Why Did Norwegian Cancel Sailing?

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 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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

We are traveling with Norwegian in March, and the company changed the itinerary after we had made our final payments. The claim was that fueling options were problematic at the ports of call. The passengers were missing out on three ports. Some passengers noted that other lines traveling at the same time seemed to have no problems with the ports. Cruise lines have the right to change itineraries as a part of their contract of carriage, but waiting until final payments were made seemed similar to the Antarctic problem in this article–essentially a bait-and-switch situation, and of course, no apology from management. Several passengers did cancel. We did not, and we are hoping that all will be for the best despite the changed itinerary.

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.

Multiple Issues: 1 The Norwegian Sun broke down in Columbia and canceled the Costa Rica port of call to get back on schedule. We also had no electricity for two days in blazing heat and limited food options. They gave us a whole 50 dollars credit, horrible! Issue 2: Onboard the Norwegian Jewel They keep wanting to scan my 10k dollar cameras, when I asked them to manually do so because they don’t have proper plastic bins that they fit in through the x-ray machine, they refused. I advised them the lens alone is 2k and if it shifts too quickly could fall out and it could damage the lens. The bin I had to put it on was for KEYS! So the camera with the 2k lens fell out of the small round bin and the lens focus motor broke. I contacted security made a complaint and said they have to scan everything and asked “Don’t I want to be secure”? I explained a manual inspection with power on and power off was sufficient, and even TSA would allow that. I then followed up with customer services and waited for almost two months and they said ” No travel Insurance”. I doubt I would have had a claim for travel insurance regardless due to negligence on their part.

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.

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?

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.

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 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. 🤞🤞🤞

I have done over 30 cruises, only 3 of them on NCL. the 2 worst cruises I have been on were on NCL. Bad service, bad customer service and nickle and dime you to death. When I look to book a cruise the last cruise line I will look at is NCL. The retired couple should have had travel insurance, But NCL should know the bad press will cost them much more then a refund. IMHO NCL is the worst of the major cruise lines.

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.

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 have cruised NCL several times with excellent results. It was all before the China Flu so things might have changed. As for the family with no travel insurance- too bad. That is exactly why you need it- unexpected issues that might creep up. If the cruise line allows it for one- you know the rest that follows. Plus it will eventually makes everyone else’s crises more costly. I feel bad for the family but they should have purchased the insurance.

It wouldn’t surprise me to hear this same kind of story about any of the big market cruise lines. In the same circumstances I think they’d behave similarly. NCL is the only cruise line I’ve gone on more than once… not because I’m a loyalist, it’s just worked out that way. All that said, based on my experiences, I wouldn’t mind if I never, or rarely, cruised with them again. Value for money on their cruises has plummeted and my customer service experiences have been disappointing. That Antarctica thing, though, I would never forget that as long as I lived if that happened to me. I would not forgive that if they just treated it as a typical canceled port.

I thought that the Antartica cruises that NCL offers are just cruising the Drake passage, that passengers never ever step foot on Antartica. I thought you could only do that with an expedition cruise ship so I am confused about this and wonder if the passengers were confused? On the second issue, I feel strongly that everyone should purchase cancel for any reason insurance. This elderly couple sadly did not do it and NCL is within their legal rights to refuse a refund. It would make them look a lot better though, if they gave this family a refund. But I can also understand that if they did it, other people might take advantage of it in future. I’ve only cruised with NCL twice. I love that they do not have formal nights and that they now have solo balconies. However, on the last cruise, I had to stand in line for 1 1/2 hours at embarkation even though I showed up during my embarkation window and had purchased the express pass. It was a very painful experience for me as I have back and foot pain. I won’t say that I will never sail NCL again but they’re definitely not my favourite line and I usually don’t recommend them to anyone. There’s also no enrichment programs to do with the destinations and I don’t like that.

I sailed twice on NCL Pearl. My first experience was amazing. No complaints what so ever. We missed a port due to weather but we received a refund of port fees without asking. My second cruise- not so much. Food was poor, they shut down the only operational pool on the hottest day of the cruise as the other pool was being set up with a stage for a charter. A lot of other little things and really felt the nickel and diming. The biggest change between both was at the top. Kevin O’Sheehan was with my first cruise

My husband and I just took a 14-day Caribbean cruise with NCL in November/December. We generally had a great time and loved it despite worrying if this would be too long for us to cruise (turned out, it was not). We did notice two areas we were disappointed in: Cabin service and the waitstaff in dining rooms. Our cabin steward was great, he did an excellent job of cleaning our cabin. What we noticed is that NCL has only one room cleaning a day. Ok, that’s really fine with us but it was the time of day our room was cleaned that annoyed us. A typical example would be to leave at 9 am to visit an island/take an excursion. Always turning the dial to “make up cabin.” We’d get back to our cabin at 4 or 4:30 hoping to shower for dinner at 6:30 and the room was not made yet. We inquired with our room steward and he said he’s told the order of the cabins he has to clean. Now my husband and I are pretty neat people so he was out of our cabin in under 10 minutes and some days he did seem to get to us earlier after we said something but really NCL, can you not hire more housekeeping staff? The poor guy seemed overwhelmed when we’d see him in the corridor. The same with the two main dining rooms. Though one was better serviced than the other, much of the waitstaff seemed to be hustling with no extra help. Most cruises have two waiters waiting on tables but we generally had one, or one and a half at times and they usually did not look too happy. It made me wonder if NCL is really cutting down on staff or what they’re doing.

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!

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).

I went on the Antarctica cruise last year and it was one of the best experiences of my life but if it hadn’t gone to Antarctica it would have been miserable. The Star is not a ship made for sea days, it’s bare bones entertainment and dining, it is a ship for going to locations that the bigger ships can’t. At minimum, they should have FCC’d a big chunk of the cost so passengers could try again next year.

My experience with NCL was shocking. The itinerary given to us was just to attract passengers but was not going to the places listed to begin with. How did we find out? Through the shore tour operators who advised us that the ship was not scheduled to dock in the ports mentioned. The captain was forced to explain because passengers were making a loud noise in the lobby demanding for the captain. The excuse was always weather even if the sea was as calm as a lake. You need to twist their arm to get a compensation which really is a penny. See youtube in 2019 to watch how the mutiny like action unfolded.

NCL is trying to save money at the passengers expense. We did our first and last NCL cruise to Panama last year and they pulled that bait and switch on us 2 weeks after final payment. They cancelled Nicaragua and Costa Rica (both on our bucket list) with no explanations and subbed with Acapulco and Ocho Rios. Didn’t want to go to either of those ports. Panama City was changed to a different date with late afternoon/evening time on Sunday. That was suspicious because no excursions were ever offered. Two days before we were supposed to arrive there the captain made an announcement that the port was cancelled due to the tides. We were never refunded the port fees. We knew these were all money saving tactics. All this was enough to sour us to say NCL was one and done for us!

booked a cruise with NCL in 2023 and got the free at sea package that included BOGO airfare. on the day of our flight (saturday) we were trying to board UA and they didn’t have any of our names on file even though my wife was able to choose the seats and registered our names weeks in advance. called NCL’s 24 hour hotline and it’s NOT 24 hours, especially on weekends they open 8-5PM Florida time, we are from California. huge mess, almost had to cancel the cruise. had to drive out of town to the next closest airport to make embarkation. no mention of anything, it was, “well, looks like you didn’t get our travel insurance” so you’re SOOL. luckily I bought a 3rd party travel insurance for 3x cheaper that reimbursed everything. NCL was trying to blame me for not getting on the flight and almost missed embarkation.

Cruised Norwegian Gem January 2024. Good itinerary, Some good food & some awful in the buffet. Average entertainment. Very small interior cabin, no robes, body lotion or hairconditioner. Nice crew but seemed overworked, staffing shortages? Daily onboard activities were mostly about upselling. Overall mediocre. Only my 2nd NCL cruise but probably my last.

My friend and I became widows in the same year. We made it a point to go on a cruise once a year. Our first cruise was on the NCL PEARL to Alaska. Had a wonderful time with no complaints. We went on 6 more NCL cruises. The next 3 were acceptable but definitely not like the PEARL. We were on the EPIC twice but decided to book smaller ships. Over time 80 percent of the staff were not friendly. Used to be if you passed any staff member they would say good morning,etc. The last trip we sailed it seemed that no one was happy at all….staff or passengers. 1 particular ship was our favorite and that was the JEWEL.Everything was GREAT !!!!! Sadly no more NCL for us. We have been booking RCCL. My late husband and I had great experiences on every cruise. His last wish was to go on one more cruise. We went to warm Caribbean in December and he passed in Feb. Unfortunately in 2023 I had to have open heart surgery with complications so have not been back on a cruise since. I miss it and hopefully will be able to cruise again on a smaller RCCL ship only. I love your articles. !!!!

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 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!

Typical corporate America now days. They have their contracts written to benefit them at all costs. I don’t know about NCL, but many companies are putting clauses in their contracts, which prevent you from entering a class action lawsuit against them. Plus, they usually have any regulatory agencies bought off. Customers really have no choices for bad customer service, except bad internet press and boycotting.

Pre-pandemic, NCL was my favorite cruise line. Hearing all these stories of bad experiences of late, make me second guess them. Additionally, to all the monetary increases they have made. I have had nothing but great times sailing with NCL. It’s just a bit disheartening to see them dropping the ball on so many issues. Hopefully, they will get squared away soon. I really want to go back on an NLC ship in the near future.

I have taken 3 cruises on NCL and enjoyed them all. You’re right, great entertainment, lots of things to do. BUT, I too am having issues with their lack of customer service. I’m being charged $40.00 for ONE picture. We ordered the package where you get all your prints on a flash drive . You can also select one picture you’d like to be printed for no charge. What we got was the picture and a flash drive with a picture of the ship. All the other pictures are lost. NCL has responded to my emails basically saying “It sucks to be you.” I’m not asking for anything for free. I offered to pay 10-15 dollars for the one picture and call it good. They won’t budge. I really feel for those on the recent Antarctica trip. Makes my claim seem trivial. But this just brings to light how nasty NCL can be once they have your money. They have lost me as a customer as well. I was going to book the following within the next two years with them: Panama Canal, Iceland and a Honeymoon trip for my son. NCL cruises are fun and it saddens me that I will no longer book with them . (I tend to be loyal to a brand) Best advice to future cruisers: buyer beware.

I cruised the Norwegian Encore to Alaska in October 2023. I HAD no issues whatsover. The only downside to my cruise were passengers overtaking the Observation Lounge and sleeping in there the night before so as to take up most if not all of the seats. I had great food and great service. In fact I am repeating this cruise in late Sept. 2024.

Went on my first cruise ever last year with NCL to Alaska. It was not without issues, the first day at sea was rough, the ship was rocking all over, it was difficult to walk about. We were told this is not typical. It was interesting for sure, luckily I didn’t get sea sick (I had pre-emptively taken meds). We missed the Skagway port due to weather and choppy waters (which was the port I was most looking forward to). Another of our excursions was cancelled in Ketchikan due to weather. These are out of everyone’s control so there is no point complaining, it changes nothing and just makes you miserable during vacation. You sometimes have to roll with the punches and try to make the best out of what you can do. I chose to enjoy what I was able to do and see and not allow it to ruin the rest of the vacation. They immediately refunded the canceled excursions without issue, didn’t have to even go to customer service or anything. It was refunded on our account instantly. Having said that, if I had booked a trip to Antarctica and they canceled going there entirely, I would be upset. I get it happens, but it sounds like they knew ahead of time it would happen and didn’t inform the guests, which is just wrong. Good customer service would be to inform the guests the instant it was known that stop was not going to happen. I still would happily sail on NCL again, actually I am currently looking at and planning a cruise with them for next year. Super excited for it as well. My first experience, despite not being perfect was great.

Just returned from a Norwegian Cruise. We had issues with our cabin service on a day or two, as well as being charged for mini bar usage which we did not use. When I went to customer service to discuss this with them, they of course apologized and immediately refunded my disputed charges and remove the daily service fee for both myself and my travel partner. So, yes while there were some issues, they were handled promptly and to my satisfaction.

We just returned from an 11 day Iceland, Greenland, and Canada cruise on NCL Star. This was our 2nd cruise on NCL and our last as our experience was not pleasant. We also experienced 2 cancelled port of calls adding 2 additional sea days to our itinerary. While they updated some areas of the ship our balcony stateroom was outdated and worn. On 3 separate occasions our toilet stopped working causing maintenance to be in our cabin for about an hour each time. As well, our sliding glass door to the balcony leaked when it rained. Apparently this had gone on for quite a while because when I noticed it, I also noticed the mildew on the carpet. They did fix the problem which entailed maintenance cleaning the mildew on day 1 and then coming back on day 2 to replace the damaged carpet. \r \r These were just a few of the numerous issues we had on our journey. My husband and I will stick with Celebrity Cruises.

Very sad to hear these horror stories. Our experience is different. We went on a 16-day Alaska to Hawaii cruise last year and it was great! Food was wonderful, the crew were all professional and pleasant, the entertainment was fun, and all in all it was a memorable (in a good way) experience. We sailed on the Norwegian Spirit, an oldie but a goodie, and would gladly do so again.