NCL Star passenger revolt

[david_sobe]

8 hours ago, TRLD said:

They gave a reason that they had to reduce speed in some areas, yet many choose to not believe them. Even though there are regulations that require such in polar waters near Antarctica.

Yes.  That makes it even worse.  That go slow order had been in effect for years.  NCL still advertised and sailed there for years.  If it was in effect and NCL was going to honor it then why advertise a cruise and then when your passengers board tell them that is the reason they cant to.  Also other lines continue to sail there.  We are smarter than that.

[Mike07]

10 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Yes.  That makes it even worse.  That go slow order had been in effect for years.  NCL still advertised and sailed there for years.  If it was in effect and NCL was going to honor it then why advertise a cruise and then when your passengers board tell them that is the reason they cant to.  Also other lines continue to sail there.  We are smarter than that.

 

 

Sounds like we'll be having this same conversation on a year and the same defenders will come out of the woodwork claiming how unreasonable the passengers are being with their acceptance of this go slow orders because it happens all the time to all IAATO members. Just Google it!

[PBM13]

7 hours ago, CptJLMcCrea said:

 

Thank you. Some wish to focus only on the negative, as opposed to a proper perspective. Cruising is what it is. If you don't approach it from that perspective, you shouldn't be cruising. 

 

I was also on the cruise and travel over 11000KM to board the ship, and many of the customers had come from Australia and China.  Whilst in general the cruise was great, NCL should have informed us as customer of the change in advance so we had the opportunity to cancel.  If the company was aware that the had to reduce speeds or potentially reduce speeds due to the rules set by IAATO then they should have warned us in advance.  I have spent many hours talking to our travel agent and they are as shocked as we are. I can honestly say that I loved the trip to the Falklands and Puerto Madryn, but the cruise back to Buenos Aires at around 13knts was a joke.  I am glad the weather was fine, as that could have been a horrific journey.  I have logged my complaint, and I have also praised the company where it was required, so I do think I am being fair.  Lets see what they respond with and what the travel agent in the UK and ABTA have to say. 🤞 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

It seems like NCL has a habit of making surprise changes, mixing in renovations, or leaving passengers hanging when they make a mistake.  For the cheerleaders on here, fine, you know what you're in for.  What about the people not on CC?  There are first time cruisers, occasional cruisers from other lines, and people flying in from overseas for a once in a lifetime experience, who maybe only speak broken English.  

 

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, david_sobe said:

That go slow order had been in effect for years.

While it has been in effect for years, it did change in extent and strictness for this season.

[david_sobe]

23 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

While it has been in effect for years, it did change in extent and strictness for this season.

Then why are other lines still going there?  Why would NCL not put that in their statement to the guests instead of "enhancing the experience"   For the love of God, if a hurricane is churning out there, there is clear explanation why the itinerary changed.  We can agree to disagree but I still vote bull.

People bend themselves into pretzels defending such a laughable statement.  That's the only part of this story that annoys me. I don't think anyone is entitled to compensation.  I'm a big boy and can accept unfortunate facts in front of me.  Sadly so many others cant which is why we get these fairy tales. 

[PBM13]

NCL what a joke

 

At least they have offered to give me back the money they ow for the shore excursion. £40

 

Edited February 23 by PBM13

[VJWcruiser]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

While it has been in effect for years, it did change in extent and strictness for this season.

2 weeks before we were supposed to go there, it must not have been in place because that cruise went. That excuse doesn't hold water.

[DCGuy64]

On 2/21/2024 at 1:19 PM, PBM13 said:

So what would you recommend?  Should we just accept what's happened.   

That, or don't get your hopes up. I can't tell you how many times a disgruntled passenger has come onto Cruise Critic to complain about how things went sour on his last cruise and threatens to sue the cruise line, often with vague threats of a class action lawsuit. Never happens. If it did, the people doing it wouldn't hesitate to post about it. If it makes you feel better to bombard them with emails, then do it. But again, don't get your hopes up.

[pete_coach]

2 hours ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

It seems like NCL has a habit of making surprise changes, mixing in renovations, or leaving passengers hanging when they make a mistake.  For the cheerleaders on here, fine, you know what you're in for.  What about the people not on CC?  There are first time cruisers, occasional cruisers from other lines, and people flying in from overseas for a once in a lifetime experience, who maybe only speak broken English.  

 

I challenge you on that statement. A habit? Like a regular occurrence? More so than any other cruise line? I think you need to elaborate an d provide some data or evidence on such a claim.

I am far from a cheerleader for NCL, let alone any cruise line but I do think that making baseless accusations is wrong.

[DCGuy64]

2 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

I challenge you on that statement. A habit? Like a regular occurrence? More so than any other cruise line? I think you need to elaborate an d provide some data or evidence on such a claim.

I am far from a cheerleader for NCL, let alone any cruise line but I do think that making baseless accusations is wrong.

Exactly. That poster acts as though it's only NCL; it isn't. Other lines make modifications and changes all the time. Nothing new about this. I've had changes on Carnival and MSC, and I just dealt with it.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

56 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

I challenge you on that statement. A habit? Like a regular occurrence? More so than any other cruise line? I think you need to elaborate an d provide some data or evidence on such a claim.

I am far from a cheerleader for NCL, let alone any cruise line but I do think that making baseless accusations is wrong.

 

Surprise renovations.  I can't seem to find it now, but I remember a story of a 7 night Hawaiian cruise turned into 6, with a surprise overnight at a hotel for light ship renovations, where passengers stood in the lobby for hours to check in.  Was that NCL?  This one stood out to me too:

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/norwegian-cruise-passengers-angry-1.4603237

 

Leaving passengers stranded, ($650 didn't cover everyone's travel expense back to Miami).

 

https://www.wptv.com/news/world/norwegian-jade-cruise-ships-mechanical-issues-strand-thousands-of-passengers-in-puerto-rico

 

Passengers abandoned without notice:

 

https://www.newsweek.com/norwegian-cruise-havana-passengers-stranded-1250626

 

 

[pete_coach]

17 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

Surprise renovations.  I can't seem to find it now, but I remember a story of a 7 night Hawaiian cruise turned into 6, with a surprise overnight at a hotel for light ship renovations, where passengers stood in the lobby for hours to check in.  Was that NCL?  This one stood out to me too:

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/norwegian-cruise-passengers-angry-1.4603237

 

Leaving passengers stranded, ($650 didn't cover everyone's travel expense back to Miami).

 

https://www.wptv.com/news/world/norwegian-jade-cruise-ships-mechanical-issues-strand-thousands-of-passengers-in-puerto-rico

 

Passengers abandoned without notice:

 

https://www.newsweek.com/norwegian-cruise-havana-passengers-stranded-1250626

 

 

So you found three 6 year old issues?

One had some repairs that need to be done

Another had mechanical failures and the ship could not sail.

And one about 2 passengers that failed to get aboard on time and the ship left without them?

 

Like I said, I do not and never will defend NCL or other cruise lines but, all lines have problems with their ships and passengers. Nothing new and will surely happen again.

Cruise ship woes are not unusual in an industry that has over 50 lines and close to 300 ships sailing world wide.

 

 

Edited February 23 by pete_coach

[DMH15]

14 hours ago, VJWcruiser said:

Those regulations have been in place since 2021 and yet the cruise that sailed 2 weeks before could do the full cruise. That reason was one of the many reasons that were given. The first one they told the media was to enhance the guest experience in the Falklands. Of course everyone has a dream bucket list to the Falklands

 

Loved my visit to Stanley but the regularly scheduled time was enough to walk all around, talk to locals, see gnomes, eat some fish & chips, etc.  

 

However…to give up cruising Antarctica for a few more hours in Stanley is a joke!

[DCGuy64]

6 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

So you found three 6 year old issues?

One had some repairs that need to be done

Another had mechanical failures and the ship could not sail.

And one about 2 passengers that failed to get aboard on time and the ship left without them?

 

Like I said, I do not and never will defend NCL or other cruise lines but, all lines have problems with their ships and passengers. Nothing new and will surely happen again.

Cruise ship woes are not unusual in an industry that has over 50 lines and close to 300 ships sailing world wide.

 

 

Again, exactly right. We all know that every cruise line has to divert cruises from time to time, and for one reason or another. I'm not sure what agenda the person you were responding to might have, but it really is tiresome when people try and target one particular cruise line when others do the same. Last November, our NCL cruise had to skip two ports due to rough seas. Plenty of people on FB were scolding the captain online, demanding to know why other ships were able to call at one of the cancelled ports. Turns out one ship had arrived the day before we did and stayed overnight (seas were calmer the day before), and the other ship arrived earlier in the day than we did. Apples and oranges, but not enough to tame the pitchfork-and-torch crowd.

[pete_coach]

2 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Again, exactly right. We all know that every cruise line has to divert cruises from time to time, and for one reason or another. I'm not sure what agenda the person you were responding to might have, but it really is tiresome when people try and target one particular cruise line when others do the same. Last November, our NCL cruise had to skip two ports due to rough seas. Plenty of people on FB were scolding the captain online, demanding to know why other ships were able to call at one of the cancelled ports. Turns out one ship had arrived the day before we did and stayed overnight (seas were calmer the day before), and the other ship arrived earlier in the day than we did. Apples and oranges, but not enough to tame the pitchfork-and-torch crowd.

We too have missed ports due to weather several times.

We could not get to Bahamas because too many ships in port.

We were in San Juan with 7 ships docked, was not worth getting off the boat (about 21,000 passengers hitting the Old Town LOL)

Just recently missed docking in Panama for an overnight because the port changed their scheduling.

Things happen that can not be foretasted and considering cruise lines schedule and sell years in advance, many things can change.

But yes, boo hoo and make way too much noise because you missed a port seems to be the thing to do  LOL

 

[TRLD]

8 hours ago, david_sobe said:

Yes.  That makes it even worse.  That go slow order had been in effect for years.  NCL still advertised and sailed there for years.  If it was in effect and NCL was going to honor it then why advertise a cruise and then when your passengers board tell them that is the reason they cant to.  Also other lines continue to sail there.  We are smarter than that.

No the go slow orders have not been in place for several years. There is also not a hard and fast date that they will apply. They are dependant upon the presence of wildlife, primarily whales, in the area. Depending upon migration patterns an area might be no speed limit one week, but then be a reduced speed area the next.

 

Same as in Canadian waters.

Edited February 23 by TRLD

[TRLD]

3 hours ago, pete_coach said:

So you found three 6 year old issues?

One had some repairs that need to be done

Another had mechanical failures and the ship could not sail.

And one about 2 passengers that failed to get aboard on time and the ship left without them?

 

Like I said, I do not and never will defend NCL or other cruise lines but, all lines have problems with their ships and passengers. Nothing new and will surely happen again.

Cruise ship woes are not unusual in an industry that has over 50 lines and close to 300 ships sailing world wide.

 

 

Each of the cruise lines have had problems over the years.

 

 A few years ago  Princess had to miss Le Havre. Problem was that it, Along with Southampton was a embarkation/disembarkation port. Anyone that did not buy their flights through Princess were on their own to get from Southampton back to France.

 

Another time a Princess ship missed the Falklands. Not unusual but in this case it was the anniversary of the Falklands war and the ship had a large number of Argentine families that booked the cruise to visit the war Graves.

 

Do not forget when a Celebrity ship had major azipod failure and had two cruises canceled as well as all.of the passengers from one cruise having to find a way home from Alaska.

 

All of the cruise lines have some issues.

 

Counter to what some here on CC seem the think there is really no benefit to a cruise line having to make last minute changes to itineraries.

[david_sobe]

1 hour ago, TRLD said:

No the go slow orders have not been in place for several years. There is also not a hard and fast date that they will apply. They are dependant upon the presence of wildlife, primarily whales, in the area. Depending upon migration patterns an area might be no speed limit one week, but then be a reduced speed area the next.

 

Same as in Canadian waters.

Antarctica always has them.  But this is distraction and is not logical because other cruise lines continue to sail there.  This is also probably why NCL did not list it as a reason to their passengers because it was not true.  Logic tells you that if NCL was going to bound itself to a go slow order, passengers would be notified of this reason.  None of this is logical or makes sense.  This is the last comment I will make on this thread because too many are using fake reasons to explain a non-explanation.  

In Public Relations you never put something in writing that is NOT true.  NCL would only say this change was to "enhance their guest experience."  They will not lie or tell fairy tales because that is dishonest and would come back to bit them. Clearly there was a reason for this change.  

Edited February 23 by david_sobe

[DBrown8939]

1 hour ago, pete_coach said:

But yes, boo hoo and make way too much noise because you missed a port seems to be the thing to do  LOL

 

And I think that's the reason for the whole mess. Some guests on the Jan. 21 sailing could not accept the captain's decision to bypass Stanley for safety concerns related to potential afternoon storms. It is his ship and he has both that right and that responsibility, and yet a few passengers became disruptive. NCL changed the schedule to reduce the risk of unrest on later sailings (and rewarded the disruption by handing out $100 OBC). But the new itinerary is a very bad tradeoff: removing Antarctica (which was the main selling point of the cruise) and replacing it by two extra hours at a tender port that might not even happen. The current sailing has just missed Punta Arenas due to weather, and will miss Antarctica because of the itinerary change. The forecast for Stanley on Wed. is for showers and wind. For the sake of the Feb. 18 passengers, I really hope that the ship is able to anchor there. Otherwise, this will look like an even worse tradeoff in hindsight.

 

The talk about speed restrictions is almost completely irrelevant. The restrictions may have tied NCL's hands as far as arranging a modified itinerary that made everyone happy, but they were not what motivated the change. NCL has said that they made the change to "optimize" the guest experience in Stanley, and everyone questioned it because it was so absurd. However, I believe they were actually being honest about it. They are NOT being honest by continuing to market this as an Antarctica cruise for next season under the original itinerary that they will almost certainly not be following.

[jenf22]

I would have been devastated to have my once-in-a-lifetime trip to the waters of Antarctica significantly altered AFTER we had boarded the ship.  We had the Star scheduled for Iceland/Greenland in June of this year.  A few weeks ago (maybe a month) NCL replaced all of the Greenland ports with Norway due to "weather".  We decided to cancel and booked something totally different on Celebrity for this summer.  What is discouraging though is NCL is still selling the same Iceland/Greenland itinerary in 2025.  At this point I'm not sure I would book NCL for Antarctica or Greenland in the future.

[DCGuy64]

21 minutes ago, jenf22 said:

I would have been devastated to have my once-in-a-lifetime trip to the waters of Antarctica significantly altered AFTER we had boarded the ship

I would, too, but I'm curious: why do you say "once-in-a-lifetime"? Are you suggesting all of the passengers are unable to book such a cruise in the future? Many people on Cruise Critic take trips multiple times a year. I wasn't aware most of the people on that sailing were on their last cruise ever. Is that true?

[BecT]

In December we are sailing NCL from Australia to New Zealand so I have been lurking about these boards to see how things have been on NCL since we last sailed them and I found this thread. 

 

I am currently sailing on Celebrity Eclipse and we are just leaving Paradise Bay. Tomorrow we will visit Elephant Island. We are traveling very slowly through the waters and announcements are restricted to inside areas and the television... Plus no paper or plastic on outside decks. 

 

After this morning I understand why the NCL Star passengers are upset and disappointed. For many like us I'm sure this is a bucket list experience. The beauty and serenity of Paradise Bay cannot be truly captured on camera or experienced through pictures in a book or in movie. To those of you who missed this experience I'm so sorry for you and I hope that maybe you will get a "do over" later in life. 

 

 

 

 

[DCGuy64]

2 minutes ago, BecT said:

In December we are sailing NCL from Australia to New Zealand so I have been lurking about these boards to see how things have been on NCL since we last sailed them and I found this thread. 

 

I am currently sailing on Celebrity Eclipse and we are just leaving Paradise Bay. Tomorrow we will visit Elephant Island. We are traveling very slowly through the waters and announcements are restricted to inside areas and the television... Plus no paper or plastic on outside decks. 

 

After this morning I understand why the NCL Star passengers are upset and disappointed. For many like us I'm sure this is a bucket list experience. The beauty and serenity of Paradise Bay cannot be truly captured on camera or experienced through pictures in a book or in movie. To those of you who missed this experience I'm so sorry for you and I hope that maybe you will get a "do over" later in life. 

 

 

 

 

Wow, those pictures are gorgeous! My wife has hinted at cruising to Antarctica ever since two of her favorite YouTubers went there. Maybe we'll go on Celebrity. Those photos are stunning! Thanks for posting them here.

[VJWcruiser]

35 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I would, too, but I'm curious: why do you say "once-in-a-lifetime"? Are you suggesting all of the passengers are unable to book such a cruise in the future? Many people on Cruise Critic take trips multiple times a year. I wasn't aware most of the people on that sailing were on their last cruise ever. Is that true?

There were quite a few elderly people on the cruise. The cost of flying to Buenos Aires from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia can be very restrictive. Add to that, the premium on an Antarctic cruise. So yes, for many, including  me, it was a once in a lifetime experience.