Passengers demand a full refund as Asia cruise misses out key stops
HUNDREDS of angry passengers are demanding a full refund from Norwegian Cruise Line after its tour of South-East Asia on its Jade cruise ship visited only two out of seven planned stops.
The luxury ship, which sailed from Singapore on February 6, did not land at any of its four Vietnamese destinations and was forced to return to Singapore rather finish at Hong Kong as planned.
It meant passengers had to rebook flights and hotels. More than 1,000 angry passengers signed a petition onboard blaming the lack of passenger screening by NCL for the altered itinerary. After the cruise, NCL offered passengers a 10 per cent refund, which was later revised after protests to 50 per cent, plus 50 per cent off the next cruise provided it was taken within 12 months. But many passengers are demanding that NCL refund the full amount, describing the 50 per cent refund as ‘unacceptable’. Some are considering legal action.
‘This cruise was an absolute disaster and should never have set sail,’ one reader told The Mail on Sunday.
An NCL spokesperson said: ‘We work to maintain our itineraries. However, at times such as these, we are forced to make modifications.
‘We provided all guests on the sailing with a $200 non-refundable onboard credit and returned 100 per cent of their cruise fare – 50 per cent in the form of refund and 50 per cent in the form of a future cruise credit.’