CabinBoy2020 Posted November 21, 2019 #1 Share Posted November 21, 2019 To you experienced HAL cruisers: I'm booked on the Oosterdam Dec 7 and Dec 14 Mexican Riviera cruise (B2B). HAL just notified us that the schedule for all three ports has been changed. We still go to each port but in a different order. The sea days were also switched. I don't have any problem with the new schedule, but just wonder about the reason. No explanation was given. Any ideas? Thx. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted November 21, 2019 #2 Share Posted November 21, 2019 (edited) We are on the 2 weeks as well but starting November 30 and our ports are changed. They use “operational reasons” which could cover almost anything. Maybe too many ships scheduled? It doesn’t matter to us but I feel for people that have booked private excursions who are now scrambling to change. Edited November 21, 2019 by canadianbear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted November 21, 2019 #3 Share Posted November 21, 2019 Most of the time when this has happened to us, it was because too many ships were scheduled for a port. And it seems that HAL always volunteers to switch their itinerary the most as compared to other cruise lines. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted November 21, 2019 #4 Share Posted November 21, 2019 It can be extremely frustrating. On our last cruise there were at least three port drops and changes before. Then switching order during, shortening ports by three hours, arriving an hour earlier at others. It was a real pain with private tours, I sometimes wonder if that is the point.🤔 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasick Sailor Posted November 21, 2019 #5 Share Posted November 21, 2019 Most tour companies roll with the punches and accommodate when possible. Viking made some changes on a 3 week cruise we took last year. We were thankful they didn't cancel or change the 2 Cuba stops, as now it seems we won't be going to Cuba again anytime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storylady Posted November 21, 2019 #6 Share Posted November 21, 2019 Without knowing what days you were to be in port, it is hard to say. But I suspect it is because you would have been in Matzatlan with too many ships. One of which is much larger than the Oosterdam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farjar Posted November 21, 2019 #7 Share Posted November 21, 2019 5 hours ago, canadianbear said: We are on the 2 weeks as well but starting November 30 and our ports are changed. They use “operational reasons” which could cover almost anything. Maybe too many ships scheduled? It doesn’t matter to us but I feel for people that have booked private excursions who are now scrambling to change. The original itinerary was: Dec. 2 Cabo Oosterdam; Royal Princess; Seven Sea Navigator Dec. 3 Mazatlán Oosterdam only Dec. 4 Puerto Vallarta Oosterdam; Norwegian Joy; Visions of the Sea New itinerary: Dec. 3 Puerto Vallarta Oosterdam; Rotterdam Dec. 4 Mazatlán Oosterdam; Norwegian Joy; Carnival Miracle Dec. 5 Cabo Oosterdam only Since Cabo is the only port we plan on getting off the ship we actually like the change. Cabo is a tender port so the fewer people the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted November 21, 2019 #8 Share Posted November 21, 2019 farjar I'm on the November 30th and December 7th cruises also and noticed that the December 2nd Cabo looked crowded for tendering, which may have instigated the change. Unfortunately the December 5th day starts so early (7:00am) and departs at 3:00 which cuts into the day for excursions to be finished in time to tender everyone back to the ship. It doesn't matter to me because I have no excrsions booked but others may be unhappy with the Cabo timing. See you on the ship!!! ~Nancy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted November 22, 2019 #9 Share Posted November 22, 2019 (edited) 10 hours ago, peanuts5454 said: Most tour companies roll with the punches and accommodate when possible. Viking made some changes on a 3 week cruise we took last year. We were thankful they didn't cancel or change the 2 Cuba stops, as now it seems we won't be going to Cuba again anytime soon. No cruise ships sailing from U.S. ports are permitted to sail to Cuba... this is Not a Hal 'thing'. It is the gov't. sail.noordam@gmail.com Edited November 22, 2019 by sail7seas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzcruz57 Posted November 22, 2019 #10 Share Posted November 22, 2019 16 hours ago, bennybear said: It can be extremely frustrating. On our last cruise there were at least three port drops and changes before. Then switching order during, shortening ports by three hours, arriving an hour earlier at others. It was a real pain with private tours, I sometimes wonder if that is the point.🤔 When do they notify you of a change in schedule? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasick Sailor Posted November 22, 2019 #11 Share Posted November 22, 2019 11 hours ago, sail7seas said: No cruise ships sailing from U.S. ports are permitted to sail to Cuba... this is Not a Hal 'thing'. It is the gov't. sail.noordam@gmail.com Correct. That's why I said we were thankful we got to see Cuba LAST YEAR on our Viking cruise.. THU NOV 22, 2018 Embark In Miami, Florida on Viking Star 06:00 AM 06:00 PM Penthouse Veranda - 6087 FRI NOV 23, 2018 Cruise The Caribbean Sea SAT NOV 24, 2018 Santiago De Cuba, Cuba 12:00 PM 06:00 PM SUN NOV 25, 2018 Cruise The Caribbean Sea MON NOV 26, 2018 Cienfuegos, Cuba 06:00 AM 07:00 PM TUE NOV 27, 2018 Cruise The Caribbean Sea WED NOV 28, 2018 At Sea THU NOV 29, 2018 Puerto Limon (San Jose), Costa Rica 07:00 AM 04:00 PM FRI NOV 30, 2018 Scenic Cruising: Panama Canal, At Sea 04:45 AM 05:00 PM FRI NOV 30, 2018 Panama City (Fuerte Amador), Panama 06:00 PM SAT DEC 01, 2018 Panama City (Fuerte Amador) 06:00 PM SUN DEC 02, 2018 Cruise The Pacific Ocean MON DEC 03, 2018 Puntarenas, Costa Rica 08:00 AM 04:00 PM TUE DEC 04, 2018 Corinto, Nicaragua 11:00 AM 06:00 PM WED DEC 05, 2018 Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala 09:00 AM 06:00 PM THU DEC 06, 2018 Cruise The Pacific Ocean FRI DEC 07, 2018 At Sea SAT DEC 08, 2018 At Sea SUN DEC 09, 2018 Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 07:00 AM 06:00 PM MON DEC 10, 2018 Cruise The Pacific Ocean TUE DEC 11, 2018 At Sea WED DEC 12, 2018 San Diego, California, United States 07:00 AM 07:00 PM THU DEC 13, 2018 Disembark In Los Angeles, California 05:00 AM 09:00 PM = Anchor / Tender Itinerary Comments Important: All guests are required to have a Cuba Medical coverage provided by Viking and a Cuba Travel Card or Specialized Visa to enter Cuba and participate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarKandi Posted November 22, 2019 #12 Share Posted November 22, 2019 23 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said: Most of the time when this has happened to us, it was because too many ships were scheduled for a port. And it seems that HAL always volunteers to switch their itinerary the most as compared to other cruise lines. There may be Financial incentives from the port(s) in question for them to change their schedule at the last minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted November 22, 2019 #13 Share Posted November 22, 2019 7 hours ago, Suzcruz57 said: When do they notify you of a change in schedule? Sometimes not until the night before and even then there was confusion. Other times were a couple of weeks before cruise. Very frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted November 22, 2019 #14 Share Posted November 22, 2019 The captain of the Koningsdam was asked for the reasons for port changes on our Med itinerary. He said, itineraries are made 2 years ahead. In the meantime one port introduced a new ruling that it wouldn't accept ships of the Koningsdam size any more (Ravenna). A new port was added as replacement, but people didn't like that port. Another port was found to replace it but it was only available on a different day which made it necessary to change the dates and line up of two other ports. We were notified several weeks before our cruise. All ports were perfect for us. We rarely book private tours ahead of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted November 22, 2019 #15 Share Posted November 22, 2019 (edited) We too were on the Koningsdam and they replaced Ravenna with Koper for us ahead of time. But they also dropped a port in Malta. I can understand changes well ahead but an explanation would be nice. Much later, like just a week or two before embarkation, They shortened Athens by three hours and switched Mykonos and Kusadasi. But the changes to Catania only became apparent the night before and even then it wasn’t clear. This seems excessive. We were told no reason for the drop of Ravenna, and weren’t given any other port, it was just changed to Koper the same date. Was that the same on your cruise or did they switch it for something else? I would think if they actually explained people would be more understanding. As it was for us it was a major pain, literally. To be trying to contact your tour contacts while at sea is expensive at best. Edited November 22, 2019 by bennybear 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted November 30, 2019 #16 Share Posted November 30, 2019 (edited) Thus a very real advantage to doing more ruise line tours and fewer independent.. Yah, yah, yah, I think most of us know the usual arguments for and against , however, if it is such a "pain" when itinraries es are changed..... why continue to deal with the pain? If HAL wered tgo announce he reason for the change, would it be less painful? We knoww they have every right and it is stated in the cruise contract and igs not an unusual part of cruising. accept t his happens from time to time. HAL does not cancel or change on a lark, there are an y number of reasons but I dont' see a need fofr a major announcement happens If one c ruises enough, it is sure to happen on one ( or more of their cruises) . A major announcement will not void the change or cancellation. Edited November 30, 2019 by sail7seas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted November 30, 2019 #17 Share Posted November 30, 2019 (edited) True Sail, perhaps that’s the point🤔. I understand it happens, and it has happened to us a lot. I for one, would just appreciate an explanation, ie, so many ships in port, .... would soften the pain so to speak when things become inconvenient, especially after the fifth change to one cruise. Edited November 30, 2019 by bennybear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted December 1, 2019 #18 Share Posted December 1, 2019 On 11/22/2019 at 2:27 PM, bennybear said: We too were on the Koningsdam and they replaced Ravenna with Koper for us ahead of time. But they also dropped a port in Malta. I can understand changes well ahead but an explanation would be nice. Much later, like just a week or two before embarkation, They shortened Athens by three hours and switched Mykonos and Kusadasi. But the changes to Catania only became apparent the night before and even then it wasn’t clear. This seems excessive. We were told no reason for the drop of Ravenna, and weren’t given any other port, it was just changed to Koper the same date. Was that the same on your cruise or did they switch it for something else? I would think if they actually explained people would be more understanding. As it was for us it was a major pain, literally. To be trying to contact your tour contacts while at sea is expensive at best. That’s a shame that you missed Ravenna. there are some amazing mosaics in that city. I hear you and totally understand on itineraries changing. I need my internet for various reasons and the tour contacts is one of them in case of changes with them or by me. It’s worth it for me to have the joy and flexibility of a smaller group of 6 - 8 people which lets us see much more in more detail than in a bus with 40 people. I blame HAL for giving me a taste of that with their “Secrets of the Vatican” tour with just 8 of us. A shame they don’t do more of them 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted December 1, 2019 #19 Share Posted December 1, 2019 Fortunately, we had visited Ravenna previously because the mosaics are incredible! I agree the small tours are totally worth it, and our tour guides rolled with the changes even less than 24 hours notice! Just made for a very intensive experience. Thanks for the understanding. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted December 1, 2019 #20 Share Posted December 1, 2019 On 11/22/2019 at 1:27 PM, bennybear said: I can understand changes well ahead but an explanation would be nice. The captain explained it in one of his Q&A answer hours. The city of Ravenna had unexpectedly banned ships of Koningsdam's size starting Jan 1, 2019. The itinerary planners had to find alternatives which pushed several ports around due to distance and availability. Itineraries are made 2-3 years ahead and lots of things can happen which make it impossible to stick to the original plan. I just go with the flow, especially in the Mediterranean where you can walk around and/or pick up a tour in port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homosassa Posted December 1, 2019 #21 Share Posted December 1, 2019 Read through this thread. A HAL bridge officer explains what is meant by operational reasons. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2712911-due-to-operational-reasons/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted December 1, 2019 #22 Share Posted December 1, 2019 Cunard is pretty good about explaining changes. On a Caribbean cruise, they swapped ports around to get us into St Maarten on a day where there would be only one other ship. The original itinerary would have had us there on a day when the port was maxed out with big ships. Another time, maybe 15 years ago, the day before we were to go to Cartegena, they announced that the stop there would be replaced by a stop in Curacao (a better port IMO, so I was happy), due to "unrest in Colombia." Child of the sixties that I am, my first thought was "Weren't the SDS sit-ins at Columbia U over a long time ago?" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted December 1, 2019 #23 Share Posted December 1, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, Floridiana said: The captain explained it in one of his Q&A answer hours. The city of Ravenna had unexpectedly banned ships of Koningsdam's size starting Jan 1, 2019. The itinerary planners had to find alternatives which pushed several ports around due to distance and availability. Itineraries are made 2-3 years ahead and lots of things can happen which make it impossible to stick to the original plan. I just go with the flow, especially in the Mediterranean where you can walk around and/or pick up a tour in port. I understand that one and appreciate you sharing it, and that was done months earlier as was the change in Malta. Can you share the reason for all the other changes? But the one just weeks ahead flipping Kusadasi and Mykonos and shortening Athens was a real pain. I am unaware of the reason for that one. Yes, you can walk off the ship and wander. But if like us you have been many times and are planning an overnight to see Meteora, three hours less has a big impact. As does flipping ports to Kusadasi and rearranging a private tour to three ancient cities as was this was our fourth trip to Kusadasi. Just seems like an inordinate amount of changes on this cruise. Not to mention the dropping of a port in Malta, and last minute within hours timing change in Catania. Do you know why those were changed? So for me an actual explanation at the time would have been appreciated. Edited December 1, 2019 by bennybear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted December 1, 2019 #24 Share Posted December 1, 2019 If I remember correctly, the ship stayed in Valletta overnight because divers did repairs on the ship. That cut off the second port. I don't even remember a time change in Catania, but it might have been the technical issue that was resolved in Malta. The only way to find out about the reason for changes is the captain's Q&A session. I understand that port time changes are annoying when you plan private tours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted December 1, 2019 #25 Share Posted December 1, 2019 (edited) More often than not when we have had a port cancelled we have gotten a day a sea. Okay, as long as the ship is operating properly and all are safe there are worse ways to s pend a 'relaxing day'. Disappointting Yes, life is full of small and large disappointments. IMO, we sound like bunch of whiney spoiled young children. 🙂 How many people would walk on hot coals for the chance to do some of the cruising/traveling many of us here have been so privileged to experience?. Edited December 1, 2019 by sail7seas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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