Breakaway Baltic Missing 50% of Ports

[Dgoddess61]

I am currently on the Norwegian Breakaway sailing from Copenhagen 9/23/18. We had 6 ports scheduled in 9 day cruise.

The Captain has cancelled Berlin, delayed us inTallin by 1 day before heading to hopefully Saint Petersburg. Then due to “time needed to return to Copenhagen” we will be skipping Stockholm and Helsinki.

The reasons given was Seas to rough to go to Berlin. Saint Petersburg closes dams for fear of flooding. As for Helsinki & Stockholm the time it will take to cruise back to Copenhagen does not allow for those ports.

They have not offered any compensation other than to allow us use of the computers to notify our outside tour operators of the changes for the next 24 hours.

Future cruisers beware of the Baltic iteniary this time of year.

[Indykitten]

That must be disappointing. :( We're on the TA with you next week. Have the seas felt rough?

[themutis]

My Dad is on that cruise - it's his first, and I'm guessing it will be his last. What a bummer.

[maryinFL]

I'm on the Breakaway now, too. I've been following a FB post from a cruiser stuck in St Petersburg on a Viking Ocean ship. As of her last post, the dam was still up. She said they are experiencing 50 knot winds, and their ship is pinned to the dock. If our captain isn't alerted that the dam has reopened, I don't see how he can get us there. If I see an update from her, I'll relay the info. They are missing out on several ports, too. They are supposed to be in Tallinn.

 

Yes, it really sucks, but mother nature doesn't always cooperate. In the meantime, we are on vacation, safe on a beautiful ship and we have a home that isn't flooded, to return to. Our once in a lifetime itinerary may have to go back onto our bucket list.

 

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[Indykitten]

I'm on the Breakaway now, too. I've been following a FB post from a cruiser stuck in St Petersburg on a Viking Ocean ship. As of her last post, the dam was still up. She said they are experiencing 50 knot winds, and their ship is pinned to the dock. If our captain isn't alerted that the dam has reopened, I don't see how he can get us there. If I see an update from her, I'll relay the info. They are missing out on several ports, too. They are supposed to be in Tallinn.

 

Yes, it really sucks, but mother nature doesn't always cooperate. In the meantime, we are on vacation, safe on a beautiful ship and we have a home that isn't flooded, to return to. Our once in a lifetime itinerary may have to go back onto our bucket list.

You have a great attitude. Unfortunately these things happen and sometimes you have to roll with the punches when you travel.

[maryinFL]

Correction after my last post. The dam is open in St Petersburg, the Viking Sun (much smaller only 900 pax) is stuck against the pier from wind and the current. They had 2 tug boats to try to get it out. They are still there according to last updates. Hopefully, this will have no effect on us.

 

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[JillK]

My parents are also on this cruise. I received an email from my mom this morning where she also reported the missed ports and that they were hopeful to be able to make it into St. Petersburg today but nothing further confirming whether they were able to make it in or not.

 

They will no doubt be disappointed to miss so many stops but I know that they will understand given the weather circumstances which is out of anyone's control. As seasoned cruisers, they have experienced missed ports in the past but not as many as this. I would think at the very least NCL would refund port fees for missed ports.

 

This is an itinerary that I would like to do in the future and will definitely take into account that September can have some tricky weather in the Baltic.

 

Hope that everyone aboard is trying to stay positive while enjoy the ship's amenities and the ports they are able to make.

[jdvmd]

Very disappointing but the captain is trying to keep everyone safe.

[njkate]

I am currently on the Norwegian Breakaway sailing from Copenhagen 9/23/18. We had 6 ports scheduled in 9 day cruise.

The Captain has cancelled Berlin, delayed us inTallin by 1 day before heading to hopefully Saint Petersburg. Then due to “time needed to return to Copenhagen” we will be skipping Stockholm and Helsinki.

The reasons given was Seas to rough to go to Berlin. Saint Petersburg closes dams for fear of flooding. As for Helsinki & Stockholm the time it will take to cruise back to Copenhagen does not allow for those ports.

They have not offered any compensation other than to allow us use of the computers to notify our outside tour operators of the changes for the next 24 hours.

Future cruisers beware of the Baltic iteniary this time of year.

That makes no sense at all

[maryinFL]

That makes no sense at all

Risking our lives in rough seas, extreme winds doesn't make sense either. Yes, it stinks we are missing out. Yes, we all paid a lot of money to be here. But, I appreciate NCL caring for our safety first.

 

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[njkate]

Risking our lives in rough seas, extreme winds doesn't make sense either. Yes, it stinks we are missing out. Yes, we all paid a lot of money to be here. But, I appreciate NCL caring for our safety first.

 

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That makes sense, the rough seas and wind, I was only stating the so called time element of getting back to Copenhagen from Sweden, the last port didn't make sense.Weather then comes into play regarding the time element

 

Hopefully you were able to do St Petersburg

[Martha_74]

I'm booked on the same cruise next September as a single in a Solo cabin and will be very interested in this thread. Hope you get to St. Petersburg!!!!

[Steff79]

Breakaway is now in St. Petersburg. Was the breakaway 2 days in Tallinn?

[kitkat343]

I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have minded missing Helsinki, but Stockholm would hurt. And I’m kind of confused like the above poster since I don’t think it’s that far to sail from Stockholm to Copenhagen, but I’m not a naval expert Hopefully someone else can explain what happened (cancelling Berlin due to rough seas makes sense and if you were delayed for a day in Tallinn, I understand losing Helsinki). But I’m not quite understanding what happened to stockholm, but I’m sure there’s an explanation someone else can give.

[KeithJenner]

I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have minded missing Helsinki, but Stockholm would hurt. And I’m kind of confused like the above poster since I don’t think it’s that far to sail from Stockholm to Copenhagen, but I’m not a naval expert Hopefully someone else can explain what happened (cancelling Berlin due to rough seas makes sense and if you were delayed for a day in Tallinn, I understand losing Helsinki). But I’m not quite understanding what happened to stockholm, but I’m sure there’s an explanation someone else can give.

 

I had a very brief look at this yesterday, and I believe that basically the cruise is running behind schedule. They are late arriving at St Petersburg and will therefore be late leaving, which means that there isn't time to do those later ports.

 

I'm sure that someone will correct me if I am wrong.

[steamboats]

Breakaway is now in St. Petersburg. Was the breakaway 2 days in Tallinn?

 

Yes, I think so.

 

steamboats

[Sailingpeace]

I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have minded missing Helsinki, but Stockholm would hurt. And I’m kind of confused like the above poster since I don’t think it’s that far to sail from Stockholm to Copenhagen, but I’m not a naval expert Hopefully someone else can explain what happened (cancelling Berlin due to rough seas makes sense and if you were delayed for a day in Tallinn, I understand losing Helsinki). But I’m not quite understanding what happened to stockholm, but I’m sure there’s an explanation someone else can give.

 

From my souvenirs of doing this cruise a few years ago, I did enjoy seeing Stockholm, in my case it would be the opposite. I would way much rather miss Stockholm than Helsinki. They are short stays, maybe my impressions would change on a second cruise ( fingers crossed I can go again).

Alway sad to miss an long expected discovery, but safety first of course.

[Ulsteinvik]

I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have minded missing Helsinki, but Stockholm would hurt. And I’m kind of confused like the above poster since I don’t think it’s that far to sail from Stockholm to Copenhagen, but I’m not a naval expert Hopefully someone else can explain what happened (cancelling Berlin due to rough seas makes sense and if you were delayed for a day in Tallinn, I understand losing Helsinki). But I’m not quite understanding what happened to stockholm, but I’m sure there’s an explanation someone else can give.

 

If NCL Breakaway departs tomorrow from St.Petersburg there is no chance to reach Stockholm on Sunday because of the long distance.

She could arrive on Monday in Stockholm but then she would miss Copenhagen. You need from Stockholm to Copenhagen 2 days.

[Mimimatz]

Well she could have left St. Petersburg after one day and dock at Helsinki today. Then one day at sea to Warnemünde and on Tuesday back in Copenhagen.

[maryinFL]

Nobody would have wanted to give up a day in St. Petersburg.

 

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[steamboats]

In 2016 I was in a similar situation on the Celebrity Silhouette. We left Tallinn late due to high winds. Then there was a storm in St. Petersburg which did not allow the ships in port to leave. We couldn´t go in anyway. So we sat outside and waited. The storm and wind finally settled down, ships in port were able to leave and we were able to go in on our second St. Petersburg day. The ship´s management had to decide whether to stay for a second day or miss out at least one port (Helsinki or Stockholm). They decided to stay only for the day (which was o.k. as the weather was still not really nice - rain all over the day). All local tour operators adjusted their tours and squeezed in as much as possible. I think it was a good decision. Better just one day in St. Petersburg than missing out another port. So by the end we did all ports but were one day short in St. Petersburg.

 

 

I haven´t checked but they did stay in Tallinn overnight. Couldn´t they leave? As Helsiniki is pretty close by. Instead of staying in Tallinn longer Helsinki would have been an option (if the port wasn´t too busy but it´s the end of the season).

 

 

steamboats

[Ulsteinvik]

 

I haven´t checked but they did stay in Tallinn overnight. Couldn´t they leave? As Helsiniki is pretty close by. Instead of staying in Tallinn longer Helsinki would have been an option (if the port wasn´t too busy but it´s the end of the season).

 

 

steamboats

 

You are right but there was also a big storm in Helsinki. So they had to stay in Tallinn.

[zitsky]

If I was on a cruise that missed half the ports, I wouldn't sign up for a second one. I'm on a South America cruise in December where we easily could miss a few ports. I won't be happy if that happens.

[anonmom]

If I was on a cruise that missed half the ports, I wouldn't sign up for a second one. I'm on a South America cruise in December where we easily could miss a few ports. I won't be happy if that happens.

Strange that you would volunteer yourself for a situation that you think could easily occur, and that would make you unhappy if it happens.

 

Honestly, this is why we stick to cheap Caribbean cruises instead of expensive, often missed itineraries like Baltics, Bermuda, Alaska, etc.

 

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[Mimimatz]

The Breakaway is currently cruising at around 13 knots to Copenhagen. I would feel hoaxed if I was aboard and they told me that skipping another port was necessary to make it there on time.