Family of nine left behind in remote Alaska, charged $9K by Norwegian Cruise Lines

[omahabob]

2 hours ago, tetleytea said:

 

Then Norwegian (or any cruise line) should not make promises they can't keep.  They keep selling you the ship-sponsored excursions at a higher price, promising that they'll wait for you, and they didn't.

 

 

They make no such promises. No cruise line does.

[julig22]

55 minutes ago, tetleytea said:

I can safely stand by what I said:  why even get the ship's tour?   They sing quite a different tune when they sell them.  You're "guaranteed" to make it back.  Until...you don't.   And then we get quite a different story.  And thus we read this press release.  

 

Just get the cheaper independent tours, folks.  

You mean like this one LOL

6 American cruise ship passengers stranded on African island after Norwegian Cruise refused to let them board (nypost.com)

 

To repeat, they have never guaranteed to get you back, if they (or their contracted tour company) is at fault. Stand on your head if you wish, the contract spells out the terms.

You are guaranteed to get to the next port if the ship can't wait. Not a different story.

[PartyPlannerLady]

Yet another story by a drama queen newspaper sensationalizing a situation n order to sell papers.  'Remote'. that is hilarious. 

[CILCIANRQTS]

5 hours ago, julig22 said:

You mean like this one LOL

6 American cruise ship passengers stranded on African island after Norwegian Cruise refused to let them board (nypost.com)

 

To repeat, they have never guaranteed to get you back, if they (or their contracted tour company) is at fault. Stand on your head if you wish, the contract spells out the terms.

You are guaranteed to get to the next port if the ship can't wait. Not a different story.

I don’t believe you’re guaranteed to get to the next port either.

[Georgia_Peaches]

9 hours ago, tetleytea said:

The independent operator acted as an agent of NCL, so NCL screwed up; and they need to own it.  

Based on the statement released by NCL (posted above) it sounds to me like they are “owning it”. 

[PartyLikeIts1990]

i booked the lumberjack show for my cruise in a few months. how does the shuttle bus work? i booked it directly NCL. Is there a different bus to the show or do i take the shuttle bus? after the show, is there also a different bus just for the show people back to the ship or do i need to take the regular shuttle bus?

[CILCIANRQTS]

29 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Based on the statement released by NCL (posted above) it sounds to me like they are “owning it”. 

Nevermind.

Edited July 18 by CILCIANRQTS

[SomewhereGirl]

18 minutes ago, PartyLikeIts1990 said:

i booked the lumberjack show for my cruise in a few months. how does the shuttle bus work? i booked it directly NCL. Is there a different bus to the show or do i take the shuttle bus? after the show, is there also a different bus just for the show people back to the ship or do i need to take the regular shuttle bus?

 

I did this 3 years ago.  You'll meet in the Ward Cove building just like for any other excursion, and will be loaded onto a bus with your excursion group, not one of the regular shuttles.

 

After the show, I recall being told where to meet the excursion bus back to port, but we were welcome to stay in town and find our own way back to Ward Cove (or take the regular shuttle back, which I did).

 

As for the current story, I wouldn't be surprised if the excursion bus does the shuttle routes while people are at the show.  Maybe the driver got confused on which service he/she was doing at the time.

 

[Oakman58]

This is from the official NCL Travel Blog.  Take a look at reason #7.  I'm glad NCL made good on this Faux Pax.  Had this happened to me I would have been so ticked off I would have taken a different route than media to get satisfaction.

 

https://www.ncl.com/travel-blog/reasons-to-book-shore-excursions-with-norwegian

 

While NCL might have covered themselves in the terms and conditions, most normal people don't read such things.

[Maleficent's Dad]

For those saying NCL doesn’t promise to wait for you, their website says differently for shore excursions:

[aborgman]

9 hours ago, drew69 said:

NCL is reimbursing them for their out of pocket expenses and crediting them back for the 2 days and also giving them the 20% future cruise credits.  Also, perhaps they and others should read the T&Cs of the shore excursions before booking them. Caveat Emptor.

 

NCL makes arrangements for Guests for Shore Excursions solely for the convenience of the Guest; NCL does not act on behalf of or supervise the parties or persons who own, furnish, or operate such excursions, and the same are provided by independent contractors. NCL assumes no responsibility for, nor guarantees the performance of, any such excursion provider, and Guests acknowledge that NCL shall not be liable for losses or injuries arising from the acts or omissions of such provider.

 

 

 

Based on my (limited) knowledge surrounding these sorts of contracts of adhesion - that statement is quite likely of limited relief in an actual legal situation.

[roger001]

Ketchikan was a great stop when you docked right downtown.  No to much so now.   Shuttling and waiting for shuttles, plus that extra bit of anxiety, would stay on the ship now or just get off locally briefly.  

[mjkacmom]

11 hours ago, tetleytea said:

 

Then Norwegian (or any cruise line) should not make promises they can't keep.  They keep selling you the ship-sponsored excursions at a higher price, promising that they'll wait for you, and they didn't.  The independent operator acted as an agent of NCL, so NCL screwed up; and they need to own it.  

 

I almost never buy the ship excursions anyway.  I always thought that promise was a bit empty.  The independents usually offer just about the same guarantee.  And sometimes in different circumstances, you'll usually get your money back or a raincheck from an independent when you won't from the cruise line.  So why pay extra for the ship tour? 

 

 

They never say they won’t leave you behind (because it’s not always possible), but that they will give you accommodations if needed and get you to the next poor on their dime.

[ontheweb]

11 hours ago, icft said:

Here's an article about it from a different source and it says it was a Norwegian shore excursion. Just posting it to increase sources of information.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13645365/Family-stranded-Alaska-cruise-ship-left.html

 

I put no blame on the family. It is clearly a Norwegian screw-up. For those who say it was the vendor of the shore excursion, it was Norwegian who took their money. If Norwegian subcontracts that is up to Norwegian and performance is still Norwegian's responsibility.

 

Norwegian seems to have covered its legal obligations as far as damages, and legal obligations include not charging them for the two days the family did not receive due to Norwegian's failure. But I find a gesture of goodwill of only a 20% future cruise credit to be truly pathetic.

And NCL (like all other cruise lines) assures that they have vetted the vendor. ( I know on a different cruise line, I received a notice that an excursion was cancelled because they could no longer vouch for the vendor.) 

[Distinctive-Destinations]

I’ve often wondered: if you take a NCL excursion, they bring you back to the dock, but you still don’t get on the ship, then what?

 

The buses/shuttles normally go to/from the parking lot. If the bus comes back, on time, but you decide to souvenir shop or stop in a bar there, etc…then what? 

 

Could that possibly be the case here?

[CILCIANRQTS]

NCL T&C’s:

 

As a convenience to passengers, Norwegian Cruise Line may sell tickets for shoreside tours or arrange other services which are operated by independent contractors, but Norwegian Cruise Line shall not be responsible in any way whatsoever for any damage, loss, injury or death arising out of any service provided ashore or by any airline, motel, hotel, ground carrier or any other provider of any of the services provided or offered in addition to the ship's cruise.
 

 

[Ellis1138]

3 hours ago, Maleficent's Dad said:

For those saying NCL doesn’t promise to wait for you, their website says differently for shore excursions:

 

The terms say NCL waits for the TOUR to get back. Not for you in particular.

If for some reason you are not on that tour bus, NCL will not wait.

 

It's awful what happened to the 9 people (and to everyone who ever missed a ship for whatever reason), but it's one of the reasons I always try to be done with a port and back on board at least an hour before the all aboard time. Whether it's an independent excursion or an NCL one. I never book anything that could cut it close.

[Distinctive-Destinations]

57 minutes ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

NCL T&C’s:

 

As a convenience to passengers, Norwegian Cruise Line may sell tickets for shoreside tours or arrange other services which are operated by independent contractors, but Norwegian Cruise Line shall not be responsible in any way whatsoever for any damage, loss, injury or death arising out of any service provided ashore or by any airline, motel, hotel, ground carrier or any other provider of any of the services provided or offered in addition to the ship's cruise.
 

 

That doesn’t address getting you back to the ship on time though. 

[PartyPlannerLady]

4 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

This is from the official NCL Travel Blog.  Take a look at reason #7.  I'm glad NCL made good on this Faux Pax.  Had this happened to me I would have been so ticked off I would have taken a different route than media to get satisfaction.

 

https://www.ncl.com/travel-blog/reasons-to-book-shore-excursions-with-norwegian

 

While NCL might have covered themselves in the terms and conditions, most normal people don't read such things.

Which ,eans they agree to them.

[bonvoyagie]

We hear about pier runners all the time, so how come only NCL makes the news?

[tetleytea]

12 hours ago, omahabob said:

They make no such promises. No cruise line does.

 

Wrong wrong wrong wrong.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/will-the-ship-wait-for-guests-on-a-shore-excursion#:~:text=When you book a shore,at no expense to you.

[julig22]

2 hours ago, Distinctive-Destinations said:

I’ve often wondered: if you take a NCL excursion, they bring you back to the dock, but you still don’t get on the ship, then what?

 

The buses/shuttles normally go to/from the parking lot. If the bus comes back, on time, but you decide to souvenir shop or stop in a bar there, etc…then what? 

 

Could that possibly be the case here?

Been on many excursions that address the shopping issue. Once the excursion is over (bus gets to it's final destination), you are on your own. Many excursions will allow you to get off of the bus in town for example - and at that point you are no longer on the tour.

And since they were apparently the last ones to the bus, it is entirely possible that there was a bit of shopping/malingering involved.

[tetleytea]

5 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Based on the statement released by NCL (posted above) it sounds to me like they are “owning it”. 

 

IMO they didn't do enough, considering how blatant that was and the impact it had on them.

 

 

[tetleytea]

31 minutes ago, PartyPlannerLady said:

Which ,eans they agree to them.

It's called a deceptive trade practice.

 

[yakcruiser]

The ship cannot wait in Ketchikan. It has to sail on time to Victoria for its short stop to satisfy the good old PVSA requirement. If not NCL would have to pay a fine for all 4000 passengers.