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

[ogredave]

On 10/22/2022 at 5:07 PM, MotownVoice said:

Every single thing you’re complaining about was forewarned in this document, which clearly you didn’t take the 20 minutes to read:

 

https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions

 

Oh wait.   I know.    Your “time is valuable”.   Maybe they should have paid you to read it.  

 

I literally mentioned it in the original post, yet I'm the one that can't read.

[ogredave]

On 10/22/2022 at 5:10 PM, GeezerCouple said:

 

As I wrote above, this NCL excursion (not the entire cruise, dare I say?) is a FIRST WORLD PROBLEM.

 

This makes no sense.  So what if it's a first world problem?  Anyone who can afford a cruise is essentially in the same category - so they should just look the other way when they feel they were treated unfairly? 

[ogredave]

21 hours ago, roomba920 said:

I completely understand your frustration.

I was on the Norwegian Jade in Greece the same week as your cruise.

They also changed our itinerary, but we weren't even told at check in inside the terminal where we had free WIFI. They told us onboard. They flipped the itinerary around, dropped one port and shortened the hours while in the other ports.

We had a dinner reservation in Santorini at sunset. We were originally scheduled to be there till 9:00 pm, but they shortened it to 3:30 pm, and we had no internet to inform the restaurant of the change.

 

That sucks 😞  I know those Santorini reservations need to be scheduled way in advance.  This cruise was actually attempt #3 or #4, I forget now.  In one of the previous ones, it was out of Athens with a visit to Santorini too I think.

 

For us, they handed us a letter as we walked into the port.  The really upset people were the ones that came from Puerto Rico to Miami .. just to cruise right back to Puerto Rico.

[ogredave]

14 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

You did have a choice. You chose to still get on the ship and have a vacation with food, drinks, entertainment, a clean room... You could have chosen to not board the ship on the premise of the last minute changes that were unacceptable to you. 

 

Your last statement is funny and where I stopped reading the 4+ pages of this thread. Last time I checked, the next Star Trek cruise isn't until February 2023 and sailing on a different line. There are no teleporters to bring cruise ships from port A to port B without having to sail THROUGH other areas. Just because Nassau didn't have a hurricane didn't mean there wasn't other stuff happening around the area surrounding it that you would have to sail through to get there.

 

You think throwing away the cost of the cruise entirely is a choice.  Must be nice.

 

My last statement is in regards to the excursion operator who crashed their boat where there was no hurricane.  Not even sure how you arrived at sailing through .. this is a Nassau excursion.

[negn]

I was on this cruise and disappointed by the change of itinerary, but it wasn’t the “ worst vacation”.  You roll with the punches, you’re still on vacation !   The excursion credit did not cost you anything so you wouldn’t expect to get anything back.  It was to off set the cost of their excursions which I feel are more expensive than other lines.  

[Sailing12Away]

7 hours ago, ogredave said:

 

You think throwing away the cost of the cruise entirely is a choice.  Must be nice.

 

No, it's called asking for a refund/FCC as you don't want to take the vacation being offered as it's not the vacation you paid for. You would get the money back to put towards a different one that suited your wishes. Only thing you would be out is flights/hotels etc if those were prebooked and needed to be adjusted. Which you could also fight to try and get some compensation back on, or, the almighty elusive travel insurance which is meant for such last minute unplanned changes.

 

The point is that by agreeing to step on the cruise with the changes already told to you, you made a choice. Even a crappy choice is still a choice.

 

My dream vacation is to the Galapagos. If I spent a year planning and shelled out the 8K+/pp that it costs to cruise around there and was told at the last minute we're headed to Chili instead... yeah, I would be pissed. But I still have a choice. Time is already taken off from work, I'm already in South America... either I put off Galapagos for another year and go to Chili first, find a last minute private company to take me where I truly want to go, or head back home with nothing at all. There's still choices. 

 

Maybe it's just the word choices used of 'worst cruise ever' and the theatrical overly dramatic which diminishes and discredits the true vs perceived losses encountered.

[PATRLR]

8 hours ago, ogredave said:

This goes back to hiding behind T&Cs.

I don't understand this statement, which you've made a couple of times.  The T&Cs are very public and easy to find, you seem to claim that you read them.  NCL then follows their T&Cs but they are "hiding" behind them?  

As best I can determine, you don't like the result of the T&Cs, which you claim you read and you definitely agreed to, and now you claim NCL is hiding something.  Makes no sense.   Seems if anyone is hiding something, it is you hiding from the reality that itineraries can and do change. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by PATRLR

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, Sailing12Away said:

No, it's called asking for a refund/FCC as you don't want to take the vacation being offered as it's not the vacation you paid for. You would get the money back to put towards a different one that suited your wishes. Only thing you would be out is flights/hotels etc if those were prebooked and needed to be adjusted. Which you could also fight to try and get some compensation back on, or, the almighty elusive travel insurance which is meant for such last minute unplanned changes.

 

The point is that by agreeing to step on the cruise with the changes already told to you, you made a choice. Even a crappy choice is still a choice.

 

My dream vacation is to the Galapagos. If I spent a year planning and shelled out the 8K+/pp that it costs to cruise around there and was told at the last minute we're headed to Chili instead... yeah, I would be pissed. But I still have a choice. Time is already taken off from work, I'm already in South America... either I put off Galapagos for another year and go to Chili first, find a last minute private company to take me where I truly want to go, or head back home with nothing at all. There's still choices. 

 

Maybe it's just the word choices used of 'worst cruise ever' and the theatrical overly dramatic which diminishes and discredits the true vs perceived losses encountered.

I don’t think the OP would’ve  been eligible for a refund or a FCC in this case. The ship sailed, for the time it was supposed to, port changes don’t allow for a cancellation on the consumers end.

[JamieLogical]

I am by no means any kind of NCL cheerleader or apologist. You can see my MANY rants against NCL on these boards. But anyone who cruises with any frequency has had ports canceled, itineraries changed, and excursions canceled at the last minute. This is the nature of cruising. You are extremely lucky to have not had this happen to you before. The very first night of my very first cruise, our entire itinerary was changed because we had to return to Miami due to a medical emergency onboard, costing us about 8 hours of travel time. The order of all of our ports was reversed (so first port became last, etc.) and Freeport, Jamaica was changed to Ocho Rios. I rode on the elevator with the groom from a wedding party who was supposed to have their wedding in Freeport.

 

I can't even count the number of canceled tender ports due to wind, canceled excursions due to choppy water, ports changed to tender ports due to damaged piers, diversions due to medical emergencies, etc. that I have experienced in my only 16 cruises to date. If you aren't the type that can roll with the punches, cruising might not be the vacation for you.

[smillerholmes]

On 10/23/2022 at 10:29 AM, Mandalay5 said:

Worst cruise vacations ever:

Titanic

Lusitania

Costa Concordia

Carnival Triumph ‘poo cruise’

Diamond Princess ‘covid cruise’

 

Route change to avoid hurricane at the height of hurricane season, no. Although the folks that went to Canada when they were expecting Bermuda take the top spot in that argument.

I had almost forgotten about the Diamond Princess - just goes to show that as much as C-19 impacted our lives it is a looong way from Titanic and I would say even the poo cruise.

[graphicguy]

Not pointing fingers, but some people aren’t meant to cruise. 

 

Cruising relies on people to be adaptable.  Weather changes.  Equipment needs have to be addressed.  Crew dealing with guests who are just not capable of being satisfied, regardless of circumstance, etc.  There are many, many moving parts that have to synch in order for things to be perfect (I’m sometimes amazed they actually work as well as they do).

 

Overall, if you’re willing to be open minded, not rigid in your wants, needs, and plans, you’ll more than likely have a great time.

 

I too have thrown darts at NCL for their handling of the post COVID start up phase. So, not an NCL apologist.

 

But, being willing to change when things go sideways is probably the best attitude to have.  Matter of fact, I’d say that’s imperative.

 

If you are adaptable, you’re likely to have a great cruise (vs the worst vacation you’ve ever had).

[Cruising Lynne]

On 10/22/2022 at 5:51 PM, 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.

How did the customer eat the loss? You were refunded for the excursion. The excursion partner had an accident. Accidents happen. That doesn't mean they are a crappy tour operator. Do you even know that the accident was their fault? Your alternatives after the cancelled tour could have included going to the local beach or shops and restaurants in the port area. Or enjoy the less crowded ship. 

 

All I can determine from this thread is that you actually disagree with the terms and conditions that you agreed to before sailing. 

 

Itineraries change. Boat tours are often cancelled. Make the best of it. I am sure you still had a chance for a fun trip. If you were miserable on this cruise that is your own fault.

 

You were notified of the changes to the cruise as you boarded the ship. An alternative itinerary was given, which I am sure was a challenge for the cruise line to arrange due to the hurricane and other cruise lines also needing new ports to go to. 

 

[nferr]

Just to use Great Stirrup Cay as an example. Often the private island is cancelled because the tenders can't be used safely due to weather. Becomes another sea day.  I mean this happens a lot and GSC is often the highlight of a Bahamas cruise. I don't see people complaining about "time lost" and being paid $50 because they missed an excursion.

Edited October 24, 2022 by nferr