NCL changing itineraries for non-emergency reasons after final payment

[NYMama]

There have been two itinerary changes on my upcoming February cruise, with no explanation as to why the changes were made.  One itinerary change was made almost immediately after final payment.  And another change was made a week after that.  I actually expect a change to the itinerary again once we are onboard, based on how many changes NCL has been making recently.

[SeaShark]

17 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

I don't think anyone has questioned that very obvious fact.  I think you have missed the points people are raising.

 

That is one way of looking at it. One might also argue that the points are not being raised in a convincing manner.

 

It's the whole "glass half full or glass half empty" argument.

 

The answer can depend on whether you're drinking or pouring.

[wally4ever]

15 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

That is one way of looking at it. One might also argue that the points are not being raised in a convincing manner.

 

It's the whole "glass half full or glass half empty" argument.

 

The answer can depend on whether you're drinking or pouring.

Regardless of what the contract says, there's a real difference between canceling a port because of new information (e.g. weather, change in status of port conditions, etc) and canceling a port because of old information that you chose not to disclose until after the cancelation date.  I've never had any NCL cancelations (and if we're being honest, I enjoy sea days at least as much as port days, anyway!) but I can understand the frustration.  If NCL knows they won't be going to Port A, they should let people know that as soon as possible, and certainly should not continue advertising as though they will go to Port A.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

If anything, this shows that there needs to be more oversight and regulation of cruise ships by the Federal government. Unfortunately cruise lines have a green light to do almost as they please without any consequences and without any kind of transparency.

 

What NCL has been doing with some of these port changes and waiting until final payment to announce them is nothing short of bait and switch.

The Government of The Bahamas where the ships are registered? 

Edited January 18, 2023 by BirdTravels

[BirdTravels]

4 minutes ago, wally4ever said:

Regardless of what the contract says, there's a real difference between canceling a port because of new information (e.g. weather, change in status of port conditions, etc) and canceling a port because of old information that you chose not to disclose until after the cancelation date. 

Do you have publicly available information to back up this claim "canceling a port because of old information that you chose not to disclose until after the cancelation date. " Or are you just making things up from information that doesn't exist?

[SeaShark]

4 minutes ago, wally4ever said:

Regardless of what the contract says, there's a real difference between canceling a port because of new information (e.g. weather, change in status of port conditions, etc) and canceling a port because of old information that you chose not to disclose until after the cancelation date.  I've never had any NCL cancelations (and if we're being honest, I enjoy sea days at least as much as port days, anyway!) but I can understand the frustration.  If NCL knows they won't be going to Port A, they should let people know that as soon as possible, and certainly should not continue advertising as though they will go to Port A.

 

And who gets to decide when "as soon as possible" is? 

 

There will always be someone whining that they should have let them know "sooner".

[jules181]

What if they're cancelling after final payment because the amount of people who made their final payment create a forecast that makes the port stop a money loser?

 

 

[kitkat343]

28 minutes ago, jules181 said:

What if they're cancelling after final payment because the amount of people who made their final payment create a forecast that makes the port stop a money loser?

 

 

The 1/8 getaway is full. We were told the loss of the port stop in the dr and morning in Antigua were for environmental reasons.  If ncl would like to help the environment that’s great but they should design environmentally appropriate itineraries prior to releasing  them or at the very least prior to final payment.  

Edited January 18, 2023 by kitkat343

[bookbabe]

I wonder if the last minute DR cancellations are because NCL was scheduled to dock at Taino Bay and then Carnival changed one of their schedules and that dock was now no longer available?  It is Carnival's port, so I'm sure they get dibs, even if it's for a last minute change.

[luv2kroooz]

5 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Besides, we are people that book on a whim, so maybe a deal we can't refuse will come up and we'll book a cruise. You just don't know. I'm not one to say "never." 

Never say never! Had we not had a Florida vacation planned, the Gem NY departures looked very attractive.

 

A back to back to back - there was a 9 day roundtrip New York that left yesterday, interior sailaway, $399, then a 12 day one-way from NYC to Panama leaving on Jan 25 for $419, then an 11 day one way back to NYC from Panama for $399. That's $1,217 for a 32 day cruise! Port charges will probably more than double the fare due to the canal, but still might be the best base fare deal we've ever seen. Throw in a FCC and shareholder credit and we would sail NCL at that price point.  NYC is a drive to port for us, too. If only we had the time. 🙂

 

I guess the "discount to fill" mentality has not been fully abandoned, after all.

 

PS - No single supplements either!!

[Captain-John]

Remove DR from the itineraries now (no great loss I don't think?!) and replace with something else that is (more) certain.

 

I am scheduled to stop there in May. I make a prediction now (and I'll come back and update with the actual outcome) that we will not. It is a stop between two sea days. I do not wish for a third sea day. I did not book a transatlantic crossing for a reason. We've already lost Grand Cayman from this itinerary. Originally 12 nights and 7 ports is now 11 nights and could well be 5 ports if we miss DR. A radically different cruise. Time will tell.

[cruiseny4life]

20 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

Never say never! Had we not had a Florida vacation planned, the Gem NY departures looked very attractive.

 

A back to back to back - there was a 9 day roundtrip New York that left yesterday, interior sailaway, $399, then a 12 day one-way from NYC to Panama leaving on Jan 25 for $419, then an 11 day one way back to NYC from Panama for $399. That's $1,217 for a 32 day cruise! Port charges will probably more than double the fare due to the canal, but still might be the best base fare deal we've ever seen. Throw in a FCC and shareholder credit and we would sail NCL at that price point.  NYC is a drive to port for us, too. If only we had the time. 🙂

 

I guess the "discount to fill" mentality has not been fully abandoned, after all.

 

PS - No single supplements either!!

Oh I just snorted!! Thank you! Haha...yes "discount to fill" is alive and well on NCL. I'm ok with that as two of my cruises have allowed to sail at a much more affordable cost than normal. I'll take it!! 

That back to back to back sounds incredible. Absolutely won't say "never." If only I were retired - I'd take that, especially since I'm also within driving distance. 32 days in NYC parking might get us to take the train though. 

[lfdemt]

2 hours ago, bookbabe said:

I wonder if the last minute DR cancellations are because NCL was scheduled to dock at Taino Bay and then Carnival changed one of their schedules and that dock was now no longer available?  It is Carnival's port, so I'm sure they get dibs, even if it's for a last minute change.

You are incorrect. Taino bay is not carnivals dock. Amber cove is. And yes carnival gets priority at amber cove. Taino bay actually has room for 3 ships to dock but ncl hasn’t docked a large ship there is a long time. 

[bookbabe]

13 minutes ago, lfdemt said:

You are incorrect. Taino bay is not carnivals dock. Amber cove is. And yes carnival gets priority at amber cove. Taino bay actually has room for 3 ships to dock but ncl hasn’t docked a large ship there is a long time. 

Sorry, that's what was in my mind and I got them backwards.  What I meant to say was that maybe Carnival bumped NCL out of Amber Cove, and that's why NCL has been skipping DR last minute.  

[DaCruiseBug]

35 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

The Government of The Bahamas where the ships are registered? 

 Or maybe the Government of the country they have their largest operations in and the country where Americans buy their tickets. Did you not learn anything with Covid? Ship registration didn't impede the US government from halting their operations in the US.

[AwesomO]

57 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

Sorry, that's what was in my mind and I got them backwards.  What I meant to say was that maybe Carnival bumped NCL out of Amber Cove, and that's why NCL has been skipping DR last minute.  

 

I mean, I'm sure it's certainly a plausible scenario, but it's not hard to look at the schedule that's even out now to see which days already have 2 Carnival ships scheduled there. My only guess, if we want to give NCL the benefit of the doubt, is that for some reason if the scheduled Carnival ship can't make it, then they can take their spot. A wait list of sorts. 

 

I'd be very curious to know if any other lines are currently having as many itinerary changes as NCL has been having lately, other than weather related changes. Could be an industry wide issue right now? I don't know. 

[AwesomO]

1 hour ago, bookbabe said:

 

 

sorry, double post.

Edited January 18, 2023 by AwesomO

[RD64]

At the end of the day just realize that with all cruise lines - but especially with NCL lately - that no ports are guaranteed. The only thing that you are guaranteed is a cruise of xx days from xxx port to xxx port.  If you go into your cruise with these expectations it will reduce the potential disappointment of booking a specific cruise because I only really wanted to go to Port YYY!

 

And don’t forget,it seems that NCL is making these changes to save the environment - not for any cost savings issues.

Edited January 19, 2023 by RD64

[Sugar Magnolia]

1 hour ago, RD64 said:

And don’t forget,it seems that NCL is making these changes to save the environment - not for any cost savings issues.

 

Sometimes I don't know whether you guys are being facetious.

 

[kelib]

23 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

 

 

And looking at Travelling2Some's cruise, they are taking a one way Panama Canal trip in which they have lost Costa Rica for safety reasons according to NCL and won't be able to see the locks in action from land in Panama because they are docking in Panama at 4 pm.   I don't mean to pour salt in their wounds but honestly it strikes me that they are left with a less interesting itinerary than the 10 day Princess partial transit Panama Canal.  And since people on the East coast  are dealing with flying back from LA it seems pretty unfair to leave them with a cruise that is less interesting than one that is much easier logistically after final payment deadline.  

 

 

I am also on the 1/27 Bliss cruise, and to say the lease that I am very unhappy with the changes they made basically 3 1/2 months in advance with zero explanation. We just got excursions for some of the ports very recently.

There has also been a reach out to the Bliss to arrange a Meet & Greet with well over 100 attendees with no reply. 
We don’t even know if we will be able to step off the ship in Panama, and sounds like a total debacle in regards to the embarkation process in LA.

 

I will have fun on the cruise because of the people I meet, but I can do that on any cruise line.

 

Basically they have made what for many has been a bucket list trip, and turned it into a solo cup. 

[Sugar Magnolia]

6 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

PS - No single supplements either!!

 

This starts my heart pounding.

 

[PATRLR]

10 hours ago, RD64 said:

And don’t forget,it seems that NCL is making these changes to save the environment - not for any cost savings issues.

I don't know if you are stating this because you believe it to be true, but, despite what they say I do not believe NCL is making these changes to "save the environment".  I have no doubt they are motivated only by cost savings.

[CILCIANRQTS]

11 hours ago, RD64 said:

At the end of the day just realize that with all cruise lines - but especially with NCL lately - that no ports are guaranteed. The only thing that you are guaranteed is a cruise of xx days from xxx port to xxx port.  If you go into your cruise with these expectations it will reduce the potential disappointment of booking a specific cruise because I only really wanted to go to Port YYY!

 

And don’t forget,it seems that NCL is making these changes to save the environment - not for any cost savings issues.

Yeah, that’s how most people book cruises - I don’t care about the itinerary, just give me a cruise of xx days from xxx port to xxx port…🙄

[eileeshb]

On 1/18/2023 at 3:32 AM, Travelling2Some said:

We are about to make final payment on a  Baltics itinerary.  If they pull the rug out from underneath us again after final payment we will be canceling our other three booked cruises after that.  We book primarily for the ports.  There is much we like about NCL but if they cannot deliver the itineraries we book we cannot continue to trust them with our precious vacation days and money.  They need to get the message that disrupted itineraries are a very big deal.

I haven't looked at the Baltics itineraries lately but there are 2 ports with issues when there's high winds and one of those is/was an embarkation port so they have to wait for the winds to behave instead of skipping it which can lead to the next port stop getting shortened or skipped. 

[wcook]

19 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The Government of The Bahamas where the ships are registered? 

Tough regulators those Bahamians.