Bexhill siblings reveal misery on board ‘building site’ cruise ship

A brother and sister from Bexhill have spoken out about their cruise holiday on board a ‘building site’ ship.
Alan Taylor with his sister AnnieAlan Taylor with his sister Annie
Alan Taylor with his sister Annie

Driving instructor Alan Taylor, 69, boarded the Norwegian Cruise Line ship with his sister Annie, 71, in Miami in March 2018 and have now come forward to share their story.

The two paid £2,200 each for the 15-day cruise around Central America which took in a number of sights including the Panama Canal.

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However, once on board, the two found a note in their room saying the ship would undergo ‘revitalisation’ works, which turned out to be more disruptive than Alan had expected.

Alan Taylor with his sister AnnieAlan Taylor with his sister Annie
Alan Taylor with his sister Annie

He said: “The workers were drilling, sanding down the deck, ripping the deck up. It just became a building site. They put floodlights up and worked continually through the night.

“They closed the swimming pool and one of the restaurants. We were given a list of things we could go to on the ship but most of them were closing for the work.

“Luckily we were at the back of the ship but loads of passengers couldn’t sleep because of the noise.”

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Alan said after a few days of putting up with the noise and dirt, passengers organised a meeting with the captain, who then left it after three minutes.

Other passengers set up a Facebook group where videos and pictures were shared to attract the attention of the media which, according to Alan, would encourage Norwegian to reimburse its passengers.

Alan added: “After the media got involved, Norwegian decided to offer us 25 per cent of our trip in credit. After more coverage, Norwegian offered us credit worth 100 per cent of our cruise but wouldn’t cover the cost of our flights or stay in Miami. That equates to reimbursing us 73 per cent of the amount we paid.”

The credit offer can only be used on Norwegian cruises meaning passengers like Alan and Annie must book another trip to get their money back.

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Annie added: “We still have to pay a cash deposit on another trip so if we want to get the money back then we have to give Norwegian more money. We would have been much happier to have been offered a cash refund.

“Between us, we have been left £1,200 worse off as a result of the cruise.”

Norwegian has been approached for comment.

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