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Does Norwegian publish the number of times they missed Great Stirrup Cay?

Fred Quimby

By Fred Quimby,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Fred Quimby

Fred Quimby

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Hope so

We are supposed to be there this November

 

We are on Breakaway November 5th

 

It's one of those embarrassing questions one asks of the Captain whilst at the Meet & Greet.:evilsmile:

 

I Will,,,thanks,,,I want to video his response,,,lol

 

I know the first thing I do when I disappoint my customers is publish a list showing every time I've done it.

 

I would probably be out of business this Tuesday,,,possibly Monday.

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momoftwinteens

momoftwinteens

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We are going in October. I already figure we will miss it and just hope to get out of port. Lol

 

 

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Likewise. That's why we are planning a beach excursion in Nassau, just in case, when we sail in October. I have hit Great Stirrup Cay two out of three cruises that were supposed to go there.

 

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Alatraveler1

Alatraveler1

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I set up something for Nassau as well after seeing the weather forecast for our GSC day the WEEK BEFORE WE DEPARTED PORT CANAVERAL. I had time to make that alternate plan. Apparently either NCL a) never looks at weather forecasts, b) could care less about whether the passengers enjoy an alternate port, or c) are more concerned with avoiding extra port charges and keeping the money themselves. I saw the weather looked like we might not stop the week before we left and had time to make alternate arrangements.

 

Yesterday, when we arrived just off shore of GSC and what appeared to be about 4 foot seas and then abruptly left, the captain said he had contacted the home office and there were no berths available at Nassau. With no other options, we'd just have a sea day. Was Freeport closed? Key West? Grand Turk? And why did we wait until the morning of the stop when the weather was the same the night before as it was when we arrived? Interesting to note how quickly the casino became fully staffed, and the reprinted dailies had additional onboard shop sales and new activities with surcharges not long after this announcement.

 

Apparently, since construction for the revenue generating additions started, GSC is more missed than visited. Could keeping guests from the island help them speed construction to a close? 40 million $ plus in improvements since 2012 including the ongoing reno and Disney only spent $20 million on Castaway Cay which has a pier so its customers can actually get to and use the island. And our great replacement for missing what for many was to be a highlight of the cruise....? $15 OBC. Gee, thanks. And before the NCL apologists show up, if I charged you $100 as a taxi driver to take you on a tour that included shopping and a beach stop, and then only took you shopping but refused to refund any of your money or do anything meaningful to replace the beach stop, would you be ok with it???:(

 

Likewise. That's why we are planning a beach excursion in Nassau, just in case, when we sail in October. I have hit Great Stirrup Cay two out of three cruises that were supposed to go there.

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Forums mobile app

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momoftwinteens

momoftwinteens

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I set up something for Nassau as well after seeing the weather forecast for our GSC day the WEEK BEFORE WE DEPARTED PORT CANAVERAL. I had time to make that alternate plan. Apparently either NCL a) never looks at weather forecasts, b) could care less about whether the passengers enjoy an alternate port, or c) are more concerned with avoiding extra port charges and keeping the money themselves. I saw the weather looked like we might not stop the week before we left and had time to make alternate arrangements.

 

Yesterday, when we arrived just off shore of GSC and what appeared to be about 4 foot seas and then abruptly left, the captain said he had contacted the home office and there were no berths available at Nassau. With no other options, we'd just have a sea day. Was Freeport closed? Key West? Grand Turk? And why did we wait until the morning of the stop when the weather was the same the night before as it was when we arrived? Interesting to note how quickly the casino became fully staffed, and the reprinted dailies had additional onboard shop sales and new activities with surcharges not long after this announcement.

 

Apparently, since construction for the revenue generating additions started, GSC is more missed than visited. Could keeping guests from the island help them speed construction to a close? 40 million $ plus in improvements since 2012 including the ongoing reno and Disney only spent $20 million on Castaway Cay which has a pier so its customers can actually get to and use the island. And our great replacement for missing what for many was to be a highlight of the cruise....? $15 OBC. Gee, thanks. And before the NCL apologists show up, if I charged you $100 as a taxi driver to take you on a tour that included shopping and a beach stop, and then only took you shopping but refused to refund any of your money or do anything meaningful to replace the beach stop, would you be ok with it???:(

You know what? The Breakaway is a beautiful ship and if I was forced to spend a week on her without getting off once ( yes, even unplanned), I would be perfectly content. Great Stirrup Cay is wonderful but it doesn't make or break my cruise and I don't tend to let things I can't control bother me as much. To each his own.

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Forums mobile app

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dexddd

dexddd

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Posted
I set up something for Nassau as well after seeing the weather forecast for our GSC day the WEEK BEFORE WE DEPARTED PORT CANAVERAL. I had time to make that alternate plan. Apparently either NCL a) never looks at weather forecasts, b) could care less about whether the passengers enjoy an alternate port, or c) are more concerned with avoiding extra port charges and keeping the money themselves. I saw the weather looked like we might not stop the week before we left and had time to make alternate arrangements.

 

Yesterday, when we arrived just off shore of GSC and what appeared to be about 4 foot seas and then abruptly left, the captain said he had contacted the home office and there were no berths available at Nassau. With no other options, we'd just have a sea day. Was Freeport closed? Key West? Grand Turk? And why did we wait until the morning of the stop when the weather was the same the night before as it was when we arrived? Interesting to note how quickly the casino became fully staffed, and the reprinted dailies had additional onboard shop sales and new activities with surcharges not long after this announcement.

 

Apparently, since construction for the revenue generating additions started, GSC is more missed than visited. Could keeping guests from the island help them speed construction to a close? 40 million $ plus in improvements since 2012 including the ongoing reno and Disney only spent $20 million on Castaway Cay which has a pier so its customers can actually get to and use the island. And our great replacement for missing what for many was to be a highlight of the cruise....? $15 OBC. Gee, thanks. And before the NCL apologists show up, if I charged you $100 as a taxi driver to take you on a tour that included shopping and a beach stop, and then only took you shopping but refused to refund any of your money or do anything meaningful to replace the beach stop, would you be ok with it???:(

 

Did you end up going to Nassau the night you were supposed to go to GSC? It seems from all the reading I've done for times GSC gets missed, the given ship slowly sails to Nassau and gets there at 6 or 8 pm. I can't recall anyone ever saying they went to an alternate port for the day so I don't think they even try to find an alternate.

 

At least they are refunding some money from what I've read lately - we didn't get any refund.

 

They do get the shops open right away!

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Alatraveler1

Alatraveler1

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Posted (edited)

No alternate port, but we did sail VERY slowly (I'm sure saving fuel $$$ at the same time) back to Port Canaveral. My issue is just that I knew we were probably not going to make it a week in advance and made alternate plans for Nassau. For the captain to state he "had just been in touch with the main office and there was no room at Nassau" is not acceptable to me. And the casino and shops opened very fast for you to spend extra $$$ since your day was now not to be spent on land.

 

AND, the description of Nassau port says it can handle up to seven ships, there were only five scheduled to be there that day. Freeport can accomodate three......there were none there that day. Key West has three piers and there was one ship there.

Edited by Alatraveler1
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mjkacmom

mjkacmom

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No alternate port, but we did sail VERY slowly (I'm sure saving fuel $$$ at the same time) back to Port Canaveral. My issue is just that I knew we were probably not going to make it a week in advance and made alternate plans. For the captain to state he "had just been in touch with the main office and there was no room at Nassau" is not acceptable to me. And the casino and shops opened very fast for you to spend extra $$$ since your day was now not to be spend on land.

Maybe you should've phoned in your prediction to NCL a week earlier. If the weather was bad, other ships probably skipped their private islands. I've been at Nassau with a full house. If there is room, NCL will dock there. It could very well be that it was booked solid.

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hansolosmom

hansolosmom

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No alternate port, but we did sail VERY slowly (I'm sure saving fuel $$$ at the same time) back to Port Canaveral. My issue is just that I knew we were probably not going to make it a week in advance and made alternate plans. For the captain to state he "had just been in touch with the main office and there was no room at Nassau" is not acceptable to me. And the casino and shops opened very fast for you to spend extra $$$ since your day was now not to be spend on land.

 

With the accuracy of weather forecasting, there's no real way to know a week in advance of making it or not. Haven't you ever heard a long range forecast where they say next Tues it will rain, but as Tuesday gets closer the prediction changes? We get that all the time here. So they need to be there to judge the seas to know if they can transport you over.

As for Nassau being full, there's not much they can do about that one, there is only so much room for ships to berth. Also, GSC is NCL's island, so if you are spending $ on the island it's really not much different then spending it on the ship.

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Alatraveler1

Alatraveler1

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Sorry, perhaps I could have also offered to serve drinks or maybe staff the excursion desk? Knowing that information is their responsibility, they took the easy way out. If NCL spent resources these past years adding a pier to the island instead of extra revenue generating facilities we would have been able to visit. I don't read about missing stops at other private islands near as much as GSC. In fact, with Castaway Cay it's a rarity.

 

Maybe you should've phoned in your prediction to NCL a week earlier. If the weather was bad, other ships probably skipped their private islands. I've been at Nassau with a full house. If there is room, NCL will dock there. It could very well be that it was booked solid.
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Alatraveler1

Alatraveler1

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With the accuracy of weather forecasting, there's no real way to know a week in advance of making it or not. Haven't you ever heard a long range forecast where they say next Tues it will rain, but as Tuesday gets closer the prediction changes? We get that all the time here. So they need to be there to judge the seas to know if they can transport you over.

As for Nassau being full, there's not much they can do about that one, there is only so much room for ships to berth. Also, GSC is NCL's island, so if you are spending $ on the island it's really not much different then spending it on the ship.

 

GSC is NCL's private island and they missed out on the excursion $$$ including the cabana rental at several hundred dollars a pop. But from the full casino and shops, and the fact that since most had the UBP and beverage income was therefore a wash either aboard or on land, I'm fairly certain it was a high net revenue decision/outcome for NCL. Great if you own their stock, not so great if you're on the ship.

 

Unless it was the entry point (narrow) the tenders would have to take, I've tendered in much worse conditions in other locations. I also wonder how much additional construction they were able to perform without passengers on the island.

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chengkp75

chengkp75

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Sorry, perhaps I could have also offered to serve drinks or maybe staff the excursion desk? Knowing that information is their responsibility, they took the easy way out. If NCL spent resources these past years adding a pier to the island instead of extra revenue generating facilities we would have been able to visit. I don't read about missing stops at other private islands near as much as GSC. In fact, with Castaway Cay it's a rarity.

 

Just for information, there is a world of difference in the geography of Castaway Cay and GSC. Castaway has a good "bend" in the island, with a natural cove, that only needed deepening and widening to make a berth and pier, which uses the island as protection from the weather and seas. Even this needed a lot of approval from the Bahamian government to get the dredging done. GSC has the lagoon on one side (which would never be dredged for a harbor, as it would be too expensive and damage too much reef), and then deep water on the other side. The only opportunity for a pier at GSC would be to have one sticking straight out from the island, and this would be unprotected from any weather, and would result in most likely just as many missed port calls as when tendered, as the ship could not stay alongside the pier.

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david5272

david5272

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No alternate port, but we did sail VERY slowly (I'm sure saving fuel $$$ at the same time) back to Port Canaveral. My issue is just that I knew we were probably not going to make it a week in advance and made alternate plans for Nassau. For the captain to state he "had just been in touch with the main office and there was no room at Nassau" is not acceptable to me. And the casino and shops opened very fast for you to spend extra $$$ since your day was now not to be spent on land.

 

AND, the description of Nassau port says it can handle up to seven ships, there were only five scheduled to be there that day. Freeport can accomodate three......there were none there that day. Key West has three piers and there was one ship there.

 

 

Very simple answer, don't cruise!!!!!

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chengkp75

chengkp75

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Posted

 

Unless it was the entry point (narrow) the tenders would have to take, I've tendered in much worse conditions in other locations. I also wonder how much additional construction they were able to perform without passengers on the island.

 

Next time you're on a ship, be sure to let the Captain know that you have an unlimited Master's license, or even a small passenger vessel "six pack" license, and they will ask your opinion as to whether it is safe to tender or not.

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mjkacmom

mjkacmom

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GSC is NCL's private island and they missed out on the excursion $$$ including the cabana rental at several hundred dollars a pop. But from the full casino and shops, and the fact that since most had the UBP and beverage income was therefore a wash either aboard or on land, I'm fairly certain it was a high net revenue decision/outcome for NCL. Great if you own their stock, not so great if you're on the ship.

 

Unless it was the entry point (narrow) the tenders would have to take, I've tendered in much worse conditions in other locations. I also wonder how much additional construction they were able to perform without passengers on the island.

I believe the areas under construction are closed off to passengers anyway. A lot of people remain on the ship, and there are a significant amount of sold out excursions NCL has to refund money for. There have been some scary tales reported here of tendering that should never have happened.

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