I Have a Beef With NCL!

[Rick&Jeannie]

Just got back from our second NCL cruise last week.  Rome to Trieste, 11 days.  Great cruise...it wore us completely out!  No sea days..excursions in every port.  Anyway...we survived it! 😄

 

Here's my issue:  Like I said, this was our second NCL cruise.  (We generally go with Princess but we were tagging along with 2 other couples.)  I *always* arrange for a 2-device internet package.  On Princess we always book the "extra perks" package where it is automatic for both of us.  I went through the motions of adding a second 250 minute package and then upgrading it to "unlimited". 

 

Back to the 1st NCL cruise...Once onboard...the second device would not connect.  I had already set up my phone and was attempting to get my wife's online.  I went to guest services, they "investigated" and claimed "Oh, your payment apparently never went through".   Hmmm...not sure about that but I had no way of disproving it at the time because I tend to make large block payments in even amounts while paying off a cruise.  I am 98% certain that it was paid.

 

Fast-forward to this latest cruise. Still smarting from what happened on the first cruise.  I figured "I'll take some "insurance" this time and take a hardcopy of the Vacation Summary.  This shows EVERYTHING that you have booked...excursions, dining reservations...and add-ons such as water package and *internet*.  Well, right there in this printout it shows the "Upgrade to Unlimited WiFi" for the first device along with a purchase for the second 250 minute package and *its* upgrader to unlimited wifi.  Mind you...there is no "money" listed on the vacation summary...just everything listed that's been reserved and purchased (I thought!)

 

Well...as you have already guessed, the second device was not recognized.  I took my printout to guest services and they said they would contact the "home office" and get back to me.  I did not hold my breath.  The next day I had a phone message from GS saying that the home office investigated and said that "my payment never went through"...AGAIN!  I absolutely do not believe this.  I never got a straight answer as to why it would show up on the summary if it had not been paid for.  I had already wasted a couple of hours trying to deal with this...we just dropped it and when DW needed to connect we just switched out.  Easy enough to do...but that's not the point.

 

Again...I have no way tp prove anything...even going back through my credit card statement because again, I tend to place multiple items in the cart and then make a "block" payment.  There's no way to "itemize" what was paid for in a given transaction.

 

Very disappointed...especially after I *thought* i was heading off any potential issues with my hardcopy Vacation Summary.

 

Anybody else have issues like this?  Am I incorrect in assuming that if it shows up in the summary it's paid?

[MsTabbyKats]

Very weird indeed.  Just wondering....could the issue be with you wife's phone?  LIke, maybe a setting wasn't allowing the connection.  Kind of like when the lamp doesn't work...and then you notice that it's not plugged in.

 

Just asking because DH is phone illiterate....always asking me "why ????" and then when I check his phone there's always some button he pressed that he shouldn't have pressed that messed up everything! (Like last night....with the camera...and why things were fuzzy)

Edited May 25, 2022 by MsTabbyKats

[mking8288]

OP, did you see the iCafe (internet) manager while onboard for assistance with the 2nd. device ?  I know it's now after the facts and really going to be pulling hair to sort things out.  Or, did the iCafe person not able to look into it and help, or send you to Guest Services instead?  Did Guest Services suggest, at any given time, to see the iCafe manager during her/his (posted) office hours at the desk?

 

If the billing system failed for whatever reasons pre-cruise to add the 2nd. device/package ... rejected or whatever ... once you are onboard, I'm reasonably sure that the browser-based link will present choices to buy, add and upsell you & everyone, anybody else interested in spending more money onboard, internet access in this case.  

[willetstravel]

I just checked our summary and it denotes that we purchased 2 unlimited internet upgrades.  You could probably go back through your emails and find the email where you purchased it - that's what I did.

[hallux]

1 hour ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I went through the motions of adding a second 250 minute package and then upgrading it to "unlimited"

I have to wonder if this might be causing a problem?  Why the 2-step to do this?

[Rick&Jeannie]

13 minutes ago, hallux said:

I have to wonder if this might be causing a problem?  Why the 2-step to do this?

Because the original existing package was for 250 minutes.  How else are you going to end up with 2 unlimited packages?

Edited May 25, 2022 by Rick&Jeannie

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Very weird indeed.  Just wondering....could the issue be with you wife's phone?  LIke, maybe a setting wasn't allowing the connection.  Kind of like when the lamp doesn't work...and then you notice that it's not plugged in.

 

2nd phone worked fine when I logged out on mine and then logged in on hers using the same package...so I don't think it was a phone issue. (I'm retired IT...but always ready to admit if I've made a mistake!)

[Rick&Jeannie]

37 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

OP, did you see the iCafe (internet) manager while onboard for assistance with the 2nd. device ?  I know it's now after the facts and really going to be pulling hair to sort things out.  Or, did the iCafe person not able to look into it and help, or send you to Guest Services instead?  Did Guest Services suggest, at any given time, to see the iCafe manager during her/his (posted) office hours at the desk?

 

If I understand correctly what the GS guy did...he went to the iCafe person himself.  He was gone for about 15 minutes before coming back to me at GS.  Of course, I may not have understood exactly what he was doing.  There was a bit of an foreign accent understanding (on my part).

[MsTabbyKats]

10 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

2nd phone worked fine when I logged out on mine and then logged in on hers using the same package...so I don't think it was a phone issue. (I'm retired IT...but always ready to admit if I've made a mistake!)

Hmmmm....I have no more theories.

I like to pay for things individually....so everything has it's own paper trail, just to avoid issues like this.

[Rick&Jeannie]

Just now, MsTabbyKats said:

Hmmmm....I have no more theories.

I like to pay for things individually....so everything has it's own paper trail, just to avoid issues like this.

That's probably what I should have done!  I will have to be more careful in the future...thanks!

[Rick&Jeannie]

I'm struggling with the fact that 3 internet-related items were showing on my vacation summary:

(The basic 250 minute plan was already included in the fare pricing.)

 

1)  The upgrade to unlimited for that first 250 minute package

2) A 2nd 250 minute package

3) A 2nd unlimited upgrade to cover the 2nd 250 minute package

 

Nobody has really commented on whether the vacation summary is considered "what's been paid for".  Is that where I went wrong?  Assuming that the vacation summary was to be considered a "paid for/booked" listing?  How could it appear on that list if it had NOT been paid for?

[mking8288]

Nowadays, these upgrades do not get, by and large, any further or additional discounts (and, I'm doubtful about still being able to get a discount by waiting until Day 2 or even Day 3  to upgrade ... which I myself had done previously on a 14 nights with NCL) will be given, offered or applied by the billing system ... unless the iCafe manager onboard can override and do it - s/he has some discretion & more so that Guest Services behind the counter in the atrium lobby.  Doing that after boarding, to us, also meant that we can use any and all NR (non-refundable) OBC to "pay" for these upcharges ... which was fairly substantial for our last cruise (earlier this month) vs. doing it prepaid upfront or in advance (as it will usually result in an immediate charge to the credit card used/on file already) - of course, it's convenient.  

 

Just reading your newest post/comment - answer is, IMHO, without looking at your "Summary" from earlier, is that - typically - it meant that it has been added to the reservation already and charged, billed at that point.  But, if there was a problem with the bank processing the ACH payment - it might, could've resulted in a reversal or simply not going thru ... and NCL's system then removing the package(s) affected.  NCL might or might not have made a best effort to alert, inform & amend your summary page.  

 

There should be an itemized summary of what you've paid or been charged against your credit card for the 250 minutes on the 2nd. device, plus the 2-step upgrade to unlimited from NCL, look thru your email or amenity confirmations, etc. to see if you can find it.  Dispute the charges with your credit card issuer about it, that should prompt NCL to look deep into their system, and, if you're charged for services not rendered, they should credit it back & reverse it against your account balance.  

[complawyer]

i dont mean to minimize or trivial your problem, but you labeled your post i have a beef with ncl.

 

if the only drawback to your cruise was the inability to upgrade a 2nd phone to more wi-fi minutes, i'd say you made out pretty good.. if  you paid by credit card, i would contact the contact them for a dispute resolution

 personally, i dont need wi-fi when i'm on vacation. 1st thing my wife does when we get  on board, however, is up the wi-fi.  not me brother

[MsTabbyKats]

OK....a new theory here.

 

A username/password issue....especially if you tried her acct on your phone...and it didn't work.

Maybe you didn't use the current ones....or maybe...and quite possibly there's a snafu with her NCL acct....and it need to be reset.

 

It makes absolutely NO sense that the same issue happened...only to your wife's acct....and yours was fine.

[cruiserbear55]

43 minutes ago, complawyer said:

i dont mean to minimize or trivial your problem, but you labeled your post i have a beef with ncl.

 

if the only drawback to your cruise was the inability to upgrade a 2nd phone to more wi-fi minutes, i'd say you made out pretty good.. if  you paid by credit card, i would contact the contact them for a dispute resolution

 personally, i dont need wi-fi when i'm on vacation. 1st thing my wife does when we get  on board, however, is up the wi-fi.  not me brother

     Agree 100%. My phone goes in the safe for the week. That is why we vacation. To NOT have to deal with life's little problems for a short while.

[HHI Cruiser1]

Normally NCL wifi upgrade are only available for the first guest's internet minutes (i.e. - when upgrading only 1 name is listed in upgrade add to cart window).  I think the system is smart enough to know that  individual can only have 1 upgrade package since the first name on the add to cart list already has check by their name and second name has unavailable by their name (I just looked at one of our cruises to confirm this for wifi upgrade offer).  The system would not let you buy the same excursion twice, likewise I don't think it would let you buy the same wifi upgrade package twice.   So it didn't charge you for the second wifi upgrade package.

Once onboard the internet manager can use your minutes and apply them to a 2-device package (or some combination to allow 2 devices), it'll cost more, but you get 2 devices at the same time.  I've done this before.  Also, some ships already offer 2-device wifi upgrade packages.

[Trimone]

Are you one of those couple’s that face each other during dinner and play with your phones. Only joking! 🤓

 It’s like ear bud’s if you have Bluetooth on the second set won’t connect to the same device, now imagine your phones are connected to the same iCloud?

[bookbabe]

2 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

OK....a new theory here.

 

A username/password issue....especially if you tried her acct on your phone...and it didn't work.

Maybe you didn't use the current ones....or maybe...and quite possibly there's a snafu with her NCL acct....and it need to be reset.

 

It makes absolutely NO sense that the same issue happened...only to your wife's acct....and yours was fine.

This happened to us on the Encore a couple weeks ago, my last name was spelled wrong in their system, just mine (DH and I have the same last name) and only in whatever system contains the login info.  The iCafe mgr couldn’t fix it, just suggested using the incorrect spelling when logging in.  That solved my login issues nicely.

[hawkeyetlse]

I don't know what went wrong with the second device on board, but I don't know how there can be uncertainty, even now, about whether or not you actually paid for the second internet package. Even if you put lots of other stuff in your cart and pay for everything in one big block, you still get an itemized payment confirmation by e-mail. And if the payment was rejected (as NCL claims), you wouldn't have received any of the items in the cart (excursions, water, dining). It doesn't make sense that one internet upgrade would go through, while the other package+upgrade would be rejected, if they were all in the same cart.

 

The fact that everything was in your Vacation Summary also suggests to me that the payment was successful. If I were you, I would be trying to get a couple hundred dollars back from NCL. Start by calling to ask for your "Amenity Confirmation" from the cruise (hopefully they can still produce this after the cruise is over). That should list all of your included and pre-paid packages, along with the prices, and whether they were paid for or still pending payment. Then you have to ask them to verify with the ship that your cabin only used one internet package during the cruise.

 

You will probably have to wait a long time, but it should be relatively painless… Good luck!

 

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Thanks for everybody's replies!