Passengers sailing on a cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line have taken to social media to vent their fury and frustration, after some major changes onboard their cruise that arguably altered the entire reason for sailing.
The cruise in question was a Norwegian Star sailing set to visit South America and Antarctica, one of the most stunning regions of the world.
But once guests boarded the ship, they discovered that the itinerary had been renamed to “Round Trip to South America” and that the ship would no longer be visiting mainland Antarctica.
A TikTok user, ruinedvacation, went viral when sharing updates about the changes.
@ruinedvacation @Norwegian Cruise Line we need answers #cruise #cruisetok #help #southamerica #antarctica #vacation #cruiseship #fyp #fypシ ♬ original sound – ruinedvacation
NCL released a statement to the media about the situation:
We are committed to providing exceptional vacation experiences, both aboard our ships and by taking our guests to some of the most sought-out destinations around the world. While we try to maintain original itineraries as much as possible, at times modifications are made to optimize the itinerary or to accommodate certain circumstances.
To enhance the guest experience, the ship’s current itinerary was revised to allow more time for guests to explore Stanley, Falkland Islands. As such, the cruise by Paradise Bay, Antarctica was replaced with a cruise by Admiralty Bay, Antarctica. In addition, due to a recent regulatory requirement in the area, the ship is operating at a reduced speed, also impacting its original itinerary.
NCL spokesperson
However, ruinedvacation posted a final update on their TikTok account stating that they had been invited to a meeting with the ship’s captain which contradicted what NCL said in their statement:
@ruinedvacation Replying to @Mississippi601 final update! Nothing from @Norwegian Cruise Line but the captain spilled the tea! #cruise #cruisetok #southamerica #southamerica #antarctica #ncl #vacation #cruiseship #fyp ♬ original sound – ruinedvacation
Many other guests took to social media to share their anger. A lot of guests would have booked the cruise specifically for the Antarctica elements, and only finding out about the changes once onboard – especially as they were not decisions made because of poor sea conditions or weather – would understandably be extremely disappointing.
NCL also claimed that guests were sent an email prior to departure and that a notice was displayed at the bag drop at check-in, though guests have disputed this.
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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
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Extremely poor decision by NCL, their decision will no doubt influence cruisers when deciding who to book their next cruise with. It seems quite clear that NCL are totally out of touch with their customers requirements and that they believe that they can make any changes, in this case seemingly for financial benefit to NCL, and expect their customers to just accept it. Totally disrespectful and ignorant action by NCL.
We will not be cruising with NCL again due to their actions regarding the aforementioned cruise itinerary and we were not even on this cruise.