Honest Thoughts on Norwegian Cruise Lines

We all have nightmare travel stories, and usually, we think back on them after a while and reflect with a good laugh and shudder at the thought of the past trauma. I want to look back from a few years ago about a trip I took and hope to share some insights about what to do and what not to do when booking a cruise vacation for you or your family and maybe you can avoid some of the disastrous headaches that would have you feeling as if you never went on a vacation at all. I have traveled extensively throughout my life and typically planned everything myself. I thought that perhaps it would be a nice change if someone else did most of the planning for a change, and I left most of it up to someone else, and all I would have to do was show up.

Enter United Cruises, a site through United Airlines that offers vacation packages for cruises. We were looking for a trip to Alaska, and without a doubt, one of the easiest ways to see many facets of Alaska is to take a cruise, as traveling around Alaska can be difficult without a plane or boat of your own. The cruise made total sense, but there were so many different cruise lines and price points to choose from. United Cruises made this tall task a little easier to whittle down the list, and we settled on a Norwegian Cruise Line 7-day cruise that would travel all around Southeast Alaska, leaving from and returning to Seattle with a one-day stop at Vancouver Island in Canada. I had United Mileage status then, so trying to take advantage of some of their complementary services seemed like a no-brainer. I never had any problems with United Airlines for the longest time, so it felt like a reasonable choice. I was able to book online, and before doing so, I had some questions that I was able to get answered by a helpful individual on the phone. United would handle everything related to travel, the flights, the cruise booking, and transport to and from the airports. NCL made booking outings from their website for the cruise easy, so I felt pretty good about the whole thing for the four months leading up to the trip.

Unfortunately, these good feelings would not last. On the day of travel, we arrived at the airport, and to our dismay, the flight had been delayed. Not entirely unusual, and still relatively calm, we wait patiently. No luck; the flight is further delayed as they try to fly one new part in from another airport and drive another needed part in from a separate airport. Now, the nerves start to kick in a little bit because, by this point, we are beginning to cut it close to when we would have to make it to the cruise before it left the dock. We can’t change flights as the original flight hasn’t been canceled yet, so we’re stuck until we finally cancel the flight. The agents at the gate are overwhelmed and unable to help anyone, claiming the computers are not working and refusing to book other airlines. We can have a last-ditch effort to get rebooked on an American Airlines flight that would give us just a sliver of hope to make the cruise still, but no luck as bad weather rolls in and cancels more flights. It’s guaranteed we will be missing embarking on the ship.

On any cruise that does not leave US territory, this would not be an issue, and for any other trip planning, I would have chosen flights that allowed for much more leeway in arrival time for something like this, maybe even a full day ahead of time. The first issue that came up was in talking with United Cruises; they could not help in any capacity but did let me know I could cancel my trip with no refund, wasting thousands of dollars, or since this vessel was making a port of call in Canada at some point of the journey, that if we embark in Alaska and then disembark in Seattle, we would be in violation of the Jones Act and would be subject to fines of $778 per person. Stuck between fines and total loss of funds, we sucked it up and got United to book us on an Alaskan Airlines flight out of a larger airport the following day to meet the ship in Ketchikan, Alaska. I had made some special arrangements because it was our anniversary trip for the year, for some Champagne and Sushi platter that NCL offered as extras for the trip. We would be getting on the ship 48 hours after initially scheduled, so I called NCL directly to let them know what had happened. I asked about the specials and wanted to ensure they wouldn’t sit in the room while we weren’t on board. The flights the next day with Alaskan went off without any further issues, and we settled into the hotel in Ketchikan while we waited for the ship to arrive the following day.

For those of you wondering, here is what the Jones Act is about:

The Jones Act, 46 U.S.C § 55102, provides that the transportation of merchandise between United States points is reserved for U.S.- built, owned, and documented vessels pursuant to section 55102, a vessel may not provide any protection of the U.S. shipping industry by ensuring that only U.S. built, owned and documented vessels are allowed to transport merchandise between coastwise points within the United States.

See the Customs Bulletin Weekly, (Vol.51) General Notices: "Notice of Proposed Modification and Revocation" of headquarters ruling letters relating to U.S. Customs and Border Protection's ("CBP") application of The Jones Act to the transportation of certain merchandise and vessel equipment that are transported between coastwise points.

The Passenger Vessel Services Act, (PVSA), 46 U.S.C. § 55103 (b), places the same restrictions on the coastwise movement of people. It is this act that prohibits commercial vessels such as cruise ships from allowing passengers to board at one U.S. port and debark at another U.S. port. The applicable to the CBP regulation regarding penalties for violating the PVSA is found in 19 CFR § 4.80, which provides that "[t]he penalty imposed for the unlawful transportation of passengers between coastwise points is $300.00 for each passenger landed on or before November 2, 2015 and $778.00 for each passenger so transported and landed after November 2, 2015 (46 U.S.C. 55103, as adjusted by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015). See Federal Register.

Ketchikan, Alaska, is a beautiful town, and since we had an extra half-day there, we got to explore, went for a nice nature hike, sampled some fresh Pacific Northwest Salmon, and grabbed some drinks at Arctic Bar “Home of the Happy Bear.” Things were starting to turn around, and thankfully, we didn’t have any children to keep occupied, or honestly, it might have been better to cancel the whole trip. The following day, we watch the ship make its way to the dock, and we make our way onboard the massive ship. All in all, the boat was breathtaking; it looked well-maintained and well-staffed, with people moving around everywhere, but it did not at the moment seem too overcrowded. We made our way to our room, greeted with the putrid smell of rotten fish. Although the gentleman on the phone had assured me the vessel was aware of our arrival, and they would never leave raw fish to rot in our room, low and behold, that’s precisely what had happened. With the last surprise from NCL out of the way, we ventured the ship, enjoying the decks, the views, and the off-ship adventures, though the morning slough lining up to disembark and at the end of the day reembarking certainly felt like being herd around like cattle more than human beings. The staff paid little deference; they already had my money and a booked ship, so why bother to care if the individuals enjoy themselves or are taken care of after missteps and unfortunate circumstances? I had paid extra for services, spas, and an upgraded room with a balcony, but we may as well have been in steerage on the Titanic with the lack of care for the passengers. The best part of the cruise was being off of the cruise and being on land.

Despite the cruise and the airlines trying their best to make what should have been easily one of the most magnificent places on earth feel like standing in line at a Six-Flags, they could not overcome Alaska's absolute beauty and wonder. I cannot say I would ever recommend United Airlines, United Cruises, or Norwegian Cruise Lines to anybody; in fact, I hope you avoid them like the plague and they go out of business, but I can say confidently that if you have a chance to visit Alaska to go and see it, no matter what any company does to try and ruin the splendor, they will fail. You will have a memory for a lifetime. One last kick in the teeth, as we were forced off the ship at 5 a.m. due to the Jones Act issues; as we sat on the bus to the airport, our United Airlines flight was canceled with no rebooking, so we had to find our own way home instead of letting United try to fix one more thing, so thank you Alaskan Airlines and Delta Airlines for actually getting us to where we needed to be.

If you decide to go on a cruise, you must book everything yourself; do not use a travel service, or if you do, make sure they are an independent, licensed, and well-reviewed agent. Ensure you leave yourself at least 24 hours for flights before you must be at the port; the cost of one night at a hotel far outweighs any more significant mishaps. Definitely book adventures through whichever cruise line you choose because they will ensure you are out and back at the correct times, not to be left behind by the ship, because they will not wait for you. I recommend a smaller ship or river cruise because it is just too difficult to handle that many people on board a vessel. Only you can truly advocate for yourself, so when it comes to essential details, flights, hotels, and logistics, it is best to book those yourself because although sometimes customer service can be excellent, they could care less a lot of the time. I fought with NCL, United, and United Cruises for over six months for any form of compensation for our troubles and added expenses. Of the thousands of extra dollars spent, we received back about $500, and I have vowed never to fly United again, use United Cruises, or book with NCL.