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I’m sure that’s next. Now that they’re filling their ships there’s no reason to charge hundreds of dollars less than their competition. I have no problem with that if it makes for a better cruising environment.

I found the reason but it doesn’t state that large ships won’t go to BH, they’re just limiting them to allowing only 1000 pax to disembark. I see a major problem, especially if the cruise lines decide to keep BH on their itineraries (which it still is listed on their sites) and only hand out 1000 tender tickets. This will result in a lot of angry people. Especially if they’re not made aware of this before they cruise. https://maritime-executive.com/article/bar-harbor-votes-to-dramatically-limit-cruise-passenger-arrivals

It’s not a matter of “if you truly believe” NCL is doing it? They are doing it. Whether or not you want to believe the truth is up to you personally. Most of us seasoned cruisers know ports can be missed, changed or entirely cancelled…although on 40 cruises I can count on one hand how many times it’s happened to us. I have zero problem with that. What’s wrong is when they continue to sell a sailing without placing an asterisk near the port they’ve already cancelled. That is misleading and shows a lack of integrity. It’s okay to be loyal to a company but it’s also okay to admit they are being sneaky when it comes to this specific issue.

Not only the Canada New England itineraries include BH but also the Bermuda itineraries go to BH starting late April. Where did you see this announcement that no large ships are going to BH this year?

That is sneaky business practice. To know they’ve already cancelled the port for a specific sailing but continue to sell that sailing without updating the itinerary tells me they really don’t care. They could easily add an *to that sailing noting DR has been removed. Very simple.

I really think it will help. I’ve cruised the other lines that do charge the service charge and it’s a noticeable difference. It’s a baby step in the right direction for MSC. Of course this is just my opinion.

I also think they don’t want the boards taken over by TA’s ads.

Unfortunately we can’t make TA recommendations here on Cruise Critic I’ve always booked direct with the cruise lines because I like having control but some CC veterans swayed me to start looking at some of the large TA’s and I couldn’t believe what I’d been losing by not using one of them. I can still go on line and book my specialty dining and things like that so I still have some control. I was also able to bid on an upgrade without having to engage the agent. My advice is to look at the large companies they seem to offer the best perks. I had a small TA offer us $50 OBC and when I showed them the quote I had in writing with those perks I mentioned above they said, and I quote “we can’t match that it would come out of our pocket” The large companies sell thousands of cruises so they get better perks from the cruise lines.

Exactly. Not worth the stress in my opinion. I’ve found booking with a TA makes up the price difference with the perks they give. Just received $300 OBC, paid gratuities and 2 nights in a specialty restaurant by using a TA. Adds up to over $700 of perks.

I’ll probably be in the minority here when I say I’m happy to see this price increase. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

@morpheusoftheseathanks for the great report! I always enjoy your live reviews and somehow missed this one until today! Last year I recommended MSC to my brother, SIL and adult niece and they were also on this sailing but in two adjoining balconies on 13. I’m so happy (and relieved) to report that they had a fantastic cruise! They had only been on 1 cruise 20 yrs ago and that was Disney so they really had no idea what to expect. Needless to say they loved the ship. They loved the food and drink and of course OC. That makes me very happy! ☺️0 Can’t wait to read your next review on the HAL boards!

I assume you’re paid in full at this point? If you cancel you cannot automatically apply the funds you’ve already paid them to your new booking. You would have to wait for MSC to refund that money meaning you have to put out the entire amount again for the new booking. Personally I wouldn’t do it just to save a few hundred dollars. It can take months to get a refund from this company and it sounds like it’ll be a good chunk of money that they owe you.

Exactly…and to add to this we used WhatsAPP and were able to send and receive texts to and from non iPhone people. Depending on the ship’s signal of course but we’ve never had a problem staying in touch while at sea.

This is what we do on Divina the two on the left are European converter outlets so it gives us more outlets and they have USB ports.

Wondering what the current schedule is for Splash Academy on both sea days and while in port?

Yes unfortunately we’ve had itinerary changes on cruises in the past with sometimes no notice. The cruise lines are very good about putting things like changes to the itinerary in the small print when we receive our cruise contracts. Last year a week before our cruise to Bermuda on Pearl we received notice that we would leave Bermuda early and instead of 2 sea days back to Boston we had a day in Bar Harbor then a day at sea to Boston. Wasn’t a great time to go to Maine as it was 40 degrees in April lol. We've been cruising for about 40 yrs so we expect the unexpected. Our grandson is coming with us again this year. He’s 9 and one of the easiest going kids I know and he’ll eat anything so running out of stuff won’t be a problem for him but I can understand some kids not liking that. Our cruise is so unique I don’t think any other NCL itinerary spends 3 nights at the same port so I guess we will have to wait and see what the folks on the first sailing before ours say about Splash Academy. I’m thinking it will be open at night only while in port.

We’re on the second sailing. We did the same cruise last year but Splash Academy wasn’t doing drop off yet because of Covid. I think I’ll call NCL and see what they know. Thanks!

Hmmm interesting. I guess our question as to how large the group is will go unanswered. If it’s a group of 100 vs 1000 that’s not such a big deal but they’re advertising multiple musicians so who knows how disruptive this can get. I’m sorry I feel bad that you’re in this position. We were surprised when boarding with a large charter group one time on a RCCL cruise. It ended up being okay and we had fun. It was a Halloween Drag/LGBQT cruise, and some of the nicest fellow passengers we ever cruised with. Not disruptive at all. It was actually the most fun we’ve ever had on a cruise. I listened to a sample of the music from your cruise and I don’t think I could stand that every day. It’s a tough decision for you I don’t envy you.

You can make a reservation for the two MDR’s before you board but no you will not have the same table/server every night.

@OrangeCatRamblersthinking about this and wondering if you’ve received a response to your email or call to that NCL number?

So we’re docked in Bermuda for 3 nights. Will Splash academy be closed that entire time?

Someone posted about flights to Rome from Charlotte a week or so ago on another social media platform. They were complaining about the flights they were assigned so I asked them if it was really worth the frustration and stress just to get the BOGO through NCL. Their response was “definitely it was worth it, we saved about $2500” For 2 people that sounded a little high to me. A flight from Charlotte to Rome does not cost $2500 when they’re going I looked. When I pointed that out to them they seemed shocked. It didn’t seem like they had even checked the prices before accepting the price NCL quoted them. Long story short do your homework, check flight prices before you book the BOGO through the cruise line. That couple I’m referencing could have purchased flights on their own and saved over $500 but they assumed that NCL was giving them the best price. 🤦🏻‍♀️

It doesn’t sound like you have travel insurance so I’m thinking you’re not going to be reimbursed. The cruise line doesn’t owe you anything. Always fly in at least the day before to avoid this headache. And NCL airfare is not always a good deal.

Doesn’t hurt to make the call. The worse they can say is no.

Do you have travel insurance?