norwegian = worst customer service department ever

[SeaShark]

We did go to guest services.... THREE TIMES and every time they said they would look into it they never did. I had to call back and start all over again. I realized we were on a full ship so there was nothing they could do room-wise. However, we paid a premium to have two rooms across the hall from each other instead of having all four of us in a three person room. We didn't mope and complain the rest of the week. We had a good time but that doesn't make what NCL did right. If you paid for a balcony and were stuck in an inside cabin would you be happy? This is essentially what happened to us.

 

Huh? Please explain. Did you actually pay for a balcony and you were given an inside instead?

 

 

You paid a premium to have rooms across the hall from each other? There is no such charge. Are you seriously trying to claim that you were charged an additional fee for rooms across from each other??

[Medtech2]

We did go to guest services.... THREE TIMES and every time they said they would look into it they never did. I had to call back and start all over again. I realized we were on a full ship so there was nothing they could do room-wise. However, we paid a premium to have two rooms across the hall from each other instead of having all four of us in a three person room. We didn't mope and complain the rest of the week. We had a good time but that doesn't make what NCL did right. If you paid for a balcony and were stuck in an inside cabin would you be happy? This is essentially what happened to us.

Well, I did agree the PCC messed up but the analogy of paid for a balcony but stuck in an inside is wrong in that you paid for a balcony AND an inside and you got a balcony AND an inside.

 

Still doesn't answer whether you talked to the HD at the time or if you have written a letter now...

 

Just trying to be helpful...Not trying to argue...

[accmiller]

You haven't told us your cabin numbers. However, in Post #83, you say both cabins had the same cabin steward.

 

That doesn't make sense to me because cabin stewards have consecutive cabins. How was he/she assigned to your balcony cabin as well as the interior cabin?

 

There is an interior staff hallway near our rooms that they used which wasn't open to the public. All I can tell you is she greeted us when we got on the ship and told us she had both rooms. She was great. She immediately opened up the sofa and fixed it up and gave us the extra towels and pillows we needed. She was a great help. Guest services.... not so much

 

I honestly forget the room numbers.

[accmiller]

Huh? Please explain. Did you actually pay for a balcony and you were given an inside instead?

 

 

You paid a premium to have rooms across the hall from each other? There is no such charge. Are you seriously trying to claim that you were charged an additional fee for rooms across from each other??

 

 

Holy cow. Sorry for the attitude but I am getting a little frustrated. As I said in the initial post we had a mini-suite for four people. We decided it was going to be cramped so called into ncl to look into adjoining rooms. It was suggested to us by ncl that we get a smaller mini-suite and an inside cabin across the hall. It was more money than the original one room. So I consider that a premium.

[accmiller]

Well, I did agree the PCC messed up but the analogy of paid for a balcony but stuck in an inside is wrong in that you paid for a balcony AND an inside and you got a balcony AND an inside.

 

Still doesn't answer whether you talked to the HD at the time or if you have written a letter now...

 

Just trying to be helpful...Not trying to argue...

 

I have written a letter. No reply yet and I am not holding my breath.

 

 

75% of what ncl does is great. From my experience, they need to fire whoever is in charge of guest services. Those people were the least friendly people we dealt with. I might not sound like it on here but I am was not rude and brought the problem to them very respectfully. As they continued to just ignore me and treated me with more and more rudeness I got a little agitated though.

[Ewoodspark]

I honestly forget the room numbers.

You were on your first ever cruise for I guess at least 7 days and you cannot remember your room numbers?

[rvsullivan]

You were on your first ever cruise for I guess at least 7 days and you cannot remember your room numbers?

 

 

Amazing!!

[SeaShark]

You were on your first ever cruise for I guess at least 7 days and you cannot remember your room numbers?

 

Seriously...it could be found on nearly every document related to the cruise!

[nkwoman]

This exact same thing happened to me on the Breakaway, but a TA booked it. I was in BA 13852 and my kids were booked in IA13639. I looked at the website map and it looked like it was straight across the hall. This TA was a local AAA rep and she said it was confirmed with NCL as this was a new ship she was not familiar with. We were surprised you had to walk down the hall, out around the elevator and to the right. My 16 year old son was there with his 10 year old sister and they only slept there and had to call me on the room phone so I could get her in the morning. They had keys to our room as well. It was not the situation I was prepared for but we made do. I consider myself a savvy cruiser and I was surprised by the screwup. NCL is at fault here. I didn't pursue anything after the fact, but I totally can identify with the OP here. There have been numerous other erroneous things that NCL reps have told me. It won't stop me from cruising with them- I just come here more often to get the straight scoop . ;)

[accmiller]

You were on your first ever cruise for I guess at least 7 days and you cannot remember your room numbers?

 

I travel for work every week. I have been in over 10 different hotel rooms since then.

[accmiller]

Seriously...it could be found on nearly every document related to the cruise!

 

Every document related to the cruse??

 

How many documents do you usually get and how long do you hold on to them?

 

Sorry to disappoint you so much but I don't hold onto things like that.

[accmiller]

Yep its always the cruise lines fault.

 

You do realize they assigned the rooms, not me. Right?

[SeaShark]

Every document related to the cruse??

 

How many documents do you usually get and how long do you hold on to them?

 

Sorry to disappoint you so much but I don't hold onto things like that.

 

Yes...every document. If you had a complaint, why wouldn't you hold onto your documents? How could you write a complaint letter without having reservation numbers, room numbers, names of people you talked to, etc?

 

How about your final bill? Don't you hold onto that in case there is a problem with the charge?

 

Did you just let them assign you to the rooms without ANY research what-so-ever? Surely you know better than to just let someone tell you what rooms to take.

 

Your actions...and "claims"...certainly appear to be atypical. I cetainly would love to hear the PCC's version of the events. I wonder if he/she would be willing to document that they told you the rooms had doors directly across from one another.

[nkwoman]

Pay no attention to the nay-sayers. This happened to me as well. It is entirely believable.

[accmiller]

Yes...every document. If you had a complaint, why wouldn't you hold onto your documents? How could you write a complaint letter without having reservation numbers, room numbers, names of people you talked to, etc?

 

How about your final bill? Don't you hold onto that in case there is a problem with the charge?

 

Did you just let them assign you to the rooms without ANY research what-so-ever? Surely you know better than to just let someone tell you what rooms to take.

 

Your actions...and "claims"...certainly appear to be atypical. I cetainly would love to hear the PCC's version of the events. I wonder if he/she would be willing to document that they told you the rooms had doors directly across from one another.

 

You really think we booked rooms in our situation and that conversation didn't take place with the NCL representative? What we really asked for were rooms that looked like they were across the hall from each other but in reality due to door placement were the farthest away the could possibly be?

 

Yes I looked over the room charges. Three weeks ago. And paid for what I owed gladly.

 

I appreciate your fierce defense of the cruise line. I surely must be guilty because I can't remember my room number.

 

Next time I need a lawyer I will call you. Or maybe not.

[accmiller]

Yes...every document. If you had a complaint, why wouldn't you hold onto your documents? How could you write a complaint letter without having reservation numbers, room numbers, names of people you talked to, etc?

 

How about your final bill? Don't you hold onto that in case there is a problem with the charge?

 

Did you just let them assign you to the rooms without ANY research what-so-ever? Surely you know better than to just let someone tell you what rooms to take.

 

Your actions...and "claims"...certainly appear to be atypical. I cetainly would love to hear the PCC's version of the events. I wonder if he/she would be willing to document that they told you the rooms had doors directly across from one another.

 

so you feel better I have an email with the confirmation numbers that I received from the NCL cruise consultant. No rooms numbers on it though. When I try to pull up the confirmation numbers online they are now dead since the cruise took place. I hope this helps you.

[kylenyc]

so you feel better I have an email with the confirmation numbers that I received from the NCL cruise consultant. No rooms numbers on it though. When I try to pull up the confirmation numbers online they are now dead since the cruise took place. I hope this helps you.

It is certainly the responsibility of the PCC to assign cabin rooms according to your needs and to provide you with correct accurate information. Despite your request, you said you ended up having to walk down the hall and around to get to the inside cabin and the PCC made the mistake. Either people believe you or not. The only people you have to prove it to is NCL and they have your records and can easily look them up. Good luck. Welcome to Cruise Critic :)

Edited May 4, 2014 by kylenyc

[MCAT48]

This story must be false. Ncl has the most amazing customer service everrrr!!!! *Rah Rah* :rolleyes:

 

Sucks this happened. The deck plans are very confusing when it comes to the inside cabins. You would think a ncl rep could read their own deck plans.

[fostermom2012]

We were on the getaway for spring break and what a disaster. We were a family of four and had originally booked one mini-suite. After some more thought we decided that wasn't going to be enough room so we called norwegian and asked to change to two adjoining rooms. No problem. We just needed to pay a cancellation fee and then we could rebook. Huh??? All we wanted to do was add a room. Anyways we went ahead with it and then our consultant told us since we were putting the kids in the other room it would be safer to give them an inside cabin across the hall instead of a balcony. Seemed to make sense to us so we booked and paid the difference. Well when we go on the ship we found out the inside cabin was indeed across the hall but the door to the inside cabin was not. In order to get to that cabin you basically had to walk all the way down the hall, across, and back up the hall on the other side of the ship. For some reason, my wife didn't want our 6 year old that far away from us. So we called guest services. Guess what they didn't care. We were told we agreed to that arrangement and there was nothing they could do. I told them we didn't agree to that at all. They said they would look into. I called the next day and no record of my complaint. What a surprise. They still didn't do anything so we had to cram all four of us into a room that was designed for 3 people. When I got back I sat on hold on their customer service line for 90 minutes and still didn't get a live body. Emailed our cruise consultant twice and nothing. I did log-into the site and was called within 20 minutes by a cruise consultant asking if I needed help booking a cruise. When I told them my problem I never heard from them again.

 

The shame of it all is the getaway was a beautiful boat but ncl's complete lack of customer service for issues has resigned me to never using them again. If anyone every asked me if they should book a cruise with them I will do everything in my power to stop them.

 

I had issues with them also. I had booked shore excursions through their site and then I found cruisecritic and decided to do some private excursions. I called an canceled the excursions and was told that the money had to go back on the CC that I paid with which was fine. The money went on my mom's CC and when I called about it they said their was nothing they could do and that my bank rejected the credit.

[Beaver1975]

Personally I think somebody doth protest too much.

 

And as a secondary observation, CC seems to be becoming an "Occupy" rally/protest.

Edited May 4, 2014 by Beaver1975

[Cruisercl]

I have been reading this post and still do not quite understand what the issue is.

You had a mini-suite but were advised to go with a balcony and an inside room that was across the hall from the balcony room. The fact that the door to the inside room was not across from the balcony room was an issue which you were not aware of. You had requested a connecting cabin. It was your decision to say yes or no. To me many times in the travel industry, especially now, (TA, airlines, tours, hotels, car rentals) you really can't count on the person taking your money being knowledgeable. It really is buyer beware just like anything else.

 

It appears that the NCL agent made a mistake; but was it really a HUGE issue if there was an adult staying in each room? Each room was to have a child and an adult in them because that is what NCL requires for safety (especially when there are children under age 21 involved) and the fare you purchased.

 

It appears, to me from what I have read here, you wanted the under aged children to stay in a room by themselves, which is your own decision. Am I thinking wrong here; please let me know? Having a room right down the hall (that you have the same room steward) wouldn't seem that far away if there was an adult staying in each room.

 

IMO once you are on the ship, especially at spring break time, there is not much flexibility on what they could have offered.

 

I totally agree in your frustration about NCL not returning your call about your complaints. You may still hear from them.

Also, I have cruise many other cruise lines and their customer service is the same.

 

I hope you hear from NCL as they generally do have good customer service.

[travelerpair]

Per their web site..

 

 

 

It's very clearly defined on the layout which rooms this pertains to.

Do you work for an agency that sells NCL? If the cruiseline agent does not know enough to explain to the client the layout of their own product, why should the problem be the clients? The NCL cruise consultant knew the ages of the children and should have known the deck plan of the ship. NCL has very few good personal cruise consultants, they are sales people first and customer service 2nd. Example mine is below average, friends have a great on and he knows a lot and does a great job. Mine couldn't even find the promo he had emailed. Sorry for this family. You should expect more professionalism and get it.

[SeaShark]

You really think we booked rooms in our situation and that conversation didn't take place with the NCL representative? What we really asked for were rooms that looked like they were across the hall from each other but in reality due to door placement were the farthest away the could possibly be?

 

Yes I looked over the room charges. Three weeks ago. And paid for what I owed gladly.

 

I appreciate your fierce defense of the cruise line. I surely must be guilty because I can't remember my room number.

 

Next time I need a lawyer I will call you. Or maybe not.

 

No...I think you heard what you wanted to hear. All we have to go on is what you "claim" happened...no proof offered what-so-ever.

 

The deck plans are very clear as to the fact that the doors are not across from each other. Even the room descriptions PLAINLY state this. The only way someone could miss this is to do NO RESEARCH what-so-ever. I guess that is the PCC's fault too?

 

Defense of the cruise line? Huh? I haven't said that this wasn't their fault...I just haven't seen any proof or believable information. Just a one-sided, very biased, version of the story.

 

You complained on the ship and it got you nowhere (so you say)...and your compaints here don't seem to be getting you anywhere either. Just what is it you hope to accomplish here?

[Cruisercl]

Do you work for an agency that sells NCL? If the cruiseline agent does not know enough to explain to the client the layout of their own product, why should the problem be the clients? The NCL cruise consultant knew the ages of the children and should have known the deck plan of the ship. NCL has very few good personal cruise consultants, they are sales people first and customer service 2nd. Example mine is below average, friends have a great on and he knows a lot and does a great job. Mine couldn't even find the promo he had emailed. Sorry for this family. You should expect more professionalism and get it.

 

 

No, I am not in the travel industry but do not quite understand, if a mistake was made, it appears that is really not a HUGE deal........no one was hurt. All service rep in any industry make mistakes. Have you never made a mistake in your job? Buyer beware is more prevalent than ever, especially in the travel industry.

 

From what I understand they reserved 2 rooms with 1 adult and 1 child in each... that fact that they weren't right across the hall seems a bit minor. It was their decision to put the children (under aged) in a room by themselves; which NCL (or any other cruise line) does not condone.

 

BTW, I have cruised NCL only a couple of times, and have cruised other cruises much more; IMO the customer service is all the same. Now more than ever the onus is on the customer to be aware.

[pokerpro5]

Unbelievable that people are still doubting accmiller's story and/or telling him that he's wrong.

 

Let's review the FACTS here.

 

FACT: Several people have shown up in this thread confirming that they had something very similar occur. Therefore, the chance that accmiller misunderstood the rep or exaggerated in his post are very low. This seems to be a chronic problem with NCL -- undertrained reps who give wrong/incomplete information to cruisers.

 

FACT: accmiller is out $200, the fee he paid to change rooms so he could have two (supposedly) close to one another. Not only were the two rooms not close at all (as he was promised by the rep), but he paid extra money for a second room that he didn't get to use as planned.

 

FACT: Given that he was promised the proximity of the rooms by a representative of Norwegian, it is perfectly reasonable that he didn't "check their work" prior to boarding. As I said earlier, I always check anyway, knowing that many reps of companies these days are incompetent. However, you can't blame the guy for trusting what he was told by the NCL rep.

 

It is NOT anyone's place to decide for accmiller how much of an inconvenience this actually was for him. He only had one room booked originally, but then came to NCL with his new requirements -- to have two rooms close together. They claimed to have satisfied his requirements by supposedly booking two rooms close together. They did not actually satisfy the requirements, and therefore the room was (mostly) useless to him. The fact that he used it somewhat is immaterial. It was not at all what he wanted or needed.

 

accmiller, you seem to have ignored my previous post/suggestion. Do NOT wait for them to call you back. That call will never come.

 

Call and ask to be transferred to the Miami office, and then ask for a supervisor. Those are the people with power. Those are the people who can make it right for you. Do not write letters, and don't want for phantom calls back that will never come. They might still be able to pull the original phone call. I'm not sure how long they keep them.

 

Regardless of whether they can pull the call or not, I think you have a strong case, as they will have proof that the room was booked by a rep (and not you online), and the "fake proximity" shown on the map will back your story. Keep calling until you get a supervisor at the Miami office, and if you still don't get satisfaction, ask if you can speak to a manager or someone else higher.

 

Personally, I think you are entitled to the $200 back plus the difference in cost in having the second room versus adding 2 people to your Mini Suite. Ask for that, but be willing to accept a compromise somewhere in the middle if necessary.

 

Ignore the cheerleaders here, and good luck.

Edited May 4, 2014 by pokerpro5