NORWEGIAN Cruise Line (NCL) is no longer a preferred supplier to Helloworld (HLO) in Australia or New Zealand, with the relationship plumbing new depths, according to an email from HLO Chief Executive Officer Andrew Burnes. The update issued by Burnes at the start of this month to Helloworld members blasts...
NORWEGIAN Cruise Line (NCL) is no longer a preferred supplier to Helloworld (HLO) in Australia or New Zealand, with the relationship plumbing new depths, according to an email from HLO Chief Executive Officer Andrew Burnes.
The update issued by Burnes at the start of this month to Helloworld members blasts Norwegian for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying “they have been dreadful to deal with.
“Most particularly their approach that in order for us to get a refund on a booking that was deposited we had to pay to them the full amount of that booking and then apply for a refund,” Burnes said.
The email notes Norwegian’s financial update early last month (CW 06 May) and adds Helloworld has “nearly $4 million outstanding in deposits and payments with NCL”.
Burnes said Helloworld had decided not to ask people to pay significantly more money “and then get in the queue of what looked like a potential chapter 11 situation in the United States”.
Since then Norwegian has successfully raised further capital, with Chief Executive Officer Harry Sommer reassuring the industry (CW 07 May) the funding “puts us in the best position of any of the public cruise operators to weather the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Despite this Burnes said “we make no excuses for our hard-line stance in relation to strongly resisting your customers to hand over very significant amounts of money for cruises that we all know are are not going”.
However it’s understood if client monies paid to Helloworld’s Seven Oceans Cruising wholesale cruise division are not being passed on, the cruise line is not able to honour future cruise credits and other bonuses under its standard conditions for cancelled voyages.
Although Burnes’ email calls out the “very sub-optimal behaviours on behalf of a few rare suppliers amongst the cruise lines and the airlines,” he also notes support from Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International and Silversea, which have “tried to work through this as positively and proactively as they can”.
Helloworld and Norwegian weren’t able to make further comment on the situation before Cruise Weekly’s deadline today.
