littlelulu01

Here are the Deck Plans for the Joy side-by-side with the Deck Plans for the Bliss. You can see that no mater what, unless they do away with the Galaxy Pavilion, it's going to be considerably smaller.

 

Wow. Thanks for the comparisons. Can definitely see the Joy appeal for families over the Bliss but both being more appealing for families over the smaller ships. That spa is probably a deal breaker for me though.

It doesn't look like they will be adding a big spa. They have already announced there will be no Thermal Spa and the updated deck plans don't show much room for the rest of the spa amenities.

 

If they took out the foot clinic ...area? Would this make it comparable to Bliss spa? I’m sure they make quite a bit on spa passes and spa treatments with western culture passengers. Last year I was on the Jade and it was over half mainland Chinese groups. Typically the spa is pretty busy on colder weather sailings but unless the few Chinese guys with passes were in there socializing, it was oddly empty.

Where are you finding pricing already? I thought bookings for the Joy didn't open until next week?

I was originally booked on the Pearl. They sent passengers a notification earlier this week to notify us of switch over to Joy (a very nice gesture) Same or better stateroom and keep pricing and perks. So my ncl now shows my booking on the Joy vs. Pearl.

Fingers crossed they add a nice size spa. Not sure if I’d be up for sailing on a ship that big, non Haven, without a nice big spa. I’m pretty sure that the Haven is going to be out of my budget. It was pretty high priced on the Pearl Alaska.

The ports for Joy Alaska are; Seattle depart 5pm, at sea, Ketchikan 7am-3pm, Juneau 7am-1:30pm, icy Strait Point 7am-5pm, Victoria 12pm-7pm and Seattle.

I think the pricing went up a little bit over the Pearl but they could still be working with the switch over.

The spa is small - check out this

of Norwegian Joy from last September by Bob's Your Uncle - he has subtitles (which are quite amusing). I really hope they give the carpets a good clean!

 

Sandra

Excellent find. Thanks for posting.

August 2014 sailing on the Pearl rt from Seattle to Alaska. Last minute $199 pp inside stateroom. The next day the pricing went down for Washington state residents. Got the refund in obc and it paid for spa passes for daughter and I. The cruise cost less than the taxes and port fees. No flights and we mostly hiked in ports. I don’t think they do resident rates anymore. Some friends were trying to get on the Bliss last minute, family of 5 and the cost was insane.

I’m guessing the new itineraries will be available week of July 23. That’s when Ncl said they’ll get me my new stateroom for the Joy/Alaska.

The pricing and sell out on most of the sailings this season for Europe and Alaska validates the demand.

The $ investment in Port of Seattle was substantial. RT Seattle sailings bring a premium over Vancouver or the one ways. It makes sense the Pearl going to Europe and bringing the Joy to Seattle. I don’t think Ncl will have trouble filling All these ships for Europe. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed they keep most of the Jade 2019 med sailings. We have an excellent itinerary, price and perk package.

You know it's not enough demand. The thing that surprises me is how they could so badly screw up projections.

Alaska is a lucrative market. With Apollo sell off... the gaming aspect of the joy was likely not as lucrative in China. I suspected this switch after the huge success of the Bliss Alaska and rumors of the Pearl in Europe.

And Pearl booked guests will have their booking protected in at least the same or better accommodations!

That won't cover other costs such as air travel or hotel stays pre/post cruise.

(Someone else recently had a really difficult/upsetting time finding this out, when NCL cancelled the cruise, and she was out the airfare she had paid for separately.)

Not recommended.

 

GC

How true! Depending on the plan Independent insurance can pay change fees As long as you have tickets that can be changed. There’s likely independent insurance plans that will pay out for scenario that op might have. I’d make sure to read the fine print.

I contacted the insurance broker mentioned on these threads and he was an immense help. Answered on a Sunday, Good listener, asked a few?’s and then gave me some excellent suggestions. Talking to an expert in advance and reading all that fine print can be invaluable.

Insurance through the cruise line is generally about twice the price and doesn’t cover as much but in your case it might be a decent option. There’s an Ncl plan that covers I think 90% towards a future cruise. assuming you are going to cruise at a later date if this one doesn’t work out it might be a good choice. Would have to read the fine print though to make sure your situation is covered. The other bonus is that if you cancel before a penalty period I don’t think you have to pay for the Ncl cruise or Ncl insurance whereas an independent plan you would purchase and if you find out prior to final payment that you are not sailing, there’s no claim because you’re not out anything. Then you have an independent cruise insurance plan you paid for and never used. I’ve been able to have a portion of that transferred over to a new booking in the past but it’s not a gt.

There are several NCL cruises leaving that week.

There’s also evidently some lower priced alternatives on RCI and celebrity that fit dates/flights.

I didn’t realize op had another thread on the airfare subject. Canceling non refundable flights after the letter from Ncl AND after suggestions on their other thread not to do this is a set up for no flights, no cruise and lost $.

In cases like this it may be better to just plan an entire vacation, including Cruise line airfare, Cruise line insurance, ship excursions, hotel and cruise line transfers. Yes you pay a lot more but making costly self planning errors because you are unable to comprehend t&c of what you’re purchasing are somewhat negated.

Bottom line, NCL doesn't give a rats azz for their customers, their bottom line is $$$$$ and shareholders

Well they do care about upholding their brand name and customer retention. This is evidenced by the offer to pay up to $300 airline change fees and 10% off anything in their fleet. The $25 obc is an absolute joke but the other components are quite adequate for many passengers.

I would suggest op talking to the airline and see if they will issue some sort of credit for a future flight even though op evidently canceled non refundable tickets.

I know Cruise contracts are long and cumbersome but the cancelation notice was pretty clear and concise. Ncl will pay up to $300 airline change fees if passengers rebook another sailing. That clearly doesn’t equate to, “cancel your non refundable airfare and we’ll send you $300.”

Op- sorry your cruise was canceled. Frustrating for sure.

A cancellation of a cruise is extremely rare. It's probably 1 in a 1000

They are rare but the further out one books, the more likely they will encounter a cancellation.

If the cruise line, such as in this case offers up a 10% discount for anything in the fleet, most folks figure these things happen and get busy finding their next Ncl cruise. If it’s just $25 obc and the chance to pay more for an alternative, they likely won’t stick with Ncl over a $25 obc offer especially if they’re not already bound by airfare/change fees.

The few folks who get burned are those who had an awesome price, can’t find an alternative and have purchased non refundable airfare and cruise insurance. Those situations are sad to read about. Yes it’s all spelled out in the insurance and cruise line contracts but the glaring specifics are buried.

Certainly doesn’t hurt to take a few precautions when planning and budgeting for a dream vacation.

10% off ANY sailing that ncl is offering in this case is a nice gesture of good will for many passengers.

HAL devotes entire threads to their charters. ;)

There is a poster on the Hal boards who maintains a fantastic thread on dry docks, partial charters, full charters and groups onboard.

Someone on the Ncl boards tried this too.

Neither thread lists booked passengers whose sailings are canceled due to full charters, which is all that really matters. You only hear complaints when booked passengers cruises are canceled. Many charters, including those on Ncl’s Sixthman and other lines, are never in the regular booking mix.

“Hal worst for charters” taken literally = don’t use Hal if you’re interested in chartering a ship. However the way Nita used it certainly implies they are notorious for canceling booked passengers for charters and giving them less compensation than Ncl or any other line. The Hal threads don’t support this.

You are completely right, it is not common place as probably, the average cancellation for any line is a couple a year, but it is also something that does happen. As you can see from comments here made by so many, it happens. I would say you have been very lucky, I have to as a mater of fact. I have only been on one that was cancelled and it was not NCL. It was HAL which is the line with the worst reputation for chartering out their ships.

Interesting statement. How do you conclude that, “HAL is the line with the worst reputation for chartering out their ships”?

If throwing out claims one should probably be able to back them up.

Here’s a link to a cc article. It specifically references Sixthman. Sixthman is owned by Ncl. They have a very successful charter business. Likely the most successful in the business. What’s HAL’s charter division and how often do they charter? https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=760

Wow -- I've never seen $500. I am lucky because I am Delta Diamond and when I use points, I have no change fees at all. But wow, $500 is rough. NCL should cover actual change fees in that case. I can see that that it would be reasonable for them to ask for proof -- but they should still cover actual charges. Does some trip insurance cover that? We never get insurance for the flights because my status covers it, but I would hope that some insurance does cover it.

No such coverage available on any independent travel insurance plan. Travel insurance won’t cover airfare if the cruise line canceled the cruise and as a result you don’t need the airfare. Doesn’t matter if it’s 60 days out or 6 months off.

If you purchase Ncl flights and Ncl insurance it’s covered. But in that case you’re likely better off just paying for a refundable ticket. My Ncl insurance quote for next cruise is $900. Independent insurance was less than half and covered twice as much. Ncl airfare is highly restrictive so I’d likely never book it.

Not a good deal to book Delta Basic Economy, I guess! (And you won't get frequent flyer points for your next flight either, I would think.)

Basic economy gets miles. Just no seat assigned or bag check or change allowed. They make sure you know what you are purchasing. Great for short flights and a nice savings if you don’t mind middle seats.

Just to clarify- Delta change fees for international are $200-$500.

Correct -- the change fee is always separate from the fare difference. $200 is the change fee that we "agree" to when we book an airline fare. The actual fare price is completely separate and at our own risk.

Delta Basic Economy doesn’t allow any change so you book and they warn you no change allowed. It’s use as booked or lose it. Delta economy and higher will allow changes for $.

I must agree that the OBC of $25/$50 is quite an insult for our "inconvenience" but $300 per person for an airline change fee is 50% more than I'd expect. I normally fly Delta and their change fee is only $200 per ticket. Which airlines charge more than that? I recall when it was $75 for domestic changes and $150 for international changes. When Delta went to $200 for any change, it was a big difference. $300 seems way too expensive to me.

The $300 change fees are only given if incurred. In order to get the money, you have to actually be charged the amount in a change fee. So for example, two separate one way Delta tickets will incur a $400 change fee. Ncl will reimburse you $300 of the $400 if you rebooked another sailing with them and can provide proper documentation the airline did charge the change fees. They aren’t just giving everyone $300. If Delta only charged $200 change fees but your new fare is $100 more than original fare Ncl will pay the $200 in change fees and you pay the $100 extra for the new higher fare.

It's not, but there are many who will call you a liar, pillory you, and downright be rude should you say anything against their favourite line. Not just on NCL boards, but on every cruise line board.

 

You should have read the thread I was involved in regarding the cancellation of our Jade 2016 sailing back in 2015. Despite providing evidence, I was told by so called cheerleaders that I could not have booked flights for the cancelled cruise, that 'there's more to this story' than I was reporting, and that I was basically lying.

 

All I was doing was trying to get NCL to pay up. At first NCL said they would pay for our cancelled flights (luckily less than $300 pp) but then they rescinded the offer, despite 2 NCL employees having previously confirmed in writing that they would pay.

 

In short the cheerleaders on this board were extremely rude and it put us of NCL for 3 years!

 

So it's not surprising some are not sympathetic to those who have been affected. I am, because we've been there, and my recommendation would be, don't give up, keep all correspondence and take a note of every persons name you speak to on the telephone. That's how we got NCL to pay up, even then as I mentioned it took 3 months for the deposit to be refunded!

 

Don't take no for an answer.

Welcome back Pete. I hope you enjoy your future sailing with Ncl. I remember how poorly you were treated during that massive cancelation.

I believe all those threads have mysteriously disappeared.

Folks wonder how often or what the odds are something can happen like this with their vacation. For 2016 I’d guess it was about a 40% chance if you booked an Ncl cruise it would be canceled. Some passengers were adequately taken care of and some not.

Out of curiosity I did a quick check for canceled cruises this year. I am not counting anything canceled due to a dry dock, mechanical issues, port change, or weather related. Those types of things happen and that’s what cruise insurance is for.

A quick search, likely not complete, revealed by only looking at actual cruises that were canceled because Ncl either chartered the ship or changed itinerary/didn’t honor new price:

On 1/9/18 the 10/1/18 Pearl pacific coast canceled for a charter. Passengers initially promised a replacement cruise that didn’t materialize. Zero price protection to switch to Bliss pacific coast. (The charter had been announced in October of 2017 but it took Ncl till January to cancel passengers)

On 1/8/18- the 9/18/18 New York eastern Canada canceled. Price protection offered for a couple alternative sailings and $25 obc to rebook.

On 4/4/18 the 3/13/19 and 7/17/19 pearl sailings canceled. Price protection for 2 alternative dates and $25 obc offers.

On 7/10/18 the 4/12/1910 night Jade so Caribbean canceled. No price protection. 10% off and $25 obc to rebook alternative sailing.

The Recent sun canceled sailing was less than 6 month prior and $100 obc plus 10% if you want the new itinerary same dates. No price protection.That thread still active.

On all the canceled cruises noted above Ncl also offered up to $300 airfare change fees if you rebooked with them.

Would be interesting to see what the odds are on other lines and what they offer when they do the same.

Ncl has a successful music charter division, sixthman. You can sometimes advert headaches by checking Ncl sixthman site prior to purchasing your cruise. For example- Sixthman is currently selling a music charter on the Jade for 2019 Mediterranean season that clearly conflicts with their cruises for sale on the regular Ncl site. Not that a customer should have to do this but if it can potentially save even a few folks a headache then it’s better than nothing.

What always confuses me about these threads is WHY is it considered perfectly acceptable?!?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

It’s not, however for some reason a few posters do consistently chime in whenever a cruise is canceled in an attempt to make it sound like the canceled passengers should be grateful no matter what a company does. It is quite enlightening to read these same posters responses on the recent Ncl Sun construction cruise. Most of us are simply trying to plan fun vacations and offer suggestions when something goes wrong.

Some online travel sites show our TA, some don't. Similarly for the port schedules some show. Trouble is, we don't know whether these port schedules are built from the cruiselines' websites or the port schedules on an official port site.

 

So, while trying to find actual port sites I stumbled onto cruisecal.com .

 

You're not going to like this as it shows our TA split into two pieces but it does fit given the open calendar at 4/22/19:

 

Norwegian Jade

14 nts 4/22/2019 Miami, Florida to 5/6/2019 Barcelona

6 nts 5/6/2019 Barcelona to 5/12/2019 Rome

http://www.cruisecal.com/portal/ItineraryLookup/tabid/2918/Default.aspx :mad::mad::mad:

(select Jade from the drop-down box)

 

I guess we'll find out sooner rather than later.

They have split things up like this In the past with the Jade. This fall the Jade is doing a similar split for the ta. It makes sense to set aside a portion because they likely won’t fill it for the TA.

Edit- I see what you are saying. Yes dates a little off.

Ncl owns sixthmam and they are actively marketing the Jade med 2019 music charters. The strange thing is the Pearl showing up in Europe ports for 2019. Will be interesting to see what that’s all about. Pearl, Epic, Jade, Star, Spirit, getaway, and encore inaugural seems a little too many. They seem to do very well with Pearl Alaska and I don’t think The Pearl is due for a dry dock. Ncl hasn’t announced the fall ta for the Jade.

You mean $25 AND 10% off AND up to $300 per person for air fare changes right?

No.. I pretty much mean what I said.

$300 on airfare change fees are only applicable for change fees and only if you pick an alternate date. Customers are not being given $300 extra party money. Change fees are oftentimes more than $300. You also pay the fare difference ie if the old fare is $400 and the new fare is $600 and the change fees are $400; Ncl pays the $300 in change fees. You get to pay the $200 in extra airfare and the $100 in extra change fees.

Re the 10%~ well that’s great if pricing has come down. Booked passengers likely had better pricing and perks- much like the Sun sailing. 10% off new fare isn’t bad and might be a good thing but it can also mean a higher fare. Zero price & perk protection on alternative sailings so I’m guessing the alternative sailings 10% off is at best a wash.

So you are left with the, “your business means so much that we are going to give you $25 obc.” $25? Whoever thinks that $25 obc for, “I’m sorry we screwed your vacation” doesn’t have customer retention or brand protection in mind. It’s bad business. I thought the former $50/$100 they’ve been offering since the Rosie O’Donnell cancellation years ago was bad business but $25 takes the cake.

$250-$300 obc for your troubles to anyone willing to keep sailing with them is meaningful. It also helps take the sting out of the potential losses of lost perks, higher pricing and higher airfare. Since these costs affect all booked passengers they should be offered to all canceled passengers. $25 is laughable.

Well it does look like they’re doing a little better on this cancel with the 10% off anything in the fleet. The previous obc offer I believe was $100 which I think they should stick with just because $25 sounds terrible.

If 10% and $100 is just too much for them perhaps something of an either or? 10% off any sailing or $300 obc on any sailing? That sounds meaningful to me.

If you’re going to cruise, odds are eventually one of your sailings will be canceled. Not just an Ncl thing so no sense bashing them as the only ones who do this.