NCL Sun Cozumel Call Canceled

[Bourmatnov]

So NCL Finally got to updating there November itinerary for this cruise from Houston. They just dropped Cozumel without comment. The other port stays have not been extended at all. Does NCL just get to cruise slow, save gas and increase profit or will they do something to make up for Cozumel???

[pieshops]

whats wrong with making more profit, that the american way. go for it.

 

Just kidding

 

Wow people are so quick to jump to conclusions.

 

Are you on one of these cruises or just stirring up trouble?

[Shellbelle28]

Doesn't seem like "without comment" per this press release.

 

http://www.ncl.com/news/pr/pr102605.htm

 

MIAMI, October 26, 2005 – The employees, officers and crew of NCL Corporation would like to extend their thoughts and prayers to the people affected by Hurricane Wilma.

 

The process of recovery and restoration in the hardest hit areas of the Yucatan Peninsula will be lengthy. As of now, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Cancun can not accept cruise ships and our return there will be contingent on their recovery. As such, the company is forced to amend itineraries for the following ships:

 

Norwegian Sun (Houston departure/7-day) – Until further notice, Norwegian Sun will sail a modified itinerary spending Monday and Tuesday at sea, calling into Belize City, Belize on Wednesday and Roatan, Honduras on Thursday and spending Friday and Saturday at sea returning to the Port of Houston on Sunday.

 

The company regrets any inconvenience caused by these unavoidable changes and thanks its guests for their patience and understanding.

[Milwaukee]

I feel terrible about what is happening in the region hit by the hurricane, but I am scheduled to be on the sun on December 4th and am VERY disappointed we will only be having 2 days at port. The whole reason we chose this ship was because originally it had 4 port days. One of the reasons I love cruising so much is because you get to see so many different places. I was okay with taking one of the stops out, but now two of them? This is our honeymoon, it isn't like we can just cancel and go another time. I don't understand whey they can't have us stop somewhere else to replace Cozumel? Does anyone else know?

[pieshops]

WHO SAYS THEY ARE NOT REPLACING THE PORT

 

this is how rumors get started and people get mad.

 

Take a deep breath and wait until NCL makes an announcement. They will add another port, relax

[rferr]

So NCL Finally got to updating there November itinerary for this cruise from Houston. They just dropped Cozumel without comment. The other port stays have not been extended at all. Does NCL just get to cruise slow, save gas and increase profit or will they do something to make up for Cozumel???

 

 

I am on the Sun December 4. I would not mind a stop at Cozumel but having been there before its hardly a deal breaker for me. As for NCL making a profit off the cancellation I would imagine that that is not very likely when you consider the money they are not making off their cut of the shore excursions they are gonna have to refund.

[swoosh2005]

Hopefully by the time your cruise comes up they will be able to make other arrangements for additional ports.

[Shellbelle28]

I feel terrible about what is happening in the region hit by the hurricane, but I am scheduled to be on the sun on December 4th and am VERY disappointed we will only be having 2 days at port. The whole reason we chose this ship was because originally it had 4 port days. One of the reasons I love cruising so much is because you get to see so many different places. I was okay with taking one of the stops out, but now two of them? This is our honeymoon, it isn't like we can just cancel and go another time. I don't understand whey they can't have us stop somewhere else to replace Cozumel? Does anyone else know?

Port berths are reserved and organized many, many months in advance by the cruiselines, they aren't able to just "replace" an intinerary with a different port in a couple of days but I am very sure that they are doing everything they can to figure out substitutes (as are all the other cruiselines, I am sure it is bedlam) it is just going to take time. Since your trip is in December I wouldn't expect that what is happening this week is what you're going to experience.

[robsvacation]

...How much do you want to bet we end up with a one port cruise when we can't tender into Belieze? True, ports are booked months in advance but this is the easy out for NCL, no talk of adding Vera Cruz, Costa Maya, etc. Oh well, maybe I'll meet someone onboard to keep myself occupied ;-)

[sweetdardar]

I have to agree with those that are disappointed about only two ports. We all feel extremely bad for those in Cozumel and Cancun as we did for those in New Orleans but those of us that did pay extra money to change airfare to Houston, that had to find another hotel, that has to pay $40 p/p to get from the airport to the cruiseship and back as well as a rental car do have a right to be upset about this.

 

We all know that its not NCL's fault about the weather but of course they will make more money when people are at sea than at port and I would be very surprised if we received any port charges back. I also read on another thread that people returning from NCL's Sun cruise did NOT receive the $50 p/p credit that was promised them for the switch to Houston and we will be planning on when we cruise Nov 27th.

 

Unfortunately, we did go for an inside cabin this time because there were four ports so its going to be a long week. People look forward to these cruises and its wrong to slam someone for their disappointment.

[ute_fan]

There's a post on the Cozumel board that states that they hope to be able to resume cruise ship travel to Cozumel on Nov. 20. Here's the link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=247808&page=2 -- I think the specific post number is 41. Personally, I hope they are able to add Cozumel back as a port of call so that the shore excursion $$$ can help the local residents, even though it is likely that the island will still be suffering from the extensive hurricane damage.

 

As far as the statement that NCL has "finally gotten around" to updating their website -- didn't I understand that the corporate offices were also affected by hurricane Wilma in FL? Maybe it's just taking them a while to be able to find out what their options are.

[Goldryder]

...I knew it, and how much do you want to bet we miss Belieze due to high seas and we end up with a 1 port cruise. I am begining to remember why a swore off NCL, starting off 2nd rate already!

 

You could always try and arrange the sea to be calm yourself, seeing as you appear to be expecting NCL to do it especially for you.

 

The Gulf region has had the worst hurricane season in years, you are on holiday on a ship, a ship floats on water and sometimes the water gets rough..how the dickens is NCL responsible for nature?

 

Every single itinerary on every single ship is subject to change, if you do not like that idea, then do not go on a cruise.

 

Simple as that.

[AnnapolisCruises]

MIAMI, October 26, 2005 – The employees, officers and crew of NCL Corporation would like to extend their thoughts and prayers to the people affected by Hurricane Wilma.

 

The process of recovery and restoration in the hardest hit areas of the Yucatan Peninsula will be lengthy. As of now, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Cancun can not accept cruise ships and our return there will be contingent on their recovery. As such, the company is forced to amend itineraries for the following ships:

 

Norwegian Dream (Houston departure/7-day) – Until further notice, Norwegian Dream will sail a modified itinerary spending Sunday and Monday at sea, calling into Roatan, Honduras on Tuesday and Belize City, Belize on Wednesday and spending Thursday and Friday at sea returning to the Port of Houston on Saturday.

 

Norwegian Sun (Houston departure/7-day) – Until further notice, Norwegian Sun will sail a modified itinerary spending Monday and Tuesday at sea, calling into Belize City, Belize on Wednesday and Roatan, Honduras on Thursday and spending Friday and Saturday at sea returning to the Port of Houston on Sunday.

 

Norwegian Dawn (New York departure) – Norwegian Dawn’s October 19 cruise has been modified to call into Nassau instead of Great Stirrup Cay. The company will be announcing shortly modifications of the ship’s next cruise leaving on Sunday, October 30.

 

The company regrets any inconvenience caused by these unavoidable changes and thanks its guests for their patience and understanding.

 

 

We are a little up set that NCL now has cut 2 ports out now. I due understand and feel for all the people hurt by the storm but NCL needs to add a port like other cruise lines.

[AnnapolisCruises]

MIAMI, October 26, 2005 – The employees, officers and crew of NCL Corporation would like to extend their thoughts and prayers to the people affected by Hurricane Wilma.

 

The process of recovery and restoration in the hardest hit areas of the Yucatan Peninsula will be lengthy. As of now, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Cancun can not accept cruise ships and our return there will be contingent on their recovery. As such, the company is forced to amend itineraries for the following ships:

 

Norwegian Dream (Houston departure/7-day) – Until further notice, Norwegian Dream will sail a modified itinerary spending Sunday and Monday at sea, calling into Roatan, Honduras on Tuesday and Belize City, Belize on Wednesday and spending Thursday and Friday at sea returning to the Port of Houston on Saturday.

 

Norwegian Sun (Houston departure/7-day) – Until further notice, Norwegian Sun will sail a modified itinerary spending Monday and Tuesday at sea, calling into Belize City, Belize on Wednesday and Roatan, Honduras on Thursday and spending Friday and Saturday at sea returning to the Port of Houston on Sunday.

 

Norwegian Dawn (New York departure) – Norwegian Dawn’s October 19 cruise has been modified to call into Nassau instead of Great Stirrup Cay. The company will be announcing shortly modifications of the ship’s next cruise leaving on Sunday, October 30.

 

The company regrets any inconvenience caused by these unavoidable changes and thanks its guests for their patience and understanding.

 

 

We are a little up set that NCL now has cut 2 ports out now. I due understand and feel for all the people hurt by the storm but NCL needs to add a port like other cruise lines.

[spiritkat090909]

I'd guess that the cruise lines are just as frustrated as their customers. Seems to me that being IN port saves them money in labor & services...and they don't get the income from those outrageously priced excursions! We save $200 per day on each port that we don't visit, for 2 of us. We don't drink THAT much per day on the ship...

[Goldryder]

This is an example of unnecessary and rude comments..:( . Maybe Goldryder would offer everyone on the NCL cruises out of Houston a free and warm welcome to their house in York, England until the damage ports can receive passengers... :) Something about living in a Glass House and the first stone?

 

 

Considering I live 60 miles inland, that might be a tiny bit difficult to do...just as its more than a tiny bit difficult for cruiselines to magically find replacement ports in a matter of days after severe hurricanes ;)

[Jfultz81]

I, too, feel sorry for all the people affected by Hurricane Wilma. It has cause a massive amount of damage and I understand why our ship won't be going there, as disappointing as it is. And, yes, it is a huge disappointment. We were originally going out of Mobile with Carnival, and that was cancelled. So, instead of rebooking with Carnival, we found a great itinerary with NCL. We were really looking forward to visiting all of the ports, but I guess two are better than none. Since we were supposed to only have two sea days I'm now going to have to figure out how to entertain us for four days. Any ideas? I hope they add some different ports, even one, because I was hoping to do Xmas shopping in Cozumel! Those poor people, I can't even imagine. Oh well, hopefully on our next cruise we can stop there and give all of those people our much needed support.

[Bourmatnov]

Ok, I'm not trying to stir up trouble as pieshops stated, just trying to see if others felt a bit cheated like me. I totally understand that the dynamics of scheduling port time is difficult at best. I enjoyed my last Alaska cruise with NCL (which by the way had count em - 4 ports stops) and had an INCREDIBLE time.

 

Perhaps when they Anchor near Belise they could let us stay for two days and do more. Yea it would be a bit more crowded but Belize city is a big town with many excursions. Even opens up a possible overnight option.

 

I just find it hard to believe that there is no other port available. Central america is full of ports. I would not mind having to shell out 10 bucks for a bus ride from a shipping port to a city. If they have no options fine, perhaps they should come out and say that on the web site - "sorry we looked but nothing was available anywhere. If something becomes available we will sail there". Would that be so hard to do?

 

As for my comment about "No comment" from NCL. You are correct, they did comment. They chose to update there itinerary first on sales pages, then they posted the update on NCL.COM few hours later so I missed it. Sorry!

 

So all in all I may have sounded a bit cynical but I am not a "troublemaker". Our last cruise had some minor bugs but we just rolled right along happy as clams without any complaints. I agree that your cruise enjoyment is what you make out of it. So hopefully NCL reads this board and tries a bit harder over the next few weeks to find an alt port because 8 days is a long time on one ship for many of us - even one the size of the Sun.

 

Happy Cruising.

 

PS: Best scenario: Cozumel gets back on its feet much faster than expected and this topic is moot.

[AztecCraig]

Golddigger, how difficult a concept is it for you to grasp that what these people purchased is now not what is going to be delivered? The least the cruise line should do is allow them to cancel or use the credit for a future trip.

I wonder if you would feel the same way if your Chunnell ticket only got you half way to France and then took you back?

[Goldryder]

Golddigger, how difficult a concept is it for you to grasp that what these people purchased is now not what is going to be delivered? The least the cruise line should do is allow them to cancel or use the credit for a future trip.

I wonder if you would feel the same way if your Chunnell ticket only got you half way to France and then took you back?

 

Actually that has happened a couple of times but I didn't let it worry me. No point getting all upset over things that cannot be altered.

 

Cest la vie.

[AztecCraig]

this is how rumors get started and people get mad.

 

Take a deep breath and wait until NCL makes an announcement. They will add another port, relax

 

Gotta disagree with Pieshops on this one - take action ASAP. I waited to hear from NCL about cancelling my cruise after Katrina, figuring they had bigger things to take care of and would let us know what to do. Turns out I should have been monitoring the NCL website for an announcement in the news section on how to cancel and the deadline. The first contact I had from NCL was on the day the offer to cancel expired ( they emailed my itinerary with no mention of the option to cancel, just substituted HOU for NO).

 

Expect no help from NCL.

[AnnapolisCruises]

I agree that I can't control it so dont lose your cool of it but it would be nice to see NCL do something. Add a extra day at one of the two port we will go to. Looks like some more time in the spa for us

[rferr]

Golddigger, how difficult a concept is it for you to grasp that what these people purchased is now not what is going to be delivered? The least the cruise line should do is allow them to cancel or use the credit for a future trip.

I wonder if you would feel the same way if your Chunnell ticket only got you half way to France and then took you back?

 

 

When the contract says that the ports can be changed or skipped and you know that in advance and agree to it when you book then how is this the case?

[Shellbelle28]

One thing also to remember, NCL is based in Miami. According to my TA, their offices aren't even running beyond a skelton staff and home-based workers because nobody can get gasoline to drive to the office! Hopefully with a little time, they will be able to get alternative arrangements in place beyond the "at sea" option.

 

I don't blame anyone for feeling dissapointed that their planned vacation is disrupted, but it does give me some heartburn to read negative comments about NCL not fixing things when it is only a few days after a significant natural disaster both to destinations and the company offices.

[Zeno]

First I am very sympathetic to those who will find themselves with one less port. I am a "port person" myself. Also (since I am cruising out of Miami on the Sun in Jan) I may find myself missing a port (unless Cozumel is ready to receive cruiseships by then). However I know (not being geographically challenged) that NCL cannot just substitute any port in Mexico or Central America. The "last" port on the itinerary has to be close enough to the orginal (Cozumel) so that the ship can get back to Houston on time. I can think of only one port that meets that criteria - Progreso (which is not a big cruiseship port). Remember all cruiselines that were calling at Cozumel or Cancun or Playa del Carmen (Calica) are now trying to find other docks at MUCH smaller ports right now.

For the geographically challenged:

 

http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/mexico.htm

 

As you can see even going to Veracruz would take the ship off course for it's home port.

Personally for those affected (and possibly myself) I hope NCL will be able to find a port substitute soon. But after this uniquely devastating hurricane season - if they can't, I can live with it and will try to learn to love days-at-sea.