Norwegian Cruise Lines Pushes Staff to Sell Trips by Lying About the Coronavirus

[WVBaker]

Internal document claims COVID-19 can’t strike along “amazingly warm and tropical” itineraries.

Norwegian Cruise Lines pushes staff to sell trips by lying about coronavirus

Internal document claims COVID-19 can't strike along "amazingly warm and tropical" itineraries.

www.motherjones.com

Cruise Line Manager Instructed Sales Staff to Tell Customers Coronavirus Isn’t a Threat, Emails Show

Norwegian Cruise Line Emails About Coronavirus Surface | Law & Crime

Emails obtained by the New Times revealed that a senior sales manger at the company’s Miami office provided employees in the sales department with scripted lines containing patently false information to rebut customers’ potential concerns about the virus.

lawandcrime.com

 

[rhonda]

Sigh. Dirty tactics. If this story is based in truth, if such direction was truly communicated within the company, I hope and trust it will be soberly reconsidered.

FWIW, I am increasingly glad we swapped a cruise we had booked almost two years ago. Our original plan was for next week's sailing on the NCL Jade from Dubai to Rome. In researching and preparing for the trip last fall, my spidey-sense was triggering alarm bells. Something just wasn't sitting right. In very Oct we made a course correction, rebooking the trip for the opposite direction on the RCCL Jewel; departing Rome on Nov 30, 2019, ending in Dubai.

While we have more than a dozen sailings with NCL, the line fell out of favor with us somewhere near 2008. I recall finding their sales team pushy and demanding while we discussed future cruise bookings during our Thanksgiving 1999 Panama Canal transition on the NCL Wind. Upcharges, often related to their Freestyle cruising model, became more common and expected. The cost of NCL's excursions, specific to the Suez Canal transition we just completed, were twice that of RCCL's in the same ports for similar experiences. Not sure who is driving the ship, but we have not agreed with NCL's direction of the past two decades.

We sure loved our earliest cruises with them; we'll treasure these forever. As always, we are so thankful for the travels we've done. Often, we are glad we took a leap when we did ... as things change quickly these days.

 

[rhonda]

Update, from Apple News: https://apple.news/AWkMeHE4IQJeC1vQLbUETRg

Snippet:
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody's office is investigating allegations that Norwegian Cruise Line gave "misleading and potentially dangerous sales pitches" to customers that downplayed the risks of coronavirus.
The investigation, announced Monday, comes after the Miami New Times published a story based on leaked internal emails from managers to employees about how to speak to the public about coronavirus.

 

[PigsDad]

Internal document claims COVID-19 can’t strike along “amazingly warm and tropical” itineraries.

Heck, there are people on this board that have made claims that you would be safe from COVID-19 in tropical environments.

Kurt

 

[AnnaS]

I guess they don't see or believe any of the news media outlets.