Norwegian never told us ship turned around after leaving Boston port!
Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review to Bermuda
Sail date: May 29, 2015
Ship: Norwegian Dawn
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: 11056
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 9 years ago
Review summary
This is the second time our family has cruised from Boston to Bermuda with Norwegian, but this time it was on a different ship, the Dawn.
Our cruise left the Boston dock on Friday, May 29th, around 5PM, but we boarded the ship early at 1PM. It was a gray and chilly day for this time of year (50s), so that made us even happier to be heading to a warmer place. We enjoyed a nice buffet in the Garden Café, then explored the ship until our mini-suite cabin was ready.
We were very impressed with the mini-suite's layout and spaciousness for the three of us, especially the large balcony and convenient location (Deck 11). Our steward, Edwin, kept our cabin immaculate throughout our stay.
That evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Versailles Restaurant, then enjoyed some activities. We turned in at around 10PM since it had been a very busy day. At around that time, the cruise director made a sudden announcement that there was a passenger medical emergency and anyone willing to give O+ blood would be greatly appreciated (he sounded very stressed and upset). Unfortunately, none of us had that blood type, so we couldn't help.
In the morning, we drew the curtain aside to expose the weather and were disheartened to notice that the weather was still gray and cloudy. I stepped onto the balcony and was surprised how cold it was. My son tuned the TV to the station showing our location on the map, and we were stunned to see that we were still off the Boston coast! We ventured upstairs to the buffet for breakfast and overheard a passenger say that they turned the ship around last night due to the passenger emergency! No announcement was made about this major incident, and I felt very upset that the captain would change our plans without even mentioning it (as passengers on a ship aren't we entitled to know where we are???).
Later on, an announcement was made that we would arrive in Bermuda at 8:30PM Sunday night instead of 10AM, and in order to "accommodate" us for this change we would stay docked overnight in Bermuda on Tuesday instead of leaving at 5PM. Unfortunately, all Bermuda shops and activities stop at 5PM, so spending an extra overnight in Bermuda did NOTHING for us. At the very least, NCL should have credited an on-board activity for us or a shore excursion.
The rest of our cruise was good, but it seemed like almost every activity we wanted to try involved a "fee" of some kind, even Bingo! And now room service changes a fee of $7.95 per order, plus an automatic 18% gratuity.
We greatly enjoyed Bermuda (weather was great!), and it's a very easy island to get around.
Unfortunately, because of the way NCL handled the passenger emergency, I have NO INTEREST in taking this cruise, or any other NCL cruise, again.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
We stayed in cabin 11056 on Deck 11 (mid-ship, very quiet)
5 Comments
noname111 9 years ago
Thank you for posting your review.
With regard to the way in which the medical emergency was handled, and in light of your relatively new-to-cruising status, I interpret your displeasure as being a issue of expectation versus reality.
As previously mentioned, it is not a matter of routine protocol that ship-wide announcements are made with regard to fellow passenger's medical emergency. Also, there are the issues of balancing personal privacy as well as whether the ship's medical staff are able to establish the individual's medical stability prior to the Captain making decisions as to the ship's course and itinerary changes prior to when decisions are announced to an entire ship. Once sufficient information is known, then the Captain makes decisions based on what is best for the individual in distress as well as all of the ship's passengers.
I can pretty much guarantee you that fellow passenger inconvenience is not one of the top considerations when facing life-or-death situations. However, health and safety of all concerned are. Personally, I prefer the Captain delays ship-wide announcements until sufficient information is known and after decisions have been made... when on board, it's not a democracy.
glomarrone 9 years ago
I have been on so many cruises where similar events occurred that I am surprised on a longer cruise when there is no emergency. Suppose it were someone in your family who had such a medical emergency. I am sure your reaction would be quite different. You would have been grateful that the cruise line did all it could to get you or your love one medical help. I suppose if a general announcement had been made in the middle of the night informing passengers of the need to return to shore, you may have complained that the announcement disrupted your sleep.
I completely understand your disappointment at the loss of time spent in Burmuda. The cruise cost you a lot of money. The extra time spent in port overnight did not make for the loss in daylight sightseeing. I am so sorry that this made you so upset. But sometimes looking at the situation in a different light can make the experience easier to accept. You and your family were safe the whole time and I know that you are thankful for that. Please don't let this incident keep you from cruising with NCL again. I would cruise with NCL after hearing how quickly they reacted and how they put the needs of the patient above all else. That's a cruise line that I want to sail on.
Kennicott 9 years ago
I really have a difficult time understanding your displeasure with regard to this incident. I haven't heard of a cruise line where officers make ship wide announcements, including into the staterooms, in the middle night, unless an emergency exists wherein all passengers might be impacted by a dangerous circumstance.
We have been on a number of voyages where we had to turn around at night in order to secure necessary medical attention for fellow travelers. The appropriate announcement was made in the morning when most passengers could be expected to be up. That is the way it should be in my opinion, and from your detail it sounds like that is precisely what NCL did, good on them.
In late October after about three days bouncing around the Canaries, we headed south to the Cape Verde Islands for a day there. That was supposed to take about three days sailing if I recall correctly, then we were to cross the pond, first stop in the Caribbean being Barbados. After leaving the Canary Islands we spent the first evening at the theatre, then retired, on our way to the cabin they announced there was a "Code Mike" in the theatre. That announcement usually means some poor sole is in distress.
The next morning my wife was the first on our balcony and said land was immediately off the port side. I said, that can't be as Africa is on our port side, and it should be 200 miles away. Turned out we turned around about midnight, to take a passenger with a compound ankle fracture, from a fall in the theatre, back to the canaries. It was Grand Canary immediately off our port side.
Since that episode put us 48 hours behind schedule we then had to proceed directly to Barbados, 8.5 days.
CrusinTim 9 years ago
I can relate to your issue, but NOT your reaction to an ill passenger onboard. I hope that passenger was OK. We sailed on a T/A April past and diverted to the Azores as opposed to going to Bermuda because of bad weather in Bermuda on our expected arrival day. During the night after leaving the Azores, the ship turned around and headed back towards Punta Delgada Azores due to a passenger that had acute appendicitis. Once we got near the coast, a med-evac (helicopter) removed the ill passenger from the ship, we turned around and continued towards the U.K. Once at the hospital in the Azores, her appendix burst. No one raised ANY concern over the itinerary change, only the safety, condition and recovery of the passenger. So upsetting for you to have had your cruise interrupted due to some inconsiderate passenger haveing the nerve to get deathly ill (if they needed blood, they were VERY ill). The captain never announced our return to the Azores nor the situation taking place. He only mentioned that there would be an "At Sea" med-evac conducted. Get over it! Hope you never have to go through what that passenger did on your ship!!