GSC Cancelled - Overnighting in Nassau

[wallygator21015]

I booked a (7) night cruise on the NCL BREAKAWAY last March. Yesterday I received a email from NCL informing me that we weren't going to GSC, but we were going to stay overnight in Nassau.

Why not select another Port of Call, Key West, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, or Charleston SC.

 

Dear Valued Guests & Travel Partners:

October 27, 2016

IMPORTANT: ITINERARY CHANGE INFORMATION

Norwegian Cruise Line has important information for you regarding Norwegian Breakaway's 7-Day Bahamas & Florida sailing from New York on November 6, 2016. All guests booked on this sailing need to be aware of this change and travel professionals are asked to forward this information to their clients.

At Norwegian Cruise Line, the safety and comfort of our guests and crew is always our number one priority. Our team has completed the assessment of Hurricane Matthew's impact on Great Stirrup Cay, our private island in the Bahamas, which has been closed since August 25 for enhancements as a part of The Norwegian Edge program. Due to the storm's effects on the island and the resulting delays in construction, the island will remain closed for an additional four weeks to complete the planned upgrades. Great Stirrup Cay will re-open to welcome guests on November 20.

Please review the revised itinerary information below.

Original Arrive Depart

Revised Arrive Depart

Sun New York City, New York 3:00 pm

Sun New York City, New York 3:00 pm

Mon At Sea

Mon At Sea

Tue Orlando-beaches-port Canaveral, Florida 1:00 pm 9:00 pm

Tue Orlando-beaches-port Canaveral, Florida 1:00 pm 9:00 pm

Wed Nassau, Bahamas 1:00 pm 9:00 pm

Wed Nassau, Bahamas 1:00 pm overnight

Thu Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas 8:00 am 5:00 pm

Thu Nassau, Bahamas overnight 10:00 am

Fri At Sea

Fri At Sea

Sat At Sea

Sat At Sea

Sun New York City, New York 8:00 am

Sun New York City, New York 8:00 am

If you pre-booked shore excursions through Norwegian Cruise Line for Great Stirrup Cay, your pre-booked shore excursion reservations will be automatically cancelled.

Thank you for your understanding. If you have any questions, please contact us at 800-327-7030 (Monday through Friday from 8am to midnight ET and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 9pm ET). We look forward to welcoming you aboard Norwegian Breakaway.

Sincerely,

Vivian Ewart

Vice President, Passenger Services

 

 

 

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[hladygirl]

There is nothing NCL could have done due to hurricane damage but I agree the itinerary stinks. I would have preferred a day at sea instead of another day in Nassau.

[brunello22]

There is probably limited available berths in another port.

[DMH15]

Not as easy as getting a vacant parking place at the mall.

 

Mother nature happens.

 

 

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[hamrag]

Also be aware that, the evening before you land in Nassau, NCL will issue you with a safety/security alert for Nassau advising you that due to recent "incidents" not to have expensive jewellery and belongings and to take care of your personal safety. Unfortunately, we didn't retain the alert letter, otherwise I would quote precisely, but in essence the message was....go if you dare!

 

We were re-routed to Nassau on the 10/9 sailing to Bermuda due to hurricane Nicole. Nassau was awful even for a 2 hour stroll, and clearly no-one would wish to be there during the hours of darkness.

[mjkacmom]

Also be aware that, the evening before you land in Nassau, NCL will issue you with a safety/security alert for Nassau advising you that due to recent "incidents" not to have expensive jewellery and belongings and to take care of your personal safety. Unfortunately, we didn't retain the alert letter, otherwise I would quote precisely, but in essence the message was....go if you dare!

 

We were re-routed to Nassau on the 10/9 sailing to Bermuda due to hurricane Nicole. Nassau was awful even for a 2 hour stroll, and clearly no-one would wish to be there during the hours of darkness.

 

Been there 4 times, always enjoyed it. You need to do your homework, but there is plenty to do.

[mking8288]

NCL isn't the only cruiseline with operations/ports of calls disrupted by mother nature recently due to Matthew vs. limited # of available berths ;) - and, I assumed that not everyone stayed tuned to the world news and assumed it's been business as usual with the post-storm recovery ... NOT :eek: - no faults on the part of NCL. Of course, they could and always can do a better job of communicating further out with pax booked on cruises, and, deliver the worst news and pray for the best outcome :D - not exactly a win-win situation.

 

In any event, seasoned cruisers are not always in love with Nassau and other ports in the Bahamas, the northern islands sustained serious damages & the infrastructure are still recovering - one can reasonably conclude and assume that GSC, a tiny island rising barely out of the ocean took damages from storm surges and wind, etc.

 

As for personal safety & other tourist considerations - the U.S. Department of State has Travel Advisory in place, they are available & accessible online 24/7/365 and updated for anyone & everyone to review - a subsection in the link also has some info about the recovery status. https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/the-bahamas.html

 

NCL, like other travel providers, is in the business of promoting vacation dreams and not about to widely spread the negative news - due diligence is upon us to take into consideration of ALL the news about the surroundings, and choosing the options carefully ... in the daylight hours or otherwise.

 

As for the alternate itinerary issued by NCL, it is what it is - they could've done it differently and make other changes, like extending the time for Port Canaveral. Similar 7 day sailings in years, long past & gone, out of NYC used to include a day stop in Miami - been eliminated over 10 years ago, I believed, as we did that twice when the Dawn was new & homeport in NY then. With all the different (mega) ships doing donuts and trying to dock somewhere, even for a few hours - it's not easy to plan in a bling bling.

 

For many sailing the BA, the ship itself is the destination (essentially a CTN for 7 nights and not at work or in the office doing working) and many don't even step foot off the ports & simply enjoy the amenities onboard, even in steerage and without booking Haven.

 

Do try to make the best out of it.

[msmayor]

Why not select another Port of Call, Key West, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, or Charleston SC.

 

Those are all US ports...in order to meet legal requirements for a closed loop cruise the ship must call on a 'near' foreign port...and that means Nassau. You HAVE to stop there.

 

Because of the required stop in Nassau, it limits (timewise) where else Breakaway can go in order to stay within 7 days. Key West is too far to get there and back on track to have any meaningful port time. Charleston is probably too small a port for Breakaway to get in and out of. Ft. Lauderdale and Miami maybe, but there are other logistical requirements in all four of those ports because of US Customs. Once leaving Nassau, any one of those ports would be your 'first' US port after the Bahamas and everyone would need to clear customs to go ashore.

[callmebetty]

This happened to us last year. Make the best of it...most of the shops close at 5. We were lucky to have a local pull over, beep at us, and tell us to turn around and avoid the unsavory part of town. We took the bare necessities with us, made our way to the Fish Fry area, had a wonderful dinner at a place with "Yard" in the name (used to be Candies), way cheaper than Twin Brothers and the mac and cheese (called pasta or macaroni on the menu is to die for), and had a most enjoyable dip in the ocean under the stars at Junkanoo beach. We could hear the music from the nightclub and it was wonderful. If you plan on doing this, do not bring anything you value...or run back to the ship, change into swim attire, and bring just a towel. We were warned to beware of "men of the night" by the restaurant owner, but the beach does not close, and if the car is a rockin, don't go a knockin...

Just my 2 cents!

[WashyWashyHappyHappy95]

Too bad NCL is still telling people booking tickets for these cruises that they're going to GSC.

 

But I'm sure they just "forgot to update the website."

[Dubbs]

Too bad NCL is still telling people booking tickets for these cruises that they're going to GSC.

 

But I'm sure they just "forgot to update the website."

 

You mad bro?

[zqvol]

Too bad NCL is still telling people booking tickets for these cruises that they're going to GSC.

 

But I'm sure they just "forgot to update the website."

 

You are just trying to stir up trouble when it doesn't exist. NCL is waiting as long as possible to notify people of changes in hopes that the island is repaired and ready to reopen. The situation is dynamic. It costs NCL a lot more to overnight in Nassau than it does to go to GSC.

 

As far as updating the web site believe what you want.

[WashyWashyHappyHappy95]

You are just trying to stir up trouble when it doesn't exist. NCL is waiting as long as possible to notify people of changes in hopes that the island is repaired and ready to reopen. The situation is dynamic. It costs NCL a lot more to overnight in Nassau than it does to go to GSC.

 

As far as updating the web site believe what you want.

 

Well that's a sympathetic read on things.

 

They've notified passengers, in writing, that GSC is closed until Nov. 20th.

 

However someone that isn't on these boards that books a cruise before then thinks they're going to GSC, and NCL is JUST FINE with that, since it will sell more tickets. It's just such a scumbag, cheap move...sort of like knowing the BA wasn't going to Bermuda but getting everyone board and locking the door so they can't cancel.

 

Are they legally allowed to do it? Possibly, but it's cheap and dishonest. If it mattered to NCL that passengers be given accurate descriptions of the cruises they book, the website would be updated, but they clearly don't.

[dvond]

Unforeseen things happen and not much you can do but staying overnight in Nassau until 10am the next morning is worthless, I dislike the port but at least give a full day to replace GSC so we can go to a beach, the main reason for us leaving the Northeast in November. Not looking forward to a crowded sea day