Getaway 4/27/19 Transatlantic Shortened by Two Days

[flipper32]

I'm on this cruise and when Le Havre and Brugge were removed I couldn't believe it and felt like I was taking a 10 day cruise to nowhere. But NCL did listen to the complaints and added back the ports most people care about it. I still get 25% off my cruise and 25% off my next cruise, considering everything its not a bad compromise.  

[Fatman From Toronto]

 

Folks,

In case you haven't got it yet I have attached the latest itinerary. It is this afternoon from the NCL office thru my agent. Still 10 days with Azores and Portland off, Belgium and Le Havre back on.

 

 

Itinerary.pdf

[gogators!]

On ‎4‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 2:35 PM, Markanddonna said:

I have to say that I'm not surprised by NCL's treatment of its passengers. They obviously feel they are vindicated from giving the two last ports back, but all of that change and stress has to be so upsetting!  I agree that they will likely benefit from the excursions but in the long run, hopefully, folks will remember and learn from this. NCL is one above Carnival in my eyes.

Emotion stress is an understatement.  My best friend has had about a dozen siezures over this nonsense.  It's important to understand the psychological impact of their selfish decision.  We couldn't take it anymore and cancelled.  Can't imagine a negative cruise ship atmosphere.

[Sailor_Sally]

What was really cheap was the $300 per person for hotel or air changes only . It should be $300 per person to use for whatever and not have to apply for it . Cheap Cheap Cheap

[OscarMcSloth]

15 hours ago, gogators! said:

Emotion stress is an understatement.  My best friend has had about a dozen siezures over this nonsense.  It's important to understand the psychological impact of their selfish decision.  We couldn't take it anymore and cancelled.  Can't imagine a negative cruise ship atmosphere.

Sorry to hear about your friend and your trip.

 

We are working with Vivian to try and cancel. With 24hrs to go we should be relaxing and looking forward to tomorrow but it's just been a mess of trying to replan travel, get refunds for hotels, regain approval for time off, rebook daycare... it's just a lot, especially to get on a ship with less than trilled passengers, owned by a company that has been outright hostile towards it's customer base. I'm really let down because I've never had a bad experience with NCL before and I really loved the brand - I feel like a complete idiot for having been a huge advocate and brand ambassador for them. 

[rugerdog]

21 minutes ago, OscarMcSloth said:

Sorry to hear about your friend and your trip.

 

We are working with Vivian to try and cancel. With 24hrs to go we should be relaxing and looking forward to tomorrow but it's just been a mess of trying to replan travel, get refunds for hotels, regain approval for time off, rebook daycare... it's just a lot, especially to get on a ship with less than trilled passengers, owned by a company that has been outright hostile towards it's customer base. I'm really let down because I've never had a bad experience with NCL before and I really loved the brand - I feel like a complete idiot for having been a huge advocate and brand ambassador for them. 

 

I'm so sorry for the both of you as well as the others going through this emotional upheaval.

 

I hope Vivian takes care of you all.  I will say, I have emailed her twice, and both times, she (or someone from her office) has responded quite quickly.

 

We are still going on the cruise, but we don't have nearly the logistical issues as many others.

 

Best wishes to you all going forward.

 

Darlene

[NLH Arizona]

5 hours ago, OscarMcSloth said:

Sorry to hear about your friend and your trip.

 

We are working with Vivian to try and cancel. With 24hrs to go we should be relaxing and looking forward to tomorrow but it's just been a mess of trying to replan travel, get refunds for hotels, regain approval for time off, rebook daycare... it's just a lot, especially to get on a ship with less than trilled passengers, owned by a company that has been outright hostile towards it's customer base. I'm really let down because I've never had a bad experience with NCL before and I really loved the brand - I feel like a complete idiot for having been a huge advocate and brand ambassador for them. 

Good luck.  I hope you post if they are able to cancel, so others can follow suit.

[km202]

I agree with the other posters. If they are letting people cancel with a full refund, please let us know ASAP. My plans are not 100% set in stone so if they are allowing us to have an out, I'll probably take it. Otherwise, see most of you tomorrow and let's keep in touch for a class action when we get back. 

[JSSIII1970]

Just landed in NY. I've heard rumors BUT NOT ONE WORD from NCL. What the HELL?  OVER!!##

[gogators!]

9 hours ago, OscarMcSloth said:

Sorry to hear about your friend and your trip.

 

We are working with Vivian to try and cancel. With 24hrs to go we should be relaxing and looking forward to tomorrow but it's just been a mess of trying to replan travel, get refunds for hotels, regain approval for time off, rebook daycare... it's just a lot, especially to get on a ship with less than trilled passengers, owned by a company that has been outright hostile towards it's customer base. I'm really let down because I've never had a bad experience with NCL before and I really loved the brand - I feel like a complete idiot for having been a huge advocate and brand ambassador for them. 

You can cancel the day before the cruise.  If you have insurance you get 75% of your cruise fare toward next sailing.  They keep the cruise fare and insurance but refund the rest.  We are very relieved not to be on this disaster of a cruise!

[Newleno]

Wow we just got back from another cruise but we looked at this one,  I wonder if last minute rates hit rock bottom, cause stonehenge is on our bucket list, (southhampton closest port)  Anyway I have not read through all 15 pages of posts but here is an idea, yeah um, also go to the front desk and take off all your service charges.  That will be 15 per day per person  by 10 days.  total of $150 per person, that should help with expenses.  Gee I hope most were are able to just visit the england area for a few days instead of changing your flights.

[Osnab]

10 minutes ago, Newleno said:

Wow we just got back from another cruise but we looked at this one,  I wonder if last minute rates hit rock bottom, cause stonehenge is on our bucket list, (southhampton closest port)  Anyway I have not read through all 15 pages of posts but here is an idea, yeah um, also go to the front desk and take off all your service charges.  That will be 15 per day per person  by 10 days.  total of $150 per person, that should help with expenses.  Gee I hope most were are able to just visit the england area for a few days instead of changing your flights.

Why? That’s unfair to the crew. 

[Newleno]

31 minutes ago, Osnab said:

Why? That’s unfair to the crew. 

not time nor place for that discussion, everyone knows that there are 2 different camps of thought about the mandatory service fees. (just because you say it is unfair to the crew does not mean your premise is valid)  No need to rehash, I was just letting people know how to get money back for their unexpected expenses.  This is all NCL's fault, their compensation package for this debacle is not adequate.

[km202]

We're officially done with the cruise from hell. Despite the mishaps, I tried my best to make lemonade out of lemons. I will never cruise NCL again despite having done so for twelve years prior. I'm going to wait a couple of weeks before submitting a case to small claims court for all of the monetary damages Norwegian owes us unless someone here is planning to file a class action. If that is happening, please keep all of us posted. Was a pleasure meeting you all, even under these circumstances. 

[Osnab]

1 hour ago, km202 said:

We're officially done with the cruise from hell. Despite the mishaps, I tried my best to make lemonade out of lemons. I will never cruise NCL again despite having done so for twelve years prior. I'm going to wait a couple of weeks before submitting a case to small claims court for all of the monetary damages Norwegian owes us unless someone here is planning to file a class action. If that is happening, please keep all of us posted. Was a pleasure meeting you all, even under these circumstances. 

That’s too bad. I had thought once all this pre-cruise crap was over with, everything would be good on the cruise. 

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, km202 said:

We're officially done with the cruise from hell. Despite the mishaps, I tried my best to make lemonade out of lemons. ...

 

24 minutes ago, Osnab said:

That’s too bad. I had thought once all this pre-cruise crap was over with, everything would be good on the cruise. 

 

I was hoping that would be the case as well.    km202, if you feel up to it, can you let us know what the problems were on the cruise itself?    (I totally agree that the pre-cruise stuff was outrageous.)

[JSSIII1970]

Ok. To start with, the cruise from hell is not over - still waiting two days for my plane to come - too costly to abandon the no-refund flight (NCL not going to pay for that), so stuck in a place I didn't want to be - hating NCL every second of it! - as I did waiting in lines HOURS on two occasions, and all the time to rework reservations - but no free WiFi given to do this either (thanks again NCL).   Then, how could you forget the weather?  Instead of the warmer weather on the more southerly route via Azores, my intended pass time, the pool and lounging in the sun, were too cold and worthless - also caused the inside of the ship, the Atrium and dining areas to be overcrowded, and most of the outside eating areas on the "Waterfront" were closed due to weather. Fueling the hatred was the intentional cover-up by NCL who hid the planned change from its loyal patrons for its own benefit. So pending return of money NCL, most inefficient to cover the costs and lost value of my annual vacation, I'm done with NCL. I've requested a refund on my next planned cruise with them as well as their "pay $500 and get $1000" which I stupidly paid for. Never again!  Rescheduled next cruise with Celebrity.

  

[kitkat343]

40 minutes ago, JSSIII1970 said:

Ok. To start with, the cruise from hell is not over - still waiting two days for my plane to come - too costly to abandon the no-refund flight (NCL not going to pay for that), so stuck in a place I didn't want to be - hating NCL every second of it! - as I did waiting in lines HOURS on two occasions, and all the time to rework reservations - but no free WiFi given to do this either (thanks again NCL).   Then, how could you forget the weather?  Instead of the warmer weather on the more southerly route via Azores, my intended pass time, the pool and lounging in the sun, were too cold and worthless - also caused the inside of the ship, the Atrium and dining areas to be overcrowded, and most of the outside eating areas on the "Waterfront" were closed due to weather. Fueling the hatred was the intentional cover-up by NCL who hid the planned change from its loyal patrons for its own benefit. So pending return of money NCL, most inefficient to cover the costs and lost value of my annual vacation, I'm done with NCL. I've requested a refund on my next planned cruise with them as well as their "pay $500 and get $1000" which I stupidly paid for. Never again!  Rescheduled next cruise with Celebrity.

  

I'm so sorry.  This was such an awful situation, and it's very sad NCL made this choice.  They upset a lot of passengers last year on their Baltic cruises when they switched docking in Stockholm to docking an hour away after final payment and didn't initially plan to provide free transport for the people who booked the trip expecting to be docking in the center of the city.  It's a bigger deal than it sounds, since I actually chose NCL four years ago because Princess was sailing a larger ship in the Baltics that couldn't at the time dock directly in Stockholm  (when you don't dock directly in Stockholm you miss the beautiful sail through in the archipelago and add transportation difficulties).  The Baltic passengers' frustration last season was nothing compared to what you experienced, but it's the same lack of concern for customers that concerns me.  My NCL cruise four years ago was very nice, but am not comfortable with how little regard they have shown for people's plans.  

[dexddd]

8 hours ago, JSSIII1970 said:

Ok. To start with, the cruise from hell is not over - still waiting two days for my plane to come - too costly to abandon the no-refund flight (NCL not going to pay for that), so stuck in a place I didn't want to be - hating NCL every second of it! - as I did waiting in lines HOURS on two occasions, and all the time to rework reservations - but no free WiFi given to do this either (thanks again NCL).   Then, how could you forget the weather?  Instead of the warmer weather on the more southerly route via Azores, my intended pass time, the pool and lounging in the sun, were too cold and worthless - also caused the inside of the ship, the Atrium and dining areas to be overcrowded, and most of the outside eating areas on the "Waterfront" were closed due to weather. Fueling the hatred was the intentional cover-up by NCL who hid the planned change from its loyal patrons for its own benefit. So pending return of money NCL, most inefficient to cover the costs and lost value of my annual vacation, I'm done with NCL. I've requested a refund on my next planned cruise with them as well as their "pay $500 and get $1000" which I stupidly paid for. Never again!  Rescheduled next cruise with Celebrity.

  

I'm totally with you but not sure about the last part.  Did you buy cruisenext certificates on this Getaway trip?

[JSSIII1970]

Yes. NCL apparently has agreed to return this cost. 

[flipper32]

I'm puzzled by the comment "waiting in lines HOURS on two occasions" I was on the cruise also, was it what I originally though it was going to be, of course not. The cruise from hell I certainly wouldn't describe it that way. I never saw a line or waited on a line that was remotely close to that. The worst line I had I was getting on the ship in Brugge and although long it was no worse than many other boarding experiences.  Clearly the weather caused issues but most of that was the weather not the route. The day we left the forecast for Le Harve was 63 degrees and sunny obviously that changed dramatically.  Unfortunately late April early May the weather can be unpredictable. 

[Markanddonna]

One issue that was possibly minor, but now is more real with these experiences is that many of these newer ships like the Getaway were designed for warm weather cruising. I was on that ship and considered that it would be undesirable for a transatlantic and Baltic. I prefer the smaller ships that don't have places like the Waterfront which was useless for the folks on this past TA.

 

My last TA on the Jade in 2018 was a great disappointment and almost turned me into anti-cruising. A cruise on MSC revived my spirit.

[vwlmember]

10 hours ago, JSSIII1970 said:

Ok. To start with, the cruise from hell is not over - still waiting two days for my plane to come - too costly to abandon the no-refund flight (NCL not going to pay for that), so stuck in a place I didn't want to be - hating NCL every second of it! - as I did waiting in lines HOURS on two occasions, and all the time to rework reservations - but no free WiFi given to do this either (thanks again NCL).   Then, how could you forget the weather?  Instead of the warmer weather on the more southerly route via Azores, my intended pass time, the pool and lounging in the sun, were too cold and worthless - also caused the inside of the ship, the Atrium and dining areas to be overcrowded, and most of the outside eating areas on the "Waterfront" were closed due to weather. Fueling the hatred was the intentional cover-up by NCL who hid the planned change from its loyal patrons for its own benefit. So pending return of money NCL, most inefficient to cover the costs and lost value of my annual vacation, I'm done with NCL. I've requested a refund on my next planned cruise with them as well as their "pay $500 and get $1000" which I stupidly paid for. Never again!  Rescheduled next cruise with Celebrity.

  

I agree. This cruise was a disaster from the beginning and despite the crew doing their best to temper the overall atmosphere of anger, it was not successful. The northern route completely killed all outdoor activities and the ship was not capable of handling the crowds inside the ship. They failed to provide adequate entertainment options and even the main theater remained empty for most of the day. This was my last cruise with Norwegian. The treatment of both us, and their crew (by leaving them to deal with these issues for seven full days at sea) is unacceptable. If anyone starts a class action suit I am willing to assist in any way possible. They need to be held accountable for this improper treatment and the stress caused by their poor decision making. 

[JSSIII1970]

10 hours ago, flipper32 said:

I'm puzzled by the comment "waiting in lines HOURS on two occasions" I was on the cruise also, was it what I originally though it was going to be, of course not. The cruise from hell I certainly wouldn't describe it that way. I never saw a line or waited on a line that was remotely close to that. The worst line I had I was getting on the ship in Brugge and although long it was no worse than many other boarding experiences.  Clearly the weather caused issues but most of that was the weather not the route. The day we left the forecast for Le Harve was 63 degrees and sunny obviously that changed dramatically.  Unfortunately late April early May the weather can be unpredictable. 

Lines at customer service were perpetually huge - wrapping fully around the room - people all trying to address their issues resulting from the surprise cutting of two days and two ports - maybe you didn't get to deck 6 in the first four days. 

[supermax]

Did they give any instructions on how to get the promised refunds while you where on the ship? My elderly mother cruised and I need to help her with getting this mess sorted out.