NCL took away night in Bermuda

[peg013]

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?

 

They have to have a pilot boat lead them in and out so it's either after dawn or before dusk. Can't leave in the dark....Bermuda won't let them!

[newmexicoNita]

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.

 

This far in advance, I wouldn't expect them to offer me anything...I have been on many cruises where the itinerary is changed prior to sailing. Of course never have any of them offered anything. One cruise the itinerary was changed back and forth 3 times in 5 months.

 

I know it is a disappointment and for anyone who chooses to book with another line to get the extra day, I think that is understandable, my point is just this isn't unusual.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

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.

 

RCI is the line that does this the most.

 

NIta

[terrymtex01]

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

 

CG I bet you are totally right with this. I have read several articles where the cruiselines threatened to do this and it looks like they are. What it does for me is that I would look more closely at sailing with a cruiseline that still offered the three nights in port, and if there were none that still offered that, it would just level the playing field for NCL and the other cruiselines.

[welove2cruise232]

We received this notice from our TA today (we're booked next July) -- really disappointed, but would be a LITTLE happier if we arrived at KW EARLY Sunday AM (6-7 AM) so we'd have a FULL day in BDA on Sunday -- then we have Monday and Tuesday til 5:30. Not ideal, but I could live with that. We still LOVE the Spirit, and would cruise on her to BDA regardless.

 

Yeah, yeah, Rich, we'll be on the Veendam too -- only because of who else will be there! And NO, we haven't booked yet...;) STILL prefer NCL!!

[scchasgal]

We received this notice from our TA today (we're booked next July) -- really disappointed, but would be a LITTLE happier if we arrived at KW EARLY Sunday AM (6-7 AM) so we'd have a FULL day in BDA on Sunday -- then we have Monday and Tuesday til 5:30. Not ideal, but I could live with that. We still LOVE the Spirit, and would cruise on her to BDA regardless.

 

Yeah, yeah, Rich, we'll be on the Veendam too -- only because of who else will be there! And NO, we haven't booked yet...;) STILL prefer NCL!!

 

There is a thread on the HAL board about NCL'ers and losing a day and to beware that the Veendam may get taken over. :D

[RichNY]

We received this notice from our TA today (we're booked next July) -- really disappointed, but would be a LITTLE happier if we arrived at KW EARLY Sunday AM (6-7 AM) so we'd have a FULL day in BDA on Sunday -- then we have Monday and Tuesday til 5:30. Not ideal, but I could live with that. We still LOVE the Spirit, and would cruise on her to BDA regardless.

 

Yeah, yeah, Rich, we'll be on the Veendam too -- only because of who else will be there! And NO, we haven't booked yet...;) STILL prefer NCL!!

 

Thats great...E mail be before you book....We prefer NCL too BUTTTTTT..:rolleyes:

[sottovoce]

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.

They haven't "pulled a day." They've "pulled" a few hours. Unless, that is, you returned to the ship at 6am on Wednesday morning.

[jdarch]

I can understand your disappointment. But basically they made the Spirit Bermuda itinerary like the Dawn's, only reversed: Dawn has two sea days over, arrives in Bermuda Weds morning, leaves 3 afternoons later with one sea day back. Spirit now has one sea day over, arrives Bermuda Sunday morning, leaves 3 afternoons later with two sea days back. You lose an overnight in Bermuda; it was a nice extra, but we basically spend our evenings on the ship either way.

[fridaythe13th]

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.

 

I don't really want to be rushing back for an early departure. If they have to leave early why not make it around 10pm. I may end up cancelling my cruise because of this. It's bad enough they went Friday to Friday, now this??

[RichNY]

Evidently the Premier of Bermuda is blaming the defeat of his gambling bill for the change...No comment from NCL...

[bluefintuna]

As I recall when this was going on earlier in the year ncl felt they had a deal with the government of Bermuda regarding opening the casinos while in Bermuda and the government dragged their heels on a decision and ultimately went against the cruise lines regarding the casinos. I made a sizeable donation last May when we cruised to Bermuda, so having the casinos stay closed while in port was fine by me.

[justcake]

I took the Spirit to Bermuda in August. I would have totally missed out had we left early. On the final day, we were off the ship until late that night and saw plenty of sights that day. I would definitely think of switching to another cruise line if the trip to Bermuda was longer. That's just too bad!

[donaldsc]

Do you think that saving dock fees for 1 night and being able to cruise more slowly to the next port might have something to do with it?

 

DON

[grammax3]

Maybe it has nothing to do with NCL's decision, maybe the decision was made by the HarborMaster in Bermuda.

[grammax3]

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.

 

Are you aware of the food prices in Bermuda? :rolleyes:

[Sairey]

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.

 

If it were just my fiance and I going to get married we would book with HAL. However, we have several friends and family members coming. HAL is more expensive, and that would make it difficult for others to come.

 

I'm sure we will want to return to Bermuda in the future. As much as we love NCL, if HAL stays longer in port, we'll go with them. No, we weren't planning on returning to the ship at 6am Wed morning, but we were planning on enjoying the entire day before and evening on land. I liked thinking that we could come back aboard around 10 pm and wake up at sea the next day.

[fridaythe13th]

I just informed my family of the change. A bunch of us including friends do Boston to Bermuda (most of them go every year). They are not happy! I think they will be looking elsewhere along with me. Can you imagine how many people who do not read CC take this cruise every year out of Boston! If they just book, get their docs and don't see the itinerary change, they are in for a BIG surprise when they find out. :eek:

[crew mom]

Maybe it has nothing to do with NCL's decision, maybe the decision was made by the HarborMaster in Bermuda.

That's what I was going to point out also. Port times can also be changed by the port.

 

Maybe there is another ship coming into that berth. Maybe they are doing repairs at the harbor and have limited berthing spots for the ships so everyone's time is being adjusted. Maybe they need to adjust hours so an immigration officer is available. And then again, maybe the decision was NCL's.

 

I'm sorry for those that lost some port time but at least you found out prior to boarding the ship and can make adjustments to your plans if necessary.

[fridaythe13th]

Yes, some of us can make other plans but the majority of our group are elderly who don't fly and driving an hour to Boston is so convenient. They enjoy being out on the island into the evening. There is no other Bermuda cruise out of Boston. They will be heartbroken and I don't think they will be up to driving 5 hours to NY, (I've already tried to convince a few). :( I hate to say it but I do believe it has to do with the lost revenue due to the casino being closed while in port.

[elaineb]

I just informed my family of the change. A bunch of us including friends do Boston to Bermuda (most of them go every year). They are not happy! I think they will be looking elsewhere along with me. Can you imagine how many people who do not read CC take this cruise every year out of Boston! If they just book, get their docs and don't see the itinerary change, they are in for a BIG surprise when they find out. :eek:

 

Hopefully not! As a TA, I got an email from NCL the day of the policy change asking us to forward it on to our customers booked on that ship. I duly sent it along. Hopefully other TA's are doing the same. It is a shame. A long way for not much time on the island.

[RichNY]

I'm not sure what NCL's reasons are but they were giving us less time in Bermuda to start with....and spending all our time at KW is not a good thing especially if there are other ships in..Yes Hal is more expensive but IMO its worth it.