The have terrible customer service and cancelled 2 stops after we paid

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 20

Overall rating:

1.6 out of 5
Norwegian Joy

7 Night Caribbean: Harvest Caye Cozumel & Roatan (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 18, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10300

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

I am making this complaint because for the terrible customer service I received from Norwegian Cruise Lines on 3/18/23 and the date I bought the cruise in July 2022. I booked a cruise for 3 people with Norwegian Cruise Lines in July of 2022 and our sail date was 3/18/23. My wife was denied entry to the ship because they said her passport didn't have the correct VISA attached to it, but when we booked the trip over the phone, I was VERY SPECIFIC about her passport not having an updated Visa attached to it. I told the salesperson that we were married, and she recently lost her Permanent residency card. I asked him for the 2nd time, “are you sure she can board, because her Visa to the US is expired but we have been married for 10 years and she just waiting on her lost permeant residency card? He said "Yes again" she be allowed to board with an Israeli passport. As long as the passport isn't expired. " He said if her passport isn’t expired, she will be allowed to board. What he didn't tell us was she can board but she will not be allowed back into the US after the 7 day cruise. Now this is terrible customer service and clearly he was just trying to make his commissions and didn't care about peoples livelihood. When we got to the port in Miami for NCL, my wife wasn't allowed to board the ship on 3/18/23. It was because her Israeli Passport had an old Visa attached to it. I told them I wanted to speak to the manager. I told the manager; I would have never booked and paid for a cruise for $5,500 on a ship that my wife couldn’t board. It broke my wife and son’s heart that we couldn’t board together. We booked this trip 8 months prior and were counting down the days since July 2022. My son is 12 years old and image if we boarded and his mom couldn't come back into the US. The manager was very nice at the port, she said to call the customer service number and I will get a full refund. She said he made notes on her end about the error. She was correct when we spoke to customer service person over the phone, she offered us a full refund for their mistake. She said I would get the funds back in 2-3 weeks on my credit card. I only received $2,000 back and I am still owed money. I called and asked for a full refund and now they are telling a different story. They are saying the Visa rules are very clear, that it was our mistake. Why would they give me a partial refund if it was my mistake. This complaint is in reference to my trip and I was offered and promised a full refund. I asked them to go back to listen to the call on 3/18/23 at 5:38 PM. I was offered a full refund over the phone. This is terrible customer service and if you promise something to a customer, you should keep your word. Please if anyone reads this please stay away from NCL- Norwegian Cruise Lines. Thanks Patrick

Embarkation

1 out of 5
Terrible - do not sail with them

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5
The worst. Liars

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5
very small

Ship tip

I am making this complaint because for the terrible customer service I received from Norwegian Cruise Lines on 3/18/23 and the date I bought the cruise in July 2022. I booked a cruise for 3 people with Norwegian Cruise Lines in July of 2022 and our sail date was 3/18/23. My wife was denied entry to the ship because they said her passport didn't have the correct VISA attached to it, but when we booked the trip over the phone, I was VERY SPECIFIC about her passport not having an updated Visa attached to it. I told the salesperson that we were married, and she recently lost her Permanent residency card. I asked him for the 2nd time, “are you sure she can board, because her Visa to the US is expired but we have been married for 10 years and she just waiting on her lost permeant residency card? He said "Yes again" she be allowed to board with an Israeli passport. As long as the passport isn't expired. " He said if her passport isn’t expired, she will be allowed to board. What he didn't tell us was she can board but she will not be allowed back into the US after the 7 day cruise. Now this is terrible customer service and clearly he was just trying to make his commissions and didn't care about peoples livelihood. When we got to the port in Miami for NCL, my wife wasn't allowed to board the ship on 3/18/23. It was because her Israeli Passport had an old Visa attached to it. I told them I wanted to speak to the manager. I told the manager; I would have never booked and paid for a cruise for $5,500 on a ship that my wife couldn’t board. It broke my wife and son’s heart that we couldn’t board together. We booked this trip 8 months prior and were counting down the days since July 2022. My son is 12 years old and image if we boarded and his mom couldn't come back into the US. The manager was very nice at the port, she said to call the customer service number and I will get a full refund. She said he made notes on her end about the error. She was correct when we spoke to customer service person over the phone, she offered us a full refund for their mistake. She said I would get the funds back in 2-3 weeks on my credit card. I only received $2,000 back and I am still owed money. I called and asked for a full refund and now they are telling a different story. They are saying the Visa rules are very clear, that it was our mistake. Why would they give me a partial refund if it was my mistake. This complaint is in reference to my trip and I was offered and promised a full refund. I asked them to go back to listen to the call on 3/18/23 at 5:38 PM. I was offered a full refund over the phone. This is terrible customer service and if you promise something to a customer, you should keep your word. Please if anyone reads this please stay away from NCL- Norwegian Cruise Lines. Thanks Patrick

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

1 out of 5

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

1 out of 5
The cancelled this stop

Harvest Caye, Belize

3 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

3 out of 5

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 20

9 Comments

TheBigSalad    1 year ago

Travelers, if you ever have circumstances where you or someone in your family will have any possible legal entanglements, like child custody, citizenship, or anything where you could be denied passage or engaging in activities, DO NOT RELY ON CUSTOMER SERVICE!! They are NOT experts in this, an immigration attorney is not answering your questions. Doesn’t matter if you’re going on a cruise, booking a flight, or checking into a hotel. Even on their websites the cruise lines refer you to get legal guidance if you have further questions. But, we all know that to get into a country, you must have something that establishes your citizenship there. Cruise lines are not going to take on a big problem like someone’s citizenship, regardless who you spoke with previously. Yes, a $3,000 lesson was learned (though, if they promised a full refund, they should honor it. Trip Insurance?).

cruisent    1 year ago

Be glad you got $2,000 back and move on. Chalk it up to a lesson learned.

AuntPinkie    1 year ago

Sorry you were so frustrated. As others mentioned, the cruise line doesn’t see these reviews (only other cruisers).

MrGiggles    1 year ago

No sympathy here. As someone who's been in the country 10+ years she should know the rules and not rely on a CSR. It's no different whether she gets on a cruise, crosses into Canada or visits Israel, there's no getting back into the US without the proper documentation. Chalk it up to an expensive education.

Dumfy75    1 year ago

Sorry this happened but did you not say in your review that you asked the question when you booked which was 8 months prior to sailing, was that not enough time to research and get the document you say your wife had lost? Unless I am reading your comments wrong. Where I do agree with you is that post-Covid, the NCL reps aren’t always great with being able to give you the right info when you phone, I’m not sure how well trained some of them are and they do need to improve this. Makes it so important to check it yourself.

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Oops sorry 😞 thanks

javawoody    1 year ago

Sorry this happened, research is so important.

Carnivalfoodie    1 year ago

Raw deal. Sorry 😞

cruising2004    1 year ago

I’m so sorry this happened. Unfortunately NCL will not see this post. Again, I’m so sorry.

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