Norwegian Sky 9/25-10/2 - worst cruise ever, worst vacation ever

[GeezerCouple]

10 minutes ago, ogredave said:

 

There wasn't any hurricane in Nassau.

 

13 minutes ago, ogredave said:

I acknowledged that they are within their rights to change ports as I mentioned T&C's twice.  What I disagree with is the lack of notice and options.  I find it odd that anyone would want to pay thousand/s as a couple/family and think this is an acceptable way of doing business.

 

The excursion issue is totally within their control.  There wasn't any hurricane in Nassau.  That's a crappy partner and the customers ate the loss on NCL's behalf.  That's not right. 

 

If my contractor picks someone who doesn't deliver on work done to my house and it causes delays or worse additional fees, then I expect them to find someone to finish the job or make up for it somehow.  My opportunity cost shouldn't be worthless.

 

 

Aha...

 

You have a contractor arranged for some major work on your house.  When did you first contact the contractor?  When did you figure the details and sign?  When was the work to begin?  And end?

 

Terrific.  All good.

 

And now... you'd want to tell the contractor that you want to make some significant changes to be completed next week (!), or maybe even TOMORROW!

Or... their equipment breaks the day before they were to show up?  Or their supplies (your carefully selected choice of X) is stuck on a cargo ship *still* stuck in ship traffic off the port at LA?

"What do you mean, you can't make the changes that I prefer on such short notice?  Someone else already reserved the <equipment> or <specialist workers>?  How DARE they... *I* want them and *I* want them *soon*/tomorrow!!"

 

What did your written contract state about delays for the specific reason... those terms and conditions...

 

There *are* plenty of other cruises, travelers, tour groups, etc., and they are all over the place, most of them having carefully PLANNED very carefully, way in advance, makiing deposits in advance, or perhaps paying in full in advance, yes, perhaps "thousands" or even tens of thousands...

And now *you* show up at the last minute (hurricane or whatever reason) and want THEIR PLACE/excursion/guide/boat/jeep/etc., but you can't have it!  How unfair can life be!?

 

GC

[ogredave]

4 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

There *are* plenty of other cruises, travelers, tour groups, etc., and they are all over the place, most of them having carefully PLANNED very carefully, way in advance, makiing deposits in advance, or perhaps paying in full in advance, yes, perhaps "thousands" or even tens of thousands...

And now *you* show up at the last minute (hurricane or whatever reason) and want THEIR PLACE/excursion/guide/boat/jeep/etc., but you can't have it!  How unfair can life be!?

 

GC

 

I fail to see the analogy here as we did book the excursion and I still have the tickets.

 

Cruise was booked roughly 9 months in advance.  I don't know why you think I'm the one making last minute changes.  That would be NCL ..

 

Edited October 22, 2022 by ogredave
edit - cruise

[ogredave]

20 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

By the "ever"s in the title, it is clear that this was a huge outlier and not the norm.

 

Before this, what did you consider to be your worst cruise and why?

Before this, what did you consider to be your worst vacation and why?

 

Have to agree, before this we were generally happy w/NCL.  This is a big change for us and I was surprised at the low standards for customer satisfaction.

 

I don't remember a worst vacation/cruise.  This is it.  The other's have been fine.  Particularly enjoyed Europe and Alaska.  Although we don't like Carnival's assigned dining (if they still do that anymore).

[SeaShark]

4 minutes ago, ogredave said:

 

I fail to see the analogy here as we did book the excursion and I still have the tickets.

 

Cruise was booked roughly 9 months in advance.  I don't know why you think I'm the one making last minute changes.  That would be NCL ..

 

 

Well, just how far in advance would you have liked NCL to predict the hurricane, research the alternatives, and provide "proper" notification?

 

 

[SeaShark]

1 minute ago, ogredave said:

 

Have to agree, before this we were generally happy w/NCL.  This is a big change for us and I was surprised at the low standards for customer satisfaction.

 

I don't remember a worst vacation/cruise.  This is it.  The other's have been fine.  Particularly enjoyed Europe and Alaska.  Although we don't like Carnival's assigned dining (if they still do that anymore).

 

So...not even one other bad one? You just go right to "worst ever"? Nothing is perfect and if you only have had one bad vacation experience (and IMHO I think "bad" is an overstatement here) in your lifetime, then I don't see the need for the hand wringing.

 

You talk "low standards for customer satisfaction" but I've seen nothing mentioned as to what would have been satisfactory? What would the acceptable alternatives have been?

[ogredave]

Just now, SeaShark said:

You talk "low standards for customer satisfaction" but I've seen nothing mentioned as to what would have been satisfactory? What would the acceptable alternatives have been?

 

The excursion is completely unacceptable to me.  An alternative would have been to offer some credit back to make up for the lost time.  Another person onboard who was complaining next to me at the front desk was asking for free drinks for the rest of the cruise (1 night).  He didn't get that either.

 

I also mentioned the $50 excursion credit before.  At the very least they could have given that back as a token apology.  Theoretically, the credits were factored into the cost of my cruise.  It feels insulting to value my lost time (especially on vacation) at $0.

 

[destar]

Cry me a river. Did you enjoy the ship, how was the food, how was the entertainment?

This didn't just happen to you, it happened to everyone on that cruise. Not the first time, not the last time. 

It can happen to me next week on my cruise, but I won't let it ruin my cruise. I'll grab a cocktail and enjoy whatever hand is dealt.

[nferr]

56 minutes ago, ogredave said:

I acknowledged that they are within their rights to change ports as I mentioned T&C's twice.  What I disagree with is the lack of notice and options.  I find it odd that anyone would want to pay thousand/s as a couple/family and think this is an acceptable way of doing business.

 

The excursion issue is totally within their control.  There wasn't any hurricane in Nassau.  That's a crappy partner and the customers ate the loss on NCL's behalf.  That's not right. 

 

If my contractor picks someone who doesn't deliver on work done to my house and it causes delays or worse additional fees, then I expect them to find someone to finish the job or make up for it somehow.  My opportunity cost shouldn't be worthless.

 You keep saying "NCL excursion partner". Was it an NCL excursion? Or one you booked on your own? They're not going to reimburse you for a excursion you booked on your own. If it was an NCL excursion then you definitely should expect a refund.

[ogredave]

Just now, nferr said:

 You keep saying "NCL excursion partner". Was it an NCL excursion? Or one you booked on your own? They're not going to reimburse you for a excursion you booked on your own. If it was an NCL excursion then you definitely should expect a refund.

 

Excursion through NCL, thus, their partner.  We got a refund but how does that make up for lost time and opportunity to do anything else?  I even lost the $50 credit towards excursions - not like I could use that anywhere else.  There were no NCL excursions after 1 PM.

 

[nferr]

Just now, ogredave said:

 

Excursion through NCL, thus, their partner.  We got a refund but how does that make up for lost time and opportunity to do anything else?  I even lost the $50 credit towards excursions - not like I could use that anywhere else.  There were no NCL excursions after 1 PM.

 

 

In that case you're whole. I mean you said the excursion company had an accident. I don't get what you wanted them to do. 

[SeaShark]

9 minutes ago, ogredave said:

 

The excursion is completely unacceptable to me.  An alternative would have been to offer some credit back to make up for the lost time.  Another person onboard who was complaining next to me at the front desk was asking for free drinks for the rest of the cruise (1 night).  He didn't get that either.

 

I also mentioned the $50 excursion credit before.  At the very least they could have given that back as a token apology.  Theoretically, the credits were factored into the cost of my cruise.  It feels insulting to value my lost time (especially on vacation) at $0.

 

 

Unacceptable "to me" doesn't mean that it is unacceptable to others or that "me" isn't being defiant. Credits, free drinks, etc...sounds like a lot of folks with their hands out going "gimme, gimme, gimme"...doesn't sound like the tactic worked.

 

Being the most frequent poster in a complaint thread on the internet doesn't achieve that goal either.

 

Was there something other than compensation that you were hoping to get?

[ogredave]

Just now, nferr said:

 

In that case you're whole. I mean you said the excursion company had an accident. I don't get what you wanted them to do. 

 

I've said it multiple times already, something beyond the refund.  At least the token $50 lost credit would have been something - something I technically paid for as part of my package. 

 

Compared to the cost of this vacation that's a drop in the bucket.

 

[pixiedust777]

At least your NCL cruise sailed.

We flew in for our NCL cruise on September 29th on the 24th.

Ian was not even a named hurricane at this point.

On the evening of the 27th we find out that NCL has completely cancelled the cruise.

Are we disappointed-yes

Are we surprised- no…in the matter of 48 hours this storm is now a cat 5 hurricane barreling straight at where we are.

We can’t even leave as the airports are closed.

Go into plan B mode and stock up the hotel room. Ride out the hurricane and thankfully  all is okay. Still cannot change our flight home so we drove down to Port Everglades and we’re able to get on a cruise that left on the weekend. Different cruise company, no research, no plans, did not even look at the ports we were sailing to.

Just happy to be okay…able to salvage a week of our vacation and count our blessings.

Not at all what we had planned for but we rolled with Mother Nature and still had a great time together. We will never forget our 30th anniversary💕
 

 

 

 

[ogredave]

1 minute ago, SeaShark said:

 

Being the most frequent poster in a complaint thread on the internet doesn't achieve that goal either.

 

Was there something other than compensation that you were hoping to get?

 

Would you expect someone else to have more responses than the OP? 

 

Compensation is the only thing I can ask for - how could I get my time back? 

[MotownVoice]

If one person calls you a horse, you ignore and walk on.  
 

But if ten people call you a horse. Dude.    It’s time to buy a saddle.  
 

you’re wrong here.   They refunded what you spent on the excursion. 
 

Now you want money for your ….. time?!

 

Are you NCL’s former customer or their attorney?!

[ogredave]

1 minute ago, pixiedust777 said:

At least your NCL cruise sailed.

We flew in for our NCL cruise on September 29th on the 24th.

Ian was not even a named hurricane at this point.

On the evening of the 27th we find out that NCL has completely cancelled the cruise.

Are we disappointed-yes

Are we surprised- no…in the matter of 48 hours this storm is now a cat 5 hurricane barreling straight at where we are.

We can’t even leave as the airports are closed.

Go into plan B mode and stock up the hotel room. Ride out the hurricane and thankfully  all is okay. Still cannot change our flight home so we drove down to Port Everglades and we’re able to get on a cruise that left on the weekend. Different cruise company, no research, no plans, did not even look at the ports we were sailing to.

Just happy to be okay…able to salvage a week of our vacation and count our blessings.

Not at all what we had planned for but we rolled with Mother Nature and still had a great time together. We will never forget our 30th anniversary💕
 

 

I'm really sorry to hear about the cancellation but I'd assume NCL gave you credits and you can use them later, so all is not lost.

 

Nice that you were able to make something you enjoyed out of it. 

 

[ogredave]

2 minutes ago, MotownVoice said:

If one person calls you a horse, you ignore and walk on.  
 

But if ten people call you a horse. Dude.    It’s time to buy a saddle.  
 

you’re wrong here.   They refunded what you spent on the excursion. 
 

Now you want money for your ….. time?!

 

Are you NCL’s former customer or their attorney?!

 

It's called opportunity cost.  And have you never heard time is money?

 

It's nice that everyone here can afford to be so generous w/their time and money.  Wish some of it came my way.

 

Could you buy my saddle?

[SeaShark]

1 minute ago, ogredave said:

 

Would you expect someone else to have more responses than the OP? 

 

Compensation is the only thing I can ask for - how could I get my time back? 

 

Yes, I expect the OP to post...then to LISTEN to the replies...not to reply to and retort every subsequent post.

 

Compensation is certainly NOT the only thing out there. However, it is your sole focus. Your time? Did they lock you in a room for the time of the excursion or were you able to move about freely as you choose? 

 

Sorry, but the higher the drama, the less I feel the legitimacy of the complaint. 

[ogredave]

Just now, SeaShark said:

 

Yes, I expect the OP to post...then to LISTEN to the replies...not to reply to and retort every subsequent post.

 

Compensation is certainly NOT the only thing out there. However, it is your sole focus. Your time? Did they lock you in a room for the time of the excursion or were you able to move about freely as you choose? 

 

Sorry, but the higher the drama, the less I feel the legitimacy of the complaint. 

 

I have a hard time listening to people that could not get past the port change and disregard the excursion issue.  Who is not listening first?  Coincidentally, NCL did the same - they did not even acknowledge the excursion issue until about the 4th response.

 

The time is a big issue - it's in the middle of the day.  How risky is it to go and book your own excursion with ~3 hours left?

[MsTabbyKats]

This is exactly like one of my cousins.  He's about 75 and has been a chronic smoker for about 60 years.  He has lung disease.  Now he's complaining that nobody ever told him the dangers of smoking.

 

Didn't anybody ever tell you about cruising during the hurricane season?  NCL gave you a trip...food, entertainment....for a week.  They had no other obligation.

 

Here's a stupid question.....did you buy insurance?

[SeaShark]

Just now, ogredave said:

 

I have a hard time listening to people that could not get past the port change and disregard the excursion issue.  Who is not listening first?  Coincidentally, NCL did the same - they did not even acknowledge the excursion issue until about the 4th response.

 

The time is a big issue - it's in the middle of the day.  How risky is it to go and book your own excursion with ~3 hours left?

 

You had me until the ninth word.

 

Everyone is aware of the port change (GASP!) and the excursion issue(GASP!!). The fact that nobody sees it the way that you do does not mean that they aren't listening...just that they don't agree with you as to the severity of the point you're trying to make.

 

Not a coincidence that NCL did the same. 

 

You harp on the value of time, but how much time are you willing to waste here on this issue? Do you think you're going to get compensation because of something posted here? Do you think any of us can or would do anything about it?

 

What is the return on time here?

[nferr]

2 minutes ago, ogredave said:

 

I have a hard time listening to people that could not get past the port change and disregard the excursion issue.  Who is not listening first?  Coincidentally, NCL did the same - they did not even acknowledge the excursion issue until about the 4th response.

 

The time is a big issue - it's in the middle of the day.  How risky is it to go and book your own excursion with ~3 hours left?

 Exactly. So what do you want them to do? Excursion cancelled last minute due to an accident. They refund your money. You want them to pay you extra because your excursion was cancelled? I once drove three hours to a concert and it was cancelled last minute while everyone was outside in line waiting for the doors to open. The artist, Bob Dylan, came up sick last minute. A month later I received my refund for the ticket cost only. I didn't cry about losing 7 hours of my life and demanded extra money. Crap happens.

[ogredave]

9 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

You had me until the ninth word.

 

Everyone is aware of the port change (GASP!) and the excursion issue(GASP!!). The fact that nobody sees it the way that you do does not mean that they aren't listening...just that they don't agree with you as to the severity of the point you're trying to make.

 

Not a coincidence that NCL did the same. 

 

You harp on the value of time, but how much time are you willing to waste here on this issue? Do you think you're going to get compensation because of something posted here? Do you think any of us can or would do anything about it?

 

What is the return on time here?

 

I disagree on the awareness, but ok?  NCL actually acknowledged that they did not respond about the excursion and apologized for it.  But ok ..

 

You do know you keep answering questions with questions, then complaining about responses, right?

 

Regarding time - comparing time at home vs. time in a foreign country on vacation isn't even remotely the same.

Edited October 22, 2022 by ogredave
time

[ogredave]

3 minutes ago, nferr said:

 Exactly. So what do you want them to do? Excursion cancelled last minute due to an accident. They refund your money. You want them to pay you extra because your excursion was cancelled? I once drove three hours to a concert and it was cancelled last minute while everyone was outside in line waiting for the doors to open. The artist, Bob Dylan, came up sick last minute. A month later I received my refund for the ticket cost only. I didn't cry about losing 7 hours of my life and demanded extra money. Crap happens.

 

See $50 excursion credit lost.

[SeaShark]

2 minutes ago, ogredave said:

 

I disagree on the awareness, but ok?  NCL actually acknowledged that they did not respond about the excursion and apologized for it.  But ok ..

 

You do know you keep answering questions with questions, then complaining about responses, right?

Its actually the lack of responses, sport. You'll note that you "forgot" to explain the time lost on this unproductive thread...