NCL Epic

[moderntammy]

Just found out the Epic will be in dry dock longer than originally scheduled. The October 18th cruise out of Barcelona is not happening. We have a group of 10 and we have all purchased airfare. Due to work conflicts this was the only week that works for us. I hope NCL will take care of us.

[welove2cruise*]

Where did you hear this? We are booked on the 10/11/15 cruise out of London. We still show our booking and when I called NCL today they said our ship was sold out.

[kerrytens]

Oh no!

 

If they cancelled it, they would have to do something for you. So sorry that you have to go through this though.

[moderntammy]

I received confirmations by email today and noticed the price had gone down and the date had changed to 10/25. We can not travel on 10/25 so I called to find out what was going on. They said the ship will be in dry dock and I will have to call a special reaccommodation line on Monday morning for any more information.

[welove2cruise*]

I am really worried now myself. We have had this booked for over a year already and have hotels booked with points and airfare at stake. I hope we all know what is going on soon.

[moderntammy]

I just looked on the NCL site for your cruise on 10/11/15. That date and cruise don't appear to be there. I hope I'm wrong and you get to go!!!

[waterbabies7415]

Really? Can this really be happening? I too have been booked for over a year-and I just booked our non refundable airfare last week! I haven't heard anything about this....my booking on NCL.com still shows as confirmed.

Will NCL help compensate? I've never been through anything like this.:mad:

Also, the same cruise out of Rome on the 21st is still showing on NCL's website. ???

[welove2cruise*]

The funny thing was I never would have had any indication that there may be anything amiss until my parents (who I tried to convince to join us on this trip right from the start) decided today they would like to go. We were trying to book a cabin for them and we're getting an error. When he called Costco they told him it was canceled so I was in a panic and called NCL and waited on hold for ten minutes to be told my cruise was not canceled but sold out. I have cruised over 20 times with NCL (just got off the Getaway last Saturday). I am really not going to sleep tonight now. :(

[welove2cruise*]

By the way.. I am so sorry for you all who may be in this same situation. This is not a vacation that can easily (or even possibly) be replaced or reschedule not to mention the potential non-refundable expenses already made.

 

For many these itineraries are once in a lifetime trips.

 

I think right now the not knowing and lack of information is the scariest thing. I can only hope maybe they are negotiating to get things back on track for our sailings. I will keep a glimmer of hope until I hear different.

[moderntammy]

My booking also shows confirmed on the NCL site but for the 10/25/15 cruise and not the 10/18/15 cruise. I can't believe they would just change the date of a cruise and simply send an email confirmation. The confirmation said nothing about your date has been changed or your price has gone down. It was just a normal confirmation. When I looked at it closer I noticed the date was different. Then I went to the NCL site and the cruise was gone, no longer existed for booking. Then I called NCL and they said the ship would be in dry dock and that's all the could tell me. They gave me a number to call on Monday morning. They said the number will be available from 2/23/15 to 3/9/15, Monday - Friday. The number is 877-461-1169. I am very sorry for all who are affected by this. As Welove2cruise said, it is not an easy trip to reschedule. Some of our group was going on to Venice. They have that airfare booked also. Time will tell. Good luck to all.

[waterbabies7415]

My booking also shows confirmed on the NCL site but for the 10/25/15 cruise and not the 10/18/15 cruise. I can't believe they would just change the date of a cruise and simply send an email confirmation. The confirmation said nothing about your date has been changed or your price has gone down. It was just a normal confirmation. When I looked at it closer I noticed the date was different. Then I went to the NCL site and the cruise was gone, no longer existed for booking. Then I called NCL and they said the ship would be in dry dock and that's all the could tell me. They gave me a number to call on Monday morning. They said the number will be available from 2/23/15 to 3/9/15, Monday - Friday. The number is 877-461-1169. I am very sorry for all who are affected by this. As Welove2cruise said, it is not an easy trip to reschedule. Some of our group was going on to Venice. They have that airfare booked also. Time will tell. Good luck to all.

 

I keep checking the website and my reservation still shows the 18th-maybe our number hasn't come up yet...I did check the 25th sailing for a mini suite that we are currently booked in and it only has guarantee mini suites in all catagories.

What a mess. Thank you so much for posting the phone number. Good luck to all! So sad :(

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Add me to the list of people freaking out. I used 65,000 miles plus cash for my airline ticket. I almost booked a non-refundable hotel room in London today; fortunately I booked it so that it could be cancelled and so that I could pay at the hotel. It might be nice if Norwegian would get moving with some announcements. :mad:

[twortman]

We just got off the Epic last Sunday and we had some delays getting into one of the Ports on time because one of the generators that power the ship engines kept failing so they couldn't keep up the speed - I wonder if that's one of the reasons they are going to be dry docked.

 

I hope they get everything fixed and take care of everyone that has already made plans and booked airfare for their planned cruise.

 

Good Luck!

[Trynity]

this is alarming and I truly hope that NCL will provide more than an explanation for those affected. We just booked our airfare for the 10/25 Epic cruise, but if the ship is due to be in dock, what happens if the repairs take longer than necessary.

 

I was due to write a few articles for this particular cruise, but it seems as though I may need to have an alternate plan in the event our departure date is also cancelled.

 

I will be keeping a close eye on my emails, but also this thread. Again, I hope anyone who has been affected is able to get full refunds and I am truly sorry for the frustration you have (and possibly will) incur

[welove2cruise*]

The more I am thinking about this I am wondering if my cruise is showing sold out until they rebook everyone from 10/18. I wouldn't think they would cancel two weeks and the ship has to get from Southhampton to Barcelona. We will see. I hope everyone makes out ok.

[Cole Thornton]

Thank goodness for trip insurance.

[Cardex]

We are booked on a B2B on the Epic Oct 11-25th. After reading this I went and checked online and we are now booked on the Sept 26 sailing and this is the itinerary :eek: :confused:

 

Edited February 22, 2015 by Cardex

[Liz]

If you booked through a travel agent - Costco included - call them ASAP and let THEM find out what's going on. That's one reason you "hire" a travel agent - to make your life easier and your trip more enjoyable. The NCL staff may tell you to contact your TA if you call the hotline number, anyway. Hopefully you have travel insurance; if so, read your policy thoroughly as soon as possible so you know your rights under the terms of the policy when you speak with your TA or NCL. Read your cruise contract and the terms & conditions (usually found via link at the very bottom of the cruiseline's homepage). If you don't have insurance, stay cool and calm when speaking to NCL - no guarantees that you'll get any special treatment but this staff will be dealing with (potentially) 4000 disappointed cruisers and might be more helpful if they're speaking to a friendlier person. I've been in this position twice (once with insurance, once without), so my comments are based on personal experiences. Your results may be different, but good luck to all.

 

Liz

[electro]

I would start looking at other cruise lines if your dates are not flexible. If you didn't book air through NCL I wouldn't count on them compensating you for it.

Costa, Holland America, and MSC all have cruises from Barcelona on Oct 18th or 19th.

 

electro

[Xmansmom]

Just jumping on to see the outcome. I'm booked for Nov. 1. Crossing my fingers that everything turns out ok.

[weloveamerica]

We are booked on the cruise from Southampton on the 11th October for 14 day cruise and I have just logged onto my ncl account and it is still showing our itinerary as normal. I have emailed my ncl rep and am waiting for her response.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Just found out the Epic will be in dry dock longer than originally scheduled. The October 18th cruise out of Barcelona is not happening. We have a group of 10 and we have all purchased airfare. Due to work conflicts this was the only week that works for us. I hope NCL will take care of us.

 

My reservation for the October 11 Iberian Peninsula sailing has been converted to an October 18 Western Mediterranean sailing. So, it's actually the October 11 sailing that was cancelled outright to extend the dry dock from two weeks to three weeks. I did a Grand Mediterranean in 2012, so I'm not going to keep the Western Mediterranean as it's nothing but repeats for me.

 

I bought trip insurance through NCL. Hopefully it will cover the cost of modifying my airline ticket. Frankly, I don't even know if it's possible to modify my flight. :(

[Cruiser Bruiser]

We are booked on the cruise from Southampton on the 11th October for 14 day cruise and I have just logged onto my ncl account and it is still showing our itinerary as normal. I have emailed my ncl rep and am waiting for her response.

 

My October 11 sailing was showing on NCL.com yesterday. Today I'm booked on a 7-night Western Mediterranean sailing out of Barcelona on October 18. My guess is that someone is manually changing the reservations of every affected passenger. It may take some time before your reservation is modified.

Edited February 22, 2015 by Cruiser Bruiser

[Cruiser Bruiser]

From Norwegian's trip insurance pamphlet:

 

Note: As respects air cancellation penalties, you will be covered only for air arrangements booked through Norwegian Cruise Line and flights connecting to such air arrangements booked through Norwegian Cruise Line. We will not pay benefits for cancellation charges imposed on any other air arrangements you may book on your own.

 

So, from a literal reading of the text above, we're screwed. Does anyone have previous experience with these kinds of cancellations and how NCL handles them?

[welove2cruise*]

So I checked my cruise online with NCL again today and here is what I see - My Iberian Peninsula cruise out of Southhampton on 10/11/15 is now listed as the 10/18/15 cruise out of Barcelona which is the one that the original OP said was canceled.

 

What the he** is going on here? With no contact from NCL they are just re-booking us and not telling us? Canceling or not canceling? Told ship was sold out yesterday?

 

I am extremely upset at this point.

 

I am contacting my agent now to figure out what is going on.