Goodbye NCL and Possibly Cruising Altogether Rant One

[The Traveling Man]

7 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

 I doubt if most terminals could provide a waiting area for early arrivals.  Wonder what would happen if the cruise lines charged for the early arrival times?

Now you've gone and given them a idea.☹️

[RocketMan275]

1 minute ago, The Traveling Man said:

Now you've gone and given them a idea.☹️

Hopefully.

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Only if we also agree that NCL onboard staff are not telling the truth when they claim NCL monitors Cruise Critic and will sometimes take feedback from Cruise Critic into account when making changes. 

I personally doubt whether that happens, but that's just my opinion. But let's say you're right and NCL onboard staff ARE reading CC. Are you aware of any changes that NCL made company-wide that can be traced back to a post on Cruise Critic? I'd be rather surprised to hear of that happening. Not saying it hasn't, just that I'd be surprised if it did.

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Every day we see posters insist upon being on the ship as soon as possible.  Of course they would complain if the cruise lines enforced the assigned arrival times.     

Yep, which just proves something I've believed for a long time: people will complain no matter what. They'll complain if they have to wait too long (because 90% of the passengers show up at the same time), and they'll complain if the cruise line actually does something about it. Hence why I am very skeptical and frankly dismissive of people who only use CC as their personal whine chamber, even more so if they just joined yesterday and are only here to say "Line X is terrible and I'll NEVER sail with them again!" (Often ALL IN CAPS) 🤣 🤣🤣

[Panhandle Couple]

3 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

I'd love to see NCL actually enforce the boarding times people are given, since so many people have complained about the long lines. NCL could say something like "we listened to you, our guests. In order to ensure an orderly boarding process and minimize waiting in lines, guests who show up in advance of their printed boarding times will be asked to wait in a separate area of the terminal until their assigned time has arrived." And I 100% guarantee people will find a reason to complain about that, too! 🤣

I have done some quick math, and for a ship of 4,000 people, if they all show up at the same time, the line is roughly 2 miles long.  No cruise terminal is designed for that, cattle switchbacks or not.

[The Traveling Man]

7 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

I have done some quick math, and for a ship of 4,000 people, if they all show up at the same time, the line is roughly 2 miles long.  No cruise terminal is designed for that, cattle switchbacks or not.

That's why NCL assigns check-in times, to spread out the arrivals over a few hours.  If we all followed the suggested times, the lines would only be so long if a problem arises with the X-ray machines, the WiFi connection, etc.

[marrashadow]

I don't think they monitor CC in specific but it is very well seen cruise lines monitor several avenues of social media. That's proven by how items get revolved by certain posters on say FB or the clock app. Especially if it goes viral or gets a significant amount of views. Often going against written policy. The only recent change based on a common gripe is the removal of Venice as an excursion. This was based on the inability to dock in Venice and the 2 plus hour drive to get there that people were very upset about. It could also be a bit of forethought as Venice is currently voting on weather to instill a per person fee for non-residents to enter the city. It seems to be a 5 euro fee which isn't a lot, but enough to deter some tour groups.

[NorthChannel]

On 4/25/2024 at 9:52 PM, KeithJenner said:

It sounds like lots of people were just looking for a reason to complain.

 

I live in the UK and I probably drink more Guinness than any other beer. I've never heard of "Guinness Day" and it certainly isn't a big thing here.

 

In a pub in the UK I'd guess that the proportion of people drinking Guinness is usually significantly lower than 5%. For every pint of Guinness that is served they will pour much more lager, wine or spirits.

 

Guinness is certainly more commonly drunk in Ireland, and if the cruise line were promoting Guinness Day then they should have made sure they didn't run out before then, but all those upset people were probably only going to have a Guinness because of the advertising of the specified day.

I'm Irish (born and bred, not hyphenated),grew up in inner Dublin and worked at St. James' Gate as a student and I've never heard of 'Guiness Day'. Sounds like one of those made up American 'holidays'. 

[DCGuy64]

There's an old saying "correlation is not causation." If it starts raining every time I wash my car, it doesn't follow that the car washing causes the rain. If people complain on FB or CC and then a cruise line changes something, it doesn't follow that the social media posts were the cause of the change. They might be, but aren't necessarily. It could be hearing from shareholders, it could be as a result of things that were passed along to management in person on a cruise, or a follow-up survey, or something guests mentioned at Guest Services. Unless I have actual evidence of a representative from NCL saying "we changed this because of feedback on Cruise Critic," I'm not convinced. 

[Sailing12Away]

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

 Every day we see posters insist upon being on the ship as soon as possible.  Of course they would complain if the cruise lines enforced the assigned arrival times.     

 

I doubt if most terminals could provide a waiting area for early arrivals.  Wonder what would happen if the cruise lines charged for the early arrival times?

It's called being denied entry to the embarkation terminal and waiting outside. Happened to me in both Seattle and LA. So they can do it if/when they want to.

 

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

I personally doubt whether that happens, but that's just my opinion. But let's say you're right and NCL onboard staff ARE reading CC. Are you aware of any changes that NCL made company-wide that can be traced back to a post on Cruise Critic? I'd be rather surprised to hear of that happening. Not saying it hasn't, just that I'd be surprised if it did.

Impossible to say which changes came about from folks complaining here on CC or in their post cruise surveys as I'm sure folks of the notion to complain are doing it in both spots. But the idea of having a fixed MDR menu on Prima only lasted a few months. The confusion over the Latitude meal vouchers and which restaurant you could or couldn't use it in changed to be anywhere at any time. Those are recent ones that come to mind.

Whether folks say it on social media sources or directly back to NCL, as long as their voicing it somewhere that's better than folks who grumble grumble and expecting change to happen when you don't even ask for it.

[luv2kroooz]

I mean NCL isn't transparent about itinerary changes or distribution of daily charges, why would anyone expect them to be transparent about the origin of policy changes. Maybe cruisecritic is the "guest feedback" referred to in the canned press releases. 😀😀😀

[DCGuy64]

3 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

Impossible to say which changes came about from folks complaining here on CC

Exactly

[RocketMan275]

2 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

It's called being denied entry to the embarkation terminal and waiting outside. Happened to me in both Seattle and LA. So they can do it if/when they want to.

The cruise lines do not control the embarkation terminals.  Those personnel work for the port.  

[julig22]

47 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

That's why NCL assigns check-in times, to spread out the arrivals over a few hours.  If we all followed the suggested times, the lines would only be so long if a problem arises with the X-ray machines, the WiFi connection, etc.

They were enforcing times when I sailed from Stockholm a few years ago. There was no place to sit BUT there were gift shops where you could kill time while waiting for your time slot.

 

Had an interesting setup in Tokyo last month. From what I could tell, people were getting group numbers for check-in, not boarding. I have latitudes priority so went straight through from check-in, right onto the ship. And yes, I was at my assigned time. They kept trying to give me a # but the lady at the priority line waved us through. I'm wondering if that might be a more effective strategy, space permitting in the terminal. Easy to distribute #s based on assigned times, might help to get people to start following directions!

[The Traveling Man]

29 minutes ago, NorthChannel said:

I'm Irish (born and bred, not hyphenated),grew up in inner Dublin and worked at St. James' Gate as a student and I've never heard of 'Guiness Day'. Sounds like one of those made up American 'holidays'. 

As noted previously, it actually was known as "Arthur's Day" as in Arthur Guinness.  A quick internet search will  provide details.

[electro]

I was also on this cruise. I agree about the mess that was embarcation. 

It is hard to follow their arrival times when they give different times to people in the same cabin. My DH and I had time that were 2 hours apart. We showed up for my time. There is no way we were going to go the the port separately.

They also did not have priority check in for platinum and above. When I (finally) made it into the terminal I asked where the priority line was and was told only those who paid for it got priority.

 

I did find the ship quite crowded, hard to find a seat in the public areas. 

The line up for the Caveran club was ridiculous. I don't know who thought putting a venue that holds 120 people on a ship that holds over 4000 was a good idea.

 

I agree with the poster who said that having music in Maltings and Shakers at the same time didn't work. The venues are too open to one another and the two entertains drowned each other out creating an unpleasant noise.

 

I did have a great time but it make me realize that I am better suited to smaller ships.

My next cruise is on a HAL ship that has less than 2000 pax. Can't wait!

 

Lois

[mjkacmom]

On 5/1/2024 at 3:57 PM, RocketMan275 said:

The cruise lines do not control the embarkation terminals.  Those personnel work for the port.  

 

On 5/1/2024 at 3:57 PM, RocketMan275 said:

The cruise lines do not control the embarkation terminals.  Those personnel work for the port.  

Exactly. We cruise out of manhattan, I’m sure the ny/nj port authority chose how they run their business. Sind the vast majority of cruisers have never even heard of CC, it’s not like they are aware what terminals are sticklers for check in times.

[RocketMan275]

16 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

 

Exactly. We cruise out of manhattan, I’m sure the ny/nj port authority chose how they run their business. Sind the vast majority of cruisers have never even heard of CC, it’s not like they are aware what terminals are sticklers for check in times.

CC posters should be aware that anything that happens in the embarkation terminal is managed by the ports.  Blaming NCL for long lines, etc., isn't appropriate.

[trivia addict]

Don’t understand the gripes of those who have to wait to board their ship. Waiting in lines is a fact of life,

Nearly 50 cruises and I’ve done my share of waiting at cruise terminals in various parts of the world. Some have been easy some have been longer than I would have liked, A memory of a particular line in July trying to get through Customs in  Vancouver is notable and gives me shudders.

 

But don’t we all wait in lines every day?

Supermarket, airports, Disney World, sports events, restaurants, tourist attractions, etc, and for some like myself, even ferries! But no one complains to them.

 

Face it, it’s a crowded world and blaming a cruise line for too many people trying to get onboard is not fair.

The workers, who are trying to deal with all types of people and problems are doing their best. And to blame a particular cruise line for a terminal that is operated by a municipal entity is unfair. 
I can only think that waiting to embark bothers so many is because they know what a fabulous vacation is ahead of them and they are very anxious to begin it!
 

[cruiseny4life]

14 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

CC posters should be aware that anything that happens in the embarkation terminal is managed by the ports.  Blaming NCL for long lines, etc., isn't appropriate.

If the cruise line cared about their customers they would advocate on behalf of them and not just accept shoddy customer service. Having said that, I've only been faced with one long line in my two years of cruising. I blamed NCL. I still blame NCL, and readers on Cruise Critic educated me to also blame the port personnel. 

 

So yea, I'm going to lay blame squarely where it belongs: the port and NCL. I'll also give NCL and the port credit when the line isn't long. And, it hasn't been long since that April 2022 Bermuda fiasco. Thankfully I only waited three hours, while others waited eight.

[RocketMan275]

13 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

If the cruise line cared about their customers they would advocate on behalf of them and not just accept shoddy customer service.

Have you ever tried 'advocating' with unionized municipal workers?

[ctlyf]

On 5/1/2024 at 1:57 PM, RocketMan275 said:

The cruise lines do not control the embarkation terminals.  Those personnel work for the port.  

I've cruised three times since the re-opening, once on Princess and twice on Carnival. We had scheduled arrival times with all three... both carnival cruises had lines for people who arrived before their assigned time. Even pax with priority boarding were told to adhere to there assigned time, but I don't know if they made any of them wait. In both Canaveral and Long Beach, I saw lines of people who had arrived as much as 1-1.5 hours before their time (the arrival time was on the sign at the front of the line, with the Carnival logo on it). I'm sure they complained later about the wait, while pax who arrived in their assigned window walked right by.

 

I understand the terminal is not run by the line, but there must be some coordination... Carnival does it. If NCL wants to enforce arrival times, they can. 

[cruiseny4life]

41 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Have you ever tried 'advocating' with unionized municipal workers?

First, I work in HR, for a disaster management/consulting firm that contracts with all levels of government, so yes.

Second, at many of the ports, a third party, Intercruise Shoreside and Port Services (https://www.intercruises.com/where-we-are/) staff the counters. Their employees are not unionized. 

 

If NCL really cared about the customer experience (based on all these horrible embarkation/disembarkation stories that are not mine), they would ensure the company running pier services provided a quality experience. 

[DCGuy64]

35 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

If NCL really cared about the customer experience (based on all these horrible embarkation/disembarkation stories that are not mine), they would ensure the company running pier services provided a quality experience. 

I always enjoy reading your posts and it's a joy to see what you write. However, this time I can't agree with you. As far as I'm concerned, cruise lines are only in charge of what is actually theirs, meaning their staff, and that's it. Dock workers, pier workers, tugboat operators, customs and border enforcement, and municipal workers do not work for the cruise line, so any delays or bad customer service are NOT the fault of the cruise line, period.

[cruiseny4life]

4 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I always enjoy reading your posts and it's a joy to see what you write. However, this time I can't agree with you. As far as I'm concerned, cruise lines are only in charge of what is actually theirs, meaning their staff, and that's it. Dock workers, pier workers, tugboat operators, customs and border enforcement, and municipal workers do not work for the cruise line, so any delays or bad customer service are NOT the fault of the cruise line, period.

That's ok! Disagreement is fine. I know many on here will disagree with what the post you quoted. I've had similar conversations before and plenty of posters said essentially what you said. I'll stick with what I said though - except for the government agencies.

 

They can throw any kind of monkey wrench in they want. I won't go down that rabbit hole as Cruise Critic isn't the right place for me to complain about those policies/procedures/issues.