Rant: NCL's technology (or lack thereof)

[mooline]

Just venting my frustration with NCL's woefully dated technology... and wondering, "is it me, am I being unreasonable"?

 

I've just gotten off a much longer than it needed to be phone call to NCL, with a very simple transaction - I needed to cancel one gift I bought for my cabin. While I was able to purchase the gift online, it can only be cancelled by phone. The same was true with a shore excursion that I needed to change, about a month ago.

 

Simple transactions such as this should be able to be completed online. Requiring the transaction to be completed over the phone is inconvenient, especially when limited to doing so within "business hours". I live in the same time zone as NCL HQ, but may customers don't, thus the inconvenience is magnified.

 

If there's a reason they want to direct transactions like this to a human if there was an attempt to upsell or retain charges already incurred, but that hasn't been the case with either of these transactions. What's more, if NCL can't enable these kinds of transactions online, the company should have, like the airlines, technology that recognizes a phone number tied to an account, and allows direct access to changes for an existing reservation.  

 

It's disappointing to have this experience - I've always thought highly of NCL as compared to other mainstream cruise lines, and technology is such a backbone these days for any business, especially a customer-facing one.

 

Please offer your thoughts - I'm open to hearing all opinions.

 

Thanks!

[shof515]

i agree with this and this is why i never prebook anything that cost money on the website. if other cruise lines like royal and carnival allow you to cancel shore excursions and other things online, why cant norwegian do the same 

[cruiseny4life]

You can also alter these reservations online by using the NCL Chat function. I've done so successfully. My random, "guy on the street" thought is that NCL believes most people won't go through the trouble of canceling something if they have to call in, thus they are able to make more revenue. That's why I learned about the NCL Chat as I absolutely abhor making phone calls. 

[Turtles06]

I agree that it is utterly ridiculous that something purchased on line, such as a shore excursion, cannot be cancelled on line.  The technology exists, other cruise lines use it.  My only takeaway from the obstacles imposed by NCL is that they want to make it difficult to cancel something. 

 

@cruiseny4life thank you for the reminder about using the chat function to do things like this.  It's better than having to call, but really, it should require nothing more than logging onto your account and cancelling whatever it is yourself.   

[SeaShark]

1 hour ago, mooline said:

Please offer your thoughts - I'm open to hearing all opinions.

 

Good to know as this is a very smart policy on their behalf. Having you speak with someone directly to cancel anything...from an add-on to the entire cruise...ensures that they don't end up with ticked-off guests claiming "but I never cancelled" and trying to blame NCL for what happens. This policy 100% eliminates "accidents".

[TexasTraveler18]

47 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

You can also alter these reservations online by using the NCL Chat function. I've done so successfully. My random, "guy on the street" thought is that NCL believes most people won't go through the trouble of canceling something if they have to call in, thus they are able to make more revenue. That's why I learned about the NCL Chat as I absolutely abhor making phone calls. 

As a quick reminder, once your chat is complete always save the transcript.  I had a "difference of opinion" about a promotion we knew we had.  Was told I was absolutely incorrect and nothing could be done....until I produced the chat transcript and immediately our differences melted away and it was resolved.  

[FLAHAM]

My NCL PCC handles matters such as these with a two minute phone call.  If her phone is busy, I just leave a message and she handles the matters-usually within an hour or two.

[wil e coyote]

I suspect (but don't know) that this is intentional. Our local cable/internet company does the same thing - I can add products or upgrade on their website, but I cannot remove or downgrade anything without a phone call. @SeaShark, @cruiseny4life have both offered plausible explanations for why NCL may be doing this - I don't know which is correct, or if there is yet another reason.

[SpacemanSpiff]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

You can also alter these reservations online by using the NCL Chat function. I've done so successfully. My random, "guy on the street" thought is that NCL believes most people won't go through the trouble of canceling something if they have to call in, thus they are able to make more revenue. That's why I learned about the NCL Chat as I absolutely abhor making phone calls. 

Not always true.  I prefer to use the chat function as well, but when I recently tried to cancel a shorex, the chatter said I needed to call their magic phone number to do so.

[MeHeartCruising]

$$$$$

[eileeshb]

Be glad to not to be paying premium phone line charges when you do call. trying to get a hold of an airline when their online tools don’t work is both tortuous and expensive. I spent 45mins on hold (while roaming) with my airline trying to do check-in when their app wasn’t working only for them to tell me to sort it at the airport.  

[mooline]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

You can also alter these reservations online by using the NCL Chat function. I've done so successfully. My random, "guy on the street" thought is that NCL believes most people won't go through the trouble of canceling something if they have to call in, thus they are able to make more revenue. That's why I learned about the NCL Chat as I absolutely abhor making phone calls. 

That’s good to hear; I tried to use chat to change the shore excursion and they told me I had to call. I even tried to email the Concierge desk about this and they, too told me I had to call. As a result, I didn’t even try chat for the gift cancellation , but probably should have.

[mooline]

2 hours ago, SeaShark said:

 

Good to know as this is a very smart policy on their behalf. Having you speak with someone directly to cancel anything...from an add-on to the entire cruise...ensures that they don't end up with ticked-off guests claiming "but I never cancelled" and trying to blame NCL for what happens. This policy 100% eliminates "accidents".

Certainly this is a great counter argument and makes sense, yet I think, with the right technology and policies they could safeguard for this. Thanks for the perspective, though as it definitely is a good one.

[UKstages]

with today's technology, retention and upsell offers should be able to be made online. you have to meet the customer in their preferred venue or method of communication! unfortunately, NCL is, by and large, using yesterday's technology for customer acquisition. i don't think this is a calculated ploy to get you to talk to a human being... it costs them far less for you to self serve online. it's more likely a case of outdated technology.

[luv2kroooz]

The entire IT system is a train wreck. Whether it is the cumbersome process of checking in online to the emails telling you to check your email for notification that your edocs are ready to the onboard chaos of trying to understand a billing statement. We just had a pre booked dinner reservation cancelled in the name of an apparent software glitch. It is like their technology was developed during the Fred Flintstone era and never updated....kind of like the FAA flight scheduling software here in the US.

Edited April 6, 2023 by luv2kroooz

[njkate]

3 hours ago, mooline said:

That’s good to hear; I tried to use chat to change the shore excursion and they told me I had to call. I even tried to email the Concierge desk about this and they, too told me I had to call. As a result, I didn’t even try chat for the gift cancellation , but probably should have.

To me chat is useless no matter the reason they tell me I have to call. Lazy chat agent? IDK

Cripes Royal and Princess you can cancel the cruise on line and they also allow you to book more then one cabin on line!

Me thinks NCL is behind the curve ball in technology 

[cruisebeachgirl703]

recently on the joy. get this. in the casino on friday afternoon asked the host about comps for the weeks play for me and hubby. answer. you have 2 credit cards on file you need to go to guest relations. ?????????? what? what does our loss/theo/tier points have to do with casino comps? hubby talked to executive host. said it is our system. admitted to it. antiquated yes. ridiculous yes. frustrating yes.

[BirdTravels]

10 hours ago, mooline said:

Just venting my frustration with NCL's woefully dated technology... and wondering, "is it me, am I being unreasonable"?

 

I've just gotten off a much longer than it needed to be phone call to NCL, with a very simple transaction - I needed to cancel one gift I bought for my cabin. While I was able to purchase the gift online, it can only be cancelled by phone. The same was true with a shore excursion that I needed to change, about a month ago.

 

Simple transactions such as this should be able to be completed online. Requiring the transaction to be completed over the phone is inconvenient, especially when limited to doing so within "business hours". I live in the same time zone as NCL HQ, but may customers don't, thus the inconvenience is magnified.

 

If there's a reason they want to direct transactions like this to a human if there was an attempt to upsell or retain charges already incurred, but that hasn't been the case with either of these transactions. What's more, if NCL can't enable these kinds of transactions online, the company should have, like the airlines, technology that recognizes a phone number tied to an account, and allows direct access to changes for an existing reservation.  

 

It's disappointing to have this experience - I've always thought highly of NCL as compared to other mainstream cruise lines, and technology is such a backbone these days for any business, especially a customer-facing one.

 

Please offer your thoughts - I'm open to hearing all opinions.

 

Thanks!

 

Wow,,,, you had to talk to a real person. I don't think that many people know how to do that any more. You sound like one of my kids. Maybe you are one of my kids 🙂

Edited April 7, 2023 by BirdTravels

[Denversail]

6 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

Wow,,,, you had to talk to a real person. I don't think that many people know how to do that any more. You sound like one of my kids. Maybe you are one of my kids 🙂

Your kids are right. We live in a tech world and it is important for companies to keep up. It is a matter of convenience. No reason to insult the poster.

[mooline]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

Wow,,,, you had to talk to a real person. I don't think that many people know how to do that any more. You sound like one of my kids. Maybe you are one of my kids 🙂

Ha! Guaranteed I’m waaaay, waaaay older than any of your kids!

 

I have no problem with real people, but efficiency and convenience are important. Truth is I had to talk to TWO real people after twice going through NCL's "press 1, press 2" prompts. The first real person abruptly transferred me with zero advance explanation, and the second real person stepped off the line for 5 minutes to "complete my transaction". This simple transaction took far longer than needed … even though for this call, unlike my last one, I was lucky enough not to encounter the dreaded "extended wait times"…

1 hour ago, Denversail said:

Your kids are right. We live in a tech world and it is important for companies to keep up. It is a matter of convenience. No reason to insult the poster.

No worries about an insult, but thank you DenverSail. It’s actually pretty humorous given my age. Some old fogies like me actually do know how to turn on a computer! 😜 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by mooline

[shof515]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

Wow,,,, you had to talk to a real person. I don't think that many people know how to do that any more. You sound like one of my kids. Maybe you are one of my kids 🙂

 

2 hours ago, Denversail said:

Your kids are right. We live in a tech world and it is important for companies to keep up. It is a matter of convenience. No reason to insult the poster.

 

i have a disability that makes me hate talking to any real person. i prefer if i can do things online somehow that does not need a phone call

Edited April 7, 2023 by shof515

[cruiseny4life]

18 hours ago, SpacemanSpiff said:

Not always true.  I prefer to use the chat function as well, but when I recently tried to cancel a shorex, the chatter said I needed to call their magic phone number to do so.

Well that's unfortunate! It appears even NCL chat isn't consistent. Big surprise, eh?! NOT! Ugh, phone calls...

 

 

17 hours ago, mooline said:

That’s good to hear; I tried to use chat to change the shore excursion and they told me I had to call. I even tried to email the Concierge desk about this and they, too told me I had to call. As a result, I didn’t even try chat for the gift cancellation , but probably should have.

I have definitely had the pre-cruise Haven concierge (not sure there is a different one) cancel shore excursions for me via email. Interesting they wouldn't for you. Sorry you had to go the extra step of calling! That's annoying.

 

9 hours ago, mooline said:

It’s actually pretty humorous given my age. Some old fogies like me actually do know how to turn on a computer! 😜 

My 82 year old grandma abhors talking on the phone. Always has. I remember being a teen and having to call people on her behalf. She, also knows how to turn a computer on! She learned before me! My mom, on other hand (60)...I just had to teach her how to turn a computer on, how to scroll, etc. so she can apply for jobs. I suddenly realized I do not have the patience to be a teacher of computer skills. 

[DCGuy64]

22 hours ago, mooline said:

Please offer your thoughts - I'm open to hearing all opinions.

Sometimes I prefer doing everything myself online, like when I purchased travel insurance online yesterday. But other times, I NEED to speak to a live person, like when I talked on the phone with an insurance salesman about which policy I should get. To me, each method has its advantages and disadvantages. I agree with you that in your situation, being able to cancel the gift ought to be something that is automated, with no need to speak to a live person. But I can just hear the hue and cry now when NCL decides to make everything electronic: "BUT I WANT TO SPEAK TO A LIVE PERSON!" You know it's true....

[mooline]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

 But I can just hear the hue and cry now when NCL decides to make everything electronic: "BUT I WANT TO SPEAK TO A LIVE PERSON!" You know it's true....

HA!!! Absolutely true!! We humans are never satisfied, are we?  🙂