NCL Reservation system had the wrong information

Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review to Europe - Western Europe

mmaro96

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 26

Overall rating:

3.4 out of 5

Verified Review

10 Night British Isles: England & Ireland (Copenhagen To Southampton)

Sail date: July 02, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Dawn

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10218

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

When I booked my cruise in March, I was told there were eight ports of call: Edinburgh, Invergordon, and Kirkwall in Scotland; Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis; Dublin, Ireland; Belfast, Northern Ireland; and Falmouth and Portland in England. My reservation stated that the only tendered port was Edinburgh and that the NCL Dawn would dock at the other 7 port of call. This itinerary and number of docked vs tendered ports were confirmed in my cruise documents and cruise contract. I booked this itinerary specifically was because there was only one tendered port. When boarding the Dawn on July 2nd we received a letter stating that an error in the NCL reservation system did not accurately portray a number of ports as tender. Instead of 1, we now had 5 tendered ports. As a result of these errors in the NCL reservation system, we picked the wrong cruise and were unable to go ashore because of rough weather at the ports of Dublin (the reason I took the cruise), Stornway, and Falmouth. NCL refunded $100 dollars to our cabin and offered us a 25% off the next cruise. I doubt I can trust NCL enough to cruise again.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Wonderful

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Le Bistro was our favorite

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Was too clod and rainy

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

The room steward was inattentive until the last few days of the cruise.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin bathroom smelled like urine

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Very comfortable bathroom could have been better.

Ship tip

Grab your wine from the Cellars wine bar and bring to dinner because many of the resturants are not well stocked with premium wines

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Copenhagen, Denmark

4 out of 5

NEWHAVEN HARBOUR (EDINBURGH), SCOTLAND

2 out of 5

Tendering back to the ship took almost 2 hours in the rain.

Thumbs Up 0

Invergordon (Inverness & Loch Ness), Scotland

5 out of 5

We booked a Highlands tour with WOW tours. They were great!

Thumbs Up 2

Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland

4 out of 5

The town was great.

Thumbs Up 1

Stornoway, Isle Of Lewis, Hebrides Did not visit port

This was a docked port on our NCL reservation but NCL changed it to a tendered port and it had to be cancelled due to rough weather.

Thumbs Up 0

Dun Laoghaire (Dublin), Ireland Did not visit port

This was a docked port on our NCL reservation but NCL changed it to a tendered port and it had to be cancelled due to rough weather.

Thumbs Up 0

Belfast, Northern Ireland

3 out of 5

We did a excursion about the past, present and future. Little shocking to see the neighborhoods around the "Peace Wall". Downtown Belfast was nice.

Thumbs Up 0

Falmouth, Cornwall, England Did not visit port

This was a docked port on our NCL reservation but NCL changed it to a tendered port and it had to be cancelled due to rough weather.

Thumbs Up 0

Portland (Weymouth), England, UK

4 out of 5

We were very glade to get off the ship. Lovely town with nice pubs.

Thumbs Up 1

Southampton (London), England

3 out of 5

NCL transfer to Heathrow is the way to go.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

Long lines but it worked.

8 Comments

mckey70hotmailcom 1 year ago

We are on this cruise in august and are very aware that 5 of the ports are tender. Not sure how you missed this information, it is on the tender ports list on the NCL site and on the excursions page?

Thumbs Up 1

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cruising2004 1 year ago

Sorry to hear about this issues you had. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Thumbs Up 0

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OGWonderWoman 1 year ago

NCL strikes (a nerve) again! 🤣

Thumbs Up 0

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javawoody 1 year ago

Thanks for the info

Thumbs Up 0

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Dumfy75 1 year ago

The weather was out of their hands but not informing you of the number of tender ports was pretty poor, tenders stress me out so I like that info beforehand. Also as a resident of Edinburgh I’m sorry you didn’t get to enjoy your experience in our city!

Thumbs Up 2

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Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Oops sorry 😞 thanks, safety over everything else.

Thumbs Up 0

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karlgrgurich 1 year ago

Sorry for your experience. We just did a British Isles cruise on Princess, and were well aware that four of the ten ports were tender ports, which was accurate. I’m quite sure the cruise companies know this information ahead of time. We missed one due to weather, and given the usual weather in that area, I was pleasantly surprised that was all. Our weather was actually quite nice. Even though we know that ships may miss ports for various reasons, it’s still disappointing when it happens!

Thumbs Up 1

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enjoyurdaysmile 1 year ago

Yes, it is disappointing, but safe is first. The captain has the call on what to do..Even sailing with another line, expect the unexpected. Sorry to hear about all of what happened. We had our Great Stirr Up Cay cancelled on my Getaway cruise due to the ocean being rough.. Couldn't tender. They refunded 58 dollars

Thumbs Up 0

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Other reviews of this sailing

Disappointed

Hits and Misses

Missed three ports due to rough seas.