Mutiny on the High Seas on NCL Star!

Last month NCL Star suffered an Azipod issue which meant the NCL ship limping around on an altered Asian itinerary, to the frustration of cruisers on board who, for some this was the cruise of a lifetime! NCL arranged for this to be fixed but obviously forgot to check the condition  of the other one as this too failed.

A crew member on board has posted a message about the situation on board:-

“I’m writing to you again from the unlucky Norwegian Star! I wrote to you sometime in December when we broke down in Singapore at the beginning of our Asian season . . .  yesterday 25th of January, while at sea we experienced problems again, this time with the other engine, “the old one!” So now that one is offline… Today, 26th in Bali, Indonesia, Captain made announcement that we are changing the itinerary AGAIN this cruise, skipping 3 ports and adding sea days in order to reach Sydney in time. At the beginning of the cruise (before 23rd, Singapore) we already skipped places and for that everybody received 200$ for onboard account, today, that was changed to 500$. But of course, guests are NOT happy and poor guys at the reception and the security are getting pounded heavily by raging crowd . . . I feel sorry for them because it is not their fault or any other crew member for a broken engine and Miami office made a decision about refunds and amounts, not onboard management . . . So the stricken Norwegian Star is going AGAIN through some very hard times . . .”

It’s not only the crew venting their frustration, family members of those aboard and passengers have also been letting rip

” They left Singapore earlier this week and are on the way to Australia. Azipod failure again and they have been told their day in Brisbane is canceled, and their trip to the barrier reef is off. This was the reason my relative took the cruise in the first place, so he is very annoyed – it was his 70th birthday present and he has waited over a year to take this cruise. This cruise already cancelled part of the itinerary before leaving due to the delays on the previous cruise. So far, they have been offered no refund of this cruise – have been bunged some on-ship credit to spend and 50% off the next cruise. They are not happy bunnies!! There is nothing on the internet about this yet, so please can you inform everyone. I don’t see how NCL keep getting away with this – there is an obvious issue with this ship and they just keep taking people’s money and canceling the planned trips.”

“We are on board NCL Star and it is desperate to say the least. To say that things have virtually descended to mob rule would not be an understatement.”

“As I write this there are more than 500 people demonstrating in the main atrium, shouting in unison ‘Shame on Norwegian’, ‘Where’s the Captain?’, ‘Boo, Boo, Boo’!”

“This has been going on for over two hours today and the same yesterday evening.”

“The ship has engine propulsion problems again and the itinerary has been changed once again with another three ports having been cancelled meaning that we are now only stopping at half of the planned ports on this three week cruise.”

The main thing that seems to be causing mass unrest is not the fact that the ship has engine problems but the fact that this is the same fault as the ship has had many times previously and that people have been miss sold this long cruise when Norwegian Cruise Line clearly knew there were ongoing problems with the ship.

Apparently as things became very heated on board all the officers decided to lie low and couldnt be seen anywhere on the ship, the Captain had not been seen for the whole cruise until yesterday and the reception desk are merely handing out comments cards to those who want to complain. “People are absolutely furious about how we are being treated here – ­there is just no leadership! We have been told by staff that there is nothing that staff on board can do because they need to wait to hear from Miami ­- but we have been waiting for nearly two days now! This lack of action seems to be infuriating people more and more . . . .”

NCL are not making any comment on the situation but it is believed the execs are flying in to calm the situation!

Do you think the passengers were correct in venting their frustration in such a way to the crew when it is completely out of their control? Should NCL have checked the other Azipod earlier in the year to prevent this from happening?

Have you had to resort to protests on your ship to get your voice heard? I’d love to hear your stories.

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