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

[Quencups]

45 minutes ago, SuziCruises said:

From Norwegian:  NO REFUNDS IF YOU CANCEL ON JUNE - SEPTEMBER CRUISES

 

NOTE:  Norwegian is the ONLY cruise line to stick it to passengers who want to cancel.

 

Sailings through and including September 2, 2019

Those guests currently sailing on Norwegian Sun who departed on June 3 as well as all guests booked on Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Sun cruises to Cuba through and including the September 2, 2019 departure will receive a 50% refund of the cruise fare paid as well as a 50% future cruise credit valid for sailings through December 31, 2021. Refunds for June 2019 and July 2019 sailings will be processed by June 30, 2019 while refunds for August 2019 sailings will be processed by July 31, 2019.

Refunds will be applied to the original form of payment. This process will be automatic and requires no action from you.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this unforeseen change. Standard cancellation policies apply for those guests who choose not to sail. Visa fees arranged through Norwegian Cruise Line will be refunded and government taxes and fees will be adjusted accordingly. Any shore excursions purchased through Norwegian Cruise Line for Cuba will be automatically refunded and posted to your onboard account for June 3 departure or refunded to original form of payment for other sailings. Future Cruise Credits will be attached to your Latitudes profile.

Just checked my Account (I sail on 6/17) and nothing is updated. No new itinerary and none of the above. 

[Kingkonig]

Just now, Birdie And Sue said:

How is basically getting a FREE CRUISE paying more?  Seriously 50% refund + a 50% credit to a future cruise AND you still want more?  Ungrateful attitudes is why companies rarely give offers this good.  I guess if they gave you free cruises for life you would not be satisfied since it was not for youe childrens' lives as well...  😮

Yeah, I’m more than willing to admit that NCL is notorious for low ball compensation when things don’t go as planned (Breakaway Transatlantic anyone?), but this is definitely more than enough.  Even if you don’t want to see it as a “Free cruise” it’s 50% off, and your next one is too.

 

Over something that was not their fault.  This time NCL did right by the customer.

[Birdie And Sue]

15 minutes ago, Coral said:

I am not booked on this cruise (so no invested interest) - given these circumstance, I think NCL is wrong in not letting individuals get a full refund if they choose not to go. RCL and CCL stepped up and did the right thing.

 

 

"do the right thing" = nothing at all supports this idea and it is not even justified in any way what so ever, but if I guilt trip someone enough it might work.

[Coral]

So is it 50% off the current price towards another cruise or 50% off any future cruise? I assume it is 50% off the cost of this cruise towards another cruise.

[NJ-Yinzer]

4 minutes ago, Quencups said:

Wow!! I would imagine that will apply to us as well for 6/17 sailing

Yes...applies to all Cuba cruises through September 2nd

[Kingkonig]

Just now, Coral said:

So is it 50% off the current price towards another cruise or 50% off any future cruise? I assume it is 50% off the cost of this cruise towards another cruise.

Wording seems vague (I’m not a lawyer), but it seems like 50% of THIS cruise is a credit to your next one (you couldn’t be in an inside cabin here and then use a 50% off credit to book the Haven in the Mediterranean)

[NJ-Yinzer]

2 minutes ago, Coral said:

So is it 50% off the current price towards another cruise or 50% off any future cruise? I assume it is 50% off the cost of this cruise towards another cruise.

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!

[Coral]

1 minute ago, Kingkonig said:

Wording seems vague (I’m not a lawyer), but it seems like 50% of THIS cruise is a credit to your next one (you couldn’t be in an inside cabin here and then use a 50% off credit to book the Haven in the Mediterranean)

That is how I read it also.

[tymike]

13 hours ago, newmexicoNita said:

Mt thoughts exactly. I was waiting for someone to make a political statement. 

 

For those who  are affected I am so sorry for you. Over night is Nassau isn't quite the same as a visit to Cuba. I guess we all knew this could or would happen sooner or later. As for compensation I don't think even that, if one is offered is going to make up for the disappointment. it will be interesting to see if NCL does offer anything. 

Thank you both about the politics.  There are plenty of boards to discuss politics.  This isn't one of them.

 

I'm way past final payment on an MSC cruise to Cuba in July.  I cannot even describe my disappointment in having to miss this port.  The cruise is now kind of nothing to me as the other ports aren't anything that sparked my interest.  I'm waiting to see what (if anything ) MSC does to soften the blow but my expectations are low.  

 

I've sailed NCL a bunch of times and never been disappointed but this is my first MSC cruise.

 

And I could go on and on about the politics, but this is not the place!   🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Quencups]

Personally if we are offered that for our 6/17 cruise we would be happy. 50% off and 50% on a future cruise is great, imo

[NJ-Yinzer]

8 minutes ago, Birdie And Sue said:

How is basically getting a FREE CRUISE paying more?  Seriously 50% refund + a 50% credit to a future cruise AND you still want more?  Ungrateful attitudes is why companies rarely give offers this good.  I guess if they gave you free cruises for life you would not be satisfied since it was not for youe childrens' lives as well...  😮

Additional 50% credit only applies if I book and pay for a future cruise. 50% refund to current cruise ends up as more than I would pay if we booked a Bahamas cruise which we never would have done.  We have no option to cancel with refund or to switch to another ship/itinerary.  Ungrateful?  No...I would have been satisfied with what they offered if they just gave us the current free at sea booking promo...that's it!

[Birdie And Sue]

12 minutes 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 choice to not use NCL again.  I guess getting 1005 back si just not enough for you.  It is still MUCH more than the cruise line was obligated to offer.  Why should you get the current offer, you keep the offers you got when you booked.  You cruise was not cancelled.

[Birdie And Sue]

10 minutes ago, NJ-Yinzer said:

Additional 50% credit only applies if I book and pay for a future cruise. 50% refund to current cruise ends up as more than I would pay if we booked a Bahamas cruise which we never would have done.  We have no option to cancel with refund or to switch to another ship/itinerary.  Ungrateful?  No...I would have been satisfied with what they offered if they just gave us the current free at sea booking promo...that's it! 

 

So in essence 100% is not enough for you when they actually were obligate to give you 0%. The very definition of ungrateful.  You got/get the FAS offers you are entitled to when you booked.  The Cuba issue has zero impact on or relevance to that.

[Son of a son of a ...]

4 minutes ago, Birdie And Sue said:

 

So in essence 100% is not enough for you when they actually were obligate to give you 0%. The very definition of ungrateful.  You got/get the FAS offers you are entitled to when you booked.  The Cuba issue has zero impact on or relevance to that.

 

Relax, mate.  You are blowing hard on a couple of Cuba threads.  Take a sip.

[Birdie And Sue]

2 minutes ago, Son of a son of a ... said:

 

Relax, mate.  You are blowing hard on a couple of Cuba threads.  Take a sip.

 

 

LOL

[SpaceCoast1075]

For people who cruise all the time, the 50% refund and 50% future credit might be great. But we hardly ever cruise. This is a once-in-a-lifetime 30th wedding anniversary cruise to cross a bucket list item of visiting Havana. 

 

Ironically, 30 years ago this June, we were honeymooning in Nassau and we both ended up in the hospital. How romantic to get to go back! Maybe the E.R. doc is still there! 

 

Even with the 50% refund, I would never have paid this much for a 4-day cruise to the Bahamas. All of our cruise-savvy friends told us we were morons to book with NCL and encouraged us to go with RCCL. Based on the differences in the refund policy, I can see they were right. I will never book with NCL again. 

 

I feel bad for all the tour guides in Havana who are now instantly unemployed. That will be a life-crushing blow for them. 

[tarheelmjfan]

It's hard for me to imagine that anyone thinks 50% off of one cruise & 50% off on another cruise equals a total refund. We don't have a cruise booked, so this doesn't affect me at all. Regardless, it's easy to see that isn't the same as a cancellation, with a 100% refund.

Edited June 6, 2019 by tarheelmjfan

[Harden8806]

My son and I are on the Sky 5/17 sailing to Cuba-not Cuba.  I booked it as part of his Christmas/birthday present, b/c that is where he wanted to go.  Are we happy? No, but things happen and life goes on.  We still get to go on a cruise, from what I've read, we get a 50% refund, and 50% off of a future cruise.  I'm happy with that because I get to spend time with my 24 year old.  Yes, he's a little bummed about not going to Cuba, but it's his first cruise and he will be ok.  For those of us who could be complaining or who are complaining, think about what you're whining about?  We get to go on a cruise.  The Cuban people struggle everyday.  Others, struggle everyday to make ends meet, some parents can't travel b/c their babies are too sick to leave or they have medical cost to pay for their babies, and we want to complain about where we will or won't get to visit!  I totally get it, but I also get that sometimes, we need to rethink our priorities.  

 

[SpaceCoast1075]

My e-mail just arrived. It says that if I choose not to sail, then standard cancellation policies apply. The way I read this, I pay a 100% cancellation penalty for cancelling a suite within 55 days of sailing. This makes it sound like if I don't sail to the Bahamas, then I lose 100% of my cruise fare. Am I understanding the cancellation policy wrong?

[Kingkonig]

9 minutes ago, SpaceCoast1075 said:

My e-mail just arrived. It says that if I choose not to sail, then standard cancellation policies apply. The way I read this, I pay a 100% cancellation penalty for cancelling a suite within 55 days of sailing. This makes it sound like if I don't sail to the Bahamas, then I lose 100% of my cruise fare. Am I understanding the cancellation policy wrong?

 

No, you’re reading that right.  You don’t get any $$ refunded if you cancel with 60 or fewer days to sail.

[jbethel11]

23 hours ago, CC Help Michell said:

I'm onboard the Sun.  We are not going to Cuba, per the captain's announcement.  We will be arriving in Nassau at noon tomorrow and staying overnight.  We leave Nassau at 5 pm Thursday to return to Port Canaveral.

I would be so upset if that happened to me.

[Kingkonig]

18 minutes ago, tarheelmjfan said:

It's hard for me to imagine that anyone thinks the 50% off of one cruise & 50% off on another cruise equals a total refund. We don't have a cruise booked, so this doesn't affect me at all. Regardless, it's easy to see that isn't the same as a cancellation, with a 100% refund.

It’s not a “total refund” in the same way a cancelled cruise with a check in the mail would be, but a 50% refund, 50% cruise credit is them refunding 100% of the amount that you paid, whether you get it now or later.

 

Which might be (would be) considered shady business practices if you didn’t get to go on a cruise.  Is it to Havana?  No.  But it’s still (what was it, a 3, 4, or 7 day cruise?) a cruise.  There’s a reason there’s Terms and Conditions that protect the cruise line - and inform the customer - about port changes.

[DntlGal]

We were on the Sun last week and LOVED our stay in Cuba. We just booked it 2 weeks before we left and are so happy we did. It was our 30th cruise and first time on Norwegian. We will cruise on Norwegian again as we loved the ship, food, and staff. We are so sad for everyone who wants to go to Cuba. Hopefully, the cruise industry will find a way around this ban. 

[herdingdogmom]

18 minutes ago, SpaceCoast1075 said:

My e-mail just arrived. It says that if I choose not to sail, then standard cancellation policies apply. The way I read this, I pay a 100% cancellation penalty for cancelling a suite within 55 days of sailing. This makes it sound like if I don't sail to the Bahamas, then I lose 100% of my cruise fare. Am I understanding the cancellation policy wrong?

Correct.  But if you go on the cruise, you get 50% of what you paid for your suite back as an automatic refund.  4 days on a cruise goes by so fast.  You can always stay on the ship in Nassau (and Freeport) and take full advantage of that suite.  

[sunset@sea]

We just booked the 6/17 sailing on the Sky yesterday on a whim. We got lucky that we were still within the 24 hour window so a supervisor approved us canceling with a full refund. And Delta was kind enough to let us cancel our nonrefundable airline tickets since they were also within the 24 hour window.

 

We’re going to use the time for a completely different local vacation. I’m sad we’re missing Havana because we really enjoyed it last year with RCL. 

 

Good luck everyone. Hopefully you can enjoy whatever ends up coming your way although it’s much easier said than done at this point. And hopefully we’ll all be able to get back to Cuba sooner rather than later. (I wish I had a Mojito emoji. 😊 )