Too close for comfort??

[tomk3212]

We've been on MANY NCL cruises (see signature below) and in all that time we've seen a bunch of NCL-sponsored excursions return late and there's been NO DANGER of the ship living w/o the pax on said excursions.

 

A good example; we were on a Western Med cruise on the Gem some years ago. They had an overnight excursion where the pax actually got off the ship & toured Rabat and several other North African locations and stayed overnight on land. They were to re-board the Gem in Casablanca the following day by 5PM. Around 5PM the Captain made an announcement that the ship would be leaving around 630PM instead of 530PM because the overnight excursion was going to be late arriving back at the dock. DW & I had dinner in LeBistro that night & we watched the overnighters arrive back at 615PM.

 

HOWEVER...if you're touring on your own the ship WILL leave w/o you if you're too late. We were on the Spirit on an Alaska cruise some years ago. We stopped in Juneau and some knucklehead pax got drunk in a bar, passed out and missed the ship's departure. TG it was Alaska so he was able to catch up with us at the next port.

 

Have a great cruise...and excursion!

 

Tom

[bluesea777]

We're booked on the golden eagle in St marteen through the cruise line and the excursion starts at 1230 for 4 hrs. Our ship departs at 5pm which means all aboard is at 430. Is it cutting it too close for comfort? When I asked the shore excursion line at ncl the guy just said we wouldn't offer it if it wasn't ok. Would you keep this excursion booked the way it is or find something else?

 

When it says 12:30, it means you do not meet up at 12:30, usually about 12:00. Check your excursion tickets when you board the ship.

 

It's a ship excursion, so you should be fine.

[timmo44]

If it's an NCL booked excursion the ship will wait. Here it is written in plain English.

 

'All our operators are safe, reliable, licenced and insured and will pick you up and drop you off right at the pier. In the event of unexpected itinerary changes, there's no need to worry as we will suggest alternative excursions. And, what's more, the ship won't leave port until all shore excursion guests are back on board.'

 

http://www.ncl.co.uk/excursions/

Edited August 13, 2015 by timmo44
punctuation

[All-ready2cruise]

If it's an NCL booked excursion the ship will wait. Here it is written in plain English.

 

'All our operators are safe, reliable, licenced and insured and will pick you up and drop you off right at the pier. In the event of unexpected itinerary changes, there's no need to worry as we will suggest alternative excursions. And, what's more, the ship won't leave port until all shore excursion guests are back on board.'

 

http://www.ncl.co.uk/excursions/

 

But this is what it says on the NA website:

 

WHY BOOK WITH US

 

Key Benefits Dedicated pre-cruise and onboard Specialists

to help with tour arrangements

One-stop shopping for all ports on your itinerary

Insured tour operators, offering peace of mind

Convenience without hidden costs for transfers or entrance fees

 

No guarantee on the NA site that the ship won't leave without you. However, I suspect that the % of late returns to ship are very, very low, otherwise the tour operators wouldn't have their contract renewed with NCL and other cruise lines.

[Demonyte]

If it's an NCL booked excursion the ship will wait. Here it is written in plain English.

 

'All our operators are safe, reliable, licenced and insured and will pick you up and drop you off right at the pier. In the event of unexpected itinerary changes, there's no need to worry as we will suggest alternative excursions. And, what's more, the ship won't leave port until all shore excursion guests are back on board.'

 

http://www.ncl.co.uk/excursions/

 

Incorrect.

 

NCL's Guest Ticket Contract clearly states:

 

"The Guest agrees that, except as expressly provided herein, this Contract constitutes the entire agreement between the Guest and Carrier, and shall supersede and exclude any prior representations that may have been made in relation to the cruise to the Guest or anyone representing him/her by anyone, including but not limited to anything stated in the Carrier's brochures, advertisements, and other promotional materials, by Norwegian Cruise Line or NCL America employees or by third persons such as travel agents."

 

There is absolutely no such guarantee that the ship would wait after cruise line sponsored excursion, not in Guest Ticket Contract nor in Shore Excursion T&C.

 

They will do their best but it is not guaranteed. In most ports it is no problem to wait even for hours, but in some ports the extra port fees and extra fuel burned to get to the next port in time adds up really fast. It's all about economics, not customer satisfaction.

[timmo44]

Incorrect.

 

NCL's Guest Ticket Contract clearly states:

 

"The Guest agrees that, except as expressly provided herein, this Contract constitutes the entire agreement between the Guest and Carrier, and shall supersede and exclude any prior representations that may have been made in relation to the cruise to the Guest or anyone representing him/her by anyone, including but not limited to anything stated in the Carrier's brochures, advertisements, and other promotional materials, by Norwegian Cruise Line or NCL America employees or by third persons such as travel agents."

 

There is absolutely no such guarantee that the ship would wait after cruise line sponsored excursion, not in Guest Ticket Contract nor in Shore Excursion T&C.

 

They will do their best but it is not guaranteed. In most ports it is no problem to wait even for hours, but in some ports the extra port fees and extra fuel burned to get to the next port in time adds up really fast. It's all about economics, not customer satisfaction.

 

What does this have specifically to with excursions? It's a random disclaimer covering everything and anything. If you want to go down to that level of detail you could apply it to everything and anything related to any part of the cruise. They are advertising live on their websites and on the ship (where I heard it first) that the ship will only wait for official NCL excursion guests if they are late returning.

 

But yes, if Vesuvius was to erupt whilst the ship was docked in Naples I suspect NCL might invoke that clause in the full T&Cs but otherwise I'd say as far as can be guaranteed the fact that they use 'we will wait' as a selling point over external companies, they WILL wait.

[Demonyte]

What does this have specifically to with excursions? It's a random disclaimer covering everything and anything.

 

Exactly, it covers everything and anything that is not specifically mentioned or referred elsewhere in that contract.

 

You don't seem to understand that it does not matter what they tell you verbally or on their marketing material, when push comes to shove you are not guaranteed that "they WILL wait" because it is not written in any contract or T&C that you have accepted.

[HarpHarp]

Incorrect.

 

 

There is absolutely no such guarantee that the ship would wait after cruise line sponsored excursion, not in Guest Ticket Contract nor in Shore Excursion T&C.

 

They will do their best but it is not guaranteed. In most ports it is no problem to wait even for hours, but in some ports the extra port fees and extra fuel burned to get to the next port in time adds up really fast. It's all about economics, not customer satisfaction.

 

The cost of waiting in most cases is much less that paying for air fare, hotels meals & other necessities for a busload of passengers left ashore. Then there are the legal problem of getting people without passports to the next stop & the people who need medication that is on the ship, like insulin for the diabetics.

A few years ago, there was a major storm moving toward San Juan and several ships left early. The ship sponsored excursions were called in early. A major safety concern may cause a ship excursion to be left, but it is about as likely as the ship sinking.

[Raynebaby]

We decided to keep the excursion booked and hope for the best

[zlacruising]

We decided to keep the excursion booked and hope for the best

 

I don't think you will regret it!! Enjoy!!!:)

 

Deb

[atomax]

I thought that the guarantee that the ship wouldn't leave without you was the rationale for paying the exorbitant prices that NCL charges for their excursions.

 

Common misconception. There is nothing in the T&C of cruise line sponsored excursions or Passenger Ticket Contract that would guarantee such thing.

 

Cruiseline is of course responsible getting people back on ship, but if it gets too expensive to hold the whole ship behind, they will rather pay for hotels/flights to the next port of call.

[zqvol]

We're booked on the golden eagle in St marteen through the cruise line and the excursion starts at 1230 for 4 hrs. Our ship departs at 5pm which means all aboard is at 430. Is it cutting it too close for comfort? When I asked the shore excursion line at ncl the guy just said we wouldn't offer it if it wasn't ok. Would you keep this excursion booked the way it is or find something else?

 

As long as you are on a cruise line excursion you do not need to worry about the time, as long as you go back to the ship immediately after the excursion.

[khaide612]

This thread is a year old.