It was supposed to be the trip of his lifetime, but Jerry Girmus said sailing on the Norwegian Dream this summer was more like a bad dream.

The Shoreline resident booked a 10-day Alaska cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) because it was one of the few lines scheduling Sitka as a port of call. When Girmus was 6, his dad left Washington to be stationed in Sitka during World War II. He died in an accident and Girmus never saw him again.

Girmus, 68, was looking for closure.

Instead, he and his wife, Millie, got a shock as they waited in line to board at Seattle's Pier 66 on July 11. They were handed a letter from the ship's captain stating that Sitka would be skipped "due to a technical problem affecting the Norwegian Dream's speed." Each passenger received a $50 on-ship certificate for what NCL called an "unforeseen schedule change."

What the company didn't tell passengers was that it had known about its engine problems almost three weeks earlier.

And it wasn't the only time this happened. On at least six of its 12 summer trips to Alaska from Seattle, the Norwegian Dream informed many passengers about the itinerary change at the last minute — often after their luggage was on board.

The largest compensation was a $300 on-ship credit per cabin, and some received no credit. A few passengers, including Girmus, began referring to the ship as the "Norwegian Bad Dream" after NCL's customer service denied their demands for refunds.

Miami-based NCL, which operates out of 140 ports around the world, cited its company terms and conditions, printed on the back of each ticket, which allow the ship to make itinerary changes in the event of mechanical problems, weather conditions or "any other reason whatsoever."

"I looked at that and it didn't talk about misrepresentation," said Girmus.

Ship loses speed

The Norwegian Dream, a 13-year-old ship accented with marble, art deco and glass walls, first experienced trouble with one of its four engines on June 21. On Aug. 11, a second engine was damaged.

The problems affected the ship's speed, but not safety. The ship can run safely on only one engine, according to the Coast Guard.

However, because of the slower speed, the ship was unable to hit all its scheduled stops. On June 30, the Sitka Convention and Visitors Bureau received official notice that the ship had canceled that port for the rest of the summer — eight stops total.

Skipping Sitka meant passengers spent an extra day at sea and missed the scenic out-of-the-way port.

Sandy Lorrigan, executive director of the Sitka Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the small town expects to lose more than $1 million in sales from the Norwegian Dream's canceled stops.

"Eight ports of call to cancel is a lot," she said. "We are certainly disappointed, as are many of the passengers."

Small business suffers

Chuck Trierschield owns the Sitka Bazaar, a store that's been in the family since 1919, and sells native bracelets, T-shirts and leather goods to cruise passengers.

"That was rather puzzling. They were already committed and canceled midway ... , " he said. The summer profits he's losing — an estimated 3 to 5 percent — will hit him hard this winter, he said.

Yet even after the town of Sitka was informed, customers claim travel agents and NCL continued selling Norwegian Dream cruise packages ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 per person with Sitka listed as a port of call on the company's online schedule.

"We are very sorry"

NCL spokeswoman Susan Robison said the situation is not solely the company's fault. The majority of NCL tickets are sold through travel agents, she said, who have the passengers' direct phone lines and e-mails. This makes it difficult for NCL to contact all passengers about an itinerary change, said Robison, and many tickets had been printed prior to the June 21 engine problem.

"This situation is extremely unfortunate, but sometimes technical issues do happen, and we are very sorry," she said.

She said NCL wants to fix the Norwegian Dream's engine problems on the go, and is awaiting a part to be manufactured in Germany and shipped here. After the Alaska cruise season ends next month, the Dream will relocate and offer Caribbean tours.

Robison referred to the company policy, noting a technical issue was cause for itinerary changes, but said full reimbursements were handled on an individual basis. Those who did not get their onboard credits, she said, should contact NCL guest relations immediately to receive the money.

Survey ranks NCL last

In a recent survey on how airlines, cruise lines, hotels and rental-car agencies treat customers who use their online services, NCL ranked last among 41 companies.

The information comes from the Consumer Respect Group, a Massachusetts firm that reports quarterly on the performance of airline and travel firms.

The company surveyed adult Internet users, asking them to score companies on various aspects of customer service, such as quick and helpful responses to inquiries.

Vernon and Sylvia Charland of Phillipston, Mass., did not receive an on-ship credit when they sailed on the Norwegian Dream from July 21 to Aug. 1, even though other passengers on that trip said they were issued $50 per cabin. The Charlands had their travel agent write a letter on their behalf to NCL, hoping for a refund. The couple had spent more than $600 on airline tickets, which they said made it rough to cancel the cruise.

The letter from NCL's customer service stated, "While we reserve the right to change our itinerary as situations arise, we did wish to advise our guests as early as possible and gave them the option to cancel without penalty."

The Charlands were not given a refund.

"What we wanted was recognition that they did something wrong. This isn't right. This isn't good business," Sylvia Charland said. "They promised a product they knew they couldn't deliver."

A five-hour delay

Seattle left a bad taste in Sharon Light's mouth as she returned home to Florida two weeks ago, and she wasn't alone.

"Just get us out of Seattle," said Light, of Jacksonville. Light was one of 1,700 passengers who returned from an 11-day cruise to Alaska on the Norwegian Dream. Like Light, many hadn't cooled off from what happened on their departure day.

On Aug. 11, Light and hundreds of out-of-state cruise passengers experienced a five-hour delay in Seattle before embarking on their Alaskan adventure and unexpectedly received a letter from NCL stating they would miss two of the six ports of call, Sitka and Ketchikan, due to "a number of factors," including "a technical issue."

The Port of Seattle has talked with NCL, said spokesman Mick Schultz, and the company is trying to deal with issues that have come up.

"Certainly the Port of Seattle is interested in having cruise passengers have a positive experience in Seattle. We do everything in our power to ensure that," Schultz said, but noted the Port does not have any regulatory authority over the vessel itself.

Schultz said the unhappy Norwegian Dream cruise-goers shouldn't reflect badly on the city. With about 700,000 cruise passengers expected to sail out of the city this year, Schultz says most cruise passengers who dock out of Seattle are having a "positive experience."

Light, who has been on five cruises this year, disagrees. "I have never been through a fiasco like this one," she said. "They're not doing the city of Seattle any service."

Christina Siderius: 206-515-5066 or csiderius@seattletimes.com