On hold like a Norwegian

[Level six]

I was on hold hearing about "how we'll be with you shortly" for an hour and thirty eight minutes before their line went dead.

 

Tried again and spent just under 45 minutes before the same thing happened.

 

Now I'm at 28 minutes and still hearing about how I should share my memorable NCL experiences on social media - thinking they might not want me to share this....

 

SHARE!!! Do it! :D

[Level six]

My wife keeps me on a very short leash these days. Her mom will be there too. They used to be Party girls. (Of course, in the USSR, the meaning is rather different...)

 

You have received some very slipshod customer service.

I hope your cruise will be so fantastic your frustrations will fade from memory.

 

Looking forward to meeting in person!

 

Thanks Shawnino!! I hope so too. Can't wait to meet you and your wife!! We will make it fun no matter what!

[shapatack0]

I'm trying to update the pricing on our Alaska cruise to reflect today's promotion. I have been on hold for so long (2 hours!), my phone died. Anyone else on hold forever or are you getting through to a person??

 

I booked a cruise with a PCC that I usually use today because of the new pricing and halfway through our conversation we got disconnected. He then called me back from his personal cell phone to tell me that their entire phone system had gone down (he finished booking me from his cell phone). So that's probably the reason for the long wait times.

[cheerywillow]

Well, all I have to do is ask a question, so I hope tomorrow will be slower and won't be as crazy!!!

[Maddysdaddy]

SHARE!!! Do it! :D

 

I've tweeted them, but see that they stopped tweeting over 2 hours ago.

 

All they were saying to people was the form answer of "We apologize for the intermittent technical difficulties", so.... basically the complete opposite of customer service.

 

How about a "We're sorry to have wasted your time. Please DM us your phone number and we'll have someone call you?"

[gymbomb]

I called late morning eastern time and was on hold less an 5 minutes.

 

 

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[Level six]

I've tweeted them, but see that they stopped tweeting over 2 hours ago.

 

All they were saying to people was the form answer of "We apologize for the intermittent technical difficulties", so.... basically the complete opposite of customer service.

 

How about a "We're sorry to have wasted your time. Please DM us your phone number and we'll have someone call you?"

 

I know, I just looked up their FB page.........all the same. Well, hopefully you get to talk to someone and get the deal you wanted. I just laughed because I had heard that same thing on hold for 2 hours, so when I read your post, I was like "light bulb moment!"" Good luck!

[April7901]

On hold for two hours.

 

Result: Saved $1100 and got a free UBP!

 

Totally worth it.

[swedish weave]

All of you ----- Just think how lucky you are that you don't work in the NCL call center !!!

[SeaShark]

WOW...just read through this thread. All I can say is that I'm glad I have a PCC who I can call directly instead of having to call the 800 number and taking whoever and whatever I can get (including having to hold).

[April7901]

WOW...just read through this thread. All I can say is that I'm glad I have a PCC who I can call directly instead of having to call the 800 number and taking whoever and whatever I can get (including having to hold).

 

Fortunately I do now!

[shapatack0]

WOW...just read through this thread. All I can say is that I'm glad I have a PCC who I can call directly instead of having to call the 800 number and taking whoever and whatever I can get (including having to hold).

 

I agree, called my PCC's voicemail this morning, left a message, he called me back within 45 minutes and I had no idea about all of the problems until we were disconnected and he called me back again. PCC's are definitely the way to go if you want to avoid the hold times.

[1stTimeCruiser2008]

I am so frustrated! I booked through a TA and called him at 9am this morning. Since then he has been disconnected several times and now has been on hold over an hour and a half. He only works another hour and no one is at the agency tomorrow. I will be SO disappointed if he doesn't get through.

 

Has anyone who's called NCL asked if they will extend the promo due to all the technical difficulties? If I knew it wasn't one day only I'd just give up and have my TA call Monday. This is ridiculous. :mad:

[Maddysdaddy]

Sorry, probably a dumb question, but what's a PCC and how do I get one?

[shapatack0]

Sorry, probably a dumb question, but what's a PCC and how do I get one?

 

 

Personal Cruise Consultant. If you've ever cruised with NCL before they most likely will have called/emailed you before, check your emails, should have the PCC's phone number and direct extension. If you've never cruised NCL before I'm not sure.

 

 

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[bambilin]

I'm trying to update the pricing on our Alaska cruise to reflect today's promotion. I have been on hold for so long (2 hours!), my phone died. Anyone else on hold forever or are you getting through to a person??

 

 

Hang on! Not sure if it is today only but my TA was able to bring my quad balcony down $900 with KSF and we kept AARP and UBP. He was on hold over 2 hours.

 

 

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[ncklhaus]

I must be in the minority of people who do not have a good PCC. Actually, don't even have a PCC anymore. My last one was a really nice guy, we laughed a lot. He got along great with my husband, asked about our daughter, etc. But once we booked with him, nothing. Then, around 3 weeks before our cruise, we get a call from him. I'm thinking UPGRADE FAIRY!! Nope. He says, "Hi, my name is _______. How can I help you book your next freestyle cruise?" I'm like, "Um, really? We are already booked. We booked through you. We sail in 3 weeks." Click. He hangs up. Never heard from him or another PCC again. I called him to tell him it was OK, we didn't take offense. He didn't answer so I left him a message saying the same thing. Supposedly, he left the company. If that's the case, shouldn't I have been assigned a new PCC?

FWIW, we've booked 3 cruises and sailed 2 times since then. I just go through the website or my TA instead of a PCC.

[Maddysdaddy]

So after an hour fifty, I got cut off yet again!!!! So now we're up to about 4 hours in total on hold after being cut off three times (as kvetched about above).

 

Figured I would give it one more shot and would try to game the system by hitting "new booking" and surprise, surprise, I was connected in less than three minutes.

 

Saved about $250 (since our cruise was only 50% off) and threw on a phantom person #4 in case we decide to take one of my daughter's friends - apparently my daughter has a twin sister named Jane that none of us ever knew about - it's like a Lifetime movie of the week.

[Level six]

so after an hour fifty, i got cut off yet again!!!! So now we're up to about 4 hours in total on hold after being cut off three times (as kvetched about above).

 

Figured i would give it one more shot and would try to game the system by hitting "new booking" and surprise, surprise, i was connected in less than three minutes.

 

Saved about $250 (since our cruise was only 50% off) and threw on a phantom person #4 in case we decide to take one of my daughter's friends - apparently my daughter has a twin sister named jane that none of us ever knew about - it's like a lifetime movie of the week.

 

nice!

[Pikaia]

Saved about $250 (since our cruise was only 50% off) and threw on a phantom person #4 in case we decide to take one of my daughter's friends - apparently my daughter has a twin sister named Jane that none of us ever knew about - it's like a Lifetime movie of the week.

 

Be careful doing this. It used to be trivial to change a name on a reservation. However, the newly updated cancellation policy suggests you could be charged a fee if you decide to leave poor Jane at home and take someone else in her place.

 

http://www.ncl.com/about/cancellation-fee-schedule

 

You shouldn't have any trouble cancelling Jane:

 

Effective Monday, August 13, 2012 all bookings with the initial date of January 1, 2011 and beyond will no longer be charged a cancellation fee for guest 3-8 if cancelled outside of the 100% cancellation period. If the reservation is cancelled within the 100% cancellation period then the applicable cancellation fee will apply for guest 3-8.

 

But a name change may not be without penalty:

 

Name changes and departure date changes are considered reservation cancellations and are subject to the above cancellation fees.

 

And a little further down the page, it's restated:

 

Name substitutions and departure date changes for cruise, land and other add-ons are considered cancellations and are subject to cancellation fees.

[Maddysdaddy]

Thanks for this.

 

Fingers crossed that the booking agent was right when she told me that I could change the name at no cost or cancel the 4th person outright, as long as I made the decision before the PIF date.

 

 

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[pnerissa]

They just posted on Twitter that the offer is being extended through tomorrow. I'm still sitting on hold.

[swedish weave]

So after an hour fifty, I got cut off yet again!!!! So now we're up to about 4 hours in total on hold after being cut off three times (as kvetched about above).

 

Figured I would give it one more shot and would try to game the system by hitting "new booking" and surprise, surprise, I was connected in less than three minutes.

 

Saved about $250 (since our cruise was only 50% off) and threw on a phantom person #4 in case we decide to take one of my daughter's friends - apparently my daughter has a twin sister named Jane that none of us ever knew about - it's like a Lifetime movie of the week.

 

A name change normally requires cancelling and rebooking. That could change a lot of things like OBC, rates, discounts, etc.

[Pikaia]

Thanks for this.

 

Fingers crossed that the booking agent was right when she told me that I could change the name at no cost or cancel the 4th person outright, as long as I made the decision before the PIF date.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Yeah, you should definitely be able to cancel Jane without penalty.

 

No one has reported a fee for a name substitution yet, but that webpage only changed a month ago.

 

Crossing my fingers that it goes smoothly for you!

[pnerissa]

You have got to kidding me! I FINALLY got through to my PCC and he directs me to the cruise reward # because I used a future cruise credit to book and he's afraid if he tries to change it he'll botch it all up. Now I'm back on hold and back to square one (because I had to hang up and dial again)!!

 

I'm starting to feel like I could swim to Hawaii before they answer the darn phone. :eek: