Many cancellations next year

[scanr]

23 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

..but I think a mere ten percent off offer for this inconvenience is a sort of b00lsh33t. They really should be offering lift and shifts for these PLUS allowing ppl to send in claims for credit or refunds for price differences.. 

My Viva cruise 09/30/25 departing out of Israel was cancelled.  On any of these cancellations, have the replacement itineraries been published?  10% does not come close to the time and aggravation I spend researching dates and itineraries.  We travel with a party of 8.  Trying to coordinate 4 couples available times 1+ years in advance is a major challenge in itself. I wanted to return to Egypt with family and we must either embark or disembark in Istanbul to continue our vacation.  All plans down the drain.  And after 25+ cruises, always looking for exotic itinerary & medium length (10-21 days).  The biggest aggravation is the Haven Prime Suites on exotic cruises sell out MORE than 1 YEAR Out.  Now to receive the 10% discount on replacement cruise, we have to wait MORE than 1 month to book a replacement.  We are losing valuable booking time to reserve prime suites.  This must sound like a "1st World Problem" but is an issue and why cruise lines are adding more exotics because there is a demand for them.

[julig22]

32 minutes ago, scanr said:

My Viva cruise 09/30/25 departing out of Israel was cancelled.  On any of these cancellations, have the replacement itineraries been published?  10% does not come close to the time and aggravation I spend researching dates and itineraries.  We travel with a party of 8.  Trying to coordinate 4 couples available times 1+ years in advance is a major challenge in itself. I wanted to return to Egypt with family and we must either embark or disembark in Istanbul to continue our vacation.  All plans down the drain.  And after 25+ cruises, always looking for exotic itinerary & medium length (10-21 days).  The biggest aggravation is the Haven Prime Suites on exotic cruises sell out MORE than 1 YEAR Out.  Now to receive the 10% discount on replacement cruise, we have to wait MORE than 1 month to book a replacement.  We are losing valuable booking time to reserve prime suites.  This must sound like a "1st World Problem" but is an issue and why cruise lines are adding more exotics because there is a demand for them.

Why do you have to wait to book? Book now, apply the 10% when it becomes available. Assuming the cruise you want to book is more than 5 months away.

[yakcruiser]

42 minutes ago, scanr said:

My Viva cruise 09/30/25 departing out of Israel was cancelled.  On any of these cancellations, have the replacement itineraries been published?  10% does not come close to the time and aggravation I spend researching dates and itineraries.  We travel with a party of 8.  Trying to coordinate 4 couples available times 1+ years in advance is a major challenge in itself. I wanted to return to Egypt with family and we must either embark or disembark in Istanbul to continue our vacation.  All plans down the drain.  And after 25+ cruises, always looking for exotic itinerary & medium length (10-21 days).  The biggest aggravation is the Haven Prime Suites on exotic cruises sell out MORE than 1 YEAR Out.  Now to receive the 10% discount on replacement cruise, we have to wait MORE than 1 month to book a replacement.  We are losing valuable booking time to reserve prime suites.  This must sound like a "1st World Problem" but is an issue and why cruise lines are adding more exotics because there is a demand for them.

I do understand planning for 8 would be a pain but you must have known that any cruise embarking from Israel in the next couple of years wasn't going to happen. At least they gave you 18 months' notice.

[IAcruising]

48 minutes ago, scanr said:

My Viva cruise 09/30/25 departing out of Israel was cancelled.

 

You seem shocked, for some reason.

 

49 minutes ago, scanr said:

10% does not come close to the time and aggravation I spend researching dates and itineraries.

 

Are you overvaluing your time, perhaps? You didn't give a number, but I would have to guess that 10% of a Viva cruise to Israel isn't just a few pennies in the pocket.

 

 

[Kortehgehn]

3 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

I would have to guess that 10% of a Viva cruise to Israel isn't just a few pennies in the pocket

FWIW, that's not how those credits work; they're 10% off a future booking, not 10% of what was paid for the original cruise.  Additionally, if you don't use them within the specified timeframe, you lose them altogether.  I have never found those 10% credits to be as good as they sound; we had two from canceled sailings during COVID and never used them before they expired.

[IAcruising]

12 minutes ago, Kortehgehn said:

FWIW, that's not how those credits work; they're 10% off a future booking, not 10% of what was paid for the original cruise.

 

You are correct. My bad. In my case, my 10% off a future cruise equaled 20% of my original cruise. I was happy.

 

[scanr]

2 hours ago, IAcruising said:

 

You seem shocked, for some reason.

 

 

Are you overvaluing your time, perhaps? You didn't give a number, but I would have to guess that 10% of a Viva cruise to Israel isn't just a few pennies in the pocket.

 

 

I booked almost two years in advance, giving an extra year for hostilities to calm down.  NCL is not avoiding stopping in Israel on other cruises, only embarking.  Everyone's time is precious, as it is all we have left.  My value is thousands per hour.  It is a shame you value yours so cheaply.  At $60k, discount is only $6k, IF YOU GET TO USE IT!  There are several reports of rebooking a cancellation Costs MORE for very similar cruise.  As all the cruise lines use dynamic pricing and promotions, you don't know costs (or what promos will be in effect) until the cruise is booked.  Our group has very strict criteria and due to specific employment obligations, vacation time is very defined. Our cruise was September 29, giving only additional 90 days to pick a cruise, as discounts expire after December 31st sailing.  It would be fair if we were provided a 1 year window from original cruise date AND you are guaranteed at least the same promotions that applied to your original booking.

[scanr]

4 minutes ago, scanr said:

On any of these cruise cancellations, have the replacement itineraries been published?

This question I was originally asking is; Does anyone know how long does it usually takes after an announced cancellation before NCL publishes the replacement itinerary?  I would imagine all lines try to disembark the replacement cruise at the original last stop or they start a domino effect for multiple cruises.  Anyone have history with situation? 

[Panhandle Couple]

7 hours ago, scanr said:

I booked almost two years in advance, giving an extra year for hostilities to calm down.  NCL is not avoiding stopping in Israel on other cruises, only embarking.  Everyone's time is precious, as it is all we have left.  My value is thousands per hour.  It is a shame you value yours so cheaply.  At $60k, discount is only $6k, IF YOU GET TO USE IT!  There are several reports of rebooking a cancellation Costs MORE for very similar cruise.  As all the cruise lines use dynamic pricing and promotions, you don't know costs (or what promos will be in effect) until the cruise is booked.  Our group has very strict criteria and due to specific employment obligations, vacation time is very defined. Our cruise was September 29, giving only additional 90 days to pick a cruise, as discounts expire after December 31st sailing.  It would be fair if we were provided a 1 year window from original cruise date AND you are guaranteed at least the same promotions that applied to your original booking.

Many countries in the middle east will not let you in with an Israeli stamp on your passport. Given world politics, that number is probably growing.  This may preclude any cruise line from originating or stopping in Israel for many years.

[Kortehgehn]

1 hour ago, Panhandle Couple said:

Many countries in the middle east will not let you in with an Israeli stamp on your passport. Given world politics, that number is probably growing.  This may preclude any cruise line from originating or stopping in Israel for many years.

Israel won't typically stamp passports for this reason, and there are only nine or so countries that will routinely deny entry if there is evidence of travel to Israel.  If you have planned travel to these destinations, you can get a second US passport for situations like this.  I would say that it doesn't really affect cruise lines stopping from or departing from Israel as long as enough customers are willing to book the itinerary.

[bluesea777]

Our passports didn’t get stamped by Israel when we visited Haifa for 2 overnights while on the Spirit 4 years ago. 
 

Our passports got stamped by other countries we visited on same cruise though, not Israel. 
 

 

[IAcruising]

21 hours ago, scanr said:

My value is thousands per hour.  It is a shame you value yours so cheaply.

 

Nice puffery. The value of my time is negative. I no longer work to make money; I just spend it.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 1 by IAcruising

[HowardK]

Has there been any mention on why the Epic was cancelled? I am curious as I am going on it the following month from San Juan

[bluesea777]

1 hour ago, HowardK said:

Has there been any mention on why the Epic was cancelled? I am curious as I am going on it the following month from San Juan

 

The two cancelled Epic cruises (Nov 1 and Nov 11, 2025) were disembarking and embarking in Haifa Israel.

 

They will be substituted with new itineraries in due course.

 

Ditto with Viva's 4 cruises (two in May 2025 and two in Sept 2025).

 

See post #1.

 

 

[jamin jul]

I am booked on NCL Jade January 19,2025 Panama Canal cruise.  Booked specifically for the canal transit.  A little worried now about the cancellations.  Was suppose to do a RC Panama Canal transit this past February but it was cancelled last August. Recent reviews of the Jade are not very good  so getting a little worried about this sailing.  My price seems a little high too. Panama Canal is on my bucket list but would hate to be booked then cancelled or changed at last minute.  This is my first NCL cruise.  Usually do RC or Celebrity.   any suggestions?

[Travelling2Some]

On 3/31/2024 at 9:29 PM, bluesea777 said:

Our passports didn’t get stamped by Israel when we visited Haifa for 2 overnights while on the Spirit 4 years ago. 
 

Our passports got stamped by other countries we visited on same cruise though, not Israel. 
 

 

This.  We were given a separate piece of paper to keep in our passports during our time in Israel.  We were told not to loose it as we would need to present it on departure.  This was to avoid having our passports stamped.

[Panhandle Couple]

5 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

This.  We were given a separate piece of paper to keep in our passports during our time in Israel.  We were told not to loose it as we would need to present it on departure.  This was to avoid having our passports stamped.

Travel, and many other things returning to "the way they were before" is unlikely.

I did a lot of travel before and after 911.  In fact I was in the air trying to land in DC on the morning of 911.  We do many things differently now.

This is far worse than 911 for Israel and the surrounding countries.

[Panhandle Couple]

53 minutes ago, jamin jul said:

I am booked on NCL Jade January 19,2025 Panama Canal cruise.  Booked specifically for the canal transit.  A little worried now about the cancellations.  Was suppose to do a RC Panama Canal transit this past February but it was cancelled last August. Recent reviews of the Jade are not very good  so getting a little worried about this sailing.  My price seems a little high too. Panama Canal is on my bucket list but would hate to be booked then cancelled or changed at last minute.  This is my first NCL cruise.  Usually do RC or Celebrity.   any suggestions?

Suggest not worrying.

Since restart, NCL hasn't canceled a PC cruise.  They pay for those transit slots in advance, and also use some of them for repositioning between US coasts or Atlantic - Pacific ocean departures locations. 

 

Are you looking at the NCL board for live or semi-live reviews, or just the no comments review pages?  I would use the live or semi-live as better information.

[Travelling2Some]

10 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

Travel, and many other things returning to "the way they were before" is unlikely.

I did a lot of travel before and after 911.  In fact I was in the air trying to land in DC on the morning of 911.  We do many things differently now.

This is far worse than 911 for Israel and the surrounding countries.

Of course, but it is not possible to discuss future procedures.  We can only report experiences in the recent past.  911 was horrific for those of us in Manhattan that morning.

Edited April 2 by Travelling2Some

[Panhandle Couple]

1 minute ago, Travelling2Some said:

Of course, but it is not possible to discuss future procedures.  We can only report experiences in the recent past.

NCL and many other companies have to make a projection what will be happening and what restrictions may be in place (using their resources) for future business.  Obviously NCL (and other cruise lines) have made a decision for 2025. 

[thedarklord]

Various people on here saying some of the cancellations are due to the stops in Israel - we're booked on the Viva from Rome -> Istanbul 7th May '25 -> 18th May '25, and that one's still running at the moment, still listed on NCL's site as stopping in Haifa and Ashdod.  If they were cancelling because of Israel, I'd have thought this cruise would be on the list as well.
I notice the next sailing from Istanbul on the 18th May has been cancelled though, so perhaps our cancellation email is coming soon!

[bluesea777]

10 hours ago, thedarklord said:

Various people on here saying some of the cancellations are due to the stops in Israel - we're booked on the Viva from Rome -> Istanbul 7th May '25 -> 18th May '25, and that one's still running at the moment, still listed on NCL's site as stopping in Haifa and Ashdod.  If they were cancelling because of Israel, I'd have thought this cruise would be on the list as well.
I notice the next sailing from Istanbul on the 18th May has been cancelled though, so perhaps our cancellation email is coming soon!

 

Expect an itinerary change email from NCL (if not a cancellation one) for your May 7-18, 2025 cruise. This cruise also includes Egypt.

 

The next two cruises (May18-27 and May27-June6) disembarks & embarks in Haifa. 

 

 

[barcelonauta]

We would really like to do 2 consecutive NCL Sun Christmas cruises ( 2024 + 2025 ) through ANZ because their itineraries are quite different, but we are affraid of itinerary changes plus missing ports, which can ruin our vacation. Changes of course happen but when they impact on the original itinerary, other companies like MSC offer a full refund, while ncl claim that these changes are made for customers enhancement. So, after two attempts to cruise New Zealand with NCL, this year we will wait till October/November before re-considering to book with them. 

[Rob_H]

On 3/31/2024 at 12:13 AM, scanr said:

This question I was originally asking is; Does anyone know how long does it usually takes after an announced cancellation before NCL publishes the replacement itinerary?  I would imagine all lines try to disembark the replacement cruise at the original last stop or they start a domino effect for multiple cruises.  Anyone have history with situation? 

 

Three Norwegian Sky cruises for November 2024 were cancelled around 21 Feb 2024 (Barcelona-Haifa, Haifa-Dubai, Dubai-Mauritius).

 

The replacement cruises (which we're booked on) appeared on the website around 13 March 2024.  These are Barcelona-Lisbon, Lisbon-Cape Town, Cape Town - Mauritius which avoid not just Israel but the Red Sea as well.  

 

The Sky gets to Mauritius in time for the existing cruise to Singapore and onwards to the Asia season.  So three cruises had to be replaced to get the ship in position.

 

So, to answer your question, the replacements were announced about three weeks after the cancellations.

 

 

 

Edited April 3 by Rob_H

[scanr]

14 hours ago, Rob_H said:

 

Three Norwegian Sky cruises for November 2024 were cancelled around 21 Feb 2024 (Barcelona-Haifa, Haifa-Dubai, Dubai-Mauritius).

 

The replacement cruises (which we're booked on) appeared on the website around 13 March 2024.  These are Barcelona-Lisbon, Lisbon-Cape Town, Cape Town - Mauritius which avoid not just Israel but the Red Sea as well.  

 

The Sky gets to Mauritius in time for the existing cruise to Singapore and onwards to the Asia season.  So three cruises had to be replaced to get the ship in position.

 

So, to answer your question, the replacements were announced about three weeks after the cancellations.

 

 

 

Thank You! for the input.