Itinerary change from 4 ports to 3 on July 31 Breakaway....will there be any type of refund??

[valandemmy]

Upset about the change itinerary but what can you do I guess, but the letter they sent said nothing about any kind of refund...since we are going from 4 ports to 3, I would have to assume we would at least get some port fee's back.

Also, does anyone know why they have been changing the ports?

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

6 hours ago, valandemmy said:

Upset about the change itinerary but what can you do I guess, but the letter they sent said nothing about any kind of refund...since we are going from 4 ports to 3, I would have to assume we would at least get some port fee's back.

Also, does anyone know why they have been changing the ports?

They don't offer refunds unfortunately when they drop or change ports.

[valandemmy]

52 minutes ago, Funky Fusion FoodsJ said:

They don't offer refunds unfortunately when they drop or change ports.

 

But port fee's (according to what I have been told) are collected for the individual ports so if you are not going to those ports why would we be required to pay them.  

[raitch]

I’m in the same boat (literally 😅 the week after you). We’re really disappointed but from what I can tell we don’t get any refunds.

[SeaShark]

8 hours ago, valandemmy said:

Also, does anyone know why they have been changing the ports?

 

The real question that you have to ask is why would NCL make a decision, then come to Cruise Critic to explain the "why" behind that decision to us...but then not tell you?

[Tyskie]

You usually get the port charge back on your account.  At least pre-pandemic.

 

We had to stay overnight in NY before our Princess ship could depart due to weather - we had a NY port charge added.

 

 

[bluesea777]

Which port has been dropped?

 

 

[raitch]

33 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

Which port has been dropped?

 

 

 

[valandemmy]

31 minutes ago, raitch said:

 

 

Yep.   took away two places I have never been and replaced it with a place we have been a dozen times and added the all important third sea day.  🙄

[Cruising Lynne]

Wow, I would be disappointed in this change. I would have been looking forward to going to Tortola. Also, you now have the late port time in San Juan. Some times with changes like this you will see some money back in the form of onboard credit. Usually only a small amount for the port fee. I would inquire about it on the ship. If enough people inquire, you may get something. Itinerary changes are very common, buy still disappointing. We had changes in the past due to avoiding a hurricane. We ended up really enjoying our revised itinerary which had an unexpected stop in Martinique. It ended up being a fun surprise, and a chance to go some place new to us. I have heard that the later stop in San Juan can be interesting, so try to go with the flow and also enjoy the extra time on the ship.

[valandemmy]

2 minutes ago, Cruising Lynne said:

 We had changes in the past due to avoiding a hurricane. 

 

I could understand if we were avoiding a hurricane lol.  Just disappointed in the loss of the two ports I actually booked the cruise for.  We have been to all the other ports multiple times so was really looking forward to two new places

[Pat.D]

Usually refunded on your onboard account.  Last march on the Joy we missed Cozumel due to propulsion problems and the same day we were credited a few bucks on our accounts.

[valandemmy]

Just talked to NCL.Com  here is the chat

 

Amber B (6/28/2022, 11:19:14 AM): Hello Charles. Thank you for chatting with Norwegian Cruise Line. My name is Amber B. I would be happy to assist you today. 
Amber B (6/28/2022, 11:19:47 AM): Hello Charles. How can I assist you today? 
Charles (6/28/2022, 11:20:06 AM): I have a cruised planned on July 31st on Breakaway. 
Charles (6/28/2022, 11:20:22 AM): We received an email showing 2 ports changed and only got 1 back 
Charles (6/28/2022, 11:20:43 AM): Will we get port fee's refunded for the change in ports? 
Amber B (6/28/2022, 11:22:00 AM): No unfortunately port fees would not be refunded, Charles. 
Charles (6/28/2022, 11:22:20 AM): that does not make sense to me.  since port fee's are collected to be paid to the ports 
Charles (6/28/2022, 11:22:35 AM): and since those ports are being missed where does the collected port fee's go 
Amber B (6/28/2022, 11:25:07 AM): Port fees are based on the entire itinerary not individual ports 
Charles (6/28/2022, 11:26:08 AM): but the itinerary changed.   You charged for 4 ports, but I am only getting 3 
Amber B (6/28/2022, 11:27:52 AM): I'm really sorry about this Charles. Please refer to your guest ticket contract as it states that Norwegian Cruise Line can cancel a scheduled port for any reason at any time. 
Charles (6/28/2022, 11:28:10 AM): that part I understand 
Charles (6/28/2022, 11:28:43 AM): What I am having trouble understanding is going from 4 to 3 ports, you all collected fee's for 4 ports not 3. 
Charles (6/28/2022, 11:29:26 AM): I have cruised for 20 years and port changes are a part of it...but I have always at least got onboard credit when ports where missed/changed 
Amber B (6/28/2022, 11:31:19 AM): I understand Charles. I'm sorry for any inconvenience. It is a one-time charger not per port no refunds will be given. Once again I am truly sorry. 
 

 

So according to Amber B -  port charges are per cruise and the individual port doesn't matter (I had always heard the charges were imposed by the port themselves?)..and no refunds at all

Edited June 28, 2022 by valandemmy

[HBCcruiser]

24 minutes ago, valandemmy said:

So according to Amber B -  port charges are per cruise and the individual port doesn't matter (I had always heard the charges were imposed by the port themselves?)..and no refunds at all

That sucks! I’m going to ask about it when I am onboard July 17th. We had the same itinerary/port changes. 

[Black Magic]

I wonder if this has anything to do with the Dominican Republic's COVID status being raised by the CDC?

CDC adds 2 destinations to 'high' risk list for Covid-19 | CNN Travel

 

We have a July 23rd sailing on the Getaway that includes the Dominican Republic, but no canceled port yet.

[raitch]

29 minutes ago, Black Magic said:

I wonder if this has anything to do with the Dominican Republic's COVID status being raised by the CDC?

CDC adds 2 destinations to 'high' risk list for Covid-19 | CNN Travel

 

We have a July 23rd sailing on the Getaway that includes the Dominican Republic, but no canceled port yet.

The itinerary change happened on June 6 so I don’t think so.

[PATRLR]

Despite what "Amber" wrote, I suspect you'll get some amount of port charges back.

I hope you come back after the cruise and let us know.

 

[raitch]

1 hour ago, valandemmy said:

 

Yep.   took away two places I have never been and replaced it with a place we have been a dozen times and added the all important third sea day.  🙄

If we miss GSC that puts us at a whopping 1.5 port days 😒

[Black Magic]

Well, I just checked on my cruise and sure enough, there was a change.  Although we didn't lose any ports, it did change from Puerto Plata, DR to Amber Cove, DR.  The arrival date and time in port remained the same.

[prov2727]

I went back to check on my January 2020 cruise which changed from 9 ports to 7 prior to embarkation and they did not change or reimburse any port fees for the difference.

 

Sorry that you missed out on the ports you were hoping to visit. Even after two cancelled ports, I was looking forward to St. Kitts and St. Maarten but due to high waves, I didn't get to go to either. Enjoyed Martinique and Dominique instead though. I imagine at some point I will begin retracing my steps so maybe next time they will happen.