Complaint Review: Norwegian Cruise Line - Miami Florida

Whenever and wherever Donna and I travel on vacation, it has to be connected with woods and/or water: the woods for my hunting adventures while Donna shoots the camera; the ocean, bays, lakes, ponds and streams for our angling adventures as we are fanatic fishing fools. Of late, we decided to take an ocean cruise every other year or so. Our vacation in 2013 was aboard Holland America’s Eurodam, enjoying their Fall Foliage Tour to New England and Canada. That cruise was a totally wonderful experience. Everything was spot-on. In 2016, we cruised to the Eastern Caribbean on the Norwegian Gem and had a wonderful time. Aboard both cruise ships, everything from the stateroom, stateroom attendants, food, entertainment, to the service was spot-on, too. Then on January 19th, 2018 came the cruise from hell aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line Breakaway, headed for a 14-day excursion to the Western Caribbean. It was an absolute disaster from the moment we entered our stateroom. We were on the Silver Tier Latitude’s Reward’s Program; a mini suite stateroom with large balcony.

The Breakaway had arrived several hours late in New York because of a storm at sea. That’s certainly understandable. The ship was supposed to arrive at 8:00 a.m. At approximately 4:00 in the afternoon, with a temperature of 34º Fahrenheit in Manhattan, we boarded the vessel. It was extremely cold when we entered our stateroom because the air conditioning was blowing full blast and would not shut off. Our stateroom attendant (Emerson) said that it would take some time for the air conditioning to shut off and for the heat to come on. We asked, “Why is the air conditioning on in the first place? It’s 34º out there!” No answer, just a shrug of the man’s shoulders.

For the next 6½ hours, we complained seven (7) times: three times to our stateroom attendant, three times to Guest Services, and once to a deck officer because the air conditioning would not shut off. We had asked Emerson to get cardboard and tape to block off the vent that was still pushing cold air into the room. Nothing was done. Staff (referring to our stateroom attendant and Guest Services) offered lame excuses. We asked for another stateroom, either temporarily or permanently. We were told that there were no other rooms available. The following morning, January 20th, we wrote a letter to Guest Services, insisting on heat in the stateroom, threatening to write the matter up in a travel magazine upon return home. At all times we remained calm but firm. It took that letter to finally get their attention.

It was very cold in the room on the afternoon we left New York, then on into the evening, the next morning, as well as the following afternoon. We had politely but persistently asked Emerson and Housekeeping Services for blankets. Emerson finally brought two thin blankets (approximately 4 x 4 feet in size), hardly adequate. We had twice asked Emerson for coffee pods to have something to warm us up, which should have been in the stateroom initially. The coffee pods did not come until the next day’s room make-up. We had slept in our clothes and winter coats. After 21-plus hours, we finally received heat. Inexcusable! We wrote a second letter addressed to the ship’s captain, Captain Matko Candrlic, wanting answers as to why it took 6½ hours to shut down the air-conditioning and 21-plus hours to provide the stateroom with heat. Also, it took three days before we received our bathrobes.

One of our encounters with Guest Services regarding this deplorable situation was with Farzu. We had handed him the first letter, which explained the situation; he said he could not read the handwriting. It was, trust me, quite legible. [As an aside, Donna had attended Catholic school; her penmanship is impeccable.] I had dictated the letter, and Donna had written it. Desk personnel were not busy, so I had asked a young lady at the adjacent counter to please read it, please make a copy, and help us. Farzu challengingly said, “Is she helping you or am I?” We should have known right then and there that our complaints were going nowhere. Farzu’s tone was sheer arrogance.

It took a second letter (dated January 21st), handed to Guest Services, before further action was taken as to the whys and wherefores re the air conditioning and heat situation. I felt a cold coming on. Again, we wanted to know why the air conditioning could not be shut off for 6½ hours and why we had no heat for 21-plus hours. We eventually got to sit down with the assistant hotel director, who explained the situation.

Assistant Hotel Director Metin Carmulu admitted to the crew’s failure and said that the stateroom had been purposely set at 57 º Fahrenheit! “Really? Why?” we both asked. Maintenance was unable to shut off the air conditioning and provide heat. You’ll recall that the temperature leaving New York was 34º Fahrenheit. In sum and substance, this is what Assistant Hotel Director Metin Carmulu had relayed to us:

“The passengers who had your stateroom on the prior cruise wanted the room cold. In order to accommodate them, a refrigeration engineer manually overrode the system and brought the room temperature down to 57º. The engineer did not log in or notify any other member on the team about what he had done, so it took 21-plus hours for the refrigeration engineers to figure out the problem and bring the system back to normal operation, finally providing your stateroom with heat.”

As a watered-down attempted gesture of “supposed good faith,” Mr. Carmulu offered us a free show at Cirque. We declined as we had already seen Cirque de Soleil in Manhattan. He then offered us a meal at the ship’s Ocean Blue Restaurant, noting that we had had a meal there earlier (more on that later). He said he would arrange it, also stating that he’d see what else he could do for us. Neither the meal nor any other offer was forthcoming. I saw where this matter was going—nowhere. He also said that the captain had our letter and would likely meet with us. That never happened either, but I was glad that the captain supposedly had our letter. My cold was becoming chronic. I wrote another letter to Mr. Carmulu, explaining this issue and stated that I was willing to see the ship’s doctor in order to corroborate my illness. He said he would arrange an appointment and “that it would be taken care of,” meaning payment cost. He had not done so. Phone calls went back and forth between medical and Carmulu’s office until things finally got straightened out. A nurse took my blood pressure, and Dr. Alex Popov examined me, saying that my throat was red and blood pressure a bit high. He prescribed medication for my cold symptoms: three antibiotic pills, cold-relief pills, an expectorant, mucus pills, and Ibuprofen. Donna was now starting to develop a cough and feeling lethargic.

By January 23rd through the 25th, I was suffering from a hacking cough, runny nose, headaches, and subsequently spending days in bed instead of enjoying the cruise. I did not eat well after that point and was feeling miserable. I respectfully asked for half reimbursement or the equivalent thereof, for it was the staff’s negligence that caused my illness because of the air conditioning/heat issue, pointing out that Donna was becoming sick. Mr. Carmulu said that I’d have to take the matter up with corporate in Miami, and that he’d give us the necessary information. That never happened either until Donna went to Desk Services on the day of departure and explained the situation. She was handed a business card with Norwegian Cruise Line President/CEO’s name, address, and reference number (more on that later, too).

Our pre-booked shore excursions made through Norwegian Cruise Line to Bamboo Beach VIP in Jamaica, and Maya Key (a private island of Roatán, Honduras), would have been enjoyable had we not been sick with bad colds as the result of being stuck in a 57º stateroom for almost a full day. I did not want to disappoint Donna since this cruise was booked to celebrate our upcoming milestone birthdays: Donna, 70; myself, 75. Upon waiting for transport back to the ship from another shore excursion at Harvest Caye, Belize on January 27th, Donna fainted. It wasn’t from the heat as the temperature that day was a comfortable 80º. Ironically, the same nurse who attended to me in medical ran to Donna’s aid and took her blood pressure. Donna recovered quickly, but the following day she experienced severe cold symptoms just like me. It was at this point that we respectfully requested full reimbursement. Our trip was ruined.

The mishaps, missteps, and deceptive practices conducted by the crew aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line Breakaway were overwhelming. They continued to display sheer incompetence coupled to a blasé, arrogant attitude. For example, Donna and I returned to our stateroom one evening, and I went to grab a can of soda. There had been a can of Pepsi in the refrigerator along with other cans of soda. When I opened the refrigerator, the Pepsi and other cans were gone. We called Housekeeping to contact our stateroom attendant Emerson as he could not be found or reached. Next thing we know, Rodney, a supervisor, comes to the door with two cans of Pepsi, for which he wants us to sign and be charged. We refused. Rodney stood there for a good ten minutes insisting that we sign because if we didn’t, he said he would have to pay for the sodas himself. He finally got ahold of Emerson to find out what had happened to the Pepsi and the other cans of soda. Emerson told Rodney that when he was cleaning out the refrigerator (which, by the way, had not been dirty), he had put the can of Pepsi on the counter. The can dropped and got dented, so he took it out, he had told Rodney. I had asked, “Were the other cans of missing soda dented, too?” We’re talking nickels and dimes; we’re talking principle. Rodney then said that he would “work it out” with Emerson. Well, Emerson did not replace the other cans of soda until I further addressed the matter.

On a more serious note referencing deceptive practices (which amounted to more than just nickels and dimes), we had, as mentioned, initially gone to the ship’s Ocean Blue Restaurant before we had gotten sick with very bad colds. We were so looking forward to their lobster special. The hostess informed us that there would be an upcharge of $39.99 per person if ordering their seafood lobster special. Nowhere on the Norwegian Cruise Line website does it indicate this extra charge. As a matter of fact, the Norwegian Cruise Line website clearly addresses the point as shown below under their Frequently Asked Questions (which is what we had paid for in advance and were entitled to as part of their specialty dining package):

“ARE ANY MENU ITEMS EXCLUDED FROM SPECIALTY DINING PACKAGES?”

“No, all items listed on the menus are included in the package.”

This was most disappointing and very deceptive. We passed on the lobster special, which would have resulted in an additional, unwarranted upcharge of $79.98, plus what we had already paid for the dining package.

After Donna and I returned home, we wrote a detailed letter to Mr. Frank Del Rio, President and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line at the corporate office in Miami, referencing the inexcusable and admitted negligence of personnel. We respectfully requested full reimbursement as our vacation was totally ruined. Our certified letter to him dated February 5th, 2018 was never answered. As Donna and I had covered the major issues regarding this matter in our first correspondence to Mr. Del Rio, but with no response, we felt that he needed to know the whole ball of wax concerning the crew aboard the Breakaway with reference to our horrendous treatment, poor service, deceptive practices, and disappointing food. Therefore, we wrote him a second certified letter dated February 15th, 2018. Once again, there was no reply.

Savor, Taste, Cagney’s Steakhouse, and O’Sheehan’s****.>

Another time I ordered a rare steak that came medium-well. In another restaurant, I ordered a rare steak and it arrived raw. By this time, as Donna and I were sick with chronic colds caused by the crew’s negligence, my appetite a bit abated, I simply ate around the edges of the steak. Many of our meals consisted of tea with lemon and honey. Another time, I ordered a rare cheeseburger, and it came well done. Too, the chefs are very heavy on the salt and pepper. I love salt, but these meals were ridiculously salty. For example, I ordered a veal medallion entrée. The veal was heavily salted as was the gravy. Donna ordered a Reuben sandwich at O’Sheehan’s. One side of the sandwich was grilled with heavy salt, so she ate the other side of the sandwich. Folks that we came in contact with had the same to say about overly salty food.

Another time, Donna ordered scrambled eggs and shared with me. The eggs (I don’t think they were real eggs) were so bad it brought back memories of the powered eggs I was fed in the service. Needless to say, she did not eat the eggs. Another time, Donna ordered pancakes; absolutely terrible. The service in the complimentary restaurants was spotty at best. Many times, you had to ask twice for something, and you were lucky if it came as ordered. Ocean Blue was the only restaurant where food and service was spot on; however, they played that deceptive game as mentioned earlier re their lobster special. By the time we returned home, I had lost 10 pounds; Donna lost 8 pounds. Not exactly our idea of healthy dieting. Our neighbor who picked us up Manhattan said that I looked like death warmed over; my face was white. As of this writing, although recovering slowly, we still have hacking coughs.

Other negative aspects experienced aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line Breakaway are, admittedly, not nearly as egregious as being stuck in that 57º degree stateroom for nearly a 24 hour period without heat, the air conditioning blowing full blast for the first 6½ hours (a 34º temperature while leaving New York on January 19th, 2018). As minor as the following issues may be, they tend to show a definitive dichotomy among passenger care and concern, attitude and arrogance, especially when compared to Holland America’s Eurodam.

As this was not our first rodeo, I thought it might prove enlightening to juxtapose our experiences between our first cruise in 2013 aboard Holland America’s Eurodam and our recent 2018 cruise aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway.

Back in 2013, in our stateroom aboard Holland America’s Eurodam, during a 10-day cruise, chocolate covered fruit, plain fresh fruit, and/or cheese and crackers were provided virtually every other day. Each night, we found towels folded into various animal shapes.

On our recent 14-day cruise aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway, our stateroom attendant folded towels into animal shapes on four occasions out of a two-week period. Only once did a tray of fruit, cheese and crackers arrive. Remember, we’re part of the Silver Tier Latitude’s Reward’s Program, on our way to Gold . . . . Yeah, right. Imagine if we were the so-called ‘valued customers’ comparable to a Reward Program below that status.

Back to that spot-on, spectacular 2013 cruise aboard Holland America’s Eurodam. One morning, after stepping off the ship in Saguenay—Quebec, Canada, the captain of the Eurodam, Captain Keijer, excused himself from the mayor of the city and a group of politicians to come over and say hello, shake hands, and pose for a picture. He had recognized me from a Q & A aboard the ship earlier, where I had asked, I guess, several good questions. As mentioned, everything aboard that ship was—well—shipshape: food, service, entertainment, et cetera. An atmosphere of friendliness was present everywhere, unlike what Donna and I experienced aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway.

Norwegian Cruise Line Breakaway’s Assistant Hotel Director, Metin Carmulu, had failed to follow through with what he said he would do in several respects, one being a meeting with the captain, you’ll recall. I tend to doubt that Captain Matko Candrlic ever received our letter, mentioned earlier. No crew member of Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway ever followed up with a single concern as to how two pretty sick passengers, whose illnesses were unequivocally caused as a direct result of the crew’s negligence, were faring aboard the ship. Sadly, just the opposite was true. The crew went out of its way to avoid Donna and me like the plague. A palpable atmosphere of dissatisfaction among many crew members permeated the ship, and not just those with whom we dealt. Other passengers complained to us about the service, food, stomach aches, and the smell of mold in their staterooms. Among a good many passengers and crew, you knew there were a lot of folks who were not happy campers. Aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway, you did not see many faces such as those aboard the Holland America’s Eurodam.

To add insult to injury, after sending two certified, detailed letters (along with enclosed copies of correspondence written aboard ship) to Frank Del Rio, President/CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line at corporate in Miami, no one to date has contacted us regarding this matter.

The only recourse that Donna and I feel we have left is to inform as many folks as we can as to the lack of concern, lack of follow-through, prevarications, and deceptive practices that we experienced aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway. This is a story that has to be told. Caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware. Cruise Lines have your money up-front—an initial deposit, then the balance in three months before embarkation. You really have little recourse if there is a situation because the cruise line industry is governed by federal maritime law, which is written in favor of the cruise line industry. A company like Norwegian Cruise Line makes it bad for other cruise lines. Case in point: Donna and I will never again put ourselves in a position where a company, any company, has ALL of our monies in advance. Hence, we will not be cruising again . . . except on our own boats and aboard recreational vessels of charter captains whose reputations precede them, along with friends with whom we travel and fish. We’re simply going to Breakaway.

In that second letter to President/CEO Mr. Del Rio, we had enclosed a DVD, which was videotaped for our Cablevision show, Special Interests with Bob & Donna. The show airs Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. EST, channel 115, as well as subsequent Saturdays in March (10, 17, 24, 31), chronicling our horrible experiences aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line Breakaway. Our show reaches approximately four (4) million customers in Suffolk and Nassau Counties on Long Island, and will be broadcasted those five Saturdays in March. It will likely be followed up in April with a subsequent show and report in order to inform the public of the outcome.

In our 44 years together, Donna and I have never been treated so shabbily and with a total disregard for our health, comfort, and well-being. We did not expect to experience such a disastrous trip—a waste of $5,522.28. President/CEO Mr. Del Rio made a record, recorded thirty-two million ($32,000,000) in 2015; millions in subsequent years. I doubt that Mr. Del Rio ever saw our letters or even cares. Corporate is sweeping this matter under the carpet. Not a single response to date. Donna and I flat-out give Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway an F. Failure personified.