NCL Dawn limping from port to port

[MERIDIAN]

Look on the bright side, 2/5 ths doesn't = 60%.

[McCurler]

We all know that.

 

I would like to quote the OP to correct all my critics out there:

They had one blow a piston months ago, and another failed during routine maintenance two days before this sailing.

They didn't tell anyone until they were already on the ship. They knew 2 days ahead of time. That is complete bs. Period. Unacceptable.

[Sauer-kraut]

I personally feel the compensation was well beyond what I would have expected. I got $8 for missing a port, no free drinks and a message from the captain explaining why we couldn't dock anywhere else. At least you got to St. Maarten and St. Thomas! :D

[BikerAl]

I so hope you (Sobersailor and McCuler) are given the chance to not cruise and get your money back. The folks who were so upset that they held a meeting in the theater, so upset the vast majority of cruisers, who were happy to be cruising, that it impacted their cruise. That type of behavior, is unacceptable. Remember, the Captain, and his crew will only offer what Miami offers, and there is nothing they can do beyond that.

 

Al

[Nickkle]

Look on the bright side, 2/5 ths doesn't = 60%.

 

 

The person ment that they are only going to 2 of the scheduled 5 ports - so they missed 3 of the 5 ports = 60% port failure rate.

[ike97756]

I personally feel the compensation was well beyond what I would have expected. I got $8 for missing a port, no free drinks and a message from the captain explaining why we couldn't dock anywhere else. At least you got to St. Maarten and St. Thomas! :D

 

Seriously?! Missing a port due to weather or ship problems in route are one thing, knowing your ship has major malfunctions before even starting the cruise is something totally differant.

I may be in the minority but I would rather the cruise get cancled so my trip insurance would pay for my expenses including airfare and I could rebook when things are fixed.

[Globaliser]

2 of 5 ports is a 60 percent failure rate.

IMHO, 9 days of a 9-day cruise is a 100% success rate.

 

So what if I don't get to all the ports? Well, it might be a mild disappointment. But if I really had to get there, I wouldn't be trying to do it on a ship.

[ike97756]

If I wanted an 4 port eastern caribbean or whatever usvi is considered that is what I would have booked. I didn't, I booked 5 port southern caribbean and thats what I want.

[Chuck2810]

Thank you for the update. We're sailing 2/25, well hopefully we're sailing then. We've been getting bits of info about the Dawn, so called our NCL PCC. He became very rude and said there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Dawn and it was a weather problem. When we called back and told him we were hearing many reports of engine problems, he said "what do you want me to tell you? The Dawn isn't even being talked about. Don't believe everything you read on the internet."

 

NCL, just tell us the truth so we can plan for it. And don't try to use rudeness to cover lies. And if you don't know the answer, say that.

 

Report the name of the employee to NCL. Anyone who utters a lie, instant grounds for dismisal!

[McCurler]

I so hope you (Sobersailor and McCuler) are given the chance to not cruise and get your money back. The folks who were so upset that they held a meeting in the theater, so upset the vast majority of cruisers, who were happy to be cruising, that it impacted their cruise. That type of behavior, is unacceptable. Remember, the Captain, and his crew will only offer what Miami offers, and there is nothing they can do beyond that.

 

Al

 

Except I didn't say I was going to incite a revolt or be upset with the Captain and crew. My beef is with NCL, knowing there were issues prior to departure and not informing customers. The two situations are not even comparable.

[McCurler]

If I wanted an 4 port eastern caribbean or whatever usvi is considered that is what I would have booked. I didn't, I booked 5 port southern caribbean and thats what I want.

 

This.

[Chuck2810]

I can't imagine the PCC's as being anything more than part of a phone bank setup. My PCC, whom I adore, is in Arizona, far from the decision makers in Miami. I would imagine she would be at about the lowest level in NCL's corporate structure, and probably about the last person to know anything about the engines on the Dawn.:rolleyes:

 

I guess I disagree. The company only has 11 ships. Would take a about 35 seconds to get a daily breifing from my manager on any ship news. Sales is the interface btween OPS and the consumer. No excuse.

[McCurler]

I guess my previous point was that if they are trying to fix the recently broken engine on the fly, what do you want them to do? Call all the passengers and tell them that the engine is being worked on? I just don't understand how you expect them to tell you what they are going to do when they probably don't know themselves.

 

I had a similar situation this last winter with a B2B on Carnival (anybody remember the Destiny limping around for months?) and about drove myself nuts right up until we sailed. We had itinerary changes but I had a very nice cruise in spite of missing the port I was most looking forward to.

 

I am on the Dawn in March, so I am watching this with interest.

 

NCL knew before departure that there was a problem. They had plenty of time to notify passengers. They chose not to do so. I believe (and others will disagree) they had a duty to do that. I am going to try not to obsess about this but the reports from the ship were very discouraging.

[McCurler]

Your statement has me a little confused. What do you mean by "doesn't notify customers"?

 

Let me explain why that confuses me:

 

Back in September of 2010, NCL was aware of the Dawn's engine problems. They also knew that the engine problems could not be properly addressed until drydock and that they would affect the scheduled itineraries (particularly the 9-day sailings).

 

At that time, NCL notified all of their guests about the Dawn's engine issues. An additional notification was also sent out to the travel agent community. There were threads here on Cruise Critic where this was discussed. Additionally, the information was posted to NCL's website.

 

It would seem to me that notifications have gone out...in many forms and for quite a bit of time. If a guest felt uneasy about the issue(s) or if they were looking forward to a particular port visit (as opposed to the cruise), perhaps they would be best served by switching to a different ship.

 

Re-read the first post in this thread and get back to me.

[farmercruzin]

Seriously?! Missing a port due to weather or ship problems in route are one thing, knowing your ship has major malfunctions before even starting the cruise is something totally differant.

I may be in the minority but I would rather the cruise get cancled so my trip insurance would pay for my expenses including airfare and I could rebook when things are fixed.

We are also booked on the 2/25 sailing, and we may be in the minority too, but I agree with this poster, and would rather have the cruise cancelled. We would rebook the cruise next winter, with an 11-day itinerary and 2 more ports, and sail on a refurbed ship. But, I think we all know the reality here. If the Dawn can only limp from Miami to Fort Lauderdale in 9 days, then that's what she'll do. NCL will (understandably) do anything it can to avoid losing all these bookings.

I'm going to hope for the best. If she can leave the dock on the 25th, I'm sure we can all have a great time, regardless. (sure will miss Barbados, though)

[terrymtex01]

Except for the fact that if they cancelled, we'd get our money back. That's the issue for most... having an alternate cruise "swapped in" because the ship isn't working properly. It's one thing to encounter itinerary changes due to weather, or other forces of nature, but I'm starting to think they should just bring her in to fix her properly, and start refunding some $.

 

See.. I would be with the group that would rather sail with missed ports than getting my money back and having to find a last minute alternate vacation. The actual vacation is worth more to me than the money we spend on it. I could understand if someone were more port driven than just the cruise experience, but if I were more into seeing the ports I would choose a land vacation to those ports. We are all just different and what makes us happy is different.

 

oh, I totally understand what you are saying, but which would be better, having 2000 people not being able to cruise or missing a few ports? I would bet anything, if you took a survery and a fair one, not just asking a handful of people you might run into what they think, they would say, take the cruise regardless, especially if they knew they would get a couple hundred $$S in OBC. I is a tough decision, no matter what NCL does they are going to make a hell of a lot of people unhappy. Stuff happens and there is no win, win on this one, not for anyone.

 

Nita

 

I'm with you, Nita. I was actually shocked they are getting so much OBC. I would be thrilled to be on a beautiful ship with all I need available to me to keep me happy AND have $200.00 to spend onboard. I would be VERY upset if they canceled the entire cruise this close to sailing. Do you remember back in 2009 when this happened with the Pearl and they had to cancel a cruise for one week? NCL was going to put her into emergency dry dock and it was either going to be the week we sailed aboard her or the week after. We were so nervous it was going to be our week. Then they announced it was going to be the week after our vacation. I remember how my heart went out to all of those people scrambling to find another vacation at such a last minute.

[SeaShark]

Re-read the first post in this thread and get back to me.

 

Getting back to you...

 

The first post, which was not yours, has nothing to do with your statement that NCL "doesn't notify customers".

 

You didn't provide any clarification to your claim which is what is causing the confusion...not what the OP said.

[terrymtex01]

We are also booked on the 2/25 sailing, and we may be in the minority too, but I agree with this poster, and would rather have the cruise cancelled. We would rebook the cruise next winter, with an 11-day itinerary and 2 more ports, and sail on a refurbed ship. But, I think we all know the reality here. If the Dawn can only limp from Miami to Fort Lauderdale in 9 days, then that's what she'll do. NCL will (understandably) do anything it can to avoid losing all these bookings.

I'm going to hope for the best. If she can leave the dock on the 25th, I'm sure we can all have a great time, regardless. (sure will miss Barbados, though)

 

I do feel that NCL should offer their pax on the affected cruises the option to apply their booking to another time, ship, etc. As I have posted, I'm not as much port driven as others, but I could see how someone would be disappointed if a majority of their ports were canceled or changed. I'm actually surprised with the impact their engine problems are having NCL isn't offering their pax some alternatives. I do agree it's understandable that they do not want to lose $$, but at the same time I feel they should do what is right. Yes, it is very easily argued that they are doing right by following the contract, I have argued that point myself, but I just feel differently when the issue, whatever the issue maybe, impacts a large portion of the cruise itself.

[granny_t]

I'm schedule on the 25th booking as well - two things are very upsetting to me at this point:

 

1) NCL not being honest and upfront with everyone about what is happening on the ship - Not even with their own people. Call the NCL phone 10 times and get 10 different answers from "Nothing at all wrong, the ship is stopping in all scheduled ports" to "the weather is causing the issues". :confused:

2) With the 3rd engine out and not repairable (? ), I'm concerned that the other 2 can go at anytime - being adrift at sea is completely different from missing ports!

 

This was to be a dream vacation for my family and I. At this point, I wish they would just cancel the cruise so that we can make other arrangements!:mad:

[toomuchluggage]

I'm schedule on the 25th booking as well - two things are very upsetting to me at this point:

 

1) NCL not being honest and upfront with everyone about what is happening on the ship - Not even with their own people. Call the NCL phone 10 times and get 10 different answers from "Nothing at all wrong, the ship is stopping in all scheduled ports" to "the weather is causing the issues". :confused:

2) With the 3rd engine out and not repairable (? ), I'm concerned that the other 2 can go at anytime - being adrift at sea is completely different from missing ports!

 

This was to be a dream vacation for my family and I. At this point, I wish they would just cancel the cruise so that we can make other arrangements!:mad:

 

This was to be a dream vacation you just may get your dream.

[Fergus29]

We are booked on the Dawn April 8th. I have to wonder if any of these issues will be resolved by that time, or if in fact,things will be worse. What avenues do NCL have to correct this? Will they put the ship into dry dock or keep trying to make repairs on the run. I am assuming if it is the latter, they will continue to offer passengers OBC for the ports they will be forced to cancel? It really is a case of "damned if you do and damned if you don't".

[BulldogFish]

This makes me so nervous...does anyone know if the engines will be repaired soon? I'm sailing the Dawn on 3/20 for my honeymoon and I do not know what I would do if they cancelled! Between work, family, and wedding planning, I do not have time to reschedule our trip :(

 

IMO, I think NCL should definitely have notified customers if they knew they were having issues 2 days before the cruise, so people could have the choice to cancel/reschedule/sail. For some, having their trip changed like that is a very big deal, and no amount of OBC can make up for it, but for others its not so bad. I personally would have thought we hit the jackpot with the OBC and hit up the bar and spa :)

 

I would definitely not want them to cancel unless there was an issue that could put my life at risk. A change in itinerary is not going to kill me or hamper my good time, but cancelling so last minute would be devastating. With tight work schedules, family etc, some of us only get 1 or 2 weeks off and don't have that kind of flexibility.

 

In the end, NCL is made up of people just like us, and people make mistakes. I think they hate having to cancel and reschedule ports just as much as we hate having them cancelled. I can imagine the headaches that go along with rescheduling ports, answering customer complaints, and then just the simple embarassment of it all.

 

They might have thought if they worked really hard on the engine everything would be fine, but they still should have given their customers a heads up.

 

Live and learn, and then give OBC!

[def0715]

Which ports is the current sailing going to make, other than St. Thomas and St. Maarten? (We are scheduled to sail on March 25.) Thanks.

[rzdj96]

1) NCL not being honest and upfront with everyone about what is happening on the ship - Not even with their own people. Call the NCL phone 10 times and get 10 different answers from "Nothing at all wrong, the ship is stopping in all scheduled ports" to "the weather is causing the issues". :confused:

2) With the 3rd engine out and not repairable (? ), I'm concerned that the other 2 can go at anytime - being adrift at sea is completely different from missing ports!

 

What's concerning to me is that this all sounds like a multi-million dollar operation being repaired with bicycle repair tools. I wonder when the NTSB will get involved for safety at sea concerns. It just seems like NCL is pushing the ship past it's design limits, at it's passengers expense for their own gain. On another note: Bring Spam, you may have to use it.

[jla418]

We have just arrived in St. Thomas and it looks like a beautiful morning. We are much more go with the flow so have still had a great vacation despite the unexpected changes to the trip. The crew and service overall have been great, and the changes could have been much much worse in my opinion. St. Maarten is a beautiful island and had a great day at orient beach.

 

The Captain has just announced that the technical issue with the engine has been resolved, and therefore our time in St. Thomas has been extended until 5pm. We were originally scheduled to depart for Miami at 2pm. Hopefully this will be good news for those on the upcoming voyages!

 

As for missing Semana, Barbados, and St. Kitts, I guess I'll just have to try to make those stops on a future cruise, oh darn, another reason for another vacation!