Silver tongued response from NCL Customer Service

[david_sobe]

6 minutes ago, Sam Ting said:

If it worked perfectly the excursion would have left when it was supposed to. 

Sam

Not sure your experience in cruising but an excursion leaving within 30 minutes of arrival is pretty much the norm.  The OP is blaming the cruise line for arriving to port 30 minutes late.  That is pretty much on time when it comes to cruising. 

If you are counting the seconds of daylight for any excursion then you take it at your own risk.

I will say it again:  Everything worked out perfectly

[Sam Ting]

3 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Sam

Not sure your experience in cruising but an excursion leaving within 30 minutes of arrival is pretty much the norm.  The OP is blaming the cruise line for arriving to port 30 minutes late.  That is pretty much on time when it comes to cruising. 

If you are counting the seconds of daylight for any excursion then you take it at your own risk.

I will say it again:  Everything worked out perfectly

Perfectly for you. The op didn’t think it worked out perfectly now did they. Ah what do they know except for all the details. 

[rxlowry]

My translation...Here's some chocolate covered strawberries.  I think that is a common NCL response.

[deliver42]

This whole thread is nuts. 30 minutes in a cruise schedule is nothing. It could have been the fault of NCL, the excursion operator, or Canadian customs in clearing the ship. At every port the country's customs has to clear the ship before anyone goes on shore. Of course it's easier to pin the blame on NCL and look for something you're not entitled to.

[BirdTravels]

Ok. I agree that if you were lined up INSIDE to disembark, it was not a shore ex issue. 

 

Similar to last east Saturday when we disembarked the Joy in Seattle late. All waiting for local authorities to clear the ship for disembarkation. 

[SouthLyonCruiser]

Seems to me that NCL made an appropriate response.

We had a problem in the past and were given a similar answer. When we booked our next cruise we made sure to sent our travel agent a copy of the letter.

When we arrived on board we got a bottle of sparkling wine and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries.

If you get something similar it would be an appropriate compensation for a minor inconvenience.

[roger001]

Actually, as pretty and interesting as Victoria can be, it is generally a totally wasted stop if you are not arriving until late afternoon or even evening.   Victoria pretty much roll up the streets after dark.  The stop is only a mandatory requirement for the ship.   Not only that, the bars on the ship except for one or two all have to be closed while ported in Victoria.  NCL really needs to figure a better way to meet that requirement.  

[lanceholt]

4 hours ago, RNCheryl said:

We were not late docking in Victoria.  (A very short stop, 8-midnight).  It was not a problem with docking approval; people not on NCL excursions were disembarking.  Tour buses were lined up waiting for us.

 

As we were late getting back to the ship (11 something), excursions desk was closed, and I did not take the time on Saturday to check, as we had to leave the ship before 9am.

 

There was some talk on the Facebook NCL page about problems with certain passengers with passports; it was never explained clearly to me.

 

As I said before, I asked for consideration of a monetary refund of some amount, and did not really expect to receive it.  I was really testing NCL's customer service.  I think their one-size-fits-all explanation/apology was poorly done.

The mistake was not taking the time on Sat to check and speak to someone before you left the ship.  Also a mistake to ask for "monetary refund of some amount".  IF you can't address a problem while onboard, then it is extremely hard to confirm the situation and get an adjustment afterward.   We have had 2 excursion problems in over 10 cruises on NCL.  In both cases, we took up the issue with the Concierge immediately after the excursion, detailed the issue, and they then made some calls and confirmed that yes there was a problem.  In one case we were refunded 25% of the excursion, and in the other case we got a full refund when we preferred to cancel rather than go on a reduced excursion.  In both cases, we did not start out demanding money.

[david_sobe]

2 hours ago, Sam Ting said:

Perfectly for you. The op didn’t think it worked out perfectly now did they. Ah what do they know except for all the details. 

I am curious.  What kind of compensation would you give if it was up to you?
Here is a great analogy.

You book a flight to key west.  You have an excursion booked to see the sunset (which is a great experience btw).  Your flight arrives 30 min late or something with the plane makes you get off the plane 30 mins late.  The airline (in this case) got you to its destination pretty much on time as your ticket contract required. The excursion bus gets you to see the sun go down but you missed some of the excitement and gathering for a good spot.  But you got to see it.

Question:  Is the airline responsible for compensation because you wanted more time to see the sunset that you actually saw?

 

I have gotten into port an hour late for a very short excursion sponsored by NCL.  Instead of 3 1/2 hours on the beach its only 2 1/2.  And guess what?  No sun at all.  It was a waste of money and time to be taken to a beach for 2 hours on a mostly cloudy day.  Was I upset?  Oh yes I was.  But I blamed myself.  Why would I complain to NCL about a cruise ship arriving in port late and they still got me to the excursion that I booked.

Long story short.  This is a typical day cruising.  Look at the glass half full.  Be thankful it was only 30 minutes and not 60 minutes which gave even less daylight hours.

IMHO this is a petty complaint.

Now, what if the private company could have said." Your daylight time is limited.  If anyone wants to cancel, we will refund you now"  Once during a snorkeling excursion the water was so cloudy they offered people to cancel.  IMHO if you wanted a partial refund, it would be from the company to advise the customers because of the delay, we don't want you to be unhappy so if you want to cancel, we understand.  But apparently the private excursion felt there was enough daylight for people to enjoy themselves.

Edited August 15, 2019 by david_sobe

[PortFees45]

8 hours ago, RNCheryl said:

I just received my son's "translation" of NCL's explanation:

 

It's not our fault that we suck but we will be happy to provide you with more unremarkable service the next time you book with us.  Your comments will be added to the other guests comments.Thank you  

...for your convenience

[newmexicoNita]

16 hours ago, Budget Queen said:

Good grief what did you expect this is an evening tour. Of course there is going to be a lack of daylight.   A very common comment in reviews.   And I can assure you.  YOU do NOT know the details of the delay nor are qualified to place any blame.    Passengers speculate many times naively.   There are a whole lot of reasons that  impact time.   

Thanks, my thoughts as well. I sometimes have trouble understanding how many people let so many things bother them. Of course they were disappointed about the wait, but I don't think it was that big of a deal and if it was, they should have taken time to talk to the tour desk before exiting the ship. As you say,, no one really knows why there was the problem. 

[dexddd]

The whole getting into Victoria at night to comply with laws is crazy to begin with.  How about like years ago getting there at normal hours so passengers can visit the beautiful city and water during the day.

[beerman2]

14 minutes ago, dexddd said:

The whole getting into Victoria at night to comply with laws is crazy to begin with.  How about like years ago getting there at normal hours so passengers can visit the beautiful city and water during the day.

Could it be Victoria's choice and not NCL? For years Key West had fairly short visits by cruise lines.  Had to be gone from KW by 2 or 3. Hell KW doesn't start coming "alive" until then.

[Markanddonna]

Did you do your research about a trip to Butchart Gardens?  We have been to Victoria three times and only considered a tour of the gardens when we were there for an entire day. I read lots of comments/complaints about how disappointing it can be to arrive for an evening visit. It takes a while to get there. Another example of disappointing ship excursions paired with a lack of research. The cruise line isn't going to reveal the issues- check CC reviews!

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by Markanddonna

[graphicguy]

Is this a recent phenomena that folks are looking for any little slight to complain or be in a bad mood?

 

This isn’t just here in these threads, but in just about every cruise line board I look at.

 

Cruise ships are like airlines, taxi cabs, or any other sort of transportation.  Yes, they are surprisingly punctual for most of their trips.  But, sometimes the weather will cause a delay, sometimes traffic is bad, sometimes a port doesn’t clear a ship in a timely manner, sometimes there are problems with passports, etc.

 

At the end of the day, 30 minutes is really not a big deal.  I’d be OK if NCL didn’t even respond to such a complaint.  Geez....lighten up Francis.

[Homosassa]

42 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

Did you do your research about a trip to Butchart Gardens?  We have been to Victoria three times and only considered a tour of the gardens when we were there for an entire day. I read lots of comments/complaints about how disappointing it can be to arrive for an evening visit. It takes a while to get there. Another example of disappointing ship excursions paired with a lack of research. The cruise line isn't going to reveal the issues- check CC reviews!

 

 

👍

 

I was also wondering why someone would book an excursion when simple research would show that the time would be extremely limited and probable at dusk or evening conditions.

 

In any case, a delay of being cleared by local authorities is a common occurrence.

 

While the excursion staff obviously had you lined up and ready to go in order to squeeze out any time available for this time crunched excursion, the experience was exactly what one could expect.

 

NCL doesn't owe the OP a thing.

[RNCheryl]

OK, my last post on this thread.  It has been painful to read some of your replies, and I want to remember this cruise with a smile, not focusing on the brief negatives.

 

Just one thing I must correct:  I am a near  compulsive trip planner, and for those that suggested I hadn't done my homework, please stand corrected.

 

For those of you who offered constructive criticism, I thank you.  How else will we learn?  I have no ill will towards NCL; they are in the business of making money for their shareholders, and offer an attractive product.

 

For those of you who characterized me as a money-grubbing, sourpuss trouble maker, well, you don't know me.   I hope you have clear skies and smooth sailing, and that people on anonymous boards treat you with respect.

 

Thank you

[Markanddonna]

I don't think the OP is a complainer, but simply suggested that this issue is frequently discussed on the CC boards. I made a similar decision in booking the NCL excursion to Paris knowing that my trip in Paris would be very brief. It was shortened even further by NCL's policies, but I don't regret taking it as I likely would never have been to Paris if I hadn't taken a crunched, mediocre excursion. 

 

BTW- I didn't see that NCL was blaming the tour company. Things like what you experienced are common. One reason we prefer private excursions!

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by Markanddonna

[Heather1972]

Chocolate covered strawberries coming your way next cruise! 

[rsato]

On 8/16/2019 at 6:58 AM, Markanddonna said:

I don't think the OP is a complainer, but simply suggested that this issue is frequently discussed on the CC boards. I made a similar decision in booking the NCL excursion to Paris knowing that my trip in Paris would be very brief. It was shortened even further by NCL's policies, but I don't regret taking it as I likely would never have been to Paris if I hadn't taken a crunched, mediocre excursion. 

 

BTW- I didn't see that NCL was blaming the tour company. Things like what you experienced are common. One reason we prefer private excursions!

 

 

 

I was going to make a very similar comment - I am on a cruise that stops in Le Havre for one day next month, and I think it is crazy to go 3 hours to Paris and back and expect to see much of anything...

 

I have been to Alaska on 3 different lines including NCL's Pearl, Jewel and Bliss, and would just advise people not to try to see the gardens at night during their brief stop in Victoria unless they really understand how much of a short and suboptimal visit they are getting into...

[bonvoyagie]

I have seen the Gardens both during the day and at night - all in the same day on the same cruise way back in 02. The gardens are spectacular at night - however it does take several hours to really see and enjoy them. I am also an over planner when it comes to cruise excursions and even land based vacations. Planning and research has pretty much saved me from making bad choices however when I booked a non-NCL tour with a company in Quebec  they changed the pick-up time by 30 min so we missed the bus. We were able to get on the same tour in the afternoon - but had to wait several hours for that tour. To add insult to injury the tour's description was only slightly accurate as most of the places we toured were small shops where you were expected to purchase items they were billed as factories. I the case of the gardens, just a little bit more research would have yielded the information that you should plan on several hours to truly enjoy their beauty. IMHO NCL should not even offer this tour for the Bliss - so it is buyer beware.

 

As for the OP you did say you were after monetary compensation in your first post. That statement was buffered with a statement that you really did not expect it. So you got what you expected - what is the big deal?

[fshagan]

On 8/15/2019 at 9:24 AM, RNCheryl said:

As I said before, I asked for consideration of a monetary refund of some amount, and did not really expect to receive it.  I was really testing NCL's customer service.  I think their one-size-fits-all explanation/apology was poorly done.

 

So they did exactly what you knew they would do? In customer service terms, they met your expectations.

 

I hear this a lot .... "It's not that they said "no," but the way they said it." Usually that statement is because someone was curt, rude or laughed when you asked them.

 

In this case, I think it's a polite letter. Perhaps, without giving you the money you didn't expect, can you re-write the letter and let us know what you think would be a better response? That will help clarify why you're upset enough to post about the cruise lilne doing exactly what you expected them to do.