Rebooking with less than equivalent room

[Pillonad]

I booked a cruise with NCL last May (2022) to travel to Greece this July (2023) on the lovely new Viva. My husband, daughter and father in law are all celebrating their birthdays this year and are all of Greek heritage so we were traveling to celebrate in the homeland. In September 2022, we were informed that the Viva would no be ready in time to travel and were given three options: 1. Rebook on the Viva at a later date, 2. Cancel our trip entirely, 3. Continue on with our existing reservation as planned and be moved on to Getaway in a equivalent and comparable room. We all chose option 3. Now that we are getting closer to our travel dates and I'm getting exciting at the thought of our travels, I have been scouring the internet for information about the Getaway and the staterooms therein. On our original booking we reserved the Haven Aft Facing Penthouse with Master Bedroom and LARGE BALCONY. On the revised booking, we are in Haven Aft Facing Penthouse with Master Bedroom with balcony. These two rooms are not equivalent or comparable. I do understand that now at this point in time the rooms with the LARGE BALCONY are at a higher cost and can fetch quite a bit more money. But we were downgraded not only to a much older ship but I now know also to a smaller room and balcony. When we we rebooked, we were given no options as to room or location, only "this is your new room." Were I told that the room would be different, I would not have chosen that option. Now, we are stuck on our dream vacation, or what was to have been our dream vacation, in a less than equivalent room, on an older ship, on a lower floor, etc. The taste in my mouth is not very sweet. When I called customer service yesterday to discuss this issue, the agent was very pleasant and instantly moved us to the correct room. Today, when I check the app, we are back to the smaller room, with no explanation at all. When I call back in to customer service, I am faced with rudeness and attitude. They basically said the only way we could get that room is to "upgrade" for another $5,000. This is not an upgrade situation at all.

 

This all just seems crazy to me. We have to take an old ship, to a modified itinerary, and now we are shoved into a smaller room, and we still have paid more money than imaginable. We are paying to be mistreated and scammed out of what we ordered. I can not believe this is how you envision customer service for Haven guests, NCL guests, any guests.
 

We have not ever cruised NCL, and now I'm not sure we ever will.

[UKstages]

contact their VP of guest services to state your concerns and your reasonable expected compensation/resolution:

 

katty byrd

NCL
7665 corporate center dr.
miami, fl 33126

kbyrd@ncl.com

[casofilia]

@Pillonad

 

Who did you book with?   An NCL PCC?  If so that should be you first "port of call" as any email to Miami will get passed back to your PCC.  

 

If you get the "brush off" from her, go public

[cruiseny4life]

If you don't mind, what stateroom are you in? It could be that the large balcony is still a large balcony...maybe not 1,000 square feet, but possibly 400 - 500 square feet. You might still be able to enjoy your trip!

 

The actual rooms, from my understanding are about the same size on Getaway. The balcony is the only real difference. Of course, I could be wrong, in which case, someone will let us know. 

[kjquilts]

There are many videos on YouTube of Getaway Haven aft facing staterooms.  Check and see if there is one for your stateroom because you might be pleasantly surprised.

 

[mtrancher]

On the Getaway the difference in the deck size of the Haven aft cabins in minimal. We were in a 'regular' Haven aft cabin on deck 14. We had a party of all those cruising with us and had 14 people out on the deck. Plenty of room.

NCL gave you three options, you chose to go on the Getaway, and the Getaway does not have perfectly equivalent cabins to the Viva. If you chose, your vacation does not have to be negatively impacted at all. You will have a very large balcony, by comparison to others, and if there are only four or five of you; the balcony will easily accommodate lounging, dining and sightseeing.

Hope the birthday celebration goes well.

[complawyer]

dont pooh pooh the getaway!. we've been on most of the ncl ships in the past 13 years, and the getaway is by far and away our favorite. besides, even the ship didnt change, you, spouse, daughter and father would have   gotten screwed up sleeping arrangements.

 

my understanding is that there is only one bathroom, one bedroom and a pull out sofa. you'd have been better off booking the 2 bedroom suite

[Jordan61]

7 hours ago, Pillonad said:

My husband, daughter and father in law are all celebrating their birthdays this year

 

Do they not celebrate their birthdays every year? (Sorry, couldn't resist!)

 

I second the suggestion to see if you can find a YouTube video of the room.

[YVRteacher]

I understand your concern.

 

For what it is worth, this cruise is port intensive.  Long days in the ports, shower, dinner, maybe show, then bed.  We barely had any time to relax on the balcony when we did European cruises.

[Pillonad]

11 hours ago, complawyer said:

dont pooh pooh the getaway!. we've been on most of the ncl ships in the past 13 years, and the getaway is by far and away our favorite. besides, even the ship didnt change, you, spouse, daughter and father would have   gotten screwed up sleeping arrangements.

 

my understanding is that there is only one bathroom, one bedroom and a pull out sofa. you'd have been better off booking the 2 bedroom suite

Each has their own suite booked, not just one suite. Multiply x4

[Pillonad]

10 hours ago, Jordan61 said:

 

Do they not celebrate their birthdays every year? (Sorry, couldn't resist!)

 

I second the suggestion to see if you can find a YouTube video of the room.

I neglected to mention milestone birthdays... 30, 50 and 70.

[Pillonad]

18 hours ago, Pillonad said:

I booked a cruise with NCL last May (2022) to travel to Greece this July (2023) on the lovely new Viva. My husband, daughter and father in law are all celebrating their birthdays this year and are all of Greek heritage so we were traveling to celebrate in the homeland. In September 2022, we were informed that the Viva would no be ready in time to travel and were given three options: 1. Rebook on the Viva at a later date, 2. Cancel our trip entirely, 3. Continue on with our existing reservation as planned and be moved on to Getaway in a equivalent and comparable room. We all chose option 3. Now that we are getting closer to our travel dates and I'm getting exciting at the thought of our travels, I have been scouring the internet for information about the Getaway and the staterooms therein. On our original booking we reserved the Haven Aft Facing Penthouse with Master Bedroom and LARGE BALCONY. On the revised booking, we are in Haven Aft Facing Penthouse with Master Bedroom with balcony. These two rooms are not equivalent or comparable. I do understand that now at this point in time the rooms with the LARGE BALCONY are at a higher cost and can fetch quite a bit more money. But we were downgraded not only to a much older ship but I now know also to a smaller room and balcony. When we we rebooked, we were given no options as to room or location, only "this is your new room." Were I told that the room would be different, I would not have chosen that option. Now, we are stuck on our dream vacation, or what was to have been our dream vacation, in a less than equivalent room, on an older ship, on a lower floor, etc. The taste in my mouth is not very sweet. When I called customer service yesterday to discuss this issue, the agent was very pleasant and instantly moved us to the correct room. Today, when I check the app, we are back to the smaller room, with no explanation at all. When I call back in to customer service, I am faced with rudeness and attitude. They basically said the only way we could get that room is to "upgrade" for another $5,000. This is not an upgrade situation at all.

 

This all just seems crazy to me. We have to take an old ship, to a modified itinerary, and now we are shoved into a smaller room, and we still have paid more money than imaginable. We are paying to be mistreated and scammed out of what we ordered. I can not believe this is how you envision customer service for Haven guests, NCL guests, any guests.
 

We have not ever cruised NCL, and now I'm not sure we ever will.

I suppose what is most upsetting is to pay for a certain category or room and get rebooked on a lesser category room.

[complawyer]

sorry, your original post made it sound like you only booked the one room. regardless, enjoy your cruise. since you will still be getting perks that come with a suite, imo you will still have a great time

[PATRLR]

Sorry, they don't let me out of steerage so I'm not familiar with Haven rooms.  Is the only significant difference the size of the balconies?   If so, I'm struggling to appreciate how that is going to ruin your vacations.  I get that you've been downgraded a bit but I can't imagine letting the balcony size ruin my vacation.  Am I missing something?  Do you not plan to leave the ship all day?

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by PATRLR

[Pillonad]

25 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

Sorry, they don't let me out of steerage so I'm not familiar with Haven rooms.  Is the only significant difference the size of the balconies?   If so, I'm struggling to appreciate how that is going to ruin your vacations.  I get that you've been downgraded a bit but I can't imagine letting the balcony size ruin my vacation.  Am I missing something?  Do you not plan to leave the ship all day?

 

I guess I'm being unreasonable in expecting the same category of cabin I originally booked . I'm not asking for any other compensation or consideration for the inconvenience of being on an older ship than originally booked and changes in itinerary. One would think when you pay upwards of $25k for a cabin that it would actually be the one you book. Yes. We will get off the boat. But we have a large group traveling together and like our privacy at the end of the day. Yall act like I'm being stupid and should just be happy with whatever they give me.

[PATRLR]

16 minutes ago, Pillonad said:

I guess I'm being unreasonable in expecting the same category of cabin I originally booked . I'm not asking for any other compensation or consideration for the inconvenience of being on an older ship than originally booked and changes in itinerary. One would think when you pay upwards of $25k for a cabin that it would actually be the one you book. Yes. We will get off the boat. But we have a large group traveling together and like our privacy at the end of the day. Yall act like I'm being stupid and should just be happy with whatever they give me.

 

I don't think my post was implying you are unreasonable or stupid nor that you should be happy with what they gave you.  In fact, I acknowledged the downgrade issue.  

You made statements such as "what was to have been our dream vacation" and "We have not ever cruised NCL, and now I'm not sure we ever will" implying that the downgrade was ruining this vacation.  I was simply (and I dare say respectfully) trying to understand why this situation would ruin your vacation.

Edited March 31, 2023 by PATRLR

[Pillonad]

45 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

 

I don't think my post was implying you are unreasonable or stupid nor that you should be happy with what they gave you.  In fact, I acknowledged the downgrade issue.  

You made statements such as "what was to have been our dream vacation" and "We have not ever cruised NCL, and now I'm not sure we ever will" implying that the downgrade was ruining this vacation.  I was simply (and I dare say respectfully) trying to understand why this situation would ruin your vacation.

I never said ot was going to ruin the vacation. But the lack of customer service or even basic understanding of our frustration around this issue is leaving me a very sour taste regarding NCL.

[gracebest]

57 minutes ago, Pillonad said:

I guess I'm being unreasonable in expecting the same category of cabin I originally booked . I'm not asking for any other compensation or consideration for the inconvenience of being on an older ship than originally booked and changes in itinerary. One would think when you pay upwards of $25k for a cabin that it would actually be the one you book. Yes. We will get off the boat. But we have a large group traveling together and like our privacy at the end of the day. Yall act like I'm being stupid and should just be happy with whatever they give me.

I totally understand.  You had high expectations and paid dearly for your cabin selection.  I don’t understand why NCL doesn’t compensate you.  Especially  when they changed your cabin for a day and they switched it again. Is there any way of knowing what the dollar value of the cabin you are in now compared to what you paid? Are there still cabins available?  Can you do a mock booking.  It appears that the real insult is that you overpaid for your current cabin in comparison to what you originally booked.  You have every right to be upset.  I’m sure you can still have a great cruise, but it is hard when you feel NCL didn’t give you a comparable cabin to what you booked.  I’d be upset, too.

[Pillonad]

8 minutes ago, gracebest said:

I totally understand.  You had high expectations and paid dearly for your cabin selection.  I don’t understand why NCL doesn’t compensate you.  Especially  when they changed your cabin for a day and they switched it again. Is there any way of knowing what the dollar value of the cabin you are in now compared to what you paid? Are there still cabins available?  Can you do a mock booking.  It appears that the real insult is that you overpaid for your current cabin in comparison to what you originally booked.  You have every right to be upset.  I’m sure you can still have a great cruise, but it is hard when you feel NCL didn’t give you a comparable cabin to what you booked.  I’d be upset, too.

Thank you for understanding. 

[BCOS]

4 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Sorry, they don't let me out of steerage so I'm not familiar with Haven rooms.  Is the only significant difference the size of the balconies?   If so, I'm struggling to appreciate how that is going to ruin your vacations.  I get that you've been downgraded a bit but I can't imagine letting the balcony size ruin my vacation.  Am I missing something?  Do you not plan to leave the ship all day?

 

I'm not the OP, so I don't know if this is an issue, but we will be sailing with four of us in a Club Balcony suite, which has space for two chairs on the balcony. There are some suites that would accommodate all four of us out there together to watch the Alaskan scenery go by. And my understanding is that sometimes larger balconies might have a combination of a couple of chairs and a couple of loungers.  

 

If I had selected a cabin in part because of the ability of our traveling party to all make use of balcony space together, and got downgraded to something that would only accommodate two at a time, I'd be disappointed.

Edited March 31, 2023 by BCOS

[cruiseny4life]

10 minutes ago, BCOS said:

I'm not the OP, so I don't know if this is an issue, but we will be sailing with four of us in a Club Balcony suite, which has space for two chairs on the balcony. There are some suites that would accommodate all four of us out there together to watch the Alaskan scenery go by. And my understanding is that sometimes larger balconies might have a combination of a couple of chairs and a couple of loungers.  

 

If I had selected a cabin in part because of the ability of our traveling party to all make use of balcony space together, and got downgraded to something that would only accommodate two at a time, I'd be disappointed.

Unless the traveling party is ten or more, there is no reason to be disappointed with an aft-facing Haven balcony. All of them are gigantic (compared to a normal balcony). Those on some decks are even bigger. We were in 13902 (kind of why I asked what room the OP is in) which has the smallest aft-balcony of any suite. It was more than adequate for many people. 

It could easily accommodate ten people, a few standing, four sitting, two lounging/sitting. I just don't think being upset about making a conscious choice, then having buyer's remorse is justified in this case. Perhaps it is, but we don't know that based on the lack of detail and the attacks the OP has made on others who tried to discuss this amicably. 

 

The one thing I do know, for sure....a Viva room would never, ever be comparable to Getaway. The age difference of the two vessels is too vast. Honestly, the OP should have considered all this back in September of 2022 (which, by the way, is when I was sitting my butt in that closest lounger) when they had to make the decision on what to do. 

 

[PATRLR]

3 hours ago, Pillonad said:

I never said ot was going to ruin the vacation.

Ah, OK.  you are right, you didn't say that.  But it sure sounded like you were saying it wasn't going to be good.  It was no longer going to be your dream vacation and you'd probably not sail NCL again. 

[Pillonad]

4 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Unless the traveling party is ten or more, there is no reason to be disappointed with an aft-facing Haven balcony. All of them are gigantic (compared to a normal balcony). Those on some decks are even bigger. We were in 13902 (kind of why I asked what room the OP is in) which has the smallest aft-balcony of any suite. It was more than adequate for many people. 

It could easily accommodate ten people, a few standing, four sitting, two lounging/sitting. I just don't think being upset about making a conscious choice, then having buyer's remorse is justified in this case. Perhaps it is, but we don't know that based on the lack of detail and the attacks the OP has made on others who tried to discuss this amicably. 

 

The one thing I do know, for sure....a Viva room would never, ever be comparable to Getaway. The age difference of the two vessels is too vast. Honestly, the OP should have considered all this back in September of 2022 (which, by the way, is when I was sitting my butt in that closest lounger) when they had to make the decision on what to do. 

 

Excuse me but I have made no attacks on anyone. In fact, I feel very attacked by this group and wish I had never posted in the first place. Comments have ranged from things like you won't spend that much time on the deck to aren't you even going to get off the boat. You all don't know my physical limitations . Maybe I NEEDED that deck to sit and watch the world go by because I CANT get off the boat everyday. I would have no buyers remorse if I were getting what I PAID for. But I am not getting what I paid for. There seems to be a fundamental lack of understanding of the main issue. If you don't get what you pay for, a reasonable person would reasonably get upset.

 If you bought a car a year in advance and bought that car specifically because it had a special steering wheel or something and then found out that you were still paying for that steering wheel but you weren't going to get it you might be disappointed. Yes. You're still getting a new car, but it's not what you thought you were getting. You should be grateful you can have a new car but it's not your dream car. You might make every effort to contact the company and resolve the issue to no avail. You might even make a post to a forum of others who love special steering wheels to see if they had suggestions on how to proceed. Maybe they would have something constructive to say. Imagine your dismay when they belittled your whining and complaining that you could not have your special steering wheel and your once in a lifetime dreams were crushed. My bad for thinking people care.

[Pillonad]

On 3/30/2023 at 3:22 PM, Pillonad said:

I booked a cruise with NCL last May (2022) to travel to Greece this July (2023) on the lovely new Viva. My husband, daughter and father in law are all celebrating their birthdays this year and are all of Greek heritage so we were traveling to celebrate in the homeland. In September 2022, we were informed that the Viva would no be ready in time to travel and were given three options: 1. Rebook on the Viva at a later date, 2. Cancel our trip entirely, 3. Continue on with our existing reservation as planned and be moved on to Getaway in a equivalent and comparable room. We all chose option 3. Now that we are getting closer to our travel dates and I'm getting exciting at the thought of our travels, I have been scouring the internet for information about the Getaway and the staterooms therein. On our original booking we reserved the Haven Aft Facing Penthouse with Master Bedroom and LARGE BALCONY. On the revised booking, we are in Haven Aft Facing Penthouse with Master Bedroom with balcony. These two rooms are not equivalent or comparable. I do understand that now at this point in time the rooms with the LARGE BALCONY are at a higher cost and can fetch quite a bit more money. But we were downgraded not only to a much older ship but I now know also to a smaller room and balcony. When we we rebooked, we were given no options as to room or location, only "this is your new room." Were I told that the room would be different, I would not have chosen that option. Now, we are stuck on our dream vacation, or what was to have been our dream vacation, in a less than equivalent room, on an older ship, on a lower floor, etc. The taste in my mouth is not very sweet. When I called customer service yesterday to discuss this issue, the agent was very pleasant and instantly moved us to the correct room. Today, when I check the app, we are back to the smaller room, with no explanation at all. When I call back in to customer service, I am faced with rudeness and attitude. They basically said the only way we could get that room is to "upgrade" for another $5,000. This is not an upgrade situation at all.

 

This all just seems crazy to me. We have to take an old ship, to a modified itinerary, and now we are shoved into a smaller room, and we still have paid more money than imaginable. We are paying to be mistreated and scammed out of what we ordered. I can not believe this is how you envision customer service for Haven guests, NCL guests, any guests.
 

We have not ever cruised NCL, and now I'm not sure we ever will.

Let's start over and try this again.

 

Hi friends. I'm new to the community but not to cruising. I'm hoping I can get you opinion and/or advice. My family booked on a trip that got cancelled and have been rebooked on a similar itinerary.  We were told we would be booked in a comparable room category and discovered we have been downgraded even though rooms of the exact same category originally booked are available. Has this ever happened to you? I've spoken with customer service, emailed the VP of customer service, and am not working with a personal consultant or travel agent. Do you have any other ideas how to approach this issue. It just doesn't feel right to me.

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Pillonad
Typos

[ggTexasGal]

Unfortunately, you have left yourselves in the position of no negotiating because you did nothing to remedy the situation prior to your Final Payment date.

I hope that you will have a wonderful cruise, despite the huge disappointments.