More info on Norway cancellation

Thanks to everyone who responded to my request for information concerning the cancellation of our November 30 cruise on the SS Norway.
Of course we knew all about the problems on the SS Norway----ever since it happened. We were on the Majesty to Bermuda in the middle of July of this year (just 2 months ago.) While on that cruise we booked on the Norway.. We were assured the repairs would be complete and She would sail on time. The only way we knew that this trip was cancelled was when we noticed ourpayment had been returned to our credit card account. We regret that Norwegian cruise lines treated us in this manner.
dancer

[pipefit]

i feel for you. They should have sent someone to your house and told you of the news in person. shame on them. They should had offered you a free cruise for your troubles as well.

[Chuck Palm]

I think the least NCL could have done would have been written notice at the time of cancellation. That is how businesses show respect for valued customers. I don't think Dancer wants something for nothing. She just wants to be treated fairly.

Sarcasm is not called for I.M.H.O.

Dancer,
I agree that is a terrible way to let you know the trip is cancelled. As far as pipefit's comment that seems a bit harsh to me!
I know how much I look forward to a cruise, and to find out the way dancer did, I think that is not right!

Yeah and I do think a "free cruise" sounds good for the cancellation!!!

Mary Margaret

[Kuki]

If you were booked direct with NCL, there's no question they fell down on the job, if you are just finding out now.

If you were booked with a TA, then FOR SURE they fell down on the job.

Norway has been gone for SOME TIME now. She's already been towed over to Europe.
So, even without NCL and or a TA notifying you, I am surprised you wouldn't have seen this news well before now. It really is old news.

If the situation were a recent development, closer to the time of the cruise, I could understand some compensation.

Pardon my ignorance but what happened to the Norway?

[Jim Bragg]

Blame the TA, they are the ones that should be keeping you up to date. I will still be surprised if the Norway ever sails in the USa again. Just seems so dumb and they couldn't have been making any money on her.
Jim

[pamda]

I am not sure (and can't find it) when Norway was taken out of service. I wonder if it was after final payment was due?

This raises a lot of questions for me. If the cruise was booked on another NCL ship, it's probably not likely that the booking was transferred to a travel agent.

Maybe it was.

On some cruise lines, the employees who book while the pax are on board (at such great rates) just might receive commissions and it might be in the employee's best interest to say that the ship would sail again if they've got a "hot one" standing there.

Was full payment due at time of booking on board?

I have zero tolerance for the people who save a few bucks with non-refundable air and don't have travel insurance in case of cancellations. I believe, however, that "non-refundable" means that for a certain additional dollar amount one can use the face value of the ticket so all is not lost.

What's the responsbility of NCL here? I don't see any, other than returning the cruise fare paid. As a customer service gesture, they should have gone a lot further. A $50 cabin credit for a future cruise would have been nice. A fre cruise is going a little too far IMHO.

I'd think experienced cruisers would be watching progress like hawks in anticipation of Plan B or C.

According to Cruise News Daily - NCL makes a lot of money off of the Norway and that they plan on having her sail again. If I remember correctly, the Norway produces about $7 million in profits in half of a year.

Norway is profitable because it is paid for and has a loyal following who books the ship over and over.

[LisaK]

i totally agree that NCL fell down on this one, the least they could have done is sent out some sort of form letter instead of just crediting your charge account. I would have your TA contact NCL directly and i think you should write a nice letter to NCL stating how you feel about the way they handled this situation, just the way you posted it here.

[CruzNut]

The Norway has been going down hill for quite a while. I last sailed on her (after 3 previous sailings) January of 2002 and it was the worst cruise I've ever taken. She was a grand ship ... Star Ferries of Hong Kong took her over and just let her go. I wrote a review under the name of J. J. Anderson at that time. Things haven't changed.

The line, the TA and every one who wanted to book on her should have known that it was major, major damage when a boiler blew out mid-May (I was on the Voyager berthed next to her at the time) ... not to be fixed in a couple of months.

As others have stated, keep up-to-date on what's happening with the ship/line you're booking on or have booked on.

The Norway had an engine room fire and was severely damaged, in port, fortunately. I think that it happened in Miami.