Slight Different Itinerary Than Booked

[complawyer]

casofilia, thank you, but my response was a hypothetical. it was in answer to the original post. we're not on this cruise, and we've been to the original listed ports before.

 

that being said, however, i steadfastly believe that if ncl had the temerity to change the entire lineup, they should in good conscience offer anyone that wants one, a full  refund and definitely not a future cruise credit. 

 

we were on the original 1st southeast asia cruise dec 2016 thru jan 2017, 14 days hong kong to singapore. shortly after boarding we were advised that due to mechanical problems, 3 of the ports (taipei, hanoi, and one in cambodia) were cancelled.

 

ncl was much more generous then, than they are now. we were offered a full refund, but we were already in hong kong, on board the ship, and airline reservations were in 2 weeks from singapore (so that offer was no help)

 

the next offer was 50% off the fare on this cruise (we had a penthouse suite on the star) and 50% off the fare of a future cruise. obviously this was a no brainer.

[alysonofagun]

OP - I know NCL absolutely can do this but totally feel your pain! On the bright side, at least you're still going to the same part of the world; I was on a TA a few years ago that switched from the Caribbean to the Azores 😭

Edited August 24, 2022 by alysonofagun

[cruiseny4life]

14 hours ago, casofilia said:

@cruiseny4life

 

Has NCL sent you an email with the details?   As you have posted a new itinerary I presume they have.   What did they offer to do for you?   Any offer of a different cruise?  Cancellation with a full refund?  AND some FCC?

 

Are you able to post the whole document?

Hey there - delayed due to having a company picnic last night! Here it is in two images since I don't want my email on CC. 🙂

 

[cruiseny4life]

10 hours ago, fredflint said:

It looks like  the last 2 cruises have changed?

 

https://www.norwegianvoyages.com/ticker.cfm?r=13&l=17&s=840&sm=202304&tm=202304&sp=y

 

https://www.norwegianvoyages.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=10692

 

I'm unable to see those links as I'd have to sign in. Perhaps other travel providers have updated the itinerary, but NCL still hasn't. It's kind of funny to me that travel agents changed the itinerary on their sites before NCL...but in an ironic sort of funny. Here's what I see on NCL's site - I threw my desktop date/time on there so you can see it was a screenshot just taken. 

 

[cruiseny4life]

10 hours ago, phillygwm said:

I just looked and it still appears to be the old itinerary.  Might be a website fluke.  Same thing happened to me:  one day I logged on and saw my itinerary was flipped.  Same ports, reverse order.  No biggie, but then it reverted back to the original.

Maybe an email fluke...I posted the email up above, as per @casofilia's request. Oh NCL, I love you 🙂

[cruiseny4life]

Y'all - I'm not exactly disappointed in the updated itinerary change. We're still planning to go. We have never been to any of the ports in the Caribbean - that'll change in a few days when we stop at Great Stirrup Cay on our September cruise, but then off to Bermuda.

 

The only sad part is that my husband and I (see below - I know this probably confuses you when I say this) were looking forward to seeing the Mayan ruins. As @complawyerand @weltek say, they should be around for another thousand years or so. Just means we'll have to plan another cruise, right? Who doesn't want that!!!

 

I'm actually kind of excited about Puerto Rico! I've worked with a lot of Puerto Ricans, and my company has a presence down there, so I would love to see the lovely island they call home! My husband isn't a US citizen yet so the only thing I was really worried about was the Dominican Republic as we have to be sure about visas/green card status. Thankfully, we're good with the DR! 

 

What does concern me is the lack of options in the email we received (posted above). We still have plenty of time to cancel. That's great! We're not going to, at least I don't think. BUT, NCL should have told us we had the option to cancel our cruise based on this significant change.

 

Sorry @MoCruiseFan, while I agree with you that NCL reserves the right to make changes like this, I do believe that this is a significant change. As such, NCL should let customers know they are able to cancel and receive their full deposit back (we're far away from full payment date). Thankfully, I know this. Others, who might be truly disappointed in this change, may not. It isn't about what is right and wrong legally, it is about what is right and wrong in terms of providing excellent customer service. I know excellent customer service and NCL in the same sentence is an oxymoron. At the end of the day though, you're right. They have the right to change the itinerary and I have the right to agree to the change, or cancel. Still, the letter should have told customers of the option to cancel. 

 

Given our past, and current experience, there's a possibility we'll cancel and just book the cruise within the final payment date. We may want to take advantage of the discount that doesn't exist according to frankie boy. 

 

@complawyer, I'll make sure to take lots of pictures in San Juan for you! Hehe, I'm kidding with you. If this "updated (read totally and completely different)" cruise were headed for a place we had been numerous times, we'd be just as upset! Thankfully we're not quite cruise virgins anymore, but not experienced either, so we can go anywhere and enjoy! 

 

@BirdTravels - I'm definitely looking at the itinerary as a positive. We seem to have a bit more time in ports of call. I'm ok with the later times as I'm not an early bird! 

 

@alysonofagun, wow! Although if my cruise were headed for a trans-Atlantic, I'd be perfectly happy too. I think....the Azores would be a cool place to go? The first thing I checked was to be sure we had the same number of sea days! I love my sea days, which I guess you must have had a lot of given you headed for the Azores.

 

Also @MotownVoice, I'm flattered (and laughing so hard right now) that you think I'm a lady. I do believe my public burps would discount that theory. I firmly identify myself (and have the parts) to be considered a good ole guy...maybe I should let my Cruise Critic persona be that of a scorned woman though. That'd be fun! 

[emcelh]

9 hours ago, MotownVoice said:

she doesn’t sail til April.  She could just cancel and get all of her money back and book something she likes better.   So NCL doesn’t have anyone over a barrel as you seem to want everyone to think. 

I'm wondering the same thing.  Even if they've paid in full, although why anyone would eight months in advance, they'll get a full refund.  Cancel and move on. 

[cruiseny4life]

11 minutes ago, emcelh said:

I'm wondering the same thing.  Even if they've paid in full, although why anyone would eight months in advance, they'll get a full refund.  Cancel and move on. 

See my long post just above yours. We probably clicked "submit" at the same time. 🙂 

[complawyer]

to my good friend cruiseny4life:  if youre going to take pictures, and i concede puerto rico old town is very picturesque, take them in the old part, see the fort, and if time permits, try and go to the bacardi rum factory.

 

my only issue with this change of itinerary, is as ive mentioned before, i choose my cruises (all with ncl) based on the price and itinerary. while i would expect there may be some changes, to change the entire cruise is not what i booked for. it's a completely different product, and ncl in good faith should notify and allow all the passengers on that cruise that they can cancel for a full refund without penalties.  changing the entire cruise is not (imho) a good way to do business.

 

we're on the star leaving from london in about 2 weeks. berlin was on the itinerary, and i was very much looking forward to that port. all of a sudden its no longer there and in its place is some city in denmark that ive never heard of, and have no overwhelming desire to see. it's certainly not berlin. as the rest of the cruise remains the same, im not overly upset. the 1st port is paris, and my wife and i have always wanted t o see london and paris.

 

anyway at  the end of the day (pardon the cliche) if the people that have booked that cruise are ok with the new ports, who am i to complain?

[Lunesse]

I read the official letter in this thread with "Yakety Sax" playing in my head and it helped.  Ooof. I hope it all ends up in a trip that is filled with good memories for you. 

[PTC DAWG]

Stuff happens…that said, assuming you are not passed final payment, you have a plethora of options. 

Edited August 24, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[julig22]

11 hours ago, complawyer said:

that being said, however, i steadfastly believe that if ncl had the temerity to change the entire lineup, they should in good conscience offer anyone that wants one, a full  refund and definitely not a future cruise credit. 

They are waaaay before final payment, so no problem with getting a full refund - unless of course they originally paid with a fcc.

Happened to me for a cruise to Iceland (just returned, it was beautiful).  They changed the itinerary from Europe to Norway.  Nothing against Norway but I've been, specifically wanted the Europe/UK itinerary, which was offered at a different time, so simply changed to the different date with the itinerary I wanted.

[vacation44]

21 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Well our itinerary is now just slightly different (read totally different) than when we booked. Oh well, I suppose the Mayan ruins can wait for another time. Off to the Eastern Caribbean we go! This is the April 30th sailing from Miami on NCL Escape. I wonder when the website will be updated with the new itinerary: https://www.ncl.com/cruises/7-day-caribbean-round-trip-miami-harvest-caye-cozumel-and-roatan-ESCAPE7MIARTBBPICMACZMMIA?sailMonths=4294934049&ships=4294959336&numberOfGuests=4294953449&sortBy=featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=ESCAPE7MIARTBBPICMACZMMIA

 

While I do prefer the new itinerary, I would not be too happy about the change as we book on where we want to go.  We would cancel and re-book.

[TrumpyNor]

I totally understand the dissappointment as this is a totally different cruise (if it is not just a website glitch). But as the cruise according to OP is in April 2023, why would there be any problem cancelling with a full refund at this time (August 2022)? Even if NCL doesn't offer any Western Caribbean cruises in April out of Miami, there will be plenty of other cruise lines who do. IF OP already have booked flights, etc.

Edited August 24, 2022 by TrumpyNor

[cruiseny4life]

3 minutes ago, TrumpyNor said:

I totally understand the dissappointment as this is a totally different cruise (if it is not just a website glitch). But as the cruise according to OP is in April 2023, why would there be any problem cancelling with a full refund at this time (August 2022)? Even if NCL doesn't offer any Western Caribbean cruises in April out of Miami, there will be plenty of other cruise lines who do. IF OP already have booked flights, etc.

No real disappointment here. Oh, I'm the OP! 🙂

 

As I said above, there's a slight (read: very slight) annoyance at not being able to see the Mayan ruins, but I'm happy with the cruise overall. Mainly because there are still two sea days. Now if a sea day had been taken away - I'd be livid (not really)! 

 

We're keeping our cruise for now. Closer to final payment we'll evaluate based on pricing alone. I'm really looking forward to trying the Escape's thermal spa so I'm guessing we keep it. 

And yep, I could get a full refund if I wanted! 

[TrumpyNor]

2 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

No real disappointment here. Oh, I'm the OP! 🙂

 

As I said above, there's a slight (read: very slight) annoyance at not being able to see the Mayan ruins, but I'm happy with the cruise overall. Mainly because there are still two sea days. Now if a sea day had been taken away - I'd be livid (not really)! 

 

We're keeping our cruise for now. Closer to final payment we'll evaluate based on pricing alone. I'm really looking forward to trying the Escape's thermal spa so I'm guessing we keep it. 

And yep, I could get a full refund if I wanted! 

I just did a 10 days cruise on the Escape earlier this month, and it is indeed a beautiful ship - had a great time! Also impressed with the management on board, especially the general manager and assistant manager, as they were "mingling" and talking with passengers "everywhere" on the ship, and making certain everyone was "happy with their cruise". 

[prov2727]

16 hours ago, casofilia said:

@complawyer

 

I totally agree and hope that you, at least, get your money back with a bit of a "sorry" sweetener!!

Sorry but NCL is in a "Too bad, so sad, sucks to be you," mode right now.

[gabbygal99]

On 8/23/2022 at 3:42 PM, cruiseny4life said:

Well our itinerary is now just slightly different (read totally different) than when we booked. Oh well, I suppose the Mayan ruins can wait for another time. Off to the Eastern Caribbean we go! This is the April 30th sailing from Miami on NCL Escape. I wonder when the website will be updated with the new itinerary: https://www.ncl.com/cruises/7-day-caribbean-round-trip-miami-harvest-caye-cozumel-and-roatan-ESCAPE7MIARTBBPICMACZMMIA?sailMonths=4294934049&ships=4294959336&numberOfGuests=4294953449&sortBy=featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=ESCAPE7MIARTBBPICMACZMMIA

 

I have done your original itinerary previously and it is WONDERFUL! The snorkeling in Belize is really second-to-none! And the Mayan ruins in Mexico are absolutely worth the trip! 
 
But if you are not upset by the itinerary change, then that’s all that matters! Make sure you get something scheduled to see the ruins, though! You never know what could happen in this crazy thing called life!

[styxfire]

NCL provided zero explanation other than “increased demand”. What kind of increased demand would necessitate an entire change of world destination?  Norwegian already has 2 ships sailing this itinerary for this entire upcoming winter. Maybe they mean increased demand at the western Caribbean itinerary… Maybe those western ports are over-scheduled, so Escape was forced to find other ports to dock at??

 

Cynical me suspects that this has nothing to do with any type of a demand increase anywhere. Norwegian is already lagging behind Royal and Carnival in terms of not filling their ships to full capacity.  I dunno, just wanted to express that NOT giving a better explanation is very POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.

[cruiseny4life]

25 minutes ago, styxfire said:

NCL provided zero explanation other than “increased demand”. What kind of increased demand would necessitate an entire change of world destination?  Norwegian already has 2 ships sailing this itinerary for this entire upcoming winter. Maybe they mean increased demand at the western Caribbean itinerary… Maybe those western ports are over-scheduled, so Escape was forced to find other ports to dock at??

 

Cynical me suspects that this has nothing to do with any type of a demand increase anywhere. Norwegian is already lagging behind Royal and Carnival in terms of not filling their ships to full capacity.  I dunno, just wanted to express that NOT giving a better explanation is very POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.

I've mentioned several times that we're probably not going to cancel this cruise. I know you, @styxfire know this, but I'm sure someone will mention it again, so just saying it again.

 

Having said that, I agree with you. Either this cruise was not selling nearly as well as NCL hoped, so that would be way more supply than demand (opposite of their email), or you're correct that they couldn't find a pier to dock at...but wouldn't they just change one port? I don't know - it's definitely an odd reason to completely change the itinerary.

 

Oh well - it'll still be a great sailing!

[blueslily]

Oh that looks like a cruise I would choose. So many cruises across several lines are doing the Western Caribbean now. I tire of that itinerary. As someone posted earlier, having that long day in PR is better than on many itineraries that have PR. Maybe I will see you on the cruise. Hahahaha. 

[MoCruiseFan]

On 8/23/2022 at 10:12 PM, Two Wheels Only said:

 

NCL can just fall back on....

 

(c) Itinerary Deviation: The Guest agrees that the Carrier has the sole discretion and liberty to direct the movements of the vessel, including the rights to: proceed without pilots and tow, and assist other vessels in all situations; deviate from the purchased voyage or the normal course for any purpose, including, without limitation, the health and safety in the interest of Guests or of the vessel (including the outbreak of any communicable disease), or to save life or property; put in at any unscheduled or unadvertised port; cancel any scheduled call at any port for any reason and at any time before, during or after sailing of the vessel; omit, advance or delay landing at any scheduled or advertised port; return to port of embarkation or to any port previously visited if the Carrier deems it prudent to do so; substitute another vessel or port(s) of call without prior notice and without incurring any liability to the Guest on account thereof for any loss, damage or delay whatsoever, whether consequential or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

 

They are not falling back on anything.  They are standing by the contract that both parties agreed to.

[MoCruiseFan]