14 night Breakaway Cancelling 2 ports?

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Sounds like a beautiful blessing to me! I know some enjoy port after port after port. I much prefer sea day after sea day after sea day...ahhh, so blissful, relaxing, and just plain perfect. Last cruise I took was a nine day cruise. Bermuda was canceled. I spent the day in Miami in the thermal suite, rather than exploring. We had two scheduled days in Port Canaveral. Those days were also spent relaxing my muscles! Ahhh, yes please!

Fully agree.  After 35+ cruises in the Caribbean, we sail for the ship these days.  Would love it if cruises to nowhere were a thing with the port tax savings.  Currently have a dozen cruises booked on new builds Prima, Celebration, Beyond and Wonder OTS.

[negn]

Just back from a 7 day that was suppose to go to western Caribbean and changed to eastern due to Ian.   Was notified at the port.  Received no OBC.  Realize that happens at times but would not have chosen any of these ports

[pacruise804]

On 10/3/2022 at 9:55 AM, cruiseny4life said:

Sounds like a beautiful blessing to me! I know some enjoy port after port after port. I much prefer sea day after sea day after sea day...ahhh, so blissful, relaxing, and just plain perfect. Last cruise I took was a nine day cruise. Bermuda was canceled. I spent the day in Miami in the thermal suite, rather than exploring. We had two scheduled days in Port Canaveral. Those days were also spent relaxing my muscles! Ahhh, yes please!

My husband and I are booked on a 14 Night this month with 4 ports and 1 day of partial Panama Canal Transit.  I'm looking forward to the relaxing sea days.

 

We have another booked for next year 7 nights with 3 ports and will probably only get off at one.

[Juncti]

On 10/3/2022 at 12:34 PM, negn said:

Just back from a 7 day that was suppose to go to western Caribbean and changed to eastern due to Ian.   Was notified at the port.  Received no OBC.  Realize that happens at times but would not have chosen any of these ports

Same, we were supposed to go to Key West and Bahamas, wound up at Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. Just got back Sunday.

 

I'm pretty sure they knew before we left on Sunday they weren't going to Key West. Anyone watching the weather in the days before could see that. We suspected they wanted to get people on board before announcing on sea day 1 about the change in schedule. 

 

It happens, if this is shocking you, do a deep dive on the cruise contract and see all the other ways things can go sideways for passengers. At the end of the day it's a business and they're going to make the decisions they need to make to maximize profits. You're lucky they did any credits. We were on Carnival and there was no credits as they can change the ports or eliminate ports as needed. Sometimes they're nice to toss some credits when a port can't be done, other times they won't. You're pretty much along for the ride once you pay the fare. 

 

Only thing that might have been an option for you would have been a CFAR trip insurance package. You could have cancelled and chosen not to go and gotten a refund. 

Edited October 4, 2022 by Juncti
typo

[PTC DAWG]

If a certain port is a must, a cruise isn’t for you. 

[negn]

3 hours ago, Juncti said:

Same, we were supposed to go to Key West and Bahamas, wound up at Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. Just got back Sunday.

 

I'm pretty sure they knew before we left on Sunday they weren't going to Key West. Anyone watching the weather in the days before could see that. We suspected they wanted to get people on board before announcing on sea day 1 about the change in schedule. 

 

It happens, if this is shocking you, do a deep dive on the cruise contract and see all the other ways things can go sideways for passengers. At the end of the day it's a business and they're going to make the decisions they need to make to maximize profits. You're lucky they did any credits. We were on Carnival and there was no credits as they can change the ports or eliminate ports as needed. Sometimes they're nice to toss some credits when a port can't be done, other times they won't. You're pretty much along for the ride once you pay the fare. 

 

Only thing that might have been an option for you would have been a CFAR trip insurance package. You could have cancelled and chosen not to go and gotten a refund. 

 

[2boyzmom]

On 10/4/2022 at 3:03 PM, pacruise804 said:

My husband and I are booked on a 14 Night this month with 4 ports and 1 day of partial Panama Canal Transit.  I'm looking forward to the relaxing sea days.

 

We have another booked for next year 7 nights with 3 ports and will probably only get off at one.

I love sea days also but cancelling 2 ports 2 months prior vs canceling due to weather is B.S. We should have an option to receive a refund.

[mjkacmom]

22 minutes ago, 2boyzmom said:

I love sea days also but cancelling 2 ports 2 months prior vs canceling due to weather is B.S. We should have an option to receive a refund.

I thought it was for mechanical reasons? Cruise lines do not give refunds for canceled ports, it happens too often.

[2boyzmom]

16 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I thought it was for mechanical reasons? Cruise lines do not give refunds for canceled ports, it happens too often.

Even more of a reason for a choice of a refund.

[pacruise804]

I understand being frustrated/disappointed when our vacations don't go as planned.  I also am aware that most cruise contracts give very little recourse to the passenger for changes to the itinerary.  They weren't even obligated to offer OBC.

 

Did you purchase Cancel For Any Reason insurance? While that usually doesn't cover everything, it would help you recoup some of the costs if you want to cancel.

 

At least you have advanced notice and can choose to cancel (and lose the money paid but at least not more money) or maybe change what you are doing at the remaining ports with the extra OBC.  Perhaps there are things on the ship you didn't have time to do before that you could enjoy now with the extra sea days.

 

We took my husband's parents on a Mississippi River cruise and had one complete port change and several time changes with no explanation and no compensation.  It is what it is when you choose to cruise.

 

I hope you can make peace with whatever decision you make.

[mt234]

the reason this is so frustrating is because not all of us were notified, ncl refuses to verify any info at all about the cruise if you didn’t book directly with them, canceling a port like cozumel, one of the most popular stops and not replacing it not even with its own private island is harsh, but to top it off it’s promoted as a panama canal cruise but the ship doesn’t actually go through the canal…. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

[biscoffb]

Also affected by this itinerary change too and wondered if anyone has any details as to what date this maintenance was scheduled? Not NCL sending out the official letter stating it had changed but did anyone receive or find any information on when the maintenance was booked in? I can only assume as most cruisers/travel agents were notified 23rd September, that it was booked before then? But I'm after a date if anyone has one? I'm from the UK and was only notified less than a week ago about the change...

[chengkp75]

Okay, here's the deal.  This is a problem that ships with only 4 large diesel generators, like the Breakaway, have.  Every 12,000 running hours, the engine is completely torn down for overhaul.  This is about every 2.5 years.  Taking one engine out of service will result in the ship not being able to attain full speed.  Typically, cruise lines will plan itineraries that can accommodate an engine out of service, well in advance, and none of the passengers know that it is out of service, as the cruises continue as advertised.  Ships that have 5 or 6 smaller engines (totalling the same total power), can accommodate one out of service easier than a ship with 4 engines.  Apparently, this is not the case here, but I won't comment on refunds, obc, or any other guest relations issues, as that is not my area of expertise.

 

As for cancelling one cruise now to accommodate the overhaul, this is not possible, as the overhaul takes about 3-4 weeks to accomplish, so you would have to cancel that many cruises.  They are likely not waiting on parts, but this takes a lot of time to load parts, tear the engine down completely (think of taking every single part out of your car's engine and inspecting it), clean the parts, inspect them for condition, install new parts, and reassemble the entire engine.  This normally takes the entire ship's engine crew, and several contract workers, and a tech rep to accomplish this in 3-4 weeks.

 

As for a safety concern, the ship can get back to port with only one diesel generator running (albeit slower and behind schedule), so there is no worry over this.  As I've stated, taking an engine out of service for overhaul happens on every cruise ship, every year, and in most cases, no one is even aware of it, except for the engine crew doing the work, and perhaps a sharp eyed passenger who sees an engine manufacturer's tech rep eating in the buffet.

 

They are not having "engine problems", this is scheduled maintenance that is required to keep the engines running without failures for years.

Edited October 17, 2022 by chengkp75

[ziggyuk]

33 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Okay, here's the deal.  This is a problem that ships with only 4 large diesel generators, like the Breakaway, have.  Every 12,000 running hours, the engine is completely torn down for overhaul.  This is about every 2.5 years.  Taking one engine out of service will result in the ship not being able to attain full speed.  Typically, cruise lines will plan itineraries that can accommodate an engine out of service, well in advance, and none of the passengers know that it is out of service, as the cruises continue as advertised.  Ships that have 5 or 6 smaller engines (totalling the same total power), can accommodate one out of service easier than a ship with 4 engines.  Apparently, this is not the case here, but I won't comment on refunds, obc, or any other guest relations issues, as that is not my area of expertise.

 

As for cancelling one cruise now to accommodate the overhaul, this is not possible, as the overhaul takes about 3-4 weeks to accomplish, so you would have to cancel that many cruises.  They are likely not waiting on parts, but this takes a lot of time to load parts, tear the engine down completely (think of taking every single part out of your car's engine and inspecting it), clean the parts, inspect them for condition, install new parts, and reassemble the entire engine.  This normally takes the entire ship's engine crew, and several contract workers, and a tech rep to accomplish this in 3-4 weeks.

 

As for a safety concern, the ship can get back to port with only one diesel generator running (albeit slower and behind schedule), so there is no worry over this.  As I've stated, taking an engine out of service for overhaul happens on every cruise ship, every year, and in most cases, no one is even aware of it, except for the engine crew doing the work, and perhaps a sharp eyed passenger who sees an engine manufacturer's tech rep eating in the buffet.

 

They are not having "engine problems", this is scheduled maintenance that is required to keep the engines running without failures for years.

 

Very interesting, thank you for the insight.
I assume as this is a 14 day cruise and you say this is a 3-4 week task this will probably not be the only cruise affected although it could be happening quietly in the background unknown to the passengers on the previous or following weeks.

 

 

[chengkp75]

1 minute ago, ziggyuk said:

it could be happening quietly in the background unknown to the passengers on the previous or following weeks

Depending on the required speed for those cruises, yes.  

[Laszlo]

15 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Depending on the required speed for those cruises, yes.  

Wondering if the Getaway has the same setup as the BA? Assuming it does since they are the same class.

 

Technically question. Along with the 4 main engines do they have smaller generators to run other things? Are the bow and stern thrusters electric or hydraulic?

[chengkp75]

32 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Wondering if the Getaway has the same setup as the BA? Assuming it does since they are the same class.

 

Technically question. Along with the 4 main engines do they have smaller generators to run other things? Are the bow and stern thrusters electric or hydraulic?

Yes, Getaway is the same.  No, the 4 main generators feed a common bus at 10,000 volts, which is then supplied to propulsion, thrusters, and AC chillers.  Power is then stepped down to 480v for engineering and heavy hotel use (galley and laundry).  It is then stepped down to 220v for lighting, and smaller hotel equipment, and then to 110v for outlets.  When I talked about "larger" and "smaller" generators, the terms are relative.  The Breakaway has 2 generators with a capacity of 16.4Mw each, and 2 generators with a capacity of 14.8Mw each.  The difference is that the larger engines have two more cylinders (14 as opposed to the 12 in the smaller engines).

[puppycanducruise]

@chengkp75Thanks for sharing your knowledge, much appreciated.

[weltek]

On 9/27/2022 at 1:02 PM, Laszlo said:

Ouch.... 5 port days and 9 sea days

Well, NCL is going to be making much less money on those FAS drink packages now . 😆

[weltek]

On 10/3/2022 at 12:34 PM, negn said:

Just back from a 7 day that was suppose to go to western Caribbean and changed to eastern due to Ian.   Was notified at the port.  Received no OBC.  Realize that happens at times but would not have chosen any of these ports

Especially more likely to happen during hurricane season. New cruisers might not realize that.

[fstuff1]

On 9/24/2022 at 3:58 PM, 2boyzmom said:

Update: I called and spoke to another rep at NCL and yes they are cancelling 2 ports. We will receive a $300 onboard credit. Big deal. I'm pissed! Nothing I can do. No refund, no swap to another cruise. Nada

 

i just booked this nov 4 cruise and  $300 obc is not listed in my cruise docs. 

but than again, it's listed as 5ports when i booked.

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by fstuff1

[mbf111]

On 10/17/2022 at 9:27 AM, chengkp75 said:

Okay, here's the deal.  This is a problem that ships with only 4 large diesel generators, like the Breakaway, have.  Every 12,000 running hours, the engine is completely torn down for overhaul.  This is about every 2.5 years.  Taking one engine out of service will result in the ship not being able to attain full speed.  Typically, cruise lines will plan itineraries that can accommodate an engine out of service, well in advance, and none of the passengers know that it is out of service, as the cruises continue as advertised.  Ships that have 5 or 6 smaller engines (totalling the same total power), can accommodate one out of service easier than a ship with 4 engines.  Apparently, this is not the case here, but I won't comment on refunds, obc, or any other guest relations issues, as that is not my area of expertise.

 

As for cancelling one cruise now to accommodate the overhaul, this is not possible, as the overhaul takes about 3-4 weeks to accomplish, so you would have to cancel that many cruises.  They are likely not waiting on parts, but this takes a lot of time to load parts, tear the engine down completely (think of taking every single part out of your car's engine and inspecting it), clean the parts, inspect them for condition, install new parts, and reassemble the entire engine.  This normally takes the entire ship's engine crew, and several contract workers, and a tech rep to accomplish this in 3-4 weeks.

 

As for a safety concern, the ship can get back to port with only one diesel generator running (albeit slower and behind schedule), so there is no worry over this.  As I've stated, taking an engine out of service for overhaul happens on every cruise ship, every year, and in most cases, no one is even aware of it, except for the engine crew doing the work, and perhaps a sharp eyed passenger who sees an engine manufacturer's tech rep eating in the buffet.

 

They are not having "engine problems", this is scheduled maintenance that is required to keep the engines running without failures for years.

ChengKP75, I appreciate your expertise, and thank you for the 'lay person' explanation.  I get everything you're saying except your last paragraph.  If this was scheduled maintenance, then why was there a last minute, unexpected itinerary change?  Seems to me they were caught off guard by the need for this maintenance.

 

[hallux]

55 minutes ago, mbf111 said:

If this was scheduled maintenance, then why was there a last minute, unexpected itinerary change?  Seems to me they were caught off guard by the need for this maintenance.

Our resident expert can correct me if I'm wrong, but I imagine it wasn't a 'caught off-guard' so much as this just happened to be when parts and contractors could both be scheduled to the ship.

[chengkp75]

27 minutes ago, hallux said:

Our resident expert can correct me if I'm wrong, but I imagine it wasn't a 'caught off-guard' so much as this just happened to be when parts and contractors could both be scheduled to the ship.

This could be part of it, but I have also experienced quite a bit of "non-communication" between Operations and Technical, so Operations may have been aware of it, but pooh-poohed it and kicked the can down the road.  Believe me, cruise lines make money in spite of their best efforts.