Breakaway fare went lower NCL only offered 30% reduction

[klitch]

So...here you say that you noticed the price had dropped, called NCL, and were offered a $75pp OBC that you were not contractually entitled to.

 

I would call that an immediate response. I would call that good customer service...as we all know, you got something you weren't entitled to.c

 

 

Then you say you were ... and I quote: "pissed that they wouldn't give us the full $250pp". Now you are claiming in multiple posts above that the reason you are so upset isn't the money, but the time it has taken to get back to you. Honestly....which is it?

 

With a sail date of 9/1, you are only now at 60 days until you cruise. That means final payment was just over 2 weeks ago....I don't understand why you've waited "a few months" when it has only been a MAX of 15 days.

 

 

First, show me where i said "a few months" I didn't.

 

also It's been exactly a month since our final payment was due June 3rd. so it was not a MAX of 15 days. cruises have to be paid 90 days in advance but you probably know that.

 

also thank you for the misquote above while i did say that as you quoted "pissed that they wouldn't give us the full $250pp" you missed the ever so crucial two words prior to that "kind of" and if you read the very next paragraph in the OP i said AND I QUOTE " I think what I'm most upset about is that I wrote an email ..." So get your facts straight before you start making wild accusations about what I wrote.

 

edit: also in the same exact paragraph i wrote AND I QUOTE "but this is less about the money and more about the customer service than anything"

[Homecruiser]

I must say that I rarely participate in cc discussions...for some reason this one has hit a nerve with me. A busy week at work and I am cranky!

 

I am passionate about Customer Service..I have made a good living being a Customer Service Professional.

 

I am able to put the actual issue aside. We can debate that for a long time. However, once this issue was escalated, this customer was owed a response. Anything less in my opinion, is not putting the customer first and therefore an NCL service failure!

 

That being said most of the time NCL gets it right....but not this time. Two months and no response is simply not acceptable....no matter what the issue!

 

I also referred to Two months...guess I picked that up from another poster. My opinion still stands. You have been waiting too long for a response from NCL.

[SeaShark]

Unfortunately they told me that they can't do upgrades.

 

That's a pretty bad response time don't you think? I mean, I'm not expecting really anything at this point, but a few months seems really poor to me.

 

First, show me where i said "a few months" I didn't.

 

 

OK...Fine. See the direct quotes above of YOUR words. Now...did you, or did you not say "a few months"?

[klitch]

OK...Fine. See the direct quotes above of YOUR words. Now...did you, or did you not say "a few months"?

 

I'll acknowledge that I embellished that if you acknowledge that you misquoted me and didn't completely read the OP.

[oceanseagle12]

Unfortunately they told me that they can't do upgrades.

 

That's a pretty bad response time don't you think? I mean, I'm not expecting really anything at this point, but a few months seems really poor to me.

 

I would suggest asking again. Just call and say that you want to upgrade and want to see what the options are. I understood that you can always upgrade to a higher category for whatever the price is at the time. I could be wrong, but it is worth a shot.

[kylenyc]

Unfortunately they told me that they can't do upgrades.

 

That's a pretty bad response time don't you think? I mean, I'm not expecting really anything at this point, but a few months seems really poor to me.

That's bologna. I'm on the 9/8 Breakaway. My friend was in exactly same situation as you... Was in a Haven spa balcony and got upgraded into the Haven penthouse balcony. If an upgrade is important to you, then keep calling and be firm that it absolutely can and has been done, try a different rep and get a supervisor if you have to. As others said however, try not to let this upset you whatever happens. It's your on vacation and Breakaways a beautiful unique ship.

[SuiteCruiser]

That's bologna. I'm on the 9/8 Breakaway. My friend was in exactly same situation as you... Was in a Haven spa balcony and got upgraded into the Haven penthouse balcony. If an upgrade is important to you, then keep calling and be firm that it absolutely can and has been done, try a different rep and get a supervisor if you have to. As others said however, try not to let this upset you whatever happens. It's your on vacation and Breakaways a beautiful unique ship.

 

Remember though that the contract you entered into stimpulates you are due nothing. No upgrade, no OBC. This is one of those situations when they DO give you something that they didn't have to and you still go on a public message board to complain about it.

 

You're luckier than many others, try not to lose sight of that. I'm on the side that I hope Kevin Sheehan is too busy to deal with customers complaining when they should be posting how thankful they are that they received OBC that wasn't due to them. I would take it as a sign that the customer can't be pleased, as yes, they do read these boards.

 

Of course, just my opinion.

[Demonyte]

So...here you say that you noticed the price had dropped, called NCL, and were offered a $75pp OBC that you were not contractually entitled to.

 

I would call that an immediate response. I would call that good customer service...as we all know, you got something you weren't entitled to.

 

I completely agree with this. Immediate response was given from both "first and second tier support". Wanting to keep whining about something that one is not entitled to and still trying to have the policy changed by the CEO and expecting fast response to so minor "problem" is just poor conduct IMO. Why not handle all one's booking needs through Mr Sheehan if customer service is in his personal duties.. :rolleyes:

[kylenyc]

Remember though that the contract you entered into stimpulates you are due nothing. No upgrade, no OBC. This is one of those situations when they DO give you something that they didn't have to and you still go on a public message board to complain about it.

 

You're luckier than many others, try not to lose sight of that. I'm on the side that I hope Kevin Sheehan is too busy to deal with customers complaining when they should be posting how thankful they are that they received OBC that wasn't due to them. I would take it as a sign that the customer can't be pleased, as yes, they do read these boards.

 

Of course, just my opinion.

I agree and I had earlier expressed similar sentiments as you. I was just responding to the OPs statement that NCL said it "can't" be done. I can indeed be done if the cabins are available, you get the right PCC, the stars are aligned, etc.

[Love my butler]

I'll acknowledge that I embellished that if you acknowledge that you misquoted me and didn't completely read the OP.

 

You really lose a lot of credibility when you get caught in a lie (embellishment?).

 

Your issue seemed legitimate until your dishonesty. I am left wondering how many other key parts of your posts were also 'embellished'.

[jame_g]

You were offered something very reasonable when NCL owed you nothing. Yet you chose to try to escalate it and then came here to complain. You already got good customer service, but are choosing to become a bad customer and turn it into something bad. My take is that it's time for you to move on.

[sverigecruiser]

I can't understand why NCL offered anything at all!

[Demonyte]

I can't understand why NCL offered anything at all!

 

It's great customer service. :D :D :D

[lovn2liv]

i am sorry you are not satisfied with the service. I cannot stand it when expectations are not met.

 

Hopefully the second you jump on that ship you will get yourself a sailaway beverage if that is your thing with that OBC and take in the beaaty and magnificence of the ship. Take in a deep breath and let the grateful bug bite.

 

Fate can hand us the good, the bad, and the ugly. At the end of the day i am looking forward to hearing your review of the ship. I hear it is marvelous and maybe will sail on it next year. on top of it..you have a killer cabin. Enjoy.

[acruisingcouple]

Honestly, had they called, emailed or texted, regardless of the answer, i probably wouldn't be on here complaining. So thank you for understanding that part.

 

The point is that they did respond to your original request and gave you $150.00 in OBC under which they were under no obligation to do so. I can completely understand where NCL would consider the matter closed.

Enjoy your vacation and do something fun with the OBC!

[punkincc]

You really lose a lot of credibility when you get caught in a lie (embellishment?).

 

Your issue seemed legitimate until your dishonesty. I am left wondering how many other key parts of your posts were also 'embellished'.

 

Let's not go overboard here. Actually, if you read back to the post where the OP made his "few months" statement, you'll see he was responding to KyleNYC who stated he wrote to NCL also, and received a response after a few months. The OP then responded that he felt a few months was too long to wait. He was referring to Kyle's experience. And it does suggest that NCL may have a problem with timely responses.

 

I agree that escalating this to the CEO seems a little excessive, but it is his right to do so. And sometimes NCL can be wrong, hard as it is to believe. Everyone who sends a letter to any CEO should receive an immediate response, even if it is merely a form letter, acknowledging it's receipt and promising a quick response. Honestly, how hard can that be to accomplish?

[daffodiliaz]

Is it possible the email was sent to a wrong email address? Typos happen. A few years ago when I was learning how things worked with NCL and price drops, I mailed an actual paper letter and never received a response, but I did receive a very small OBC surprise onboard. At least it was something. For our trip this past May we booked 4 weeks in advance and the price still dropped another couple hundred per person. No OBC was offered, but our GTY was upgraded to a confirmed BA. If there's a next time, the OP will know how NCL handles this and maybe it won't sting quite so bad (but still maybe a little).

[vols_159]

DEAP OP,

 

If the price went up 500 bucks would you allow NCL to raise your price.. Or would you be back on here crying that they raised your price?

[DMH15]

Let's not go overboard here. Actually, if you read back to the post where the OP made his "few months" statement, you'll see he was responding to KyleNYC who stated he wrote to NCL also, and received a response after a few months. The OP then responded that he felt a few months was too long to wait. He was referring to Kyle's experience. And it does suggest that NCL may have a problem with timely responses.

 

I agree that escalating this to the CEO seems a little excessive, but it is his right to do so. And sometimes NCL can be wrong, hard as it is to believe. Everyone who sends a letter to any CEO should receive an immediate response, even if it is merely a form letter, acknowledging it's receipt and promising a quick response. Honestly, how hard can that be to accomplish?

 

This was not a service issue. It was a complaint against a cut and dry contract issue. Unfortunately in our society of entitlement OP felt he was due something. Even though contractually he was not, NCL, as they typically do, gave something extra. But instead of posting positively he complained. Wow.

 

Wonder how many letters, emails, phone calls KS gets in a week anyway?

 

BTW, In the past several years I have Emailed KS three times. He personally replied twice, (or someone on his behalf using his account) and on the third matter I was contacted by a subordinate. I think KS is one of the most accessible and hands-on CEOs out there.

[punkincc]

DEAP OP,

 

If the price went up 500 bucks would you allow NCL to raise your price.. Or would you be back on here crying that they raised your price?

 

If I had your attitude, on my last cruise I would have been in a mini suite instead of an aft facing penthouse for an extra $181 and had $150 less in OBC. I had my TA call twice after final payment with price drops to see what could be done. Absolutely nothing wrong with asking nicely.

[lowroller]

My wife and I are booked on the Breakaway leaving on September 1st. Our cruise is obviously paid for at this point. Shortly after we paid in full NCL dropped the price per person by $250.00. when I called NCL to ask for a reduction they told me that they could only offer $75.00 each in on-board credit.

 

I'm kind of pissed that they wouldn't give us the full $250.00pp. I think it's bad business especially because this is our first time cruising with NCL. It's not the way to make a customer happy about there first experience with your line. For reference, we cruise twice per year and the lowest accommodations that we ever get is a balcony room. On this particular cruise we're in a Haven Spa Suite. So it's not like we aren't already spending a bunch of money, but this is less about the money and more about the customer service than anything. Honestly if they would have offered $125.00 I wouldn't have complained at all.

 

I think what I'm most upset about is that I wrote an email about this to Kevin Sheehan and haven't even gotten any kind of response. In my dealings with RCCL (who I cruise with most of the time) they at least acknowledge that you've sent them an email and reply quickly saying that they are looking into the matter.

 

In any case, here is the email I sent them, maybe someone can let me know if I should be sending the email to another party within NCL:

 

I'm sure the CEO is the top of the food chain, so the buck stops there. Did you use the correct email address? Did you check your spam folder for a reply?

 

Gentleman, thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read this email. My wife and I are currently booked to depart on The Breakaway on September 1st with reservation number XXXXXXXXX. We are very excited about this cruise as it is our first time sailing with Norwegian Cruise Lines and The Breakaway looks to be a fantastic experience. It is not however our first time cruising, we cruise twice per year at the minimum.

 

When we booked this cruise the price per person was $2831.71. Recently I looked at the prices of the same stateroom that we have booked and apparently those prices have come down to $2581.71. I called the NCL customer service to find out if they would be able to either refund money for the difference of the price or perhaps give an on-board credit for the difference.

To my dismay they told me that the could only give an on-board credit of $125.00 total, only $75.00 per person. I was sure it was a mistake and asked the person I spoke to reconsider, but they said that they were only authorized to give $125.00.

You might want to rewrite this email, your math is incorrect, $75 pp x's 2 = $150 or did they offer $62.50 pp?

 

When cruising with other lines we have found that when prices change they are very accommodating and have always matched the lower prices either in on-board credit or by changing the price of our stateroom.

 

I'm very surprised that NCL would only offer a 30% reduction when other cruise lines offer the full difference when prices change like this. I expected that the level of service would at least be equal to what I have gotten in the past from other cruise lines.

 

I'd like for you to reconsider and give the full $500.00 difference in on-board credit rather than $125.00 that we have already been given.

 

 

If you have any questions, or would like to speak with me regarding this matter please contact me at your earliest convenience.

 

I agree with most of the posters and their replies, you were offered an OBC when really they could have have told you there was nothing they could do. I'd take the credit and be happy. I assume you were satisfied with the price when you booked, now you are getting either $150 or $125 OBC credit added to your trip!

Who knows maybe one day you will get a reply, anything could happened between now and 9/1

Glenn

[garycarla]

Why do some people think they are so important that they need to contact the CEO to get an answer to every little issue?

 

They have thousands of employees working for them to take care of day to day issues, questions, problems, etc. Each week their ships sail with 3-4,000 passengers each. Week after week after week.

 

Sure, the customer is important, but there is a limit to how many emails they can answer.

 

It just drives me nuts. Some of these people need to run a customer facing business with low margins and put up with people trying to get everything....

[emcelh]

I understand the OP's issue with not receiving a timely response to his email, and trying to get some sort of compensation in the form of OBC or an upgrade for a price drop is not unreasonable.

 

However, the comment he made about it being bad business not to refund the entire $250PP doesn't make any sense to me. Using that logic, I should get a refund from our local Toyota dealer. The car I bought last year has dropped in price now, since they're trying to sell last years models before the 2014 models come in. Every retail business has sales to clear inventory and a cruise line is no different. It seems to me that it wouldn't make much business sense to give refunds to everyone who paid more than the "sale" price.

[SeaShark]

If I had your attitude, on my last cruise I would have been in a mini suite instead of an aft facing penthouse for an extra $181 and had $150 less in OBC. I had my TA call twice after final payment with price drops to see what could be done. Absolutely nothing wrong with asking nicely.

 

I agree with you...There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking nicely. Nothing at all.

 

 

I think that you would have to agree that it was also nice that NCL offered the OP an OBC even though they didn't have to give anything. Very nice actually.

 

 

I think the problem stems from:

 

a) the escalation from the Phone Representative straight to the company CEO after the "asking nicely" occured

b) the public complaining about being treated nicely here on the message board...especially considering that nobody here can do anything about it

c) the unwillingness of the OP to listen to the advice of the people here as evidenced by the continual parsing and arguing about every little point, quote, and embellishment in the story.

 

 

 

In an unrelated note:

 

I see that you called your TA about your pricing. The OP contacted NCL customer service AND Norwegian CEO Kevin Sheehan directly. I can't help but wonder if the differing outcomes were a direct result of the choosen communication paths.

[JP4GA]

We booked a trip this week and were told that we were eligible for price drops until the date of final payment. The NCL representative said that all price drops would be honored up until that date but not AFTER that date. The OP was fortunate to receive the OBC.