NCL Being Sued Over Dining Reservations

In another example of what is wrong with the legal system in the US, a former passenger has brought a lawsuit against Norwegian Cruise Line because she was unable to get reservations in any of the specialty restaurants on board Norwegian Star during an 8 day cruise. The gist of the lawsuit is that the company's commercials are misleading and false in stating that passengers can dine where they want, when they want. Of course, as a result of not being able to dine in these restaurants, the former passenger claims that her entire vacation was ruined and is asking for compensation for the cost of the cruise as well as hotel and meal expenses.

In addition to these claims, the suit also claims that NCL has a "secret" class system onboard as suite guests allegedly get preferential treatment when making reservations at the restaurants. The suit is claiming fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of implied covenant of fair dealing, and deceptive and unfair trade practices.

Now, I've never been on NCL so I don't know how their reservation system works but I have been on ships with specialty restaurants that require reservations. Basically, if you want to dine in these reservation only places, you had better know when and where prior to getting on the ship. It requires planning and flexibility on the part of the passenger. This woman obviously was not prepared.

Our last cruise on Freedom of the Seas, we wanted a reservation for one of the restaurants so we immediately discussed it with the rest of our party after getting onboard and made the reservation before the ship even left. Even then, we had to settle for an earlier time than we wanted because of other reservations already being made. If you want to dine in these places, you've got to have it all planned out and make the reservations as soon as you get onboard, period!

This is just another case of a frivolous lawsuit where the person suing is taking no responsibility for what happened. Maybe, the advertisements could be misinterpreted if you've never been on a cruise but with around 3000 people on board, wouldn't you think that you'd need to make reservations as quickly as possible for these places. This person probably waited until the last minute to make the reservations. Simple as that. You've got to do your homework. It's also kind of sad that the fact that not being able to eat at these few restaurants ruined an entire 8 day cruise. I imagine she found some food somewhere.