NCL Kicked Us OFF Their Ship in a Foreign Country

[tjbarney]

My husband and I boarded the Norwegian Star in Buenos Aires on February 29th, 2020.  We were to stay aboard until March 29th.  Norwegian Cruise Line kicked us off the Star in Chile, they were supposed to take us to Florida.  On the afternoon of March 13th they delivered a letter to the staterooms of the back to back guests (approx 300 people), giving us only 15 hours notice max.  As most of us weren't in our staterooms at this time and had no clue we were getting kicked off the ship early the next morning.  NCL didn't even help us arrange for transportation back home from South America, 5000 miles from where they were supposed to end our cruise in 15 days.  On the ship we were told by the officers that we were to keep our receipts for travel expenses occurred and upon returning home to contact NCL for reimbursement. We were only given 60 minutes of (slow) internet in order to try and find flights home. What's even worse, the ship made us pay for their way over priced ($130) airport transportation to take us the 2 hours from the commercial port of San Antonio to the airport in Santiago, Chile. They made us get off the ship by 9:30 am, even though they didn't have to worry about having to hurry up and get the ship ready for new passengers. We were dropped off at the airport at 12 noon. Everyone on our buses had flights out after 8 pm, ours at 9:20 pm. We couldn't check in for our flight until 6 pm! We all had to go find somewhere to sit in a small airport without hardly anything pre-security for 6 hours before we could even check in. Norwegian should have, at the very least, let us stay on the ship longer so that we were not stuck at the airport for so long without anywhere to go.

 

Now that we managed to find our way home, NCL is telling us that they will in no way cover any of our travel expenses home!  I believe they had their staff lie to us on the ship just to keep from having a riot on their hands. My husband and I are loyal NCL customers. We even just spent the entire month of January aboard the Jade and these 14 days aboard the Star, only to get kicked off without any assistance in a foreign country in the middle of a pandemic!  Chile shut down its borders just 2 days after we got kicked off the ship.  We all could have VERY easily gotten stuck in a foreign country if we hadn't been lucky enough to find 2 seats aboard a flight back to the United States.  

 

Side note, we are experienced cruisers and travelers, and long time NCL customers.

 

I'm calling on all the rest of our fellow back to back passengers, and anyone else that has been wronged by NCL.  Let's get together and make NCL accountable.  

[SlipperyVic]

Thanks for your call!.

[SeaShark]

Can't help but notice that there is no "why" to this story. Did they kick you off of the ship for no reason? Right in the middle of a cruise?

[pghflyer]

Very sorry to hear of your experience, these are incredible unprecedented times.  I don't fault them with clearing passengers off the ship in a port that had let them dock but they should have given more time and flexibility.  I can't believe you aren't getting any reimbursement for this situation, perhaps they haven't figured it out yet?  Hell I am getting $300 each for our flight changes 9-months in advance (cancelled cruise Jan 2021). Good luck, hopefully things will improve once all this turmoil subsides and they recognize your past loyalty.

[tjbarney]

Just now, SeaShark said:

Can't help but notice that there is no "why" to this story. Did they kick you off of the ship for no reason? Right in the middle of a cruise?

 

They just told us they were cancelling the next cruise.  Rumor was that with the pandemic, Port Canaveral wasn't going to allow any ships to dock.

[tjbarney]

I should have included this canned letter in response to all of my attempts to contact NCL.  I made a claim on their website as instructed, and also messaged them numerous time via Facebook and Twitter.

 

Thank you for writing in.  We greatly appreciate the understanding of our valued guests during these fluid, unprecedented and challenging times.  While we understand the basis of your request for compensation, respectfully, we are unable to comply with your request. Nevertheless, we are sorry for any discontent caused by our response. Thank you for the opportunity to respond. We appreciate your patience in the interim and we sincerely regret any concern or inconvenience you may have experienced. We do value your business and hope that you will consider a Norwegian Cruise Line sailing in the near future. Sincerely,

Xxxx

Coordinator

Guest Relations

Edited March 29, 2020 by Host Carolyn
Remove employee name

[Crown Vic]

39 minutes ago, tjbarney said:

My husband and I boarded the Norwegian Star in Buenos Aires on February 29th, 2020.  We were to stay aboard until March 29th.  Norwegian Cruise Line kicked us off the Star in Chile, they were supposed to take us to Florida...Now that we managed to find our way home, NCL is telling us that they will in no way cover any of our travel expenses home! ...

Wow! As long time NCL cruisers, we often read the NCL Board. This story is horrible. Surely NCL could handle things somewhat better?

Hafta show you a post from the Celebrity Boards regarding how Celebrity handled a shortened cruise:-

***Just returned from four back to back cruises on the Celebrity Reflection. Well, three and a bit really as the March 13 cruise was reduced to five days due to the Covid19 situation. 
  This is not a review of each cruise but a ‘shout out’ to the Captain, Officers, Hotel Director and crew for the way they were keeping the Reflection in spick and span condition as well as super sanitizing literally everything. In particular the Hotel Director and his total staff worked tirelessly to keep things sanitized. They did an amazing job. 
  Due to cancellations and strict boarding procedures, the passenger complement was only about 40%. Thankfully, not one incidence of Covid19 was reported and the ship was allowed to dock in Port Everglades on March 17, begorrah, where we disembarked and went through U.S. Immigration very quickly without issue. Got home safely and into self isolation.
  The decision to return was published to passengers overnight on Saturday, March 14 and a letter delivered to every cabin so it was seen first thing on Sunday, March 15. Celebrity has offered a full refund for those on the March 13 cruise plus a time dependent 50% Future Cruise Credit. In addition, those who chose to use Celebrity’s Choice Air arrangements, contacted Choice Air who arranged for replacement flights without any additional airline charge. An airline charge allowance, I believe, was being offered to passengers  who made individual bookings. 
  Cannot talk for everyone on board but I cannot say enough for the way Celebrity handled the situation at least from our view point. A very difficult situation handled, IMO, in an almost exemplary fashion. 
  As Arnold Schwarzenegger said “I’ll be back”. Thank you and well done Celebrity.***

 

Edited March 28, 2020 by Crown Vic

[SeaShark]

3 minutes ago, tjbarney said:

 

They just told us they were cancelling the next cruise.  Rumor was that with the pandemic, Port Canaveral wasn't going to allow any ships to dock.

 

You might have mentioned that. "Kicked off" makes it sound like you did something wrong and were forcibly removed. With this information it seems like you booked 2 cruises. One was fully completed and the other was fully cancelled....you weren't asked to leave mid-cruise for no apparent reason.

 

You might have also shared the letter that you were given on the ship. Information only helps.

[tjbarney]

1 minute ago, SeaShark said:

 

You might have mentioned that. "Kicked off" makes it sound like you did something wrong and were forcibly removed. With this information it seems like you booked 2 cruises. One was fully completed and the other was fully cancelled....you weren't asked to leave mid-cruise for no apparent reason.

 

You might have also shared the letter that you were given on the ship. Information only helps.

 

I did intend to include the letter, just hit post before I remembered.  The board won't allow me to edit the original post.  I can't help it if you assume that "kicked off" meant we did something bad, that's just where you mind obviously goes first.  Yes, we were kicked off as we all paid to stay on board and not end.  We were forced to disembark this ship and had no flights arranged to get us from there home.  Not to mention our previously arranged flights and hotels we had arranged in Florida, where we were supposed to be disembarked.  

[OzCanuck]

I remember the last pandemic everything was so confusing and nobody knew what to do or anything!  You’d think we would have figured it out this time right?

[Newleno]

I would indeed write a strong worded letter to the CEO of NCL.

[pe4all]

Terrible thing to happen to you - but at least you got home.  Had Chile shut it's borders while you were there you would have had more problems.  Definitely send a certified letter to NCL guest services, or as Newlino suggested - the CEO of NCL.  Would your travel insurance kick in to cover flight expenses, as it may be considered "trip interruption?"  Might be worth a call to find out.

[tjbarney]

3 minutes ago, pe4all said:

Terrible thing to happen to you - but at least you got home.  Had Chile shut it's borders while you were there you would have had more problems.  Definitely send a certified letter to NCL guest services, or as Newlino suggested - the CEO of NCL.  Would your travel insurance kick in to cover flight expenses, as it may be considered "trip interruption?"  Might be worth a call to find out.

 

Travel insurance says it is up to the carrier as they do not cover anything to do with a pandemic.  They are all passing the buck.

 

We could have easily gotten stuck in Chile, we were super lucky to have not.

[ColeThornton]

1 hour ago, tjbarney said:

I'm calling on all the rest of our fellow back to back passengers, and anyone else that has been wronged by NCL.  Let's get together and make NCL accountable. 

 

 

Count me in.  Should we call you or do prefer email?    😉

[ziggyuk]

1 hour ago, tjbarney said:

I'm calling on all the rest of our fellow back to back passengers, and anyone else that has been wronged by NCL.  Let's get together and make NCL accountable.  

 

Sorry you went through this, it's truly awful.

Have you tried your roll call, you should be able to pick up fellow passengers there.

[KS&JW]

8 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

 

 

I'd like to see if there is one person out there who reads the title of this thread and thinks that kicked off means normal disembarkation.

 

This was not a normal disembarkation.  They had no idea they were going to end the cruise at that point.  And to give them no help with flights is just wrong.  

[tjbarney]

2 minutes ago, KS&JW said:

 

This was not a normal disembarkation.  They had no idea they were going to end the cruise at that point.  And to give them no help with flights is just wrong.  

 

Thank you.  Plus they made us pay for their bus transportation to the airport, just another way they could make a buck off of us when they knew we had no other choice.  It wasn't as if we could hope to get a taxi from the very commercial port for a 2 hour drive to the airport.  People who had planned to disembark there had prior arrangements for private cars to transport them.  We had to be taken in bus shuttles from the ship to a safer area near the port exit due to the fact it was a commercial port (think only large container ships and containers and cranes everywhere).

[Homosassa]

To cut through the histrionics and hyperbole of the first post, the situation seems to be as follows: 

 

OP was on a back to back originating in Buenos Aires with the first leg ending in Santiago, Chile on March 14. The second leg was to be from Santiago to Fort Lauderdale, ending on March 29.

 

On March 13, passengers on various cruises that were to port in Florida (including us on a MSC cruise due into Miami on March 16), were notified that all cruises were no longer allowed to depart from Florida.

 

As a result, OP was notified that day (March 13) that the cruise due to depart from Santiago to Fort Lauderdale was cancelled and that the OP needed to debark the ship the next day in Santiago.

 

No force was used in the removal of the passengers.

 

Optional transportation in the form of an NCL shuttle to the airport  was available to those already schedule to debark the ship in Santiago and was also available for booking by those now leaving the ship due to cancellation of the next cruise. For those who wished to book the transfer, cost was $130 or the passengers could make their own way to the airport.

 

OP opted to use the NCL shuttle.

 

It seems that the OP had not used an NCL flight package (not sure what NCL calls their optional flight arrangements) and was, therefore, responsible for their own flight arrangements. NCL did provide free internet for those making their own arrangements.

 

The standard debarkation procedures were followed for the end of the cruise and the OP was off the ship by 9:30 AM to catch the optional  scheduled NCL transfer.

 

Flight didn't leave until evening (a familiar scenario for those of us traveling internationally - unless the flight leave early in the morning).

 

While the situation was not pleasant, "ship" does happen whether it be a storm, illness, or mechanical difficulties.

 

It is part of cruising.

 

As the second cruise was cancelled by NCL, there is probably some policy being developed for refunds.

 

As far as insurance, it depends on the insurance policy. In our case for the MSC cruise, the policy we had had good coverage that would have included travel expenses from such a situation if we needed it.

[queenL]

I just wanted to say I'm sorry.  I'm glad you made it home safe. That sounds super frustrating, and if plans changed leaving us in a country we didn't intend to be in.  I'd be peeved too.  Particularly with the shortage of international flights these days. I think it is likely Port Canaveral didn't want you guys there.  Were there any suspected Covid cases on board?  These are unprecedented times, however it does not appear that they did all they could to help.

[hallux]

@Homosassa thanks for writing with a clear head.  We really are in very uncertain times.

 

I do hope for the OP to get a refund on the cancelled cruise, but I agree that the phrasing of the thread title was chosen carefully to incite an emotional response.

Edited March 28, 2020 by hallux

[Newleno]

13 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

To cut through the histrionics and hyperbole of the first post, the situation seems to be as follows: 

 

OP was on a back to back originating in Buenos Aires with the first leg ending in Santiago, Chile on March 14. The second leg was to be from Santiago to Fort Lauderdale, ending on March 29.

 

On March 13, passengers on various cruises that were to port in Florida (including us on a MSC cruise due into Miami on March 16), were notified that all cruises were no longer allowed to depart from Florida.

 

As a result, OP was notified that day (March 13) that the cruise due to depart from Santiago to Fort Lauderdale was cancelled and that the OP needed to debark the ship the next day in Santiago.

 

No force was used in the removal of the passengers.

 

Optional transportation in the form of an NCL shuttle to the airport  was available to those already schedule to debark the ship in Santiago and was also available for booking by those now leaving the ship due to cancellation of the next cruise. For those who wished to book the transfer, cost was $130 or the passengers could make their own way to the airport.

 

OP opted to use the NCL shuttle.

 

It seems that the OP had not used an NCL flight package (not sure what NCL calls their optional flight arrangements) and was, therefore, responsible for their own flight arrangements. NCL did provide free internet for those making their own arrangements.

 

The standard debarkation procedures were followed for the end of the cruise and the OP was off the ship by 9:30 AM to catch the optional  scheduled NCL transfer.

 

Flight didn't leave until evening (a familiar scenario for those of us traveling internationally - unless the flight leave early in the morning).

 

While the situation was not pleasant, "ship" does happen whether it be a storm, illness, or mechanical difficulties.

 

It is part of cruising.

 

As the second cruise was cancelled by NCL, there is probably some policy being developed for refunds.

 

As far as insurance, it depends on the insurance policy. In our case for the MSC cruise, the policy we had had good coverage that would have included travel expenses from such a situation if we needed it.

yeah i think that is pretty much what the OP said, Had a few hours noticed to disembark, no transportation to airport provided, 1 hour of slow lousy internet to make last minute plans, we all know why the cruise was cancelled but ncl could have done a little bit better.

Edited March 28, 2020 by Newleno

[tjbarney]

1 minute ago, queenL said:

I just wanted to say I'm sorry.  I'm glad you made it home safe. That sounds super frustrating, and if plans changed leaving us in a country we didn't intend to be in.  I'd be peeved too.  Particularly with the shortage of international flights these days. I think it is likely Port Canaveral didn't want you guys there.  Were there any suspected Covid cases on board?  These are unprecedented times, however it does not appear that they did all they could to help.

 

No cases of suspected Covid-19 on board.  We were probably in the safest place we could have been on the ship, that is if they didn't allow any new passengers to come on board.

 

I know NCL couldn't help what was going on in the world with the pandemic.  They could, and should, have at the very least provided us assistance to get us back home.  I would even accept a future cruise credit in the amount we had to pay for our flights home if they couldn't afford the cash refund, while I would imagine they really could.

[david_sobe]

First of all thanks for sharing your story. I cant imagine what you have been through.  While (at least most of us here) are sympathetic there are the constant flamers and trolls who will show you none of that here and sit by the computer all day hoping a thread like this pops up to start the shame and blame game.

In this pandemic everyone is learning the hard  way that most travel insurance does not cover anything due to a pandemic.  We don't get pandemics often so this is a wake up call for everyone.  Just being stuck in another state would suck yet alone in another continent.  Cruise lines will not pay for anything they are not required to do so.  Would it have been nice? Of course but if you book your own travel they will definitely hold you on that one.  Last year during hurricane Dorian many on the extended cruises or cancelled cruises wanted NCL to change their flights or pay for their changed flights.  If you booked with a TA and not directly with NCL, you were on your own which sort of makes sense.  The TA sold you the cruise and is supposed to get all the travel related issues covered.

We must find the silver lining or positivity in this tragedy.  Its truly a miracle that you made it home.  My and my wife are living with 2 strangers we have never met.  My wife's high school friend from Argentina had a son working at an internship in CA and they cant get back to Argentina.  So him and his girlfriend are staying with us for the next weeks until they allow flights from the United States again.   This pandemic has separated families and trapped relatives in other countries.  In this whole mess of a situation, take comfort you made it home and sleep in your own bed.  No money in the world could ever buy that comfort during this pandemic.

Edited March 28, 2020 by david_sobe

[Ms BumbleBee]

I am so sorry this happened to you!  I am sorry but that was not in any way the proper way to treat a customer and the fact they will not even reimburse your airfare or logistics in a situation NOT YOUR FAULT just shows how little they really care about their customers.

[onetimearoundtheworld]

Not surprised. On the Norwegian Jewel they pressured the guests to buy their own flight arrangements home from three different countries only to revert it shortly after. Of course "reasonable change fees would be reimbursed later". People had to transfer money from their savings account to their credit card to make space for more flight expenses. 

Negative highlight when they planned to offload us in Tauranga, refusing to organise buses to the airport in Auckland and the only response was that there should be a local bus running we could take. Makes sense for around 2000 guests. 

 

If Hawaii hadn't made the condition that NCL organises charters otherwise no guests would have been allowed to disembark there would have been no support until the end. But at the same time writing these nice press releases how the guests on the ships when they stopped operations will be supported to get back home.