Norwegian Cruise Line Joy, a cruise ship in the Caribbean, NCL cruise ship

Norwegian Cruise Line received a refund for our canceled flight. Is that fair?

Norwegian Cruise Line handled all the details of Caleb and Karyssa Deslich’s honeymoon trip. So when American Airlines canceled their outbound flight, they expected NCL to come to the rescue. That didn’t happen, and the couple almost missed their Caribbean cruise.

Almost.

The Desliches came to their own rescue and spent an additional $700 on a replacement flight. They flew to Miami and arrived just in time to board Norwegian Joy before it set sail. 

The couple assumed Norwegian Cruise Line would automatically refund either their canceled flight or the replacement one. But that didn’t happen.

Now Deslich is asking the Consumer Rescue team to intervene and get their money back. He says an NCL agent promised to send the $700 refund and then reneged on the deal.  

So what does the cruise line have to say about the missing refund for the canceled flight? The answer will probably surprise you.

NCL denied boarding Norwegian Spirit, cruise ship on the ocean, Norwegian Spirit

I flew to New Zealand and got denied boarding my $8,154 NCL cruise!

What if you flew 7,500 miles to take an NCL cruise only to be denied boarding at the pier? It happened to one stunned couple. Here’s their story.  

As Erin Beztilny’s flight from Vancouver touched down in Auckland last month, she could hardly contain her excitement. She and her husband were about to embark on a much-anticipated dream cruise aboard NCL’s Norwegian Spirit from New Zealand to Australia. 

At least that was the plan. But that isn’t what happened.

Travel agent mistake cancels NCL cruise, NCL refund missing

Our travel agent canceled our NCL cruise by mistake and then quit! Now what?

What happens if your travel agent cancels your cruise by mistake and then quits his job? Unfortunately, NCL passenger Margaret Prendergast knows very well — you can quickly lose thousands of your hard-earned dollars.

Margaret had been patiently waiting for Norwegian Cruise Line to process a refund for a cruise it canceled. But because her agent erroneously canceled her cruise several days before the cruise line, it’s a $5,587 refund NCL never intended to send.

This is how an NCL cruise consultant mistake caused this couple to miss their cruise.

How did a cruise agent make this type of mistake?

Who is responsible when an agent of a cruise line makes a giant mistake that causes a passenger to miss their voyage? That’s what Linda Combs wants to know.

Her unpleasant experience included not just one but three errors by a Norwegian Cruise Line consultant. And it ended with Linda and her husband standing on the dock as they watched their ship sail away — and the cruise agent ignoring her pleas for help.

So why did Norwegian Cruise Line reject Linda’ refund request?

This family got left at the pier. Is the cruise line responsible?

This family got left on the dock! Is the cruise line responsible?

If you show up with the wrong ID to board a cruise, you’ll get left behind on the dock as the ship sails away without you.

Unfortunately, Charishma Motwani and her family experienced this awful scenario firsthand. As a result of documentation confusion, they missed their much-anticipated Alaskan cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Bliss.

Charishma says Norwegian Cruise Line is responsible for the mistake that caused her family to miss their voyage. She believes the cruise line owes her a do-over or a refund for their lost vacation.

And once you hear the facts of her tale, you just might agree.

These NCL passengers pushed their luck when they decided to fly to Alaska on the same day as their cruise began.

Here’s why you should never fly on the same day as your cruise

Maybe you’ve chosen to fly on the same day as your cruise, and things went off without a hitch. But for Marcelino and Julieta Bautista, that’s a gamble they lost.

They redeemed a free Norwegian Cruise Lines “Casinos at Sea” cruise through the Alaskan glaciers. But they pressed their bets too far when they flew into Anchorage on the same day as embarkation. Although their flight arrived as scheduled, something went terribly wrong and the ship left without them.

As a result, that freebie cruise turned out to be no bargain at all. The couple was forced to pay thousands of dollars to catch up with NCL’s Jewel. Bautista says that the cruise line made the mistake that caused the ship to leave without them. He wants reimbursement for all their extra expenses, and he wants our team to help get it.

The second place winner of NCL's Giving Joy contest died suddenly before he and his family could take the cruise he won.

Norwegian Cruise Line has a heart. Here’s how I know (update)

In May 2021, even as the cruise industry remained paused, Norwegian Cruise line began its NCL Giving Joy contest. The competition, launched to coincide with Teacher Appreciation Week, would honor 100 of the top educators in the United States. The nominees would vie for giant cash prizes for their schools. The cruise line would also award 100 dream cruises to the winners.

In August, after months of voting, Norwegian Cruise Line announced those winners in a joyful Facebook live stream event.

David Sowerby, an orchestra teacher from Caledonia, Mich, was shocked to discover he had won second place in the contest. His win meant that NCL would donate $15,000 to the middle school where he’d taught for the past 17 years. Not only that, but David and his wife, Rebecca, were awarded a dream cruise to Alaska.

In his thank-you speech, David explained that the money would buy new instruments for his school’s orchestra. He felt on top of the world.

But things took a sad and unexpected turn soon after NCL’s festive award ceremony.

Why did Norwegian Cruise Line force this couple to stay in their cabin for the entire cruise?

Norwegian Cruise Line made us stay inside our cabin for four days! Is this legal?

Norwegian Cruise Line forced a triple-vaccinated husband and wife to stay inside their cabin without reprieve for four days. And when the ship finally returned to New York, two burly NCL crew members inexplicably continued to prevent the couple’s escape. How is this possible? That’s what the bewildered COVID-negative duo wants to know.

Kelly Cotto and her husband had never taken a cruise before their bizarre experience. But after what they endured aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Gem, they likely never will again.

Why did NCL cancel this cruise and refuse the passenger's refund?

Can the cruise line cancel my trip and keep my refund?!

The pandemic hit the cruise industry hard — that’s for sure. But did that global event change the refund rules for the cruise lines? Can a cruise line really cancel your trip and also refuse your refund request?

Of course, the answer to that question is “no.” But Elizabeth Ramirez says that’s exactly what NCL did to her — canceled her cruise and kept all her money.

Now Ramirez is asking our advocacy team to investigate and retrieve $7,300 from Norwegian Cruise Line.