When booking my NCL cruise on the Spirit I was told I would receive a $100.00 on on board credit for booking the cruise. On past NCL cruises the certificate was waiting in the stateroom. This past June (2010) in small print on our eticket it said to download our "bonus". I did not download it because I did not see it.. Once on board we asked twice about our credit and was told it would be on our last statement. It never was, we inquired before we left the ship on the last day and we were told we would have to take it up with customer relations, we were treated very rudely that last day when we inquired. I took it up with customer relations, in writing, which is the only way it would get reviewed. NCL regreted the "miscommunication" but they would not reimburse me for the $100.00, instead they would give me the credit on a future cruise if I took it within the next year. I told them they could keep it. I have done 4 cruises with NCL and will not do another. It is only $100.00 but it really is the principal of the matter and I feel they are not honest. When you try to clarify things such as this, on the cruise, they talk in circles and make like they do not understand what you are talking about. So BUYER BEWARE, don't get ripped off like I did.
I have never liked the idea of having to an "extra" step in order to receive a discount or OBC. I do believe that companies believe that a number of people will not do the extra step and the company keeps the money.
My rule of thumb: If instructions say you need to do something then do it. If you don't know how then talk to someone who can tell you how to jump through the hoop. The company sets the rules and if you don't follow them you are out of luck. Do I like it? Is it fair? No: But that's the way it is.
Take care,
Mike
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When booking my NCL cruise on the Spirit I was told I would receive a $100.00 on on board credit for booking the cruise. On past NCL cruises the certificate was waiting in the stateroom. This past June (2010) in small print on our eticket it said to download our "bonus". I did not download it because I did not see it.. Once on board we asked twice about our credit and was told it would be on our last statement. It never was, we inquired before we left the ship on the last day and we were told we would have to take it up with customer relations, we were treated very rudely that last day when we inquired. I took it up with customer relations, in writing, which is the only way it would get reviewed. NCL regreted the "miscommunication" but they would not reimburse me for the $100.00, instead they would give me the credit on a future cruise if I took it within the next year. I told them they could keep it. I have done 4 cruises with NCL and will not do another. It is only $100.00 but it really is the principal of the matter and I feel they are not honest. When you try to clarify things such as this, on the cruise, they talk in circles and make like they do not understand what you are talking about. So BUYER BEWARE, don't get ripped off like I did.
You might like to think of your $100 loss as a "not paying attention tax".
That is ridiculous. If you were primised a credit you should have gotten it.
I am wondering if you could have downloaded it while you on the ship in the Internet cafe.
This really chaps my hide. $100 is a lot o fmoney. To tell a customer "too bad" is horrible. I have been hearing more & more complaints about NCL lately.
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I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
Nope, that just sounds totally unfair, they already give you a credit, which is almost the same as money, would be better if they just deducted that from your initial cruise price, but they don't do that either.I'm sure many others just miss it and don't even realize it.
Next time, I'd follow Mike's advise and make sure you do everything that is required to get your money owed.
Wow, this sounds exactly like those "apply for a rebate and get it in the mail within 90 days" when you buy a cell phone or something similar BUT they place the requirements of the rebate in microscopic letters so if you miss any minute detail - you won't get it - but the company keeps the rebate money!!!
NCL is doing the exact same thing here! I would continue to fight it to see how far you can go and then, again, post, your outcome - good and bad! The worst thing a company can receive is a poor reputation just alone by customer word of mouth but it appears NCL doesn't care until it hits their CEO's pockets!
Also from I have read on various cruise forums, NCL's customer service is taking a severe nosedive to unacceptable levels - all you have to do is Google "NCL complaints" or better still check out the passenger reviews of their new ship, "EPIC" - poor customer service and just plain bad service all around on the ship is a consistent issue with NCL. I was going to book on the EPIC (hey I live in Miami and its right there lol) but even my travel agent gave me a rather stern warning about NCL - enough said - I am going to another line!!!!
I hope you have a positive outcome!
Last edited by puggo63; August 24th, 2010 at 11:33 PM.
SBC must be spent on the ship, I know of past passengers loosing remaining balances.
NCL does not want the funds to leave the ship, hence, the $100 future cruise credit, which was fair.
NLC is the last hold out between Carnival Corp. & Royal Caribbean Corp.
It's a matter of time in my opinion.
NCL actually cut a ship in half to add to her size, I know cost was the factor.
All the major players unload older ships and purchase new mega ships with new technology.
The marketing potential after entering the Eclipse into the fleet has changed the way business is done.
If you received in writing the name of personal setting the time & date for receipt of the $100, you could have taken it up with management on the ship.
Waiting until the last day, must be a policy for NLC to avoid passengers with unresolved issues.
Down loading the doc at the internet cafe was the process to cure the problem, if you had known, otherwise, the fine print covers the process.
I think Future Cruise sales is a great idea. There is nothing to download, when you are buying your $250 credit, $100 OBC is applied to your current cruise the same day. I had twice already on Norwegian Epic and had no problems at all. Then, when I was booking my cruise I just mentioned to the cruise agent that I have future cruise credit, and she was able to find it easily by my Lattitude number. The best thing it is combinable with two other OBCs from the travel agencies.
You should see how NCL treats their travel agents. I was supposed to do a Shipboard Luncheon for travel agents twice last year. and both dates were cancelled. one after I was already in New York City. The first time I lost out on a free hotel night I redeemed for the trip and the second time I was never notified. Because of this I am very cautious about recommending NCL to my clients and I only promote them when they are the best option for my intended promotion(such as when I want to do a round trip Honolulu cruise, and NCL is the only line to do those regularly to my knowledge). The last Business Development Manager I had with NCL I liked though. Carnival has been ok to deal with but has been giving agents problems as well. Nothing bad to say about most of the lines, but Princess I have been especially impressed with as I have been preparing for my own upcoming cruise. Nothing but courteous, respectful, and friendly service from them. My suggestion is if you continually have problems with one cruise line, you may want to contact a travel agent and start looking for a cruise line that has many of the same features you like as the one you normally cruise on. Do keep in mind that a travel agent should never charge fees for anything but airline tickets and special services(such as mailing documents or special(non-domestic) calls they have to make on your behalf, as cruise lines do pay the commission after you get back from your vacation.
I booked an NCL cruise last year to go on Norwegian Epic. I started getting phone calls from my "personal NCL vacation planner" even before the cruise left. They are definitely stealing customers away from agents, and any agent who does not know that is delusional.
If I were an agent I would give them the Renaissance treatment - why book a client on a cruise line that is going to steal that client away from you?
And by the way - I never gave them permission to call me - they just did. There may be a reason why they put their call center in Arizona - because we have pretty loose laws about telemarketing here (although they have gotten a bit tougher).
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I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but with NCL if you purchase a future cruise credit onboard you get the OBC on the cruise you are currently on, not on the future cruise. This is what happened to me when I purchased an FCC in October 2010 while on the Epic. I received the OBC while on the Epic and have 4 years to use the FCC. Is it different if you book a specific cruise rather than an FCC while on board or was this some kind of promotion that NCL was offering?
At one point in our "cruising career", NCL was my favorite line, but frankly, since the ridiculous changes in their dining arrangements, and all the other things I've heard about the company , I haven't done an NCL cruise for several years. Their loss IMO,,,and actually,,,I haven't missed 'em either!
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