Just returned from the spirit 3/6 - 3/13

[newmexicoNita]

keep in mind im a Louisana girl........but all and all i didn't find the college kids did anything really out of line. i mean, yes they were cursing but come on now, they were drinking. my group was also but we are a lil older and had enough respect to watch our mouthes if kids were around. i really have to say, those virgina tech kids acted more respectful than what we're use to her in new orleans. the drink card did kind of pi$$ me off. me and husband both drink but not to get totally wasted. for 7 days between the both of us we spent a good $500 on drinks. one frozen drink was at least $8. and i know for a fact those college kids were not 21. i witnessed and asked them what was the deal because come saturday they were all at the bar with their I.D.'s in their hand. they told me they started I.D.ing them on saturday. WTH??? you let them drink for 5 to 6 days straight then you start to card them? kinda late....i did see one girl act retarded and i sure did let her know about herself. a young boy maybe 9 or 10 was coming down the stairs and tripped. he fell into a college girl with a drink in her hand. her lil drunk friend yelled at the little boy saying..........um excuse me, dont you see she has a f'ning drink in her hand, can't you watch what your doing??? I LET HER HAVE IT. and i would have whipped her a$$ if it would have came down to it.( you dont to kids that way) that was really the only out of line thing i seen from them.

 

Thanks for sharing your views as someone who is probably younger than most of us. As I have said over and over, I would never cruise during spring break unless I had to but I also realize kids will be exactly that, kids. Should the cruise lines clamp down a little more? Yes, probably they should, not just NCL but you hear this on almost all cruise lines, kids and spring break are not family friendly cruises.

 

Oh and to the mommy who was or is planning on cruising with the teen age girls next spring, you know your girls. If you can totally trust them and keep your eye on them I wouldn't be too concerned. Depending on their actually age, you might be surprised what they have already seen and if they are getting close to college age they will see the rest sooner than you may hope they will.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

I was on the same cruise and the spring breakers did impact the overall experience.One of them explained to my wife that one or two in a room got the drink package and would then pass the card to their freinds.

I think the staff caught on after a couple days as they started checking IDs.

I was extremely disappointed with a couple things with this cruise.With 2 days to go they were out of Bacardi and also out of club soda.This may have been because their were so many rooms that usually have 2 in them but were holding 4 spring breakers on this cruise.

I unfortunately paid a lot to upgrade to a suite and the overall experience was somewhat disappointing.

My last 4 cruises were on Celebrity and NCL just did not stack up.

I also agree with the earlier poster that disembarkation was a total nightmare.They simply did not calculate the amount of passengers intending to carry their luggage off the ship.It appeared that over a third of the passengers carried their luggage off which created a massive log jam.

 

I have to clarify one thing, you say there were cabins that normally hold 2 and there were four in them: sorry, this is totally impossible, we are not talking spring breakers in some motel in Mexico. There is no way any cruise line will allow this. As for the number carrying their baggage off the ship, I can imagine. Even on normal sailing this has gotten out of hand in my opinion. The halls and stairwells are filled with those who choose to this method. I think I wish it had never be adopted or I wish only certain passengers are allowed to use it.

Nita

[taymiss2]

I am the Mom who is planning a trip with the daughters. We are not worried about the girls so much it is all those college boys lol. I guess they are going to have to figure out how to fight off drunk frat boys on their own just a few months later when they all leave for college.

 

I don't think the girls will be bothered by the madness it is the Mom's I am worried about. I don't want people coming home saying they had a horrible time and will never cruise again. We may just end up hanging on the balcony's with quick survellence trips to check on the girls, lol.

[Rozee]

well there is sorta control, but there is still no way to watch that many passengers (kids) at once.

Um. No. All they would have to do is put one of those wrist bracelets on and limit it to one every half an hour. Simple as simple that can be. For those of us that are married, double it. Simple as pie.

 

I'm a Programmer/Systems Analyst. This would be a very simple thing to do. Disney has been doing this stuff for 20 years.

 

As a Systems Analyst, I nearly lost my eyes for how often they were rolling back in my head.

 

My new phrase, after being on the Spirit is. “You’re Kidding, right?” Followed closely by “Really”?

 

And then :snerk: Okydoke.

 

I’m 50 years old and I have never seen such a badly managed……. “Process” in my life that is getting off the Spirit. It's odd really. The 1800 people that where on board did the life boat drill in about 25 minutes (never did that before). But the entire crew and captain could not create any type of organized departure after we docked.

 

I HOPE the Captain had nothing to do with it. Though from our trip, and his inability to tell anyone anything….. I donno.

 

The Captain and NCL really, really needs somebody to look at how they do business and manage the ship.

[newmexicoNita]

Um. No. All they would have to do is put one of those wrist bracelets on and limit it to one every half an hour. Simple as simple that can be. For those of us that are married, double it. Simple as pie.

 

I'm a Programmer/Systems Analyst. This would be a very simple thing to do. Disney has been doing this stuff for 20 years.

 

As a Systems Analyst, I nearly lost my eyes for how often they were rolling back in my head.

 

My new phrase, after being on the Spirit is. “You’re Kidding, right?” Followed closely by “Really”?

 

And then :snerk: Okydoke.

 

I’m 50 years old and I have never seen such a badly managed……. “Process” in my life that is getting off the Spirit. It's odd really. The 1800 people that where on board did the life boat drill in about 25 minutes (never did that before). But the entire crew and captain could not create any type of organized departure after we docked.

 

I HOPE the Captain had nothing to do with it. Though from our trip, and his inability to tell anyone anything….. I donno.

 

The Captain and NCL really, really needs somebody to look at how they do business and manage the ship.

 

In the ideal world your way of handling the situation would be great, in the real world we all know kids can always find a way to get a drink or whatever they want. As for the debarkation, again, I am agreeing, it is a nightmare always, and obviously this was worse, but remember, these are not situations that occur on a regular basis. Maybe being a systems Alylist is why you see things differently than some others. I am assuming you haven't cruised during spring break before and certainly never when there had been spring break combined with a medical emergancy.

 

Nita

[jmdlv]

New Mex,The cabin next to mine had 3 college girls in it confirmed.There were other cabins,many in my opinion,that had 3 students in them.

On the Spirit NCL will book 3 anytime in a cabin,some of their other ships they will book 4.

[hlsess]

New Mex,The cabin next to mine had 3 college girls in it confirmed.There were other cabins,many in my opinion,that had 3 students in them.

On the Spirit NCL will book 3 anytime in a cabin,some of their other ships they will book 4.

 

 

My D is on Spirit thsi week and they have 4 in it- -I don't understand why you say there shoudl only be 2 passengers- you ahev to register and everything so i am sure it is all legal

 

there has to be some 21 or older in each room- the parents registered then they just switched-it is 2 -18 yo and a 15 yo aND 12 yo-the other 3 in her cabin are all siblings

[Rozee]

In the ideal world your way of handling the situation would be great, in the real world we all know kids can always find a way to get a drink or whatever they want. As for the debarkation, again, I am agreeing, it is a nightmare always, and obviously this was worse, but remember, these are not situations that occur on a regular basis. Maybe being a systems Alylist is why you see things differently than some others. I am assuming you haven't cruised during spring break before and certainly never when there had been spring break combined with a medical emergancy.

 

Nita

Well... I was just responding to a previous poster re the kids and her thought that there is no way to control it. There is. It would be pretty easy. The kids didn't bug me too much though.

 

As a Systems Analyst I saw people having a bad time that could be easily remidied with a little bit of information. And that does bug me. As a former search and rescue member I saw the airlift come off with out a hitch.

 

As a guest on the ship, I don't think that we where given the proper information to make decisions re flights and hotels. We where not given any solid info. That comes back to Systems Analysis and the apparent inability for the Captain and the ships crew to properly inform their guests and those that they are responsible for.

 

Saying you don't know is an answer. Repeating inacurate information is not.

[newmexicoNita]

New Mex,The cabin next to mine had 3 college girls in it confirmed.There were other cabins,many in my opinion,that had 3 students in them.

On the Spirit NCL will book 3 anytime in a cabin,some of their other ships they will book 4.

 

oh, I am not doubting that, we were on the Spirit just before the sailing (2 weeks before) my comment was with the poster who said there were 4 in many cabins that only held 2. That absolutely could not have happened.

 

Nita

[hlsess]

oh, I am not doubting that, we were on the Spirit just before the sailing (2 weeks before) my comment was with the poster who said there were 4 in many cabins that only held 2. That absolutely could not have happened.

 

Nita

 

maybe they were just spending night or passed out!!1

[newmexicoNita]

maybe they were just spending night or passed out!!1

 

Now that makes very good sense. I remember on a Carnival cruise, several years ago, seeing a young lady coming out of the cabin across the hall from us in one of the prettiest formals I had ever seen. This would have been impessive except our cabin steward and I just laughed. It was 10am the morning after formal night.

 

Nita

[queenbnpimpc]

i was on the spirit 03/6. on my reservation is said my stateroom slept 2 to 4 people. mine only had 2 twin beds put together and one bunk hooked to the wall. which my 35 year old husband found very amusing. and actually if i wouldn't have feared of waking up forgetting it was there i could have used it for storage.

i complelety understand the medical situation and that doesn't bother me that we didn't docl until 5. what bothers me is that a ship and company of that size could not organize something better than what they had. i am far from a Systems Analysis and seen a problem with that. i am the most unorganized person you will meet and i could have come up with a plan better than what they had. i am 30 years old and a mother of 3. i worked very hard to pay for this trip and our shopping and drinking money. i think that drink card was not fair for everyone else.

i will never take another cruise that also has separate rest. you have to PAY EXTRA for.

[newmexicoNita]

i was on the spirit 03/6. on my reservation is said my stateroom slept 2 to 4 people. mine only had 2 twin beds put together and one bunk hooked to the wall. which my 35 year old husband found very amusing. and actually if i wouldn't have feared of waking up forgetting it was there i could have used it for storage.

i complelety understand the medical situation and that doesn't bother me that we didn't docl until 5. what bothers me is that a ship and company of that size could not organize something better than what they had. i am far from a Systems Analysis and seen a problem with that. i am the most unorganized person you will meet and i could have come up with a plan better than what they had. i am 30 years old and a mother of 3. i worked very hard to pay for this trip and our shopping and drinking money. i think that drink card was not fair for everyone else.

i will never take another cruise that also has separate rest. you have to PAY EXTRA for.

 

I think you are kinda confusing some of the issues, your remarks so far have been a little off the wall in some cases. As for the drink card not being fair, why do you say that and what about discounts for groups no matter where you go. If you go to say DisneyWorld and ther are X number of people, normally there is a group rate, is that unfair? As for not going on a cruise with separate restaurants, you obviously haven't cruised much, all cruise lines have extra pay restaurants. So, if you don't want a cruise that does, I guess you will not be cruising. BTW, no one is forcing anyone to spend extra for dining. On the Spirit you have 2 MDRs, the Blue Lagoon, plus the buffet for every meal and a few others for lunch, etc. Why do you feel you must spend extra?

 

Nita

[MMMD]

It seems companies should always have a Plan B and if they never have to use it, GREAT!! You can't tell me NCL has not had experiences before like what happened on the Spirit this past cruise. I also don't believe for a minute that all of those college kids who were drinking were OVER 21!! Come on!! I know drink cards were being shared, witnessed it quite a few times.I guess I was naive in thinking that Mardi Gras week wouldn't be a spring break week for colleges. Never considered it when I booked. I thought we would have local college kids who were off for Mardi Gras on the boat but not kids from Vanderbilt and Virginia Teach, just saw some of those names on shirts and the kids that showed up 30 minutes late to our/their Teppenyaki reservation because they were hungover, not seasick, were from Vanderbilt. That was real fun sitting and waiting for them to show up for dinner. I thought spring breaks came later in the end of March and through April.

 

Anyway, enough on this topic. It was fun in spite of everything that happened. I have learned that alcohol drives the souls of many college students. Personally, I think it is a shame, so go ahead and "flame me"for MHO if you must.

 

I am new to cruising also. My first one was this past January on the Jewel. The reason I chose January was to be absolutely sure that everyone would already be back in school.

 

I joined CC and researched for over a year before I took my cruise. It was here on this board when I read about Spring Breakers and how to avoid them.

 

Our January cruise was virtually child free, and that includes college children.:D

 

Try not to let one bad experience stop you from taking another cruise. Truthfully, most are drama free.

 

Try to choose an off time of year and I'll bet your experience will be completely different.

[MMMD]

I have to clarify one thing, you say there were cabins that normally hold 2 and there were four in them: sorry, this is totally impossible, we are not talking spring breakers in some motel in Mexico. There is no way any cruise line will allow this. As for the number carrying their baggage off the ship, I can imagine. Even on normal sailing this has gotten out of hand in my opinion. The halls and stairwells are filled with those who choose to this method. I think I wish it had never be adopted or I wish only certain passengers are allowed to use it.

Nita

 

I'm sure at times there were 4, 5, 6 or more in one cabin. Not that it was booked that way, but that's where the party was and where everyone passed out for the night.

 

I'll bet there were cabins with no one in sight, although someone booked them.

 

I feel sorry for those that were impacted by this, but spring break vacations of any kind are rough.

[maggiek99]

Just got off the Spirit 3/13 sailing, and wanted to let everyone know that at the farewell show on Friday night, they announced that Prem and and head engineer had "earned a well deserved vacation" and would be leaving the ship after that sailing... Hmmm... hotel problems, and engine problems... how curious that the two people most directly responsible for those problems are leaving the ship... might be just a coincidence but sure made me wonder...

[topwater]

We just returned yesterday from our trip on the Spirit. As for the medical emergency on the cruise before ours, one of the Maitre d's at one of the restaurants told us that a gentleman had a heart attack and had to be picked up by helicopter. She indicated that the rumors of an accident in Cozumel were false.

 

As for the experience, from my point of view the embarkation process was pretty grueling, especially with two young children but understandable given the problems that the ship was encountering. I found the passengers for the most part were pretty understanding but tired. There were certainly a few cutting in line and some who didn't mind their manners, but in a group of 2,000 there will always be a few. Aside from that, we had a great time!

[Sea Monster 2]

Have a better plan for situations like what happened, it is so rare that of course the line isn't prepared for this, that is like saying a small town that gets a major snow storm once every 3 or 4 years should be better prepared. As for the druinken spring breakers, I think sailing, unless you have no choice the first or second week of March is asking for trouble. Yes, you mix college kids on their break just before the end of the school year and booze, you are not going to have a relaxed cruise.

 

Nita

 

I disagree with this-- in my experience, most US entities of a certain size (governments, businesses, schools and organizations) have plans (and are often required to by their insurers or by law) for emergency situations that can be anticipated. They are often required to review and practice these plans periodically. In this case, drunken cruisers, inability to stock supplies when a port is skipped, medevac, and engine problems (these may all not be this cruise, I'm just citing stuff we've seen on these boards the past few days) are all things that happen often enough to be anticipated and planned for. It seems that there have been some breakdowns either in emergency planning or in implementation.

[newmexicoNita]

Just got off the Spirit 3/13 sailing, and wanted to let everyone know that at the farewell show on Friday night, they announced that Prem and and head engineer had "earned a well deserved vacation" and would be leaving the ship after that sailing... Hmmm... hotel problems, and engine problems... how curious that the two people most directly responsible for those problems are leaving the ship... might be just a coincidence but sure made me wonder...

 

If there was any reason other than deserving a break no way would there be an announcement. I think Prem is one of the best, if not the best at what he does. YOu are letting your imagination run away with you.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

I disagree with this-- in my experience, most US entities of a certain size (governments, businesses, schools and organizations) have plans (and are often required to by their insurers or by law) for emergency situations that can be anticipated. They are often required to review and practice these plans periodically. In this case, drunken cruisers, inability to stock supplies when a port is skipped, medevac, and engine problems (these may all not be this cruise, I'm just citing stuff we've seen on these boards the past few days) are all things that happen often enough to be anticipated and planned for. It seems that there have been some breakdowns either in emergency planning or in implementation.

 

and I have lived in a few sities where unusual situation do occur and you are wrong, the emergancies are so rare it is total kaos (spelling) from start to finish. we are not talking about the unruley kids, we are talking about the late arrival and the delays that everyone suffered through. Obviosly you are thinking something totally different. Medevac and unstocked supplies was not the main concern or complaint, it was the late arrival and the lack of communication. It does seem NCL has problems from time to time with communication.

[Mikejleeds]

I too was on the 3/6/11 from NO This letter should be on its way to Mr Sheehan as we speak

 

Mr. Kevin Sheehan, President

Norwegian Cruise Lines

7665 Corporate Center Drive

Miami, Florida 33126

　

Dear Mr Sheehan

Norwegian Spirit 3/6/2011

I took my cruise as part of the BearcruiseUSA with 2 friends, all from UK. I have been on cruises before but not part of large gay group so was not really sure how that would work, but anticipating that NCL would make other passengers aware of our group was reassured that things would be ok.(this did not happen by the way) After spending a few days in New Orleans we arrived on Sunday afternoon to board the cruise. The traffic was very heavy but it was Mardi Gras, but we arrived in good time and checked in very efficiently. The ship, although smaller than others I have been on, was quite impressive. After meeting a few from our group we were full of anticipation for a great week onboard Norwegian Spirit combining events with our group and the onboard activities with our fellow passengers. After finding our cabin which was compact but adequate we decided to explore the ship to get our bearings. We reached the pool deck to find it very busy which was no surprise as people like to make the most of every minute of their vacation. What was a surprise (if not shock) was the profile of the passengers. Not the friendly atmosphere of families, couples and seniors all mixing together which for me is the attraction of a cruise, but a rowdy group of drunken college kids( yes at 3 p.m.). on a Spring Break which means very little to people from UK. We decided not to stay in this area and after more exploration decided to go back to the cabin, where our luggage was waiting.

After unpacking we went to Raffles for something to eat and had a pleasant lunch, despite the noisy atmosphere created by the large groups of college kids. After meeting more of our group and a couple of cocktails, which by the way took a long time to get due to the lines at the bars, we set sail at the farewell party on deck. Our group dinner was booked at 9 p.m. in Windows main dining room, so after catching the first theatre show we went for dinner. The surroundings and company were great, but the food was average. i.e. small portions and on the cold side, which was the same on the two further occasions we ate there. After dinner we went to Henry's for the advertised karaoke. Being met by a bar full of drunken college kids who made it impossible for both the cruise staff and fellow passengers to enjoy the event we decided to find somewhere else to spend our first night. A theme then developed every venue noisy rowdy drunken kids monopolising every venue. As the week went on things continued in a similar way. Add to this having to wait up to 30 minutes at the bars on deck for drinks, constant line jumping, being subject to foul and abusive language, personal insults and abusive attacks, drinks being spilled over our clothing, food being spilled after being pushed out of line at raffles, unable to enjoy pool facilities, (our group even set up a rota system to ensure use of one of the four hot tubs). Add to this having to climb over drunks to get to your cabin, noise from running up and down corridors banging on doors, kids walking round the ship with drinks in their hands 24/7 you can imagine this was well below our expectations. I contacted the guest services and as an apology was ironically offered a bottle of wine by way of an apology. NCL failed to grasp the nature of the many complaints from passengers, and showed a lack of duty of care by supplying alcohol in an irresponsible manner, including running out of certain drinks due to over indulgence by the kids on the alcohol package,

with the consequences as described.

　

Why were passengers not advised of this large group booking ,and indeed of our group (BearcruiseUSA) to have the choice to avoid the obvious clash of passenger profile. Why did you take no action to limit the effects that were obvious to everyone but the crew on the ship?

It may come across that I have a bad attitude to younger people. That is not the case at all. If they wish to behave in that manner then that is their choice but I certainly do not want to be forced into their company.

At the farewell show in the theatre which was one of the highlights of the cruise the Captain said how proud he was of the crew “The Norwegian Spirit Family” I must say he can’t really think much of their welfare subjecting them to 400 rude drunk and abusive passengers. He also stated at that show that how well he thought that the passengers got on together. I began to wonder should I trust my safety to this deluded man. Then to make a joke about the Spring break behaviour really left a bitter taste in my mouth. I felt like standing up and screaming how wrong he was but then my behaviour would be no better than the people I am complaining about. At the Q & A session on Friday with the crew there was also denial and defence of the unacceptable behaviour all put under the umbrella of “SPRING BREAK”

You really did not get it did you ????

An unfortunate incident towards the end of our cruise made the last day a really unpleasant (in parts) experience. Due to a medical emergency the captain decided to alter course to meet up with a helicopter to airlift a sick passenger. I have every sympathy for the passenger who was ill but surely the captain must have been aware of the consequences of his action to divert the ship causing a delayed arrival into New Orleans. I will never forget the amount of desperation and despair at Guest services on that morning. To see lines of angry frustrated passengers, some of whom were in tears and near to hysteria was an awful experience, and there did not seem to be much in the way of sympathy or assistance from any of the NCL staff. who took no responsibility for anyone’s problems caused by the captain’s decision to divert causing all this chaos. It reminded me of a condemned man, being allowed a phone call to rearrange flights hotels etc It was a very sad sight and my sympathy went to those who had to spend a substantial amount of money to get home, in some cases paying more than the original cost of the cruise. The last days extra entertainment in the Galaxy was a welcome bonus, which for me turned out to be the best afternoon on the ship. The music competition was fun the karaoke relaxed and enjoyable and the passengers there all commented on how much they wished the whole cruise was like that. The 1 hour Open bar offer, although appreciated was woeful compensation, especially when yet again the peaceful friendly atmosphere of the galaxy was ruined by college kids getting their last free drinks, and downing them in one go showing off and shouting to each other.

When the ship docked eventually 10 hours late the fight to get off had to be seen to be believed. Crowded public areas with poor restroom facilities and general lack of information and interest from the crew lead to anger frustration and dangerous conditions. My group finally got off the ship at 8.30 p.m to what can be only described as chaos of biblical proportions, my sympathy for oncoming passengers some who stood in line for 9 hours.

To summarise this woeful tale I would say to NCL.

Be more informative to others regarding the nature of special groups on board.

Anticipate the problems offering alcohol packages of $300 - $350 to groups of college kids

Understand the effect of unacceptable behaviour of passengers and deal with it.

Take responsibility for problems caused by your decisions.

Acknowledge passenger problems and offer some form of compensation to passengers that were inconvenienced by your ill thought operational policies.

I look forward to hearing from you but please do not answer with “It was Spring Break”

Kind Regards

[fleet]

I too was on the 3/6/11 from NO This letter should be on its way to Mr Sheehan as we speak

 

Mr. Kevin Sheehan, President

Norwegian Cruise Lines

7665 Corporate Center Drive

Miami, Florida 33126

　

Dear Mr Sheehan

Norwegian Spirit 3/6/2011

I took my cruise as part of the BearcruiseUSA with 2 friends, all from UK. I have been on cruises before but not part of large gay group so was not really sure how that would work, but anticipating that NCL would make other passengers aware of our group was reassured that things would be ok.(this did not happen by the way) After spending a few days in New Orleans we arrived on Sunday afternoon to board the cruise. The traffic was very heavy but it was Mardi Gras, but we arrived in good time and checked in very efficiently. The ship, although smaller than others I have been on, was quite impressive. After meeting a few from our group we were full of anticipation for a great week onboard Norwegian Spirit combining events with our group and the onboard activities with our fellow passengers. After finding our cabin which was compact but adequate we decided to explore the ship to get our bearings. We reached the pool deck to find it very busy which was no surprise as people like to make the most of every minute of their vacation. What was a surprise (if not shock) was the profile of the passengers. Not the friendly atmosphere of families, couples and seniors all mixing together which for me is the attraction of a cruise, but a rowdy group of drunken college kids( yes at 3 p.m.). on a Spring Break which means very little to people from UK. We decided not to stay in this area and after more exploration decided to go back to the cabin, where our luggage was waiting.

After unpacking we went to Raffles for something to eat and had a pleasant lunch, despite the noisy atmosphere created by the large groups of college kids. After meeting more of our group and a couple of cocktails, which by the way took a long time to get due to the lines at the bars, we set sail at the farewell party on deck. Our group dinner was booked at 9 p.m. in Windows main dining room, so after catching the first theatre show we went for dinner. The surroundings and company were great, but the food was average. i.e. small portions and on the cold side, which was the same on the two further occasions we ate there. After dinner we went to Henry's for the advertised karaoke. Being met by a bar full of drunken college kids who made it impossible for both the cruise staff and fellow passengers to enjoy the event we decided to find somewhere else to spend our first night. A theme then developed every venue noisy rowdy drunken kids monopolising every venue. As the week went on things continued in a similar way. Add to this having to wait up to 30 minutes at the bars on deck for drinks, constant line jumping, being subject to foul and abusive language, personal insults and abusive attacks, drinks being spilled over our clothing, food being spilled after being pushed out of line at raffles, unable to enjoy pool facilities, (our group even set up a rota system to ensure use of one of the four hot tubs). Add to this having to climb over drunks to get to your cabin, noise from running up and down corridors banging on doors, kids walking round the ship with drinks in their hands 24/7 you can imagine this was well below our expectations. I contacted the guest services and as an apology was ironically offered a bottle of wine by way of an apology. NCL failed to grasp the nature of the many complaints from passengers, and showed a lack of duty of care by supplying alcohol in an irresponsible manner, including running out of certain drinks due to over indulgence by the kids on the alcohol package,

with the consequences as described.

　

Why were passengers not advised of this large group booking ,and indeed of our group (BearcruiseUSA) to have the choice to avoid the obvious clash of passenger profile. Why did you take no action to limit the effects that were obvious to everyone but the crew on the ship?

It may come across that I have a bad attitude to younger people. That is not the case at all. If they wish to behave in that manner then that is their choice but I certainly do not want to be forced into their company.

At the farewell show in the theatre which was one of the highlights of the cruise the Captain said how proud he was of the crew “The Norwegian Spirit Family” I must say he can’t really think much of their welfare subjecting them to 400 rude drunk and abusive passengers. He also stated at that show that how well he thought that the passengers got on together. I began to wonder should I trust my safety to this deluded man. Then to make a joke about the Spring break behaviour really left a bitter taste in my mouth. I felt like standing up and screaming how wrong he was but then my behaviour would be no better than the people I am complaining about. At the Q & A session on Friday with the crew there was also denial and defence of the unacceptable behaviour all put under the umbrella of “SPRING BREAK”

You really did not get it did you ????

An unfortunate incident towards the end of our cruise made the last day a really unpleasant (in parts) experience. Due to a medical emergency the captain decided to alter course to meet up with a helicopter to airlift a sick passenger. I have every sympathy for the passenger who was ill but surely the captain must have been aware of the consequences of his action to divert the ship causing a delayed arrival into New Orleans. I will never forget the amount of desperation and despair at Guest services on that morning. To see lines of angry frustrated passengers, some of whom were in tears and near to hysteria was an awful experience, and there did not seem to be much in the way of sympathy or assistance from any of the NCL staff. who took no responsibility for anyone’s problems caused by the captain’s decision to divert causing all this chaos. It reminded me of a condemned man, being allowed a phone call to rearrange flights hotels etc It was a very sad sight and my sympathy went to those who had to spend a substantial amount of money to get home, in some cases paying more than the original cost of the cruise. The last days extra entertainment in the Galaxy was a welcome bonus, which for me turned out to be the best afternoon on the ship. The music competition was fun the karaoke relaxed and enjoyable and the passengers there all commented on how much they wished the whole cruise was like that. The 1 hour Open bar offer, although appreciated was woeful compensation, especially when yet again the peaceful friendly atmosphere of the galaxy was ruined by college kids getting their last free drinks, and downing them in one go showing off and shouting to each other.

When the ship docked eventually 10 hours late the fight to get off had to be seen to be believed. Crowded public areas with poor restroom facilities and general lack of information and interest from the crew lead to anger frustration and dangerous conditions. My group finally got off the ship at 8.30 p.m to what can be only described as chaos of biblical proportions, my sympathy for oncoming passengers some who stood in line for 9 hours.

To summarise this woeful tale I would say to NCL.

Be more informative to others regarding the nature of special groups on board.

Anticipate the problems offering alcohol packages of $300 - $350 to groups of college kids

Understand the effect of unacceptable behaviour of passengers and deal with it.

Take responsibility for problems caused by your decisions.

Acknowledge passenger problems and offer some form of compensation to passengers that were inconvenienced by your ill thought operational policies.

I look forward to hearing from you but please do not answer with “It was Spring Break”

Kind Regards

 

 

Very well said. Sadly the crews are somewhat intimidated by the "Rich Americans" and our children are out of control.

[maggiek99]

Excellent letter... well stated; I'd be interested in hearing if you ever do hear back from Kevin Sheehan. From watching Undercover Boss, he seems to really be concerned about customer service, so we'll see...

 

I had thought about writing a letter having just returned from the 3/13 sailing, but after reading what you all went through, I almost felt fortunate that we didn't have all that. We had lots of college kids, but maybe they decided to not allow those cards, cuz I didn't see them while I was there. They did take up much of the public spaces and I did witness disrespect (during karoke, talking to each other loudly while others were singing, and pulling up chairs in front of other patrons already seated in the Galaxy of the Stars so they didn't have to separate from their group), but no sleeping in hallways, and skipping in lines.

 

Having witnessed all this bad behaviour, it made me feel glad that my kids don't act that way. In fact, my two girls, ages 18 and 21, were pretty much disgusted by the behavior of the students on break. I guess some parents never bothered to teach their children about respect and responsibility. And I'm sure that those same parents probably footed the entire bill for those rooms and drinks...

[trouble1964]

How many people were in the group of Bears? The reason I ask is because they may not have thought your group was all together unless you all booked together. I'd bet that the spring break group was a mixture of schools and not considered a group.

 

There is no way I would go on a cruise during Spring Break time. In fact, we specifically book ours when schools are in session! We just avoid the times when we even THINK it might be out!

[halos]

I joined CC and researched for over a year before I took my cruise. It was here on this board when I read about Spring Breakers and how to avoid them.

 

Our January cruise was virtually child free, and that includes college children.:D

 

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Knowing what you are buying :D Bravo to you :)

 

To the disappointed passengers from this cruise: It breaks my heart that this was your experience because the NCL I know is nothing like this. Yet, I understand how one bad experience can turn you off because if you'll look at my cruise history, you'll see only one RCI cruise and only one Celebrity cruise.

I will not say that I'd never sail either of those line again, BUT I am hesitant to book on them, so I do understand. One ruined vacation will color your opinion.