Pride of America cancelled for May

[Mitina]

Just received word that sailings from May 3, through and including May 24, 2025, have been cancelled.  Just booked this itinerary last month and NCL drops this on us.   Supposedly for ‘routine maintenance’ during a peak sailing month?  We have air and private excursions booked and NCL is unapologetic, unless you consider a discount voucher worthwhile.  They had to have known about this last month.

 

We would have been first time NCL cruising and had booked a suite, but considering the difficulty in booking, pricey excursions, and nickel and diming 

add-ons, we won’t consider them again.  I know NCL has its fans, but we’ll stick with a more transparent cruise line like our usual Viking sailings.

[hallux]

45 minutes ago, Mitina said:

 They had to have known about this last month.

If the ship is going to drydock, which is a distinct possibility with that amount of time, they don't always know the EXACT dates they can get the dock for.  You just happened to book just before they got the schedule from the shipyard.

 

43 minutes ago, Mitina said:

but we’ll stick with a more transparent cruise line like our usual Viking sailings.

Hate to tell you - Viking is going to do the same thing with their ships, you just haven't run into it yet.

 

[graphicguy]

Sailing is 8-9 months out.  That far out, it's hard to tell.  Maybe a dry dock.  Maybe an issue that cropped up with the ports.

 

That far out, excursions can easily be cancelled as can flights!

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

That far out, excursions can easily be cancelled as can flights!

I just started looking at Iceland flights next year.  The booking options, direct with the airline, give me a headache.  The lowest option is absolutely no refund, no credit if cancelled.  Then you move up to no refund, but credit.  Then refundable.  I'll likely go with option b, since we all know that "stuff" happens.

[Seas2mountains]

Cruises have been canceled as late as the day of the cruise across different cruise lines for a variety of reasons. Hurricanes, fires, wars, maintenance issues, floods, droughts, full ship charters, port closures, financial reasons and more have been reasons why cruise sailings or itineraries will be modified or canceled. 
 

We are on the POA in 30 days. I know it is possible that we may get a cruise port modification or if there is something that goes horribly wrong with the ship, it could get canceled. We would be disappointed but would deal with coming up with a Plan B which would probably be a land vacation. 
 

That is why it is a good idea to get insurance as soon as you pay for any items that are not refundable. 
 

With the amount of notice you were given, I can understand it is disappointing but it isn’t a crisis. This happens. Kids I work with would tell me this is life and things happen. 
 

How is May a “peak” sailing month on POA? They are likely to choose a month where they are least impacted from a profitability perspective. 

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I just started looking at Iceland flights next year.  The booking options, direct with the airline, give me a headache.  The lowest option is absolutely no refund, no credit if cancelled.  Then you move up to no refund, but credit.  Then refundable.  I'll likely go with option b, since we all know that "stuff" happens.

That far out, anything can happen.  So, I usually go with full refund options.

 

The closer in, the easier it is to see plans becoming more concrete so am willing to take a little bit more of a chance on non-refundable flights.  Plus, insurance covers most of any flight issues if something would be canceled by the cruise line.

Edited August 21 by graphicguy

[chengkp75]

Yes, it will be a dry dock.  While POA apparently completed a bottom survey in April of this year, that didn't align with the main class certificate survey date (maybe offset due to Covid shutdown, and may also have been an underwater survey) (and this was done in Pearl Harbor and was a 42 hour long docking, very unusual), so the DNV main class survey, which is essentially a renewal of all class certificates (machinery, hull, safety construction, automation, load line, etc, etc) is due between Mar 2025 and Jun 2025.  So, it appears they got a dry dock slot in May.  This involves taking thickness measurements of hull plating all around the ship, so it has to be out of the water to do this.

 

And, yes, all cruise lines will do this, as dry dock time has to be booked long in advance, and you take what comes up, when it comes up, so they likely only got notification of the dry dock availability a day or two before you received the email.  They knew it had to be in the Mar - Jun timeframe, but wouldn't cancel any cruises until a definite date was set.

[www3traveler]

6 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Yes, it will be a dry dock.  While POA apparently completed a bottom survey in April of this year, that didn't align with the main class certificate survey date (maybe offset due to Covid shutdown, and may also have been an underwater survey) (and this was done in Pearl Harbor and was a 42 hour long docking, very unusual), so the DNV main class survey, which is essentially a renewal of all class certificates (machinery, hull, safety construction, automation, load line, etc, etc) is due between Mar 2025 and Jun 2025.  So, it appears they got a dry dock slot in May.  This involves taking thickness measurements of hull plating all around the ship, so it has to be out of the water to do this.

 

And, yes, all cruise lines will do this, as dry dock time has to be booked long in advance, and you take what comes up, when it comes up, so they likely only got notification of the dry dock availability a day or two before you received the email.  They knew it had to be in the Mar - Jun timeframe, but wouldn't cancel any cruises until a definite date was set.

Thank You Chief   Very informative as always.

 

I hope all is as well as possible in your world.

[ronrythm]

Every thing in Hawai’i is pricey. The excursions on NCL are just representative of the general higher cost of doing business there. Everything has to be shipped in. I’m going on POA in November and members of my group were complaining about the prices. I showed them the price of a gallon of milk at one of the grocery on Oahu. The general consensus was it was 4 times as expensive as the local prices for members of the group. End of complaining about prices.

[Panhandle Couple]

At worst, the OP can use their airline tickets, use the $$ saved from not cruising, and doing a land vaca instead.  They might only get to Oahu and the Big Island (or Maui), but if they look around at air BNB or VRBO, they could get a nice place for a few days on both.

 

Having done both land and cruise, you can't really go wrong with either.  You do get to see a few more things with the cruise, at the expense of beach time and luaus. 

[julig22]

3 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I just started looking at Iceland flights next year.  The booking options, direct with the airline, give me a headache.  The lowest option is absolutely no refund, no credit if cancelled.  Then you move up to no refund, but credit.  Then refundable.  I'll likely go with option b, since we all know that "stuff" happens.

One reason I always put the BOGO offer on any cruise I book - it at least locks in that price, I can always cancel it if I find a better price before final payment is due. But I also know that IcelandAir will fly direct to Reykjavik from the west coast, so it's mostly just a matter of whether I fly to Seattle or LAX if I stick to the NCL flights.

But no worries about my airfare if the cruise is cancelled, delayed, etc.

[hallux]

Thank you @chengkp75 I considered tagging you for your expertise but I thought maybe my brief explanation was enough for the OP.  I did some searching before posting but I couldn't find the detailed info you posted.

 

Regarding the 42 hour docking in April - wasn't there a propulsion issue then and they had to take her in to make a quick repair?

[chengkp75]

3 minutes ago, hallux said:

Thank you @chengkp75 I considered tagging you for your expertise but I thought maybe my brief explanation was enough for the OP.  I did some searching before posting but I couldn't find the detailed info you posted.

 

Regarding the 42 hour docking in April - wasn't there a propulsion issue then and they had to take her in to make a quick repair?

I don't do notifications, so not to worry.  For dry dock dates, I go to the DNV register database (for NCL ships) and look for the "bottom survey" dates.  I wanted to know where POA did her last docking, to see where she might go next time, and that is when I found the April info.  Not sure if it was a pod issue, but that makes sense.  New dry dock in Pearl should make more availability for commercial ships.

[Middleager]

When cruising, "ship" can happen.  So yes, OP can consider doing land vacation.  And BTW, for many resorts, for Hawaii high season is any time.

 

We were just in Hawaii, and prices have gone way up.  Hotels, food, excursions.  Many hotels tag on "resort fee", so even for point redemption, our Marriott Waikiki tag on US$50/day of resort fees, ouch.

[BunnyHutt]

3 hours ago, ronrythm said:

Every thing in Hawai’i is pricey. The excursions on NCL are just representative of the general higher cost of doing business there. Everything has to be shipped in. I’m going on POA in November and members of my group were complaining about the prices. I showed them the price of a gallon of milk at one of the grocery on Oahu. The general consensus was it was 4 times as expensive as the local prices for members of the group. End of complaining about prices.

However, we learned back in April that you can still get a hot dog/soda combo for $1.50 at Costco. 😆

[ronrythm]

23 minutes ago, BunnyHutt said:

However, we learned back in April that you can still get a hot dog/soda combo for $1.50 at Costco. 😆

If you can get a space in the parking lot! I thought California Costcos were busy. Oahu, wow!

[Pookie2u]

I recently had the same thing happen to me on another cruise line for a European cruise.  How they handled it was they booked me on another cruise with different date in a different region of Europe.  Unfortunately, it did not fit with my schedule and I cancelled.  No cruise credit.  My benefit was I got my money back.  LOL.  I took that money and cashed in some credit card points and now I'm staying in a swanky Venice hotel instead.  I'm already over my disappointment and planning my new, improved journey.  Traveling is about adventure, planning and pivoting is part of it.  I'm pretty sure you can muster up some way to enjoy Hawai'i since you already have your flights.  Have a safe and happy vacation.

[Panhandle Couple]

6 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Yes, it will be a dry dock.  While POA apparently completed a bottom survey in April of this year, that didn't align with the main class certificate survey date (maybe offset due to Covid shutdown, and may also have been an underwater survey) (and this was done in Pearl Harbor and was a 42 hour long docking, very unusual), so the DNV main class survey, which is essentially a renewal of all class certificates (machinery, hull, safety construction, automation, load line, etc, etc) is due between Mar 2025 and Jun 2025.  So, it appears they got a dry dock slot in May.  This involves taking thickness measurements of hull plating all around the ship, so it has to be out of the water to do this.

 

And, yes, all cruise lines will do this, as dry dock time has to be booked long in advance, and you take what comes up, when it comes up, so they likely only got notification of the dry dock availability a day or two before you received the email.  They knew it had to be in the Mar - Jun timeframe, but wouldn't cancel any cruises until a definite date was set.

Are you sure all cruise lines do this?

I would bet "yes".

There are similarities.

 

 

 

 

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, BunnyHutt said:

However, we learned back in April that you can still get a hot dog/soda combo for $1.50 at Costco. 😆

Not sure that I would go all the way to Hawaii for a Costco hot dog

[BirdTravels]

7 hours ago, ronrythm said:

Every thing in Hawai’i is pricey. Everything has to be shipped in. I’m going on POA in November and members of my group were complaining about the prices. I showed them the price of a gallon of milk at one of the grocery on Oahu. The general consensus was it was 4 times as expensive as the local prices for members of the group. End of complaining about prices.

 

The pricing is what the economy will tolerate. Back in the days when sugar was refined in Hawaii, a 5 lb bag of sugar in Hawaii (straight from the bagging line) was much more expensive than the same bag sold in Orange county (after being shipped there). Same was true of pineapple (which was canned near where the Iwilei Costco is). 

[Middleager]

27 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Not sure that I would go all the way to Hawaii for a Costco hot dog

Oh, but you'll get a Hawaiian hot dog !!

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The pricing is what the economy will tolerate. Back in the days when sugar was refined in Hawaii, a 5 lb bag of sugar in Hawaii (straight from the bagging line) was much more expensive than the same bag sold in Orange county (after being shipped there). Same was true of pineapple (which was canned near where the Iwilei Costco is). 

How much or the retail price of an item in a HI store is comprised of the cost of the raw materials?  Labor?  Overhead?  Profit in a very limited market?  How many bags did that store in Orange County sell monthly vs. that store in Hawaii?  Pricing is certainly NOT based upon what "the economy" will tolerate.  Was there only one store in Hawaii selling sugar?  That would be weird.

[Laszlo]

15 hours ago, ronrythm said:

Every thing in Hawai’i is pricey. The excursions on NCL are just representative of the general higher cost of doing business there. Everything has to be shipped in. I’m going on POA in November and members of my group were complaining about the prices. I showed them the price of a gallon of milk at one of the grocery on Oahu. The general consensus was it was 4 times as expensive as the local prices for members of the group. End of complaining about prices.

If they think Hawaii is pricey have them check out Bermuda. My wife and I were there in June on the Gem. Rented a boat one day, filled up at the end of the rental and it was $11 a gallon

[1025cruise]

Presuming NCL refunded whatever money you paid them for the cruise, they have made you whole. They aren't responsible for your other expenses. Perhaps your travel insurance will cover these costs?

[ChiefMateJRK]

(oops - wrong thread)

Edited August 22 by ChiefMateJRK