Disgusting experience!!!!!

[che5904]

No reason they could not get a transfer. All they needed to do was book it and park at the airport and not the pier. Great idea but who would have thought of it driving to NOLA.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - Jim

 

Do you want the policy response to that, or how the call center works around the policy that says you have to be coming in a flight the day of, in order to use this service.

[SeaShark]

Do you want the policy response to that, or how the call center works around the policy that says you have to be coming in a flight the day of, in order to use this service.

 

On more than one occasion, I have flown into a departure port >1 day before the cruise and I have been able to purchase and use NCL transfers.

[che5904]

On more than one occasion, I have flown into a departure port >1 day before the cruise and I have been able to purchase and use NCL transfers.

 

I did too which is why I ask if they wanted the policy or the work around. According to 2 different people I spoke to at NCL, policy states you have to be coming in on a flight the day of.

[DMH15]

Everyone has his own reasons for being unhappy, some of yours are justified, especially the Second City complaint. Food is subjective, we know and as for the pics not being exactly whay you thought, sorry, that is advertising. Just like the pics of all those beautiful people on the ship, they look like models and guess what, they are. The pics of the food also ins't quite the way it appears when you get it. This is the same on all ships, all resorts, etc. I understand your disappointment with the wine dinner. The same thing happened to friends on Princess: the dinner was cancelled due to lack of support. Is that what happened in your case?

 

I hope you do find another cruise line that is more to your liking, not any line is right for everyone.

I am sure you are right, Nita. I was on CCL Paradise last March and went to the Chef's Table $75 + $40 tips. They needed 10-12 people. Was told if not enough signed up it would not make. This is understandable due to the process. Not viable for only a few. Luckily we had enough and it was great. A highlight.

[johnsak123]

WOW that really stinks

I would be mad as hell too but to be honest it is not the fault of NCL

If you knew it was mardi gras you should have made arrangements.

It is not the responsibility of NCL to get you to the boat. It is yours

As mentioned I would be fuming mad but the blame is on the individual not on the cruise line.

Sorry!!

[time2cruise1]

I did too which is why I ask if they wanted the policy or the work around. According to 2 different people I spoke to at NCL, policy states you have to be coming in on a flight the day of.

 

Exactly transfer are only the day of unless you book a pre stay thru NCL. All you need to to is get to the airport the day of the cruise and take the pre booked transfer even if you flew in a week early or drove to the airport. Been there done that several times.

[Rumncoke]

We just came back from the 2/12/12 Spirit cruise (darned good, by the way). As mentioned, many of the Saturday parades were cancelled due to tornado warnings here in NOLA. As a result, those parades were moved to Sunday causung the parades to start earlier than originally planned.

 

We were 'inconvienieced', as our cab couldn't make it to our hotel due to the unplanned parades. Know what we did? Grabbed our bags and hoofed it! Problem solved!

 

Maybe sue the National Weather Service for messin' up the parade schedule? :rolleyes:

 

LOL, Cubie! That's what we ended up doing. We actually walked all the way from the pier (no taxis) to the Hilton (no taxis) to the Drury Inn, which is where we finally found a taxi to take us to the airport.

 

We did see the awful traffic coming in to town and remarked to ourselves that if anyone was in that, they weren't making it to the ship.

 

Even coming in the week before, our taxi couldn't get any closer than 4 blocks from our hotel at Magazine and Canal.

 

If we ever cruise during Mardi Gras again, we'll stay on the north side of St. Charles!!

[ripjerry95]

I thought everyone on the planet knew about Madi Gras! NCL is not responsible for the roads closing. As pp have mentioned good luck with the law suit.

[luddite]

Mardi Gras is the officially celebrated holiday commemorating when Canada gained independence from Spain in 1927.

 

I thought Mardis Gras was the celebration for when Mexico beat France in a war. Then, I realized that if every country that beat France in a war had a celebration,...well, there's be a celebration 365 days a year!

[halos]

The cheerleaders will make nasty comments to you ... just ignore them.

 

I'm sorry this happened. I live in FL and NJ, and would have no idea about Mardi Gras either if I was traveling at this time of the year. Someone should have warned you, especially since you don't live in the area. That really stinks. I'm sorry :(

 

.

 

I'm not a cheerleader to this or any line but this statement is pure wrong.

It is up to you as a traveler to know what's going on in your city of debarkation. We once cruised out of NY and after looking into it, discovered that the NY City Marathon was taking place that very day and we made sure to give ourselves plenty of time.

It was not up to the cruise line to inform us and I never felt that it was their responsibility.....People need to stop pushing blame and take responsibility for their own lives. It's utterly ridiculous to me that this seems to be so lacking these days...every mistake anyone makes always is someone else's fault.....it's just insanity if you ask me.

 

 

I definitely agree about the TA dropping the ball. He/she should have warned this poster! 3rd time I'm saying it - I wouldn't have known it was mardi gras unless someone told me. I'm not at all into that sort of thing, and it wouldn't have even crossed my mind!!

 

 

 

yes, but thanks to this poster, you should know now, to check EVERY debarkation port for any large activity that may be happening. This could happen ANYWHERE at ANY port.

 

Aren't you happy to be a CC member??? You learned something through someone else's HUGE mistake.

 

 

Richie ~ there are cheerleaders on EVERY board... not just here. I am a self-proclaimed NCL cheerleader. However, if something went terribly wrong, I'd definitely let everyone here know about it. In this case, it's not NCL's fault. It's up to us to do our own research and get to the ship... end of story.

 

 

 

+1!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's amazing how many people like to throw that "cheerleaders" word around if anyone dares to see logic against something a negative poster has wrote.

 

 

 

true. I know there are cheerleaders but this is about personal responsibility...isn't it?????? Have we as a socity totally lost that?????

 

It makes me sick.

[cruiser12]

My two cents worth-- it is all about doing your "homework"---

[biker@sea]

Mardi Gras live Paradecam http://www.nola.com/paradecam/

 

 

also french quarter cam

Mississippi river cam

Mississippi bridge cam

+ more

live nola weather and radio

[kbjam11]

I don't live anywhere NEAR New Orleans but Mardi Gras is an annual event that is nationally and internationally recognized as a MAJOR celebration taking over most of the city by tourists from all over the world.Hard to believe one could be unaware especially when making a cruise reservation. No cruise line would accept responsibility in a situation like this. And most travel insurance WOULD provide for catching up to the first port of call, but not for cancellation because there was no documented travel accident. It is distressing the directions weren't altered to include alternate routes, but these are standardized form letters that the cruise lines use and don't usually take into account for local activities. There are literally thousands of people that have missed embarkation due to heavy traffic, blocked routes, etc. It is unfortunate but ultimately is the responsibility of the passenger to get them to the pier on time.

[jetskier]

pax can start to park their cars and board the ship by 11am give or take...that is a great idea and then you can enjoy a great view...pool...day...meal on the ship and gain a full day onboard

 

Actually in New Orleans you can park as early as 8am. I have done it several times and walked over to the Riverwalk to get a couple of beignets. I then head back to the pier at around 10:15 for processing.

 

Dave

[blindrid]

I will also write to the better business bureau in my area and complain about this service issue.

 

You do know that the BBB is not a big deal and is a member based service organization - they worry more about selling "memberships" than anything. They ain't your mother's BBB anymore.

 

Save your time.

[The Islanders]

You do know that the BBB is not a big deal and is a member based service organization - they worry more about selling "memberships" than anything. They ain't your mother's BBB anymore.

 

Save your time.

 

A local hand car wash damaged my DWs car (which she witnessed and the employee admitted to). The owner only wanted to pay for half of the repair. We contacted the BBB and the only thing that happened was that it was filed in their records as "unresolved".

 

What a waste of time.

[blindrid]

Ignorance of the one and only biggest annual event in the French Quarter is not an excuse... February in the Big Easy = Mardi Gras... Plain and simple. That is pretty much common knowledge across the USA. Even stores in Connecticut stock Mardi Gras stuff in every dollar store this time of year... As soon as I bought tickets that would be the first thing I would google. Not only that... But once they encountered trouble, couldn't they contact N.O. Police to ask for advice or directions? Nobody in The area could help? Why is it always somebody else's responsibility to be aware of your surroundings?

 

Yes, it stinks... But sooner or later people have to assume responsibility for being aware of what may impact their vacations...

 

That is 100% correct. I may be the exception but I research everything about a city I'm traveling to. Being from Colorado, I know that the Miami International Boat show is in February and things like that which would cause travel/hotel/airline hassles. How else would I know that Miami even had such a thing. I even check when the Heat is playing against whom so I know if it's a big game or not.

 

With the internet, it ain't that hard. Would I be p***** because I missed my cruise, absolutely. Would I blame NCL, no. Would I be suicidal, yes as I would blame myself the most.

 

That and I have travel insurance to ease the pain a bit. Unfortunately in this case, it would be a real bear to fly to meet the ship, but doable and costly. Since I fly out of a potential snowy airport, I always leave a day early so my vacation starts a day early. :).

 

The OP's deal sucks, but there is nothing to do about it short of joinig the Mardi Gras festivities.

[willysgrandma]

OMG you just gave me a flashback to Bugs Bunny cartoons - that was where I learned this song, LOL!

 

The moral of the story - if you are cruising out of NOLA - STAY IN A HOTEL THERE THE NIGHT BEFORE A CRUISE. You can walk to the terminal if need be.

 

For The Islanders:

 

Bricka-Bracka!

Firecracka!

Siss-Boom-Bah!

NCL-NCL!

RAH-RAH-RAH!!!!!!

 

Sorry folks, I couldn't resist. :o

[Davechipp74]

alright guys

[Taxguy77]

I forgot to mention....

 

Since you are admittedly unfamilar with New Orleans, I would suggest that you really try to avoid driving there, or give yourself a LOT of extra time, if you decide to go there for Mardi Gras...which, by the way, is this coming Tuesday (Feb 21st).

 

AMEN!

We went to Harrah's, not during Mardi Gras, with instructions from a friend who goes often and Still got lost. When the GPS said we were within a very short distance, we were passing a group of homeless people!!. Leaving was easier, the hotel bellman pointed the street to leave (just go to that corner and make a Uturn) and stay on it.

[mpk218]

OMG you just gave me a flashback to Bugs Bunny cartoons - that was where I learned this song, LOL!

 

The moral of the story - if you are cruising out of NOLA - STAY IN A HOTEL THERE THE NIGHT BEFORE A CRUISE. You can walk to the terminal if need be.

 

For The Islanders:

 

 

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny RA RA RA

Push'em Back Push'em Back

Sis Boom BA :D

[BadKitteh]

I have lived in NJ and CT my whole life, but Mardi Gras isn't a secret. When you travel ANYWHERE, it is reasonable to make sure you know if there are current events. For instance, on my last cruise, I booked the week I did with the plan to arrive a day ahead of time because the following week was a large basketball conference in the city and most hotels had no rooms. It is up to the traveler to make themselves aware of potential delays, not the cruise line.

 

Had you purchased trip insurance, you could have contacted NCL about being stuck and they would have most likely tried to make arrangements for you.

 

Please do not cry ignorance as an excuse for missing the ship.

[graphicguy]

Mardi Gras live Paradecam http://www.nola.com/paradecam/

 

 

also french quarter cam

Mississippi river cam

Mississippi bridge cam

+ more

live nola weather and radio

 

Cool....thanks. Loved the cam.

[mw_1970]

My husband, brother and i just came back on 2/19 from trying to get aboard the norwegian spirit in new orleans. The ship left without us because it was absolutely impossible, if driving, to find an access road that would take you down to the dock. Every road was blocked because of freaking mardi gras, and the norwegian cruise line knows this and didn't let anyone know of an alternate route to get to the ship. We were stuck, and i mean stuck, in traffic for over 5 hours in new orleans while we tried to get to the ship, and we simply could not get there. The ship left without a lot of passengers who had the same experience. Ncl and our travel agency, ***********, do not accept any responsibility for this mess and won't compensate us for the loss of the trip. Ncl provides driving directions to the terminal. They already accept the responsibility for telling you how to get there. Now they say they have no responsibility for these driving direction. We say they do. We say they could have emailed every one of us on this cruise some new directions, given what happens on mardi gras (we didn't know about it because we don't live in n.o.). We are going to sue them in small claims court. We hope every one of the passengers who missed this boat does the same. We will prevail in small claims court--the directions that did not work are printed on ncl letterhead, which proves that they expected us to use these directions. If they did not work, ncl should have let us know how to get to the ship.

 

We are latitudes members who have cruised on ncl many times, without incident. I cannot find the words to express my anger and frustration with this cruise line now. They are real pikers in my opinion, and i am considering not setting foot on another of their ships. I will also write to the better business bureau in my area and complain about this service issue.

 

 

 

Good luck with your lawsuit

 

You'll lose by the way

[mw_1970]

We all know that according to the cheerleaders on this board, NCL can do no wrong. Everything NCL does is ok by them. The food is the best, accomodations are the greatest, and there is never a service problem. Nothing is ever NCL's fault. You won't see much sympathy here.

 

 

I dont think thats fair at all.

 

Fact is, it's the passengers responsibility to ensure they leave with plenty of time to spare to get them to the port.

 

Same answer with ALL cruise lines.

 

It is as clear as day that OP made a massive error of judgement, not NCL. As I say I would give the same defence of any other Cruise line or Air line for that matter.