So NCL are we going to Puerto Plata?

[JIMESOPUS]

We are about 10 days out for embarkation. One of the members of the roll received an email from NCL about a itinerary change, the majority of us haven't seen anything from NCL about the change, in fact the cruise is still listed with Puerto Plata as our last stop. I never got an email but inquired thru my TA and she found it as per her note to me " I just forwarded you a copy of the itinerary modification for the Getaway. I didn't receive a notification yesterday, but went searching and found it in the travel agent site. Maybe NCL will notify me sometime today. " 

 

As of today, nothing from NCL ... I know NCL can change an itinerary for any reason, now it's to reduce their carbon footprint but if I was booking this cruise today I would be pissed.

Enclosed is a screen shot of the notice  

[MaggieNY]

Hey fellow Hudson Valley cruiser! We had Puerto Plata removed and substituted with San Juan twice - last November and this December. I read somewhere that there are some increased safety concerns in the DR. It's probably too late for NCL to substitute another port since you're so close to your departure date. And there must be some reason they cut 3 hours off of Antigua. But you picked up an extra 3 hours in St Thomas. Try not to think about it and enjoy the sea day. There will probably be plenty to do on the ship during your sea days. And that first sea day back should probably still be warm enough to lay around the deck for your last bit of suntanning before you come back north.

[wil e coyote]

More likely, your sailing is falling victim to NCL's current practice of not taking ships into Taino Bay in the DR. They have only been taking their larger ships into Amber Cove, but there is only space for two ships at Amber Cove, and there are already two ships scheduled there for 1/17.

 

[SunshineGal2022]

With 5 Sea Days, I would definitely look into adding the Vibe or Thermal Spa passes.  It would be nice to have somewhere to get away from the crowds. 

[SeaShark]

2 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

We are about 10 days out for embarkation. One of the members of the roll received an email from NCL about a itinerary change, the majority of us haven't seen anything from NCL about the change, in fact the cruise is still listed with Puerto Plata as our last stop. I never got an email but inquired thru my TA and she found it as per her note to me " I just forwarded you a copy of the itinerary modification for the Getaway. I didn't receive a notification yesterday, but went searching and found it in the travel agent site. Maybe NCL will notify me sometime today. " 

 

As of today, nothing from NCL ... I know NCL can change an itinerary for any reason, now it's to reduce their carbon footprint but if I was booking this cruise today I would be pissed.

Enclosed is a screen shot of the notice  

 

FWIW, since you booked through a TA, NCL will not send you the notice directly. It is sent to your TA and it is their job to then inform you. It is one of the benefits of booking with a TA.

[JIMESOPUS]

1 minute ago, SeaShark said:

 

FWIW, since you booked through a TA, NCL will not send you the notice directly. It is sent to your TA and it is their job to then inform you. It is one of the benefits of booking with a TA.

Correct but there are a few ( unsure how many outside the roll call ), that booked directly thru NCL and have never received a notice. My TA was never directly notified, she had to go thru her site to find the notice.

[SeaShark]

Not sure what point you're trying to make. However, I'd take claims with a grain of salt. You really have no idea if a roll call person did, or did not book with NCL. Nor would you know 100% for sure if they did, or did not, receive a notice. Perhaps they missed or deleted it...you really can't say with 100% certainty. Nor can you say the same for your TA. I'd expect them to say they weren't notified...that way, they can blame NCL instead of admitting that they didn't inform you as they should have.

 

The notice you posted is almost 10 days old. How often does your TA review her site for notices such as this? Especially since, as this one shows, she isn't seeing them in a timely manner. How did this notice get on your TA's site without her becoming informed? If something like this can hit your TA's site without them knowing, then they should be checking for new notices on a daily basis...they owe their clients this much.

 

Welcome to the age of "it is ALWAYS someone else's fault...personal responsibility doesn't exist".

[Turtles06]

1 minute ago, SeaShark said:

The notice you posted is almost 10 days old.

 

I totally agree with the comments in your post.  The OP is right about the following though:  even though NCL sent out the notice of an itinerary change nearly ten days ago, NCL is *still* selling this cruise on its web site as going to Puerto Plata, which is still shown on the itinerary as the last port of the cruise.  In fact, the name of the cruise on the web site is: "Caribbean Round-Trip New York: Barbados & Dominican Republic."  That's just inexcusable.

 

[Fischmom]

I am on this cruise. Neither my husband nor I have received an email about the change. We booked directly through NCL. No email in spam, junk, etc. In fact I received an updated Cruise Confirmation email this afternoon reflecting a change in airport transfers that still has the original itinerary at the bottom of the email.  The PDF is dated today!  The cruise still has Dominican Republic in the title of the cruise. The original itinerary shows up in the app under My Plans. They are still selling it as going there. 
 

I just wish they were replacing it rather than making it a sea day. We already had 4.5 sea days. 

[kitkat343]

18 minutes ago, Fischmom said:

I am on this cruise. Neither my husband nor I have received an email about the change. We booked directly through NCL. No email in spam, junk, etc. In fact I received an updated Cruise Confirmation email this afternoon reflecting a change in airport transfers that still has the original itinerary at the bottom of the email.  The PDF is dated today!  The cruise still has Dominican Republic in the title of the cruise. The original itinerary shows up in the app under My Plans. They are still selling it as going there. 
 

I just wish they were replacing it rather than making it a sea day. We already had 4.5 sea days. 

I'm on this sailing too.  My children are in  a dual language school, and we pulled our three children out of school for this because the cruise went to so many Spanish speaking countries.  We would have taken the shorter RC cruise that leaves Bayonne next week if we'd known.  

 

And I also can't get a straight answer out of NCL over the kids club - there are people on this forum who have reported that the kids clubs are closed during port days, and when I contacted NCL all they could tell me was that each individual ship sets its own kids club schedule.  Kids clubs are important because they keep the kids happy and away from the other passengers who are trying to enjoy their cruise in peace.  Since we are sailing during the school year, there shouldn't be too many kids but if the kids clubs shut down when there are a lot of families I'd imagine there will be a lot of unsupervised kids running all over the ship driving all of the other passengers crazy.

Edited December 30, 2022 by kitkat343

[Laszlo]

9 hours ago, SeaShark said:

Not sure what point you're trying to make. However, I'd take claims with a grain of salt. You really have no idea if a roll call person did, or did not book with NCL. Nor would you know 100% for sure if they did, or did not, receive a notice. Perhaps they missed or deleted it...you really can't say with 100% certainty. Nor can you say the same for your TA. I'd expect them to say they weren't notified...that way, they can blame NCL instead of admitting that they didn't inform you as they should have.

 

The notice you posted is almost 10 days old. How often does your TA review her site for notices such as this? Especially since, as this one shows, she isn't seeing them in a timely manner. How did this notice get on your TA's site without her becoming informed? If something like this can hit your TA's site without them knowing, then they should be checking for new notices on a daily basis...they owe their clients this much.

 

Welcome to the age of "it is ALWAYS someone else's fault...personal responsibility doesn't exist".

I'm on the same cruise. I have not received anything from NCL, my TA has not received anything from NCL. I know some people on the roll call have. Our friends in Canada did receive the same letter from their TA. It is very strange not everyone has the same info. When I called NCL they could not confirm or deny any changes

 

 

I posted the question to NCL FB group. Lots of people talked about how the channel is being dredge wider. NCL has been canceling stops at Taino Bay for many months. They are docking at Amber Cove IF they have room. I just wish NCL would be honest about it. Changing our itinerary and using the carbon footprint is laughable. 

Edited December 30, 2022 by Laszlo

[wil e coyote]

19 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Lots of people talked about how the channel is being dredge wider.

FWIW, I cannot find any evidence this is happening or planned. I can't find any news articles or statements that PP plans to do any additional dredging at Taino Bay. Considering that RCL is routinely docking their Oasis-class ships at Taino Bay, the port authorities may believe the port is adequate as-is.

But just to be clear, even my statements here are conjecture based on publicly available info (or the lack thereof.) The data says that NCL isn't taking larger ships into Taino Bay. Something (we don't know what) needs to change before they start that again. In the meantime, NCL appears to be at the mercy of Carnival's schedule at Amber Cove.

[Laszlo]

1 minute ago, wil e coyote said:

FWIW, I cannot find any evidence this is happening or planned. I can't find any news articles or statements that PP plans to do any additional dredging at Taino Bay. Considering that RCL is routinely docking their Oasis-class ships at Taino Bay, the port authorities may believe the port is adequate as-is.

But just to be clear, even my statements here are conjecture based on publicly available info (or the lack thereof.) The data says that NCL isn't taking larger ships into Taino Bay. Something (we don't know what) needs to change before they start that again. In the meantime, NCL appears to be at the mercy of Carnival's schedule at Amber Cove.

Your correct, I could not find any evidence of it also. I saw a few comments on CC stating NCL's insurance company would not let them dock after what happened to the Escape in March. Maybe will have a few officers at the Meet and Greet who can explain it. I realize that will never happen Lol

[wil e coyote]

2 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Maybe will have a few officers at the Meet and Greet who can explain it. I realize that will never happen Lol

At least you have realistic expectations! 😀

FWIW, I work for a large corporation, and we all get training on what we can and cannot say to the public about "company matters." I'm sure the NCL staff gets similar training.

[Turtles06]

31 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

I'm on the same cruise. I have not received anything from NCL, my TA has not received anything from NCL. I know some people on the roll call have. Our friends in Canada did receive the same letter from their TA. It is very strange not everyone has the same info. When I called NCL they could not confirm or deny any changes

 

That is truly bizarre.  Then add in the fact that NCL's web site still markets the cruise as going to the DR.  

 

You folks booked on the cruise should get a reporter who covers cruising interested, give them the conflicting info and documents (the itinerary change letter only some folks have receive and the NCL web site showing no change) and have them ask someone very high up at NCL for an explanation.   Or maybe start a social media campaign: "NCL, where is our ship going?"  Something that might catch attention...

 

Good luck on your mystery cruise.  🙂 

[AtlantaAlly]

11 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

Correct but there are a few ( unsure how many outside the roll call ), that booked directly thru NCL and have never received a notice. My TA was never directly notified, she had to go thru her site to find the notice.

Oddly- I booked through a TA and I got the email as did she. But I know people booked directly that didn’t get an email yet and don’t believe me when I tell them about the change- even showing them the email.

 

it is partially that they make the change but don’t update their system to reflect the change. We are going to Nassau instead of GSC and have been for 2 weeks. The app still says GSC. The Travel Agent portal still says GSC. There are still GSC excursions instead of Nassau ones. 

[Laszlo]

8 minutes ago, wil e coyote said:

At least you have realistic expectations! 😀

FWIW, I work for a large corporation, and we all get training on what we can and cannot say to the public about "company matters." I'm sure the NCL staff gets similar training.

I love breaking the balls of an individual or a company who is lying to me. Its happened many times in my line of work working with large adverting firms LOL

[Joken35]

i called to ask what was going on first -she told me they were not aware of a change. when i told her some people had posted the itinerary change she changed her story told me they

had sent notification out to ALL passengers on December 20th. I guess they like to change things … itineraries, stories, policies 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[ewl]

We were on the 12/18/22 sailing of the Encore which had only two port calls-- GSC and Puerto Plata. We ended up in Ochos Rios instead of DR and in Nassau instead of GSC. While we rolled our eyes at the announcement that the DR change was due to "unforeseen circumstances" (not unforeseen to us with all the info on CC), missing GSC was said to be due to seas too rough for the tenders.  In both cases there was no advance notice;  we were informed by an announcement onboard the day prior.  

 

What we have learned over a host of cruises is that if you have your heart set on visiting a specific destination, a cruise is not the best choice. Cruise lines have broad discretion on itinerary changes, so we pick a ship we like in case we are on it more than we anticipated and an itinerary that is interesting but not "make or break".  That said, there should be a reasonable expectation that the itinerary should be as close to what it advertised as possible-- not just taking you wherever the wind blows. Should NCL be advertising the DR when it knows full well that the odds of Amber Cove being available are slim and then claiming unforeseen circumstances?  No. I agree that is bad faith and am very disappointed to see it.

[DCGuy64]

Not related to this particular cruise, but on our TA earlier this month (Norwegian Epic), we skipped both of the 2 ports we were supposed to visit. The only information we got about the first one was what I read on a FB group, nothing at all from NCL. So there you go....

[mking8288]

Maybe we should call NCL's new "almost Cruise to Nowhere" sailings.   Getaway scheduled to call on DR on Jan 29th and appeared that we can dock either in the Bay or the Cove.  

 

IMHO, don't bother to hold my breath to ask this kind of question at the CC Meet & Greet/Mingle, not at all.  One can try - they are very good at passing the bucks to corporate HQ in Miami.  

 

Maybe, @Laszlo can do a Youtube "Special" about it and we can all give plenty of "Likes" as a CC style "documentary" ... just kidding.  

 

Pssst - port fees/charges are not adjusted nor refunded, as a matter of routine practice at NCL. Hence, "keep the change" 🙄 🙄 🙄

Edited December 30, 2022 by mking8288

[SeaShark]

10 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

Since we are sailing during the school year, there shouldn't be too many kids but if the kids clubs shut down when there are a lot of families I'd imagine there will be a lot of unsupervised kids running all over the ship driving all of the other passengers crazy.

 

It is interesting that you would say this. I'll ask you since you are a parent who will have their kids on the cruise...If the kids club is shut down, will your kids be "unsupervised" and "running all over the ship driving all of the other passengers crazy"? Shouldn't we be expecting parents to actually monitor their own children to ensure proper behavior, or is this simply asking too much?

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, ewl said:

While we rolled our eyes at the announcement that the DR change was due to "unforeseen circumstances" (not unforeseen to us with all the info on CC), missing GSC was said to be due to seas too rough for the tenders.  In both cases there was no advance notice;  we were informed by an announcement onboard the day prior.  

While I agree that what’s going on with NCL and the scheduled port calls to Puerto Plata is becoming unacceptable, it is very common for ships to miss GSC because of the weather. 

[wil e coyote]

11 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

it is very common for ships to miss GSC because of the weather. 

I've been thinking about this. I agree with your statement. At the same time, it seems like there are more "wave-offs" at tender ports than there used to be. In 1997, we went on an SS Norway sailing in the Caribbean, and I believe every port call was a tender port due to the Norway's deep draft. We didn't miss any of them. In 2018, we sailed on Princess and tendered to Princess Cay. No issue.

Now I know my observations are unscientific, but I have to wonder whether our current litigious world has made NCL less tolerant of marginal seas when they have to tender. All it takes is one lawsuit to wipe out the profitability of a sailing, I'd guess...

[shof515]

21 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

it is very common for ships to miss GSC because of the weather. 

it would be nice if NCL can build a dock for the ships. MSC, Royal and Disney all have docks on their private islands so you dont need to tender