Itinerary change due to berthing conflict

[huggs]

We have just been advised that our itinerary for our cruise Houston to Seattle has bumped us out of San Diego and replacing it with Astoria. Not everyone is too happy about this. I totally get that it is the cruise line prerogative to

change the itinerary and we have not made final payment , so if it were that rotten, we could cancel, but no plans to do so. :)

 

We can take it or leave it..would much rather visit SD, but we will still have a lovely cruise.

 

My question is....how do they decide who to bump ? Is there a seniority system,some ports favor certain cruise lines ?? Just curious how the decision is made if anyone knows.

 

Cheers

Sue

[MagnoliaBlossom]

It is my understanding that cruise lines have a seniority system with each port. I'm sure someone else will chime in on this.

[garycarla]

It is my understanding that cruise lines have a seniority system with each port. I'm sure someone else will chime in on this.

 

And I am sure there is much more to this particular story. Most (all) of which the public will never hear about.

 

Though we love Astoria, I would be VERY ticked off to have San Diego dropped from my cruise. That really sucks.

[shof515]

it might not be actual berthing conflict, but a money conflict. Astoria might be cheaper for NCL to dock the ship then San Diego

[newmexicoNita]

We have just been advised that our itinerary for our cruise Houston to Seattle has bumped us out of San Diego and replacing it with Astoria. Not everyone is too happy about this. I totally get that it is the cruise line prerogative to

change the itinerary and we have not made final payment , so if it were that rotten, we could cancel, but no plans to do so. :)

 

We can take it or leave it..would much rather visit SD, but we will still have a lovely cruise.

 

My question is....how do they decide who to bump ? Is there a seniority system,some ports favor certain cruise lines ?? Just curious how the decision is made if anyone knows.

 

Cheers

Sue

Sue, I think Magnolia Blossom is right, it has to do with seniority and San Diego is not a port often used by NCL. I will just throw my 2 cents worth in: Astoria is a wonderful, small port and the people love to see the ships dock there. We did a city tour that included the Maritime Museum. It was a fun and very relaxing day. Take advantage, it is someplace you may never see again. There are lots of times you can visit San Diego.

[CruisinMaterial]

In some cases it depends on who owns the pier. If a cruise line owns it then they get preference. For instance at Coxen Hole in Roatan, Honduras, Royal Caribbean has preferential docking rights there because from my understanding of it – they paid the government to build the pier or something of that nature. When Norwegian calls there and RCCL or Celebrity are coming in, Norwegian tenders their people in. This happened to me on the Norwegian Jewel when Celebrity Eclipse came in with us. :(

 

 

In some other cases, it depends on who books the pier first and how much was paid for port charges. Cruise lines like to book places and sometimes the port officials say it’s ok but didn’t really look at the bookings for that date and suddenly realize they are short of the footage of pier space available because another ship that booked earlier is larger and takes more space. :cool:

 

 

San Diego is probably owned by the Port Authority and not any particular cruise line and most likely it was the second item I mentioned that happened. Or Norwegian just said they’d call there without checking in with the port authority folks and when they did said, oops – Astoria it is! :cool:

[CruisinMaterial]

it might not be actual berthing conflict, but a money conflict. Astoria might be cheaper for NCL to dock the ship then San Diego

 

This could be another plausible reason. Although, most, if not all, of the port charges and taxes for docking are passed along to the cruise customer though. :cool: That's why Bermuda has hideously high port taxes and government fees. :eek::D

[agabbymama]

And just a tip, be prepared you may not make it to Astoria either. Depending on month of travel, weather conditions, etc. We were on a Southbound cruise in September with rain and rough seas. Port of Astoria was totally cancelled.

We just sailed on by continuing to San Francisco. Just go with the flow and enjoy your cruise.

[fishin' musician]

I was recently advised that a group my company has on a Panama Canal cruise next year will be calling on Ensenada rather than San Diego. Seems like there may be a theme here.

[newmexicoNita]

And I am sure there is much more to this particular story. Most (all) of which the public will never hear about.

 

Though we love Astoria, I would be VERY ticked off to have San Diego dropped from my cruise. That really sucks.

 

Have to agree: of course San Diego is a little more exciting that a stop in Astoria, but Astoria is still a nice port. You might as well just enjoy it, nothing can be done to change what has been done.

[newmexicoNita]

And just a tip, be prepared you may not make it to Astoria either. Depending on month of travel, weather conditions, etc. We were on a Southbound cruise in September with rain and rough seas. Port of Astoria was totally cancelled.

We just sailed on by continuing to San Francisco. Just go with the flow and enjoy your cruise.

 

this can happen with any port, no reason to cause the OP any more disappointment. We have done the repo twice and neither time did we miss Astoria. We have done many cruises where ports are missed due to weather. It does happen, but 99% of the time the ships are able to get to the pier. It is like saying we may have a horrible tornado cause it has happened, rather that saying the chances of a tornado are slip.

[Urban trekker]

I am only batting .333 for Astoria - one visit - two missed ports - now if I was a baseball player with that average I would be considered a Hall of Fame candidate.

 

Living close enough to Astoria to drive and explore the coast missing the port isn't a big deal.

 

Agree with New MexicoNita - it is a fun small port to visit.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Ilovesailing]

We have just been advised that our itinerary for our cruise Houston to Seattle has bumped us out of San Diego and replacing it with Astoria. Not everyone is too happy about this. I totally get that it is the cruise line prerogative to

change the itinerary and we have not made final payment , so if it were that rotten, we could cancel, but no plans to do so. :)

 

We can take it or leave it..would much rather visit SD, but we will still have a lovely cruise.

 

My question is....how do they decide who to bump ? Is there a seniority system,some ports favor certain cruise lines ?? Just curious how the decision is made if anyone knows.

 

Cheers

Sue

 

While San Diego would be a nice stop Astoria is quite nice, no need to do a tour just do a search for things to do at the pier the town has a population of approx. 10K small downtown with lots of stores that you won't find at other ports. There is an old JC Penny's that I swear is one of there first stores and there is an old theater in the downtown that I believe is open to the public definitely worth a visit. There is also NO sales tax on purchases.

 

Just weave your way up and down in and out of the streets.

[djmess]

I'm sad that we will miss San Diego on our Panama Canal cruise. It would have been better in our opinion than another stop in Mexico, but it is what it is. I'm not cruising just for San Diego, but still disappointed

[newmexicoNita]

I'm sad that we will miss San Diego on our Panama Canal cruise. It would have been better in our opinion than another stop in Mexico, but it is what it is. I'm not cruising just for San Diego, but still disappointed

 

I understand, obviously San Diego would have been a great port and most of the Mexican ports we can all live without.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We have just been advised that our itinerary for our cruise Houston to Seattle has bumped us out of San Diego and replacing it with Astoria. Not everyone is too happy about this. I totally get that it is the cruise line prerogative to

change the itinerary and we have not made final payment , so if it were that rotten, we could cancel, but no plans to do so. :)

 

We can take it or leave it..would much rather visit SD, but we will still have a lovely cruise.

 

My question is....how do they decide who to bump ? Is there a seniority system,some ports favor certain cruise lines ?? Just curious how the decision is made if anyone knows.

 

Cheers

Sue

 

How many ships can port at one time in San Diego?

 

According to a website i checked there is only 1 other ship in port that day, The Silverseas Silver Shadow.

 

Bill

[mistertoaster]

We were just informed of the same "berthing issue" on the NCL Pearl cruise 9/27/14 Vancouver to L.A. This time they eliminated San Francisco. Unfortunately, not counting ports of embarkation and disembarkation, there are only two stops on this cruise Astoria and San Francisco. The S.F. stop was the main reason for booking the cruise. I checked who is in port that day, and the Pearl was the only ship booked for SFO. It certainly appears to be a money issue. The replacement port is Seattle, and I know NCL books a lot more cruises through this port than SFO. Bumping due to weather is understandable, but bumping the best port on the cruise to save a few dollars per passenger is unacceptable. Since NCL went public, we have noticed more emphasis on the bottom line and less emphasis on customer service. We are NCL Platinum, but are sailing on the MSC Divina in a few weeks. If that cruise goes well, this may be our last cruise on NCL.