NCL customer service, not good!

[jennjess]

We should have disembarked the Jade today but a week ago Saturday we arrived in Athens and my son fell and broke his wrist that night.  Not knowing if it was broken or not (it was painful) we boarded and went to the medical centre for an x-ray and it was deemed that he needed hospital treatment and we were disembarked after only an hour onboard and billed almost $400.  The port agent took us to a hospital and left.  One phone call from someone in the USA to ask how it was going, they never got back to us at all.  The hospital we were dropped at wanted 3000 euros up front to do the necessary operation (we already had confirmation from the insurance that the cost would be covered) so we left and went to a hotel for the night.  NCL had supposedly booked this room for us but they hadn't and we had to pay.

Next day we went to a different hospital organised by our travel/health insurer and he was admitted and had the operation on Tuesday with payment guaranteed by them.

He was released on Wednesday and we decided to try to get back onboard, but as everything seemed to go against us, after flying to the next port the ship couldn't dock due to bad weather and we were again stranded.

Decided that we should just go home from that point and took the first flight back home.

Anyway nobody from the ship has contacted us since day one and now I don't know if any of our pre-paid excursions, gratuities or free st sea drink packages will be refunded.

I think my travel insurance will cover most of the cruise cost eventually.  I found it very difficult to contact anyone at NCL for help or advice, my cell phone will not call 0800 numbers.

All in all not the fun filled relaxing holiday we had hoped for.

 

[cruisekitty22]

Try using the chat feature on NCL. Sorry for all your problems.

[mjkacmom]

I’m sorry for the injury but I don’t know what you expect from NCL but a refund for incidentals. The injury occurred before he even got on the ship. I’m so glad you had insurance and this story shows how important that is.

[4 cruisers]

8 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I’m sorry for the injury but I don’t know what you expect from NCL but a refund for incidentals. The injury occurred before he even got on the ship. I’m so glad you had insurance and this story shows how important that is.

Wait a second…when we board our cruise, that is our home away from home.  They paid and yes, insurance should kick in.  Not being able to receive council from NCL is NOT acceptable.  

[billslowsky]

25 minutes ago, 4 cruisers said:

Wait a second…when we board our cruise, that is our home away from home.  They paid and yes, insurance should kick in.  Not being able to receive council from NCL is NOT acceptable.  

"when we board our cruise, that is our home away from home"

 

I must have missed that in the contract.

[4 cruisers]

10 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

"when we board our cruise, that is our home away from home"

 

I must have missed that in the contract.

cute.

[Z3r0]

I’m sorry, but I don’t think I understand the timeline here.  Did the injury occur a week prior to the cruise or the morning of the cruise?

[mjkacmom]

59 minutes ago, 4 cruisers said:

Wait a second…when we board our cruise, that is our home away from home.  They paid and yes, insurance should kick in.  Not being able to receive council from NCL is NOT acceptable.  

When you leave the ship due to injury or illness, you are pretty much on your own. You are responsible for hotel costs and medical care, and dealing with your insurance, which has nothing to do with the cruise line. Most of the time you pay OOP and get reimbursed by the insurance company. Even with insurance, folks need to have the means to pay OOP for emergencies when traveling.

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, jennjess said:

We should have disembarked the Jade today but a week ago Saturday we arrived in Athens and my son fell and broke his wrist that night.  Not knowing if it was broken or not (it was painful) we boarded and went to the medical centre for an x-ray and it was deemed that he needed hospital treatment and we were disembarked after only an hour onboard and billed almost $400.  The port agent took us to a hospital and left.  One phone call from someone in the USA to ask how it was going, they never got back to us at all.  The hospital we were dropped at wanted 3000 euros up front to do the necessary operation (we already had confirmation from the insurance that the cost would be covered) so we left and went to a hotel for the night.  NCL had supposedly booked this room for us but they hadn't and we had to pay.

Next day we went to a different hospital organised by our travel/health insurer and he was admitted and had the operation on Tuesday with payment guaranteed by them.

He was released on Wednesday and we decided to try to get back onboard, but as everything seemed to go against us, after flying to the next port the ship couldn't dock due to bad weather and we were again stranded.

Decided that we should just go home from that point and took the first flight back home.

Anyway nobody from the ship has contacted us since day one and now I don't know if any of our pre-paid excursions, gratuities or free st sea drink packages will be refunded.

I think my travel insurance will cover most of the cruise cost eventually.  I found it very difficult to contact anyone at NCL for help or advice, my cell phone will not call 0800 numbers.

All in all not the fun filled relaxing holiday we had hoped for.

 

NCL is not responsible for your care once you leave the ship. At that point, you should have engaged your insurance company to provide covered services. 

 

You waited until you boarded to check your son vs going to urgent care when the accident happened. You voluntarily disembarked the ship, and voluntarily terminated your cruise.
 

Did you notify the ship that you would not be returning?  

[jennjess]

1 hour ago, 4 cruisers said:

Wait a second…when we board our cruise, that is our home away from home.  They paid and yes, insurance should kick in.  Not being able to receive council from NCL is NOT acceptable.  

Yes, I was expecting alittle more from NCL. Just to have kept in contact would have been nice or if they had given us a contact number so we could call them to let them know what was happening or if we could reboard later.  All we had was the port agents number who said he was only responsible for getting us to a hospital. We felt abandoned.

 

[jennjess]

24 minutes ago, Z3r0 said:

I’m sorry, but I don’t think I understand the timeline here.  Did the injury occur a week prior to the cruise or the morning of the cruise?

No it happened on the night before the cruise.  We didn't know the extent of the damage or where we should go for help.  Thought we would board the cruise and get help from the medical centre onboard which we did.  They virtually bundled us off the ship and we didn't have a chance even to talk to our travel companion to tell her what was happening.

[jennjess]

13 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

When you leave the ship due to injury or illness, you are pretty much on your own. You are responsible for hotel costs and medical care, and dealing with your insurance, which has nothing to do with the cruise line. Most of the time you pay OOP and get reimbursed by the insurance company. Even with insurance, folks need to have the means to pay OOP for emergencies when traveling.

I am aware we were responsible for the costs incurred once we left the ship but it would have been nice to have had a little more info and concern shown by the company.

[billslowsky]

1 hour ago, 4 cruisers said:

cute.

No.  Reality.

[CruiseMH]

1 hour ago, jennjess said:

 it would have been nice to have had a little more info and concern shown by the company.

 

For an injury that happened BEFORE the cruise ? An injury which you did not get checked before the cruise but AFTER embarkation?

You should definitely do some research on cruising to adjust your expectations on customer service.

 

 

1 hour ago, jennjess said:

No it happened on the night before the cruise.  We didn't know the extent of the damage or where we should go for help.  Thought we would board the cruise and get help from the medical centre onboard which we did.

Why didn`t you ask the hotel reception for help? They could have called you a cab to bring you to a local hospital and get it checked. Then you would have saved the bill of the NCL medical centre and would have gained several hours of time.

 

 

[SeaShark]

2 hours ago, billslowsky said:

"when we board our cruise, that is our home away from home"

 

I must have missed that in the contract.

 

That may be how you see it, but that doesn't mean that NCL is your mommy. They aren't responsible for hand-holding, even if we "feel" like it would help.

 

An injury occurred prior to the cruise.

 

Instead of seeking immediate medical care, the OP waited, then boarded the ship and then asked for medical care...which was given within an hour (according to the OP).

 

NCL then arranged for the Port Agent to accompany the OP to a medical facility.

NCL also made a reservation for the OP at a local hotel (I can only assume that when told this, the OP assumed that NCL was also paying for the room, but I don't see how that expense falls to NCL)

NCL also promptly filed a report with HQ back in the states which caused someone there to reach out and contact the OP for follow up.

 

Everything else described occurred off the ship and out of NCL's control, so I don't see how the title of the thread is justified. Things happen...and that doesn't mean that NCL owes anyone concierge service while they are off of the ship. The fact that NCL (or any other company) doesn't shower someone with attention outside of the venue (ship) doesn't equate to bad service.

 

Question to ponder...

 

When the OP left the ship, did they take their luggage with them to the medical facility or did they leave the luggage on the ship? I didn't see any mention of being without the luggage or worry about getting the luggage, so it may be assumed that the luggage stayed ashore with the OP...which would seem to be a reasonable indicator that the OP was NOT intending to return to the ship.

[jennjess]

2 minutes ago, CruiseMH said:

 

For an injury that happened BEFORE the cruise ? An injury which you did not get checked before the cruise but AFTER embarkation?

You should definitely do some research on cruising to adjust your expectations on customer service.

 

 

Why didn`t you ask the hotel reception for help? They could have called you a cab to bring you to a local hospital and get it checked. Then you would have saved the bill of the NCL medical centre and would have gained several hours of time.

 

 

I did ask the hotel reception what we should do.  They said I could call a doctor to come to the hotel at a charge of 150 euros (who couldn't obviously make a photo) or go to the hospital.  The one they suggested we went to, but it was a public hospital and to be honest they were swamped with people already, who looked like they needed emergency help far more than we did.  At the time we didn't know it was a break it could just have been a sprain. So we left and decided it would be better to see the medical centre staff onboard.  You have to remember we were all in shock and in a strange country and very unsure where to go or what to do.

[jennjess]

11 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

That may be how you see it, but that doesn't mean that NCL is your mommy. They aren't responsible for hand-holding, even if we "feel" like it would help.

 

An injury occurred prior to the cruise.

 

Instead of seeking immediate medical care, the OP waited, then boarded the ship and then asked for medical care...which was given within an hour (according to the OP).

 

NCL then arranged for the Port Agent to accompany the OP to a medical facility.

NCL also made a reservation for the OP at a local hotel (I can only assume that when told this, the OP assumed that NCL was also paying for the room, but I don't see how that expense falls to NCL)

NCL also promptly filed a report with HQ back in the states which caused someone there to reach out and contact the OP for follow up.

 

Everything else described occurred off the ship and out of NCL's control, so I don't see how the title of the thread is justified. Things happen...and that doesn't mean that NCL owes anyone concierge service while they are off of the ship. The fact that NCL (or any other company) doesn't shower someone with attention outside of the venue (ship) doesn't equate to bad service.

 

Question to ponder...

 

When the OP left the ship, did they take their luggage with them to the medical facility or did they leave the luggage on the ship? I didn't see any mention of being without the luggage or worry about getting the luggage, so it may be assumed that the luggage stayed ashore with the OP...which would seem to be a reasonable indicator that the OP was NOT intending to return to the ship.

Just to clarify NCL didn't book a hotel for us at all, this was what I was told by the nurse at the first hospital but this was a miscommunication at the very least. We went there, there was no reservation but we were tired and stressed and just glad to have found a room for the night.  I then contacted our insurance company who arranged the best hospital for us to visit the next day with a guarantee that they would be reimbursed by our insurance.

 

The one call I recieved from NCL said they would contact the port agent to provide further help and advice.  Don't know if they did but I called the port agent myself and he told me his responsibilty was just to get us to a hospital and nothing else. 

It would just have been nice to have recieved another call from NCL in the following days with some advice or concern about our situation.

[jennjess]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

NCL is not responsible for your care once you leave the ship. At that point, you should have engaged your insurance company to provide covered services. 

 

You waited until you boarded to check your son vs going to urgent care when the accident happened. You voluntarily disembarked the ship, and voluntarily terminated your cruise.
 

Did you notify the ship that you would not be returning?  

I had no way to contact the ship otherwise I would have done so.  I had the phone number of the port agent, 2 email addresses of guest relations which I emailed but have still not had an answer and a number in the USA which nobody answered or called me back. We tried to rejoin the ship on Thursday by flying to the port that day, only to find that the ship could not dock as the weather was extremely windy.  Again another set back.  After that decided just to fly back home as all was lost.

[mlgb]

Perhaps you should be using a travel agent who can help with such things. It sounds like you are very inexperienced travelers and cruisers.

[jennjess]

9 minutes ago, mlgb said:

Perhaps you should be using a travel agent who can help with such things. It sounds like you are very inexperienced travelers and cruisers.

Far from it, we have travelled alot but never had a health emergency before.  Until it happens to you, you are not aware of how difficult an experience it can be.  A little bit more involvement from the company would have been very reassuring.

[mlgb]

No one has implies it wasn't 'difficult', but I certainly wouldn't blame NCL for "poor customer service" because they didn't call you later to see how you were, especially about an accident off the ship. It sounds like you need more hand-holding than the typical experienced international traveler.

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by mlgb

[SeaShark]

23 minutes ago, jennjess said:

Far from it, we have travelled alot but never had a health emergency before.  Until it happens to you, you are not aware of how difficult an experience it can be.  A little bit more involvement from the company would have been very reassuring.

 

A little more involvement from the company?

 

How about your hotel? What involvement did they give you? Did they go to the hospital with you, sit with you, address all of your concerns?

How about the airline or train company that transported you from your home to the port? What involvement did they give you? Did they go to the hospital with you, sit with you, address all of your concerns?

 

I just am not quite understand why you feel that NCL owed you this level of care? And again...what about the luggage? Did you leave it onboard awaiting your return from treatment, or did you take it with you?

 

 

And as an aside...take it for what it is worth...but you've come here to throw shade at a company for "customer service not good". Now we hear that a family member was injured, you went to a medical facility, and when you saw that there was a long line, just figured "I'm not going through this...we can wait and use NCL's medical facilities instead". Not providing a family member medical care because it was busy...that is MY idea of "customer service not good". I think, given that you had a incident pre-boarding, the NCL met their obligation for care...just my two cents.

[4 cruisers]

12 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

A little more involvement from the company?

 

How about your hotel? What involvement did they give you? Did they go to the hospital with you, sit with you, address all of your concerns?

How about the airline or train company that transported you from your home to the port? What involvement did they give you? Did they go to the hospital with you, sit with you, address all of your concerns?

 

I just am not quite understand why you feel that NCL owed you this level of care? And again...what about the luggage? Did you leave it onboard awaiting your return from treatment, or did you take it with you?

 

 

And as an aside...take it for what it is worth...but you've come here to throw shade at a company for "customer service not good". Now we hear that a family member was injured, you went to a medical facility, and when you saw that there was a long line, just figured "I'm not going through this...we can wait and use NCL's medical facilities instead". Not providing a family member medical care because it was busy...that is MY idea of "customer service not good". I think, given that you had a incident pre-boarding, the NCL met their obligation for care...just my two cents.

 

[4 cruisers]

2 hours ago, billslowsky said:

No.  Reality.

You know, until you have experienced this poster's experience, you should probably just stop.  Have you ever experienced finding medical care for a child in Greece?  

NCL is NOT good at communication.  That is a fact.  You can argue that, but many of us have experienced it first hand.  There are other cruise lines that are WAY more service oriented.  That is FACT.  You will say we should cruise elsewhere...we most likely will.  Your "Snarky" viewpoint is offensive.

Edited May 22, 2022 by 4 cruisers
addition

[julig22]

I have to agree with the comments that your expectations of NCL seem to be overly optimistic. They gave you the medical advice you asked for and got you to a hotel, and did contact you.  I don't see why they would continue with additional followup - you are no longer a passenger and voluntarily (in their eyes) left the ship - and were unable, for whatever reasons, to rejoin the cruise at another port.

Your TA and insurance carrier should take it from here - your insurance carrier will need to know how much NCL is refunding - and since you apparently booked through a TA, the TA will have to be the one to contact NCL.  First phone calls should be to your insurance carrier - they should have an emergency number to call - and let them make the arrangements.  That's one of the benefits you pay for.

FYI, it is not uncommon for hospitals in many countries to require payment in advance - it just depends on the healthcare system.  Many will not accept assurance from the insurance carrier but rather expect payment and leave you to get reimbursement.  Always good to have a credit card with high limits when you travel - just in case.