Getaway 4/27/19 Transatlantic Shortened by Two Days

[Zippeedee]

2 hours ago, supermax said:

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.

The $300 per person refund on air or hotel charges can be claimed using the link in the email. The rest will be credited to the card used to pay for the cruise if it hasn't been already.

While we understand the inconvenience of having the initial itinerary modified, we sincerely hope that our current adjustments, as well as the 25% refund and 25% future cruise credit previously communicated, will help provide you the vacation experience you were anticipating.

Please remember that the 25% future cruise credit may be used towards any upcoming sailing with us and will be valid for 24 months from the date of this letter. When booking your next cruise please be sure to reference your current Norwegian Getaway reservation number to utilize the future cruise credits.

Also, as a reminder, the $300 maximum per person in change fees can be applied to travel costs such as airline, train or hotel fees that have been incurred as a result of the change in the cruise length. Please submit receipts to: https://www.ncl.com/case-submission.

 

[vwlmember]

2 hours ago, supermax said:

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.

If you bought from NCL directly refund was posted to original method of payment while we were on the ship. Not sure how it would be handled through a TA. 

[teamthodge]

On 5/8/2019 at 7:35 PM, 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. 

On the Giverny and Rouen excursion from Le Havre there was a very brave lady who informed all on the tour that there was a group of people planning a class action. She said she’d wait to collect names of anyone interested in being part of it once we got off the bus, but she disappeared quickly. I know a number of people who wanted to talk to her, including us. I’ll keep looking and asking and provide an update if I find out anything. This was our first and last cruise with NCL. 

[supermax]

A couple of people contacted attorneys, none wanted to get involved- not enough money for a class action.

[Jeanne0909]

14 hours ago, teamthodge said:

On the Giverny and Rouen excursion from Le Havre there was a very brave lady who informed all on the tour that there was a group of people planning a class action. She said she’d wait to collect names of anyone interested in being part of it once we got off the bus, but she disappeared quickly. I know a number of people who wanted to talk to her, including us. I’ll keep looking and asking and provide an update if I find out anything. This was our first and last cruise with NCL. 

 

14 hours ago, teamthodge said:

On the Giverny and Rouen excursion from Le Havre there was a very brave lady who informed all on the tour that there was a group of people planning a class action. She said she’d wait to collect names of anyone interested in being part of it once we got off the bus, but she disappeared quickly. I know a number of people who wanted to talk to her, including us. I’ll keep looking and asking and provide an update if I find out anything. This was our first and last cruise with NCL. 

 

[Jeanne0909]

Please, if you hear anything about a possible class action on this “cruise from hell” issue, please inform me!  My email is jeanne0909@yahoo.com.  I gave my email information to a woman passenger I spoke with at the spa, because were speaking about the topic.  I understood her to say she was rooming with Dee Gen who was very active in the CC roll call for this cruise, but I never met this Dee and don’t know if that is her true name or not.  Thank you again.  

Jeanne Fletcher, from Richmond, VA

[Slburrough]

Hello all, I am "the brave lady on the Giverny to Rouen" shore excursion who informed everyone of the passenger meeting. FYI I asked the driver and tour-guide for permission before doing so and told them why I wanted the mic. We had a meeting with 35 passengers the day before in Bliss and agreed to help spread the word. 25 people on the bus passed me notes afterwards with their names, stateroom #'s and email addresses. I'm sorry if you felt I "disappeared quickly." After I made the announcement the NCL shore excursion girl came to the front and told off the tour guide for letting me make the announcement and I didn't want to cause her any more potential trouble. Once back on ship I passed the passenger information on to the potential class action organizers (not me I hasten to add). Yesterday our first formal letter representing 99 passengers went to Andy Stuart CEO of NCL.

You may be interested to hear that that evening Guest Services called "urgently" wishing to speak to me. Errol Bailey, Hotel Manager on the Getaway then called and had a long conversation with me. He had been told I had "taken the mic" to cause trouble. He cautioned me that the Captain had been informed of a passenger revolt and that Security had been informed. I was warned not to do anything similar the following day in Bruges.

[Montanagirlalways]

That’s probably why many of the bartenders carefully poured the alcohol. M

[NLH Arizona]

I have a question that someone with legal knowledge might know the answer.  If you take the compensation offered by NCL can you still sue them or is it like a settlement offer that insurance companies give that ends any other requests?

[Turtles06]

13 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

I have a question that someone with legal knowledge might know the answer.  If you take the compensation offered by NCL can you still sue them or is it like a settlement offer that insurance companies give that ends any other requests?

 

When insurance companies "settle" claims, the claimant is required to sign a document that makes the settlement final and precludes any further claims or lawsuits.   I don't think NCL is doing that here with the compensation they have given.   But the amount of damages one may have left after accepting that compensation may be so small or speculative as to make pursuing a lawsuit impractical. 

 

Besides that, there are the hurdles one must get over in the cruise ticket contract; I haven't studied it, but I believe NCL gives itself the right (as I think all cruise lines do) to change the itinerary for any reason, and I think there's also a mandatory arbitration provision in there.   I think all those sorts of anti-consumer provisions are horrible, and I am NOT defending what NCL did to the Getaway passengers here, I am merely pointing out some obstacles to the pursuit of claims.   

 

I do think that NCL should voluntarily do more for the affected passengers, and I am watching to see what they do.

 

[www3traveler]

1 hour ago, NLH Arizona said:

I have a question that someone with legal knowledge might know the answer.  If you take the compensation offered by NCL can you still sue them or is it like a settlement offer that insurance companies give that ends any other requests?

Once you accept compensation from either Norwegian or your insurance company, I do not think you can sue.

 

The other Major issue, I think is that since Norwegian is a Bahamas registered ship, you might have to file suit in the Bahamas.  I do not know how difficult that would be.  Even if you could sue, it might take years to go through the court system to reach any kind of meaningful settlement.  Then you might have to file a claim with the proper documentation in order to receive your portion of the settlement.  Very long drawn out expensive process. 

[Turtles06]

16 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

Once you accept compensation from either Norwegian or your insurance company, I do not think you can sue.

 

The other Major issue, I think is that since Norwegian is a Bahamas registered ship, you might have to file suit in the Bahamas.  I do not know how difficult that would be.  Even if you could sue, it might take years to go through the court system to reach any kind of meaningful settlement.  Then you might have to file a claim with the proper documentation in order to receive your portion of the settlement.  Very long drawn out expensive process. 

 

Based on what are you making the assertion about not suing NCL if a passenger accepts compensation?   Have you seen any documents in which NCL is requiring passengers to waive any other claims?  Right now, as I understand it, NCL is not providing full compensation for damages; for example, it is not compensating pax who had two days of food expenses on land at the end of the shortened cruise, etc.      

 

As for whether and where any lawsuit could be filed, please see my post above and read the guest ticket contract.  

Edited May 13, 2019 by Turtles06

[www3traveler]

8 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Based on what are you making the assertion about not suing NCL if a passenger accepts compensation?   Have you seen any documents in which NCL is requiring passengers to waive any other claims?  Right now, as I understand it, NCL is not providing full compensation for damages; for example, it is not compensating pax who had, two days of food expenses on land at the end of the shortened cruise, etc.      

 

As for whether and where any lawsuit could be filed, please see my post above and read the guest ticket contract.  

I have been through this issue on 4 different Norwegian cruises.  Only once have they added to the original compensation offered and then for most people it was not what they wanted.   It took over 3 months and for most people to get amended compensation.

 

I have taken 37 Norwegian cruises and currently have 4 booked.  Yes, I know what the Guest Ticket Contract says.

[vwlmember]

29 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

Once you accept compensation from either Norwegian or your insurance company, I do not think you can sue.

 

The other Major issue, I think is that since Norwegian is a Bahamas registered ship, you might have to file suit in the Bahamas.  I do not know how difficult that would be.  Even if you could sue, it might take years to go through the court system to reach any kind of meaningful settlement.  Then you might have to file a claim with the proper documentation in order to receive your portion of the settlement.  Very long drawn out expensive process. 

We did not have the option to decline the compensation. It was automatically processed to the original form of payment.  This does not constitute consent in any form. 

 

The continued to sell the cruise as a 12-day voyage through their own website after they announced the change to 10-days. That is fraud. 

[Newleno]

I would like to see a victory for cruisers in the courts, However Those cruise contracts are pretty tough.  Just because we believe something is immoral, wrong, unethical does not necessarily mean it is illegal.  Seems like a tough battle good luck.

[NLH Arizona]

15 minutes ago, vwlmember said:

 

The continued to sell the cruise as a 12-day voyage through their own website after they announced the change to 10-days. That is fraud. 

I can possibly see where fraud could come into play for those that purchased the cruise after the announcement was made reducing the number of days, unless they were informed at time of purchasing, but for those who already purchased prior to the announcement, not sure how that would apply.

Edited May 13, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[BoughtMyPoints]

8 hours ago, Slburrough said:

 

You may be interested to hear that that evening Guest Services called "urgently" wishing to speak to me. Errol Bailey, Hotel Manager on the Getaway then called and had a long conversation with me. He had been told I had "taken the mic" to cause trouble. He cautioned me that the Captain had been informed of a passenger revolt and that Security had been informed. I was warned not to do anything similar the following day in Bruges.

I had thought Errol was one of the good guys.  I stand corrected.   Was Roger Gustavsen still on board as Master?

If so, that would be 2 years in a row he was stitched up by Operations.

Let's face it, a rogue culture has taken over at NCL.

Platinum Plus twice over, definitely not making it to Ambassador.

[Slburrough]

15 minutes ago, BoughtMyPoints said:

I had thought Errol was one of the good guys.  I stand corrected.   Was Roger Gustavsen still on board as Master?

If so, that would be 2 years in a row he was stitched up by Operations.

Let's face it, a rogue culture has taken over at NCL.

Platinum Plus twice over, definitely not making it to Ambassador.

Errol started aggressively but when I didn't back down he was actually quite nice in the end. Yes, Roger Gustavsen was the Master dealing with the nightmare. I'm a seasoned cruiser (Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, RCL) and I'd never known anything like it. Because the route changed from southern to northern with the itinerary changed it was windy, cold and the outdoor decks were closed. As a result the 3,780 passengers were trapped inside in a ship not designed for this. Line-ups for dining took an hour to get a table, an hour for the first course to arrive and 2 and a half hours to finish. Reservations (if you could get them) eventually kicked in. Then there were the line-ups for shows...and guest services always had a line-up as people tried to get their refunds. It was a bad-tempered nightmare. Never again will I cruise with NCL.

[Slburrough]

59 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

I can possibly see where fraud could come into play for those that purchased the cruise after the announcement was made reducing the number of days, unless they were informed at time of purchasing, but for those who already purchased prior to the announcement, not sure how that would apply.

It was fraud, bait and switch tactics. The poor Queen Mary passengers who were sold the round-trip with NCL on the return didn't even know about the two itinerary changes until they were actually on board the Getaway!

[JSSIII1970]

1 hour ago, Newleno said:

I would like to see a victory for cruisers in the courts, However Those cruise contracts are pretty tough.  Just because we believe something is immoral, wrong, unethical does not necessarily mean it is illegal.  Seems like a tough battle good luck.

Need to take every opp to tell the cruise community/world what we think, and why we will never sail with NCL Again. NCL will pay more to overcome the crap cruise and the woeful dishonesty than they ever would have paid to fairly compensate for their actions. I've got plenty of time and FREE INTERNET to repeat my experience and displeasure for years!!! They will regret what they did. 

[NLH Arizona]

22 minutes ago, Slburrough said:

It was fraud, bait and switch tactics. The poor Queen Mary passengers who were sold the round-trip with NCL on the return didn't even know about the two itinerary changes until they were actually on board the Getaway!

Have to disagree on both counts, fraud and bait and switch.

 

Also, thought their passenger contract said no class action suits can be filed, but good luck.  I thought they should have given the refund and future cruise certificate that they gave, but felt the were short on the money for hotel and transportation charges.  They should be paying for all hotels, air changes and food within reasonable amounts, because we know some would take advantage.

[vwlmember]

33 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

Have to disagree on both counts, fraud and bait and switch.

 

Also, thought their passenger contract said no class action suits can be filed, but good luck.  I thought they should have given the refund and future cruise certificate that they gave, but felt the were short on the money for hotel and transportation charges.  They should be paying for all hotels, air changes and food within reasonable amounts, because we know some would take advantage.

There are several people who have stated that they were sold a 12-day cruise after the current passengers were notified of the reduction to 10-days. They then found out about the reduction through sources outside of NCL. It also appeared on their website as a 12-day cruise with the ability to book after the reduction announcement.  That is fraud.

[Turtles06]

4 minutes ago, vwlmember said:

There are several people who have stated that they were sold a 12-day cruise after the current passengers were notified of the reduction to 10-days. They then found out about the reduction through sources outside of NCL. It also appeared on their website as a 12-day cruise with the ability to book after the reduction announcement.  That is fraud.

 

While it may possibly be fraud as to those people (depending on the evidence), it's not as to the people who booked a 12-day cruise when the cruise was supposed to be 12 days.

[NLH Arizona]

2 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

While it may possibly be fraud as to those people (depending on the evidence), it's not as to the people who booked a 12-day cruise when the cruise was supposed to be 12 days.

That is what I said on an earlier post, but I don't think people want to acknowledge that fact.  

[JSSIII1970]

What did they know, when did they know it and what action did they take to warn or advise - they NEVER told me. This was NOT a requirement except for the benefit of NCL - sure as hell hope this wasn't a safety issue that they let all of us proceed. Of course, no one in NCL has ever explained why this was so important the couldn't wait two days. They took their chances their costs would be less if they screwed their clients - now they are just hoping their bet pays off.