Getaway misses its first two Batic ports

[triptolemus]

The decision wasn't made on the day. Passengers are finding out via email 4-5 days prior to the cruise.

 

NCL do sell cruises knowing the itinerary is changed. They did that in Alaska on the Sun last year. All the longshoremen and private tour providers knew the itinerary was changed but NCL Head Office were denying it.

 

Your points are valid. :beer-toast:

[LucasBraga]

Ok, now I'm a little bit worried about this.

 

I'm going to do this same cruise in July 28, but my embarkation port is Warnemunde instead of Copenhagen. If the ship couldn't dock in Warnemunde I really didn't know what to do in that situation, mainly because I'll be with a 9 people group. I know that ports could be skipped but the embarkation port can't be one of them!

[Seminole1975]

Ok, now I'm a little bit worried about this.

 

I'm going to do this same cruise in July 28, but my embarkation port is Warnemunde instead of Copenhagen. If the ship couldn't dock in Warnemunde I really didn't know what to do in that situation, mainly because I'll be with a 9 people group. I know that ports could be skipped but the embarkation port can't be one of them!

 

They did not skip Warnemunde (because it is an embarkation point). They had to skip Tallinn because they could not get into Warnemunde as scheduled because of the weather. They apparently circled around for a day until they could get into Warnemunde, missing Tallinn the next day. Unfortunate, I would be disappointed, but ports get missed because of weather. You are right. They cannot skip Warnemunde if people are getting on there. I think I remember reading that some folks got put up in a hotel for the night?

[rocklinmom]

That's why they kept circling outside Warnemunde on the recent one that couldn't dock because of winds. There is a thread about it on the NCL boards. Eventually they docked and were there for a shortened time, and had to miss the next port (Tallinn) due to the delay. But they can't skip an embarkation/disembarkation port. So you don't have to worry.

[NCruiser2012]

We sailed on the Star a couple of years ago and had to miss Stockholm because of very high winds. So, it is not just the mega-ships that may not be able to make it to a port.

 

A few years ago, we sailed to Marseille on the Epic. There was some sort of traffic problem and it took hours to wait for the shuttle bus. We eventually gave up and went back on the ship. I was horrible disappointed but things happen.

 

If you really want to go to a port and your trip will be ruined if you do not get there, you should consider visiting that city independently of the cruise.

[Travel R]

We are sailing this itinerary in exactly two weeks (out of Copenhagen).

 

Personally, coming from the US, we chose this itinerary because of the ports. Actually, I cruise because of the ports (if you look at my signature, each of my itineraries is different, and every one of them departed from a different port). Secondary is the ship. Everyone cruises for their own reasons.

 

Although I figured that rain and cold would be a factor during the excursions for this itinerary, I did not consider the weather being a factor in missing any ports in this region during late June/early July. [it's not like we are cruising to the Caribbean during September/October.]

 

Would I be disappointed if we missed any ports - of course I would. Ports like Tallin are places we will most likely never go back to again. But, you cannot blame weather. I've cruised through a Hurricane before, and we still had a great time.

 

Hopefully the remainder of the current itinerary goes smoothly.

[Seminole1975]

I just thought of something. I think the title of this thread is a little misleading. The Getaway missed the first two ports on this current cruise (actually they only missed one port). I hope everyone realizes that there were two Baltic cruises prior to this one. The first one left Copenhagen on May 16th. Apparently they all did just fine per the reviews and the feedback from my son on the ship .People are having a great time! No need to panic or make any hasty decisions based on one thread on Cruise Critic. Lets see how the rest of the cruises go.

Edited June 16, 2017 by Seminole1975

[tidygirl]

We were on the May 25th sailing ,but we're fortunate to have good weather. Most of the time we do sail for ports, though it is nice to have a good ship to come home to! I definitely think the Getaway isn't a good ship for colder climates unless they would make an indoor pool and jacuzzi available for ALL cruisers! About froze in the jacuzzi one night we braved it.:eek:

[ttnc4me]

This came from another post/review from an earlier Getaway sailing in the Baltics:

"Stockholm - no. This was very poorly handled by NCL, because I heard about the change from Alla a week before NCL bothered to tell me. Apparently, it is the Captain's call. We did check the port timetables and see a large container ship taking the Getaway's original berth, so maybe they were outbid - but I suspect that the problems of the Transatlantic made the Captain nervous about taking such a big ship through the archipelago. We did still see some of it though, so don't despair if your port gets changed as well."

 

 

I think that NCL (and a lot of experienced cruisers) knew WAY ahead of time that the Getaway couldn't make it through the Archipelago. The NCL captains are usually Scandanavian and would all know what Stockholm is like through experience or common knowledge. Most ports have berthing schedules worked out way ahead of time, sometimes a year.

 

 

I think we will all be surprised if the Getaway ever makes it through. NCL canceled the docking in Stockholm before the sailing, yet didn't inform the passengers. I was also looking at the Breakaway for 2018 for a TA but will keep my booking with RCL even though I'm Latitudes. I sailed on the Getaway and thought the pool deck was the most squished pool deck I've ever observed. The ship was built for a warm climate (Miami).

For what it's worth, my sailing is in 5 days & not only has there been no official word of a port change, but the official Swedish port schedule still has GA in Stockholm so we can only hope!

[flexsmom]

We leave today to sail on Wednesday. Our itinerary calls for Stockholm, but I'm prepared if we end up diverting to Nynashamn. In the end, it adds an hour each way to the city, but the port time is normally extended by at least an hour, so it nets out to one hour less in Stockholm. Since we're biting the bullet to ride all the way to Berlin, I just can't get worked up about having to go an hour (or maybe a little less) to Stockholm, but that's just me. I do feel for the people who saw "Stockholm (Nynashamn) Sweden" on their itinerary and didn't realize they weren't docking in the same place as those who had "Stockholm Sweden". Knowing there are multiple potential options, I'd just rather be prepared than throw in the towel and assume it's in the "too hard" category to get to Stockholm if it's altered at the last minute. Again, that's just me.

 

We've been watching the portsofstockholm.com website for weeks to monitor whether there's a posted change, recognizing that many of the pax on the two previous cruises that were switched from one to the other didn't get the word. So far we're holding steady and are 11 days out. A search on that website indicates that about half of the remaining Getaway stops in Stockholm are due to dock in the city, and the other half in Nynashamn. So - we'll report back on the 28th and see where we are. Either way, I'll be dancing at the Abba museum sometime mid-day with my kids! (Assuming the weather doesn't get us somewhere!)

 

Oh - and if we do miss Warnemunde long enough to have to skip Berlin, or any other port, we'll be disappointed. But I also suspect with two teenagers in tow, they won't complain much about having a day or two off.

[Seminole1975]

Be glad we are not in the Caribbean! Tropical storm forming. Looks like a mess.

 

 

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[Seminole1975]

We leave today to sail on Wednesday. Our itinerary calls for Stockholm, but I'm prepared if we end up diverting to Nynashamn. In the end,

 

Keep us posted and safe travels!!

[hun]

We leave today to sail on Wednesday. Our itinerary calls for Stockholm, but I'm prepared if we end up diverting to Nynashamn. In the end, it adds an hour each way to the city, but the port time is normally extended by at least an hour, so it nets out to one hour less in Stockholm. Since we're biting the bullet to ride all the way to Berlin, I just can't get worked up about having to go an hour (or maybe a little less) to Stockholm, but that's just me. I do feel for the people who saw "Stockholm (Nynashamn) Sweden" on their itinerary and didn't realize they weren't docking in the same place as those who had "Stockholm Sweden". Knowing there are multiple potential options, I'd just rather be prepared than throw in the towel and assume it's in the "too hard" category to get to Stockholm if it's altered at the last minute. Again, that's just me.

 

 

 

We've been watching the portsofstockholm.com website for weeks to monitor whether there's a posted change, recognizing that many of the pax on the two previous cruises that were switched from one to the other didn't get the word. So far we're holding steady and are 11 days out. A search on that website indicates that about half of the remaining Getaway stops in Stockholm are due to dock in the city, and the other half in Nynashamn. So - we'll report back on the 28th and see where we are. Either way, I'll be dancing at the Abba museum sometime mid-day with my kids! (Assuming the weather doesn't get us somewhere!)

 

 

 

Oh - and if we do miss Warnemunde long enough to have to skip Berlin, or any other port, we'll be disappointed. But I also suspect with two teenagers in tow, they won't complain much about having a day or two off.

 

 

 

Please keep us posted! (And great attitude btw). Yours may be the first attempt into actual Stockholm!

 

 

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[Swedish family]

We live in Stockholm and are booked for a ship viewing through our TA on the Getaway 28th June.

We have recieved information that Getaway will dock at Stadsgården Berth 167.

[BoughtMyPoints]

Were the disembarking Germans left without their luggage for their bonus day at sea?

 

How much compensation did the embarking Germans receive for their shortened 8 day cruise?

 

I was in Tallinn on the missed port day, probably the nicest day so far this year.

[ljrfrm]

Friends on board now say that it looks like they can't leave St Petersburg as planned.

[BoughtMyPoints]

We live in Stockholm and are booked for a ship viewing through our TA on the Getaway 28th June.

We have recieved information that Getaway will dock at Stadsgården Berth 167.

 

IIRC, this is the first berth in Stockholm, beyond where Viking Line docks.

 

For the energetic, you can walk to the Old Town and the closest T-bana station. For others, there may be some chaos as only 20 parking spaces for buses are provided.

 

As usual, it's a matter of numbers.

[Nelsj099]

I booked this cruise last minute leaving July 9th. I live in Russia so I was excited that there would be a mega ship coming to do this cruise. This is a port heavy trip, and I can understand that people will be disapointed when and if missing a port happens. I am looking forward to both!

[Seminole1975]

The Getaway has sailed from

St Petersburg

 

 

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[ljrfrm]

The Getaway has sailed from

St Petersburg

 

 

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Glad to hear that. I just heard from her also - said they only left 1.5 hours late.

Edited June 17, 2017 by ljrfrm

[Nelsj099]

I was on the Epic in May. We never left port on-time. Not once. I asked a few crew members about this and they said it wasn't a big deal because all of the ports are close together. Maybe they are taking the same idea and applying it to the Baltic.

[EllieinNJ]

I guess NCL is not the only cruise line having trouble in the Baltics.

Regal Princess misses Tallinn

[luvtheships]

We sailed on the Star a couple of years ago and had to miss Stockholm because of very high winds. So, it is not just the mega-ships that may not be able to make it to a port.

 

 

 

A few years ago, we sailed to Marseille on the Epic. There was some sort of traffic problem and it took hours to wait for the shuttle bus. We eventually gave up and went back on the ship. I was horrible disappointed but things happen.

 

 

 

If you really want to go to a port and your trip will be ruined if you do not get there, you should consider visiting that city independently of the cruise.

 

 

 

Couldn't you have just grabbed a taxi?

 

That's assuming the traffic allowed and it was just a shuttle bus issue as in not enough shuttles

 

 

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[Seminole1975]

Friends on board now say that it looks like they can't leave St Petersburg as planned.

Just talked to our man on the ship-our son, Kurt's birthday today!

 

He told us he found out why the Getaway could not leave St. Petersburg on time. Get this-President Putin was in the area (I think he said he was in a stadium). The Russians (probably the military) disabled the navigation systems of the Getaway. After a period of time, a black helicopter flew over the ship and the navigation systems came back on. Sounds unbelievable-I cannot think of why they would do this, but they did according to Kurt and what he was told.

[NCruiser2012]

Couldn't you have just grabbed a taxi?

 

That's assuming the traffic allowed and it was just a shuttle bus issue as in not enough shuttles

 

 

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No. Traffic was backed up. As it was explained to us, we would just sit in the taxi with the meter running. All roads were clogged. I think there was a strike or a work slowdown. The shuttle buses would leave, but would not return.

 

It cleared up later in the afternoon and we possible could have still gone to the city for a short period of time, but my kids were younger then and were happily using the pool and slides.