where to begin. It's hard to take these people seriously when they are asking for our federal government to drop everything and what, call Kevin Sheehan to Capitol Hill? I for one am not paying my elected officials to hold hearings to assuage your vacation anguish.

[con405758]

The compensation sounds reasonable. No one can predict what will happen or not. Just enjoy life.;)

[lthornton]

I am sorry in advance for my attitude, but these people that are making all the fuss are IDIOTS! Give me a break, twice, have I missed a "scheduled" port. No Big Deal. Like Bassnote_1 said, they could have headed back to the ship if they didn't like the island.

 

As for the comment about getting married on one of the islands... Boo Hoo, if this upsets them, how are these people going to handle a really big crises in their future marriage. This is Life, there are no guarantees.

 

Quit Yer Whinin! Bunch of big crybabies!:eek:

[Got2Cruise]

The compensation does sound reasonable. However, if NCL knew about the problem and took no steps to fix it, then that is not right.

[coordinator23]

Entitlement & Greed

They had a very fair offer from the cruise line. They still had a vacation and went to a few places. They were not stranded at sea. No one got hurt. I guess some people are very greedy - want something for nothing (after all they did get a cruise). And feel entitled to get everything back if changes need to be made (there was compensation).

As children, I suspect, some of these same people held their breath until they turned blue or threw tantrums when they didn't get their way. To the complainers:

Put on your big girl/boy panties and say thank you for refunding the port charges and giving me the extra perks. (NCL offered wine and got back whine.)

[debnjoe1438]

After one experience with NCL, on the "Cruise from Hell", I wouldn't sail with them if they paid me - any line that allows food fights in the Main Dining Room, minors in the casino and in the bars, in addition to the most pathetic customer service on the sea, does not deserve "cudos" - I sent a Letter of Complaint and six (6) weeks later got a response offering me a credit on a future cruise - LOL

 

 

Cruise from Hell:eek: I sailed the following week with some folks who were doing a B2B. They told of their experience and compensation with NO complaints. They were quite pleased with measures taken.

 

A cruise from hell would be something similar to the Titantic.

 

Stuff happens and the results are what you make it. Attitude is EVERYTHING.:D

[youngestof9]

I'm just so disgusted with the entitlement that people feel all the time.

 

They were certainly compensated fairly, but it's just never enough for people. If they were given a free cruise, they'd be PO'd that it rained.

 

You just can't satisfy everyone. I'm just glad I'm not one of those people. I'd rather be on a diverted cruise than in my 2 inches of ice and 7000 feet of snow right now......

[mbisson]

While I'm sorry the itinerary had to be changed...IMO if someones vacation will be missed by a losing a port (or ports) they probably should pick a different method of getting there instead of on a cruise ship.

[DickWI]

NCL needs to be investigated for this type of problem and not delivering on a published itinerary. The same thing happened with us in 2008 on the NCL Star on an 8 day Mexican Riviera Cruise in which we were unable to make it to Acapulco and IXtapa because of the same type of engine problem and instead they substituted Manznillo and Mazatlan and gave us a $100 cabin credit.

I think that an independent agency that governs cruise travel should investigate cruise lines that don't deliver on their itinerary and it's not weather related.

[sd200044]

This same thing happened to us on a Carnival Cruise 2 years ago and what was worst is Carnival had been having issues with the engine on this ship on the last two trips and did not even give people the option to cancel or switch, and they did nothing for us other than refund the port charges for the missed port. So I would say NCL was more than generous. Its the dice you roll on every cruise. As long as they provide the services on board as normal and they sail you somewhere, they are covered.

[terrymtex01]

 

5. All of the problems going on in this country right now (do I have to list them??) and these people want Congress to investigate their vacation? That is so completely ridiculous, I don't even know where to begin. It's hard to take these people seriously when they are asking for our federal government to drop everything and what, call Kevin Sheehan to Capitol Hill? I for one am not paying my elected officials to hold hearings to assuage your vacation anguish.

 

I agreed with your entire post, but especially the part above. That was just unbelievable to me, almost to the point I question their santiy. The ones I feel the most sorry for are the ones that tried to go on and have a good vacation anyway but had to keep putting up with the whiners. And NCL just can't win no matter what they do. I was amazed at the compenation they were offered. Twice we have missed ports for one reason or another and never got offered anything but maybe our port fees.

[Cruzin Fool]

It's a mechanical failure... maybe they should pull into the nearest cruise ship service station and fix the ship in a jiffy so they don't have to re-route :p. C'mon people! If they can't get to speed they cannot make it through the route in time to return... Nevermind the fact that there is damage and if they push the ship too hard it may fail completely and then you're drifting - stranded.

 

The compensation was more than fair and the passengers acted like little babies. It was an inconvenience. If I received compensation for everytime I've been inconvenienced in my life I'd be one of the richest people on earth. GET OVER IT!

 

You're on a plane and they experience mechanical issues and have to land at an airport that is not your destination... should you be compensated for it? Or maybe they could just try to make it to the destination airport so they don't inconvenience you...

 

I'd say I'm amazed that there are so many people around with such a mentality but Jerry Springer spent years showing how many jack*sses live among us.

[oldguysandgalls]

Poor "hard done " by NCL Sun passengers. We feel their pain.... :rolleyes:

 

Just look at what the "poor souls" had to endure! A cruise, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, midnight buffets, in between snacks and meals, room service, entertainment, a cabin, a private bathroom and shower, a TV, a bed to sleep in, a deck chair to lounge in, a swimming pool, towels for the pool, a shopping area, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, casino. Now that is "roughing" it.

 

NCL should have just lowered the life boats for those passengers that were THAT unhappy with ...... see above.....:rolleyes: ......

 

"Attention all unhappy passengers.....life boats have been lowered for your departure, boarding is now in progress. Please DO take all your personal belongings with you".

[Aquaphobic]

Out of the 9 cruises I've been on, 5 of them have had changes made to the itinerary (mostly due to bad weather) resulting in missed ports . Yes, it can be disappointing but hardly worth getting upset about. As others have said, I think the compensation received was more than fair, and that NCL did far more than they had to.

 

It always astonishes me that certain passengers think they're more qualified than the crew at running the ship.

[Mr. Luckytoo]

I understand that some passengers get bothered by port changes but the level of compensation the Sun passengers received was way more than NCL should have given them.

 

Shame on those passengers who complained...shame....shame :mad:

[pianomanorlando]

These people are pathetic. When a cruise line has to alter its program for some reason, they usually offer some small compensation and that's it.

 

These greedy pieces of filth have should be barred from EVERY cruise line. I'd like to see the lines get together with lists of passengers that will be denied boarding permanently.

 

The cruise contract is very clear and those of us who cruise often have experienced everything from missed ports, changed ports, late arrivals, early departures, bad weather, toilet malfunctions, rough seas, mechanical issues, etc. That's cruising. That's the way it goes. Any decent cruise line will find some way to try to make it up to you. NCL did more than was necessary.

 

I've been on NCL several times. 4 times scheduled to go to GSC, and 4 times canceled due to weather. 3/4 times we went to a different port and once we spent an extra day at sea.

 

On that farce of a complaint web site there is a "story" about how Norwegian Sun was set to have 5 more cruises, but it went into drydock for mechanical repairs. That alone is an outright lie. That ship was scheduled for drydock long before it ever arrived at Canaveral. My wife and I had looked at going on one of the short cruises just before/after the drydock.

 

I'm sick of liars and fraudsters trying to get something for nothing. If you don't like what you got, don't cruise with NCL again. Your commitment to never being on an NCL ship again makes me more inclined to cruise with them.

[nomadron]

I think under current "contracts" the compensation is fair. However, I feel something must be changed in the contracts to address the fact of the passengers did not get the cruise advertised or what they paid for when buying their cruise. If these ships are based in American ports and most of the passengers are American, there must be something that can be done to even the playing field in situations as this.

[guardia]

Yes, they were fairly compensated. People who gripe about such things should check the fine print of their cruise contracts. They replaced the ports and that's all NCL was required to do. The fact they got all the other perks shows that they care about their customers. I've cruised on ships were they had to miss a port or two due to weather. I remember my cruise on the Carnival Freedom back in 2008. We had to slow down due to a medical emergency and a passenger had to be airlifted back to Miami. Because of this we were late into San Juan approximately 4 hours and therefore our time in port was much shorter. Well that night there was a HUGE line up at the purser's desk with all these people yelling and screaming about the short time in San Juan (4 hours instead of 7). I couldn't believe the rudeness and childish behaviour and the demand for full refunds for the cruise. I almost felt like going to the shop and buying lollipops for all those rude and obnoxious people. I really felt sorry for the all those nice people at the purser's desk. What the hell was that? I mean if it was one of their own family members being airlifted, would they be behaving the same way? I think not! They would be grateful that Carnival was so quick and efficient in getting the passenger off the ship. Idiots! Ships are mechanical wonders. Things will go wrong and when they do grin, bear it and enjoy the vacation. There's enough to do on board or at the re-scheduled ports.

[guardia]

These people are pathetic. When a cruise line has to alter its program for some reason, they usually offer some small compensation and that's it.

 

These greedy pieces of filth have should be barred from EVERY cruise line. I'd like to see the lines get together with lists of passengers that will be denied boarding permanently.

 

The cruise contract is very clear and those of us who cruise often have experienced everything from missed ports, changed ports, late arrivals, early departures, bad weather, toilet malfunctions, rough seas, mechanical issues, etc. That's cruising. That's the way it goes. Any decent cruise line will find some way to try to make it up to you. NCL did more than was necessary.

 

I've been on NCL several times. 4 times scheduled to go to GSC, and 4 times canceled due to weather. 3/4 times we went to a different port and once we spent an extra day at sea.

 

On that farce of a complaint web site there is a "story" about how Norwegian Sun was set to have 5 more cruises, but it went into drydock for mechanical repairs. That alone is an outright lie. That ship was scheduled for drydock long before it ever arrived at Canaveral. My wife and I had looked at going on one of the short cruises just before/after the drydock.

 

I'm sick of liars and fraudsters trying to get something for nothing. If you don't like what you got, don't cruise with NCL again. Your commitment to never being on an NCL ship again makes me more inclined to cruise with them.

 

 

Amen to that!

[ussenterprise]

NCL needs to be investigated for this type of problem and not delivering on a published itinerary. The same thing happened with us in 2008 on the NCL Star on an 8 day Mexican Riviera Cruise in which we were unable to make it to Acapulco and IXtapa because of the same type of engine problem and instead they substituted Manznillo and Mazatlan and gave us a $100 cabin credit.

I think that an independent agency that governs cruise travel should investigate cruise lines that don't deliver on their itinerary and it's not weather related.

 

Dick, in addition to #4 in my previous post, see the following taken directly from NCL's ticket contract:

 

5. "Limitations and Disclaimers of Liability:

(a) The Carrier and the Guest hereby agree there is no warranty, whether express or implied, as to the fitness, seaworthiness, or condition of the vessel."

[Grandpaul]

Sounds like the passengers were wrong and NCL wasn't. That's the way the article should have been written.

[Cuizer2]

The compensation was fair. However, NCL did not handle the situation very well. Compare the passenger's response to that of the Carnival Splendor. Who was worse off? Yet Carnival did not experience the near riot that NCL did. Why? Because Carnival kept everyone informed. Apparently the NCL Captain refused to meet with the passengers. All that did was make things worse. NCL needs to train its captains in public relations.

 

When a problem of this nature develops communication is the key. Lack of communication only makes people frustrated, and frustrated people are much harder to deal with then calm people.