NCL Dawn limping from port to port

[musicgal]

My worst cruise out of 7 by a wide margin. 2 years ago on this same ship was my best cruise ever, (went were they advertised).

 

The ship is in disrepair, from the carpets, to the railings, to the leaks (buckets all over, and I hope that was just condensation) to our ripped deck chair, (took 5 days, 2 calls and a visit to the front desk to get replaced) apparently all the way to the engines, (50% failure rate does not seem like to great a track record). Oh and a fire.

 

Does this start to look like a trend to anyone but me....

 

If we, the cruising public are happy with the kind of service and response that NCL and according to many on this board, "Is what we should expect", then we we will never see it change,

 

Or we could hold them to a higher standard, use these boards to let everyone know how they are doing, so that we can choose to spend our $ with the company's that produce better products and they will all have to step up or be out of business.

 

 

I hear what you are saying and I think it's valid. Unfortunately, the loyalists that descend will ridicule you for whatever reason they see fit. How dare you vent any frustration? Give me some history of problems they say. I don't understand their motivations, but it is what is is. People read the comments- all of them. Some comments come from other sources besides CC. And these are not new issues.

[swedish weave]

Latest info on the Dawn --- Limping along at 18.1 knots ! Not bad for a crippled ship !!

 

Current position of M/S Norwegian Dawn: Under way from Cozumel to Miami

 

Departure was 2 hrs 6 min ago. (at 19:00 h local time)

Arrival will be in 1 d 9 hrs 54 min. (at 08:00 h local time)

Traveled distance since Cozumel: 25.96 nm (48.09 km)

Remaining distance to Miami: 491.61 nm (910.46 km)

Traveled distance since Miami: 996.91 nm (1,846.28 km)

Speed: 18.1 kn (33.5 km/h)

Course: 40°

[landjcruise]

Glad to hear she is moving along. We are to cruise on the Dawn in March. Taking my mom on her first cruise for her 80th Birthday - so I hope that they will have some of these things ironed out by then. In case we end up spending more time at sea - can anyone advise about the spa treatments. This is our first time on NCL. I've only cruised once before on a different line, but then we were able to book appointments in advance which was very nice. If anyone could advise about booking spa visits (massage, pedicures etc.) and the costs on board it would be appreciated!

I hope the remainder of your voyage is safe, speedy and lacking in any further negative events.

[david_sobe]

I hear what you are saying and I think it's valid. Unfortunately, the loyalists that descend will ridicule you for whatever reason they see fit. How dare you vent any frustration? Give me some history of problems they say. I don't understand their motivations, but it is what is is. People read the comments- all of them. Some comments come from other sources besides CC. And these are not new issues.

I agree

I am a NCL loyalist and dont understand the ridicule of passengers on the Dawn. How does a cruise line keep sailing a ship with engine problems for almost a year. But the sad part is that NCL keeps saying everything is ok and keeps selling and sailing Dawn passengers. Then once they get on board they get cancelled ports, changed cruises, etc. It goes from bad to worse. Fix the ship or at least be honest with passengers and tell them there are problems and the ports are subject to change at any moment and some days you may just have sea days, etc. But of course they wont do that because most of the passengers would cancel.

Get it together NCL. I thought Carnival was bad for doing this to their passengers but NCL has done the same.

[swedish weave]

I agree

I am a NCL loyalist and dont understand the ridicule of passengers on the Dawn. How does a cruise line keep sailing a ship with engine problems for almost a year. But the sad part is that NCL keeps saying everything is ok and keeps selling and sailing Dawn passengers. Then once they get on board they get cancelled ports, changed cruises, etc. It goes from bad to worse. Fix the ship or at least be honest with passengers and tell them there are problems and the ports are subject to change at any moment and some days you may just have sea days, etc. But of course they wont do that because most of the passengers would cancel.

Get it together NCL. I thought Carnival was bad for doing this to their passengers but NCL has done the same.

 

I see many comments of this nature, but have yet to see any statistics to support the statements that it is a constant problem. It seems that some are taking this incident and magnifying it. Most of the complaints are coming from those who were not on the ship when the failure occured. Can anyone post the number of altered cruises due to engine problems or the percentage of cruises thusly affected ? I believe that information would put this in the proper perspective and make everyone on these boards aware of the magnitude of the problems. Information, anyone ???

[LaFinDuMonde]

Latest info on the Dawn --- Limping along at 18.1 knots ! Not bad for a crippled ship !!

 

Current position of M/S Norwegian Dawn: Under way from Cozumel to Miami

 

Departure was 2 hrs 6 min ago. (at 19:00 h local time)

Arrival will be in 1 d 9 hrs 54 min. (at 08:00 h local time)

Traveled distance since Cozumel: 25.96 nm (48.09 km)

Remaining distance to Miami: 491.61 nm (910.46 km)

Traveled distance since Miami: 996.91 nm (1,846.28 km)

Speed: 18.1 kn (33.5 km/h)

Course: 40°

 

Thats faster then the "Cattle-Car of the Seas" ever sailed when I was on it!

[halos]

The ship is in disrepair, .

 

AGAIN, know what you are buying. This ship is old. It is a bit beat.

This ship is scheduled for a dry dock this May

All ships age are beat.....if you research prior to cruising, you can find out how old your ship is, when the last time it had been in dry dock or when it is scheduled to go in to dry dock.

If you want a spanking brand new ship...find one. There is usually at least one new one every year or two.

 

When I was on the Dawn, only a couple weeks prior to this sailing, I found the ship to be in quite awesome condition considering she was due for an overhaul. Maintenence people were out there the entire time painting/scraping/staining etc...just as on every cruise I have taken.

I did see afew buckets but I knew about the leaks before I got on the ship so it wasn't a surprise. The only thing I was surprised about, was from what I had read on these boards prior to sailing I thought water was going to be coming in the ship, all over the place and that was certainly not the case.

 

Does anyone realize the damage the salt water/air does to the outside of the ship and the damage that thousands upon thousands of people do to carpet (and everything else) on the inside of a ship??

Please....be realistic for goodess sake... The ship goes in, goes out over and over with thousands of people. Do you wnat carpets replaced after every sailing?? I guarantee that brand new carpets get stained after just one week with 2500 people spilling crap all over them.

 

I hear so many woes about how people spent lots of time and money for this cruise...the cruise of a lifetime... because they don't get to cruise often, but no one (ok, one poster did) at least take a small amount of responsibility for not researching enough and knowing what they were buying.

In the future people, do your homework. If stained carpets and rusty rails on your balcony bother you, find a new ship.

 

As for ther missed ports and the difference between weather and mechanical issues, I must ask this.

Does the disappointment feel any less severe IF the ports that people were counting on are missed due to weather, civil unrest, medical emergencies...the list goes on (and I learned a NEW reason for missed ports and delayed sailings today...FOG. Check the CCL boards/Galveston)

OR is it just easier to deal with disappointment if there is someone other than Mother Nature to blame??? (or sue :rolleyes:)

 

If that poster who is having health issues missed the ports due to factors other than mechanics, would she be any less disappointed?? I doubt it. A missed port is a missed port. It sucks.

But it's easier to deal with the disappointment if you can scream at someone, so maintenence issues give people someone to blame.

[oldguysandgalls]

Hello Halos..

As always, your posts are a pleasure to read and very realistic in every aspect, but we must not forget the first time cruisers who are very disappointed when they miss a port or ports.

 

For us repeat cruisers the ship itself is the cruise destination, but to many other and first time crusiers it's the thrill of exploring Barbados, shopping in St. Thomas and St. Maarten, and visiting islands that were just dots on the map, places they never thought they would ever visit. So we can understand their disappointment when any ports are cancelled.

 

You are right, research, research and research, but we know that the best laid plans can and will go awry, and while unfortunately that is of little or no comfort to the first timers who often spent years of saving for their first cruise, and probably only cruise, this board is their only outlet to vent their frustrations.

 

The danger in this is that many can and will get carried away by the negative hype and thereby adding fuel to the fire on an already volatile sitiation. We have found ourselves making light of the situation which in retrospect, was probably not the wisest thing for us to do.

 

We fervently hope that NCL can and will do everything in it's power to regain the trust and confidence of many first and repeat cruisers.

 

Thank you again halos, for your many positive post, they are indeed a pleasure to read.

[halos]

Hello Halos..

As always, your posts are a pleasure to read and very realistic in every aspect, but we must not forget the first time cruisers who are very disappointed when they miss a port or ports.

 

For us repeat cruisers the ship itself is the cruise destination, but to many other and first time crusiers it's the thrill of exploring Barbados, shopping in St. Thomas and St. Maarten, and visiting islands that were just dots on the map, places they never thought they would ever visit. So we can understand their disappointment when any ports are cancelled.

 

You are right, research, research and research, but we know that the best laid plans can and will go awry, and while unfortunately that is of little or no comfort to the first timers who often spent years of saving for their first cruise, and probably only cruise, this board is their only outlet to vent their frustrations.

 

The danger in this is that many can and will get carried away by the negative hype and thereby adding fuel to the fire on an already volatile sitiation. We have found ourselves making light of the situation which in retrospect, was probably not the wisest thing for us to do.

 

We fervently hope that NCL can and will do everything in it's power to regain the trust and confidence of many first and repeat cruisers.

 

Thank you again halos, for your many positive post, they are indeed a pleasure to read.

I never doubt or dismiss anyone's disappointment.

A missed port is a missed port. It sucks.

.

[Sutosis]

AGAIN, know what you are buying. This ship is old. It is a bit beat.

This ship is scheduled for a dry dock this May

All ships age are beat.....if you research prior to cruising, you can find out how old your ship is, when the last time it had been in dry dock or when it is scheduled to go in to dry dock.

If you want a spanking brand new ship...find one. There is usually at least one new one every year or two.

 

When I was on the Dawn, only a couple weeks prior to this sailing, I found the ship to be in quite awesome condition considering she was due for an overhaul. Maintenence people were out there the entire time painting/scraping/staining etc...just as on every cruise I have taken.

I did see afew buckets but I knew about the leaks before I got on the ship so it wasn't a surprise. The only thing I was surprised about, was from what I had read on these boards prior to sailing I thought water was going to be coming in the ship, all over the place and that was certainly not the case.

 

Does anyone realize the damage the salt water/air does to the outside of the ship and the damage that thousands upon thousands of people do to carpet (and everything else) on the inside of a ship??

Please....be realistic for goodess sake... The ship goes in, goes out over and over with thousands of people. Do you wnat carpets replaced after every sailing?? I guarantee that brand new carpets get stained after just one week with 2500 people spilling crap all over them.

 

I hear so many woes about how people spent lots of time and money for this cruise...the cruise of a lifetime... because they don't get to cruise often, but no one (ok, one poster did) at least take a small amount of responsibility for not researching enough and knowing what they were buying.

In the future people, do your homework. If stained carpets and rusty rails on your balcony bother you, find a new ship.

 

 

I think its safe to say NCL will NOT be coming to you for their marketing. I especially got a chuckle out of the part about stained carpets and rusty rails....too funny:D

 

But in all seriousness....This March will be our second cruise and it will be on the same ship(Dawn) and same itinerary as last year. After spending the the last couple days watching this thread I've come to realize that there is a learning curve to cruising and not everyone is at that same level of experience. It never occurred to me that I had to find out whether or not a ship has been to dry dock recently so that I can be assured that all her engines are functioning, and there aren't leaks in the same areas that there were last year, etc. I now understand this and in future bookings will take that into consideration.

 

With that being said, we will still forge ahead and plan on having a great vacation aboard the Dawn in a few weeks!

[halos]

I think its safe to say NCL will NOT be coming to you for their marketing. I especially got a chuckle out of the part about stained carpets and rusty rails....too funny:D

 

But in all seriousness....This March will be our second cruise and it will be on the same ship(Dawn) and same itinerary as last year. After spending the the last couple days watching this thread I've come to realize that there is a learning curve to cruising and not everyone is at that same level of experience. It never occurred to me that I had to find out whether or not a ship has been to dry dock recently so that I can be assured that all her engines are functioning, and there aren't leaks in the same areas that there were last year, etc. I now understand this and in future bookings will take that into consideration.

 

With that being said, we will still forge ahead and plan on having a great vacation aboard the Dawn in a few weeks!

:D

LMAO..I guess they won't be using my comments in any advertising!! :D

Yes, there is definitely a learning curve, I agree!!

It's just tiresome at times when you see that people will look very dilligently to find a place to complain but don't think to do research ahead of time.

 

Prior to being a member here I made mistakes too..(I'm still learning!!) the difference is I didn't blame anyone for them. So many complaints you see by new members here are disappointments that could have quite easily been avoided.

I believe that if you are aware that missing ports is a possibility, you'd likely handle the situation better should it arise.

Before being a member here I never considered LOTS of things.

I would have never guessed that it was possible for luggage to be dumped accidentally into the bay while they are putting it on the ship for instance :eek:

All kinds of new 'possibilities' pop up.

I always (if it's not too hot) sleep with the balcony door open...but now I wonder if it's a good idea...the Dawn was hit with a rogue wave one time.

Can you imagine that happening with your door wide open :eek:

 

SO much to learn....the thing is, I am practical. If I am spending $$$ on something, I want to know exactly what I'm buying and I want to know from people who have purchased the product.

Advertising from any company means little to me.

of course here, you find reviews to either extreme most of the time, but you kind of know when reading them (after some practice) what to take note of and what to dismiss.

 

 

I do hope you have a great cruise. :)

[peg013]

This March will be our second cruise and it will be on the same ship(Dawn) and same itinerary as last year. After spending the the last couple days watching this thread I've come to realize that there is a learning curve to cruising and not everyone is at that same level of experience. It never occurred to me that I had to find out whether or not a ship has been to dry dock recently so that I can be assured that all her engines are functioning, and there aren't leaks in the same areas that there were last year, etc. I now understand this and in future bookings will take that into consideration.

 

With that being said, we will still forge ahead and plan on having a great vacation aboard the Dawn in a few weeks!

 

See bolded above: This probably sums it up the best! And you are in a good position to keep learning here at CC. Things are constantly changing in the "cruise world" so it's always smart to do the research here before you book and after. If you know the possibilities, they are much easier to deal with. There is no doubt in my mind that you will have a great time on the Dawn. You have the right attitude, and an open mind! Bon Voyage!:)

[Sea Monster 2]

I see many comments of this nature, but have yet to see any statistics to support the statements that it is a constant problem. It seems that some are taking this incident and magnifying it. Most of the complaints are coming from those who were not on the ship when the failure occured. Can anyone post the number of altered cruises due to engine problems or the percentage of cruises thusly affected ? I believe that information would put this in the proper perspective and make everyone on these boards aware of the magnitude of the problems. Information, anyone ???

 

IMHO, sailing on this ship has not been a "constant problem," it's been a game of Russian roulette. There was was a good chance something would give on one of the cruises, and it finally did. You could have a great trip on either side of the one that went bad, you just had to hope that things worked out in your favor. NCL didn't advertise the problems with the ship-- consumers had to search them out here or using other means, and most simply wouldn't think they needed to do that because they are rookie cruisers and assume they will get what they bought, or something very close to it.

[Planer's Edge]

I see many comments of this nature, but have yet to see any statistics to support the statements that it is a constant problem. It seems that some are taking this incident and magnifying it. Most of the complaints are coming from those who were not on the ship when the failure occured. Can anyone post the number of altered cruises due to engine problems or the percentage of cruises thusly affected ? I believe that information would put this in the proper perspective and make everyone on these boards aware of the magnitude of the problems. Information, anyone ???

 

How is the head feeling?

 

PE

[swedish weave]

How is the head feeling?

 

PE

 

Empty !!! As usual !!:p:p

[jla418]

It never occurred to me that I had to find out whether or not a ship has been to dry dock recently so that I can be assured that all her engines are functioning, and there aren't leaks in the same areas that there were last year, etc. I now understand this and in future bookings will take that into consideration.

 

With that being said, we will still forge ahead and plan on having a great vacation aboard the Dawn in a few weeks!

 

LOL, We were on the Spirit right after she left a dry dock, and to be honest, our cabin on the Dawn LAST WEEK, during the now famous rerouted cruise, was in better condition than the cabin on the Spirit right out of dry dock! On the Spirit, the shower we had had a terrible problem with the grout coming up from the floor tiles. By the end of the cruise, there was actually a damp spot on the carpet in the cabin by the bathroom where the water seems to have seeped from the shower into the cabin! This was reported, but not addressed during our cruise. It did not seem to be a problem in the cabins of the friends we were sailing with, and really didn't impact the overall enjoyment of the cruise. On one of our past cruises, the railing on our balcony was removed, refinished, and reinstalled while we were on board.

 

Everything worked properly in our cabin on the Dawn. Overall I thought the ship was in very good condition considering the age, and constant use. There were maintenance people constantly working, as is normal on any ship I have ever been on. They were in the process of removing, cleaning, refinishing, and reinstalling the railings on the Promenade deck during the cruise on the Dawn. I really didn't notice any major flaws in the carpeting, or other upholstered items on board.

 

Keep in mind that if you are going to take the time to research dry docks, make sure you research what they actually did during the dry dock! Also, many times a ship doesn't actually have to be in dry dock to have soft furnishings replaced or cleaned.

[Bananaman984]

I'll be interesting to watch the ship tracker tonight to see how fast the Dawn sails back to Miami.

 

 

I was on that cruise and it went back at the same speed it came down !

[Bananaman984]

I see many comments of this nature, but have yet to see any statistics to support the statements that it is a constant problem. It seems that some are taking this incident and magnifying it. Most of the complaints are coming from those who were not on the ship when the failure occured. Can anyone post the number of altered cruises due to engine problems or the percentage of cruises thusly affected ? I believe that information would put this in the proper perspective and make everyone on these boards aware of the magnitude of the problems. Information, anyone ???

 

I think the point that is being made here is that the incident was not handled very well from a PR point. The amount of times the ship has had issues in the past is largely irrelevant. What was wrong was that passengers were not advised on boarding of the issues or offered the chance to disembark. It was clearly a serious matter. Had the passengers been advised and offered that option then I think the matter would be covered by the NCL terms and conditions. As it is I believe they may not be covered by them.

Having been given the option of a refund and disembarkation the majority would have stayed on board. However they were not offered these details and then the ports were cancelled leading to the frustration and dismay.

The matter was further fuelled by the Captains letter indicating that he had offered the option of disembarking with a refund prior to sailing which was untrue.

Yes these things happen. but unfortunately for NCL this was a PR disaster.

For the record the monies refunded were the fees returned for not docking in Barbados, a further $100 for not visiting Samana. The 10% off offer, was on a future cruise in the next 12 months based on the cost of the Dawn sailing.

Yes I was a passenger on this cruise and at this time I do not envisage me dashing off to book with NCL again.

[tksud]

we were also on this cruise, we had a great time dispite being rerouted but we did purchase a southern Caribbean cruise to the Barbados. I have read a majority of theses posts and if missing ports is such a common occurrence why doesn't the cruise ship just sit a few miles off the coast of Miami. Hopefully I'm not the only one out there that looks through the various cruises and chooses based on ports of call. If I took an Alaskan cruise and did not get to the top end to see glaciers I'd be extremely disappointed . I don't see this last cruise as any different. I honestly believe NCL is making business decisions and hoping the dawn can "make it" until dry dock, on this last cruise it may have been gambling and pushed it to far. St Martin was extremely busy, 6 ships one of them 6000+ the $200 OBC, nice gesture but based on cruise ship prices it's really only a couple of mediocre bottles of wine and a few buckets of beer, I don't expect a refund but if they want my business 10% seems a little shy. I'm fairly new to cruising (this was my 3rd, once before with NCL)and hopefully I have many more years ahead but if I choice a cruise with 5 ports of call I would hope that would get to the majority of them. the staff, the food and the entertainment was good, the cruise director did an awesome job to keep the negativity at bay. The Fire on board did not effect me in any way,I assumed the crew and captain just followed the procedures which may have alarmed some more than others. The captains final letter did more to offend me than anything-I was never told of a full refund, not that we would have taken it but the statement in letter was incorrect and was just bad PR.

[tiggerfan616]

How is the head feeling?

 

PE

 

ROFLMAO.

 

I said 2 days ago I was going to stop reading this thread but of course I couldnt stay away, now I feel like bashing my head for awhile.

[Nan and Boo]

To those who think it doesn't matter which port - well, I go on cruises prepared after a lengthy research of places to visit, with maps and notes. If I get a different port instead, not knowing what the hell to do there, where to go, I would be very upset.

 

EXACTLY! I researched the ports for this cruise for over 4 months, even having a friend bring me brochures back from Barbados to help us decide on which excursion to take.

 

My Husband and I spent over $5000.00 on the cruise alone, between the fare and on board entertainment. We chose this itinerary on the Dawn from among 3 other possible cruises specifically because of the itinerary, and the whale watching excursion we'd booked on Samana.

 

We were very disappointed not to get to Barbados as this was the 'must have' port, the one thing that tipped us in favour of this particular cruise on the Dawn.

 

Regardless of our disappointment, we do understand that sometimes ***** happens, and there was no help for it.

 

Keeping in mind that we are Platinum Captains Circle with Princess (we were actually married on the Coral Princess in 2005) and that we have also sailed Cunard and Holland America, we'd both agreed that up to that point that this was the best cruise we'd ever been on. We loved the freestyle dining, the friendly, family like atmosphere, the entertainment and the food was just great. We were considering putting a deposit on a future cruise as so many people we spoke to raved about Alaska.

 

What made us really MAD, just spoiled our taste for this cruise, was the letter left in our cabin from the Captain stating that he had informed everyone prior to departure that a second engine was down, and that everyone had been offered the option to cancel and disembark.

 

This is not true. We did not hear any announcement about Samana until after we had left port, and we certainly were not offered the option to cancel.

 

Had I been advised of the true nature of the situation on the Dawn, I would have canceled and disembarked and rebooked another cruise, with no hard feelings, but rather a healthy respect for NCL's honesty and customer service.

 

Some people may not have made that choice, and that is their perogative. I respect their right to make the best choice for themselves.

 

Due to the current economic situation, we can only take a major vacation like this every 2 years. We certainly won't be able to take advantage of NCL's Future Cruise Credit, but that's a moot point as we certainly wouldn't choose NCL again.

 

And that's sad...if it weren't for the dishonesty we would have been very loyal clients.

[david_sobe]

EXACTLY! I researched the ports for this cruise for over 4 months, even having a friend bring me brochures back from Barbados to help us decide on which excursion to take.

 

My Husband and I spent over $5000.00 on the cruise alone, between the fare and on board entertainment. We chose this itinerary on the Dawn from among 3 other possible cruises specifically because of the itinerary, and the whale watching excursion we'd booked on Samana.

 

We were very disappointed not to get to Barbados as this was the 'must have' port, the one thing that tipped us in favour of this particular cruise on the Dawn.

 

Regardless of our disappointment, we do understand that sometimes ***** happens, and there was no help for it.

 

Keeping in mind that we are Platinum Captains Circle with Princess (we were actually married on the Coral Princess in 2005) and that we have also sailed Cunard and Holland America, we'd both agreed that up to that point that this was the best cruise we'd ever been on. We loved the freestyle dining, the friendly, family like atmosphere, the entertainment and the food was just great. We were considering putting a deposit on a future cruise as so many people we spoke to raved about Alaska.

 

What made us really MAD, just spoiled our taste for this cruise, was the letter left in our cabin from the Captain stating that he had informed everyone prior to departure that a second engine was down, and that everyone had been offered the option to cancel and disembark.

 

This is not true. We did not hear any announcement about Samana until after we had left port, and we certainly were not offered the option to cancel.

 

Had I been advised of the true nature of the situation on the Dawn, I would have canceled and disembarked and rebooked another cruise, with no hard feelings, but rather a healthy respect for NCL's honesty and customer service.

 

Some people may not have made that choice, and that is their perogative. I respect their right to make the best choice for themselves.

 

Due to the current economic situation, we can only take a major vacation like this every 2 years. We certainly won't be able to take advantage of NCL's Future Cruise Credit, but that's a moot point as we certainly wouldn't choose NCL again.

 

And that's sad...if it weren't for the dishonesty we would have been very loyal clients.

Sorry to hear about your situation. I dont understand how harsh people have been towards the Dawn passengers. I posted here 6 months ago that I had a feeling this was going to happen so I would not book a cruise on the Dawn. I have never heard in all my life a captain telling people they can get off the ships if they want. Things are this bad?

The people that yell that ports make no difference is a total sham. It makes a huge difference. If you book southern carribean and then sail you eastern, most passengers are going to have a problem with that.

But in any event, there is no way to rewind time and do anything about it now. But thanks for sharing your story.

 

I drove past the port of Miami today after work and the Dawn was leaving. Any word if this cruise that left today is having more port changes?

I wish them all well and hope they have a very fun and successful cruise with no mechanical issues.

[Nan and Boo]

So IMHO, if this engine problem had just cropped up, NCL would have been more than generous, but because the problem was well-known to them, they were playing fast and loose with people's vacations. Not cool.

 

 

Thank You!

[jla418]

This is not true. We did not hear any announcement about Samana until after we had left port, and we certainly were not offered the option to cancel.

 

 

While I do agree that I heard nothing about the option to cancel and debark, the announcement about the engine problem - or specifically the "technical problem" and the cancellation of the call to Samana was made well before we departed Miami. I'm not sure what time you boarded, but the announcement was made before the lifeboat drill. I was up at the Bimini Bar & Grill overlooking the pool when the announcement was made, maybe around 2:15 to 2:45PM. Some people around me actually applauded the cancellation, which made me think "too bad, I'd probably have enjoyed the stop."

 

I know the announcement was made before we met up with our friends that were on the same cruise. We were all standing in their suite when when the ship finally began moving.

 

I am sorry for the people that were so disappointed by the changes, and had their vacations ruined. We, too had plans in Barbados that we were looking forward to, but given the circumstances, we made the best of the changes and did enjoy our vacation. I still feel that the Captain tried to make the best decisions in order to provide for a pleasant trip under the adverse circumstances.

[Planer's Edge]

 

Any word if this cruise that left today is having more port changes?

You know full well that the Dawn is sailing completely on schedule since that one fated cruise. Keep stirring. :confused:

 

PE