NCL took away night in Bermuda

[Arwenmark]

I am booked on the Spirit out of Boston to Bermuda April 30 and I just got a notice that they have changed leaving Bermuda from 6:30 a.m. Wed. to 5:30 p.m. Tueday so we lose an entire night on the Island.

 

they are sorry for the inconvenience but offer nothing for it, not even a free drink! though I don't drink.

 

They also changed the sailing before mine, I did not check for any after but I suspect they may have changed all of them. If you are booked to Bermuda in 2010 I suggest you check and see if they have changed you as well.

[FLAHAM]

Did they say why they made the change!

[Cubechick]

That's back to the schedule as it was when the Spirit itinerary was first announced. That's a shame. I for one enjoyed being able to spend that last day at your leisure and not having to worry about getting back to the ship.

[scchasgal]

Maybe they want that extra night in the casino

[Sairey]

I just received the notice as well. We are booked on the last sailing, Sept 17. We have 8 cabins booked on this cruise because we were planning on getting married that last night on the island. In fact, the reason I chose this cruise was because we would be there 3 full nights...I know it's just a 12 hour change, but it doesn't seem quite worth it now if we'll only be on the island 2 days. I'm considering canceling and just flying to Bermuda instead.

[RichNY]

As much as we like NCL next year we are sailing on HAL, the Veendam, to Bermuda...we have more time and we spend it in St. George and Hamilton..

[NYcruzzer]

Did they say why they made the change!

 

I wonder if it has anything to do with Celebrity docked at King's Warf every Wed. at 8:30 am to Fri. 4:30 As you see X is spending about the same time in Bermuda as Dawn and Spirit. Its getting mighty crowded at the Warf..

[alwalaska]

It is a shame that the cruise lines do these things, especially without good communication immediately when the decision is made and also, without an explanation why.

 

I realize their contracts say they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, but it does not make it right.

 

Last year, Royal Caribbean canceled our port of call to Tortola, giving us 3 sea days in a row on the way home, and also shortened two other ports of call significantly. We did get a few dollars of port taxes refunded and that was it. People who were not on Cruise Critic and did not check their itineraries again were surprised when they got on the ship and we were not going to Tortola.

[cruisincorgi]

Sorry to hear about what NCL did to the Spirit's Bermuda itinerary. I am currently booked on the HAL Veendam to Bermuda in June (actually was considering the Spirit), but have been looking at the Dawn. Does anyone know if they are going to change the Dawn's schedule? Now the Veendam is looking much more attractive.

[quiltsnh]

The notice says all departures for 2010 are effected.What a shame..

[Cruzinnana47]

We recently booked the Boston-to-Bermuda for May 7, 2010 (6 of us in 3 cabins), looking forward to sailing on the Spirit and enjoying 3 overnights at King's Wharf. Needless to say, we're very disappointed in this turn of events. Would love to know the REAL reason for the change.

[Crissy699]

awww.. thats a bummer...wonder why they couldnt make it midnight or something instead? I mean, I cant imagine many people staying out the whole night and getting back on the ship at 4am on the last night, so I kind of always wondered why they waited until 6am to leave.

 

I may have missed it in the other comments (my comp is loading sllloooooowwwwly so I skipped to Post Reply :o) but are they changing when they arrive back in Boston then?

[Cubechick]

It is a shame that the cruise lines do these things, especially without good communication immediately when the decision is made and also, without an explanation why.

 

I realize their contracts say they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, but it does not make it right.

 

Last year, Royal Caribbean canceled our port of call to Tortola, giving us 3 sea days in a row on the way home, and also shortened two other ports of call significantly. We did get a few dollars of port taxes refunded and that was it. People who were not on Cruise Critic and did not check their itineraries again were surprised when they got on the ship and we were not going to Tortola.

 

Not that I'm defending the decision, but they are giving people over 6 months notice...I don't know how much more quickly they could have communicated...

[CruisnGram]

If I were a betting woman (okay, I am :)) I'd bet that the poster who said something about one more night for the casino to be open is right on. NCL and other cruise lines in the past have threatened Bermuda to pull their ships out if Bermuda will not allow them to open their casino's while in port, after 10 pm at night. In fact, word was that in 2009, this would go into effect. Then, Bermuda powers that be, put a stop to it. I'm sure that the cruise lines are furious at losing that revenue they were expecting. So, they've decided to change their itineraries to give them one more night at sea...and one more night of an open casino. After the way that Bermuda has treated them, I honestly don't blame them one bit.

 

CG

[quiltsnh]

awww.. thats a bummer...wonder why they couldnt make it midnight or something instead? I mean, I cant imagine many people staying out the whole night and getting back on the ship at 4am on the last night, so I kind of always wondered why they waited until 6am to leave.

 

I may have missed it in the other comments (my comp is loading sllloooooowwwwly so I skipped to Post Reply :o) but are they changing when they arrive back in Boston then?

 

NO the time arriving in Boston is the same just 2 full days at see instead of 6AM departure.

[mag]

Wow, I loved the Spirit last month but I am definitely looking at HAL for next year! It really is too bad.

[Cxcelica]

Wow, I loved the Spirit last month but I am definitely looking at HAL for next year! It really is too bad.

 

I agree and I wonder how many other people will feel this way too. I love NCL, but to me, HAL's Bermuda itinerary was already more attractive and this just makes it look even better.

[Ontheotherhand]

After the way that Bermuda has treated them, I honestly don't blame them one bit.

 

 

To a point I agree with you, but the better remedy would be to curtail the number of cruises to Bermuda or avoid cruising to Bermuda altogether, not to shortchange your passengers out of a port day they expected. If the sailings aren't really profitable enough to continue, NCL (or whatever other cruise line) should just announce that after a certain date they will no longer sail to Bermuda.

 

Aren't many of the cruise lines already doing something like this with Alaska after their increased taxes?

[RichNY]

Its rather unlikely NCL will pull out of Bermuda, they have a 10 year contract that runs until 2018.

[MrPete]

Bermuda is probably one of the few places I feel would be a loss if they pulled a day away from me.

 

So much so, I would consider booking elsewhere.

[acjjj]

I too was disappointed when I received notice of the change for our July sailing. Having teens, I was happy to have 3 days in port to let them sleep in and still have lots of exploring time. I assumed it saved $ in port fees for NCL.....

[alwalaska]

Not that I'm defending the decision, but they are giving people over 6 months notice...I don't know how much more quickly they could have communicated...

 

Since typing can be misunderstood, I want to say I understand your intent and am not upset or getting defensive. I just want to explain.

 

I guess I put the dates wrong. We had 3 months notice. They canceled Tortola for an earlier cruise when we were about 6 months out, but did not make the change to our cruise for another 3 months.

 

I booked the trip 13 months out and the prices had gone up drastically so we could no longer afford to book our second choice cruise, which with a missing port, would have been our first choice.

 

Also, what really upset me, was they kept waiting and selling more cruises and only taking the port off of one or two cruises at a time, and they never informed people unless you had an excursion booked that had to be canceled and refunded.

 

In fact, months after we got home, they are still advertising cruises with our original itinerary in the future and taking that port off one by one when it gets closer to sail date. They could say they are optimistic that some day they will go, but I say they are false advertising, getting people hooked with something they can't offer.

[Sairey]

I just canceled the 6 cabins we had booked on the Spirit for Sept 17. From what I've heard, Bermuda is too nice of an island to only spend 2 days there. We're flying instead and staying for 5 days. It will cost about the same as cruising for 7, considering we must now pay for our food, but it's worth it to me.

[Arwenmark]

Bermuda is probably one of the few places I feel would be a loss if they pulled a day away from me.

 

So much so, I would consider booking elsewhere.

 

If it were not for being booked in a suite and NCL's suite benefits far outweighing everyone else's I would probably go with a different line. But if you want the great Suite experience you are stuck with NCL.

[AShipForMe]

I just canceled the 6 cabins we had booked on the Spirit for Sept 17. From what I've heard, Bermuda is too nice of an island to only spend 2 days there. We're flying instead and staying for 5 days. It will cost about the same as cruising for 7, considering we must now pay for our food, but it's worth it to me.

 

Have you looked into HAL Veendam? Check it out before you book air and hotels. I spends the most time in Bermuda and you stop at two ports. Also, YES Bermuda is TOO Nice not to be able to spend extra time there.