leaveitallbehind

As long as the topic was raised I will add that with most cruise lines, you will not receive any credit or refund of the fare paid due to missed ports for the affected cruise, however they may issue some form of an on board credit or discount for a future booking.

As @mom says, plus any port fees associated with any missed port of call.

Agree!

I have never cruised with NCL but have to say that in 50+ cruises I have never heard - nor experienced - that. That just makes no sense to me. It has always been as described by myself and others on this thread. And if that is the case then that is one reason I likely will never sail with them. IMO whomever you have talked with is incorrect and I would call back to reconfirm. I would also post this question on the NCL board to get responses from other NCL cruisers to hear their experiences. Here is that link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/64-norwegian-cruise-line/

Agree. But for clarity, in either case the 2 hour guideline as questioned by the OP would not apply, as ports of call would typically have disembarkation commencing as soon as the ship has cleared immigration at the port of call, and return embarkation typically 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure, as others have said. Agree, as suggested by others, that the 2 hour guideline is, in particular, for initial departure, and final disembarkation.

I am saying that as well. If it is called a service charge then the passenger is obligated to pay it to NCL. Calling it a gratuity provides the passenger the option not to pay it to NCL. Calling it a service charge assures NCL that the money is indeed paid by the passenger. Further, NCL's own statement indicates that this service charge is a component of the applicable staffs compensation.

...and I wasn't trying to suggest changing lines, only pointing out who, IMO, has the better programs to consider. As one formerly involved with the travel industry, has the NCL air program worked well in the past and is this your first negative experience? I ask only as I want to compare opinions with my posted response. Hopefully you will still find a successful resolution.

Fortunately, no we have not, and I can't answer your specific situation other than to say IMO NCL has one of the worst air programs. While they often are inexpensive, they frequently are at inconvenient times, via connecting flights, and at the lowest cabin class, and will have itinerary changes that are not always caused by the carrier. Your situation is unacceptable. I would continue to press NCL for a correction, or at least to put you both together on the changed flight. If you booked through a TA they should be able to assist. I realize it's too late in your case but for future reference, IMO, Princess and RCCL / Celebrity have very good programs of the mass market cruise lines that offer that service. Otherwise I would book the air directly. I hope you are able to find an acceptable solution with NCL with this. Also as this specifically relates to NCL you may also want to post this on the NCL board for additional responses here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/64-norwegian-cruise-line/

Hopefully he was a good conversationalist!

Not sure from where you are determining "it's some US legal thing"? But even so, I think your assumption may not be correct, as with the exception of Pride of America, NCL ships are of Bahamas registry and would not be subject to US guidelines regarding crew compensation. From the NCL website: Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports. I'm going to take them at their word and believe that calling this a mandatory service charge assures that it is paid whereas, as mentioned before, if it is called a gratuity it becomes optional and may not be paid. IMO this also mitigates the international debates regarding gratuities and fixes those amounts as part of the cruise fare as a supplemental service charge. This is also not a debate on who gets how much, as with the standard gratuities program I'm not sure we know that either. It just seems to me to be NCL's method of assuring something is indeed paid.

But for clarity, as I understand it, most cruise lines don't take insurance on board for these charges and they need paid via credit card on board and then submitted to your insurance carrier separately, correct? Glad she is better now!

Of those islands, Uber is only in Barbados, but as @navybankerteacher points out, cabs are plentiful at each port of call. In St. Lucia look for a light blue number license plate with a TX prefix for authorized cabs. In Barbados they have a Z on their plates. Set the price with all ahead of time and if need be, arrange with your driver a return pick up. We've done that in St. Martin when we went to Yellow Beach on Pinel Island for the day.

What a State! 🤪

Mobility scooters for use on the ship can be charged on the ship, I guess by plugging the charger into the room plug? I would think the e-scooters would be charged in a similar manner.

Yes, it is a service charge - that is the language they use. My guess is that makes it mandatory and avoids non-payment of these amounts if the were called gratuities. Maybe this is the way of the cruise industry....

Yeah, Charles4525 provided that link earlier. They may be becoming common, but they must be relatively new there as they weren't there in July '22 when we were there last. The mini-car rentals had only recently entered service there then as well.

You and I are in agreement. Keep in mind that my first response was "yes" to it being OK to bring the e-scooter - LOL. At the time I was suggesting that it was OK with the cruise line to bring and it not being a prohibited item, not thinking of any Bermuda regulations. I was also thinking more of a small sit down scooter v the two wheel version. Then as the responses continued and I realized that it was a 2-wheel e-scooter, I changed my view on the whole subject to that as last stated. The rest of the responses were just my confusion in trying understand the current state there, etc. We've been to Bermuda a dozen times, at one point rented the mopeds, have seen accidents as well as knew people that were in them, but have never seen e-scooters on the road. Don't think its a very good plan to now have them included. Glad I don't have to be a taxi - or worse - bus driver there if they are on the road! Agree as well that common sense should prevail.

No challenge in this - just my confusion. I agree with you in what I always interpreted as a moped type vehicle with Bermuda - as mentioned previously. But from one of your previous posts what you said with that post (below) somewhat contradicts your current comment (above). Your previous post: Here is a link to a company renting them in Bermuda. https://www.grabawhip.com As Bermuda is extremely regulated it is valid to ask if tourists can bring their own. They might require them to be rented. You pointed out that e-scooters are now being rented in Bermuda. And this is what raised the question that as they are now renting e-scooters in Bermuda and with the post saying that non-residents must rely on rental scooters, would that not include e-scooters? Do you see my confusion? - from your own posts. Either way - if for no other reason than the lack of clear understanding - I stand by my suggestion for the OP to leave the e-scooter at home. (As well as the one wheel).

It's not that cruise lines charge you a high amount. The medical centers on the cruise lines are for emergency services and, since insurance is not taken on the ship, if someone is sick or has an on board emergency, they charge you what the service would cost if billed through insurance. Have you ever tried to get medical attention without insurance, or seen the bill for your services as submitted to the insurance companies? I don't think the ship charge is significantly higher than that. It's worth it not only as a cost deterrent but for the peace of mind knowing that you won't have thousands of $'s charged directly to you because you don't have insurance to cover it.

It is not referring just to 4-wheel vehicles. Re-read it. It also says that non residents must rely on rental scooters. Are e-scooters not considered a scooter? Aren't scooters 2-wheeled vehicles? This means, at least in my mind, that if one brings an e-scooter to the island it can't be used on the streets there - only those that are rented there. Which, as was posted before, have recently been added as rental vehicles in Bermuda. Am I missing something here?

The odds of a cruise getting canceled is very low. Odds of it being rerouted due to weather, is certainly more of a possibility. But neither of those would not be my concern. Having insurance to cover me against medical and other issues that could risk many thousands of $'s would be my priority. Having that peace of mind would go a long way towards my cruise being relaxing. Oh, and it will also cover the cruise line cancelation you are concerned about.

That certainly seems to answer that! So leave it at home. As mentioned before, I am still surprised they would now include e-scooters along with the more traditional Bermuda mopeds as rentals.

Which, although being somewhat of a high number Celebrity, is a far cry from the 1,000 or more experienced on Oasis class ships on some sailings. Although I tried, my feeble brain shut down during the confirmation count forcing me to the nearest bar........(maybe not such a terrible thing - LOL)

I think you are looking at this from to narrow a focus. Insurance - including that offered through the cruise lines - is not just to cover cancelations by the cruise line. It mainly is to cover you, with unforeseen issues prior to the cruise that my cause you to cancel as well as unforeseen issues, such as medical or other circumstances, during the cruise from that could impact you financially. Of particular importance if traveling abroad is medical coverage as most general US medical insurance may not cover you in foreign countries. Follow the advice suggested by @NotADopey1 and look into different coverage options that IMO I think all travelers - in particular if traveling internationally - should have.

First of all, as pointed out by myself and others (and as you indicate by 'free'), the NCL beverage packages are not free and have their cost buried in the base fare. It's just effective marketing language. To your other point, as one example, here is information as stated on (and copied from) the RCCL website: For most sailings, beverage package gratuities of 18% are added at final checkout and not included in the initial cost. So NCL is not alone in this practice.