I HATE NCL

[ColeThornton]

Doesn't seem to matter if we are still in a global pandemic and travel plans are up in the air for pretty much everyone.   People come here and see plans being messed up all the time, they see, read and hear about all the problems with airlines and cruise ships on the news.  Yet, they act all surprised and upset when things get changed even though they got good compensation.

 

Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

[cruiseny4life]

9 hours ago, SeaShark said:

 

Unfortunately, as I pointed out, this isn't a support group...it isn't a place for venting. We all have our stresses and troubles, but we have to learn that public displays only sour the environment for everyone. I don't really come here to hear people's troubles, problems, and complaints...let's share the GOOD of cruising and not the bile.

 

Great way to handle things if you want to "vent": Open up Word or NotePad...type out all the nastiness that you want to...vent to your heart's content. Save the document. Come back after a few hours and read over what you wrote. Revise and edit if you feel the need.

 

Then drop the document in the Recycle Bin.

 

Nobody wants to be on a cruise, or on Cruise Critic, with "Debbie Downer".

Now I am curious - who made you the arbiter of what this website is or isn't? You have the adult decision to make - ignore the post and keep scrolling or pretend to be holier than thou and respond. I scroll right on by 100's of posts, responding to only a few. In my responses I attempt to take the high road and not complain or denigrate - I don't always succeed, but I'll never tell someone they can't use Cruise Critic for whatever they want...unless it's a "looking for..." post. 🙂

 

That aside, leave us to our Negative Nancy conversation! 

[rsato]

Piglet - I understand the anger and frustration at having your long planned vacation cancelled by NCL. I love cruises, and have been to Hawaii many times - but I don't think the combination is all that great. The POA is overpriced relative to other cruises, you do have staffing shortages from a US only workers, and the limited shore time hurts your island culture experience. 

 

Knowing that on alternative cruises, for instance the Aug 27 sailing of the Bliss to Alaska, you could get a Haven Penthouse for less than 8K right now, makes other prospective travelers wish they were cancelled too. But if you had your signs on a Hawaiian cruise, it is certainly your right to be angry...

[LGW59]

11 hours ago, SeaShark said:

 

A child looks forward to going to the store...after all, that is where the child's favorite candy is sold. The child behaves and follows every direction given by Mom. Finally, the check out line approaches along with the desired candy. "Mommy, can I ..." the child says. "No" says Mom. "But, please..." the child says. "NO!" says Mom.

 

The child, with no other option is pissed. Then...the tantrum starts. Loud, annoying screaming and crying in public. Feet are stomped. Tears are shed.

 

While we can all put ourselves in the child's shoes, it does nothing to ease having to be around the public tantrum. We don't always get what we want when we want it. Nothing is 100% perfect...that is life. I go to the store to shop...in peace. I don't go to hear whining, crying, and disappointment. The fact that I can relate does not make the pubic tantrum any less irritating and annoying.

 

This is a place to talk about our shared enjoyment of vacationing on the sea. To share ideas and tips about the ships we sail on and the places we visit. A place to make new vacation friends and re-connect with old ones. What this place is NOT is a support group. 

 

If you want to be pissed, upset, and/or disappointed about something, you have a right to do so. However, that doesn't mean that anyone else has to indulge that. Somebody upset you? Take it up directly with them...in a calm, measured, adult manner. Don't have a tantrum in public where you only end up annoying people who can't do anything about it for you.

Just get your refund already and take a nice land vacation with the $$$, you’ll have plenty to plan a very nice trip.

[Treasure Hunter]

Princess does continuous cruises to Hawaii from LA and San Francisco. A lot of days at sea but four islands and terrific fun. Or we did Tahiti with them and it was the most wonderful experience ever. Take your money and run. Then do an NCL cruise for free in the Caribbean or Panama Canal as a bonus!

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, Cindy said:

I agree! Many of us booked on the POA have been trying to take this cruise since before Covid. Our October cruise will be our 8th attempt to use our original booking, including an NCL cancellation (for drydock) before Covid was even a vocabulary word. My husband and I are at the point that our airline tickets have to be used (booked almost 3 years ago!) and if our reservation gets cancelled again we’re keeping our flights and going anyway. I have cancellable back-up plans that I made the last time our cruise was cancelled and would pivot to go to Hawaii without cruising.
 

That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be angry and disappointed. NCL is still selling cabins on my sailing as they were for the August cruises, and in my mind those are the bookings that should be cancelled. I understand the staffing problems, but I think NCL should close bookings until they are sure they can accommodate all of them. I also think there are many people with flexibility who would jump at the chance for a refund and 100% FCC. I wish NCL would ask for volunteers before cancelling long-standing reservations as little as 6-weeks out. Yes, that’s more complicated than just cancelling reservations, but I think it’s a solution that would be better received than the current practice.

 

I *really* don't understand what is so difficult for a cruise line (or most businesses!) to do something like this.   If some people jump for the chance to cancel and get money back or to get a "credit plus extra", then it works for everyone.

Back in the day when this meant people needed to call passengers, one by one, to make these offers, and then check back, etc. - that was different.

Nowadays, send out a email that clearly states it's first come first served for the "refund plus" and that there's an overall deadline.  Or whatever terms they want.

 

Let those who WANT the "deal" take it.  Let those who prefer the cruise do that.

 

We know this can work, as I mentioned above, because we were given an offer like this several years ago, on Oceania, which is "related" to NCL, so presumably they could "share" technologies... and basic ideas for customer service (?).

 

GC

 

Edited June 23, 2022 by GeezerCouple

[Sthrngary]

10 hours ago, SeaShark said:

Nobody wants to be on a cruise, or on Cruise Critic, with "Debbie Downer".

That is the truth, nobody likes a debbie downer.  The issue is, we all have the right to simply not read the articles and move on.  The OP has the right to outline anything they want.  As is shown, this topic became very popular.  It did not break CruiseCritic.com rules or policies.  Who among us has the right to say what can and cannot be posted if it follows the rules and policies.  

 

Don't think I disagree with the notion of folks complaining on CruiseCritic.com.  I just think if any of us think our topics or only positive topics are all that is allowed, we miss the point of social media.  

 

Cruise well.

[SeaShark]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Now I am curious - who made you the arbiter of what this website is or isn't? You have the adult decision to make - ignore the post and keep scrolling or pretend to be holier than thou and respond. I scroll right on by 100's of posts, responding to only a few. In my responses I attempt to take the high road and not complain or denigrate - I don't always succeed, but I'll never tell someone they can't use Cruise Critic for whatever they want...unless it's a "looking for..." post. 🙂

 

That aside, leave us to our Negative Nancy conversation! 

 

That being the case, why didn't you just scroll by my post and not respond? Follow your own advice.

[cruiseny4life]

35 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

That being the case, why didn't you just scroll by my post and not respond? Follow your own advice.

Maybe I'm not capable of making adult decisions! 

[kirtihk]

5 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

Doesn't seem to matter if we are still in a global pandemic and travel plans are up in the air for pretty much everyone.   People come here and see plans being messed up all the time, they see, read and hear about all the problems with airlines and cruise ships on the news.  Yet, they act all surprised and upset when things get changed even though they got good compensation.

 

Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

When life pace has been destroyed for years, one realizes that a great deal of it (one's life) was used for useless fight with stress and depression, and because there is no light at the end of tunnel (not cruising-wise but in general - "we will reconsider regulations/mandates/protocols/lock downs/restrictions/rules/emergency acts/... if needed upon further evaluation on monthly basis"), the person comes to recognition that there is no much all of a sudden in that person's control, and, as result, stress deepens even further and makes frustrated state of mind.  So, "they act all surprised and upset" is not acting, it is simply uncontrollable frustration in its pure form.

[cruisequeen4ever]

It would be mighty disappointing to plan and anticipate a big cruise vacation only to have it canceled. I suppose NCL would rather proactively cancel pax than risk a bunch of complaints from

pax onboard about lacking service. At least they’re giving what I consider to be very nice compensation! Maybe you could pick a different cruise to use the FCC on this summer and then use your refund to book the Hawaii cruise for next year. 

[carohs]

The OP has been a member of CC for some time. If she had been following the boards she would have known that the POA has had staffing issues and has been canceling booked cruisers for some time, and may have anticipated this possibility.

I would be sad and disappointed, too, but plain anger doesn't solve anything. I'm with most other posters: take advantage of the FCC to rebook for next year. Then you're only out the difference in fare + taxes and fees. Take the refund of the cruise paid and book another vacation for the same time frame this year. It doesn't have to be a cruise. $4K can go a long way.

[graphicguy]

Is it disappointing the OP's cruise was cancelled?  Sure.  Was S/He made whole?  Absolutely, and then some, but getting a full refund and another FCC equal to the original fare.  All-in-all, very good compensation for the cancellation.

 

If you can be even a slight bit flexible (and you always have to be when traveling), this will easily work out in the OP's favor.  Book another cruise with the refund, and use the FCC to book another cruise further down the line.

 

I know personally, keeping up with all the threads here is something I try to do, but am rarely successful at.

 

So, while we've offered plenty of explanations and opinions, the OP may not follow this thread any more, or didn't get the answer S/He wanted.

[Heartfelttraveler]

On 6/22/2022 at 10:19 AM, SeaShark said:

 

 

Not sure what the source of the confusion would be. It appears that they were specific as to the FCC in their letter to you.

The way I read it is if you paid by credit card your refund will be issued to that form of payment.

If you paid by FCC, you will get a refund in the form of a FCC.

Where does it say you get both?

 

[hallux]

Just now, Heartfelttraveler said:

The way I read it is if you paid by credit card your refund will be issued to that form of payment.

If you paid by FCC, you will get a refund in the form of a FCC.

Where does it say you get both?

 

It was quoted in a subsequent post if you keep reading the thread instead of stopping at a post you take exception to..

[Heartfelttraveler]

2 minutes ago, hallux said:

It was quoted in a subsequent post if you keep reading the thread instead of stopping at a post you take exception to..

Wow, just wow.  Everyone is so _____________.  If my trip was arbitrarily cancelled two months before start I would be royally upset.  Airlines, pre and post cruise that need to be cancelled too.  I think I had to cancel about 10 trips in the two years of Covid no travel.  But everyone on those trips were cancelled.  And if I actually only had one vacation planned for the year and I was one of "some" that were cancelled!

 

And I have read through all five pages and I do not see where the original poster has agreed that they get the $4000 back on their card and a FCC.  Hopefully they have trip insurance (not through NCL) to get the cost of airfare and any other prepaid expenses.

[SeaShark]

11 minutes ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

The way I read it is if you paid by credit card your refund will be issued to that form of payment.

If you paid by FCC, you will get a refund in the form of a FCC.

Where does it say you get both?

 

 

In the letter in Post #5 of the thread.

[SeaShark]

5 minutes ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

Wow, just wow.  Everyone is so _____________.  If my trip was arbitrarily cancelled two months before start I would be royally upset.  Airlines, pre and post cruise that need to be cancelled too.  I think I had to cancel about 10 trips in the two years of Covid no travel.  But everyone on those trips were cancelled.  And if I actually only had one vacation planned for the year and I was one of "some" that were cancelled!

 

And I have read through all five pages and I do not see where the original poster has agreed that they get the $4000 back on their card and a FCC.  Hopefully they have trip insurance (not through NCL) to get the cost of airfare and any other prepaid expenses.

 

Of course you'd be upset. Who wouldn't? I don't think anybody said that it wouldn't be upsetting. The only thing discussed was whether it was appropriate to put that emotional distress on display in public. Especially to an audience that a) has nothing to do with what upset you, and b) can't do anything about it.

 

Time and place.

[farjar]

10 days before our Jan. 2022 Caribbean vacation on the Getaway the entire cruise was cancelled.  Within about 2 weeks our credit card was refunded every cent we had paid (cruise fare, taxes, port fees, excursions purchased through NCL and prepaid specialty dining.)  The only additional compensation we received for the inconvenience was a 20% FCC.  We just rebooked an almost identical itinerary on the Dawn for Jan. 2023.  Using the 20% FCC we just about broke even.  

 

We did not book our airfare through NCL so the nightmare was not our reimbursement from NCL which was hassle-free but with the airlines due to the problem caused by the cruise cancellation.

[hallux]

40 minutes ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

And I have read through all five pages and I do not see where the original poster has agreed that they get the $4000 back on their card and a FCC.  Hopefully they have trip insurance (not through NCL) to get the cost of airfare and any other prepaid expenses.

Since you seem to have skipped the post with the letter in it, or didn't read the entire thing as you claim to have done, here are the pertinent passages from the letter:

On 6/22/2022 at 9:01 AM, piglet55cc said:

A full monetary refund of the fare paid will be automatically returned to the form of payment provided at the time of reservation. No further action is required; your refund will be automatically processed within 5 business days.

 

On 6/22/2022 at 9:01 AM, piglet55cc said:

As we share your disappointment, we will be issuing you an FCC valued at 100% of the voyage fare paid for this reservation. This credit is valid through December 31, 2023 and may be redeemed for any published voyage through the aforementioned date. The FCC will be available in your Latitudes account on June 24, 2022.

This post, and someone else broke it down in the same way in another post - 

 

[LGW59]

1 hour ago, hallux said:

It was quoted in a subsequent post if you keep reading the thread instead of stopping at a post you take exception to..

Wrong

[hallux]

53 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Wrong

Am I?  ok, the quote tag wasn't used but it was certainly called out in a post on page 2...

On 6/22/2022 at 10:28 AM, Turtles06 said:

 

I am really sorry this happened to you.  You are right to be very disappointed.   But the letter you received plainly says that you will be getting a full refund of what you have paid for this cruise AND an FCC valued at 100% of what you paid for this cruise.  

 

It says: (1) "A full monetary refund of the fare paid will be automatically returned to the form of payment provided at the time of reservation. No further action is required; your refund will be automatically processed within 5 business days."   

 

And it also says: (2)" As we share your disappointment, we will be issuing you an FCC valued at 100% of the voyage fare paid for this reservation. This credit is valid through December 31, 2023 and may be redeemed for any published voyage through the aforementioned date. The FCC will be available in your Latitudes account on June 24, 2022."

 

These are two separate things.  The language is clear.   I'm not sure what the confusion is.

 

Happy future sailings, and congratulations on your major life events and milestones.  

 

[ontheweb]

14 hours ago, farjar said:

10 days before our Jan. 2022 Caribbean vacation on the Getaway the entire cruise was cancelled.  Within about 2 weeks our credit card was refunded every cent we had paid (cruise fare, taxes, port fees, excursions purchased through NCL and prepaid specialty dining.)  The only additional compensation we received for the inconvenience was a 20% FCC.  We just rebooked an almost identical itinerary on the Dawn for Jan. 2023.  Using the 20% FCC we just about broke even.  

 

We did not book our airfare through NCL so the nightmare was not our reimbursement from NCL which was hassle-free but with the airlines due to the problem caused by the cruise cancellation.

You have given one reason for buying airfare through a cruise line, if the cruise is cancelled there is no extra hassle dealing with getting a refund through an airline.

[masspector]

Interesting thread.  I had a similar issue with a land based Japan trip.  We booked June 2021 for a trip June 2022 hoping everything would be back to normal.  Since it was the middle of the pandemic the price was great, which is why we booked.  The trip got cancelled and fortunately we got all of our money back.  

 

My rub is similar to the OP.  We did get our money back, but of course if we had taken as a credit the price in June 2022 was way higher than June 2021.  I wish they would have just moved us to a later date at the same price.  But they do not do that.  So while all of these airline, hotel, cruise price guarantees were good during the pandemic to ensure that you did not lose your money, you in essence lost your good "deal".

[sprint180]

.My trip was canceled and we got nothing but our money back and a bit of credit.  Looks like you got a great deal to me.

Edited June 24, 2022 by sprint180