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Just How often do NCL ships miss GSC?

conandrob240

By conandrob240,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Laszlo

Laszlo

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Were 2 for 2. However the second time I really thought they were going to miss it. Over the PA around 7am we heard we are going to try an anchor.....they did. The waves were large and rolling, worse than a short chop. Going in on the tender was a little interesting, we surfed thru the small inlet, at one time the boat operator threw both engines in reverse to counter act the wave pushing us to the rocks. All was good and we had a blast.

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TrumpyNor

TrumpyNor

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Yes, it sure does. Wonder why? And it also seems like outside of obvious hurricane season reasons, Feb- March seems like a lot of misses also.

 

It might have something to do with the size of the ship in rough conditions......? And also that Breakaway has GSC on all(?) of their itineraries, year round....

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conandrob240 "Live from...." Rare

conandrob240

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It might have something to do with the size of the ship in rough conditions......? And also that Breakaway has GSC on all(?) of their itineraries, year round....

 

Not really. They do it Sept- April but maybe 8 mths out of the year is more than most ships.

 

I guess I don't understand how they can have this as a stop but miss it so much of the time. How do they get away with that? Yes, I understand weather but it also seems they could do more to make it more possible to utilize this scheduled destination.

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soaringfalcon

soaringfalcon

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Not really. They do it Sept- April but maybe 8 mths out of the year is more than most ships.

 

I guess I don't understand how they can have this as a stop but miss it so much of the time. How do they get away with that? Yes, I understand weather but it also seems they could do more to make it more possible to utilize this scheduled destination.

 

Believe me...they want you to make it. On our sailing a month ago, Bertha was causing HUGE swells. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the gangway was going nearly vertical. They would wait for a calm minute and then pass you off from crew member to crew member to get you on the tender. An exhausting job for them. Would have been MUCH easier for them to say screw it but they persevered.

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Demonyte

Demonyte

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Hurricanes aside, if they really WANTED people to make it, they!d build a dock or a protected area or something. Frankly, I can't believe it is a listed port stop and it doesn't hit the mark this much of the time. I am feeling rather annoyed, actually.

 

 

To my understanding (can't search old posts at the moment to verify, sorry) having or not having a proper dock is not up to NCL but the government. Also the island is surrounded by shallow water and coral reefs so dredging a route to the dock would be easier said than done.

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newmexicoNita

newmexicoNita

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I have been reading people say that great stirrip cay private island is skipped more than 50% of the time. Can this really be true? Is there a season that it skips it more often? Is wind the main reason? If it skips, does it go to Nassau or is it another sea day?

 

We are crusing BA in November and I want to set my expectations on this. Already a pretty lame cruise port- wise so missing the one beach stop would be sort of a bummer especially given the pool situation on BA.

 

Can people please post actual sail dates/ ships and whether or not you stopped at NCL private island?

 

I think over 50% of the time, is a little exaggeration, but yes, like ships going to any of the private islands, weather can determine the safety of transporting passengers from the ship to the island. We have missed GSC once, HALs island once and RCIs once. It isn't the end of the world to be honest.

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conandrob240 "Live from...." Rare

conandrob240

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No one said it was the end of the world. I doubt Disney's record is anywhere near 50% missed. It just seems unfair that they advertise a private island as a perk and a port stop ( especially on a very weak itinerary) and they miss it almost as much as they hit it. Doesn't seem quite fair. Feels sort of like false advertising.

 

And before this thread, I didn't think the 50% comment could!possibly be true but after seeing the responses! it sure feels like the 50% comment is just about accurate.

Edited by conandrob240
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conandrob240 "Live from...." Rare

conandrob240

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This trip,is a gift from mom and dad. An extended family trip,with 9 of us ages 70 to 4 so it is mostly about being together and the ship. The only port stop I was looking forward to was the private island though. After the experience in May with the ship pools, it just seems sunning and lounging poolside will not be taking up much of our cruise time so soaking up the sun at GSC was desired. But, I guess I will consider the UBP because that will certainly keep us busy! LOL

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soaringfalcon

soaringfalcon

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This trip,is a gift from mom and dad. An extended family trip,with 9 of us ages 70 to 4 so it is mostly about being together and the ship. The only port stop I was looking forward to was the private island though. After the experience in May with the ship pools, it just seems sunning and lounging poolside will not be taking up much of our cruise time so soaking up the sun at GSC was desired. But, I guess I will consider the UBP because that will certainly keep us busy! LOL

 

Not sure if it's your writing style but it seems as if you're convincing yourself that NCL sucks and you are going to have a miserable cruise. Not sure if you read where I said what the crew went through to get us to the island in early August. They're NOT sabotaging you or false advertising anything.

 

It's impossible for them to dock at GSC...as others have said, the island is surrounded by a reef. DCL blasted away the coral reef so their ships can dock...that is a concern for me and I don't think it's environmentally responsible.

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MCAT48

MCAT48

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No one said it was the end of the world. I doubt Disney's record is anywhere near 50% missed. It just seems unfair that they advertise a private island as a perk and a port stop ( especially on a very weak itinerary) and they miss it almost as much as they hit it. Doesn't seem quite fair. Feels sort of like false advertising.

 

And before this thread, I didn't think the 50% comment could!possibly be true but after seeing the responses! it sure feels like the 50% comment is just about accurate.

 

Yes, it's a bummer but I think it would be more of a bummer if they attempted to get people in a tender boat in bad weather and something went wrong! Tendering is quite scary to me in good weather I couldn't imagine trying to tender in choppy wanted and strong winds!

 

I don't understand the false advertisement thing either, they advertise they have a private island, it does not state that you are 100% guaranteed to make it there if the weather turns. Would you really want to be stuck on a island with relatively no shelter in bad weather? I wouldn't.

 

If my cruise somehow misses GSC I will be sad but I'm not going to fault ncl for making a decision on the safety of myself and thousands of others.

Edited by MCAT48
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conandrob240 "Live from...." Rare

conandrob240

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Not sure if it's your writing style but it seems as if you're convincing yourself that NCL sucks and you are going to have a miserable cruise. Not sure if you read where I said what the crew went through to get us to the island in early August. They're NOT sabotaging you or false advertising anything.

 

It's impossible for them to dock at GSC...as others have said, the island is surrounded by a reef. DCL blasted away the coral reef so their ships can dock...that is a concern for me and I don't think it's environmentally responsible.

 

No, not at all. I loved my May Breakaway cruise and I'll love this one. Advertising a stop at a gorgeous private island and delivering half the time doesn't seem okay to me. It is false advertising in a way. They knew when they bought it how it would be from a tender perspective. They should work harder to correct the situation where wind results in a missed stop. I am not talking about a storm- those things happen and can't be helped. But, it seems the stop is missed often in non-storm conditions, just regular typical windy days. To me, that just isn't okay.

 

And, I don't doubt an individual crew tries their very best but it seems the problem is bigger than that.

Edited by conandrob240
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