Breakaway to Western Caribbean 9/1 in Haven

[msmayor]

Many of you are wondering why not Key West...I've never been, but what is the hotel situation like there?  Perhaps there may not be enough rooms to accommodate the volume of people that would terminate there.  In addition, it's my understanding that flights in/out of Key West often have different luggage restrictions - Delta restricts passengers to just one checked bag when flying to/from Key West.

 

I have no dog in this fight, never sailed NCL (though we booked our first trip on Escape for December 2020) but having read a lot of what is happening with all the lines during Dorian, I will say that I think RCL and Carnival seemed much quicker on firm decisions that surely disappointed some travelers who learned their cruises would be cut short or cancelled, but at least they aren't scrambling around like the Breakaway passengers are with information that is changing by the hour.

[graphicguy]

So, been busy trying to get a flight home (I did).  Am home now.  Just got a phone call from NCL telling me my Sept 4th cruise was cancelled entirely and I would receive a full refund.  

 

I put my cancellation request into me TA yesterday instead of me hanging on the phone to NCL and getting put on hold for hours or hung up on.  They confirmed my cancellation last night.  We’ll see how long it takes for them to actually issue it. 

 

So, seems Breakaway is docking in NO. In all frankness, this brings about all sorts of problems....namely, how to get back to Miami or FLL (which is not going to be an easy task given how difficult it was for me to get a flight out of MIA yesterday).  God Bless those folks as that’s got to be a crazy scene right now.  God Bless the cruise Capt, management and crew.  NCL’s decisions have proven to be wrong at every turn.  Not that this one is wrong.  It was just the culmination of a lot of bad decisions by NCL, all mainly surrounding trying to go against common sense and trying to keep from losing a week’s worth of cruise income on the Breakaway (my cruise).

 

They should have errored on the side of safety and cancelled my Sept 1 cruise and worried about keeping the 8/25 cruise passengers safe.  If that meant taking an extra day or two in Cozumel, or docking in NO (which they’re doing now) and not worrying about my cruise, that’s what should have been of utmost importance.  Hurricanes are unpredictable.  Trying to predict when one will land, or how to embark or disembark one on a tight window just makes no sense.  I would have been disappointed if my cruise were canceled (which it was anyway), but I would have understood.  NCL had an opportunity to do this at least 98 hours ago, even 72 hours ago, and that at least would have saved those of us who were cruising 9/1 a chance to not go around marking 3, 4 o4 5 different changes to flights and hotels (which is what I had to do).

 

The largest issue, and this was critical, was the lack of creditable information coming from NCL.  I’ve railed about that enough here.  Suffice to say for a company that’s been doing this for a while this was tragic.  It seemed like upper management (let’s just say DelRio, as these are large decisions that had to come from him) was trying to hide info to keep the 9/1 cruise intact in the face of overwhelming negative odds of sailing.  The 2nd largest issue was the extremely poor decisions as mentioned above.  This is so monumental that the board really should take a look at removing him.  While I’m not litigious, this fiasco is going to generate them, and I can see a class action happening because of DelRio’s extremely poor decision making.

 

Some of this is opinion, some fact.  Yes, I sail in hurricane season and expect some changes to happen as a result.  I put my faith in the cruise lines (who have done this for years and have a lot of experience doing it) to make necessary adjustments due to storms.  These things happen.  Heck, I was on the Escape LISTING CRUISE last June.  Who could have predicted that?  So, the adage “you should know better than to sail in hurricane season?”  Really?  I fly when it’s raining all the time.  Matter of fact it’s probably 50-50 that I fly in dry, sunny weather.  Let’s not keep repeating this.  It makes no sense.  Mentioned above, I’ve had bad weather sailings in June, too.

 

What does this mean going forward.  NCL owes me my fare and all frees.  They need to restore the Cruise Next Certs I used on this cruise.  You’ll probably see them for sale on eBay shortly.

 

I’m a Latitudes Platinum Cruiser.  I’ve sailed with them a lot. I’m probably one of the more positive supporters of NCL here.  I love cruising.  I’m not looking for any compensation.  Just make me whole.  These bad decisions and lack of communication were totally NCL’s fault.

 

No, the hurricane was not NCL’s fault.  Nor, was it mine.  But, the extremely bad communications and decision making by DelRio IS NCL’s fault and will push me away from cruising NCL.  This is what truly exacerbated an already bad situation to make it a fiasco and disastrous.  NCL kept telling us that our safety was paramount.  Nice sentiments,  I don’t believe for a single second that’s true.  They were trying to keep from losing a week’s worth of revenue from one of their larges ships.  Safety was secondary.  If it weren’t for the Miami Port Authority forcing their hand, I have no doubt that NCL would still be trying to get me (us) aboard the Breakaway in some form or fashion, regardless of how bad the weather is.

 

Thanks to all of you here for listening (reading).  I’ve whined and posted.  Really got no more to say.  God Bless and keep those who are still on the Breakaway.  Glad you’re safe, although heading to a different port.  It doesn’t look like it now, but it’s good that The Port of Miami forced NCL’s hand and you’re docking at a safe port.  This is a monster storm, and will affect a large swath of the South East, regardless of if/where it hits.  You’re better off in NO.  Too bad NCL didn’t make that decision sooner.  Would have been much better for everyone.

 

TO NCL....I think this should be a reckoning for you as a company.  You’ve celebrated DelRio’s arrival.  Service and amenity cuts abounded.  We stuck with you.  Now, you’re faced with the fact that decisions made purely on profit and revenue projections can lead to the disaster you’re seeing now.  Blame Dorian all you want.  But, your culpability in all this is huge.

 

Don’t get me wrong.  Royal and Carnival have their warts, too. I’ve sailed both and have seen them first hand.

 

Maybe try Princess...haven’t sailed them yet.

 

 

[graphicguy]

BTW....I doubt NCL will do this, but I’d certainly inform any Breakaway cruisers on their 9/8 cruise that their cruise is cancelled, too.

[GA Dave]

Glad to see you made it home safe.  I agree with just about everything you have said.  NCL really needs to take a hard look at their senior management.  The people that work on their ships are wonderful, caring people.  Everyone I have interacted with on the ships and in the ports have been happy, customer-caring people.  BUT, the corporate-level decisions make me scratch my head.  So many stupid decisions recently that are pissing off a bunch of loyal customers.

One thing I find interesting is the number of posts that have been here on CC over the last couple of months from people upset that NCL does not have any coverage of the Caribbean in 2020.  Maybe they actually knew before this debacle that they suck at dealing with the tropical hurricane season and feel it will be better to just not schedule any ships there in the future?

[Oakman58]

I'm glad you made it home safely graphicguy and I completely agree with everything you said.  Hopefully everything will get back to normal later this week because (gasp) I'm scheduled to cruise on the Breakaway on Sep 8th.  The way NCL treated the passengers scheduled to depart on the 1st is deplorable.   I wish there was someway to know how many of those scheduled on the 1st were already in Miami when NCL finally cancelled that cruise at what I would call the 11th hour.

[Red-Sol]

53 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

TO NCL....I think this should be a reckoning for you as a company.  You’ve celebrated DelRio’s arrival.  Service and amenity cuts abounded.  We stuck with you.  Now, you’re faced with the fact that decisions made purely on profit and revenue projections can lead to the disaster you’re seeing now.  Blame Dorian all you want.  But, your culpability in all this is huge.

Del Rio hopefully is in the process of breaking out his golden parachute right now. Some of the recent sales are due to future bookings being down...many loyal NCL cruisers have had enough and are leaving in droves...It's actually heartbreaking to see what he has done and the way he treats his customer base....Leave Now Frank! 

[jaja]

GG..so glad you are home safe.  I agree with your view on the NCL corporate handling of this. It is surely time for a change at the top !!!  Try to enjoy the rest of your day.  

[April42749]

GG, let me ask you a question....

If the port had been kept open, and the cruise departed as scheduled...and the weather was awful and it ended up being a "cruise to nowhere"....and many people were complaining that "NCL should have canceled".....would that have been ok?

 

The cruise lines can't win.  Either they cancel too early and disappoint people or they cancel too late and disappoint people.

 

We had a cruise booked a few years ago on Carnival.  There was a hurricane blocking in NYC. They didn't cancel the sailing but we were no-shows.  We lost the entire fare.  But at the time I weighed the options:  Be miserable for a few days on the ship, or, the money was spent anyway.

[Oakman58]

28 minutes ago, Red-Sol said:

Del Rio hopefully is in the process of breaking out his golden parachute right now. Some of the recent sales are due to future bookings being down...many loyal NCL cruisers have had enough and are leaving in droves...It's actually heartbreaking to see what he has done and the way he treats his customer base....Leave Now Frank! 

 

It's funny you should mention this.  On our June cruise in Alaska with Holland the room stewards and service in the dining room was so superior to our recent experiences on NCL that we will definitely be trying other cruise lines in the future.  Our room stewards on that cruise were so attentive it was almost like having a butler.  Also the Latitudes Party pales in comparison to the Mariner Society lunch that included a nice gift.  The only negative on our Holland cruise was the theater entertainment was very weak compared to NCL.

 

DISCLAIMER:  I'm a very old man, I don't need rope courses, climbing walls, water slides, etc. so I guess Holland is a better fit for me anyway.

 

[ColeThornton]

Not that it would happen but it would be very interesting to read step by step NCL's rationale for doing the things they did. It's always good to hear both sides of the story.

 

This reminds me of the old saying that the truth lies somewhere in between my view and opinion of the FACTS and yours.  When facts and emotions collide head on the water can get very muddy.

 

I've read comments from some about how they believe all this was just about money for NCL and not about passenger safety.  Personally, I have a hard time believing that.  If they did go in to harms way they would lose a whole lot more money through lawsuits than they would taking an alternative route.

 

I don't know the answer to this but does anyone know if cruise lines have insurance for themselves against losses like hurricanes, etc? 

 

Bottom line is that this stinks for the passengers who spent a lot of energy, money and time looking forward to a cruise and getting away from the daily grind.  Some folks save for years for a week on the ship.   I really feel for them.

 

Hope everyone gets home safely and that all things considered the damage to the Southeast coast and the folks that live there is as minimal as possible.

[graphicguy]

5 minutes ago, April42749 said:

GG, let me ask you a question....

If the port had been kept open, and the cruise departed as scheduled...and the weather was awful and it ended up being a "cruise to nowhere"....and many people were complaining that "NCL should have canceled".....would that have been ok?

 

The cruise lines can't win.  Either they cancel too early and disappoint people or they cancel too late and disappoint people.

 

We had a cruise booked a few years ago on Carnival.  There was a hurricane blocking in NYC. They didn't cancel the sailing but we were no-shows.  We lost the entire fare.  But at the time I weighed the options:  Be miserable for a few days on the ship, or, the money was spent anyway.

That’s a lot of ‘’ifs“.  (J/k).

 

The weather was terrible, which is what prompted the Miami Port Authority to close the port.  NCL (DelRio) tried their/his best to keep us on the scheduled cruise, regardless of how badly Dorian was predicted to become (ended up being worst than the most dire predictions).

 

As soon as that prediction was known (and the Breakaway was slated to stay on in Cozumel), given the forecast, the Sept 1 cruise should have been cancelled.  They didn’t.  They kept all of the 9/1 passengers in the dark, giving little, if any, correct information.  The information they did let out was always later than they promised to get it to us.

 

At first everything was scheduled to go forth on time, regardless of the dire Dorian predictions....even though they were planning, at that time, to stay an extra day in Cozumel on the 8/25 sailing.  So, not only did they not give timely information, they gave us wrong information.

 

This is when I started making different flight arrangements (which I ended up doing 4 times because of NCL’s mis-information).  Two of the times, the airline covered the changes because they were weather related.  The other two times, it came out of my pocket because of NCL’s lack of, or wrong information.

 

Then, we were sailing on 9/1, as planned because the 8/25  Breakaway sailing WAS NOT staying an extra day on Cozumel.  Then, we were going to sail early on 9/1 so NCL could get in early and get out early trying to fit square peg in a round hole regarding the weather (which no one was able to predict).  They had another chance to cancel the 9/1 sailing again because of the dire port and weather predictions.  They didn’t.

 

Then, when they said they were going to sail on 9/4 instead of 9/1, that was it for me.  The storm had been downgraded to a CAT 5, the worse rating it could have.  And, they wanted us to stay in FL while what might have been (still could be) a disaster heading for FL.  No thanks!

 

It became crystal clear that NCL didn’t care one iota about our safety and only wanted to recoup revenue.

 

To answer your question directly, which I think I mentioned before. I would have been disappointed in having the cruise canceled, but I would have understood because of the safety factor.  Plus, I would have saved myself $1,000+ in non-recoverable travel expenses.

 

This can not be spun.  NCL (DelRio) made a bad situation much worse.

[ukbecky]

Add MSC to the list of lines that handled this better. 

 

I am sitting on the Armonia, in Cozumel for the second time this week, after yesterday's return visit to Costa Maya.

 

We were told Saturday about these changes, and that we would"hopefully return to Miami Wednesday", rather than Monday as originally scheduled. Our Sunday stop in Key West was cancelled because that port was also closing.

 

Now we just wait and see.  It's all been handled very calmly and professionally, almost as if this kind of thing has happened before.

[April42749]

But....if it wasn't canceled....and you had the bumpiest ride of you life?

 

Again...lots of "ifs".  When I decided to not show (in fairness....I can walk to the port) I opted to "do something else" as that money was already spent and I didn't want to be miserable.

 

I'm not saying any cruise line was right or wrong.  They can make some people happy all the time...but never all people happy all of the time.

 

I feel bad for people who missed the cruise and I feel worse for people ending up in NOLA instead of Miami (I won't even travel to Brooklyn...which is part of the city...for a cruise.)

[blarko]

Some people just don’t get it.  It’s not about a cruise that was cancelled or shortened. It’s about the timeline of events leading up to the decisions that were made. Not everybody is on CC and I’m sure there were many who showed up for the cruise that didn’t happen. If only the communication was better, I’m sure this whole thread wouldn’t even be here.

[Tinyturtle22]

Graphicguy I’m very glad you made it home safely. 

 

NCL will likely have to still pay a substantial fine for disembarking in NOLA. Probably in the millions. Getting approval for the safety of the passengers (900+ of which are children on The Breakaway) and being absolved of all fines are 2 very different things. I strongly believe someone will be held accountable for that

 

As far as those of us who were to embark on 9/1 and given misinformation at every turn It’s pretty much uncharted territory... I think when the hurricane is past and all the passengers are returned home there will be additional compensation offered. I cancelled on 8/30 so I’m not concerned about that but those like you who spent considerable time, money and stress deserve at least something even if it’s a discount on a future cruise.

 

[Red-Sol]

28 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

The only negative on our Holland cruise was the theater entertainment was very weak compared to NCL.

 

DISCLAIMER:  I'm a very old man, I don't need rope courses, climbing walls, water slides, etc. so I guess Holland is a better fit for me anyway.

NCL has always been very strong with regards to entertainment. Very quietly and subtly they are beginning to chip away a little at that as well.

 

And I hear you about the rope courses, water slides, climbing walls, etc. I don't begrudge anyone that likes those types of things..but nothing I am interested in. Then I hear they are now starting to eliminate Spice H2O (Which is one of the nicest features on many NCL ships) to make more room for pay type venues and it's again very sad.

[Navis]

Very happy to hear you made it home safe and sound and apologies for the cancellation of your cruise.  I agree with posters like you who focus more on the lack of communication and decision making process then the ultimate outcome (which seems very reasonable given Dorian's strength and location).

 

We were on the ill fated Escape out of NYC last September that squared off with Florence.  It was clear to us about 72 hours out that we would not be heading to Bermuda (given the then-anticipated path), but NCL was firm that we would sail the scheduled itinerary.  We were going to be driving to NYC the day before and we were sure we'd hear something by Friday night at the latest.  Well, sure enough we did find out our cruise was changed to the dreaded PC, GSC and Nassau cruise (but being from Boston, was WAY better than the Canada/NE option would have been so we were happy).  Again, we knew the risks of cruising during hurricane season so we just rolled with the punches.  We thought, "better to be on a ship in a beautiful suite with great service than at work!" 

 

All an all, we had a good cruise (we were sad to miss family in Bermuda, but they understood), but too many things happened over the course of the week that turned me off to NCL going forward.  And like OP, it really all related to poor communication and information dissemination.  It started when no one thought it would be necessary to tell us we would be arriving in PC 3 hours late . . . leaving us with a very short 5 hour visit.  When confronted by some other Haven passengers, the Conceirge's response was a shocking "well, I mean, until 48 hours ago you didn't even know you would be stopping at PC so how upsetting can this be?" 

 

It got worse from there.  While in PC many of us were talking in the Haven lounge area and a couple again raised the issue of why were were not going to Bermuda as the path had shifted and Bermuda was nowhere close to Bermuda.  I did not say anything, but having been in touch with my family in Bermuda I knew that, in fact, Bermuda had reopened the harbors earlier that morning and that two Celebrity ships had arrived at the wharfs in the Dockyard.  The answer for why we were not adjusting back to Bermuda was obvious . . . NCL has released the wharf for the week and Celebrity scooped it up.  Again, this was totally understandable as NCL made the best decision they could at the time and the path changed. No big deal and not their fault.  When the couple asked the Concierge about going to Bermuda he was firm that that was not an option as Bermuda was "completely shut down."  I did not confront him publicly, but I did have my family go down to the Dockyard and take a video of the two celebrity ships docked at King's and Heritage wharf and I showed it to him in private later that day.  He just shrugged his shoulders and said that was the information he was given (which, I believed).  I just kept thinking, if they would misinform us on these little things, what else might they be withholding/embellishing?  It honestly left me disturbed.

 

Next day we did stop at GSC and we did have a wonderful day there.  Our butler even came ashore with us and said it just so happened that a bunch of his cabins rented villas so he was coming ashore to take care of us for the day. Although we were not pumped for Nassau we were looking forward to getting off the ship for bit. Well, as we were pulling out of GSC the captain made an announcement that because Florence was blocking our path home, we were not going to Nassau and needed to spend another day at sea to go around the storm, but we were all getting a $25 OBC, yay.  So, all in all, we paid $13K (sorry, $12,975 after credit) to visit GSC.  Again, we knew the risks sailing during hurricane season so we made the best of it, but the poor communication/lack of information was disturbing. 

 

What I think NCL needs to realize is that in today's day and age, access to information is ubiquitous and society places a premium on transparency . . . because EVERYTHING can be independently researched/verified.  If they had just been honest and open they would have kept this cruiser because everything they did this time was reasonable. But I cannot give my money to a cruise line I cannot trust.  Now, NCL won't care that they lost this cruiser .  . I was only Gold level, but all 6 of my cruises were in a DOS so I'd like to think i was a valued customer to some extent. We moved on and will be doing a 14-night on Seabourn next March and we've already noticed a 180 degree difference in communication!  Over 300 days out they told us the cancellation of the Cuba cruises would not affect our itinerary (something that was hotly debated on the Seabourn CC link) and that the "unrest" in St John's would not affect  our stop there as Seabourn has a longstanding relationship with the island.

 

Anyway, sorry for the long post, wishing all impacted by Dorian safe travels.

[jaapie]

2 hours ago, graphicguy said:

So, been busy trying to get a flight home (I did).  Am home now.  Just got a phone call from NCL telling me my Sept 4th cruise was cancelled entirely and I would receive a full refund.  

 

I put my cancellation request into me TA yesterday instead of me hanging on the phone to NCL and getting put on hold for hours or hung up on.  They confirmed my cancellation last night.  We’ll see how long it takes for them to actually issue it. 

 

So, seems Breakaway is docking in NO. In all frankness, this brings about all sorts of problems....namely, how to get back to Miami or FLL (which is not going to be an easy task given how difficult it was for me to get a flight out of MIA yesterday).  God Bless those folks as that’s got to be a crazy scene right now.  God Bless the cruise Capt, management and crew.  NCL’s decisions have proven to be wrong at every turn.  Not that this one is wrong.  It was just the culmination of a lot of bad decisions by NCL, all mainly surrounding trying to go against common sense and trying to keep from losing a week’s worth of cruise income on the Breakaway (my cruise).

 

They should have errored on the side of safety and cancelled my Sept 1 cruise and worried about keeping the 8/25 cruise passengers safe.  If that meant taking an extra day or two in Cozumel, or docking in NO (which they’re doing now) and not worrying about my cruise, that’s what should have been of utmost importance.  Hurricanes are unpredictable.  Trying to predict when one will land, or how to embark or disembark one on a tight window just makes no sense.  I would have been disappointed if my cruise were canceled (which it was anyway), but I would have understood.  NCL had an opportunity to do this at least 98 hours ago, even 72 hours ago, and that at least would have saved those of us who were cruising 9/1 a chance to not go around marking 3, 4 o4 5 different changes to flights and hotels (which is what I had to do).

 

The largest issue, and this was critical, was the lack of creditable information coming from NCL.  I’ve railed about that enough here.  Suffice to say for a company that’s been doing this for a while this was tragic.  It seemed like upper management (let’s just say DelRio, as these are large decisions that had to come from him) was trying to hide info to keep the 9/1 cruise intact in the face of overwhelming negative odds of sailing.  The 2nd largest issue was the extremely poor decisions as mentioned above.  This is so monumental that the board really should take a look at removing him.  While I’m not litigious, this fiasco is going to generate them, and I can see a class action happening because of DelRio’s extremely poor decision making.

 

Some of this is opinion, some fact.  Yes, I sail in hurricane season and expect some changes to happen as a result.  I put my faith in the cruise lines (who have done this for years and have a lot of experience doing it) to make necessary adjustments due to storms.  These things happen.  Heck, I was on the Escape LISTING CRUISE last June.  Who could have predicted that?  So, the adage “you should know better than to sail in hurricane season?”  Really?  I fly when it’s raining all the time.  Matter of fact it’s probably 50-50 that I fly in dry, sunny weather.  Let’s not keep repeating this.  It makes no sense.  Mentioned above, I’ve had bad weather sailings in June, too.

 

What does this mean going forward.  NCL owes me my fare and all frees.  They need to restore the Cruise Next Certs I used on this cruise.  You’ll probably see them for sale on eBay shortly.

 

I’m a Latitudes Platinum Cruiser.  I’ve sailed with them a lot. I’m probably one of the more positive supporters of NCL here.  I love cruising.  I’m not looking for any compensation.  Just make me whole.  These bad decisions and lack of communication were totally NCL’s fault.

 

No, the hurricane was not NCL’s fault.  Nor, was it mine.  But, the extremely bad communications and decision making by DelRio IS NCL’s fault and will push me away from cruising NCL.  This is what truly exacerbated an already bad situation to make it a fiasco and disastrous.  NCL kept telling us that our safety was paramount.  Nice sentiments,  I don’t believe for a single second that’s true.  They were trying to keep from losing a week’s worth of revenue from one of their larges ships.  Safety was secondary.  If it weren’t for the Miami Port Authority forcing their hand, I have no doubt that NCL would still be trying to get me (us) aboard the Breakaway in some form or fashion, regardless of how bad the weather is.

 

Thanks to all of you here for listening (reading).  I’ve whined and posted.  Really got no more to say.  God Bless and keep those who are still on the Breakaway.  Glad you’re safe, although heading to a different port.  It doesn’t look like it now, but it’s good that The Port of Miami forced NCL’s hand and you’re docking at a safe port.  This is a monster storm, and will affect a large swath of the South East, regardless of if/where it hits.  You’re better off in NO.  Too bad NCL didn’t make that decision sooner.  Would have been much better for everyone.

 

TO NCL....I think this should be a reckoning for you as a company.  You’ve celebrated DelRio’s arrival.  Service and amenity cuts abounded.  We stuck with you.  Now, you’re faced with the fact that decisions made purely on profit and revenue projections can lead to the disaster you’re seeing now.  Blame Dorian all you want.  But, your culpability in all this is huge.

 

Don’t get me wrong.  Royal and Carnival have their warts, too. I’ve sailed both and have seen them first hand.

 

Maybe try Princess...haven’t sailed them yet.

 

 

Glad you are back home safely. I agree NCL's communication is lacking (not just on this cruise which was canceled because of Dorian), and when things do go wrong on cruises their compensation is inferior to competitors. A few weeks ago I enjoyed reading your comments on your Escape trip to Bermuda. I was following your Escape to Bermuda comments because we were planning a trip there, but last month chose to go on Celebrity Summit instead of Escape. We have been platinum for several years but after the craziness of the Getaway TA changes this past April, we did not buy any more cruise next certificates on our Spring 2019 TA as we have noticed NCL has definitely gone downhill in the last couple of years. We also canceled the Encore inaugural TA we were booked on, and instead booked another Celebrity cruise for next month. The MDR food on Celebrity is far superior to what it has been on NCL for the past couple of years.

[herdingdogmom]

1 hour ago, Tinyturtle22 said:

NCL will likely have to still pay a substantial fine for disembarking in NOLA. Probably in the millions. 

Why would there be fines for disembarking in New Orleans?  Wasn't the last port Cozumel?

[Tinyturtle22]

4 minutes ago, herdingdogmom said:

Why would there be fines for disembarking in New Orleans?  Wasn't the last port Cozumel?

Cozumel doesn’t qualify as a “distant” foreign port. 

[bmwman]

Firstly I hope all are safe/

 

NCL have gone down hill and it continues. They are not in great shape and as seems to be the general view HAL may suit some of us better. Anyway given that  the best of NCL now are on HAL (the legend that is Jose Contreras joins them soon we are told ) we can get better service and meet the people we all love. Platinum plus well we got there and we nearly made ambassador but hey ho not to be..

Edited September 2, 2019 by bmwman

[david_sobe]

Glad you made it home safe.

I don't think the CEO makes these kinds of decisions when it comes to navigation and safety.  Its understandable that people are angry and upset and while I am no fan of Del Rio, he does not decide hurricane decisions.  He is an easy punching bag though.  This storm was so unpredictable and still is.  If you rewind time just over a week ago, it was forecast to be just a tropical depression and from there the path changed daily.  Cruise lines almost never cancel cruises.  The port of Miami closing seemed extreme as I already noted.  However, with the facts and data presented to them, they made that decision.  Its easy to arm chair quarterback and second guess.  This happens EVERY year during hurricane season. Cruises get rerouted and delayed.  It is rare for them to be cancelled.  Its true that all cruise lines will suffer huge losses if cruises are cancelled so they will do everything and anything to keep them running.  That is not unique to any cruise line.  I have seen so many people on your cruise complain they cant get ahold of NCL because "their TA does not work Sundays and they don't have an emergency number."  IMHO, if a TA sells you a cruise and makes a profit off your purchase, you are supposed to cancel and receive notifications from the TA.  We found out your cruise was cancelled from a TA who immediately let their customers know. However, so many are so attached to their TA that they don't want to blame them for not working Sundays or keeping them updated.  That is so wrong and unfair.  IMHO, those who take the perks of booking with a TA suddenly don't want the inconvenience of cancelling with a TA. NCL actually stepped up and allowed them to cancel directly. They had every right to say, contact your TA.  I also applaud the crew and captain who kept everyone safe during this experience.  I am not flaming anyone. I would be so upset if my cruise was cancelled.  But there is only one blame for all this mess and that is Dorian.  I hate it when people always chime in "should have bought insurance."  But sailing the Caribbean during peak hurricane season with no travel insurance is quite a risk.

Graphicguy.  This is not all directed at you but just the various complaints people are doing.  I am so disappointed you did not make your cruise. I was really looking forward to your review.  So many of us are so fortunate we have a home to go to.  So many on board are so angry yet the captain kept them safe and the staff kept them well fed.  They will get home late but their house will still be standing which is not something people in the Bahamas can say and 4 days ago, we in Florida thought was going to happen.   Here is a bit of irony.  So many who book cruises during peak hurricane season say "who cares if we get a longer cruise.  Who cares if we get rerouted.  Who cares if it gets cancelled.  Well where are all those people now?

Edited September 2, 2019 by david_sobe

[hypercafe]

All this talk of hurricane season is misleading as it goes fr June to November so that's the whole summer and fall. September is the peak. As for the fine, it can be waved in an emergency. NCL rolled the dice for profit over passenger convenient and lost.

[emm126]

35 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Glad you made it home safe.

I don't think the CEO makes these kinds of decisions when it comes to navigation and safety.  Its understandable that people are angry and upset and while I am no fan of Del Rio, he does not decide hurricane decisions.  He is an easy punching bag though.  This storm was so unpredictable and still is.  If you rewind time just over a week ago, it was forecast to be just a tropical depression and from there the path changed daily.  Cruise lines almost never cancel cruises.  The port of Miami closing seemed extreme as I already noted.  However, with the facts and data presented to them, they made that decision.  Its easy to arm chair quarterback and second guess.  This happens EVERY year during hurricane season. Cruises get rerouted and delayed.  It is rare for them to be cancelled.  Its true that all cruise lines will suffer huge losses if cruises are cancelled so they will do everything and anything to keep them running.  That is not unique to any cruise line.  I have seen so many people on your cruise complain they cant get ahold of NCL because "their TA does not work Sundays and they don't have an emergency number."  IMHO, if a TA sells you a cruise and makes a profit off your purchase, you are supposed to cancel and receive notifications from the TA.  We found out your cruise was cancelled from a TA who immediately let their customers know. However, so many are so attached to their TA that they don't want to blame them for not working Sundays or keeping them updated.  That is so wrong and unfair.  IMHO, those who take the perks of booking with a TA suddenly don't want the inconvenience of cancelling with a TA. NCL actually stepped up and allowed them to cancel directly. They had every right to say, contact your TA.  I also applaud the crew and captain who kept everyone safe during this experience.  I am not flaming anyone. I would be so upset if my cruise was cancelled.  But there is only one blame for all this mess and that is Dorian.  I hate it when people always chime in "should have bought insurance."  But sailing the Caribbean during peak hurricane season with no travel insurance is quite a risk.

Graphicguy.  This is not all directed at you but just the various complaints people are doing.  I am so disappointed you did not make your cruise. I was really looking forward to your review.  So many of us are so fortunate we have a home to go to.  So many on board are so angry yet the captain kept them safe and the staff kept them well fed.  They will get home late but their house will still be standing which is not something people in the Bahamas can say and 4 days ago, we in Florida thought was going to happen.   Here is a bit of irony.  So many who book cruises during peak hurricane season say "who cares if we get a longer cruise.  Who cares if we get rerouted.  Who cares if it gets cancelled.  Well where are all those people now?

So, NCL execs are not at fault for their decisions, putting guests in harms way and lack of communication.

Port of Miami is at fault.

Travel Agents are at fault for not keeping their clients updated even when there was no information coming from NCL?

Captain and crew should be applauded. (although IMO NCL puts their crew in a horrible situation with lack of information to answer guests question and they receive the blunt of the guest's anger) 

Dorian is at fault (I agree with that one) 

Those that didn't purchase travel insurance are at fault even though most policies don't kick in unless a cruise is cancelled.

Those that cruise at this time is at fault and this one always cracks me up- the Cruise lines offer cruises at this time, knowing there can be a hurricane, but they are not at fault, just the people cruising- lol- and this is All cruise lines not just NCL.

 

I see a pattern, everyone is at fault but NCL. Most other lines made quick, tough decisions for the safety of their guests and crews. I don't think NCL did that. I agree with Graphicguy, NCL made decisions based on generating the most revenue possible. They gambled and lost. It was a business decision pure and simple and without their guests best interest in mind, what NCL doesn't seem to get without their guests they will have no business. 

 

[graphicguy]

Thanks everyone.....glad I made it home, too!

 

Cancelling or changing a cruise has to be a $5M, maybe a $10M decision (with concessions included). I would think a decision that large would be on DelRio’s shoulders.  If not, I’d think the board would want to know why it wasn’t.

 

Mentioned being on the Escape when it listed.  That’s one of the largest cruise ships sailing the seas.  A 100 MPH tossed that ship 15º.  It threw me across my cabin.  I can only imagine what a CAT 3, 4, or 5 would do to a cruise ship.

 

So, the question about what I would have done if the cruise was cancelled because of the Hurricane and was tossed all over the ship?  Safety takes precedence over my disappointment  over a cancelled cruise.  The fact that NCL tried to fit our embarkation into a highly suspect and brief time period also tells me they weren’t so concerned over our safety.  Then asking us to brave this storm and wait in Miami until Sept 4th also told me they weren’t concerned.  The fact that they also tried to push a Sept 4 abbreviated cruise on us, with the knowledge that Dorian was gaining in strength was the last straw.  Add to that the very poor decision making and communication, it’s extremely difficult for me to understand anyone saying this is somehow understandable and explainable.