NCL's Abysmal Communication

[tony s]

Lucky for we line in NYC and one of the few things  Mayor DeBlasio has done is made testing available ,quick, and free

[MsTabbyKats]

Sorry...I am having posting issues.

Re: Bahamas....last week you needed the visa.  It was on their website.  I spoke to someone at the consulate and she confirmed this with details of the application.

Anyway...it seems gone from the website today.

Glad that one govt came to their senses (vacination and neg test are enuf)!

[JamieLogical]

3 minutes ago, tony s said:

Lucky for we line in NYC and one of the few things  Mayor DeBlasio has done is made testing available ,quick, and free

 

PCR testing?

[bear803]

1 hour ago, NYcruzzer said:

Jamie, I'm on same cruise as you and share all your concerns. On our roll call I expressed my suspicion that NCL is going to wait until 14 days prior to sailing to drop the hammer that we are sailing to Nassau and GSC . I really  doubt Bermuda has the infrastructure to process 2000+ TA requests and PCR tests. 

I’m on the same cruise and have all the same concerns. I’m willing to jump through the  Covid protocol for Bermuda but I don’t really want to go to the Bahamas. Any thoughts on what NCL will do if they  cancel Bermuda and go to the Bahamas? Refunds ? Future cruise credit? I’ve never experienced an entire cruise itinerary change. 

[AKR2011]

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

 

PCR testing?

Jamie, I just got off The Gem on Sunday. Prior to leaving and yesterday I went and got PCR tested through Well Now. There are clinics all over Syracuse where my parents are (we stayed with them before and after sailing). Tests were covered by insurance completely, and we had results by the end of the day both times. Maybe there is a Well Now where you are too. We had several around us, and one was doing PCR tests specifically for asymptomatic people.

[ama123]

I am not sailing out of NY until the end of October but I am getting to the point that I would welcome a switch to Bahamas. As much as I would prefer to go Bermuda, I dont know that it would be worth it to visit via (larger) cruise ship now. 

[david_sobe]

Jamie, I thought you swore to never cruise NCL again.  I could have sworn that was in your last review of the Edge.  You decided to give them another chance?

[sanger727]

2 hours ago, MrMike45 said:

I miss cruising as much as anyone.  Every time one of those "memories" pop up on Facebook or my phone from a previous cruise I curse under my breath and get a little sad.  

 

That being said...and I know there have been some successful cruises already...why?  Why book anything with so many unknowns and potential for stress?  That, to me at least, is not a vacation.  I'll curse and be sad a little longer rather than deal with that.  

 

I felt that way last year. Swore up and down I wouldn't take a vacation that required masks or covid tests. I have a good friend that I like to travel with who is approaching 70 and is concerned that she will have major health issues in the future that will prevent her from taking exotic trips. When the vaccines started getting distributed and we believed they would stop of from catching covid we decided to book a trip for this year, realizing that things could change. And they sure have, now we have to wear masks and get multiple covid trips on the trip. But I'm ok with it now. This was already and "adventure" trip, not a " relaxation" trip. And frankly, if we had waited to book it we may not have booked it. And with everything getting worse instead of better it's starting to look more and more like the day when covid is "over" is quite a long ways off.

[EllieinNJ]

I also am on the same cruise as Jamie, September 26th.  I also am on RCI Oasis October 17 going to Bahamas (no visa needed).  I would be so upset if Bermuda was changed to Bahamss and it was too late to cancel.  I will take a leap of faith and schedule my PCR test tomorrow with CVS for Sept 22.  It would be nice if NCL informed us if we needed a rapid antigen test on Friday Sept 24 in addition to the rapid antigen test they are giving at the port on Sunday.  

[worktocruise610]

1 hour ago, david_sobe said:

Jamie, I thought you swore to never cruise NCL again.  I could have sworn that was in your last review of the Edge.  You decided to give them another chance?

I thought the Edge was a Celebrity ship?

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, david_sobe said:

Jamie, I thought you swore to never cruise NCL again.  I could have sworn that was in your last review of the Edge.  You decided to give them another chance?

 

I had thousands of dollars in unused FCC with NCL. So after the Joy was canceled, we scheduled to sail on the Sun out of Miami. That got switched to the Gem. And then we canceled that and switched ourselves to the Breakaway to Bermuda, because my parents would be able to go on that one with us (they refuse to fly while masks are required on planes) and use up the rest of their FCCs as well. Out of pocket, to do a B2B on the Breakaway, it cost us $56. I will use my $100/week of shareholder benefit  OBC and not spend a thin dime of my actual money onboard. And then we will be free of NCL. Hope we can transfer our one unused CruiseFirst to someone, but if not, I won't cry over letting it expire.

[JamieLogical]

9 minutes ago, worktocruise610 said:

I thought the Edge was a Celebrity ship?

 

The Edge *is* a Celebrity ship, as is the Equinox, which is the actually ship I was on for my last review. However, in that review I did talk a lot about why I was cruising Celebrity and comparing it to NCL.

[worktocruise610]

Just now, JamieLogical said:

 

The Edge *is* a Celebrity ship, as is the Equinox, which is the actually ship I was on for my last review. However, in that review I did talk a lot about why I was cruising Celebrity and comparing it to NCL.

Thanks, I remember you talking about that, just don’t remember you saying you wouldn’t cruise NCL. Glad to see you are though, because personally I always find your posts helpful 😉 btw - I know things are tough right now, but I hope you enjoy your cruise. Going on BA 2 weeks after you, so looking forward to your take on things.

[tony s]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

PCR testing?

Yes

[MrMike45]

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

 

I felt that way last year. Swore up and down I wouldn't take a vacation that required masks or covid tests. I have a good friend that I like to travel with who is approaching 70 and is concerned that she will have major health issues in the future that will prevent her from taking exotic trips. When the vaccines started getting distributed and we believed they would stop of from catching covid we decided to book a trip for this year, realizing that things could change. And they sure have, now we have to wear masks and get multiple covid trips on the trip. But I'm ok with it now. This was already and "adventure" trip, not a " relaxation" trip. And frankly, if we had waited to book it we may not have booked it. And with everything getting worse instead of better it's starting to look more and more like the day when covid is "over" is quite a long ways off.

 

Agree with part of that.  I live in NYC, where we are back to requiring masks indoors, proof of vaccinations in restaurants, my son needing to wear a mask daily to school, at 4 years old in Pre-K.  Covid isn't going away, neither are the restrictions.  Any vacation in the future will likely have some medical requirement.  And I can live with that.  I know what the restrictions are in the US, be it in NY, or in like PA when we take our son to Sesame Place. 

 

But there is a big difference from a weekend getaway for a 2 hour drive to Pennsylvania for a few hundred dollars vs. a week long trip to other countries on a ship for a few thousand dollars.  The stress level of being on a cruise right now far exceeds my missing being on them.  Again, just my opinion, and anyone who is cruising successfully....I am very jealous.  Just too soon for my own personal preference, and not sure why anyone would want to deal with that vacation/stress right now.

[psac]

16 minutes ago, MrMike45 said:

 

Agree with part of that.  I live in NYC, where we are back to requiring masks indoors, proof of vaccinations in restaurants, my son needing to wear a mask daily to school, at 4 years old in Pre-K.  Covid isn't going away, neither are the restrictions.  Any vacation in the future will likely have some medical requirement.  And I can live with that.  I know what the restrictions are in the US, be it in NY, or in like PA when we take our son to Sesame Place. 

 

But there is a big difference from a weekend getaway for a 2 hour drive to Pennsylvania for a few hundred dollars vs. a week long trip to other countries on a ship for a few thousand dollars.  The stress level of being on a cruise right now far exceeds my missing being on them.  Again, just my opinion, and anyone who is cruising successfully....I am very jealous.  Just too soon for my own personal preference, and not sure why anyone would want to deal with that vacation/stress right now.

We’re getting a little off-topic, but when our early October sailing was listed, we switched from the Oasis out of Bayonne to the Breakaway for two reasons — the 100% vaccination requirement (and at the time, RCI wasn’t saying yet that adults even needed to be vaccinated because of Florida), and the Haven. If everything goes well, we love the Haven, and worse case, we figured if a ship-wide lockdown did happen, we’d still get pretty good treatment in a Haven room and just chill on our balcony all day. 😁   But to your point, if it wasn’t 100% vaccinated, we wouldn’t be sailing right now. I know delta doesn’t help, but with all that testing, we’re thinking that ship should be pretty darn safe. I know they’ve had some staff cases in Alaska, so something could get onboard, but hopefully spread will be pretty limited. 

[oteixeira]

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Every other line seems to be at least attempting it....

But they are not updating their customers via email any better then NCL, as I stated, just go look up the RCL stories in Alaska. 

 

I am going to say something that I hope you take as what it is, just my honest thoughts to you, someone I respect on this board.

 

I think you should cancel and sell your FCC.  I think you already have a mindset of how NCL is now (since you had all of your troubles and cancellations) and I am not sure how you will find this cruise to be anything but a disappointment.

 

I am sorry but I know if you go in with a negative mindset to anything it normally doesn't work out.  I am afraid I know this far to well from my own experiences.

[JamieLogical]

9 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

But they are not updating their customers via email any better then NCL, as I stated, just go look up the RCL stories in Alaska. 

 

I am going to say something that I hope you take as what it is, just my honest thoughts to you, someone I respect on this board.

 

I think you should cancel and sell your FCC.  I think you already have a mindset of how NCL is now (since you had all of your troubles and cancellations) and I am not sure how you will find this cruise to be anything but a disappointment.

 

I am sorry but I know if you go in with a negative mindset to anything it normally doesn't work out.  I am afraid I know this far to well from my own experiences.

 

I am confident I can/will enjoy the cruise once I am on it. It's the getting there that has me full of angst. You said early in this thread that it is on the passengers to keep up with the latest protocols for their sailings. How exactly are we supposed to do that if NCL isn't sending emails OR posting anything on their web sites. At least, if the other lines are doing a bad job with emails, passengers can still go to their sites and find the info they need. With NCL, I can't get info from their site OR via email. First I was told by my PCC to expect something at 30 days. Then at 21 days. Now I have no idea when to expect any kind of information. But I have a strong suspicion it won't be until we're inside the 15 day window, when it is too late to cancel.

 

Edited September 7, 2021 by JamieLogical

[oteixeira]

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I am confident I can/will enjoy the cruise once I am on it. It's the getting there that has me full of angst. You said early in this thread that it is on the passengers to keep up with the latest protocols for their sailings. How exactly are we supposed to do that if NCL isn't sending emails OR posting anything on their web sites. At least, if the other lines are doing a bad job with emails, passengers can still go to their sites and find the info they need. With NCL, I can't get info from their site OR via email. First I was told by my PCC to expect something at 30 days. Then at 21 days. Now I have no idea when to expect any kind of information. But I have a strong suspicion it won't be until we're inside the 15 day window, when it is too late to cancel.

 

I said later on that if they missed their timing of the email that I totally feel for you, and I do.  I am sorry they missed it.  I am thinking there is a reason, and I am sure as soon as they can send an email they will.  I know others have said they got emails for other NCL cruises in the 14 days range.  I think if you get below that number then you start to think about moving on from this cruise.  Honestly I would as well, and you know I have no issues with NCL.   

 

Of all of the things you read online, the Visa is the only one that would take more then a day or so right?  I guess at some point you have to decide if they are leaving you enough time to get things done. 

[J0Y0US]

4 hours ago, tony s said:

Lucky for we line in NYC and one of the few things  Mayor DeBlasio has done is made testing available ,quick, and free

 

Is that a NYC thing though? Like is it run by the city itself?

 

We have lots of testing options around us as well. Its all paid for by the federal government or your insurance or state so in reality its not free (you just don't get a bill directly) and its the same everywhere from my understanding.

 

Not from NYC though. Just see this all as a great money grab by these companies to get guaranteed money by providing testing.

[JamieLogical]

2 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

I said later on that if they missed their timing of the email that I totally feel for you, and I do.  I am sorry they missed it.  I am thinking there is a reason, and I am sure as soon as they can send an email they will.  I know others have said they got emails for other NCL cruises in the 14 days range.  I think if you get below that number then you start to think about moving on from this cruise.  Honestly I would as well, and you know I have no issues with NCL.   

 

Of all of the things you read online, the Visa is the only one that would take more then a day or so right?  I guess at some point you have to decide if they are leaving you enough time to get things done. 

 

I am honestly much more concerned for my parents than for myself. My parents are the perfect example of the hapless cruisers who can/will be affected by the lack of communication and information. Were it not for me being here on Cruise Critic, they would have NO CLUE anything hinky was going on with this sailing. They would have received the most recent email (at 21 days) that is just the boilerplate, fleet-wide email that goes out telling you to finish the health and safety portion of your online check-in. They would have selected a boarding time and watched the muster video (the only new sections of the check-in) and assumed they were good to go. Check-in says 100%. Cruise docs are downloadable/printable. All set!

 

We haven't even received any communication about NCL's new recommendation/requirement to get a test within 72 hours of sailing in order to be eligible for any assistance with quarantine/travel if testing positive at the pier. Again, I only know about that because someone on CC had pointed out that info suddenly appeared under one of the FAQs on the Sail Safe page. It's not like they sent out an email announcing that change. Unless you were opening each question under the FAQ regularly and scouring for changes, you would never know.

 

My parents live in a rural area in PA. Through much research, we have only found three options for them to get a PCR test. CVS says results usually available in 1-2 days, but my dad spoke with an employee there and they said it's more like 3-4 days. The local urgent care does PCR tests with results in 2-3 days. There is a private lab that promises PCR results within 24 hours, but they cost $200 per test. So for both of my parents, that's $400 suddenly added to the cost of their trip. And remember, had I not been paying attention, my parents would still be blissfully ignorant of any impending PCR tests. So if/when they finally got info from NCL about the requirement, they would have significantly less time to do this research or schedule appointments and no option to cancel the cruise (assuming we don't hear from NCL before Saturday).

[K & S]

22 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I am honestly much more concerned for my parents than for myself. My parents are the perfect example of the hapless cruisers who can/will be affected by the lack of communication and information. Were it not for me being here on Cruise Critic, they would have NO CLUE anything hinky was going on with this sailing. They would have received the most recent email (at 21 days) that is just the boilerplate, fleet-wide email that goes out telling you to finish the health and safety portion of your online check-in. They would have selected a boarding time and watched the muster video (the only new sections of the check-in) and assumed they were good to go. Check-in says 100%. Cruise docs are downloadable/printable. All set!

 

We haven't even received any communication about NCL's new recommendation/requirement to get a test within 72 hours of sailing in order to be eligible for any assistance with quarantine/travel if testing positive at the pier. Again, I only know about that because someone on CC had pointed out that info suddenly appeared under one of the FAQs on the Sail Safe page. It's not like they sent out an email announcing that change. Unless you were opening each question under the FAQ regularly and scouring for changes, you would never know.

 

My parents live in a rural area in PA. Through much research, we have only found three options for them to get a PCR test. CVS says results usually available in 1-2 days, but my dad spoke with an employee there and they said it's more like 3-4 days. The local urgent care does PCR tests with results in 2-3 days. There is a private lab that promises PCR results within 24 hours, but they cost $200 per test. So for both of my parents, that's $400 suddenly added to the cost of their trip. And remember, had I not been paying attention, my parents would still be blissfully ignorant of any impending PCR tests. So if/when they finally got info from NCL about the requirement, they would have significantly less time to do this research or schedule appointments and no option to cancel the cruise (assuming we don't hear from NCL before Saturday).

 

[Seany527]

I feel your pain Jamie. Their communication and messaging since COVID has been terrible. I would have continued to sail with NCL for years to comes but now I’m 3 cruises into Celebrity since June and I’m not looking back. 
 

I do miss NCL, a lot, but I’ve lost all respect for the company. One of the most recent cruises from St. Maarten on Celebrity sailed with less than 300 guests. NCL would have canceled that cruises faster than you could blink your eyes, but not Celebrity and that really speaks volumes to them as a company. 

[The P]

1 hour ago, tony s said:

Yes

Tony, I live in Manhattan. Please tell me where I can get a PCR test with results back in less than 2 days so they can be downloaded to Bermuda on time. That's PCR, not the antigen test. And what's the cost? Thanks!

[K & S]

Transparency and trust go hand and hand.