It's official...all NCL cruises to Cuba are being changed

[newmexicoNita]

11 hours ago, Kingkonig said:

If I’m reading that right, it’s pretty much a full refund?  50% cash refund and 50% to a future cruise?

that is exactly how I see it. I don't understand why we see it one way and someone else the other.  

[newmexicoNita]

11 hours ago, NJ-Yinzer said:

Just says 50% future cruise credit. As I said...worthless because I will not sail on NCL again.  All I asked was to add the ongoing booking promo and they said no!

that is your problem. It is still 50% and 50% If you don't want to take advantage of it, so what, it is your loss, not theirs. 

[All-ready2cruise]

8 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

that is exactly how I see it. I don't understand why we see it one way and someone else the other.  

AS you can see.... glass half full vs glass half empty. Unfortunate but it is what it is. Some will always find fault even when there is none.

 

In this case, NCL did not cause this problem but are tasked with finding a solution.  

[newmexicoNita]

7 hours ago, Quencups said:

Seriously? Because some of us who were planning To go to Cuba within the next couple weeks are trying to look at this in a positive light you’re going to result to name calling? I’m hardly an NCL  enthusiast, just trying to make the best of a family vaca that turned crappy. 

some posters are just plain negative and can't seem to find a good word to say about NCL or almost any other line except RCI. Therefore we, who do happen to like NCL are brainless.  

[SpaceCoast1075]

Has anyone on the June 10 sailing been notified of their replacement port of call instead of Havana? Did it show up online or via e-mail?  I wonder if they will use the same itinerary for all 13 remaining sailings or if it will vary from week to week. You would think they would want to start selling shore excursions rather than reveal the MysteryPort after embarking.

[thetaro]

To be fair. NCL has been profiting on these Cuba cruises for years and they can absorb the loss if people want to cancel.

Cuba cruises are priced higher and on an old ship that people don't care. 

 

[SuziCruises]

Had NCL offered the option to cancel with full refund LIKE ALL THE OTHER CRUISE LINES DID, we wouldn’t be seeing such negative posts.  

 

I paid significantly more to go on this Cuba cruise rather than a Bahamas cruise.  So 50% off is not the great value it seems.

 

I live in South Florida where the Sky sails out of but chose to drive all the way to Port Canaveral to avoid the itinerary that stopped in the Bahamas.   Many of us have done the Bahamas cruise more times than we’d care to.  

 

My traveling companions are on a budget and will most likely not be able to use the future cruise credit. The best value for them to use it on will be ANOTHER Bahamas cruise not to mention the added cost of the other 50% they will have to pay plus tax and airfare.  

 

Again, Norwegian could have avoided all these bad feelings if they had simply offered the option to cancel for those of us within penalty period.  Every other reputable cruise line did.   With Norwegian being the last to announce it certainly seems they spent a little more time crunching the numbers and came out with the best scenario to save face and yet skew the results in their favor.

 

For those of you happy with the changes and offer, I’m happy for you.   Just realize many of us would have been in a much better situation now had we booked with Royal Caribbean or even Carnival.  They both offered full refunds as an option.  

 

 

 

[Kingkonig]

52 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

that is exactly how I see it. I don't understand why we see it one way and someone else the other.  

 

I think most people see “50% + 50%” and are ignoring the fact that the cruisers still get to go on a cruise on TOP of the refund.  Sure it’s not where they scheduled their sailings, but it’s not uncommon for ports to change (especially in the summer) without significant compensation.  Definitely not at a half-off rate and with a 50% off coupon for your next cruise.

 

No policy will please everyone unfortunately, even when NCL gives the best compensation of the three ($100 OBC for carnival, 50% refund for RCI), people find a way to fault them.  

[ColinIllinois]

I can definitely understand peoples disapointment but I think this is very good compensation from NCL considering this wasn't their fault or their decision.  I'm pretty sure they aren't happy about losing money over government policy.

Edited June 6, 2019 by ColinIllinois

[MrMike45]

Not to be a "cheerleader" for NCL here, but I just want to talk something out, hypothetically.  

 

Let's say I was booked on a cruise to Cuba leaving July 1st and paid $2500 total for it.  Cuba is now off limits.  But I already scheduled time off with work, as did my wife, and we planned this to be our summer vacation.  

 

If I was booked on Carnival or RCI...our choices would be to:

A) Cancel the cruise, get my full $2500 back plus a credit of $1250 for a future cruise with the same company, and then have less than 4 weeks to plan a new vacation someplace else, be it either another cruise or a land based vacation.  Presumably, with the late timing of it all, either settling for something, or paying much more than we would have paid had we booked months in advance, possibly even more than the $2500 I just was refunded or even not going on vacation at all depending on price and availability. OR 

B) go to Nassau or wherever we are routed to on this same cruise, and get $200 OBC back

 

If I was on booked on NCL...our choices would be:

A) Cancel the cruise, and eat the entire $2500...which does stink OR

B) go to Nassau, for the same vacation we had planned just a new destination, plus get $1250 back, and get a credit of $1250 back for a future cruise with the same company.  Not having to try to rebook a vacation on short notice, possibly paying more than what this cruise costs or losing out on vacation entirely.  

 

To me, this does not seem like a bad compensation.  For someone who was only cruising to go to Cuba, and not cruising to go on VACATION to Cuba, I can understand how this might seem like a slap in the face.  Yes, changing ports is disappointing, but having to rebook a vacation on 4 weeks notice, and/or possibly not going on vacation at all would be more disappointing to me.  

 

[Jmurray0411]

1 minute ago, Kingkonig said:

 

I think most people see “50% + 50%” and are ignoring the fact that the cruisers still get to go on a cruise on TOP of the refund.  Sure it’s not where they scheduled their sailings, but it’s not uncommon for ports to change (especially in the summer) without significant compensation.  Definitely not at a half-off rate and with a 50% off coupon for your next cruise.

 

No policy will please everyone unfortunately, even when NCL gives the best compensation of the three ($100 OBC for carnival, 50% refund for RCI), people find a way to fault them.  

What your missing in the compensation offered is that both Carnival and RCCL also gave the option of a Full refund. Those are if you choose to go with the new ports. Honestly I'm very annoyed with how they are handling this situation. Most travelers still have not been contacted and are getting information third hand. Their competitors are offering refunds and NCL is saying go or pay the penalty. Honestly I would let them keep the money but let me change sailings. I have zero desire to go to Nassau for the hundredth time.  This entire situation may not be their fault but how they handled it certainly is. This clearly shows that the other lines took the threat seriously when it was announced in April and had a plan and they ignored it until two days ago. I'm sad about not being able to sail to Cuba but angry with now having to either give away money and don't insurance for months instead of just being able to switch sailings.

[SuziCruises]

Again, happy with the compensation for those of you happy with it.   If going to the Bahamas with a 50/50 offer is a win for you, fantastic.  

 

For or those of us not happy about going on a Bahamas cruise, we really got the shaft by NCL vs. what we would have received if we booked another cruise line.  

 

Had this been a Western Caribbean cruise and they dropped Grand Cayman for whatever reason, fine.  But this cruise was all about visiting Cuba and we paid a premium to do so.   That’s why we are seeing these offers at all.  And for some of us, Norwegian has chosen to stick it to us in the aft. 

[MrMike45]

FWIW - it seems as if MSC is living by the law of the contract, that any port can be changed.  And are offering ZERO compensation.  No refund policy.  No OBC or credit.  No future cruise credit.  

 

So to those who feel shafted....imagine what those booked on MSC Cuba cruises are feeling.  

[goksucats]

I am perfectly fine with this compensation (though may use travel insurance to cancel ultimately if they decide Cuba becomes Great Stirrup Cay).  Some of my travel partners aren't lounge at beach all day kind of people (sounds okay to me though).  But I think NCL has done fine by us, because I plan on using that other 50% credit for a future cruise to book a cruise in Europe or Alaska in the next year or so.  Awesome.  

 

But I haven't received this notification from NCL.  We are booked on the July 29th sailing of the Sun and all it tells me on my profile is they are still figuring out what to do. Is this official?  

[jstcruizin]

Im curious what everyone actually paid for your cruise.  we went last May on the first cruise to Cuba  out of port Canaveral and paid 2400 dollars for an inside  , ( some in our group payed almost twice that for balconies) it stopped in Key West which is only a 6 hr drive from us not to mention we've been there many times so it was definitely about the destination for us to pay that much for just a 4 night. If this had happened to us we would of cancelled IF it was an option but since its not what else can ya do but just go and try to have fun. I can see both sides and really feel bad for all involved. 

[jstcruizin]

1 hour ago, MrMike45 said:

FWIW - it seems as if MSC is living by the law of the contract, that any port can be changed.  And are offering ZERO compensation.  No refund policy.  No OBC or credit.  No future cruise credit.  

 

So to those who feel shafted....imagine what those booked on MSC Cuba cruises are feeling.  

Wow!! 

[CSloan]

We were booked on the Sun Sept 21 cruise.  They have canceled it, and will be coming out with new cruises. We need to stick to that date, since we've already booked nonrefundable air on our own. Hoping we can still find one that leaves the same date, and, at least goes to Key West.  I'm happy with a 20% discount, and hoping our TA can talk them into letting us keep our perks.

This is our first time sailing with NCL...

 

Here is what NCL sent our TA
 

Sailings beyond September 2, 2019

Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Sun Cuba sailings beyond September 2, 2019 will be automatically cancelled. New itineraries will be announced in the coming weeks. Refunds will be applied to the original form of payment. Travel Partner commissions will be protected on all deposited bookings and will be distributed by June 30, 2019. For those guests impacted by these auto-cancellations, we are offering a 20% discount (off current cruise fare) on any new bookings on future sailings booked by August 5, 2019 and sailing no later than December 31, 2020. The discount will reside on guests’ Latitudes profile and can be applied by calling reservations at 1(800) 327-7030.

Edited June 6, 2019 by CSloan

[jstcruizin]

2 hours ago, thetaro said:

To be fair. NCL has been profiting on these Cuba cruises for years and they can absorb the loss if people want to cancel.

Cuba cruises are priced higher and on an old ship that people don't care. 

 

Haven't they all? Lol.  We like the newer , bigger ships but had to go on a smaller, older one and paid alot to sail to the Panama canal last month but it was all about the destination so we had to pay the price if we wanted to go.

[Morty_Mouse]

Even though this is my first cruise, I am happy with what I'm being offered.  The companies had to take into account those that would sail no matter what and those that didn't want to go, and make the best business decision, which does include customer service.  For those that don't want to go, it seems that RCCL and Carnival offer the best option.  For those that still have to/want to go, Norwegian and RCCL offer the best options.  (I personally would have been very upset with Carnival's offer of $100 onboard credit.)

 

I am sure they looked at the details of the make of these cruisers, who are first timers on NCL, who are loyal NCL, they probably even have data on what other cruises and vacations we take.  

 

As a first time cruiser, if I like cruising, NCL has bascially ensured that my next cruise will be on NCL.  For NCL loyalists, this will also breed goodwill. 

 

For non-loyalists...NCL doesn't care if you don't cruise now or later, which is why they won't refund the full fare. 

 

RCCL and Carnival will make up the revenue from customers somewhere, it just remains to be seen where.

[newmexicoNita]

In all fairness to all the mass marketed lines with the exception of MSC at this time: they have all been fair. It must be a nightmare for everyone working for any of these lines or the travel agents. It seem so many are so disappointed, understandably, that no matter what is being offered they feel it isn't good enough. There is a long article in our morning paper today about the whole cruise industry being affected by this. It appears NCL more so, as it seems they have more cruises or had more to Cuba than other lines. I have read the entire story yet, so could be wrong about that. 

[mugtech]

2 hours ago, SuziCruises said:

Had NCL offered the option to cancel with full refund LIKE ALL THE OTHER CRUISE LINES DID, we wouldn’t be seeing such negative posts.  

 

I paid significantly more to go on this Cuba cruise rather than a Bahamas cruise.  So 50% off is not the great value it seems.

 

ose of you happy with the changes and offer, I’m happy for you.   Just realize many of us would have been in a much better situation now had we booked with Royal Caribbean or even Carnival.  They both offered full refunds as an option.  

 

 

 

Expect more of the same in the future, why 50% off a future cruise is meaningless to some.

[mugtech]

13 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

In all fairness to all the mass marketed lines with the exception of MSC at this time: they have all been fair. It must be a nightmare for everyone working for any of these lines or the travel agents. It seem so many are so disappointed, understandably, that no matter what is being offered they feel it isn't good enough. There is a long article in our morning paper today about the whole cruise industry being affected by this. It appears NCL more so, as it seems they have more cruises or had more to Cuba than other lines. I have read the entire story yet, so could be wrong about that. 

Royal brought certain old ships back just to do Cuba cruises, they will probably be back in mothballs.  Being allowed to cancel with full refund trumps all other offers.

[Young and Restless]

We were taking this 5 day cruise for the Cuba port. The price we paid was twice the price of a 8 day cruise on the NCL Breakaway the week before the Cuba cruise. So, if they refund 1/2 of the $2000. cuba cruise ($1000.00) that is still more than the Breakaway cruise (same cabin cat) . I would be paying $1000 for the new itinerary of a 5 day cruise to ports I have been to so many times,  But I get a 50% off next cruise …...  

Here's the bottom line , I could have taken TWO 8 day cruises for the price I paid for this ONE 5 day cruise. So give me 100% refund or  credit to my account and let me decide which cruise to take.

 

When Dillards  runs their end of season sales they have 40% off their already 70% marked down items ,

Nope they don't give you 10% to come pick up the items   LOL

[Morty_Mouse]

Has anyone received direct contact from Norwegian regarding their cruise between June 10 and September 2?  For me, that is honestly the most frustrating part.  (I'm not talking about travel agents or 3rd parties.)

 

I want to be able to plan my trip, which is July 1.

 

I think Carnival is winning the communication game, at least on their website.  They have links to almost all of their itinerary changes already.

[MrMike45]

2 minutes ago, Young and Restless said:

We were taking this 5 day cruise for the Cuba port. The price we paid was twice the price of a 8 day cruise on the NCL Breakaway the week before the Cuba cruise. So, if they refund 1/2 of the $2000. cuba cruise ($1000.00) that is still more than the Breakaway cruise (same cabin cat) . I would be paying $1000 for the new itinerary of a 5 day cruise to ports I have been to so many times,  But I get a 50% off next cruise …...  

Here's the bottom line , I could have taken TWO 8 day cruises for the price I paid for this ONE 5 day cruise. So give me 100% refund or  credit to my account and let me decide which cruise to take.

 

When Dillards  runs their end of season sales they have 40% off their already 70% marked down items ,

Nope they don't give you 10% to come pick up the items   LOL

 

Well by this logic...

 

Cuba cruise cost you $2000.  Breakaway cruise would have cost you $1000

You're now paying $1000 for the Cuba (not Cuba) cruise, with $1000 coming back to you

 

You can book the $1000 Breakaway with a 50% discount now...costing you $500

 

So, you get to go on the 5 day Cuba (wherever they go) cruise, the 8 day Breakaway cruise a few weeks later, and have $500 in your pocket when all said and done.