Norwegian Cruise Lines: Reservation, shmeservation

[markvid]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/499072p-420758c.html

Have a reservation? Tough
Have a plane ticket? Tough
Had plans? Tough

I hope they take a major PR hit for just bouncing these people. I care less about the circumstances about why the boat is now not available, but to do this then offer just $100 off your next cruise? I'd rather take the S.S. Minnow.

 

[Football_Bat]

All the norovirus you can eat? Not a chance, buddy. I'll watch the vomit scene in "Stand By Me" but I won't live it in real life.

I have no desire to go on a cruise.

 

[Ace]

How can you write an article like that with no apparent effort to get a comment from the cruise line?

 

[User 1019]

They didn't get their deposit back? Wow.

 

[JBHawkEye]

With all of the problems the cruise line industry is having (various viruses, stories of crime on and off the boat, people disappearing, etc.), why would anyone want to get on one of these ships?

 

[EStreetJoe]

With all of the problems the cruise line industry is having (various viruses, stories of crime on and off the boat, people disappearing, etc.), why would anyone want to get on one of these ships?

The number of cruises where people are stricken by a ship-wide virus is a very small percentage of cruises.
Crime on and off the boat.. crime happens in the cities, suburbia, rural areas, etc. you just need to exercise the same cautions you would anywhere else -- lock valuables in a safe, don't wear anything too gaudy to attract to yourself, etc.
People disappearing off boats .. if I'm not mistaken, the majority of those cases have happened on cruises in the Medeterrian, not cruises in the Bahamas.

So don't rag on cruises unless you've actually been on one or more.

 

[slappy4428]

I mean it could have been worse. They could have been stuck on a boat WITH Ross O'Donnell for a week...

 

[EStreetJoe]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/499072p-420758c.html

Have a reservation? Tough
Have a plane ticket? Tough
Had plans? Tough

I hope they take a major PR hit for just bouncing these people. I care less about the circumstances about why the boat is now not available, but to do this then offer just $100 off your next cruise? I'd rather take the S.S. Minnow.

I guess this gives new meaning to their slogan "Freestyle cruising" -- they're free to cancel your reservation and kick you off the ship whenever they want.

 

[alleyallen]

With all of the problems the cruise line industry is having (various viruses, stories of crime on and off the boat, people disappearing, etc.), why would anyone want to get on one of these ships?

The number of cruises where people are stricken by a ship-wide virus is a very small percentage of cruises.
Crime on and off the boat.. crime happens in the cities, suburbia, rural areas, etc. you just need to exercise the same cautions you would anywhere else -- lock valuables in a safe, don't wear anything too gaudy to attract to yourself, etc.
People disappearing off boats .. if I'm not mistaken, the majority of those cases have happened on cruises in the Medeterrian, not cruises in the Bahamas.

So don't rag on cruises unless you've actually been on one or more.

Right on Joe. I took a cruise (albeit in 1985) and thoroughly enjoyed it. The illnesses and abductions aren't as common as you think or are led to believe. And the whole experience really is fantastic.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Well, we were considering taking a cruise for a vacation in the near future. Won't be with Norwegian now, that's for sure.

 

[Treadly Doright]

Took the Tread family on a Disney Cruise in January. First time any of us had been on a cruise and we had a great time. Can't think of a bad thing to say about it other than St. Maarten wasn't as spectacular as people we talked to seemed to think it was.

 

[expendable]

I've been on two cruises, and am thinking about taking MrsExpendable for our tenth in a couple of years. Very enjoyable experience.

Come on. A bad day of norovirus on an island is better than a good day at work.

Okay, it's not.

 

[Ace]

I've been on two cruises, and am thinking about taking MrsExpendable for our tenth in a couple of years. Very enjoyable experience.

Come on. A bad day of norovirus on an island is better than a good day at work.

Okay, it's not.

Sure you're not just planning to dump MrsExpendable overboard?

 

[expendable]

If anyone deserves to get thrown overboard, it's me.

 

[Monday Morning Sportswriter]

Norwegian is the Holiday Inn of cruise lines. This surprises me not at all.

Still, they could have at least indicated they made an effort to contact NCL.

 

[EStreetJoe]

Sailed on Royal Caribbean last year in the Bahamas and would definitely sail one of their ships again.

 

[pressboxer]

Forget the floating hotels. Go on a Windjammer Barefoot cruise. I sailed on the Polynesia out of Sint Maarten a few years ago on a singles-only cruise. I was rather surprised to be among the younger passengers even though I was past 35.

I thought it somewhat amusing that the captain, a Scotsman from St. Andrews, was scheduled to start his vacation as soon as we docked the final day. I believe the fact that the next week was an all-nude gay cruise had something to do with it.

And Treadly, did you see just the Dutch side of Sint Maarten? The French side of the island is a totally different vibe, but you probably wouldn't want to take the kids to a nude beach.

 

[Treadly Doright]

And Treadly, did you see just the Dutch side of Sint Maarten? The French side of the island is a totally different vibe, but you probably wouldn't want to take the kids to a nude beach.

Yeah, we heard the other side was good but we pretty much got off the ship, saw the beach and stopped. Kids had fun, which was really all that mattered at that point. Mrs. Tread and I were happy to just relax. I think we both agreed that we needed to return sans the Lil' Treads.

 

[dog428]

Lumping all cruise lines together and criticizing them after something like this is like criticizing all hotels because someone broke into the ****ty, 25-bucks-a-night place you booked and stole your stuff.

As I said on the other thread, you get what you pay for when it comes to cruises.

Yeah, you can have a good time and do a lot of cool things on a cheaper cruise. But there's also a greater chance that some bad stuff will happen, since you're on a boat that's probably quite a bit older, the reduced price you paid means they're slacking on service and quality and the other passengers ... well, we'll just say a high number of them couldn't pass a DUI test when they boarded the boat.

I also wasn't very impressed with St. Marteen. Loved St. Thomas though. Several absolutely gorgeous beaches there. The one thing I can't understand about these cruise ship stops are the number of jewelry stores. In our four stops, I counted 78 "recommended" jewelry places on the little maps handed out by the cruise line. I understand the ****'s "duty free" and all, but are there really that many damn people snapping up jewelry while on vacation?

 

[Ellis Redding]

I've heard good things about Barbados. Anyone been?