NCL Service? Just got a bad taste

[alisa726]

I never complain but really, I haven't even gotten on the ship yet and NCL has a lot of making up to do for me to cruise it again. When people are excited about a cruise, it is easy to offer good service before hand. Why would they need to be so rude? The only reason I am calling to ask things is because you don't give enough information up front & your website is terrible.

 

First, I called the reservation line and needed a few things. 2 of the people I am traveling w/ do not have passports. The NCL pre-reg forms do not allow a place to check birth cert so I wanted to see what they wanted me to do (I have tried to pre-reg on-line every day for 2 weeks so now I'm just faxing). Just write it in (I figured as much but wanted to be sure). I paid for an upgrade so now my doc have the wrong cabin # can I have my new # for this form? NO we can't give you that!!! Can I pre-order a wine package? What ones do you offer? Why don't you call your TA, I can't help you with that. My TA is my mom and I normally order my wine packages anyway. How much sense does it make for me to call her, her to call you find out what you offer, call me back to tell me what my options are, then for her to call you back again. I'm on the phone now just help me.

 

After the phone call I was just a liitle distrubed. So I called the corp office. The woman was pleasant and she did tell me that they couldn't give out cabin numbers for my safety (someone else calling pretending to be me to get my cabin # and then hurt me on the cruise). Okay that is better than just saying NO with not explaining. Next, there are no pre-cruise wine packages (5 bottle discount) but can get on-board. Why didn't the 1st person know this? And is this correct? Don't really know since everytime I talk to someone at NCL it is a different story. Then, I told this woman the issues I have w/ their web site. Her tone changed and said they haven't had any complaints about the web site. The reason I can't pre-reg on-line is that it must be my computer and my internet blockers. I informed her that it wasn't just me since there has been talk here about the issues w/ the site. Still very defensive she said well she knows for a fact that it works.

 

Really I'm not going to let this ruin my cruise. It isn't a big deal but I just had to vent to you guys about it so now I can move on. If the cruise goes on without any big issues I won't take this any further. Just expecting better service I guess, now maybe I will bring my expectations down a notch.

[Don Haynes]

Next year you won't need passports to sail from America to Alaska, the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, Kiribiti, Bermuda. Since you didn't say where you were cruising from, you will have to have a passport for the Dream's Baltic cruises, the Jewel's Mediterrean cruises, and the Dream's South American cruises. However, starting in January 2008 you will need a passport to sail anywhere from America except for the Hawaiian cruises, where you won't sail from America. It doesn't appear Congress will delay the passport requirement again. Plus, are your friends American citizens? This changes the whole picture.

 

There are two threads about NCL's new website. It appears for marketing reasons they brought it up early, more than likely causing more difficulties for their IT department. On both threads links were posted to the old website where you may be able to accomplish your mission.

 

On top of this, NCL's home office prefers to deal with TA when TA are involved.

[johnql]

Really I'm not going to let this ruin my cruise. It isn't a big deal but I just had to vent to you guys about it so now I can move on. If the cruise goes on without any big issues I won't take this any further. Just expecting better service I guess, now maybe I will bring my expectations down a notch.

You do need to calm down or else you risk ruining your cruise before you even set foot onboard. More importantly, you need to separate your pre-cruise experience with Customer Service from your onboard experience with the ship's service staff. Many people have reported having trouble with the land-based CS Reps, altho I myself have only had good experiences. Most, however, find the ship's service staff very courteous, professional and more than willing to accommodate your needs and requests. I don't believe you need to lower your expectations at all.

[KeystoneCruiser]

My theory on NCL: "Great Ships, Great Crews, just pray you don't have to deal with inept NCL Customer Service or Corporate!"

 

Why would they need to be so rude? The only reason I am calling to ask things is because you don't give enough information up front & your website is terrible.

I have found that whenever you challenge them on something or just simply won't take their answer/lies, they become very rude. Everytime we have dealt with them that has happened. (and if you catch them in a lie, they tell another lie to cover it up.)

 

You do mean NCL's website and not CC's, right? Cruise Critic and NCL are in no way related, completely seperate entitites. (thank god)

 

So I called the corp office. Then, I told this woman the issues I have w/ their web site. Her tone changed and said they haven't had any complaints about the web site. The reason I can't pre-reg on-line is that it must be my computer and my internet blockers. I informed her that it wasn't just me since there has been talk here about the issues w/ the site. Still very defensive she said well she knows for a fact that it works.

 

How dare you question their website!! I made the same mistake last year! I was told that the cabin availablility site was "3-4 days behind" real time. When members on this very board proved them wrong, they held to their story and told more lies to cover it up. (I could never work for NCL if I was expected to lie like they do.)

 

The entire website could crash and be down for three days and I'm sure the NCL Customer Service reps would say that it was all our computers or internet providers....lol!!

[luv2travelWA]

Take one step at a time. Being patient, persisten and nice about it will get you a lot more. I agree, it can be frustrating if you have never dealt with a specific line before, but it is all a process. As for TA... I agree w/the previous poster, once w/a TA, always w/a TA for that itinerary unless specifically told to call separately.

 

Hang in there and I'm sure you will have a wonderful cruise.

 

Word of advice. Everyone should have a passport - period. They are good for 10 years and worth every dime. It will definitely help w/your boarding process...

 

happy sailing!

[Toyz711]

they are only allowed to talk to the person who booked the trip. if you booked through a TA, they are not allowed to talk to you (the safey reasons you were told). most travel will need a passport, mine has expired..getting it renewed this year so i won't have to worry about all the "if i go here" and "if i go there". flying back to the states, in cases of emergencies, could be a problem. you might not need it to cruise, but you would need it to fly back? better safe then sorry.

[CruisinMatt]

On each call you made, I would have asked to speak with someone that could actually help me. Customer service reps or corporate employees telling customers they are wrong is horrible!!

[grgsuch]

Is there a specific number for ncl to call with general questions? I know my travel agent(who is great by the way), sometimes is not in, so I get impatient and want answers right away. I've called ncl four times and two were nice and two were not. I felt when you don't book with them the two who were not so nice said you need to contact your travel agent. I can somewhat understand, but they should have a number you can call for general questions. I really think all my answers have come from this forum. There is so much knowledge from all of you experienced cruisers. Thanks for all the info.

[alisa726]

Word of advice. Everyone should have a passport - period. They are good for 10 years and worth every dime. It will definitely help w/your boarding process...

 

happy sailing!

 

couldn't agree more!!! It is so much easier to embark & disembark w/ one. My brother & his girlfriend don't travel. We bought their cruise for them as Christmas presents and knew they didn't have passprts but didn't want to ruin the surprise. Now there is no time for them to get one. We are going out of Miami so not needed but still they should get them. I'll talk them into it once they fall in love w/ cruising. I love cruising and no bad experience will ruin that for me. Thanks for everyone support. You know I was just blowing off some steam. It is gone now!! Back to the count down. 15 days and I'll be in heaven.

[shoreguy]

Relax - you will get thru this. :)

 

The fact is NCL paid your mom a comission to answer your questions freeing up NCL reps to help those that booked direct. That said they certainly should have been more helpful and never said you are wrong. "Thanks for the info we will look into it" would work, Then they can hang up and turn to someone and say what a pain the lady was:D :D

 

Check out the treads on the website. I registered online today no problem. The site is in fact sensitive to your browser, cookies, and settings. 1000s are succssful each week 100s are having problems just like you. Should not be that hard. Once you get into the site you will be able to see your new cabin #. Your mom should be able to tell you now.

 

Wine package - don't hold your breath. They eleiminated it over a year ago onboard. With recent changes it may come back. They never have had any wine packages to pre-order. You can order a bon voyage gift with a bottle of wine or bubbly.

 

 

Enjoy your cruise sea operations put land based opperations to shame. Do you homework here before you go in order to get the most out of freestyle or you may find yourself banging you head against a wall again onboard.

[avasmom]

Next year you won't need passports to sail from America to Alaska, the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, Kiribiti, Bermuda.quote]

 

They do need passports for Kirbati.:)

[electricron]

Why would they need to be so rude? The only reason I am calling to ask things is because you don't give enough information up front & your website is terrible. Why don't you call your TA, I can't help you with that. My TA is my mom and I normally order my wine packages anyway. How much sense does it make for me to call her, her to call you find out what you offer, call me back to tell me what my options are, then for her to call you back again.

;) Let's get real, the NCL agents you get on the phone business is selling tickets for NCL. That's the same business your travel agent is doing, selling tickets. If you used a travel agent to purchase your tickets, then your travel agent is getting the commission for the sale, not the NCL service agents. It's not their job to jump through hoops answering questions for a sale they will never get the commission for, it's your travel agent's responsibility. That's why they always refer you back to your travel agent. It shouldn't take a genius to figure that out. There's much more incentive to provide great service when you're getting the commission ($$$$).

2 of the people I am traveling w/ do not have passports. The NCL pre-reg forms do not allow a place to check birth cert so I wanted to see what they wanted me to do

This question should have been asked and answered by your travel agent.

I paid for an upgrade so now my doc have the wrong cabin # can I have my new # for this form?

This should have been handled by your travel agent when you upgraded.

After the phone call I was just a liitle distrubed. So I called the corp office. The woman was pleasant and she did tell me that they couldn't give out cabin numbers for my safety (someone else calling pretending to be me to get my cabin # and then hurt me on the cruise). Okay that is better than just saying NO with not explaining. Next, there are no pre-cruise wine packages (5 bottle discount) but can get on-board. Why didn't the 1st person know this?

;) The first person you contacted probably knew the answer, but just dumped you because you had a travel agent. They aren't getting the commision for your cruise, your travel agent is. That's also why you just got a no answer without an explanation. The supervisor at the call center isn't getting paid per each commission, but by a steady salary. That's why they show more interest in answering your questions, and giving explanations to "no" answers.

:) By the way, it isn't "rude" to answer your questions with a "no", "without giving an explanation."

 

A poor analogy, but should get my point across. Let's supposed you ordered a new car or truck over the internet, or via a third party. Then you have questions, and go down to the local dealership for answers. Once the sales person learns you have already bought your new car from someone else, do you really believe they have any incentive at all to answer your questions? It's not the salesman job to answer questions, it's to sell the car. And he's paid by commission, not by a salary.

 

:( I would love to be your mother, getting paid a commission for selling you your cruise tickets, and apparently relying upon you and the NCL service representatives to do all the work for her.

[sjbdtz]

:) By the way, it isn't "rude" to answer your questions with a "no", "without giving an explanation."

 

 

My new hero! Brief < > rude. :cool:

[seahorse]

Let us hope that her Mother, being the TA, gave her back her commission:rolleyes: Maybe that is why she told her to call NCL direct:D

[Toyz711]

i think that's a good explanation.

my DH is a salesman, rvs not cars..every weekend he spend a couple of hours talking to nice folks..only to find out they are buying from their neighbors or somewhere else. they just wanted to look around and make sure they are getting a good deal. the next week he doesn't get a pay check because he didn't get time to talk to anyone really interested in buying.

when you buy from one person, it's their job to follow through with the sales, not anyone else's.

[msescada]

As my travel agent is my mother-IN-LAW...I run into the issue of needing to speak directly with NCL a fair number of times. I just explain that the TA is my mother in law and that I was the one who originally made the reservation on board. I ask my questions, try to get reasonable answers (which is sometimes possible and sometimes not) and then relay the answers to my MIL.

 

No, she doesn't kick back the commission, but it does help her out (she's widowed and a very with it 81 years old) to have our business. we do two cruises per year and she's the one who argues with the premium air dept for us.

 

And if you think you have customer service problems BEFORE the cruise...you should see what happens when your bags don't make it off the ship in barcelona.....there is literally no one to call in miami. the only way we got the bag back was by getting in touch with the concierge on the ship, who emailed the port agent and miami and the hotel director and THEY got the bag back to us.

 

It never ceases to amaze me how NCL can get so much right on the ships when it comes to customer service and so much wrong on land....guess it's a good thing they run a cruise line and not a bus company

[newmexicoNita]

I never complain but really, I haven't even gotten on the ship yet and NCL has a lot of making up to do for me to cruise it again. When people are excited about a cruise, it is easy to offer good service before hand. Why would they need to be so rude? The only reason I am calling to ask things is because you don't give enough information up front & your website is terrible.

 

First, I called the reservation line and needed a few things. 2 of the people I am traveling w/ do not have passports. The NCL pre-reg forms do not allow a place to check birth cert so I wanted to see what they wanted me to do (I have tried to pre-reg on-line every day for 2 weeks so now I'm just faxing). Just write it in (I figured as much but wanted to be sure). I paid for an upgrade so now my doc have the wrong cabin # can I have my new # for this form? NO we can't give you that!!! Can I pre-order a wine package? What ones do you offer? Why don't you call your TA, I can't help you with that. My TA is my mom and I normally order my wine packages anyway. How much sense does it make for me to call her, her to call you find out what you offer, call me back to tell me what my options are, then for her to call you back again. I'm on the phone now just help me.

 

After the phone call I was just a liitle distrubed. So I called the corp office. The woman was pleasant and she did tell me that they couldn't give out cabin numbers for my safety (someone else calling pretending to be me to get my cabin # and then hurt me on the cruise). Okay that is better than just saying NO with not explaining. Next, there are no pre-cruise wine packages (5 bottle discount) but can get on-board. Why didn't the 1st person know this? And is this correct? Don't really know since everytime I talk to someone at NCL it is a different story. Then, I told this woman the issues I have w/ their web site. Her tone changed and said they haven't had any complaints about the web site. The reason I can't pre-reg on-line is that it must be my computer and my internet blockers. I informed her that it wasn't just me since there has been talk here about the issues w/ the site. Still very defensive she said well she knows for a fact that it works.

 

Really I'm not going to let this ruin my cruise. It isn't a big deal but I just had to vent to you guys about it so now I can move on. If the cruise goes on without any big issues I won't take this any further. Just expecting better service I guess, now maybe I will bring my expectations down a notch.

You are making a lot out of very little, if you don't take a deep breath you will have a miserable cruise. Ok, you didn't get all the answers you wanted, someone didn't have the details about the wine package, that, btw, is non existant and has been for years and if your mom is a TA, I am surprised she didn't advise you to let her handle your questions. NCL does have problems with customer service although in some cases lately they have been amazing. I am a TA and can honestly say, I have never had a problem with them, just lucky for sure. I have had problems with other cruise lines. Some of the best ones to others have been the worst for me. It seems companies do not offer the service they used to. Now, get over it, go on your way and plan on having a great cruise. NMnita

[CPT Trips]

So, from the responses here (at least Toyz711 and Elelctricon) it seems that the telephone reps are on commission. Is that correct?

 

NCL puts its customer service numbers on the website and on the e-docs, so why is it unreasonable to call those numbers when you need an answer to something? After all, those same people at those numbers will, if you get a competent person, sell bar setups and shoreexs to you without getting the TA involved.

[Toyz711]

the "sales" staff would be on some type of comission, i would gather. anyone else would be salaried. the thing about if you book through a TA, they talk to your TA about your account..because that is the name they have in their file. otherwise anyone could call and have stuff billed to your account/room. they have to have some type of control.

just imagine the problems with they gave out information on your trip/cost/billing to anyone using your name?

[shoreguy]

So, from the responses here (at least Toyz711 and Elelctricon) it seems that the telephone reps are on commission. Is that correct?

 

NCL puts its customer service numbers on the website and on the e-docs, so why is it unreasonable to call those numbers when you need an answer to something? After all, those same people at those numbers will, if you get a competent person, sell bar setups and shoreexs to you without getting the TA involved.

 

Not on commission like a TA. They are measured I am sure on revenue generation as a part of their overall rating. Book a shoreex generate revenue:) The Personal Cruise Consultants may be different but I have to information on their compensation. You will never get a CS rep to take a bar setup order. That is only done as a courtesy by the ship coordinators. Not unreasonable to call and not unreasonable for them to ask you to contact your TA since the TA owns your booking for anything related to the booking.

[Checkmate1955]

 

The NCL pre-reg forms do not allow a place to check birth cert so I wanted to see what they wanted me to do (I have tried to pre-reg on-line every day for 2 weeks so now I'm just faxing). Just write it in (I figured as much but wanted to be sure).

quote] ...... First I am sure you are happy that I am not discussing the TA thing....... As for pre-registration I had a problem that may be the same or similar as your problem with NCL.... I pre-registered but did not have my Passport number so left that blank... Later, with passport in hand I tried and tried over several days to open the pre-registration page so that I could enter the passport number.. It never happen.... I called NCL and they stated that once you pre-register you can not reenter that page.. It is locked out... we entered that info at the dock.... Later on the cruise they contacted me and stated that my pre-registration form and emergency information was not completed... But it was and I gave them a copy of the form that I completed on line and copied just in case....:)

[seahorse]

If you call NCL and make a reservation direct.......they DO get commission.

[shoreguy]

First I am sure you are happy that I am not discussing the TA thing....... As for pre-registration I had a problem that may be the same or similar as your problem with NCL.... I pre-registered but did not have my Passport number so left that blank... Later, with passport in hand I tried and tried over several days to open the pre-registration page so that I could enter the passport number.. It never happen.... I called NCL and they stated that one you pre-register you can not reenter that page.. It is locked out... we entered that info at the dock.... Later on the cruise they contacted me and stated that my preregistration form and emergency information was not completed... But it was and I gave them a copy of the form that I completed on line and copied just in case....:)

 

Just blew up that theory - I just went back into my pre-registratiion for Feb. that was listed complete and updated info. The NCL lock out myth is busted:D Once you get very close to sailing they do in fact shut down and lock you out of the online registration.

[megessey]

If the regular 800 number is not a place for general questions or assistance with existing reservations (thru TA or not), then why not say so up front? On the phone i mean, instead of giving attitude to a customer that they are wasting their time (i.e., I'm not going to make any money off of you, so I won't use my pleasant tone), why cant they say "I can't help you but here's a number for general questions...."

 

 

Isn't there a "Lattitudes" number like you can use with the RCC Crown & Anchor program?

[Checkmate1955]

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