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

[amygutman]

It makes you not want to pay that final payment or book flights / hotels until literally the last moment. We love NCL...honestly, it's our favorite cruise line but admittedly it's because we are "Haven-ites". We live for our cruises to be spoiled with on our floating hotel suites in cool locations as a family.

 

However, we have been rather anxious lately seeing two of the ships / itineraries we booked in the coming years change suddenly for what appears to the general public as arbitrary. We are on the Spirit in June 2025 Alaska-Hawaii and the Epic Nov 2024 for a Transatlantic. Both fit gaps in our schedules and both are on our bucket lists. We haven't booked hotels or flights, but it could just as easily be our upcoming Sept Encore Alaska cruise that we booked in 2021, fully paid, crazy shift changes to accommodate travel for ourselves and friends from Bermuda and England, and has been a source of happiness planning and dreaming for years. We would be devastated to have to rebook because it just could not happen.

 

Just like anyone cruising, we work OT, give up other luxuries, and save for years for these vacations and although neither cancelled sailing affects our vacations personally personally, we are so upset seeing how many people are affected. 

 

I'd love to actually see what financial or publicity impacts these cancellations have, both direct and indirect, on future cruise bookings. 

 

Warmest, Amy

 

 

[brookie848]

I'm assuming if you have non-NCL insurance it will cover the flights? We're booked for next year on the Viva and already have our trip down and hotel booked. We estimated the cost for the flights when we got the insurance.

[bassmaster150]

Not sure if this helps, but we were determined to go on this cruise…and it disappeared…we are still going to med for Christmas.  MSC Poesia is there and we are on Dec26-Jan5 out of Genoa.  I know it’s not NCL, but if you have already booked flights and stuff…maybe you can just incur change fee and adjust to another line.  Just a thought.  We have never sailed MSC before so this will be a first for us.

[SakeDad]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

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. 

That's not what this says....it says ALL SAILINGS for 4 months.

.."Norwegian Epic's sailings from December 1, 2023, through and including April 9, 2024, have been canceled"

[cruisincuzz]

Would someone be good enough to clarify some things for a relative newbie?  December 1 was to be our fifth cruise and our first on NCL.  Needless to say, we have never encountered anything like this before so I have some questions:

1.  Am I allowed to book a cruise that takes place before December 1?  Because we are retired and every day is pretty much the same to us.  

2.  Am I allowed to book a new cruise now and apply the 20% discount on June 1 or do I have to wait until then to book another cruise in order to use the discount?

3.  I purchased airfare through NCL but it had not been arranged yet.  All I have paid to this point is the deposit.  Will I get the entire deposit back or will some of that go to the airline?

4.  Will we get the same perks as were offered for the cruise we originally booked, specifically 2-for-1 airfares, transfers, free at sea offers?

 

My apologies if these questions seem stupid, but I thought the wording of their letter could have made things a lot clearer.  TIA.

[SakeDad]

30 minutes ago, cruisincuzz said:

Would someone be good enough to clarify some things for a relative newbie?  December 1 was to be our fifth cruise and our first on NCL.  Needless to say, we have never encountered anything like this before so I have some questions:

1.  Am I allowed to book a cruise that takes place before December 1?  Because we are retired and every day is pretty much the same to us.  

2.  Am I allowed to book a new cruise now and apply the 20% discount on June 1 or do I have to wait until then to book another cruise in order to use the discount?

3.  I purchased airfare through NCL but it had not been arranged yet.  All I have paid to this point is the deposit.  Will I get the entire deposit back or will some of that go to the airline?

4.  Will we get the same perks as were offered for the cruise we originally booked, specifically 2-for-1 airfares, transfers, free at sea offers?

 

My apologies if these questions seem stupid, but I thought the wording of their letter could have made things a lot clearer.  TIA.

Not stupid at all!!! I am sure many will have the same and others will give answers. But you should contact NCL (or your travel agent if used) directly to get the best answers

 

[insidecabin]

Not effected by the Spirit and Epic redeploy but will be interested where they end up.

 

There is an over capacity problem in some areas

I can see pulling Spirit from Alaska, 2023  late booking almost giving the cruises away there are so many choices.

 

As UK we have very limited choice for no fly or short flight winter warm

 

I think the Sun did ok with there 22/23 winter season judging by the late prices, the early prices were good as it was late change, ship seemed to be pretty full at sailing time

 

Maybe Epic was too big a jump and not enough of a push to UK/EU market to fill that capacity

 

Look at MSC they push hard to UK  

Nailed the winter norther Europe with a ship doing 7n round trips multi embark at sensible price for 2 years now, they slip in a long(21n) trip to the canaries in Jan which also does well.

 

They spotted a gap as no one else really did this and done ok, loads of new to cruising passengers,  keeps a ship busy.  

 

None of this 50% of rubbish, priced to sell daily service/grats included,   they were running that ship Virtuosa(4842/6334 Max) with 3.5-4.5k most dates then maxing out 6k+ with the kids  for the holidays, good solo rates and reasonable drinks package help capture the wide market demographic.

 

They are even putting their newest ship on the route 23/24

 

In the summer they home port Southampton and make the ship more suitable for UK market, also no service on the PAYG drinkers, price on the menu is the price you pay.

 

NCL could pinch some ideas to become more attractive to brits if looking for somewhere to put a spare ship.

 

NCL current deployment around UK/North are getting good late discounts, one issue is a lot of the cruises are open jaw so even locals need a flight and get hit with the availability/cost issue.

 

 

 

 

 

[dexddd]

12 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??

Wait, maybe they just have the foresight to see another industry shutdown?

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, brookie848 said:

I'm assuming if you have non-NCL insurance it will cover the flights? We're booked for next year on the Viva and already have our trip down and hotel booked. We estimated the cost for the flights when we got the insurance.

If you get a travel credit, your insurance won’t pay a penny. Not many fares are non refundable / non changeable. 

[dexddd]

12 hours ago, mking8288 said:

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 ... 

Wait, what?  FDR has only been gone a couple of months and they reverted from the never discount stance?

 

I haven't really followed the Alaska market other than the kroozcams this year and in the back of my mind it seems they have a lot of ships up there this year.

[insidecabin]

14 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Wait, what?  FDR has only been gone a couple of months and they reverted from the never discount stance?

 

I haven't really followed the Alaska market other than the kroozcams this year and in the back of my mind it seems they have a lot of ships up there this year.

 

there was always discounting just hidden in promo like airfare credits

out total on one cruise went down adding the Air.

 

What seems to be happening on some cruises is they are using the upgrade bidding to offer discounts on the higher levels.

Our min bid from inside to balcony was very low against price difference and max bit was around the current prices.

 

once they start the upgrade they then nock out the Insides and OV and very low rates.

 

A Spirit inside in the UK(no solo sup)  £319.55 and that includes £172 taxes

Making base cruise £21/day

Edited May 25, 2023 by insidecabin

[JandC_Cruising]

6 hours ago, cruisincuzz said:

Would someone be good enough to clarify some things for a relative newbie?  December 1 was to be our fifth cruise and our first on NCL.  Needless to say, we have never encountered anything like this before so I have some questions:

1.  Am I allowed to book a cruise that takes place before December 1?  Because we are retired and every day is pretty much the same to us.  

2.  Am I allowed to book a new cruise now and apply the 20% discount on June 1 or do I have to wait until then to book another cruise in order to use the discount?

3.  I purchased airfare through NCL but it had not been arranged yet.  All I have paid to this point is the deposit.  Will I get the entire deposit back or will some of that go to the airline?

4.  Will we get the same perks as were offered for the cruise we originally booked, specifically 2-for-1 airfares, transfers, free at sea offers?

 

My apologies if these questions seem stupid, but I thought the wording of their letter could have made things a lot clearer.  TIA.

Assuming you received the same letter as the OP:

1.  I assume you are asking about booking a "European" cruise before December 1st and use the 20% discount.  If so, YES....You can choose a November 2023 European Cruise (for example).

2.  According to the letter, you will receive your 20% discount coupon on June 1st.  Based on my experience, you will need to wait to book until that date so that you have the discount in your Latitude's Account so it can be applied to a cruise you book (Any European Cruise from that point until April 30th 2024 - per the letter)

3.  No issue, NCL did not buy your airfare yet (and you have only paid your deposit).  For you (in USA) The deposit is fully refundable and will go back to your original form of payment, again per the letter provide.  

4. The perks you receive on any newly booked cruise will be those which are in effect at the time of that new booking...None of your "old promo's" transfer to a new booking.  So, if you pick a cruise that is currently offering the 2-for-1 air for example, you will be able to select that.

 

Hope that helps with some clarification.   

[di T]

15 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

European cruises between now and December?

 

11 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

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. 

Epic was too big a ship for the Canary Islands cruises. But it’s a great location for us for some warm weather in winter will see who else is doing those ports at that time of year! I won’t be booking between now and December for Europe as I’ve three cruises booked before the end of the year. There’s only one of interest in April but might just take the refund. Flights are no good on the cancelled cruise so will loose that money no doubt.

[di T]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

If you get a travel credit, your insurance won’t pay a penny. Not many fares are non refundable / non changeable. 

Bird, in the UK most of these flights are non refundable I was on the phone today to one of our airlines and they said we would get 1 euro back! Or we could change at a cost of £100 per person. 

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, di T said:

Bird, in the UK most of these flights are non refundable I was on the phone today to one of our airlines and they said we would get 1 euro back! Or we could change at a cost of £100 per person. 

So... @BirdTravels was correct. For 100 macaroni's you can change your ticket. That's a lot better than losing the entire fare.

[di T]

50 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

So... @BirdTravels was correct. For 100 macaroni's you can change your ticket. That's a lot better than losing the entire fare.

True, but that’s one way flights so might half the fare to Europe next time I book. This is short budget no frills flights.

[MSUjohn]

well i was going to book the "Venice" to Lisbon cruise that covered christmas and new years. good thing i did not book flights.

[cruisincuzz]

4 hours ago, JandC_Cruising said:

Assuming you received the same letter as the OP:

1.  I assume you are asking about booking a "European" cruise before December 1st and use the 20% discount.  If so, YES....You can choose a November 2023 European Cruise (for example).

2.  According to the letter, you will receive your 20% discount coupon on June 1st.  Based on my experience, you will need to wait to book until that date so that you have the discount in your Latitude's Account so it can be applied to a cruise you book (Any European Cruise from that point until April 30th 2024 - per the letter)

3.  No issue, NCL did not buy your airfare yet (and you have only paid your deposit).  For you (in USA) The deposit is fully refundable and will go back to your original form of payment, again per the letter provide.  

4. The perks you receive on any newly booked cruise will be those which are in effect at the time of that new booking...None of your "old promo's" transfer to a new booking.  So, if you pick a cruise that is currently offering the 2-for-1 air for example, you will be able to select that.

 

Hope that helps with some clarification.   

Absolutely!  Thank you so much!

[itsnotjustme]

Sorry to everyone this happened to.

 

I understand it is not easy to make short notice plans and using the 20% FCC may be difficult.  A more flexible credit (locations and dates) would have been better compensation.

 

It's not like the ship hit an iceberg, NCL chose to cancel the sailings.

[Go2SeaTheWorld]

It took some time to sort through everything, but we were able to book on the Nov 20-Dec1 sailing, just the reverse of our OG "Rome to Haifa" on the Epic. The 20% off made a huge difference & even saved a bit rescheduling our flights. Now keeping fingers crossed that nothing more happens.

[BirdTravels]

On 5/24/2023 at 10:20 PM, SakeDad said:

That's not what this says....it says ALL SAILINGS for 4 months.

.."Norwegian Epic's sailings from December 1, 2023, through and including April 9, 2024, have been canceled"

That's what it means. All of the itineraries during that period are cancelled. They were not selling and were dumped. NCL won't to operate the ship at a consistent loss. And they have to be pretty full to make the ship profitable. The ship will be rescheduled somewhere where it will make $$$.

Edited May 26, 2023 by BirdTravels

[insidecabin]

1 minute ago, BirdTravels said:

That's what it means. All of the itineraries during that period are cancelled. They were not selling and were dumped. They can't afford to operate the ship at a loss. And they have to be pretty full to make the ship profitable. 

I think they can probably run the ships at a profit just not enough to cover the overheads of the business and debt.

 

How much a cruise passenger day do they need just to pay the executive?

 

Where can  it go that will make more money?

[BirdTravels]

On 5/25/2023 at 11:50 AM, di T said:

True, but that’s one way flights so might half the fare to Europe next time I book. This is short budget no frills flights.

My point was that an insurance company will not reimburse you for a full fare ticket if the airline gives you back the fare as a credit. You could, possibly, get the change fee reimbursed as a claim, but you would have to have booked another flight and have a receipt that shows the change fee. 

[room with a view]

On 5/25/2023 at 2:16 AM, BirdTravels said:

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. 

There is interest to cruise the Med Christmas/New Year .

The Spirit did several before it was moved after refit . The Sun was sold out last year for Christmas/New Year and when we booked the Epic there was limited availability for balcony cabins on 10/11 and 12.

 

The Canaries are warm and sunny (shorts and t shirt weather )...so I don't think it is lack of interest.

[ChiefMateJRK]

5 minutes ago, room with a view said:

There is interest to cruise the Med Christmas/New Year .

I doubt the cruise lines have any problems selling out Christmas/New Year cruises.  It's all the other sailings that apparently have been slow to book.