This was my 7th cruise and 2nd with Norwegian. What was making this cruise special was that 32 members of my family would be joining me on this one (celebrating my Mom's 75th birthday). I personally booked a balcony suite and then added the ultimate drink package, 3 X Specialty dining package. Unlimited Internet package and the prepaid service charge package. I paid in full for this, via credit card, and was emailed a confirmation. With the hard part now done, it was time to relax and wait for the cruise to arrive. Feb 6th arrived and I boarded the ship with my wife (and a few other family members). After a couple drinks, we went to our stateroom and I tried to quickly check my work email - to no avail. By this time the ship was sailing. I went to customer service and asked how to access my internet. To my surprise, I was told there was a problem and that the internet was no longer part of my package. I returned to my room and found my confirmation and immediately brought the confirmation back to customer service. I pointed out "unlimited Internet Package" to them and showed them that everything was paid in full moths ago. Their response was that they had to reconfirm this with the main office and would not have an answer for 2/3 days (this was a 5 day cruise). I told them that was not acceptable, as I needed o check my work emails on a daily basis. They told me that I could purchase another email package and then, once they heard back from the main office, they "might reimburse me for the additional charge. I told them what I though of their "solution" but ultimately had no choice and purchased a 2nd unlimited internet package. After 3 days, having heard nothing back from customer service, I returned, looking for a refund. I was told that my package had been changed and that I should have received an email about it (never happened). They cancelled the package (never refunding a penny) and said sorry...……………………………………….. They did say I could contest this once the cruise was over. Oddly enough, my brother (one of the 32 family members) had the same thing happen to him. No reason other than "they changed your package"... The hell with what we paid for and what our confirmation said.

To make matters worse, my second day on the cruise, I went down to make reservations for one of the "specialty" restaurants. To my shock and horror, I was told that every time slot in every restaurant was booked... Now 2 of the 4 packages that I purchased were absolutely worthless (funny how the gratuity package was still there). Needless to say, this left a terrible taste in my mouth. Add to that, the fact that the private island the Norwegian brought us to was nothing more than a money grab (want a drink? $24 please! What a sandwich? $18 please). Nothing like having a captive audience to take advantage of... The weather was wonderful and it was a blessing to be able to vacation with so many family members but Norwegian's lack of customer service and complete screw job on myself and my brother has left a horrible taste in my mouth. With so many other options available, I can promise you - I will never set foot on a Norwegian ship again. I believe the better part of my family, having personally watched how Norwegian handled and treated myself and my sibling, in spite of the definitive proof that our confirmation provided, will never set foot on a Norwegian ship again.

There are a lot of cruising options out there. Do yourself a favor and choose one that treats you like a valued customer, not an open wallet like Norwegian does.