Buyer Beware - Awful Customer Care Post Cruise on NCL

[raschwinger]

30 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

This is NCL's modus operandi. Sorry you fell into their clutches! 

 

I love the NCL onboard product, especially the Haven. In fact, other than maybe Princess, we won't consider any other line. But, I know that I *must* take it on myself to be responsible for double, trip, and quadruple checking anything, and everything, NCL does. Everything. All the time. My upcoming cruise is in 160'ish days. Every single week I check my reservation to ensure everything is still how it's supposed to be. 

 

If you do want to continue cruising NCL due to how the onboard product is, then I highly suggest you become skeptical of everything. Be weary of anything you hear one of their shoreside employees say and always constantly check your booking. 

Yes agree re the onboard product.  We have been cruising them for years and this was the first bad experience...but it was really bad for us.   I expected more competence from their Agents, but also understand humans make mistakes.  For me, the part that may drive us off here is that there is no real effort on their part to work with customers post cruise to hear them out and try to reach an amicable solution.  We aren't asking for much....its just amazing to me that they won't even engage us to discuss, given the dollars we have put into this line.  Its pretty clear that no one has even read our letter as the responses we are getting back mostly don't address our issues.  

 

Lesson learned about how poor a customer service company they really are...will likely drive us elsewhere when this could be easily resolved.  Thanks again for your time.

[raschwinger]

8 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I really don’t think cruse lines value loyalty, so status won’t help. It also seems like if you have an issue, it needs to be resolved onboard, once the cruise is over, crickets. I too would’ve been upset booking a one bedroom and finding out it wasn’t a one bedroom. Once booked a 2 bedroom hotel room for my family of 7, when we got there the room was given to someone else, but the “graciously” offered two 1 bedrooms for the same price. I told them I’d be paying for only one of those rooms for the inconvenience (kids were all little and my husband and I slept in different rooms).

Yes agree onboard would have been better.  The crew did all they could, but really our options were live with it or get off the ship....we had flown to Seattle and were now on the ship, so our options were limited.  They did offer us a $200 credit on our account, which didn't even pay for my wife's Spa treatment..so there's that.  I don't fault the guest services staff on the ship...there was only so much they could do.  They made us as comfortable as they could but repeated several times they knew we were struggling in that room and did not understand how we ended up there.   This is a Customer Service issue with corporate and should be resolved there.  Thanks for your time.

[kitkat343]

I fully respect a cruise line's need to eventually release accessible cabins to the general public so they can be sold rather than sail empty.  But that shouldn't happen 13 months in advance of sailing.  I'm sorry this happened to you.  

Edited August 28 by kitkat343

[julig22]

Curious. You said you originally booked onboard, then changed later. Was the new booking in the same room or just the same category? My experience is that the CN folks onboard are way more knowledgeable about cabin layouts, etc., agree with others that "call center" employees, not so much. PCCs somewhere in the middle.

[DrUrsula]

So sorry about your suite mess up. I would have been pretty upset as well- no separate BR is a non-starter with teens, even with the Haven perks. 
 

In the future , for any cruise line, I recommend using a website that shows you the actual cruise deck plans . You can see photos/videos of the cabins/suites . You can choose the cabin to look at and then "pull" the decks above and below to see exactly what is above and below you. 

It has saved us several times and so easy to use .
 

I can't post the name here but if you search for a cruise deck plans website , you will find it.

 

Here's to future safe and happy travels!

[thedoc29ca]

So sorry to hear about your ordeal.  My wife and I also enjoy our own space when travelling with our teenage sons.   We’ve switched to connecting inside cabins for the extra washroom, storage space and privacy.  Inside cabins would be less than ideal for an Alaskan cruise.   
 

Unfortunately we’ve experienced the same less than stellar post cruise customer service.   It sounds like the ability to have a conversation with a live person who go a long way to making things right.   

[ontheweb]

55 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

I fully respect a cruise line's need to eventually release accessible cabins to the general public so they can be sold rather than sail empty.  But that shouldn't happen 13 months in advance of sailing.  I'm sorry this happened to you.  

I am surprised that they booked you into an accessible cabin when you did not need it (or want it) that far in advance. What would happen when someone who truly needed a handicapped cabin tried to book one and could no longer book one because none were now available? I would think the cruise line would then want to get your booked cabin for them and switch you out to another cabin.

[schmoopie17]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

I am surprised that they booked you into an accessible cabin when you did not need it (or want it) that far in advance. What would happen when someone who truly needed a handicapped cabin tried to book one and could no longer book one because none were now available? I would think the cruise line would then want to get your booked cabin for them and switch you out to another cabin.

That's correct. Friends of ours booked an accessible cabin (not needing it) and they ended up getting switched to a "regular" cabin, due to the need of someone else for an accessible cabin.

So it does happen.

[Turtles06]

5 hours ago, raschwinger said:

First let me say this review is more about how poorly the NCL Guest Experience team and NCL Management handled a clear booking mistake by NCL

 

I'm very sorry this happened to you, and I'm sorry also that NCL cheerleaders seem to be out in force pushing back at you, as though you were to blame here.  I think people ought to be able to rely on booking agents like the ones you dealt with.  Might you have spotted the error had you looked at a deck plan?  Perhaps.  But it was NCL's obligation to give you accurate information in the first place. 

 

And your post-cruise experience with NCL is inexcusable.  There's no justification for NCL making it impossible for you to speak to someone, especially if they are not going to read the communications you send them.  Sadly, this is what "customer service" has become, and not just NCL, and not just the cruise industry.  

 

I wish you good luck in getting a satisfactory resolution.

 

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, thedoc29ca said:

We’ve switched to connecting inside cabins for the extra washroom, storage space and privacy.  Inside cabins would be less than ideal for an Alaskan cruise.   

They can be quite ideal for an Alaskan cruise, provided you're on a good ship for AK cruises.  I focus on Bliss/Encore/Joy and between the OL and waterfront, I enjoy AK plenty.  Especially, when I spend the money I saved on another AK cruise.😎

[zqvol]

2 hours ago, DrUrsula said:

So sorry about your suite mess up. I would have been pretty upset as well- no separate BR is a non-starter with teens, even with the Haven perks. 
 

In the future , for any cruise line, I recommend using a website that shows you the actual cruise deck plans . You can see photos/videos of the cabins/suites . You can choose the cabin to look at and then "pull" the decks above and below to see exactly what is above and below you. 

It has saved us several times and so easy to use .
 

I can't post the name here but if you search for a cruise deck plans website , you will find it.

 

Here's to future safe and happy travels!

The website is http://www.cruisedeckplans.com

[Ellis1138]

4 hours ago, raschwinger said:

Lesson learned about how poor a customer service company they really are...will likely drive us elsewhere when this could be easily resolved.  Thanks again for your time.

 

I preface this with: I love sailing on NCL. I chose them back in 2003 for my first cruise, because of the Freestyle and no formal stuff. They are great with my allergies and medical needs. I will continue to sail them, quirks, glitches and all.

 

I'm sorry the cabin was not what the OP wanted and being in that situation sucks. The NCL CruiseNext people are useless for actual info about the ships, cabins and all that. They are good for giving you the little Latitude pins, giving you a free drink at their sales party and enabling you to get CruiseNext certificates. That's it.

 

The customer service reps on the phone are hit or miss and do not know anything about the individual cabins on any of their ships. Unfortunately, to get that info, I have to do research here, on the social other place and go through YT videos, blogs, other cruise review sites etc. 

People have called me paranoid for cross referencing 5 or 6 sources of info to make sure our cabin won't have the Pride of America Sewer Smell or the Prima Cabin Bongo Drum Noise or other issues. But we kind of have to be, because none of the NCL reps knows about any of it. And I love cruisedeckplans exactly for the "slide the decks over each other" tool.

 

The other thing is that what NCL thinks its cabins are, category-wise, is not what WE think they are. A few times, I've refused an upgrade because, while the category is a step higher in NCL's list, the cabin itself would be worse for my needs. You paid for Haven cabin and on the NCL chart, you did indeed get a Haven cabin of the category.

 

Since you couldn't be moved during the cruise, any post-cruise stuff might be goodwill FCC that might be gotten if you keep calling in until you get an NCL phone rep that will give it to you.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

That's correct. Friends of ours booked an accessible cabin (not needing it) and they ended up getting switched to a "regular" cabin, due to the need of someone else for an accessible cabin.

So it does happen.

And what if their accessible cabin was needed for an actual handicapped person and there was no Haven cabins left to move the OP and his family to? What a downgrade that would have become.

 

I really think the first and primary mistake was for NCL 13 months out when there should have been a lot of cabins available booking them in a cabin meant for use by handicapped cruisers.

[SeaShark]

31 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

And what if their accessible cabin was needed for an actual handicapped person and there was no Haven cabins left to move the OP and his family to? What a downgrade that would have become.

 

That is the risk you take. Contrary to what some on the thread believe, NCL will book you into a handicap room regardless of need. Some people like those rooms. HOWEVER, a person who books the room can and will be bumped out of it if someone else with a demonstrated need comes along and no other handicap cabins are available. 

 

Also...I've yet to see any booking agent who had cabin configuration information. Likely when the OP thought that they were saying the configuration was the same that they actually were saying that the cabin category was the same.

 

Also, also...I can't blame NCL for not wanting to engage in a conversation that is likely to be nothing more than a complain, let me speak to the manager, lather, rinse, repeat until I get compensation phone call. If the onboard folks offered compensation (that $200 OBC, for example) and it was accepted, then that is it. You were compensated...case closed. They aren't going to compensate you onboard and then allow you to call again afterwards just to get more compensation. You don't get two bites of the apple.

[bonvoyagie]

I sympathize with you on the cabin issue. My experience with the onboard staff especially the Cruise Next folks is that they are great at pitches and fancy words. It looks like you got the only handicapped cabin in that category - deck 13 port - right? Unfortunately these cabins along with the aft penthouses sell out fast on AK cruises - even though you booked 13 mo in advance, these cruises had been on sale for two years so it was quite possible that it was the only cabin left in that category. I do use a TA for my cruises, however I also tell him what cabin I want. He also says if it is not in writing it may not happen.

 

It is hard to say exactly who fouled up but I think that with a room number someone somewhere could have looked it up and discovered the error- or at least questioned the need for a handicapped cabin. 

 

I do believe that you are entitled to communicate with a higher up in the company and not get the boilerplate treatment. There used to be a VP - i believe that her name was Kate or Kathy who was in charge of Guest Services - perhaps a search of this site will lead to her name and contact information. 

 

Good Luck

[dhanakorn]

This is a little off-topic. Sometimes I wish I were so rich that I could just book a suite without paying attention to detail on which particular room I would get. And only to find out about the room after I board the ship.
 

If I can afford a haven room, I am gonna be so obsessed with every little detailed. I’m gonna watch all the YouTube videos of this particular room for months ahead of boarding day. 

[gizfish]

I agree with those here who say you should have checked deck plans etc., to see what your actual room was at some point in the thirteen months before the cruise.  Personally one of the high points of looking forward to my cruise is studying the deck plans and searching on line for my specific cabin number to see videos, pictures, etc. That being said, if an NCL agent gave you specifically wrong info during your call (yes there is a separate dinning area, yes separate sleeping areas...) than NCL clearly sold you a different room than what they promised you. You know how all their calls start with "this call is being recorded...?"  That may be your friend here.  Stop emailing and call NCL and ask to speak with a supervisor.  Insist they access the recording of your call where you were specifically lied to.  Only problem here is I doubt they have the tape from over a year ago. If at some point before the cruise you had done your due diligence researching and noticed this problem, the recording would have been a slam dunk.

[BirdTravels]

22 hours ago, raschwinger said:

Finally to just say I should expect nothing tells me you have obviously never worked in the service industry or run a business where customers are your lifeblood.  The number one rule is to try to keep your customers happy and coming back to spend more money, within reason.  At the very least, good customer service companies provide their customers opportunities to be heard.  This was a math equation for NCL...making our bad experience right for pennies for them in exchange for years of future cruise fares from us.  If you disagree with this, then you have never been in the business world.

 

As a direct manager then senior leader in a customer service organization, my guidance to my team was to placate the customer, but take no action that would result in loss of revenue. My teams are the front line to protect the company. My direction to my team has always been "Say whatever you have to say to make the customer feel good about themselves. You are not authorized to commit the company to compensate customer". That's how business works. Yes, there are senior managers who have the authority to authorize compensation, but that is last resort. 

 

NCL and every cruise line gets hundreds and hundreds of "sad stories" every single week. A lot of people in that Guest Services line on a ship has a "sad story". A cruise line would go out of business if every sad story resulted in compensation of a customer who was "sad". That's how business works.

[julig22]

17 hours ago, SeaShark said:

 

That is the risk you take. Contrary to what some on the thread believe, NCL will book you into a handicap room regardless of need. Some people like those rooms. HOWEVER, a person who books the room can and will be bumped out of it if someone else with a demonstrated need comes along and no other handicap cabins are available.

One possible scenario here would be that there were only handicap cabins available at the time the OP changed their booking. In that case, I would have assumed that NCL has no obligation to hold those rooms just in case.

On the other hand, a few months back I was trying to book an OV and an "only handicap rooms are available" message popped up and I couldn't book without verifying that I needed the room. However, I was able to call and got the booking. Before anyone gets their panties in a wad, within an hour I had already upgraded to a balcony, using points. I had no intention of keeping the cabin. But a little surprised that the rooms were being held at that point.

[agrimm01]

I can't imagine taking a cruise and not know what room I am staying in. You had 13 months to check the room out prior to the cruise and you trusted that to agents? You have much more faith in them than I do.

[detroitlions]

I did not read though all of these lengthy responses. I did read some.

What most folks on CC still do not get or understand they are not going to get any refund or upgrade or huge OBC anymore. Those days are gone.

I know some of you pointed this out in your own way.

Every cruise I go on I see the complaint counter snaking around with a ton of people mostly elderly. I am getting there myself on the elderly part but I understand the way things are in the cruise industry now.

Folks think its like 20 years ago they don't like something there going to get something for free or money taken off or cancel there tips.

I highly doubt these folks in line never done this in the past its just funny to me over hearing the complaints there petty on most of them I would be really embarrassed .

[kapper]

18 hours ago, SeaShark said:

Also...I've yet to see any booking agent who had cabin configuration information. Likely when the OP thought that they were saying the configuration was the same that they actually were saying that the cabin category was the same.

 

 

 

You hit the nail on the head @SeaShark. OP's original post states "We had to adjust our cruise date with NCL Agents after returning home, but were assured we were booked into the same stateroom category we had on the Breakaway."

 

So they way I'm reading it is while they may have booked the preferred cabin originally, they had to make a date change for what ever reason, and received the same stateroom CATEGORY, not the same stateroom. Big difference, IMO.

[julig22]

7 minutes ago, kapper said:

You hit the nail on the head @SeaShark. OP's original post states "We had to adjust our cruise date with NCL Agents after returning home, but were assured we were booked into the same stateroom category we had on the Breakaway."

 

So they way I'm reading it is while they may have booked the preferred cabin originally, they had to make a date change for what ever reason, and received the same stateroom CATEGORY, not the same stateroom. Big difference, IMO.

Yes, I asked that question earlier but OP did not respond.

[TheBeardedCruiser]

On 8/29/2024 at 12:39 PM, BirdTravels said:

My teams are the front line to protect the company. My direction to my team has always been "Say whatever you have to say to make the customer feel good about themselves. You are not authorized to commit the company to compensate customer". That's how business works.

 

OP, some people are rude and will admit that they couldn't care less about the customers that pay their paychecks! They have no shame. Unfortunately, it sounds like the NCL representatives that you've attempted to work with have similar policies as the poster above. It's a shame because you have been so loyal to a company that isn't loyal to you at all! They will replace you without a shed tear. It's so sad, but it's true.

 

I disagree with everyone that has said that you should have done your due diligence and checked the room yourself. Not your job! That is the job of the professionals that told you that your room would be the same. NCL is fabulous for lumping dissimilar rooms into one category.

 

I unfortunately had a very similar experience with NCL giving me a room that was completely different than I expected. In my situation there were pictures on NCL's website of what I thought my room was supposed to look like. The pictures showed a large room with a couch and two closets. When I got to my room it was much smaller, no couch, and one small closet. I received zero compensation after fighting it for months. I gave up and have since not sailed on an NCL ship. I possibly will never go back, who knows? So far, I've loyalty matched with MSC Cruises and been extremely happy. They aren't perfect either, but I found them to be much more customer friendly!

 

I wish you the best in the future! May your next cruise be filled with delightful memories!!! 😄 

[ChiefMateJRK]

57 minutes ago, TheBeardedCruiser said:

It's a shame because you have been so loyal to a company that isn't loyal to you at all!

Back at Megacorp, we had a saying.  "If you want loyalty, buy a dog."  I don't think that "loyalty" has any meaning in the context of this thread.  It's just business.