Travel insurance, people! Extremely important, not just for death situations, but seriously illness or damage to your home. My neighbors had to cancel their cruise due to major fire to their home which rendered it uninhabitable five days before their trip. They had travel insurance and everything non-refundable was covered by insurance.
@@catistrolling7333There are only a few companies who do travel insurance. More important is what policy you buy from a company. Too many people buy trip insurance without understanding what it does and not does cover and are surprised when they need to file a claim.
Agreed though problems do come up with even that. On our first attempt to do a Hawaii, it was canceled due to COVID-19. We did not get our money back but Norwegian gave us credit on the next cruise. We canceled the hotel without a glitch but the airline simply refused saying that we could still go to Hawaii and as neither myself nor my wife had COVID-19 we could still use the tickets. Our trip insurance agreed with them. So we were out the cost of the tickets. Probably will not travel on American again.
I have to wonder whether NCL sold that room to someone else once they received the notice that the customer had died. If so, then NCL should be compelled to refund at least part of the price they got for the resale.
Its called good public relations. It would actually gain bookings by acting magnanimous as opposed to looking like a-holes and discouraging people from booking NCL.
@@vicki8042 I am not saying every reason, only in case of something extraordinary like death. Even with insurance, you can be be stuck as back in 2001 I was laid off from a new job and had to cancel my cruise. Insurance refused my claim as I had not been on my new job for a year... On a personal note re you, you sound like a Republican, for only conservatives can be this callous...
@@TheCassandraProject-nuclearwar Actually, I agree with you. It's good policy, not to mention compassionate, and I'm MAGA all the way. So, your bigotry is stupid.
Apparently this is clickbait title. Third party issues but telling the world not to cruise with them. These sound more like one offs than general, persistent issues.
It was absolutely a bait and switch. According to crew members the decision to reduce speed and not go to Antarctica was made by corporate as of Jan 31, and the title of the cruise and the two thereafter was changed and any reference to Antarctica removed as of that date. Clearly this happened days before the first cruise ever set sail. Then to lie about sending folks emails informing them in advance and giving them notice at the dock, is just insult to injury. They can do it and get away with it because the contracts give them free reign to do anything they want. Personally I think there needs to be better regulations on cruise companies to prevent them from doing this type of stuff. They shouldn't be able to overbook, change itineraries unless unexpected weather related, etc. without appropriate compensation. Countries have taken a hardball approach with airlines and they need to do the same with cruise lines!
Unfortunately, cruise lines are foreign flagged and outside the scope of USA regulations like the airlines. You can’t even sue them unless they agree and they get to pick where the suit hearing will take place.
The Go Slow is a law that's been in place since 2021in that area to protect whale migration. Look it up. Also we just sailed with NCL last month and it was absolutely the best! Definitely will cruise with them again!
@@mindym4672 I wouldn't cruise with them SPECIFICALLY if they advertise Antarctica and don't go.......Those tickets are very expensive......$20,000 per person is quite common. I can cruiee around Sth America for $2000 per person........Was $18,000 returned to each passengers bank account? I doubt it........Sounds to me like you work for NCL........I must remember this when re-selling Super Bowl tickets online......Yes, the person might have paid me $10,000 for each ticket but I will just tell them there was a 'technicality' and drop them of at a Las Vegas college training game.......THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE SCENARIOS !. ( P.S. and no people I wouldn't really do that so don't call up the police on me).
NCL are within their legal right to refuse Antarctica cruise customers a refund, but their abominable lack of communication and their choice to provide no compensation make them a company I won’t do business with. Never Norwegian.
I've done 22 cruises with Princess. Everything that made Princess special has diminished into a consistent ersatz cruise experience. Customer service used to be great, but after Covid, it all changed in the front office. The crew still tries to make everything go, but the front office doesn't respond to anything.
Always have had great experiences with Norwegian, sailing again in May, love Norwegian, their food is much better than most, staff are wonderful, never had a bad experience, fingers crossed we don't. Always get insurance, never travel without getting it you never know what might happen before during the trip, lesson learned.
I love Norwegian. I hope they can fix their current issues. The problems seem to be originating with their head offices in Miami. It wasn't like this when Frank del Rio was in charge.
With a title like 'Never book a Norweigan Cruise', hopefully the right people at Norweigan will see this and take some notes! It all really boils down to how people feel their comments or complaints are ignored. If they just acknowledged the issue, and explained their position....I think a lot of people would be fine with it. It's being ignored that sets people off! You guys are always classy, and unbiased, and willing to hear all the opinions.....so hopefully Norweigan will listen, and at the very least, try and do better to acknowledge their customer base! I can't imagine they would think people would be loyal to their line after feeling ignored.
Thank you so much for this comment. We agree! NCL needs to accept the situations are real, acknowledge them, and communicate. Even if it’s not the outcome the customer wants- the willingness to listen and respond are worth so much! And the mind-blowing thing is that those actions are free to the cruise line!
NCL denied a won on or cruise her bags for her feeding tube a h d told her to throw them away, at $130 per bag! The poor lady spent the entire cruise without any nutrition at all.
Norwegian’s handling of this major itinerary change is in sharp contrast with that of Viking. We were booked for a Viking cruise down the Amazon River from Manaus, Brazil and through the Caribbean to Puerto Rico last December. By mid-November, Viking concluded that the water level in the Amazon was too low to allow our ship to reach Manaus, so they changed the itinerary to visit the Caribbean only. They informed passengers promptly, were clear about the reason for the change, and offered them a generous onboard credit AND credit towards a future cruise in the amount of 30% of what they had paid. AND, while they didn’t offer it, they did allow us, at our request, to switch to a different sailing of the Amazon itinerary. Granted, Viking and NCL are in different categories of cruise line, but even allowing for that, the contrast is striking.
I was on the NCL breakaway 2 weeks ago and will not go back to NCL...cancelled shows, lack of excitement by crew and just overall, lacking in anything of interest..long lines for shows in small venues...and liquor that was so watered down as to be nonalcoholic..
Two weeks ago I was on the NCL Epic and the long lines and waiting was very frustrating. Also they seemed to center things so all cruisers were at the same spot at the same time. Transferring some events to other venues would have helped that. In Dec of 22 the 10:08 Breakaway was an awesome experience. Hopefully this is not a new trend for them. We made the best of things and enjoyed our vacation. My daughter and family will be on Breakaway in July so time will tell.
@@debbybrigham7095 I was on the Epic in March. I had been on the ship for cruises several times and all was well. This time was much different. Easily my worst cruise experience from low staffing, long lines for bar and restaurant service, changes to shore excursions with no notice, little to no deck servers etc. Time to try a different cruise line.
I am really surprised to hear this about NCL. I was aboard the NCL Pearl for a Caribbean sailing in 2018. It was my first ever cruise. We got an inside cabin and didn't do any specialty dining or drink or wifi packages. Our time (and money) went largely toward adventurous excursions. I still felt like we were treated like royalty! One of our excursions was canceled due to rain. We got of the boat and hung out at port before returning pretty early. The rain had cleared. One of the excursion staff members recognized us and offered us a different trip, instead. It ended up being our favorite excursion on the cruise. We honestly couldn't believe the level of customer service it took for that gentleman to recognize us and go out of his way to make sure we had a great time. We didn't have to go to the excursion desk or ask a staff member or anything. That said, some of the problems you've mentioned here are significant. The Antarctica trip sounds like a complete bait and switch. If you sell people a trip to Antarctica, Hawaii, Alaska, or what have you, then you'd darn well better go there. Minor itinerary changes due to weather or global events are understandable. Completely missing the main reason someone would book that cruise is a different matter altogether. Refunding the family with an unexpected death is also the decent thing to do - or, at the very least, allowing them to change their booking to a later date. Some things may be technically legal, but they're not right - and everyone knows it. If NCL sees travel bloggers/agents like you advising folks against them, maybe they'll improve their corporate customer service. Their onboard customer service, at least in my experience, was amazing.
Regarding death of family member, I agree with NCL. I have always bought travel insurance to protect my cruise purchase because it is too expensive to lose the money. Buy travel insurance folks in case an emergency happens!
We have been on 50+ cruises, including 3 or 4 on Norwegian. The ships and food weren’t for us. We now sail primarily on Celebrity. On a recent sailing on the Beyond, the Assistant Maitre’d asked us about our meal. We said everything was fine except for the prime rib. The next morning we received an apology note and 6 chocolate covered strawberries. Classy! BTW, we ordered the prime rib later on our 11 night cruise and it was delicious.
Prime rib is one of our favourite meals on Celebrity. I have never had a bad one so yours must have been an exception. They give you a huge portion and they are so tender you don’t even need a knife to cut them
My only NCL experience was an evacuation cruise from St Thomas after Irma blew the island apart. It was a slow moving trip to Miami full of dogs and cats in the buffet area and high school lunchroom quality food. BUT it was free and they took us to the mainland out of the kindness of upper management. I wish they had gotten more good PR out of that. What they’re up to now doesn’t sound like the same people !!
I have sailed NCL once in 1999. I booked a helicopter excursion through them that was labeled " Volcanos and Waterfalls" for almost $400 per person back then. After flying over the volcano we returned to the airfield. I asked the pilot what about the waterfalls? He seemed genuinely confused. When I explained to him what we had purchased he said his company had not offered that excursion for over 10 years. Norwegian sold us on an excursion that had not been available for over 10 years. You know they knew that. I wrote letters to everyone. No response. I protest with my feet and we were one and done. We've never sailed NCL since.
Last summer I was on an excursion in Iceland where the final destination was skipped. The tour guide explained that tour never included the missed destination. I visited guest services, and politely explained that at the very least the write-up for the tour should be correct. They said they would see what could be done. I was please to find out that we were issued an $80 credit for our experience. No judgement here, just relaying my experience.
I bet if you did your research and just with all cruise lines, you would find out that it’s not just Norwegion believe me not everybody speaks out about stuff! But like I said, if you did your research, you would find out a lot more and I’ll probably a lot worse than what these cases have been! My thing is so what if you don’t purchase the insurance how many trillions of dollars is spent on the insurance and how much is actually used? It’s not like the cruise lines are losing any money they probably make more money off the insurance than they do the people buying the cruise.
That's what I've been saying! Everyone is so defensive without knowing details of our experiences post covid. NCL has changed significantly in the last 20 years.
We have done 32 cruises with NCL. We loved them, but we had an issue with an Alaska cruise we took with them, also not to mention we brought on 12 other people I tried to talk to NCL about the problem but they didn't want to hear so it's been over a year that we left them now we have been on 7 cruises with other companies since we were Platinum plus almost diamond we walk away to bad NCL you lost loyal customers!
We did Alaska on Princess and had such a great time my wife and I became hooked on cruising (soon to start our 6th cruise). But it was about 16 years ago and have heard Princess has gone down since then.
It's really sad when Cruiseships get like this. NCL doesn't seem to care about people that have bad experiences, they know there are others that just don't give a damn and will fill their void. I'm hoping that at some point they figure it out, because it truly is a great line.
As a TA, I need to hear things like this. My clients in 2023 had great experiences. I went in 2023 and had a mediocre experience. We sat in the Hudson for 3 days because of a hurricane coming but other lines continued. The same thing happened the next two cruises. As far as customer service, I have dealt with them many times. I had to finally get my district manager involved to solve one problem. Will I sail with them again? Probably not. Do I still sell them? Yes, if requested. Do I think they dealt with the death appropriately? Absolutely not. But it will cost them. The comedian is hired to be funny. I found the ones on our cruise picked on people and it was hilarious. So people need to grow up or stay out.
Thank you for sharing this! Yes - as travel agents it’s important for customers and clients to know that the onboard experience can be great, it it says a lot about leadership’s actions in handling post-cruising experience. NCL unfortunately has the worst post-cruise follow-up, in our options Disney Cruise Like has the BEST.
@@JJCruise I sure wouldnt doubt the reviews. We had the biggest cluster at disembarkation for those using NCL transfers. People sent to the wrong airports, people cussing, and it goes on. I actually documented to my district manager but never heard back. There were lots of angry people. Sometimes people have valid complaints. For our 3 days in the Hudson, we got $100 onboard credit but the shops and casinos were closed so it was kind of useless especially if you already had the drink package. Also a 10% FFC for 2024. I doubt many used it.
Yeah if the comedian had made fun of your face or body or your kids or where you were from I doubt you would have laughed. What I don’t get is why a comedian has to do that. Of all the subject matter one has, why would they drop to that level?
As a former service manager for a large truck dealership I can assure one thing, ignoring a problem (such as the captains silence) won't make the problem go away, it will only make it fester. Just knowing how they handle customer service issues would make me hesitate to book NCL if there are other cruise lines with similar itineraries for my destination. Hopefully you guys will be doing a group cruise later in 2024 as I would love to join in.
We’re on the Antarctica cruise that leave next Sunday. We got an email 2 weeks ago that the itinerary changed. We still going to Antarctica, but all in 1 day. And we’re not going to cruising paradise bay, who is in the mainland, but admittedly bay, who is on an island by Antarctica and also cruising along elephant island, what was in the planning. Of course we are disappointed but we do this cruise for the whole adventure. When I booked this cruise 2 years ago, I was not sure which part we would see of Antarctica. And we knew that we not set foot on this continent. Then you have to take the very expensive expedition ship cruises out of Ushuaia. The disappointment is that there was no explanation in the mail we got. But we’re looking forward to this cruise. It’s our second with NCL, so we’ll see.
i was on the NCL Star in Jan 2024 to Antartica and they delivered everything they could except Punta Arenas, Chile as it was a tender port and the winds were too high for the safety of getting passengers to and from the dock. bummer but honestly 50% of all the cruise i have taken (30 in total) have resulted in some issue either Weather, Mechanical or Passenger related. i missed Jamaica once due to a passenger who needed medical services related to life or death and the ship veered off course to allow a Coast Guard Helicopter to take the passenger to Mainland USA. i was bummed but NCL is all about providing you with the Adventure of a lifetime...but things happen.... if crossing the Drake passage takes too long and the cruising speed is ? this might effect the ship reaching the other destinations? all i can tell you is that NCL changed there itinerary for one reason and i think it was for passengers safety but it could have been because of time restraints and poor management? i can tell you that the ship was told by corporate who made the decision for the captain, so it appears to be serious situation and i think mechanical issue as the cruising in Paradise Bay is very narrow and a big ship without propulsion would be running into things or if they were having mechanical issue keeping there speed slow and controlled this could create a violation for NCL to the agreement in place. As for Norwegian regularly lie about cruises, they are slow to adjust all the advertised cruises once a situation occurs and they know it but they do not make the adjustments on the websites they sell tickets on. its wrong to do that. sometimes they are working to adjust itineraries due to weather, wars, riots etc... that happen from time to time. my best advice is do not overpay and you will not be super pissed when things go awry.
The Miami office changed the itinerary before the ship left dock. They didn't tell anyone. The passengers had to demand to be told what was going on and still didn't get the truth.@@carlrafferty7788
Even though I'm not personally affected, I am giving NCL a time out at least until there is an announcement along the lines of an apology, noteworthy compensation and and changes in their contracts and policies going forward.
I sailed NCL for the first time in 2023. My guest experience was bad enough I will never sail with them again. You are exactly right, they act like they care less about any problem.
My first cruise ever was with NCL. It was a horrible experience. Charged for sodas when I had a soda package. Had to go to guest services every day of a five day sailing to to reverse incorrect charges. Found out NCL stands for No Customer Love.
Even though NCL has the right to change the itinerary, they're doing a dirty deal to these passengers. To cancel the main destination for their trip, then not compensate them is unacceptable. Don't book a bucket list cruise or really, any cruise with NCL. They obviously don't care much about their customers.
Yes I had a problem with NCL on the Pride of America cruise in September, there entertainment was terrible. No big show just comedian , and old movie in the theater. I was very disappointed , the front desk could not tell why there was no big show entertainment.
The itinerary was never intended to stop or set foot on Antarctica I was on the 1/29/23 cruise AND tfe 12/22/23 cruise on the NCL Star. Neither itinerary included STOPS ON Antarctica. The itineraries included sailing through the Antarctica seas at various islands. There was never an expectation to set foot on the mainland. Our 1st cruise missed 2 ports, including the Falklands. The most recent cruIse missed 1 port but we did make the Falklands - which was the highlight of the cruise and the main reason we returned. Itinerary changes happen. But there was never a plan to set foot on the mainland of Antarctica. You need to go on an expedition ship to do that! And PS- I did contact NCL about a specific issue with a crew member. And I did get a followup response right away.
Thanks for sharing that important background. It doesn’t make me trust NCL but does make me more willing to consider there’s more to this particular “bait and switch” tale of woe. I’ve first hand seen the NCL frugality and trimming wherever they can to save themselves costs while delivering less than originally advertised port times just so they could save on fuel.
Norwegian removed the port that was our favourite on our cruise, Tortola, and said it was because of fuel efficiencies, yet the cruises currently running are going there! Is the price of fuel going up April 1st or what (that is the day we sail).
I feel bad for my Dad, his dream was to see the King Penguins and they had to skip the Falklands. It’s a once in a lifetime trip. They were on the ship which retuned 2/4.
i sailed the NCL star in Jan 7 thru 21st to Antartica and it was and is the best cruise destination i have ever seen. i have 30 cruises and over 340 days at sea, so i am not a newbie and i have seen alot of countries and islands. we missed Punta Arenas due to high winds and it was a tender port...no way the tenders were going to safely bring everyone back to the ship. we stopped and they dropped around 6 boats and it was not looking good. we did make the Tender port of Faulkands...yes the cruise before us did not due to weather... we were late leaving cause the tenders could not get everyone by 3pm back to ship...lol and we finally made it back before 430pm. all is good. I only paid $960 inside cabin by myself...thats right...one person rate...0 supplement... i booked it Nov 2023. If you want to step on Antartica it will costs you another $11,000 per person...i decided it was good enough to sail the Antartic Pennisula for 2 days thru Paradise Bay and Elephant Island. see you next year.
A simple refund to that family would have shown compassion that we need in this world today….and they would have future customers from that family after being kind. Wrong move NCL.
During the past 24 years we have enjoyed dozens of cruises with all of the major cruise lines, with the exception of Holland America (we are looking at a 35-day cruise with them in 2025 but we want to try a shorter one with HAL first), anyway, in 2023 we cruised a fair amount with NCL, 21-day Miami-Seattle, skipped one stop due to unrest in the country, broke down in Columbia and skipped another port due to the breakdown. We weren’t notified of the first itinerary change until onboard although the change was made prior to the start of the cruise. 10-day Istanbul to Rome - major itinerary changes due to the fighting in Israel. We didn’t learn what our modified itinerary would be until about 10-days before the cruise. 16-day Rome to NYC - itinerary changes due to bad weather. Ran out of some types of food due to not being able to pick up supplies. NCL customer service could have handled things a lot smoother - NCL does not communicate well with their guests. When you cruise as much as we have you come to expect issues to arise from time to time. Communication is important to us. As far as cruise lines making exceptions to their rules (as stated in the cruise contract) I do not have much pity for people. We have an annual policy that protects all of our travel, land, sea, and air - not just cruising. Bottom line: Cruising isn’t what it once was. Still a great value for your vacation dollars but not the same!
My HAL experiences have been much better than NCL. They were forthcoming with information and responses to any small problems. We were very pleased with the music venues and the service in general. Never a long line at customer service of disgruntled passengers. Very reliable and determined to please.
I’ll be the first to admit that everything doesn’t always go the way expected but there are times when credit is due. We were on the Norwegian Jade on the 8th of October 2023 and two days away from one of our stops in Israel when fighting broke out. It was obvious that the staff, both on the ship and in head office were working day and night to find alternate ports for us to stop at safely. I don’t know when you travelled but it is common sense that: 1. They had to deal with the ships at sea first then those closet to departure date 2. The shipping line can’t just decide to dock at any port, they have to obtain port authority first 3. They have to compete for docking rights with all other lines that were in the same situation, including cargo ships.
Whoa! Easy there. After 24-years of cruising I understand what cruise lines have to deal with. The subject of the video was "NEVER BOOK A NORWEGIAN CRUISE!" I was just commenting on our recent experiences with NCL during our 47-days. We also cruised with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean multiple times in 2023. Our experiences with NCL's customer service (all service in general) was not on par with Celebrity/RCCL. Your experiences might have been different, if so, good for you.
@@qwerty12350532 sorry but were you not the one who brought up Norwegian’s response to the issues arising from October 8 and what followed. I too have been cruising for over 20 years and have sailed with a number of cruise lines, most far more than I have cruised with Norwegian, so I don’t have particular loyalty but I do try to look at things objectively.
Okay, I'm not really sure what you are talking about. I wasn't addressing NCL's response to Oct 8th. I was simply sharing our experience with NCL's poor customer service and lack of communication with issues regarding our cruise in late Oct as well as the ones before and after - just re-read my OP...slowly! There is never an excuse for poor communication. Nothing you can say will change my experiences on NCL. Your restless defense of NCL is not needed.
The thing is, they’ll never change their practices if people keep booking and sailing with them. If everyone stopped booking today, I guarantee by next week these issues would be resolved.
The only issue with that is people don't know about these problems without doing some extra research. They see the pretty pictures, read some good reviews on the website and put down their money.
I would LOVE to stop booking my vacations with NCL. Problem I’ve had is that no other lines have offered the itinerary we want with the dates we need. For summer 2024 British Isles I wanted Princess but their dates don’t line up with our vacation time (2 weeks between summer camp and school). This is the 4th time that’s happened, where NCL was our only option. Previously Hawaii, Bermuda and Mediterranean. I am so frustrated because I really don’t care for their business practices. But once I choose them I make the best of it and it’s been good enough b/c my priority is the ports.
First item - when you booked a cruise, you signed a contrract which states that ports/itineraries can change. NEVER book a cruise and get your heart set on a particular itineray - it can change with litttle to no notice. Obviously, in this case the communication from NCL was poor and definitely could have been improved. The second item seems to be a fairly open and shut case. There's a cancelation policy, it's writtne down. You start making exceptions and where does it end? OK, this person unfortunately passed away. What if they were simply in the hospital critically ill? Does that warrant an exception? They had COVID? That? They stubbed their toe? Where exactly does it end?
I was on the NCL Pearl in October 2023 & was extremely disappointed. The service, entertainment & food quality reduction were palpable. We had a club suite & the bed was horribly uncomfortable. I felt like the cruise was geared towards drinking & gambling. I don't participate in either. I did fill out a post cruise survey and......crickets! Nothing. Absolutely no response. I will not sail on them again!!!!
I LOVE Norwegian. Ships have to be 100% ready to cruise to Antartica otherwise why risk it? Just enjoy (almost) wherever you go and have a good time. Life's too short.
Large occupancy ships can only cruise Antarctica. They are not allowed to tender folks to the continent. I think the ship passengers have to be less than 500 or so to allow shore excursions on the continent.
Sorry, but all cruise lines have done this. Just have to read their foums on places like Cruise Critic. While this is a crappy situation, it wont keep me from cruising NCL again, just like it's never kept us sailing on other lines.
We have been on NCL seven times. They were charters (Music cruise) and never had a problem. We are booked on NCL for Alaska for July. Fingers crossed that there are no issues. And - just my opinion - a ‘go slow’ order sounds like there’s a serious mechanical problem onboard and the ship/line does not want to admit it and/or panic any cruisers. Just my opinion.
I met you on the vloggers cruise last year. It was my second and LAST NCL cruise. If it wasn’t for the vloggers it was the the most boring cruise ever. That’s not the reason why I’ll never sail with them again though. Their poor customer service and snotty guest service desk people is why they don’t have to worry about me again.
I’ve only done 17 cruises, but my 4 on NCL were at the top of the list for food and entertainment. I love the new Prima class, which I know is a controversial opinion. I was one and done with Oasis class on RC. Why would you work so hard to hide the fact you’re a cruise ship? At least that was the vibe I got. I’ve never had any issues on an NCL cruise, but it does sound like change in management was not for the better. I feel sorry for the people trying to get a refund, but no insurance is on them. I gambled with no insurance when I was young and healthy, but once I hit a certain age, insurance was a must! Also, NCL is not the right choice for Antartica. Do your research people, you want an expedition ship.
We’re so happy to hear about your positive experiences! That’s always great to hear. We also know the Oasis Class isn’t for everyone, that’s why it’s so wonderful there are so many different types of ships out there!
Thank you for posting this, Norwegian is the worst! Only care about money but doesn’t deliver! On the worst disembarking of any cruise line, there was poop and sewage smell yet no apologies!! Have pics of you would like to see!
Honestly…it does say in the cruise contract that the cruise line has the right to change anything within that sailing!! Unfortunately I know it’s fine print and not everyone reads the contract no matter what line you are sailing with….you’re just excited for your vacation!! I’m NOT loyal to any one line and I’ve sailed NCL, NCL Haven, Disney, Royal and I don’t know if it’s just my bad luck but I’ve very rarely have gone on ANY of these cruise lines without something happening!! lol Whether it be weather, missing ports due to weather, passenger overboard, somebody has passed away, very rough seas, medical emergency’s onboard medevac (thank god not me).…I’ve had it ALL…BUT even though it wasn’t perfect…I was on vacation and I made the BEST out of the situation and had a fantastic cruise!! You CAN’T control what’s NOT in YOUR control!! Sail on cruisers…go out there and relax and enjoy your hard earned vacation!! 🛳
wow you need to read contract all the way and all cruise lines have that in there contract maybe people need to go on tube in search bar and put cruises you will learn a lot i do for every cruises
We went on a 100 passenger vessel. Antarctica has strict rules as to how many people can step foot on the continent within a set number of km. More time on continent means much smaller vessels.
To actually set foot on the Continent is has to be on an expedition ship. There are a ton of treaty rules: No more than 500 passengers; only 100 ashore at a time .... I went with Hurtigruden in 2018 and it was an amazing experience. But like you said. Main stream cruise ships just glide by slowly and you can "see" the continent.
i sailed NCL Star in Jan 2024 and it was fantastic cruise to antartica. if you sail below the 60th parallel you were in Antartic Territory. i only paid $960 for 14 day cruise instead of $14,000, its like going to space or the moon, did you step on the moon...no then you can say you were in space...space x will take you just inside of Space and then bring you back for 500k. i will pass, just like the expedition ships. it would be even more fun but i read that lady saying the ship rolled back and forth through the drake passage and she got sea sick...even though she never did on a big cruise liner. im good.
Good grief. You’re supposed to be a reputable cruise reviewer. No one ever said passengers would be able to step foot onto Antarctica. More like a “sail by” and your hyperbole and hype really disappoints me. You know better. But, I guess it gets you clicks.
The Antarctic cruise didn't go to Antarctica?! Unacceptable. It's not like a Caribbean cruise where missing or swapping a stop is no big deal. Antarctica is on my bucket list and now I know I can't book one with NCL because I may well not actually get there. For me, cruising is primarily about the destinations. I like ncl but now know I have to take the itinerary as a guide only, which pretty much eliminates them from my list of lines I'll sail with.
it was never actually supposed to go to the mainland... the mainstream cruise lines don't do that because the ships are simply too large. You have to book on one of the expedition ships if you want to actually reach the continent.
Just illustrates different strokes for different folks. I’m from Australia and cruising the Caribbean and the British West Indies is a bigger deal for me than going to Antartic waters on a cruise ship, it’s the same as saying you went to Alaska but didn’t step off the boat. I’m booked on a Caribbean cruise for next year.
Our only Norwegian cruise was the Pride of America in Hawaii. We had multiple issues occur among our group of 9 and basically they had really poor customer service. I would recommend that particular cruise only due to the amount of time you get in port in HI but otherwise it was not for us.
Our only cruise with NCL was also on The Pride of America & it was the worst cruise we've ever taken. Hawaii was great but the actual cruise was awful. Weve sailed with Carnival, MSC, Royal, & Holland America & they were all good. NCL will never get our cruise dollars again for sure!
I live in Hawaii and can see the ship come in and out of Hilo Bay. I’ve overheard in stores so many negative things. It’s impossible to get the real spirit of Aloha on these short stays.
NCL has always had an abysmal customer service record. They are very polarizing. You will either love them or not want to sail with them again. You would hope they can pull it together, but I don't think they will. 😢😢😢
I am sorry for those impacted …. And so sorry for the loss of the family’s loved one. It would be a wonderful gesture if Norwegian would refund their cruise, or give the family a future cruise.. I have had excellent experiences with NCL. Probably my favorite cruise line- I am really disappointed to hear their customer service has been so poor. The ship experiences have been wonderful… we love The Escape and The Epic… top notch staff, food and shows! It sounds like the customer service on land needs to kick it up a notch … I’m really sorry for those impacted negatively… Hopefully, Norwegian will change their mind and give them a refund.❤️🙏🏼❤️
If you are missing a cruise on their loyalty program too bad for you. It’s your responsibility to tell them within 12 months. I had the cruise cards and print out of the cruises ( I just keep them to compare prices) but they said so sorry too bad. We had taken two cruise’s with them before our 3 rd and last cruise I will ever take with them. My husband had credit for one cruise and I had credit for the other. We were not solo cruisers. The government needs them to break down the taxes and port fees which they don’t return to you if you miss a port. If you complain on the ship they may give you cruise credit. We missed two ports and was given 25.00 per person but my total port and taxes was 369.00 per person.
I think NCL pads the cruise taxes by adding the words 'and fees' whatever they are! Compare their port taxes to othe cruiselines going to same or similar ports.
Classic bait and switch, so how much did they make per person on that cruise (how many on board) by charging port charges at a high rate and refunding at a low rate? I’d say, from what I’ve looked into, the company is in financial trouble.
I've only been on the NCL Prima and while the ship is beautiful, we were ultimately disappointed with them. The lack of being allowed to bring drinks (soda or energy drinks) aboard, the nickel and dime attitude they give to many onboard features, the set dining menu for main dining that never changes, the small venues, the small pools and hot tubs that close as the sun sets. It was just overall disappointing.
Just trying to be fair here I don't believe there's a cruise line in existence That will allow you to bring your own Soda and drinks on the ship Like I said I just trying to be fair here
And Carnival allows you to bring one bottle of wine each in your carryon. In European ports Carnival allows you to pick up a bottle of wine here and there too.
Many of the ports do not let you take any water bottles/drinks through the scanners. I used to bring my own water bottles on board but that has all changed in the last few years.
The thing with the Antarctica cruise and the go slow order is that Norwegian knew about the go slow order last year when it was ordered that any cruise lines going to that area must reduce speed to protect sea life. Yet NCL allegedly waited until it was time for the cruise to announce change of cruise itinerary.
@@chrisbernier3889 Actually I do. The IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators) announced regulations for certain areas like near the South Shetland Islands after studies showed that there are increased whale populations. A few years ago(2021) they put in speed restrictions to protect the whales and in 2023 regulations were also announced for this cruise season. I don't think I can post a link but if you google IAATO speed regulations you will easily see articles and studies. Polar Journal reported in Oct 2023 of this season's speed restrictions for cruise vessels. Norwegian is a member of IAATO so would absolutely have known this when the regulations came about. I try to never make statements if I don't have the facts.
These are not the way you want to run a company with good customer service. We are going in a month on NCL and have been notified of an itinerary change. Not super happy about it!
Once again, a very fair and reasonable video, thank you! We are big Norwegian fans and have not had a reason to find fault . That said, the cruise to the Antarctica should result in some compensation. The other cases are sad, but we all can choose, or not to have travel insurance. If a company starts making exceptions, everyone will line up.
I am not a fan of NCL even though I keep booking on them because their dates and itineraries line up with my needs. I agree with you completely though about the unfortunate fatality. That really is what insurance is for. In the other hand, if the family had wanted to swap out that guest with a replacement guest that should have been allowed by NCL. (But such a scenario wasn’t part of the story - I’m just pointing out the limitation I’ll place on my support for NCL on this because I wouldn’t put it past them to refuse such a request also.)
You are spot on! As a travel advisor, I 100% agree!! Love their shows (probably the best at sea), I enjoy their specialty dining, but their lack of customer service onboard and pre and post cruise is a deal breaker. They also don't communicate at all when a hurricane is pending at an embarkation port leaving TA's with the decision to have their guests proceed to the port or not. They stay silent when other cruise lines are updating their cruisers constantly. The onboard experience with customer service always seems to be "that's not my job", but they never tell you who it is you need to speak to. I only book them with disclaimers that "it's great when its great, but if something goes wrong, you are out of luck". Their "free air" is another subject that is miscommunicated and a nightmare. I haven't blacklisted them yet, but they're never my first (or 2nd or 3rd) choice. It's a shame, because as you said, their entertainment is really, really good. Their specialty dining has some nice options and the Haven is amazing. Thanks for covering this! (p.s. I will bet the guests paid premium prices for Antartica as opposed to another itinerary, so the cruisers should be getting a hefty refund, but I'll bet they won't -- because cruise lines aren't obligated to reimburse for a missed port... but it would be the right thing to do).
We sailed on them 3-4 times and (it's been years so this is not current info but seems nothing has changed) a couple they were in the midst of dealing with a lot of customer service issues. Fortunately, when we went on the Sky a lot had been handled because people got a hold of corporate private phone numbers and were slamming them with complaints, to the point upper management finally went on the ship to see for themselves. Next was the Epic, in its first year. Really bad service, we just went to the dining room and did the best we could. I watched as one head waiter, started in on a staff member, told him if he did that again he was out. Now that's great that she was trying to improve the guest experience, but she did it right at the front desk........ Opps! That was a trip we sailed with a group. NCL has beautiful ships and they have done a lot of things that have moved the industry further along. There are some major problems tho, airfare bookings to meet ships is a huge one. This Antarctica is another blunder.
I was on NCL Gem, transatlantic from Rome in December of 2023. Great cruise but they decided that they wanted to arrive in NYC early and lied and said it was due to bad weather in Bermuda so we skipped Bermuda. We arrived 2 days early and allowed to stay on board for the full duration of the remainder of the cruise. I decided to disembark a day early and i informed them of this 2 day prior. They did not let us know until 10:30pm the night before that if we wanted to leave the ship early we would have to go through immigration at 5:30am and leave the ship. I changed my flight and it was not until 6pm at night so I would have to wait 12 hours for my flight. I told them that I wished they would have let us know about the early immigration. They never aplogized or seemed concerned about our plight and they were not helpful with timely information.
I was on that cruise as well-they never let us know what we were doing until we left Sao Miguel-and the captain had a question and answer session in the lounge and he gave the excuse that the storm was too bad,but only when he was up against the wall would be spit it out..I knew something was funny when the GPS map on our tv showed us veering away from the Bermuda route as soon as we left the Azores
Ive been to Bermuda via cruise ship 5 times in the past 10 years . The entrance to the Royal Dock Yard is extremely narrow and surrounded by reefs and corral shoals . In December 2023 on a transatlantic we were suppose to stop at Bermuda. Upon arrival there was a full blown gale with sustained winds of 40 knots. The ship approached Bermuda and there was a Royal Caribbean ship stopped at the entrance to the channel. The Prima circled the area for 2 hours before the Captain got on the PA and said it was to dangerous to attempt docking. As an amateur Sailor. I know if that huge ship got turned sideways the ship could easily be thrown up onto those coral / rock reefs and badly damaged. Both the Royal Caribbean and the Prima sailed away. Ill leave the ships operation to the experts, no need to ever try out the lifeboats because someone wants to visit the Bermuda pottery barn.
@@Cha-y412 sorry you missed Bermuda too..I was hoping to do some Christmas shopping there,but safety comes first..in past cruises stopping there I have docked in St.George's and Hamilton as well as the dockyard and with a ship as big as the Prima I dont blame them for bypassing the island after many attempts..we will continue to visit wont we? it's a beautiful island
@@TheVineyarder Its all good, as stated we have been to Bermuda 5 times since 2014 and the truth be known was the only thing I was going to do in the port was run over to a gift shop in the Royal Dock yard and buy a long sleeve T shirt I like and is only sold there. Our main thing was the 11 day transatlantic experiance from Spain to NYC which was perefectly fulfilled by NCL
Norwegian has always put saving their costs ahead of passenger comfort. I would never accept even a free cruise from them following several bad experiences during my one cruise with them. The crews are fine but their senior management only care about money in the short term.
Thank you so much for another honest and fair viewpoint. Agreed - Norwegian does so many things well, but poor customer service is fair warning for me to sail with another cruise line for now.
NCL has a history of nickel and dime charges after boarding. No refund for the cruise of the person who died....well, that's the purpose of travel insurance. The family declined to pay an extra couple of hundred dollars for protection, but now want to whine when the cruise line chooses to enforce policy. Sorry, but that's not the way it works. That's like not buying homeowner's insurance and then expecting a "go fund me" to replace your home. What would they have done if he became ill on the ship and had to be transferred to a hospital in another country (which most US health insurances won't cover) and ended up with a $50K bill? In contrast, my 80 year old friend's husband had the above situation on the first leg of a b2b cruise--my friend chose to sail the second leg alone as she could keep her "going home" plans. She has nothing but good to say about the way Royal treated her during the illness and the second leg, allowing her free internet to be in touch with her daughter, providing in room meals at no charge, etc. The other issues....there is no excuse for the lack of communication, and it certainly seems like a "bait and switch" situation. As other comments have noted, the decisions were supposedly corporate, made before the cruise began, and there were lies about notifications being sent to passengers in advance and provided at boarding. No excuse for this.
Norwegian has removed Antarctica entirely from their list of Port of calls/Destinations on their website. Falkland Islands is the closest you will get.
1 - When a slow go order is given to the ship, it might be an issue with the ship, so I'd think maybe the cruise should have been cancelled. 2- Always purchase travel insurance. 3- Leave the show if you don't like it. In all cases, maybe NCL should have a change in their guest services leadership. I always cruise with NCL and haven't had any bad experiences., except for other guests' unruly children, but you get that anywhere at any time. Entitled parents raising entitled kids.
I saw this and thought, "I wonder what's going on." I'm guessing the cruisers missed the email. But the cruise is now going to Admiralty Bay, Antarctica instead of Paradise Bay, Antarctica. The change is because they had to reduce speeds in Antarctic waters due to registration. I've looked at this cruise and knew if you wanted to go to Antarctica, you'd need to do an expedition cruise, as you NEVER actually get off the ship otherwise as it is friendly protected. Norwegian Cruise Line is my favorite cruise line, and itinerary changes are a part of cruising.
I worked in travel and unfortunately a lot of companies don't cover cancellation close to departure due to death, we always advised travel insurance, I always purchase travel insurance as soon as I book. It is really sad for people who this happens to.
I had an excursion with NCL that was titled Sunsey and Champagne cruise. It had neither Champagne nor did it see a sunset! It started in early afternoon in St Thomas and I kept watching for the crew to breakout the Champagne and they were seen mixing RUM PUNCH and dispersing it to the passengers. After the Sailboat had sailed around the harbor and enjoyed the sights it arrived back at the dock long before sunset! As a matter of fact the Escape 18FEB23 was in the process of departing when sunset started. To compensate us after much complaining NCL gave my brother and I less than the price we paid for the excursion in the form of a NONREFUNDABLE OBC! So to get that refund money we had to spend it only at certain venues on the ship. Many of the things we were told we could use it on were nit things we desired. I told staff at guest services that if someone gave you a refund with an elastic band on it so after you were given that "refund" it came right back to them, is that really a refund?
I have a cruise booked with NCL in August and had already pre booked my tours. I just discovered all the tours I booked have had changes made such as length of time, itinerary, meals and transport making some of them no longer worthwhile, all without telling me. 😬
I've never cruised Norwegian and while I may in the future, one of the main reasons I havent in the past, is that I've heard their customer service/communication in general is lousy. Have a friend who was on a trip many years ago, and there were numerous issues with the itinerary and there was such a lack of communication, she felt it overshadowed all the good things that happened on the trip. It's too bad, because it seems there's a lot of great things about the line. Their leadership (as you say) needs to do something to fix this!
Norwegian appears to care nothing for their passengers. Why would I want to risk my money with a company who views me only as a wallet they can extract money from? Other companies have a quality product and still take care of their guests.
We are platinum with NCL, but are probably finished with them. I refuse to be forced to make a reservation for the theatre. Whatever happened to "Freestyle"? The theatre on Breakaway and Getaway is tiny and really all the public areas are small. They did away with the large area at the bow in order to have more cabins. No "social distancing" on NCL. Syd Norman's Pourhouse will have 300 people in 50 seats!
I had a nightmarish of a time with a NCL cancelled cruise during covid time and the hassle they gave with those who opted for the refund vs credit. Eventually I received a refund but it after righting numerous emails, calls and reaching out to 3rd parties to resolve. That would have been my 1st cruise with them...quickly became my last.
One of your best videos, I think! Companies make policies so they can break them. It's a copout that NCL is not giving a refund due to the death of someone.
We are Australians and went on NCL Canary islands cruise that will be our last with them. They removed the 2 days in Morocco, the main reason we took the cruise, after we arrived in Portugal and cancelled Madeira the night before arrival then late into debarkation causing chaos onboard. Had other problems as well and wrote complaint that only got an apathetic callous reply. We have done 20 cruises mainly Celebrity, Azamara etc. Don't know how you can say you would cruise with NCL again and I am sure you want your clients to have a great time so suggest another company.
Thank you for sharing this! I have a 12 day Portugal to Barcelona cruise booked on NCL Sky for Nov 202 5 with 2 stops in Morocco and 3 Canary Islands. Obviously it’s a bucket list cruise for me. I really think I need to cancel and get my refundable deposit back. 😢
Aving looked at the many complaints about Noewegian Cruises i would consider cancelling your cruise but they won't make it easy to cancel. There are much better offers around so pick another company if available to you for a premium experience and not disappointment. We havve decided not to use them in future and thevway they are chasing money before the customer experience I believe they may have liquidity problems. Cheers
Never again on NCL. Platinum level on Latitudes. I have sailed in the Haven a couple of times, but after these events, done. Won’t give them a chance to screw me over.
Tks for sharing. We’re NCL fans for years, and the reason why we continue cruising on NCL. During our several trips, when we had faced any issues, including guest services onboard, the staff would respond promptly. There was once during dining, a staff went to our table to check whether the issue had been settled. Our recent cruise on NCL Jewel, our group were given complimentary cakes and wines to celebrate our birthdays and anniversaries.
I've only been on one cruise and it was NCL. My friends who I was with all have cruised before and they all said other cruise lines were better than NCL, for example Celebrity was mentioned being a better cruise line over NCL.
Yes, Celebrity has the best food and is more money. I haven’t been on NCL since 2005…the Dawn to Bermuda…best cruise I ever had! The captain had a large cocktail party and invited “all” the guests…some were average Joes , like me and my friend, not super rich or past cruisers…he was the most humble, kindness captain I ever met! I have been on many lines…and The Lord willing, in just 1 month…NCL to Bermuda…praying The Lord will allow for a blessed trip! The Lord bless you as well and those in your heart! ♥ ✝🐳🛳
Was on an NCL cruise a year ago that missed 2 ports and they refused to refund the port taxes. I disputed the charge with my credit card company and got the charge reversed. NCL plays hardball with their customers, the customers, unfortunately, have to do the same!
With NCL to just keep quiet is not a good situation. We live in Jacksonville, Florida and we're planning a cruise, but until they give a better guest experience we might not go. On a good note, we will finally get to go on the Carnival Mardi Gras on Halloween 2025. Thank you guys for all you do.
Pride comes before fall! Thanks, I was going to book a cruise with them for the Summer but I'm glad I watched this video. When companies get big they no longer care how you feel. You saved me a headache!
I agree with you on NCL. I am 5 points away from being a platinum guest. We took a 10 day cruise March 2022 on The Gem after my husband retired to celebrate. 2 weeks before they changed the itinerary from Turks to Puerto Rico and Dominican to Antigua. We have never been to Turks or Dominican but we’ve been to PR and Antigua. NO explanation. We were also supposed to go to St Thomas same cruise and said something was wrong with the ship it wasn’t going up to speed so it seems they use the same excuse on many cruises. I have one more cruise on NCL from a pre-cruise deposit I must take but I’m done. 2nd attempt to go to Turks this March 17th on Carnival. 🤞🤞🤞
The Antarctica cruise is a mess. Something is very wrong. NO advance warning can be explained if it was a last minute decision. However, the 2 days without explanation and never hearing from the Captain is strange. I was on an NCL cruise 3 months ago that had a fairly minor itinerary change, and the Capain was front and center explaining the situation. I am guessing there is a lot more to that story and I am very curious to hear what was actually going on.
I have totally avoided them from friends’ feedback. Customer Service is key for any business. They need to get a ton of negative feedback on the Antarctica. It truly is bait and switch.
Booked one NCL cruise. They changed the ship we booked for a smaller vessel. They changed itinerary mid cruise. The whole experience felt second class. I will stick with Royal.
Don T made a good point in his video today; the cruise line has discretion to alter the itinerary for a lot of reasons, but at some point, it could become false advertising and deceptive practices/fraud, if they continue to market a cruise as going to Antarctica and keep taking people’s money KNOWING FULL WELL that they weren’t going to go. Not sure that’s what happened here but there comes a point where the cruise line runs out of legal leeway. Having said that, I cruised on the Prima in January and had an excellent experience - exceeded expectations honestly - and will likely go again but on a standard itinerary. I would also be angry if this happened to me…
Lots of Cruise lines lately have changed cruise itineraries and only say "due to organisational issues" as happened to us with HAL.- never tell what the actual reasons are. RE deaths pre cruise - heartfelt condolences however it is well known that you need to take out travel insurance - we as here in Australia do as it is so far to travel- but the older you get the more costly it is which prevents taking some taking it out. Should be fully refundable for an event such as death of the passenger pre cruise. Re the comedienne - people should have talked with their feet and walked out if they were so offended. NCL cant be responsible for monitoring the comediennes show - and if no one has complained previously then what can they do. The people should have said something at the time to the comedienne.
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Travel insurance, people! Extremely important, not just for death situations, but seriously illness or damage to your home. My neighbors had to cancel their cruise due to major fire to their home which rendered it uninhabitable five days before their trip. They had travel insurance and everything non-refundable was covered by insurance.
Can you find one what insurance company they used
@@catistrolling7333There are only a few companies who do travel insurance. More important is what policy you buy from a company. Too many people buy trip insurance without understanding what it does and not does cover and are surprised when they need to file a claim.
Agreed though problems do come up with even that. On our first attempt to do a Hawaii, it was canceled due to COVID-19. We did not get our money back but Norwegian gave us credit on the next cruise. We canceled the hotel without a glitch but the airline simply refused saying that we could still go to Hawaii and as neither myself nor my wife had COVID-19 we could still use the tickets. Our trip insurance agreed with them. So we were out the cost of the tickets. Probably will not travel on American again.
They should have gotten travel insurance; it’s very important.
I have to wonder whether NCL sold that room to someone else once they received the notice that the customer had died. If so, then NCL should be compelled to refund at least part of the price they got for the resale.
I did 2 NCL cruises - one to Alaska and one to Caribbean and had a great time.
If you don't have travel insurance, why would you expect a refund? You knew the cancellation policy when you booked.
I had a similar situation with NCL. Travel insurance does not matter because the ship sailed. At least that's what I was told.
Its called good public relations. It would actually gain bookings by acting magnanimous as opposed to looking like a-holes and discouraging people from booking NCL.
@@TheCassandraProject-nuclearwar and then soon no one is buying insurance and demanding their money back for every reason.
@@vicki8042 I am not saying every reason, only in case of something extraordinary like death. Even with insurance, you can be be stuck as back in 2001 I was laid off from a new job and had to cancel my cruise. Insurance refused my claim as I had not been on my new job for a year...
On a personal note re you, you sound like a Republican, for only conservatives can be this callous...
@@TheCassandraProject-nuclearwar Actually, I agree with you. It's good policy, not to mention compassionate, and I'm MAGA all the way. So, your bigotry is stupid.
I’ve been on 16 Norwegian cruises. I have NEVER had a minute of a bad experience.
Have you cruised with other cruise lines? If yes, please name these companies. Thank you!
@@camilledextraze7104 Celebrity , Royal, holland
Same here. 5 NCL cruises and loved every minute of them. All great experiences
Apparently this is clickbait title. Third party issues but telling the world not to cruise with them. These sound more like one offs than general, persistent issues.
You're lucky. We've been cruising NCL for 20 years and everything has been a disaster post covid.
I love NCL. 7 cruises and every one has been fantastic.
It was absolutely a bait and switch. According to crew members the decision to reduce speed and not go to Antarctica was made by corporate as of Jan 31, and the title of the cruise and the two thereafter was changed and any reference to Antarctica removed as of that date. Clearly this happened days before the first cruise ever set sail. Then to lie about sending folks emails informing them in advance and giving them notice at the dock, is just insult to injury. They can do it and get away with it because the contracts give them free reign to do anything they want.
Personally I think there needs to be better regulations on cruise companies to prevent them from doing this type of stuff. They shouldn't be able to overbook, change itineraries unless unexpected weather related, etc. without appropriate compensation. Countries have taken a hardball approach with airlines and they need to do the same with cruise lines!
We agree with better regulations! The airline industry now has this - it would be great if the cruise line industry had something like that!
Unfortunately, cruise lines are foreign flagged and outside the scope of USA regulations like the airlines. You can’t even sue them unless they agree and they get to pick where the suit hearing will take place.
The Go Slow is a law that's been in place since 2021in that area to protect whale migration. Look it up. Also we just sailed with NCL last month and it was absolutely the best! Definitely will cruise with them again!
@@mindym4672 I wouldn't cruise with them SPECIFICALLY if they advertise Antarctica and don't go.......Those tickets are very expensive......$20,000 per person is quite common. I can cruiee around Sth America for $2000 per person........Was $18,000 returned to each passengers bank account? I doubt it........Sounds to me like you work for NCL........I must remember this when re-selling Super Bowl tickets online......Yes, the person might have paid me $10,000 for each ticket but I will just tell them there was a 'technicality' and drop them of at a Las Vegas college training game.......THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE SCENARIOS !. ( P.S. and no people I wouldn't really do that so don't call up the police on me).
Yes my son, you have your mouth full of thruth
NCL are within their legal right to refuse Antarctica cruise customers a refund, but their abominable lack of communication and their choice to provide no compensation make them a company I won’t do business with. Never Norwegian.
Agreed here - if you’re going to have a massive shake-up you need to at least provide clear communication!
Bait and switch or false advertising. Class action suit is something to look into.
@@jacquelinebernalmueller3673I agree
👍! I recently booked with them, and I'm already kind of regretting it.
Technically it's false advertising if they said it's Antarctica cruise and then don't go there or explain why
I had the same experience with Princess not replying to my complaint so NCL isn’t the only one!
Very true, other cruise lines can faulter on this as well.
Princess dropped Longyearbyen in 2022 without notification.
I've done 22 cruises with Princess. Everything that made Princess special has diminished into a consistent ersatz cruise experience. Customer service used to be great, but after Covid, it all changed in the front office. The crew still tries to make everything go, but the front office doesn't respond to anything.
Always have had great experiences with Norwegian, sailing again in May, love Norwegian, their food is much better than most, staff are wonderful, never had a bad experience, fingers crossed we don't. Always get insurance, never travel without getting it you never know what might happen before during the trip, lesson learned.
I love Norwegian. I hope they can fix their current issues. The problems seem to be originating with their head offices in Miami. It wasn't like this when Frank del Rio was in charge.
We have seen a lot of changes in the last couple of years as well.
Kevin O'Sheehan was the best and most effective CEO of NCL.
@@ohdiverdoc now Kevin is one of the owners of Margaritaville at Sea cruise line. I want to try that one out of Tampa.
Margaritaville !!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣and you are complaining about NCL?😅😅😅
Wrong, it was worse with Frank, jca he laid off 4oo land staff. Cancelled all the shows...thank God his gone
Customer service should be a top priority for any customer facing business. Don't bite the hand that feeds you 😬
We fully agree with this!
Why bother you can bite the hand that feeds you when there's plenty of new hands all the time.
@@waynebrady7439 Seems to be the mindset
@@waynebrady7439that is definitely the impression I got talking to guest services. And I am not a person who usually complains.
Well then there is ZERO reason to purchase travel cancellation insurance....
With a title like 'Never book a Norweigan Cruise', hopefully the right people at Norweigan will see this and take some notes! It all really boils down to how people feel their comments or complaints are ignored. If they just acknowledged the issue, and explained their position....I think a lot of people would be fine with it. It's being ignored that sets people off! You guys are always classy, and unbiased, and willing to hear all the opinions.....so hopefully Norweigan will listen, and at the very least, try and do better to acknowledge their customer base! I can't imagine they would think people would be loyal to their line after feeling ignored.
Thank you so much for this comment. We agree! NCL needs to accept the situations are real, acknowledge them, and communicate. Even if it’s not the outcome the customer wants- the willingness to listen and respond are worth so much! And the mind-blowing thing is that those actions are free to the cruise line!
NCL denied a won on or cruise her bags for her feeding tube a h d told her to throw them away, at $130 per bag! The poor lady spent the entire cruise without any nutrition at all.
Norwegian is not right for everyone, just as other cruise lines are not right for everyone. When you book a cruise, DO YOUR RESEARCH.
It has more to do with asshole passengers, wanting free stuff than the line
Norwegian’s handling of this major itinerary change is in sharp contrast with that of Viking. We were booked for a Viking cruise down the Amazon River from Manaus, Brazil and through the Caribbean to Puerto Rico last December. By mid-November, Viking concluded that the water level in the Amazon was too low to allow our ship to reach Manaus, so they changed the itinerary to visit the Caribbean only. They informed passengers promptly, were clear about the reason for the change, and offered them a generous onboard credit AND credit towards a future cruise in the amount of 30% of what they had paid. AND, while they didn’t offer it, they did allow us, at our request, to switch to a different sailing of the Amazon itinerary. Granted, Viking and NCL are in different categories of cruise line, but even allowing for that, the contrast is striking.
I was on the NCL breakaway 2 weeks ago and will not go back to NCL...cancelled shows, lack of excitement by crew and just overall, lacking in anything of interest..long lines for shows in small venues...and liquor that was so watered down as to be nonalcoholic..
Two weeks ago I was on the NCL Epic and the long lines and waiting was very frustrating. Also they seemed to center things so all cruisers were at the same spot at the same time. Transferring some events to other venues would have helped that.
In Dec of 22 the 10:08 Breakaway was an awesome experience.
Hopefully this is not a new trend for them. We made the best of things and enjoyed our vacation. My daughter and family will be on Breakaway in July so time will tell.
@@debbybrigham7095
I was on the Epic in March. I had been on the ship for cruises several times and all was well. This time was much different. Easily my worst cruise experience from low staffing, long lines for bar and restaurant service, changes to shore excursions with no notice, little to no deck servers etc. Time to try a different cruise line.
I am really surprised to hear this about NCL. I was aboard the NCL Pearl for a Caribbean sailing in 2018. It was my first ever cruise. We got an inside cabin and didn't do any specialty dining or drink or wifi packages. Our time (and money) went largely toward adventurous excursions. I still felt like we were treated like royalty! One of our excursions was canceled due to rain. We got of the boat and hung out at port before returning pretty early. The rain had cleared. One of the excursion staff members recognized us and offered us a different trip, instead. It ended up being our favorite excursion on the cruise. We honestly couldn't believe the level of customer service it took for that gentleman to recognize us and go out of his way to make sure we had a great time. We didn't have to go to the excursion desk or ask a staff member or anything.
That said, some of the problems you've mentioned here are significant. The Antarctica trip sounds like a complete bait and switch. If you sell people a trip to Antarctica, Hawaii, Alaska, or what have you, then you'd darn well better go there. Minor itinerary changes due to weather or global events are understandable. Completely missing the main reason someone would book that cruise is a different matter altogether. Refunding the family with an unexpected death is also the decent thing to do - or, at the very least, allowing them to change their booking to a later date. Some things may be technically legal, but they're not right - and everyone knows it. If NCL sees travel bloggers/agents like you advising folks against them, maybe they'll improve their corporate customer service. Their onboard customer service, at least in my experience, was amazing.
Regarding death of family member, I agree with NCL.
I have always bought travel insurance to protect my cruise purchase because it is too expensive to lose the money.
Buy travel insurance folks in case an emergency happens!
also get the cancel for anything in the coverage. read the fine print on everything.
We have been on 50+ cruises, including 3 or 4 on Norwegian. The ships and food weren’t for us. We now sail primarily on Celebrity. On a recent sailing on the Beyond, the Assistant Maitre’d asked us about our meal. We said everything was fine except for the prime rib. The next morning we received an apology note and 6 chocolate covered strawberries. Classy! BTW, we ordered the prime rib later on our 11 night cruise and it was delicious.
That’s why we love Celebrity! They typically go above and beyond!
Prime rib is one of our favourite meals on Celebrity. I have never had a bad one so yours must have been an exception. They give you a huge portion and they are so tender you don’t even need a knife to cut them
Me too. Celebrity all the way. I'm not into buying Starbucks on board a cruise.
@@mereniecrosby7120 Love Cafe el Bacio on Celebrity for coffee and tea (and cakes, cookies and pastries).
you need to look at price point celebrity is way out of the normal people only those with lot's of money do them
My only NCL experience was an evacuation cruise from St Thomas after Irma blew the island apart. It was a slow moving trip to Miami full of dogs and cats in the buffet area and high school lunchroom quality food. BUT it was free and they took us to the mainland out of the kindness of upper management. I wish they had gotten more good PR out of that.
What they’re up to now doesn’t sound like the same people !!
I have sailed NCL once in 1999. I booked a helicopter excursion through them that was labeled " Volcanos and Waterfalls" for almost $400 per person back then. After flying over the volcano we returned to the airfield. I asked the pilot what about the waterfalls? He seemed genuinely confused. When I explained to him what we had purchased he said his company had not offered that excursion for over 10 years. Norwegian sold us on an excursion that had not been available for over 10 years. You know they knew that. I wrote letters to everyone. No response. I protest with my feet and we were one and done. We've never sailed NCL since.
Why don’t both excursions with the ship 101
Last summer I was on an excursion in Iceland where the final destination was skipped. The tour guide explained that tour never included the missed destination. I visited guest services, and politely explained that at the very least the write-up for the tour should be correct. They said they would see what could be done. I was please to find out that we were issued an $80 credit for our experience. No judgement here, just relaying my experience.
@@knuckles2587 Your comment makes no sense.
You should have been refunded $200 back. That's crazy! Go to Yellowstone in person~you can see beautiful waterfalls & even geysers in multiple areas.
I bet if you did your research and just with all cruise lines, you would find out that it’s not just Norwegion believe me not everybody speaks out about stuff! But like I said, if you did your research, you would find out a lot more and I’ll probably a lot worse than what these cases have been! My thing is so what if you don’t purchase the insurance how many trillions of dollars is spent on the insurance and how much is actually used? It’s not like the cruise lines are losing any money they probably make more money off the insurance than they do the people buying the cruise.
As NCL platinim+ cruisers, we left. They have crossed the line in so many ways in the past 2 years.
We’re sorry to hear you had to leave homebase, but hopefully you’ve landed on another line that works better for you!
yes, my friend is platinum too and feels that for all her loyalty to them, they treat her like garbage! we've had several issues with them.
That's what I've been saying! Everyone is so defensive without knowing details of our experiences post covid. NCL has changed significantly in the last 20 years.
We have done 32 cruises with NCL. We loved them, but we had an issue with an Alaska cruise we took with them, also not to mention we brought on 12 other people I tried to talk to NCL about the problem but they didn't want to hear so it's been over a year that we left them now we have been on 7 cruises with other companies since we were Platinum plus almost diamond we walk away to bad NCL you lost loyal customers!
It’s sad to hear when things like this happen. We are sorry to hear about the issues on your Alaska cruise!
money talks
We did Alaska on Princess and had such a great time my wife and I became hooked on cruising (soon to start our 6th cruise). But it was about 16 years ago and have heard Princess has gone down since then.
It's really sad when Cruiseships get like this. NCL doesn't seem to care about people that have bad experiences, they know there are others that just don't give a damn and will fill their void. I'm hoping that at some point they figure it out, because it truly is a great line.
We have sailed with NCL exclusively for over 30 years, always with travel insurance. Never a complaint for service, food, etc. We love NCL!
Thank you, they are a great cruise line
As a TA, I need to hear things like this. My clients in 2023 had great experiences. I went in 2023 and had a mediocre experience. We sat in the Hudson for 3 days because of a hurricane coming but other lines continued. The same thing happened the next two cruises.
As far as customer service, I have dealt with them many times. I had to finally get my district manager involved to solve one problem.
Will I sail with them again? Probably not. Do I still sell them? Yes, if requested. Do I think they dealt with the death appropriately? Absolutely not. But it will cost them.
The comedian is hired to be funny. I found the ones on our cruise picked on people and it was hilarious. So people need to grow up or stay out.
Thank you for sharing this! Yes - as travel agents it’s important for customers and clients to know that the onboard experience can be great, it it says a lot about leadership’s actions in handling post-cruising experience. NCL unfortunately has the worst post-cruise follow-up, in our options Disney Cruise Like has the BEST.
@@JJCruise I sure wouldnt doubt the reviews. We had the biggest cluster at disembarkation for those using NCL transfers. People sent to the wrong airports, people cussing, and it goes on. I actually documented to my district manager but never heard back. There were lots of angry people. Sometimes people have valid complaints. For our 3 days in the Hudson, we got $100 onboard credit but the shops and casinos were closed so it was kind of useless especially if you already had the drink package. Also a 10% FFC for 2024. I doubt many used it.
Yes, the comedian is hired to be funny, not to sexually harrass people. If you think thats funny that says a lot about you.
Yeah if the comedian had made fun of your face or body or your kids or where you were from I doubt you would have laughed. What I don’t get is why a comedian has to do that. Of all the subject matter one has, why would they drop to that level?
If they sit in the ocean and skip ports, then the passengers should receive port fee reimbursement!
As a former service manager for a large truck dealership I can assure one thing, ignoring a problem (such as the captains silence) won't make the problem go away, it will only make it fester. Just knowing how they handle customer service issues would make me hesitate to book NCL if there are other cruise lines with similar itineraries for my destination. Hopefully you guys will be doing a group cruise later in 2024 as I would love to join in.
Agree.
We’re on the Antarctica cruise that leave next Sunday. We got an email 2 weeks ago that the itinerary changed. We still going to Antarctica, but all in 1 day. And we’re not going to cruising paradise bay, who is in the mainland, but admittedly bay, who is on an island by Antarctica and also cruising along elephant island, what was in the planning. Of course we are disappointed but we do this cruise for the whole adventure. When I booked this cruise 2 years ago, I was not sure which part we would see of Antarctica. And we knew that we not set foot on this continent. Then you have to take the very expensive expedition ship cruises out of Ushuaia.
The disappointment is that there was no explanation in the mail we got.
But we’re looking forward to this cruise. It’s our second with NCL, so we’ll see.
i was on the NCL Star in Jan 2024 to Antartica and they delivered everything they could except Punta Arenas, Chile as it was a tender port and the winds were too high for the safety of getting passengers to and from the dock. bummer but honestly 50% of all the cruise i have taken (30 in total) have resulted in some issue either Weather, Mechanical or Passenger related. i missed Jamaica once due to a passenger who needed medical services related to life or death and the ship veered off course to allow a Coast Guard Helicopter to take the passenger to Mainland USA. i was bummed but NCL is all about providing you with the Adventure of a lifetime...but things happen.... if crossing the Drake passage takes too long and the cruising speed is ? this might effect the ship reaching the other destinations? all i can tell you is that NCL changed there itinerary for one reason and i think it was for passengers safety but it could have been because of time restraints and poor management? i can tell you that the ship was told by corporate who made the decision for the captain, so it appears to be serious situation and i think mechanical issue as the cruising in Paradise Bay is very narrow and a big ship without propulsion would be running into things or if they were having mechanical issue keeping there speed slow and controlled this could create a violation for NCL to the agreement in place. As for Norwegian regularly lie about cruises, they are slow to adjust all the advertised cruises once a situation occurs and they know it but they do not make the adjustments on the websites they sell tickets on. its wrong to do that. sometimes they are working to adjust itineraries due to weather, wars, riots etc... that happen from time to time. my best advice is do not overpay and you will not be super pissed when things go awry.
The Miami office changed the itinerary before the ship left dock. They didn't tell anyone. The passengers had to demand to be told what was going on and still didn't get the truth.@@carlrafferty7788
Even though I'm not personally affected, I am giving NCL a time out at least until there is an announcement along the lines of an apology, noteworthy compensation and and changes in their contracts and policies going forward.
I sailed NCL for the first time in 2023. My guest experience was bad enough I will never sail with them again. You are exactly right, they act like they care less about any problem.
I was about to buy some Norwegian shares at NYSE to get some on board credit, but now I have given up already. Thanks for the warning.
Thank you for watching, you’re very welcome.
This is insane. We left NCL and never been happier!
There’s a cruise line out there for everyone - it’s great when you find the one that is “home”.
Where did you go?
My first cruise ever was with NCL. It was a horrible experience. Charged for sodas when I had a soda package. Had to go to guest services every day of a five day sailing to to reverse incorrect charges. Found out NCL stands for No Customer Love.
Even though NCL has the right to change the itinerary, they're doing a dirty deal to these passengers. To cancel the main destination for their trip, then not compensate them is unacceptable.
Don't book a bucket list cruise or really, any cruise with NCL. They obviously don't care much about their customers.
Yes I had a problem with NCL on the Pride of America cruise in September, there entertainment was terrible. No big show just comedian , and old movie in the theater. I was very disappointed , the front desk could not tell why there was no big show entertainment.
The itinerary was never intended to stop or set foot on Antarctica
I was on the 1/29/23 cruise AND tfe 12/22/23 cruise on the NCL Star. Neither itinerary included STOPS ON Antarctica. The itineraries included sailing through the Antarctica seas at various islands. There was never an expectation to set foot on the mainland. Our 1st cruise missed 2 ports, including the Falklands. The most recent cruIse missed 1 port but we did make the Falklands - which was the highlight of the cruise and the main reason we returned. Itinerary changes happen. But there was never a plan to set foot on the mainland of Antarctica. You need to go on an expedition ship to do that!
And PS- I did contact NCL about a specific issue with a crew member. And I did get a followup response right away.
Thanks for sharing that important background. It doesn’t make me trust NCL but does make me more willing to consider there’s more to this particular “bait and switch” tale of woe. I’ve first hand seen the NCL frugality and trimming wherever they can to save themselves costs while delivering less than originally advertised port times just so they could save on fuel.
Norwegian removed the port that was our favourite on our cruise, Tortola, and said it was because of fuel efficiencies, yet the cruises currently running are going there! Is the price of fuel going up April 1st or what (that is the day we sail).
I feel bad for my Dad, his dream was to see the King Penguins and they had to skip the Falklands. It’s a once in a lifetime trip. They were on the ship which retuned 2/4.
i sailed the NCL star in Jan 7 thru 21st to Antartica and it was and is the best cruise destination i have ever seen. i have 30 cruises and over 340 days at sea, so i am not a newbie and i have seen alot of countries and islands. we missed Punta Arenas due to high winds and it was a tender port...no way the tenders were going to safely bring everyone back to the ship. we stopped and they dropped around 6 boats and it was not looking good. we did make the Tender port of Faulkands...yes the cruise before us did not due to weather... we were late leaving cause the tenders could not get everyone by 3pm back to ship...lol and we finally made it back before 430pm. all is good. I only paid $960 inside cabin by myself...thats right...one person rate...0 supplement... i booked it Nov 2023. If you want to step on Antartica it will costs you another $11,000 per person...i decided it was good enough to sail the Antartic Pennisula for 2 days thru Paradise Bay and Elephant Island. see you next year.
That was your cruise itinerary...
Norwegian’s lack of customer service is appalling. They have proven once again that they are not to be trusted. Do not let them have your money.
A simple refund to that family would have shown compassion that we need in this world today….and they would have future customers from that family after being kind. Wrong move NCL.
During the past 24 years we have enjoyed dozens of cruises with all of the major cruise lines, with the exception of Holland America (we are looking at a 35-day cruise with them in 2025 but we want to try a shorter one with HAL first), anyway, in 2023 we cruised a fair amount with NCL,
21-day Miami-Seattle, skipped one stop due to unrest in the country, broke down in Columbia and skipped another port due to the breakdown. We weren’t notified of the first itinerary change until onboard although the change was made prior to the start of the cruise.
10-day Istanbul to Rome - major itinerary changes due to the fighting in Israel. We didn’t learn what our modified itinerary would be until about 10-days before the cruise.
16-day Rome to NYC - itinerary changes due to bad weather. Ran out of some types of food due to not being able to pick up supplies.
NCL customer service could have handled things a lot smoother - NCL does not communicate well with their guests.
When you cruise as much as we have you come to expect issues to arise from time to time. Communication is important to us.
As far as cruise lines making exceptions to their rules (as stated in the cruise contract) I do not have much pity for people. We have an annual policy that protects all of our travel, land, sea, and air - not just cruising.
Bottom line: Cruising isn’t what it once was. Still a great value for your vacation dollars but not the same!
My HAL experiences have been much better than NCL. They were forthcoming with information and responses to any small problems. We were very pleased with the music venues and the service in general. Never a long line at customer service of disgruntled passengers. Very reliable and determined to please.
I’ll be the first to admit that everything doesn’t always go the way expected but there are times when credit is due. We were on the Norwegian Jade on the 8th of October 2023 and two days away from one of our stops in Israel when fighting broke out. It was obvious that the staff, both on the ship and in head office were working day and night to find alternate ports for us to stop at safely. I don’t know when you travelled but it is common sense that: 1. They had to deal with the ships at sea first then those closet to departure date 2. The shipping line can’t just decide to dock at any port, they have to obtain port authority first 3. They have to compete for docking rights with all other lines that were in the same situation, including cargo ships.
Whoa! Easy there. After 24-years of cruising I understand what cruise lines have to deal with. The subject of the video was "NEVER BOOK A NORWEGIAN CRUISE!" I was just commenting on our recent experiences with NCL during our 47-days. We also cruised with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean multiple times in 2023. Our experiences with NCL's customer service (all service in general) was not on par with Celebrity/RCCL. Your experiences might have been different, if so, good for you.
@@qwerty12350532 sorry but were you not the one who brought up Norwegian’s response to the issues arising from October 8 and what followed. I too have been cruising for over 20 years and have sailed with a number of cruise lines, most far more than I have cruised with Norwegian, so I don’t have particular loyalty but I do try to look at things objectively.
Okay, I'm not really sure what you are talking about. I wasn't addressing NCL's response to Oct 8th. I was simply sharing our experience with NCL's poor customer service and lack of communication with issues regarding our cruise in late Oct as well as the ones before and after - just re-read my OP...slowly! There is never an excuse for poor communication. Nothing you can say will change my experiences on NCL. Your restless defense of NCL is not needed.
The thing is, they’ll never change their practices if people keep booking and sailing with them. If everyone stopped booking today, I guarantee by next week these issues would be resolved.
The only issue with that is people don't know about these problems without doing some extra research. They see the pretty pictures, read some good reviews on the website and put down their money.
I would LOVE to stop booking my vacations with NCL. Problem I’ve had is that no other lines have offered the itinerary we want with the dates we need. For summer 2024 British Isles I wanted Princess but their dates don’t line up with our vacation time (2 weeks between summer camp and school). This is the 4th time that’s happened, where NCL was our only option. Previously Hawaii, Bermuda and Mediterranean. I am so frustrated because I really don’t care for their business practices. But once I choose them I make the best of it and it’s been good enough b/c my priority is the ports.
We always purchase insurance.
First item - when you booked a cruise, you signed a contrract which states that ports/itineraries can change. NEVER book a cruise and get your heart set on a particular itineray - it can change with litttle to no notice. Obviously, in this case the communication from NCL was poor and definitely could have been improved. The second item seems to be a fairly open and shut case. There's a cancelation policy, it's writtne down. You start making exceptions and where does it end? OK, this person unfortunately passed away. What if they were simply in the hospital critically ill? Does that warrant an exception? They had COVID? That? They stubbed their toe? Where exactly does it end?
I was on the NCL Pearl in October 2023 & was extremely disappointed. The service, entertainment & food quality reduction were palpable. We had a club suite & the bed was horribly uncomfortable. I felt like the cruise was geared towards drinking & gambling. I don't participate in either. I did fill out a post cruise survey and......crickets! Nothing. Absolutely no response. I will not sail on them again!!!!
I never sail old ships.....customer service and amenities are usually poor.
Same here
I just got off the Pearl a few days ago and enjoyed every moment.
I LOVE Norwegian. Ships have to be 100% ready to cruise to Antartica otherwise why risk it? Just enjoy (almost) wherever you go and have a good time. Life's too short.
Large occupancy ships can only cruise Antarctica. They are not allowed to tender folks to the continent. I think the ship passengers have to be less than 500 or so to allow shore excursions on the continent.
Sorry, but all cruise lines have done this. Just have to read their foums on places like Cruise Critic. While this is a crappy situation, it wont keep me from cruising NCL again, just like it's never kept us sailing on other lines.
I agree!
We have been on NCL seven times. They were charters (Music cruise) and never had a problem. We are booked on NCL for Alaska for July. Fingers crossed that there are no issues.
And - just my opinion - a ‘go slow’ order sounds like there’s a serious mechanical problem onboard and the ship/line does not want to admit it and/or panic any cruisers. Just my opinion.
I met you on the vloggers cruise last year. It was my second and LAST NCL cruise. If it wasn’t for the vloggers it was the the most boring cruise ever. That’s not the reason why I’ll never sail with them again though. Their poor customer service and snotty guest service desk people is why they don’t have to worry about me again.
I’ve only done 17 cruises, but my 4 on NCL were at the top of the list for food and entertainment. I love the new Prima class, which I know is a controversial opinion. I was one and done with Oasis class on RC. Why would you work so hard to hide the fact you’re a cruise ship? At least that was the vibe I got. I’ve never had any issues on an NCL cruise, but it does sound like change in management was not for the better. I feel sorry for the people trying to get a refund, but no insurance is on them. I gambled with no insurance when I was young and healthy, but once I hit a certain age, insurance was a must! Also, NCL is not the right choice for Antartica. Do your research people, you want an expedition ship.
We’re so happy to hear about your positive experiences! That’s always great to hear. We also know the Oasis Class isn’t for everyone, that’s why it’s so wonderful there are so many different types of ships out there!
Had been thinking about a NCL cruise-not now!
Thank you for posting this, Norwegian is the worst! Only care about money but doesn’t deliver! On the worst disembarking of any cruise line, there was poop and sewage smell yet no apologies!! Have pics of you would like to see!
Oh my goodness! That sounds horrific!
Never again NCL. My worst trip has been with this company.
Honestly…it does say in the cruise contract that the cruise line has the right to change anything within that sailing!! Unfortunately I know it’s fine print and not everyone reads the contract no matter what line you are sailing with….you’re just excited for your vacation!! I’m NOT loyal to any one line and I’ve sailed NCL, NCL Haven, Disney, Royal and I don’t know if it’s just my bad luck but I’ve very rarely have gone on ANY of these cruise lines without something happening!! lol Whether it be weather, missing ports due to weather, passenger overboard, somebody has passed away, very rough seas, medical emergency’s onboard medevac (thank god not me).…I’ve had it ALL…BUT even though it wasn’t perfect…I was on vacation and I made the BEST out of the situation and had a fantastic cruise!! You CAN’T control what’s NOT in YOUR control!! Sail on cruisers…go out there and relax and enjoy your hard earned vacation!! 🛳
Great reminders here, and you are right! Anytime you travel you have to roll with it and enjoy! You are on vacation after all!
wow you need to read contract all the way and all cruise lines have that in there contract maybe people need to go on tube in search bar and put cruises you will learn a lot i do for every cruises
exactly. and anyone who agrees to those all downside terms and conditions, deserves the near guaranteed problems. no thanks. never.
Mainstream ships only sail by Antarctica. If you want to actually go to Antarctic, you have to book an expedition cruise.
Great reminder!
We went on a 100 passenger vessel. Antarctica has strict rules as to how many people can step foot on the continent within a set number of km. More time on continent means much smaller vessels.
To actually set foot on the Continent is has to be on an expedition ship. There are a ton of treaty rules: No more than 500 passengers; only 100 ashore at a time .... I went with Hurtigruden in 2018 and it was an amazing experience. But like you said. Main stream cruise ships just glide by slowly and you can "see" the continent.
i sailed NCL Star in Jan 2024 and it was fantastic cruise to antartica. if you sail below the 60th parallel you were in Antartic Territory. i only paid $960 for 14 day cruise instead of $14,000, its like going to space or the moon, did you step on the moon...no then you can say you were in space...space x will take you just inside of Space and then bring you back for 500k. i will pass, just like the expedition ships. it would be even more fun but i read that lady saying the ship rolled back and forth through the drake passage and she got sea sick...even though she never did on a big cruise liner. im good.
Good grief. You’re supposed to be a reputable cruise reviewer. No one ever said passengers would be able to step foot onto Antarctica. More like a “sail by” and your hyperbole and hype really disappoints me. You know better. But, I guess it gets you clicks.
The Antarctic cruise didn't go to Antarctica?! Unacceptable. It's not like a Caribbean cruise where missing or swapping a stop is no big deal. Antarctica is on my bucket list and now I know I can't book one with NCL because I may well not actually get there. For me, cruising is primarily about the destinations. I like ncl but now know I have to take the itinerary as a guide only, which pretty much eliminates them from my list of lines I'll sail with.
note: the ship is going to spend 2 days in Antarctica, just not the mainland.
it was never actually supposed to go to the mainland... the mainstream cruise lines don't do that because the ships are simply too large. You have to book on one of the expedition ships if you want to actually reach the continent.
Just illustrates different strokes for different folks. I’m from Australia and cruising the Caribbean and the British West Indies is a bigger deal for me than going to Antartic waters on a cruise ship, it’s the same as saying you went to Alaska but didn’t step off the boat. I’m booked on a Caribbean cruise for next year.
Our only Norwegian cruise was the Pride of America in Hawaii. We had multiple issues occur among our group of 9 and basically they had really poor customer service. I would recommend that particular cruise only due to the amount of time you get in port in HI but otherwise it was not for us.
We’re sorry to hear you had issues! That is always so frustrating, and we know that is not a cheap cruise!
Our only cruise with NCL was also on The Pride of America & it was the worst cruise we've ever taken. Hawaii was great but the actual cruise was awful. Weve sailed with Carnival, MSC, Royal, & Holland America & they were all good. NCL will never get our cruise dollars again for sure!
I live in Hawaii and can see the ship come in and out of Hilo Bay. I’ve overheard in stores so many negative things. It’s impossible to get the real spirit of Aloha on these short stays.
That sailing gets mixed reviews but most are pretty bad. Seems to be a premium price for a subpar product.
NCL has always had an abysmal customer service record. They are very polarizing. You will either love them or not want to sail with them again. You would hope they can pull it together, but I don't think they will. 😢😢😢
I am sorry for those impacted …. And so sorry for the loss of the family’s loved one. It would be a wonderful gesture if Norwegian would refund their cruise, or give the family a future cruise.. I have had excellent experiences with NCL. Probably my favorite cruise line- I am really disappointed to hear their customer service has been so poor. The ship experiences have been wonderful… we love The Escape and The Epic… top notch staff, food and shows! It sounds like the customer service on land needs to kick it up a notch … I’m really sorry for those impacted negatively… Hopefully, Norwegian will change their mind and give them a refund.❤️🙏🏼❤️
If you are missing a cruise on their loyalty program too bad for you. It’s your responsibility to tell them within 12 months. I had the cruise cards and print out of the cruises ( I just keep them to compare prices) but they said so sorry too bad. We had taken two cruise’s with them before our 3 rd and last cruise I will ever take with them. My husband had credit for one cruise and I had credit for the other. We were not solo cruisers. The government needs them to break down the taxes and port fees which they don’t return to you if you miss a port. If you complain on the ship they may give you cruise credit. We missed two ports and was given 25.00 per person but my total port and taxes was 369.00 per person.
Oh wow! We’re so sorry to hear about this port experience!!
I think NCL pads the cruise taxes by adding the words 'and fees' whatever they are! Compare their port taxes to othe cruiselines going to same or similar ports.
Classic bait and switch, so how much did they make per person on that cruise (how many on board) by charging port charges at a high rate and refunding at a low rate? I’d say, from what I’ve looked into, the company is in financial trouble.
I took Norweign to Alaska. It was so horrible that was my last cruise with them. Now I need to go back to see what we missed.
I've only been on the NCL Prima and while the ship is beautiful, we were ultimately disappointed with them. The lack of being allowed to bring drinks (soda or energy drinks) aboard, the nickel and dime attitude they give to many onboard features, the set dining menu for main dining that never changes, the small venues, the small pools and hot tubs that close as the sun sets. It was just overall disappointing.
We’re so sorry to hear this. Thanks for sharing with us!
Just trying to be fair here I don't believe there's a cruise line in existence That will allow you to bring your own Soda and drinks on the ship Like I said I just trying to be fair here
@@flar5022 Carnival allows you to bring sparkling water, soda, energy drinks, juice and milk in cans or cartons.
And Carnival allows you to bring one bottle of wine each in your carryon. In European ports Carnival allows you to pick up a bottle of wine here and there too.
Many of the ports do not let you take any water bottles/drinks through the scanners. I used to bring my own water bottles on board but that has all changed in the last few years.
The thing with the Antarctica cruise and the go slow order is that Norwegian knew about the go slow order last year when it was ordered that any cruise lines going to that area must reduce speed to protect sea life. Yet NCL allegedly waited until it was time for the cruise to announce change of cruise itinerary.
Complete guess, you don't HAVE ANY FACTS
@@chrisbernier3889 Actually I do. The IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators) announced regulations for certain areas like near the South Shetland Islands after studies showed that there are increased whale populations. A few years ago(2021) they put in speed restrictions to protect the whales and in 2023 regulations were also announced for this cruise season. I don't think I can post a link but if you google IAATO speed regulations you will easily see articles and studies. Polar Journal reported in Oct 2023 of this season's speed restrictions for cruise vessels. Norwegian is a member of IAATO so would absolutely have known this when the regulations came about.
I try to never make statements if I don't have the facts.
These are not the way you want to run a company with good customer service. We are going in a month on NCL and have been notified of an itinerary change. Not super happy about it!
Norwegian is my favorite cruiseline. I never heard, what was the reason they cancelled Antarctica?
If your house burns down, and you don't have insurance, GUESS WHAT? You're screwed. Same thing here.
Once again, a very fair and reasonable video, thank you! We are big Norwegian fans and have not had a reason to find fault . That said, the cruise to the Antarctica should result in some compensation. The other cases are sad, but we all can choose, or not to have travel insurance. If a company starts making exceptions, everyone will line up.
I am not a fan of NCL even though I keep booking on them because their dates and itineraries line up with my needs. I agree with you completely though about the unfortunate fatality. That really is what insurance is for. In the other hand, if the family had wanted to swap out that guest with a replacement guest that should have been allowed by NCL. (But such a scenario wasn’t part of the story - I’m just pointing out the limitation I’ll place on my support for NCL on this because I wouldn’t put it past them to refuse such a request also.)
You are spot on! As a travel advisor, I 100% agree!! Love their shows (probably the best at sea), I enjoy their specialty dining, but their lack of customer service onboard and pre and post cruise is a deal breaker. They also don't communicate at all when a hurricane is pending at an embarkation port leaving TA's with the decision to have their guests proceed to the port or not. They stay silent when other cruise lines are updating their cruisers constantly. The onboard experience with customer service always seems to be "that's not my job", but they never tell you who it is you need to speak to. I only book them with disclaimers that "it's great when its great, but if something goes wrong, you are out of luck". Their "free air" is another subject that is miscommunicated and a nightmare. I haven't blacklisted them yet, but they're never my first (or 2nd or 3rd) choice. It's a shame, because as you said, their entertainment is really, really good. Their specialty dining has some nice options and the Haven is amazing. Thanks for covering this! (p.s. I will bet the guests paid premium prices for Antartica as opposed to another itinerary, so the cruisers should be getting a hefty refund, but I'll bet they won't -- because cruise lines aren't obligated to reimburse for a missed port... but it would be the right thing to do).
We sailed on them 3-4 times and (it's been years so this is not current info but seems nothing has changed) a couple they were in the midst of dealing with a lot of customer service issues. Fortunately, when we went on the Sky a lot had been handled because people got a hold of corporate private phone numbers and were slamming them with complaints, to the point upper management finally went on the ship to see for themselves. Next was the Epic, in its first year. Really bad service, we just went to the dining room and did the best we could. I watched as one head waiter, started in on a staff member, told him if he did that again he was out. Now that's great that she was trying to improve the guest experience, but she did it right at the front desk........ Opps! That was a trip we sailed with a group. NCL has beautiful ships and they have done a lot of things that have moved the industry further along. There are some major problems tho, airfare bookings to meet ships is a huge one. This Antarctica is another blunder.
I was on NCL Gem, transatlantic from Rome in December of 2023. Great cruise but they decided that they wanted to arrive in NYC early and lied and said it was due to bad weather in Bermuda so we skipped Bermuda. We arrived 2 days early and allowed to stay on board for the full duration of the remainder of the cruise. I decided to disembark a day early and i informed them of this 2 day prior. They did not let us know until 10:30pm the night before that if we wanted to leave the ship early we would have to go through immigration at 5:30am and leave the ship. I changed my flight and it was not until 6pm at night so I would have to wait 12 hours for my flight. I told them that I wished they would have let us know about the early immigration. They never aplogized or seemed concerned about our plight and they were not helpful with timely information.
I was on that cruise as well-they never let us know what we were doing until we left Sao Miguel-and the captain had a question and answer session in the lounge and he gave the excuse that the storm was too bad,but only when he was up against the wall would be spit it out..I knew something was funny when the GPS map on our tv showed us veering away from the Bermuda route as soon as we left the Azores
Ive been to Bermuda via cruise ship 5 times in the past 10 years . The entrance to the Royal Dock Yard is extremely narrow and surrounded by reefs and corral shoals .
In December 2023 on a transatlantic we were suppose to stop at Bermuda. Upon arrival there was a full blown gale with sustained winds of 40 knots. The ship approached Bermuda and there was a Royal Caribbean ship stopped at the entrance to the channel. The Prima circled the area for 2 hours before the Captain got on the PA and said it was to dangerous to attempt docking.
As an amateur Sailor. I know if that huge ship got turned sideways the ship could easily be thrown up onto those coral / rock reefs and badly damaged.
Both the Royal Caribbean and the Prima sailed away.
Ill leave the ships operation to the experts, no need to ever try out the lifeboats because someone wants to visit the Bermuda pottery barn.
@@Cha-y412 sorry you missed Bermuda too..I was hoping to do some Christmas shopping there,but safety comes first..in past cruises stopping there I have docked in St.George's and Hamilton as well as the dockyard and with a ship as big as the Prima I dont blame them for bypassing the island after many attempts..we will continue to visit wont we? it's a beautiful island
@@TheVineyarder Its all good, as stated we have been to Bermuda 5 times since 2014 and the truth be known was the only thing I was going to do in the port was run over to a gift shop in the Royal Dock yard and buy a long sleeve T shirt I like and is only sold there.
Our main thing was the 11 day transatlantic experiance from Spain to NYC which was perefectly fulfilled by NCL
@@Cha-y412 that's great my friend! Happy sailing in future!
Norwegian has always put saving their costs ahead of passenger comfort. I would never accept even a free cruise from them following several bad experiences during my one cruise with them. The crews are fine but their senior management only care about money in the short term.
BS
Thank you so much for another honest and fair viewpoint. Agreed - Norwegian does so many things well, but poor customer service is fair warning for me to sail with another cruise line for now.
NCL has a history of nickel and dime charges after boarding. No refund for the cruise of the person who died....well, that's the purpose of travel insurance. The family declined to pay an extra couple of hundred dollars for protection, but now want to whine when the cruise line chooses to enforce policy. Sorry, but that's not the way it works. That's like not buying homeowner's insurance and then expecting a "go fund me" to replace your home. What would they have done if he became ill on the ship and had to be transferred to a hospital in another country (which most US health insurances won't cover) and ended up with a $50K bill? In contrast, my 80 year old friend's husband had the above situation on the first leg of a b2b cruise--my friend chose to sail the second leg alone as she could keep her "going home" plans. She has nothing but good to say about the way Royal treated her during the illness and the second leg, allowing her free internet to be in touch with her daughter, providing in room meals at no charge, etc.
The other issues....there is no excuse for the lack of communication, and it certainly seems like a "bait and switch" situation. As other comments have noted, the decisions were supposedly corporate, made before the cruise began, and there were lies about notifications being sent to passengers in advance and provided at boarding. No excuse for this.
Norwegian has removed Antarctica entirely from their list of Port of calls/Destinations on their website. Falkland Islands is the closest you will get.
We have cruised more than 79 times, and only one of our cruises was with NCL. 'Nuf said.
What line is your favorite overall?
@@MAEUNC, RCCL. They treat their staff VERY well. Some of the cruiselines treat their staff like slaves.
1 - When a slow go order is given to the ship, it might be an issue with the ship, so I'd think maybe the cruise should have been cancelled. 2- Always purchase travel insurance. 3- Leave the show if you don't like it. In all cases, maybe NCL should have a change in their guest services leadership. I always cruise with NCL and haven't had any bad experiences., except for other guests' unruly children, but you get that anywhere at any time. Entitled parents raising entitled kids.
I saw this and thought, "I wonder what's going on."
I'm guessing the cruisers missed the email. But the cruise is now going to Admiralty Bay, Antarctica instead of Paradise Bay, Antarctica. The change is because they had to reduce speeds in Antarctic waters due to registration.
I've looked at this cruise and knew if you wanted to go to Antarctica, you'd need to do an expedition cruise, as you NEVER actually get off the ship otherwise as it is friendly protected.
Norwegian Cruise Line is my favorite cruise line, and itinerary changes are a part of cruising.
I worked in travel and unfortunately a lot of companies don't cover cancellation close to departure due to death, we always advised travel insurance, I always purchase travel insurance as soon as I book. It is really sad for people who this happens to.
Failing to have a decent customer service response is going to come back on them. It is not optional in 2024.
I had an excursion with NCL that was titled Sunsey and Champagne cruise. It had neither Champagne nor did it see a sunset! It started in early afternoon in St Thomas and I kept watching for the crew to breakout the Champagne and they were seen mixing RUM PUNCH and dispersing it to the passengers. After the Sailboat had sailed around the harbor and enjoyed the sights it arrived back at the dock long before sunset! As a matter of fact the Escape 18FEB23 was in the process of departing when sunset started. To compensate us after much complaining NCL gave my brother and I less than the price we paid for the excursion in the form of a NONREFUNDABLE OBC! So to get that refund money we had to spend it only at certain venues on the ship. Many of the things we were told we could use it on were nit things we desired. I told staff at guest services that if someone gave you a refund with an elastic band on it so after you were given that "refund" it came right back to them, is that really a refund?
I have a cruise booked with NCL in August and had already pre booked my tours. I just discovered all the tours I booked have had changes made such as length of time, itinerary, meals and transport making some of them no longer worthwhile, all without telling me. 😬
Thank you Ruth.
I've never cruised Norwegian and while I may in the future, one of the main reasons I havent in the past, is that I've heard their customer service/communication in general is lousy. Have a friend who was on a trip many years ago, and there were numerous issues with the itinerary and there was such a lack of communication, she felt it overshadowed all the good things that happened on the trip. It's too bad, because it seems there's a lot of great things about the line. Their leadership (as you say) needs to do something to fix this!
It does not matter if you are sick, delayed flight , personal reasons, and even death. If you gamble by not getting insurance, that is on you.
Definitely marking NCL off my list of potential Alaska cruises after this.
Norwegian appears to care nothing for their passengers. Why would I want to risk my money with a company who views me only as a wallet they can extract money from? Other companies have a quality product and still take care of their guests.
We are platinum with NCL, but are probably finished with them. I refuse to be forced to make a reservation for the theatre. Whatever happened to "Freestyle"? The theatre on Breakaway and Getaway is tiny and really all the public areas are small. They did away with the large area at the bow in order to have more cabins. No "social distancing" on NCL. Syd Norman's Pourhouse will have 300 people in 50 seats!
I had a nightmarish of a time with a NCL cancelled cruise during covid time and the hassle they gave with those who opted for the refund vs credit. Eventually I received a refund but it after righting numerous emails, calls and reaching out to 3rd parties to resolve. That would have been my 1st cruise with them...quickly became my last.
One of your best videos, I think!
Companies make policies so they can break them. It's a copout that NCL is not giving a refund due to the death of someone.
We are Australians and went on NCL Canary islands cruise that will be our last with them. They removed the 2 days in Morocco, the main reason we took the cruise, after we arrived in Portugal and cancelled Madeira the night before arrival then late into debarkation causing chaos onboard. Had other problems as well and wrote complaint that only got an apathetic callous reply. We have done 20 cruises mainly Celebrity, Azamara etc. Don't know how you can say you would cruise with NCL again and I am sure you want your clients to have a great time so suggest another company.
Thank you for sharing this! I have a 12 day Portugal to Barcelona cruise booked on NCL Sky for Nov 202 5 with 2 stops in Morocco and 3 Canary Islands. Obviously it’s a bucket list cruise for me. I really think I need to cancel and get my refundable deposit back. 😢
Aving looked at the many complaints about Noewegian Cruises i would consider cancelling your cruise but they won't make it easy to cancel. There are much better offers around so pick another company if available to you for a premium experience and not disappointment. We havve decided not to use them in future and thevway they are chasing money before the customer experience I believe they may have liquidity problems. Cheers
Bad news always spread faster than good news. We're a Celebrity family & we have no complaints.
Never again on NCL. Platinum level on Latitudes. I have sailed in the Haven a couple of times, but after these events, done. Won’t give them a chance to screw me over.
Tks for sharing. We’re NCL fans for years, and the reason why we continue cruising on NCL. During our several trips, when we had faced any issues, including guest services onboard, the staff would respond promptly. There was once during dining, a staff went to our table to check whether the issue had been settled. Our recent cruise on NCL Jewel, our group were given complimentary cakes and wines to celebrate our birthdays and anniversaries.
I've only been on one cruise and it was NCL. My friends who I was with all have cruised before and they all said other cruise lines were better than NCL, for example Celebrity was mentioned being a better cruise line over NCL.
But Celebrity is a much more expensive cruise line.
@@anda1anda2 true and maybe that’s where it counts for some people. Put out the extra money for a better experience and it’s worth it to them
Yes, Celebrity has the best food and is more money. I haven’t been on NCL since 2005…the Dawn to Bermuda…best cruise I ever had! The captain had a large cocktail party and invited “all” the guests…some were average Joes , like me and my friend, not super rich or past cruisers…he was the most humble, kindness captain I ever met! I have been on many lines…and The Lord willing, in just 1 month…NCL to Bermuda…praying The Lord will allow for a blessed trip! The Lord bless you as well and those in your heart! ♥ ✝🐳🛳
Was on an NCL cruise a year ago that missed 2 ports and they refused to refund the port taxes. I disputed the charge with my credit card company and got the charge reversed. NCL plays hardball with their customers, the customers, unfortunately, have to do the same!
With NCL to just keep quiet is not a good situation. We live in Jacksonville, Florida and we're planning a cruise, but until they give a better guest experience we might not go. On a good note, we will finally get to go on the Carnival Mardi Gras on Halloween 2025. Thank you guys for all you do.
You will love the Mardi Gras - it’s a great ship!
CARNIVAL IS THE ABSOLUTE WORST CRUISE LINE THERE IS, TRY ANY OTHER LINE
@JJCruise I am looking forward to Mardi Gras TA from Barcelona to Canaveral next Oct 16, 2025. None a lot of Carnival TAs. At least they are fun.
Done a lot of Carnival because the cruises are lively. Some cruises are really dull.
Pride comes before fall! Thanks, I was going to book a cruise with them for the Summer but I'm glad I watched this video. When companies get big they no longer care how you feel. You saved me a headache!
I agree with you on NCL. I am 5 points away from being a platinum guest. We took a 10 day cruise March 2022 on The Gem after my husband retired to celebrate. 2 weeks before they changed the itinerary from Turks to Puerto Rico and Dominican to Antigua. We have never been to Turks or Dominican but we’ve been to PR and Antigua. NO explanation. We were also supposed to go to St Thomas same cruise and said something was wrong with the ship it wasn’t going up to speed so it seems they use the same excuse on many cruises. I have one more cruise on NCL from a pre-cruise deposit I must take but I’m done. 2nd attempt to go to Turks this March 17th on Carnival. 🤞🤞🤞
Glad I saw this. I was actually considering booking with NCL for the Antarctic route but this has changed my mind. Thank you for the video.
The Antarctica cruise is a mess. Something is very wrong. NO advance warning can be explained if it was a last minute decision. However, the 2 days without explanation and never hearing from the Captain is strange. I was on an NCL cruise 3 months ago that had a fairly minor itinerary change, and the Capain was front and center explaining the situation. I am guessing there is a lot more to that story and I am very curious to hear what was actually going on.
Always remember.....The cost is the same whether they travel, or not. They just don't get the benefits.
I have totally avoided them from friends’ feedback. Customer Service is key for any business. They need to get a ton of negative feedback on the Antarctica. It truly is bait and switch.
Booked one NCL cruise. They changed the ship we booked for a smaller vessel. They changed itinerary mid cruise. The whole experience felt second class. I will stick with Royal.
Don T made a good point in his video today; the cruise line has discretion to alter the itinerary for a lot of reasons, but at some point, it could become false advertising and deceptive practices/fraud, if they continue to market a cruise as going to Antarctica and keep taking people’s money KNOWING FULL WELL that they weren’t going to go. Not sure that’s what happened here but there comes a point where the cruise line runs out of legal leeway. Having said that, I cruised on the Prima in January and had an excellent experience - exceeded expectations honestly - and will likely go again but on a standard itinerary. I would also be angry if this happened to me…
Prima is a great ship! Going again.
Lots of Cruise lines lately have changed cruise itineraries and only say "due to organisational issues" as happened to us with HAL.- never tell what the actual reasons are. RE deaths pre cruise - heartfelt condolences however it is well known that you need to take out travel insurance - we as here in Australia do as it is so far to travel- but the older you get the more costly it is which prevents taking some taking it out. Should be fully refundable for an event such as death of the passenger pre cruise. Re the comedienne - people should have talked with their feet and walked out if they were so offended. NCL cant be responsible for monitoring the comediennes show - and if no one has complained previously then what can they do. The people should have said something at the time to the comedienne.