August 23, 2009
NCL cruise got off to a bad start - confusion over specialty restaurant vouchers
I'm not quite ready for the entire review just yet, but I want to tell this story. We got on the cruise ship and we were ready for the wait to get into our rooms. We had bathing suits in our carry-on bags and we found a table in the shade outside in the back of the boat.
The plan was to eat and swim while waiting for the rooms to be ready. First I decided to go to restaurant reservations to confirm two reservations that my travel agent had already made. She had booked us as a group (there were 6 of us) and gotten us free reservations at Shogun, the Asian restaurant, and Trattoria, the Italian restaurant. These were normally $15 for Asian and $10 for Italian (per person of course).
So I go to confirm the times and they say I have no reservations for us. I say there's a problem - not only should I have reservations but they should be free. The lady looks at me funny, talks a bit more, and finally goes to get the manager.
The manager turns out to be a maitre d' and basically says he can make reservations but that's it. He's not very polite when I ask him what we can do to fix the problem. He doesn't want to do anything - he keeps repeating that I have to pay for the restaurants no matter what. I get the feeling that he thinks I'm some sort of scam-artist. I ask him to call my travel agent and sort out the mess for me. He says no. I say, "So basically you're saying I'm completely on my own and you won't do anything to help me?" The answer is yes.
The maitre d's name is Armed in case anyone from NCL is reading and wants to yell at this guy. Anyway, I call my travel agent and explain the situation. They can't talk to Armed so they say they will call NCL and get back to me.
A bit later they do get back to me. NCL group bookings confirmed that the 2 specialty restaurants should be free for all 6 of us and told the travel agent that they would email email the Norwegian Spirit (Armed I guess) and let him know.
I go back to the restaurant people and tell them they have an email coming explaining that the reservations should, in fact, be free. They say that for now they have to charge me normally but that once they get the email they can drop the charges. I make reservations for Shogun.
Soon we get into the rooms and I find a card that says something about Shogun. My sister also has this card. My parents do not. I also have a card for Trattoria. This one my parents also have but my sister does not.
We're not really sure what these cards mean and we really have no idea why I have both while my parents have one and my sister has the other. We forget about our troubles and have some fun on the ship and then go to Shogun that night. The food is excellent.
At the end I give the waitress my card. She's confused but I guess someone somewhere told her that the dinner was free. I sign the card and that's it. We left a cash tip because she didn't give us a receipt to sign like they usually do at specialty restaurants. She kept the card which turned out to be a credit voucher thing.
It would have been nice if Armed had said that if we were getting a free meal that there should be a voucher card in our rooms. That would have made him appear to be helpful (instead of being an ass) and saved us a lot of confusion wondering what those cards were for. Of course, we still wouldn't have known why I had 2 vouchers while the rest of us had 1 each for different restaurants...
The next day my parents got their card for a free meal at Shogun. My sister got the card for Trattoria.
A few days later 4 of us went back to Shogun because it was so good. They asked us to sign receipts from the first day of the cruise. We thought that was funny but it was no problem.
The last day of the cruise we all handed in our vouchers for Trattoria but they said we had to give them to reception. Kind of funny since before we had to give them to the restaurant but no big deal.
Anyway, that's my story. It seemed like a lot of people didn't know what they were doing. I was certainly one of them but then again it wasn't really my job to know what was going on there. It also seemed like the restaurant reservations people and the maitre d' were not real anxious to help me. Like I said before I felt like I was being treated like a scammer instead of a customer who needed help.
Posted by James Trotta at August 23, 2009 10:57 AM
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hi James, i am surprised that cruise lines are still didn't sort out this confusing voucher system, which should be a wow factor for your journey and often turns out to be a disappointment instead.
i was a maitre d' for other cruise lines for a decade. we have experienced the same: hundreds of confused voucher owners every week. in first place the travel agent should explain how the vouchers are working: it is a voucher only, not a reservation! there is still no such thing as an online reservation system which could be accessed by any travel agent. they should tell you that you have to make a reservation, preferably as soon as you are onboard. then you will present your voucher to the restaurant manager when you arrive for dinner. i think it's not so much to ask from a travel agent when selling a cruise.
however, i do not wish to defend the maitre d's unhelpful manner. i agree that the whole situation was handled strangely. specialty restaurant maitre d's are at the beginning of their career, often lacking people skills. their manager's should take time to train them well.
he should have been sort this out in email with the head offices and make a reservation for you immediately, in case the restaurant would be booked out by the time the results come back from the corporate booking. after all if it is not confirmed you can still cancel that reservation.
this should be handled by him and let you enjoy your vacation, sorting out the different restaurant vouchers should be piece of cake as well.
i hope you've enjoyed your cruise vacation after all :)
kind regards,
zoltan
Posted by: zoltan at August 24, 2009 1:07 AMHi James,
Sorry that you and your family had such a hassel right off the bat with that cruise. Perhaps you might give me a bit more of a heads up concerning NCL's. I am about to book a 2 week cruise to the Medit aboard the NCL Jade, first cruise ever and would appreciate knowing whether I ought to be looking elsewhere? Thanking you in advance.
Pat
Thank you for the comments. Pat, I've never been on the Jade so I can't give you specific advice. I think the cruisecritic.com message boards would have plenty of info but be prepared to devote some time - the boards might be too big for their own good.
Posted by: James at August 24, 2009 1:07 PMI'm not at all surprised at the lack of courtesy you were shown. Unfortunately, I had one bad experience with NCL, but that was enough for me. Our plane arrived late in San Juan, so we were rushed onboard. We stood at the reception desk for a while, but no one greeted us, or even acknowledged our presence. Finally got someone's attention. After wandering up and down stairs and through hallways, we finally found our cabin, with no assistance offered. The final straw was the shabby cabin,2 bunks, 1 ancient shower,and one very small porthole that wouldn't open, certainly not the upper deck outside cabin I had paid for. We called down to the desk to see about it, and also to try and find something to eat. The one rotten banana and shriveled apple on the table did nothing for me. There was a menu, but forget that! We were told nothing could be done, there is no food until tomorrow at breakfast, etc., etc. Didn't take us long to make a decision, get our luggage, and disembark. Stayed a while in San Juan at a wonderful hotel, and had a great time, but NCL for us was a nightmare. American Express contacted them several times in our behalf for at least some type of refund of what was quite a bit of money. None was given. Unless things have radically changed, NCL has the poorest customer service I've seen. It in no way compares to the other cruise lines I've sailed on.
Posted by: Sharon at August 25, 2009 3:23 AMNCL is the best cruise company on the water. Pay the small fees for meals at the time you eat or go to the free restaurants. Why make life so difficult for you and everyone else. Vacations should be fun.
Posted by: Robert at August 25, 2009 4:38 AMFrom the Canberra to Crystal. Every cruise I have ever been on is not worth the $$$. Their 1st class brochures are wonderful . The reality is somewhat, quite a lot, under that expectation. Your experience with the dolt of a Maitre D' is all too ordinary.
Posted by: arthur finn at August 25, 2009 6:58 AMThe cruise boards are in thrall to the cruise lines. Try for individual opinions elsewhere.
Posted by: arthur finn at August 25, 2009 7:00 AMSounds like there was a serious communication error between the travel agent and NCL.
There's never any excuse for bad behavior. Employees in any capacity should be able to handle any situation with diplomacy, grace, and finesse.
Posted by: MonikaC at August 25, 2009 7:46 AMThat's why my other name for NCL is "No Communication Links"
They left my unattended bag, which was being handled by as checked baggage, sit in a stairwell and float around Hawaii for 3 months.
Oh well, at least I finally got it back.
Posted by: Glen at August 27, 2009 12:32 PMI just came back from a one week cruise on NCL's Norweigan Sun and had an amazing time. Please do not let one post like this from an obviously frustrated passenger ruin your hopes or expectations. It is an amazing cruise line with excellent service. There are always bound to be some problems with any cruise line, and any restaurant staff on any cruise.
Posted by: Chandrika at September 1, 2009 12:13 AM