Ends with a bad taste in our mouths

Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 45

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5
Norwegian Breakaway

9 Night Scandinavia & Russia (Warnemunde Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 15, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11910

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Although the start of the cruise went to plan, we failed to dock at two ports including our final destination port (Sweden & German ports for Stockholm & Berlin). We understand that it may sometimes be impossible or unsafe to dock at a port but we were shocked and appalled by the manner in which we were informed that we were to be dumped off in a foreign country the following day and expected to make our own arrangements to get home (including an overnight stay). There was zero help from the cruise director or his staff to the point of getting conflicting information from the customers service desks on what we needed to do. One of their staff members told us that transfers would be provided to Copenhagen and that the Cruise Excursions desk would arrange this for us. However the Cruise Excursions desk said they could only offer sightseeing excursions and pointed us back to the queue stretching all the way across the atrium. At this point we had nowhere to stay, no way back to our flight home from Berlin airport and less than half a day to arrange all of this, pack our luggage and eat. We ran out of time to go back and find out where the the transfers would take us or if there were even any spaces. We were told that there was a room where we could access the internet and make telephone calls but the queue for this was understandably long and did not move for the 30 minutes we waited there. Distressed at the thought of being stranded on the streets of Copenhagen we felt we had no choice but to purchase the cheapest of their exorbitant internet packages in order to reserve a hotel room before they were all taken. Although their abrupt letter promised a part refund for the missing holiday time we have not yet received this or even notification of when or how and we are severely short on funds having had to make alternative last minute arrangements. We will also be forwarding the invoices for our additional flight and overnight stay to them as they said they would refund these up to a value of $300 (presumably each person). THE LETTER WE RECEIVED: NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINES xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx September 22,2018 Dear Valued Guests, Thank you for choosing Norwegian Breakaway for your vacation at sea. At Norwegian Cruise Line, the safety and comfort of our guests and crew is always our number one priority. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, we have modified the itinerary for your current voyage. The ship will cancel its call to Warnemunde(Berlin), Germany, on September 24,2018 and conclude its sailing on September 23,2018 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Guests will disembark the ship one day early, We apologize for this unexpected change to your itinerary. lf you booked shore excursions with Norwegian Cruise Line for Copenhagen, Denmark, and for Warnemunde(Berlin), Germany, these will be automatically cancelled and a refund will be processed to your onboard account. Additionally, we will cover transportation change fees up to $300 USD. Please submit receipts to your respective booking office for reimbursement. Please note that you will receive a refund for the value of one day of the cruise fare paid back to the form of payment. Thank you for your understanding and as always, we remain at your service. Sincerely, Captain Norwegian Breakaway

Embarkation

2 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
All staff were great except those on the customer information side including the Captain and the Cruise Director

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Ship tip

Make sure you have plenty of credit on you credit card in case they leave you high and dry

Ports of call

Warnemunde (Berlin), Germany

2 out of 5
Trying to find our way from the Flixbus stop to the cruise ship was hell as we were given no idea how to get to the wharf from NCL. Also there was a cruise festival on at the port as well which got in the way.

Tallinn, Estonia

5 out of 5

St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

4 out of 5
Make sure that you pre-book trip otherwise the Russians will not let you in.

Helsinki, Finland

4 out of 5

Nynashamn (Stockholm), Sweden Did not visit port

Ship failed to make this destination due to bad weather

Copenhagen, Denmark

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
We were dumped off the ship a day early in the wrong place with no help to find hotel and flights due to bad weather.
Was this review helpful? 45

6 Comments

krzysztof76    6 years ago

Always buy Good insurance,Costs 200$ give or take few but you dont have to worry about situation like this .

esm54687    6 years ago

Too late for the OP but if this (and other stories) don't convince you to purchase good Travel Insurance (medical, port cancellation, trip interruption, evacuation, etc) then I'm sorry but......

doddser    6 years ago

That was atrocious customer service.

nick684    6 years ago

I'm all for taking the good with the bad. Alot goes on behind the scenes that we don't know about and influences the decisions the company makes. You guys sound like you were put through the wringer, though. If it were me, I'd book another trip immediately to relive my pain. That's how I deal.

lrgd    6 years ago

Wow. Wonder what really happened..

offwego    6 years ago

Wow.... Wow

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