Star Charter for OLYMPICS (to/during/from) in Jeopardy?

[inside_scoop]

My brother got a phone call today from an agent in Alberta, who advised that the charter going to the Olympics (2/6/10 - 2/10/10) from LA to Vancouver "might not sail." - She said she got an e-mail stating that, and that they were instructed to call all the guests currently booked.

 

Anyone else get this call? Or something similar?

 

Found this link in another thread:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2010/02/01/bc-olympic-cruise-ship-hotel-problems.html#socialcomments

[jvsnana]

We are on the cruise from LA to Vancouver this Saturday and this is the first I've heard of it. I've emailed my Newwest TA, but no news yet. YIKES...our first time in the Garden Villa may be jeopardized:eek:

[minn55441]

I wonder how much NCL was able to collect upfront? It would be tough trying to fill an entire month of cruises on such short notice.

 

Short notice drydock?

[inside_scoop]

short dry dock- would be possible, but not plausible.

 

only dry dock location on the west coast is san francisco, but securing berthing arrangements, labor, and the necessary supplies is a not an easy process.

[Urban trekker]

There was a news story tonight on http://www.ctvbc.ca that stated that there might be a problem and had a gentleman whose firm had booked 300 people as part of a group for the trip back to LA - he stated that those who booked in BC will get a full refund if necessary because the provincial travel insurance program will cover them.

 

Will see if I can find the link - this doesn't surprise me as the original asking prices were outrageous and even the reduced prices were high.

 

Even the City of Vancouver's plan to use some beach parking lots for an RV Park during the Games has been scaled back because people didn't want to pay $95.00 to park and then have to bus into the sights etc.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Urban trekker]

Here's a link to an article on the CBC about this story from another thread on this matter

 

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/02/01/bc-olympic-cruise-ship-hotel-problems.html?ref=rss#ixzz0eKXHevId

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[jvsnana]

Another link

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/about-vancouver/news/newsid=28902.html#plan+ship+house+games+tourists+hits+shoal

At least this one has a bit of hope for those of us who are booked for this cruise:)

[terrymtex01]

First of all I feel sorry for those people who booked rooms who now may not have any. So is the cruise the OP was posting about the one that would actually end up positioning the ship there for the hotel and since the ship won't be used as a hotel now they canceled that repo cruise? I just got a little bit confused.

[Urban trekker]

I take the OP to mean that he is scheduled to be on the repo leaving LA this weekend for the trip to Vancouver.

 

When I looked at this last year when it was announced I thought the repo pricing was good but didn't want to commit because of the requirement complete payment up front and no cancellations.

 

Hopefully the cruise will happen and you will be able to enjoy all the excitement leading up to the start of the Games.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Coasty]

I feel sorry for the folks that booked this cruise and the ones in Vancouver that paid $275 a night for an inside cabin hotel room. Sure hope they get this problem worked out, FAST.

 

We tried to get on this cruise coming back from Vancouver to L.A. Really felt bad that they were book and we couldn't take advantage of the low pricing.

 

I have learned again: If it seems too good to be true, then if probably is.:(

[rickechambers1@aol.com]

We are on the cruise from LA to Vancouver this Saturday and this is the first I've heard of it. I've emailed my Newwest TA, but no news yet. YIKES...our first time in the Garden Villa may be jeopardized:eek:

 

I called to book the Garden Villa on this (or return), but they only had PH available. It was ridiculously inexpensive; I declined as I only wanted the GV. Hope you get to have the experience after all.

[CruisinMaterial]

I wouldn't doubt that NCL is not losing much, if anything out of the deal if they do back out. Those contracts are paid for well in advance and usually have terms and conditions for backing out with severe penalties if they do.

 

I was aware of a charter on Paul Gaugin that was canceled and Atlantis Events picked it up for dirt cheap prices and was able to offer an all inclusive option for cheaper prices (and the owner still made a killing on it). NCL could do very much the same of offering last minute deals and sail the ship for revenue anyway and still have the cancellation fee in place (which would be a huge amount of dough).

 

I am more concerned for the people that used this TA company or whatever it was that chartered the vessel. To have your hopes dashed this soon to the cruise is just insane. I hope it works out better for you folks and you sail as planned. If something does go south with it, don't blame NCL. I think the Winter Olympics lost their luster years ago and it's just not a draw for the public like it used to be (especially here in the USA). I LOVE the summer olympics though and saw them in Greece on a cruise in 2004.

 

Good luck to all you Olympics Star Cruisers out there! :)

[jvsnana]

I called to book the Garden Villa on this (or return), but they only had PH available. It was ridiculously inexpensive; I declined as I only wanted the GV. Hope you get to have the experience after all.

Hey Rick,

How long ago did you call to book the GV?

Last week they had us in 14000 and we wanted 14500. I called NCL and they said the other GV wan NOT booked and to have my TA switch cabins. She made the switch for us, so now we are in 14500...IF IF IF this cruise is not cancelled, of course:D

Still have not received any info from our TA about any such cancellation, though. "My NCL" still has us booked too.

I guess there is still a chance for a last minute GV for you if all goes well:o

[jvsnana]

I wouldn't doubt that NCL is not losing much, if anything out of the deal if they do back out. Those contracts are paid for well in advance and usually have terms and conditions for backing out with severe penalties if they do.

 

I was aware of a charter on Paul Gaugin that was canceled and Atlantis Events picked it up for dirt cheap prices and was able to offer an all inclusive option for cheaper prices (and the owner still made a killing on it). NCL could do very much the same of offering last minute deals and sail the ship for revenue anyway and still have the cancellation fee in place (which would be a huge amount of dough).

 

I am more concerned for the people that used this TA company or whatever it was that chartered the vessel. To have your hopes dashed this soon to the cruise is just insane. I hope it works out better for you folks and you sail as planned. If something does go south with it, don't blame NCL. I think the Winter Olympics lost their luster years ago and it's just not a draw for the public like it used to be (especially here in the USA). I LOVE the summer olympics though and saw them in Greece on a cruise in 2004.

 

Good luck to all you Olympics Star Cruisers out there! :)

No way we could blame NCL for this...not their fault the charter company may bail out.

[jvsnana]

Just called Newwest and their answer was "Still waiting to hear, but it does not look good". Said we would be the first ones to be contacted because we are supposed to sail on Saturday. No idea about refunds, etc., so I guess we just wait and hope for the best:(

[jvsnana]

Here's the email from my TA:

We are still waiting to be advised officially and will get back to you as soon as we hear.

[atanac]

Here is my question: If this charter goes belly up and the charter company does not take possession

of the Star what will NCL do? They could service the people who already booked the coastal trip from Los Angeles

to Vancouver from Feb 6-10 but what do they do about the people who booked the cruise at the end

of the Olympics two weeks later? They can't just leave the Star docked while waiting for the end of the games

to fulfill their cruise to Los Angeles. How will NCL schedule the middle piece, the dates that the Star was

suppose to be docked in Vancouver? Seems almost impossible to arrange cruises from say February 10th until

the games end on February 28th at the last minute???

 

If this charter falls apart NCL may indeed get their upfront money but they still have a ship potentially idle until their

next scheduled cruise to Mexico on March 6th.

 

I wonder if NCL is working on this scenario as we speak...

[armwinder]

The plan was to repair the gen set while the ship was idle for a few weeks.

[freestylecruizer]

I was really hoping to see the Star in port on the North Shore of Vancouver - the view from my office on the North Shore of her would have been great for the time she would have been here.

 

With all the media reports that are circulating, I really doubt if they can salvage anything this late in the game.

 

The fact that they are charging $275/night/person for an inside is absolutely crazy. Considering we did an inside on the Sun last year for three nights up the coast for $350 for two people. I understand that there are port fees involved, but still, it's way too much.

 

What's sad is that this company (Newwest) may go bankrupt because of this lofty venture. You would think that prior to jumping into this venture, they would have polled people to see what sort of interest there would be for this sort of accomodation (perhaps they did, but its never been mentioned in any reports).

 

Rest assured, NCL won't be losing any money on this. As the ship isn't scheduled to sail from LA until Feb 6th, there's plenty of time for them to do a quick dry dock and then reopen bookings for Mexico again.

 

And to top it off, my wife and I were thinking about booking this for a couple of nights (just for the fun of it) at the end of Feb for our anniversary (we've been on the Star a few times). I called Newwest on Wednesday last week and was told "all operators are busy, can I get your name/number and we'll call you back". Guess what? No call back. A call to them yesterday, prompted a canned message "we are no longer taking any bookings for the pre and post cruises nor the vacation hotel." So, that sort of sums it up, I suppose. Also, the link on their website (http://www.newwesttravel.com/van2010.cfm?PageID=74) is no longer live and there's nothing on their site indicating any association with this venture.

 

Good luck all. At least I have a view of the Oosterdam, Statendam and Carnival Elation to look at. One more would have been nice!

[freestylecruizer]

Here is my question: If this charter goes belly up and the charter company does not take possession

of the Star what will NCL do? They could service the people who already booked the coastal trip from Los Angeles

to Vancouver from Feb 6-10 but what do they do about the people who booked the cruise at the end

of the Olympics two weeks later? They can't just leave the Star docked while waiting for the end of the games

to fulfill their cruise to Los Angeles. How will NCL schedule the middle piece, the dates that the Star was

suppose to be docked in Vancouver? Seems almost impossible to arrange cruises from say February 10th until

the games end on February 28th at the last minute???

 

If this charter falls apart NCL may indeed get their upfront money but they still have a ship potentially idle until their

next scheduled cruise to Mexico on March 6th.

 

I wonder if NCL is working on this scenario as we speak...

 

The Pre and Post Olympic cruises have nothing to do with NCL - these were charter cruises arranged by Newwest. If the plans go belly up, NCL will probably not move the ship to Vancouver. They have until Friday to decide this.

 

When I was on the Spirit this past fall, I made friends with the Chief Engineer. He's familiar with the Star (first post) and mentioned that when the ship was to be in Vancouver for the 2 weeks, they were going to do some major engine work on her (taking 2 of 4 offline). So, they will probably do a short dry dock and then a cruise (read: look for specials).

 

This is the problem when you book with a charter. NCL is out of the picture.

[ddakrt]

Maritimematters is reporting the charter is indeed canceled and that the Star is going into drydock.

 

NORWEGIAN STAR Charter Cancelled

February 1: Newwest Special Projects of Edmondton, Alberta, has abruptly cancelled the Olympic Charter of Norwegian Cruise Lines NORWEGIAN STAR, which had been slated to serve as a hotel ship at the Winter Olympic Games in Vanouver. The ship will instead go into dry dock at Victoria, B.C. from February 14-28th. Originally the charter company was also planning on operating Pacific Coastal Cruises from Los Angeles on February 6th to Vancouver, with the return voyage set for February 28th, prior to NCL resuming Mexico Cruises on March 6th. Newwest had priced the rooms starting at over $1,000.00 per night for an inside cabin, which included onboard meals and entertainment. Even with prices slashed to half that amount, apparently demand was simply insufficient to even partially fill the 1,100 available rooms. The ship had been scheduled to berth at the Kinder Morgan Sulpher Docks in North Vancouver, an industrial area across the harbor from downtown Vancouver. The cost of the ship charter alone is estimated at $10 million, which does not include renovations at the temporary industrial terminal.

 

http://www.maritimematters.com/shipnews.html

[SeaShark]

Here is my question: If this charter goes belly up and the charter company does not take possession

of the Star what will NCL do? They could service the people who already booked the coastal trip from Los Angeles

to Vancouver from Feb 6-10 but what do they do about the people who booked the cruise at the end

of the Olympics two weeks later? They can't just leave the Star docked while waiting for the end of the games

to fulfill their cruise to Los Angeles. How will NCL schedule the middle piece, the dates that the Star was

suppose to be docked in Vancouver? Seems almost impossible to arrange cruises from say February 10th until

the games end on February 28th at the last minute???

 

If this charter falls apart NCL may indeed get their upfront money but they still have a ship potentially idle until their

next scheduled cruise to Mexico on March 6th.

 

I wonder if NCL is working on this scenario as we speak...

 

 

 

Not to worry about NCL.

 

 

They would have a business continuation insurance policy to cover things like this....or they would have required NewWest to take out the policy before agreeing to the charter.

[cruiseat50]

ooops.... edit

[cc4vr]

while this is sad and a bummer for those whose bookings got cancelled, could this be good news for us booked on post-drydock sailings?

 

 

do cruise lines publicize the various activities involved during a drydock?

 

We're sailing on April and was hoping for newer TVs or furnishings... ;)

[ddakrt]

while this is sad and a bummer for those whose bookings got cancelled, could this be good news for us booked on post-drydock sailings?

 

 

do cruise lines publicize the various activities involved during a drydock?

 

We're sailing on April and was hoping for newer TVs or furnishings... ;)

 

Princess does a really good job of this. They have a Flickr account and updates with pictures and verbage of the work taking place during drydock.

 

NCL doesn't do this, but they might post a couple pictures on their Facebook page. I wish they would go into more details too.

 

With such short notice though, I question how much they can do with the furnishings. There's not much time to plan, purchase, and fabricate before the Star goes in.

She was last "refurbished" in 2006, so she should still be in fairly good shape now.