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(CNN) - “Refund! Refund! Refund! ”Was the slogan launched by passengers gathered in the atrium of the Norwegian Spirit cruise ship earlier this week after operators canceled another port of call on the two-week European itinerary.
"And it is a full refund, not a discount, because we will not cruise with you again," is heard saying an agitated man in a video posted by passenger Matt Rogers.
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Matt and Thelma Rogers of Austin, Texas, were in Europe to celebrate their birthdays. They know that itineraries can change because they have been on 16 cruises. This is his first time with Norwegian Cruise Line.
(Courtesy Cody McNutt)
"Let me clarify that I don't approve of what those passengers were doing," Matt Rogers wrote in a conversation with CNN Travel via Facebook. "It was inappropriate and exaggerated, but the staff could have handled it much, much better," he said.
"They allowed them to get to where there were really nervous people for their safety."
And "when things got strong, the manager simply left the atrium, which only made things worse," Rogers wrote.
The ship, Norwegian Spirit, has a capacity of more than 2,000 passengers.
The trip, called "Mystic Fjords," began in Southampton, England, and was supposed to include stops in Amsterdam, Reykjavik and Akureyri, Iceland, all of which were canceled due to bad weather, according to Rogers. The ship made some of its originally scheduled stops, including Belfast and Dublin.
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Two ports of call were added in Norway when the stops in Iceland were canceled, Rogers said. A stop at Greenock, outside Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday was delayed at the beginning because another ship was being repaired. But crew members announced in the middle of the morning that the ship could not dock due to high winds, Rogers said.
"It was then that everyone in the atrium couldn't take it anymore," he said. "Keep in mind that every time the itinerary is changed, most people have to change / cancel tours ... some of which are non-refundable."
Denver passenger Cody McNutt also filmed the protests, which he said lasted until 10:00 pm that night. McNutt created the NCLHELL Twitter ID to document the trip.
His publications include scenes of the protests, as well as photos of bathrooms that were out of service and a letter from McNutt and others to the cruise line.
Norwegian Cruise Line issued a statement about the incident: “Unfortunately, the Norwegian Spirit itinerary was affected by severe weather conditions. While nine ports of call were originally planned for the trip, the revised itinerary allowed the ship to reach eight ports. We apologize for any inconvenience and disappointment our guests have experienced. ”
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The cruise line offered passengers a 25% credit on a future cruise.
Cruise line transportation contracts state that itineraries are subject to change at the company's discretion.
The terms and conditions published on the Norwegian Cruise Line website say that the company “has the right to cancel, advance, postpone or replace any scheduled itinerary or navigation without prior notice”, for any reason, including weather conditions, mechanical difficulties and stoppages labor.
"We understand that it is discouraging when we cannot reach the ports that our guests have been waiting to visit," says the cruise line statement. "However, we ask for the patience, cooperation and understanding of our guests that severe weather conditions are an act of God and cannot be controlled, influenced or remedied by the cruise line."
Rogers and his wife have another cruise booked on the same boat that sails on October 11 and are worried about that trip, which they booked in December.
"I think we talk to our dollars and NCL will not receive more from mine," he said.
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