So let's say you cancel NCL in the no-refund period...

[Raleigh Traveler]

Concerning letter writing....we have had two issues with NCL that required contacting customer service after the cruise. One involved a billing issue that they refused to deal with onboard and a phone call fixed it. The other involved issues with the cabin (again unable to resolve onboard) and they required a written letter. The issue was resolved well but it seems that for some issues, writing a letter is NCL's required pathway.

[sjbdtz]

This is kind of what I was asking for, and I thank you for posting this story.

 

.

 

 

This story proves exactly the point, that one cannot rely on the cruiseline making exceptions to the rule.

 

Even after escalating 5 times, the answer was still 'no'.

 

 

In fact the answer never changed from 'no', it just evolved to include a positive outcome.

 

I would wager that the 'no' remained a 'no' until the replacement cruise was completed (to ensure it didn't become a 2nd cancellation / request for reimbursement).

 

 

However, in any event.... the premise of the thread, as stated by OP was to help others determine whether the written policy was the same as the 'in practice' policy.

 

The answer, concisely, is.... Yes it is.

 

 

.

[triptolemus]

This is kind of what I was asking for, and I thank you for posting this story.

 

Just FYI, writing letter is always a terrible idea when asking for customer service exceptions to be made.

 

I guess I'm a little slow.

 

The poster wrote a letter (or 3) and was ultimately successful in getting the $500 refunded. Please explain how "writing a letter is always a terrible idea."

[irishnyc]

Having been in customer service at high end companies for over 20 years, I agree that writing (via email these days) is the best way to go. However, OP is what, at my last company, we called "a professional refund requester." It was always the customer who, always just for informational purposes and to be well-informed, wrote requesting an exception to a rule, knew exactly who to escalate to, and eventually got most of what they wanted because they made themselves a royal p.i.t.a. We always knew who was going to make what claim based on exactly what info they pre-gathered for "informational purposes only."

 

Good luck on your cruise. Can't wait for the review.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pokerpro5]

Having been in customer service at high end companies for over 20 years, I agree that writing (via email these days) is the best way to go. However, OP is what, at my last company, we called "a professional refund requester." It was always the customer who, always just for informational purposes and to be well-informed, wrote requesting an exception to a rule, knew exactly who to escalate to, and eventually got most of what they wanted because they made themselves a royal p.i.t.a. We always knew who was going to make what claim based on exactly what info they pre-gathered for "informational purposes only."

 

Good luck on your cruise. Can't wait for the review.

 

I'm sure that as a former customer service rep, you would most likely read an e-mail than have to deal with a customer on the phone who won't take no for an answer. If I had your (former) job, I'd want that, too.

 

However, I can tell you for over 20 years of personal experience solving many customer service issues that phone calls outperform written requests by a WIDE margin. Like it's such a wide margin that there's absolutely zero doubt in my mind that it's correct. I have also helped friends with customer service issues, and I often have this exchange with them:

 

Friend: "Hey pokerpro5, listen to how pissed I am at ABC Company for what they did. Blah, blah, blah, and here's a letter I wrote to them about the whole thing. And they STILL told me no! Can you believe it?"

 

Me: "Have you tried calling them and escalating the matter to the highest person who is allowed to take calls? Have you tried explaining all of the detail, refusing to accept no for an answer, and shooting down all of their attempts to deny you?"

 

Friend: "Ummm... no. I thought a letter would be more professional and more effective."

 

Me: "It's not. Not anymore. Try calling them and doing this, and I bet you'll do a lot better."

 

(2 days later)

 

Friend: "Wow! It worked! The issue is resolved!"

 

I'm not making this up. I have given this advice SO many times, and SO many friends/family have come back to thank me for guiding them away from the letter writing nonsense.

 

As I said, there are some companies that do not empower telephone-reachable employees to make exceptions, in which case the letter is your only option. NCL is not one of those companies.

 

BTW, in both of my "customer service" issues with NCL thus far, a simple phone call to the Miami office (the one with the power) fixed the solution, including a very rare refund in fare difference after the final payment date.

 

As I said, most letters aren't read in their entirety (especially if long), and it's much easier to deny a written request than a verbal request.

[sjbdtz]

Can't wait for the review.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Can almost read it already, can't you?

 

 

 

.

[pokerpro5]

This story proves exactly the point, that one cannot rely on the cruiseline making exceptions to the rule.

 

Even after escalating 5 times, the answer was still 'no'.

 

 

In fact the answer never changed from 'no', it just evolved to include a positive outcome.

 

I would wager that the 'no' remained a 'no' until the replacement cruise was completed (to ensure it didn't become a 2nd cancellation / request for reimbursement).

 

 

However, in any event.... the premise of the thread, as stated by OP was to help others determine whether the written policy was the same as the 'in practice' policy.

 

The answer, concisely, is.... Yes it is.

 

 

.

 

I never said that you can "rely" on NCL making exceptions.

 

I was making more of the converse point: You can't rely on NCL not to make exceptions, either.

 

This degrades the value of trip insurance, even if my chance of talking NCL into making an exception is fairly low, like 30%.

 

If 30% of the time I can talk NCL into letting me transfer my cruise to my brother if I can't make it due to an emergency, suddenly that trip insurance doesn't look as valuable, as 30% of the time I won't have to use it even if my trip gets canceled.

 

I'm just making up these numbers, but a lot of people claim they buy trip insurance for the peace of mind of not losing their cruise investment. I'm saying that it's not even set in stone that you'll lose the cruise investment even if you can't make it.

 

Also, I just want to know where I stand with this in case I ever have such an emergency.

 

And yes, I am still fully planning to take my cruise on August 4.

[pokerpro5]

Can almost read it already, can't you?

 

Mock me all you want, but I already wrote a review for my December cruise, and it was praised by those reading it as being fair and not too nitpicky or negative.

 

You can find it in my signature.

Edited July 24, 2014 by pokerpro5

[GeezerCouple]

I'm sure that as a former customer service rep, you would most likely read an e-mail than have to deal with a customer on the phone who won't take no for an answer. If I had your (former) job, I'd want that, too.

 

However, I can tell you for over 20 years of personal experience solving many customer service issues that phone calls outperform written requests by a WIDE margin. Like it's such a wide margin that there's absolutely zero doubt in my mind that it's correct. I have also helped friends with customer service issues, and I often have this exchange with them:

 

Friend: "Hey pokerpro5, listen to how pissed I am at ABC Company for what they did. Blah, blah, blah, and here's a letter I wrote to them about the whole thing. And they STILL told me no! Can you believe it?"

 

Me: "Have you tried calling them and escalating the matter to the highest person who is allowed to take calls? Have you tried explaining all of the detail, refusing to accept no for an answer, and shooting down all of their attempts to deny you?"

 

Friend: "Ummm... no. I thought a letter would be more professional and more effective."

 

Me: "It's not. Not anymore. Try calling them and doing this, and I bet you'll do a lot better."

 

(2 days later)

 

Friend: "Wow! It worked! The issue is resolved!"

 

I'm not making this up. I have given this advice SO many times, and SO many friends/family have come back to thank me for guiding them away from the letter writing nonsense.

 

As I said, there are some companies that do not empower telephone-reachable employees to make exceptions, in which case the letter is your only option. NCL is not one of those companies.

 

BTW, in both of my "customer service" issues with NCL thus far, a simple phone call to the Miami office (the one with the power) fixed the solution, including a very rare refund in fare difference after the final payment date.

 

As I said, most letters aren't read in their entirety (especially if long), and it's much easier to deny a written request than a verbal request.

 

Hmmm...

 

If you've had such phenomenal luck, including with NCL (!), then why in the world are you wasting so much time "gathering information" from others who are probably not nearly as effective as your super-successful self?

 

GeezerCouple

[pokerpro5]

Hmmm...

 

If you've had such phenomenal luck, including with NCL (!), then why in the world are you wasting so much time "gathering information" from others who are probably not nearly as effective as your super-successful self?

 

GeezerCouple

 

I haven't had phenomenal luck. I'm just good at understanding who to talk to and how to get exceptions made and/or getting mistakes corrected.

 

However, I haven't had any experience trying to get a refund for a cruise I couldn't make, so I was deferring to those that might have had that situation and exited from it successfully.

[pokerpro5]

Here is an example of me getting an exception made by NCL in a spot where many would likely claim it's impossible:

 

When I booked my first cruise with NCL last year, I was somewhat ignorant to NCL's policies, since I was new to NCL. Most of my previous cruises had been on Princess, and they do many things differently.

 

I was concerned about booking early, and asked about price drops. I told the rep that I didn't feel comfortable booking now because I thought the price would fall after final payment date.

 

The rep told me not to worry, and that they will always provide me either an upgrade or the full difference in OBC if that happened.

 

I foolishly trusted the rep (which I've since learned was a bad, bad decision). After the final payment date, the price indeed fell $90/pp.

 

I called up to claim my upgrade or OBC, and found out the bad news that I was entitled to neither. The upgrade would cost me money (as the next category up was still a lot more than what I paid), and they were refusing the OBC.

 

I insisted that I was told otherwise, but the NCL rep didn't care. "We absolutely cannot give you the full difference in OBC. Maybe like $25 or $50 total, but that's it."

 

I was dissatisfied with this answer, as I wouldn't have booked as early as I did if I didn't feel I had the guarantee to get the difference in OBC or a free upgrade. I went by the information I was given.

 

Still, I was getting nowhere. "Uh-uh. Can't do it. Sorry. There's just no way to give you that much OBC."

 

So I hung up and called Miami. Got to the highest person I could find. She told me she would pull the call and get back to me. Indeed, either they pulled the call or the rep admitted her mistake, and the Miami supervisor told me that my claim was verified to have been correct.

 

"Rather than giving you $180 OBC, I am just going to refund $180 to your card. Is that good? This is a one-time exception. Now you know the policy, right?"

 

I said yes, thanked her, and that was that.

 

If I wrote all of this in a letter, there's about a 100% chance that I would have been denied.

Edited July 24, 2014 by pokerpro5

[GeezerCouple]

Here is an example of me getting an exception made by NCL in a spot where many would likely claim it's impossible:

 

When I booked my first cruise with NCL last year, I was somewhat ignorant to NCL's policies, since I was new to NCL. Most of my previous cruises had been on Princess, and they do many things differently.

 

I was concerned about booking early, and asked about price drops. I told the rep that I didn't feel comfortable booking now because I thought the price would fall after final payment date.

 

The rep told me not to worry, and that they will always provide me either an upgrade or the full difference in OBC if that happened.

 

I foolishly trusted the rep (which I've since learned was a bad, bad decision). After the final payment date, the price indeed fell $90/pp.

 

I called up to claim my upgrade or OBC, and found out the bad news that I was entitled to neither. The upgrade would cost me money (as the next category up was still a lot more than what I paid), and they were refusing the OBC.

 

I insisted that I was told otherwise, but the NCL rep didn't care. "We absolutely cannot give you the full difference in OBC. Maybe like $25 or $50 total, but that's it."

 

I was dissatisfied with this answer, as I wouldn't have booked as early as I did if I didn't feel I had the guarantee to get the difference in OBC or a free upgrade. I went by the information I was given.

 

Still, I was getting nowhere. "Uh-uh. Can't do it. Sorry. There's just no way to give you that much OBC."

 

So I hung up and called Miami. Got to the highest person I could find. She told me she would pull the call and get back to me. Indeed, either they pulled the call or the rep admitted her mistake, and the Miami supervisor told me that my claim was verified to have been correct.

 

"Rather than giving you $180 OBC, I am just going to refund $180 to your card. Is that good? This is a one-time exception. Now you know the policy, right?"

 

I said yes, thanked her, and that was that.

 

If I wrote all of this in a letter, there's about a 100% chance that I would have been denied.

 

Although you and we don't generally see eye to eye (an understatement, I daresay), this IS a very different situation than what you've mentioned/described previously.

 

IF there was a call where a rep told us one thing definitively, and we relied upon it but the information was incorrect, we'd do exactly as you did, or close enough.

 

We always write down the phone rep's name (or service ID, etc.), and the time of the call, when we are relying up something.

 

We are especially careful about this when doing anything related to finances.

It's true that people are all too eager to say "something" even if it's wrong...

And it's also surprising how many phone calls really *are* "recorded for training purposes" ;)

And they DO get pulled and listened to again, and for more than "training" purposes.

 

So in this case, you knew exactly what was "wrong" and exactly what was needed to get it "right".

And that was done.

 

Still not sure what your "information gathering" is all about...

 

GeezerCouple

[sjbdtz]

I never said that you can "rely" on NCL making exceptions.

 

I was making more of the converse point: You can't rely on NCL not to make exceptions, either.

 

This degrades the value of trip insurance, even if my chance of talking NCL into making an exception is fairly low, like 30%.

 

If 30% of the time I can talk NCL into letting me transfer my cruise to my brother if I can't make it due to an emergency, suddenly that trip insurance doesn't look as valuable, as 30% of the time I won't have to use it even if my trip gets canceled.

 

I'm just making up these numbers, but a lot of people claim they buy trip insurance for the peace of mind of not losing their cruise investment. I'm saying that it's not even set in stone that you'll lose the cruise investment even if you can't make it.

 

Also, I just want to know where I stand with this in case I ever have such an emergency.

 

And yes, I am still fully planning to take my cruise on August 4.

 

The responses here do not suggest a 30% exception rate. Closer to 0.00001%.

 

 

.

[rochelle_s]

d me no! Can you believe it?"

 

 

As I said, there are some companies that do not empower telephone-reachable employees to make exceptions, in which case the letter is your only option. NCL is not one of those companies.

 

BTW, in both of my "customer service" issues with NCL thus far, a simple phone call to the Miami office (the one with the power) fixed the solution, including a very rare refund in fare difference after the final payment date.

 

 

 

My memory might not be what it used to be but if I recall correctly you have only been on 1 NCL cruise and you have already had two customer service issues. Not a great track record.

 

I also thought you have previously mentioned that you receive comped cruises through a casino reward program.

 

My question is: How do you receive the rare refund in fare difference from a comped cruise? Regardless if it before or after final payment.

 

Just wondering.

 

 

Rochelle

[pokerpro5]

The responses here do not suggest a 30% exception rate. Closer to 0.00001%.

 

0.00001%, huh? Somehow I am not finding 10,000,000 posts in this thread. Maybe you have some kind of special access to read messages here that I don't.

 

Actually, in this thread we have exactly one story of a good NCL customer needing an exception made and eventually getting it. I don't see any stories of failures.

 

So looks more like the chances would be 100% by your logic.

Edited July 24, 2014 by pokerpro5

[pokerpro5]

My memory might not be what it used to be but if I recall correctly you have only been on 1 NCL cruise and you have already had two customer service issues. Not a great track record.

 

I also thought you have previously mentioned that you receive comped cruises through a casino reward program.

 

My question is: How do you receive the rare refund in fare difference from a comped cruise? Regardless if it before or after final payment.

 

Just wondering.

 

 

Rochelle

 

I had two issues that were caused by idiot employees. One was already mentioned in this thread. The other I have also mentioned before -- I inquired about the bring-your-own soda policy, was given a ridiculous/nonsensical answer, and the rep left me on "endless hold" when I wouldn't accept her answer and demanded a supervisor.

 

In both cases, the NCL Miami office made things more than right, and I gave them two big thumbs up for their resolution of the situations.

 

I don't receive a comped cruise, but I do get a once-per-year balcony stateroom (oceanview on Alaska, though) as part of the Seven Stars program at Caesar's. However, I have to still pay taxes & NCF for each person, which ends up ranging between $550 and $880 total depending upon the itinerary.

 

However, in my story above, I also had to book a second room at my own expense, because I had four people going on the cruise, and I definitely wasn't going to cram all of us into one room (which would have also been a lot of extra money, anyway.)

 

You are correct in that fare doesn't matter when it comes to the "comped" cruise, as the NCF/taxes remain constant, so in that situation I am safe to book early and forget about it, aside from looking for better promotions such as a free upgrade (which is what I did for my upcoming Alaska cruise).

[Schuddy]

Hi [ first time I have made comment] . You have had enough cruises under your belt to give a true answer. My travel partner has cancelled now 25 days before we leave on NCL Star for Iceland. NCL now want to charge me a solo travel cost for the cabin which has been paid for in full. is this normal ? Or will they refund my friends part cost .If so I can understand that I will have to pay the difference. Not happy about now going Solo also.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Schuddy

[pokerpro5]

Hi [ first time I have made comment] . You have had enough cruises under your belt to give a true answer. My travel partner has cancelled now 25 days before we leave on NCL Star for Iceland. NCL now want to charge me a solo travel cost for the cabin which has been paid for in full. is this normal ? Or will they refund my friends part cost .If so I can understand that I will have to pay the difference. Not happy about now going Solo also.

 

Hi, according to this schedule, NCL will refund your friend 25% when it's 25 days prior to sailing.

 

This probably explains why they are asking your for additional money, because the "single supplement" charge (that is, the amount a solo cruiser must pay extra) is usually near double the fare each person is paying.

 

So NCL probably charges you the difference between the single supplement and the portion they're keeping of you former traveling companion's.

 

Otherwise it makes little sense to me.

 

You will have to post more detail for me to figure the rest out.

[Starry Eyes]

Hi [ first time I have made comment] . You have had enough cruises under your belt to give a true answer. My travel partner has cancelled now 25 days before we leave on NCL Star for Iceland. NCL now want to charge me a solo travel cost for the cabin which has been paid for in full. is this normal ? Or will they refund my friends part cost .If so I can understand that I will have to pay the difference. Not happy about now going Solo also.

 

Does your companion have travel insurance? and if so is the cancellation for a covered reason? if so, do you also have travel insurance? I ask because, if all answers are "yes" hopefully the insurance will make you whole.

 

if not, is there somebody else who'd like to join you? you might be able to change one name on the reservation if you can find a new companion. Of course, that may not work; sometimes the timing is off or airfare now is unaffordable. Worth a thought though. there is a website that lets people look for cabinmates; you could try that if you'd be willing to share with a stranger.

 

If your companion gets a 25% refund, I suspect you,ll have to make it up as a single supplement....not the taxes, just the 25% fare. does that sound like the amount you are being asked to pay? I hope they are not asking for more than that.

 

finally, I think we may be on the same cruise...Is your's the Star on Sept 22? if so, come over and join the roll call. There you will meet others on the cruise. it is a nice crowd on this roll call. with new friends on board, you might enjoy going solo. here is a link to the roll call for sept 22.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1757019

[Cruisingwithtommy]

 

Glad you had fun searching out my post history on Cruise Critic.

 

:-)))

[Proseknitic]

This is kind of what I was asking for, and I thank you for posting this story.

 

Just FYI, writing letter is always a terrible idea when asking for customer service exceptions to be made. This is true for NCL and every other company. When you write letters, there are two problems:

 

1) The person receiving the letter has a lot of other letters to read, and often isn't interested in reading all of the details.

 

2) It's MUCH easier to tell someone "no" in written format than it is over the phone. That is, it's easier from a human psychology standpoint, as you don't have to hear the person's disappointment, nor can they argue with your decision.

 

 

Letter-writing for customer service matters is an antiquated way of handling these matters, yet many (especially those who are older, and remember doing it successfully in the 1980s and beforehand) still attempt to resolve their issues this way.

 

Since we are straying so far off topic ... I would like to ask where in the world you found the above information. Writing a letter is never wrong, is not antiquated and honestly is more likely to get a response. Part of the reason is that it seems that none of the under 35s ever seem to write a letter....

 

I am of the generation who always puts everything in writing. Always. In the modern era, I may write an email or fill out a customer form but I will never try to handle something with an entry level person over the phone. Not when the outcome matters to me.

 

It is partly a matter of follow up ....

"Where is my refund -I talked to SuzyQ last week....

"She doesn't work here any more

"Well, my refund

"You aren't authorized a refund

"She said

and so it goes.

 

Even more importantly, I take the time to write letters when I receive outstanding service. And if you don't think that written positive comments aren't effective in helping out service personnel, you are badly mistaken. A phone comment can "get lost." Written comments are logged in...

 

Learn the rules and procedures. Read the fine print in the contract. All the cruise lines pay a lot of money for those contracts and all but Pride of America are not flagged in the US. So US law isn't going to apply. Read the fine print on trip insurance -few, if any cover cancellation outside of specified reasons. NCL, like all the other lines is in the business of making money. They make money with full ships and by not giving away money when they don't have to. Refunding after final payment falls into that.

 

Also learn the TSA rules - which have prohibited the substitution of passengers once a ticket has been purchased since oh, about 9/11 - it may save you a lot of time and effort.

 

-Holly

who spends more days on planes, trains and ships than she spends on the ground. Has passport, has insurance, travels a lot.

[pokerpro5]

Since we are straying so far off topic ... I would like to ask where in the world you found the above information. Writing a letter is never wrong, is not antiquated and honestly is more likely to get a response. Part of the reason is that it seems that none of the under 35s ever seem to write a letter....

 

I am of the generation who always puts everything in writing. Always. In the modern era, I may write an email or fill out a customer form but I will never try to handle something with an entry level person over the phone. Not when the outcome matters to me.

 

It is partly a matter of follow up ....

"Where is my refund -I talked to SuzyQ last week....

"She doesn't work here any more

"Well, my refund

"You aren't authorized a refund

"She said

and so it goes.

 

Even more importantly, I take the time to write letters when I receive outstanding service. And if you don't think that written positive comments aren't effective in helping out service personnel, you are badly mistaken. A phone comment can "get lost." Written comments are logged in...

 

Learn the rules and procedures. Read the fine print in the contract. All the cruise lines pay a lot of money for those contracts and all but Pride of America are not flagged in the US. So US law isn't going to apply. Read the fine print on trip insurance -few, if any cover cancellation outside of specified reasons. NCL, like all the other lines is in the business of making money. They make money with full ships and by not giving away money when they don't have to. Refunding after final payment falls into that.

 

Also learn the TSA rules - which have prohibited the substitution of passengers once a ticket has been purchased since oh, about 9/11 - it may save you a lot of time and effort.

 

-Holly

who spends more days on planes, trains and ships than she spends on the ground. Has passport, has insurance, travels a lot.

 

I'm not under 35, but I'm in my early 40s, so I'm not sure which "generation" you would classify me.

 

But that's not really important here.

 

Some of your advice is good: Learn the rules, learn the laws, write letters commending GOOD service...

 

However, you are incorrect about the letter-writing thing for resolving problems.

 

You speak of "documenting" your requests, but that is not all that important unless you expect the matter to land in court. If it's just a matter of correcting an erroneous bill, making an exception to policy, or giving back compensatory credit for lacking service, you are far better off speaking live to another human being.

 

Letter-writers have a fantasy that their detailed letter will be carefully read, intelligently analyzed, and then thoroughly investigated. Unfortunately, that is not the reality, especially these days. Most letters are received by a department that reads hundreds or thousands per week, and their goal is to answer the letter as quickly as possible while utilizing the fewest company resources.

 

So when your letter is received, it is skimmed, and often not read in its entirety. They try to understand the gist of what you're writing about, and then lump it into one of several predetermined categories.

 

Is it something asking for an exception in policy? The answer is always NO. This is because it's easy to answer back, "I'm sorry, but our policy states XXXX, so therefore we cannot accommodate your request of YYYY. Thank you for writing."

 

Is it something asking to a correction to a billing error? This is often forwarded to another department, which is again usually swamped with such requests, and the department usually seeks to justify the error rather than correcting it. Or, even when they are actually looking into it, frequently they do not see the same thing you did (because, again, your letter was just skimmed), and you get an incorrect resolution.

 

And what if you had a bad experience, and are looking for some credit back or credit for next time? There is usually a cookie-cutter answer for these situations, which ranges from "no" to offering a token piece of compensation such as $25 credit for next time.

 

What is the constant above? Your letter is not read carefully, your concern is not taken seriously, and nobody really stops to consider or think about your situation.

 

And that's if you get a response at all. Companies in 2014 are notoriously bad at answering letters, and frequently you either wait months for a (poor) response or never hear from them at all.

 

When you call, and you get someone who is empowered to make exceptions, you get instant results, and you have the power to not let them off the phone until they fully understand the situation. You have the power to argue against a resolution that you find to be unsatisfactory. You have the power to generally be a pain in the ass who won't go away until your situation is resolved. Letters do not have that power.

 

Customer service employees are trained that a letter cannot argue with an answer of "no", so it's much easier to give this answer to a letter!

 

They are also aware that you are more likely to go away if your written request is denied, as writing another letter is time-consuming and difficult, and eventually you will give up. And if you don't give up, throwing future letters in the trash takes all but 5 seconds.

 

Where am I getting my "information"? I'm getting it from over 2 decades of experience of resolving a wide range of customer service issues, including ones deemed "impossible" to solve by others. I have become so good at solving customer service messes that friends and family routinely approach me to solve their problems.

 

Let me tell you that I never do so with a letter, unless I have no other choice.

 

And even if you want to argue that our two methods are equal, mine takes mere minutes to accomplish, while letter writing is time consuming and requires a long wait for a response.

 

By the way, I agree that it is good to get promises in writing, but that can often be obtained from the person you're speaking to on the telephone, by asking them to e-mail you confirmation of what you agreed to.

 

Perhaps you can open your mind and try using the phone to resolve your problems (making sure you have reached the highest and most empowered department possible), and you will see how much easier it is than letter-writing.

 

Oh, and since this is an NCL forum, the great news is that NCL DOES have an empowered office that the average consumer can reach every weekday, which can be done by simply calling the Miami corporate number.

Edited August 28, 2014 by pokerpro5

[CPT Trips]

Since we are straying so far off topic ... I would like to ask where in the world you found the above information. Writing a letter is never wrong, is not antiquated and honestly is more likely to get a response. Part of the reason is that it seems that none of the under 35s ever seem to write a letter....

 

I am of the generation who always puts everything in writing. Always. In the modern era, I may write an email or fill out a customer form but I will never try to handle something with an entry level person over the phone. Not when the outcome matters to me.

 

It is partly a matter of follow up ....

"Where is my refund -I talked to SuzyQ last week....

"She doesn't work here any more

"Well, my refund

"You aren't authorized a refund

"She said

and so it goes.

 

Even more importantly, I take the time to write letters when I receive outstanding service. And if you don't think that written positive comments aren't effective in helping out service personnel, you are badly mistaken. A phone comment can "get lost." Written comments are logged in...

 

Learn the rules and procedures. Read the fine print in the contract. All the cruise lines pay a lot of money for those contracts and all but Pride of America are not flagged in the US. So US law isn't going to apply. Read the fine print on trip insurance -few, if any cover cancellation outside of specified reasons. NCL, like all the other lines is in the business of making money. They make money with full ships and by not giving away money when they don't have to. Refunding after final payment falls into that.

 

Also learn the TSA rules - which have prohibited the substitution of passengers once a ticket has been purchased since oh, about 9/11 - it may save you a lot of time and effort.

 

-Holly

who spends more days on planes, trains and ships than she spends on the ground. Has passport, has insurance, travels a lot.

 

Are you positive?

 

That is totally out of sync with TSA requiring the final cruise manifest be submitted 2 hours prior. And an air passenger having up to flight time. In reality it's a cruise line or air line policy to generate additional income for the minor paperwork needed to do a name change.