NCL cancels Epic sailings from 12.1.2023 to 4.9.2024 for "Fleet Redeployment"

[mpk]

Just got the email.

 

This stinks...  I have hotel, flights, etc. all lined up.  I will incur at least flight penalties, not to mention points stuck with an airline I don't normally fly 😞

 

 

 

Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners,

On behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line, thank you very much for your loyalty and for making us your vacation of choice. We have important information regarding your upcoming sailing onboard Norwegian Epic. We ask that travel advisors please share this update with impacted guests.

As a company, we are committed to providing exceptional vacation experiences, both aboard our ships and by taking our guests to some of the most sought-out destinations around the world. As a result of a fleet redeployment, Norwegian Epic's sailings from December 1, 2023, through and including April 9, 2024, have been canceled. We understand the desire to travel now more than ever, so we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

A full monetary refund of the fare paid will be automatically returned to the form of payment provided at the time of reservation. No further action is required; your refund will be automatically processed within 30 business days. You will see the refund returned to the original form of payment seven to 10 business days from the processed date. The visibility of the funds is dependent on each financial institution's internal policies.

For those reservations paid via a previously issued Future Cruise Credit (FCC), 100% of the FCC used will be automatically re-applied to your Latitudes account within 10 days of the cancelation date. No further action is required.

As a token of our appreciation, we have issued a 20% discount in the form of a FCC which can be applied towards any of our published European sailings through and including April 30, 2024. The FCC will be available for use on June 1, 2023.

In addition, all guests will receive a 10% discount in the form of a FCC for another future voyage. This credit may be used by and applied towards any of our published sailings through December 31, 2024 and will be available for use on June 1, 2023. Please note that the 10% and abovementioned 20% offers are not combinable.

Our dedicated team is available to help you rebook your dream vacation when you are ready. Please contact us at 1-800-327-7030 or your travel professional to get started. Guests residing outside of the U.S. or Canada should visit www.ncl.com for local contact information.

We sincerely appreciate your understanding and look forward to welcoming you aboard very soon.

Sincerely,

Norwegian Cruise Line

Edited May 24, 2023 by mpk

[All-ready2cruise]

Wow, that's really awful. Sorry you're having to go thru this.  

[All-ready2cruise]

I wonder if there'll be other cancellations... I don't mean just Epic

[di T]

Yea just got the email! Flights, hotels etc. all booked and flights will be non refundable.Hope travel insurance will come through! This is third time we have had this over the years though not before with NCL

[mpk]

8 minutes ago, di T said:

Yea just got the email! Flights, hotels etc. all booked and flights will be non refundable.Hope travel insurance will come through! This is third time we have had this over the years though not before with NCL

 

We had half a dozen cancels during the pandemic.  Brings back bad memories of having to unwind travel.  In my case, travel insurance won't do anything for the points I transferred to an airline I usually don't fly for the Epic embark port we were on.  Those points are stuck now.

[CruiseMH]

If it is for fleet redeployment it is very likely that simply another ship will takeover the itinerary. So to avoid an insane amount of rebookings, NCL decided to cancel all sailings in general.

So if i were you i would wait with cancelling the flights cause there is a realistic chance that the itinerary will be offered by another ship soon.

Maybe not on the exact same dates but at least same region.

 

[dbrown84]

I wonder what they will do with cruise next certs that were valid at booking but have now expired 

[luv2kroooz]

25 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

I wonder what they will do with cruise next certs that were valid at booking but have now expired 

Cmon, this is NCL. They won't do anything. NCL will treat them unused, expired, and worthless for your convenience.

[Adventure Awaits Me]

2 hours ago, mpk said:

As a token of our appreciation, we have issued a 20% discount in the form of a FCC which can be applied towards any of our published European sailings through and including April 30, 2024. The FCC will be available for use on June 1, 2023.

This is my favorite part.   There are no European cruises after Dec 1 BECAUSE YOU JUST CANCELED THEM, what are we supposed to use the discount on?

[di T]

This is really bad! Like most we had over two years of more than 10 cancellations due to the Pandemic lost out on non refundable flights and insurance would not cover us. Think this 20% off which expires in April next year is a joke! I have all this year booked up with cruises and land trips, unless they get a ship to do the exact same 12 night Lisbon to Rome on the same dates we have lost a lot of money for airfare.At least the hotels before and after are free cancellation. Going to speak with the insurance tomorrow.

[FLAHAM]

1 hour ago, dbrown84 said:

I wonder what they will do with cruise next certs that were valid at booking but have now expired 

Had this exact situation.  My PCC got the cert extended for a year with a 5 minute phone call.

[luv2kroooz]

1 hour ago, Adventure Awaits Me said:

This is my favorite part.   There are no European cruises after Dec 1 BECAUSE YOU JUST CANCELED THEM, what are we supposed to use the discount on?

They did something similar with Spirit 2024 Alaska. They gave a full monetary refund, duh, obviously, since they cancelled. Then they offered a 50% discount on a future  cruise...but here's the kicker....they made the discount valid on certain 2023 Alaska cruises which are currently woefully undersold. So, they cancelled a 2024 cruise but offered a discount on a 2023 sailing. Many people have already made their plans for 2023. Then they threw in some token 10% discount on a 2024 cruise for our convenience. The two discounts are not combinable, so you'd have to book two cruises between May 2023 and December 2024. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by luv2kroooz

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, Adventure Awaits Me said:

This is my favorite part.   There are no European cruises after Dec 1 BECAUSE YOU JUST CANCELED THEM, what are we supposed to use the discount on?

European cruises between now and December?

[Go2SeaTheWorld]

4 hours ago, mpk said:

Just got the email.

 

This stinks...  I have hotel, flights, etc. all lined up.  I will incur at least flight penalties, not to mention points stuck with an airline I don't normally fly 😞

 

 

 

Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners,

On behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line, thank you very much for your loyalty and for making us your vacation of choice. We have important information regarding your upcoming sailing onboard Norwegian Epic. We ask that travel advisors please share this update with impacted guests.

As a company, we are committed to providing exceptional vacation experiences, both aboard our ships and by taking our guests to some of the most sought-out destinations around the world. As a result of a fleet redeployment, Norwegian Epic's sailings from December 1, 2023, through and including April 9, 2024, have been canceled. We understand the desire to travel now more than ever, so we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

A full monetary refund of the fare paid will be automatically returned to the form of payment provided at the time of reservation. No further action is required; your refund will be automatically processed within 30 business days. You will see the refund returned to the original form of payment seven to 10 business days from the processed date. The visibility of the funds is dependent on each financial institution's internal policies.

For those reservations paid via a previously issued Future Cruise Credit (FCC), 100% of the FCC used will be automatically re-applied to your Latitudes account within 10 days of the cancelation date. No further action is required.


 

Had been looking forward to this trip so much & am pretty devastated it's been cancelled. The dates and the itinerary worked perfectly for our schedule. So not really an option to find another now.  Relatively new cruisers, so is a fleet redeployment usually determined only 5 months ahead? or could this just be an invented reason for cancelling cruises that may be determined to be unprofitable?

[Asawi]

1 hour ago, Adventure Awaits Me said:

This is my favorite part.   There are no European cruises after Dec 1 BECAUSE YOU JUST CANCELED THEM, what are we supposed to use the discount on?

EXACTLY!!!
 

3 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

European cruises between now and December?

 

Well, now until December isn't an option for me. That's why I booked January! February and March would have been fine as well, but not April. I will not be able to take advantage of the 20% and that sucks! My flight (that I booked just a few days ago - why o why...!) at least has som flexibilty so it's not a complete waste. Hotels I can cancel.

 

(At least one good thing came out of this: It got me, a long-time lurker to register here so I could vent! LOL! I feel so much better now.)

 

 

 

[luv2kroooz]

19 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

European cruises between now and December?

What a great suggestion. Eeezy peezy right? We will just pack up and cruise Europe within the next few months. We might even get airfare for $1,000 or $2,000. Wise up.

 

To all impacted, I am sorry you are going through this.

Edited May 24, 2023 by luv2kroooz

[mking8288]

Sorry that this is happening to those of you that booked - at least it's outside final payment for NCL, but - those non-refundable airfares, ouch !  

 

As others mentioned, take a look at the Spirt's Alaska season 2024 ... meanwhile, apparently, fire sale for Alaska 2023 with plenty of Oceanviews & Insides available on a last minute basis, sailing at 75% capacity at best with some of the "older" ships ??  

 

Crazy prices for New England/Canada this Fall here in the N.E. and dirty cheap prices on select repo sailings in the Fall (not the Viva, however)  Maybe, NCL might add another ship back to the NY for the winter runs ahead - just, saying ... 

 

I am afraid that the worst is yet to come with NCL.  I rather be proven wrong but ... 

[SakeDad]

4 months is a LONG time to redeploy anywhere in the world. Wonder if she's going into Dry Dock as well??

[ChiefMateJRK]

59 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

What a great suggestion. Eeezy peezy right? We will just pack up and cruise Europe within the next few months. We might even get airfare for $1,000 or $2,000. Wise up.

 

To all impacted, I am sorry you are going through this.

Relax.  I was just answering the poster's question.

[RD64]

Maybe now is the time for one of the frequent posters and NCL Cheerleader Supreme from one of the European drink posts - who thinks NCL can do absolutely no wrong - to step in and defend NCL to the death.

[maren91]

Any idea where she's going? Hoping it's someplace good as it's the only time I have available to travel over the holidays. So incredibly frustrated and sad. Was looking forward to this trip so much. 

[Cruise Gopher]

So is Epic just going to go back to San Juan home port for the winter?

[Viajera7]

The Viva is the one going to San Juan for the winter.

[msjackie]

Just got this email today also. I'm so so sad. I was looking forward to this itinerary. The coupon they are giving for our "inconvenience" will be effective June 1st, so I'm thinking about booking if possible before December and going this year. It was hard to wait til next year anyways! :)

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, SakeDad said:

4 months is a LONG time to redeploy anywhere in the world. Wonder if she's going into Dry Dock as well??

Redeploy means that the ship is going on another itinerary. She isn’t sitting idol for 4 months. A lot of times it means the former itinerary was undersold and they pulled the plug. Move the ship somewhere where she will make more money. 
 

Once before, they tried to keep the Epic in Europe year round. There was little interest to sail the Med during the winter and the abandoned  the idea. Sounds like it happened again. 

Edited May 25, 2023 by BirdTravels