Entire Cruise Itinerary Changed, Any Recourse?

[PaulInPGH]

Greetings, CC friends,

 

We recently put down a deposit for a 10-night Med cruise on Spirit out of Rome for this October. Unfortunately, I got an email from my TA this afternoon letting me know that NCL has changed the entire itinerary of the cruise from a Western Med cruise to an Eastern/Greek cruise.

 

The original itinerary we booked is available in September, but since prices have gone up since we booked, it will cost us about $700 more to take that cruise. This is annoying, to say the least.

 

I'm sure there's no recourse for this, as I assume NCL can change whatever it wants prior to sailing. But I am curious if this happens often. This never happened on any of my Caribbean cruises.

[Loonbeam]

As you noted, legally you have no recourse, its all part of the contract of carriage you agreed to by booking the trip.

 

However, in this particular case, because the change was so significant, your TA should contact NCL and see if they would be willing to transfer the booking without the increase or if they would be willing to consider some OBC.

 

The answer is still likely to be No, but I have found when the change is THIS significant they sometimes have a little flexibility.

[PaulInPGH]

As you noted, legally you have no recourse, its all part of the contract of carriage you agreed to by booking the trip.

 

However, in this particular case, because the change was so significant, your TA should contact NCL and see if they would be willing to transfer the booking without the increase or if they would be willing to consider some OBC.

 

The answer is still likely to be No, but I have found when the change is THIS significant they sometimes have a little flexibility.

 

Thanks, I will be sure to have him give that a try.

[SuiteTraveler]

I agree, your travel agent should call NCL and see if perhaps your booking can be transferred to the September cruise at little to no increase or if they would give you onboard credit to make up for the extra expense.

[NMLady]

Greetings, CC friends,

 

We recently put down a deposit for a 10-night Med cruise on Spirit out of Rome for this October. Unfortunately, I got an email from my TA this afternoon letting me know that NCL has changed the entire itinerary of the cruise from a Western Med cruise to an Eastern/Greek cruise.

 

The original itinerary we booked is available in September, but since prices have gone up since we booked, it will cost us about $700 more to take that cruise. This is annoying, to say the least.

 

I'm sure there's no recourse for this, as I assume NCL can change whatever it wants prior to sailing. But I am curious if this happens often. This never happened on any of my Caribbean cruises.

 

Did you read this thread?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2442684

[CruiseMGM]

Sadly (for us passengers), the cruise line holds all the cards. I wish you the best of luck on getting anything out of NCL on this.

 

We had the same thing happen to us, also with the Spirit in the Med. Our original cruise was scheduled for this month, a Barcelona to Venice cruise, which we booked in November 2015. A month later, I happened to be looking at MyNCL login and I saw that the itinerary had changed COMPLETELY....from a Barcelona-to-Venice cruise to, instead, a r/t Barcelona with stops in the Canary Islands cruise! I'm the one who notified my TA about the change, she checked into it and said that NCL said it was their right to change the itinerary, that it was in the cruise contract.

 

There was another Barcelona-to-Venice itinerary in April and we switched to that, but the prices were higher and the dates weren't as convenient for us. We didn't get a dang thing from NCL, and even lost some OBC when we switched the booking. I've been telling myself that the weather will be better in April than it would have been in January, but it's not a great consolation (there is no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing?). The thing that irked me the most, though, was that we were never notified about the change. Not by NCL, not by our TA who says she wasn't notified.

 

Good luck, hope things work out for you.

[sfaaa]

Your recourse is to cancel, take your money and cruise with another cruise line.

[BirdTravels]

Greetings, CC friends, We recently put down a deposit for a 10-night Med cruise on Spirit out of Rome for this October. Unfortunately, I got an email from my TA this afternoon letting me know that NCL has changed the entire itinerary of the cruise from a Western Med cruise to an Eastern/Greek cruise. The original itinerary we booked is available in September, but since prices have gone up since we booked, it will cost us about $700 more to take that cruise. This is annoying, to say the least. I'm sure there's no recourse for this, as I assume NCL can change whatever it wants prior to sailing. But I am curious if this happens often. This never happened on any of my Caribbean cruises.

 

There is no recourse. NCL has offered you what they are willing to give you in compensation for the cruise. If you did not get the exact terms of the change, it is one of the disadvantages of working with a TA. NCL has communicated the exact terms of the change to your TA. Your TA should have received the exact "exchanges" which would be accommodated free of charge. If you book directly with NCL, they will deal directly with you.

[MCC retired]

There is no recourse. NCL has offered you what they are willing to give you in compensation for the cruise. If you did not get the exact terms of the change, it is one of the disadvantages of working with a TA. NCL has communicated the exact terms of the change to your TA. Your TA should have received the exact "exchanges" which would be accommodated free of charge. If you book directly with NCL, they will deal directly with you.

 

 

On the contrary , a good TA that may be a NCL Top Producer ,will have

"Contacts" at NCL that the guest won't have access to , for situations like this .

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Da-Painter]

Your recourse is to cancel, take your money and cruise with another cruise line.

 

Why would you consider continuing to doing business with a company that pulls this type of crap on you??? Don't complain when they pull the next change.

 

I agree with the above response. :eek:

[wdsted]

Greetings, CC friends,

 

 

 

We recently put down a deposit for a 10-night Med cruise on Spirit out of Rome for this October. Unfortunately, I got an email from my TA this afternoon letting me know that NCL has changed the entire itinerary of the cruise from a Western Med cruise to an Eastern/Greek cruise.

 

 

 

The original itinerary we booked is available in September, but since prices have gone up since we booked, it will cost us about $700 more to take that cruise. This is annoying, to say the least.

 

 

 

I'm sure there's no recourse for this, as I assume NCL can change whatever it wants prior to sailing. But I am curious if this happens often. This never happened on any of my Caribbean cruises.

 

 

Sorry your plans have been changed. I'm wondering if the switch to an Eastern Med cruise is the problem because that's not what you booked or you don't want that itinerary. Unless you've never visited ports in Italy, I wouldn't worry about Easter Med destinations. They're great too and actually more convenient.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Edited January 15, 2017 by wdsted

[BirdTravels]

Why would you consider continuing to doing business with a company that pulls this type of crap on you??? Don't complain when they pull the next change. I agree with the above response. :eek:

 

Every cruise line offers cruises several years in advance and changes in itineraries, based on changing requirements, subsequently occur.

 

Let's not be naive thinking that NCL is the only company in the entire world that will change an itinerary. Every cruise line does it. All the time. Just business.

 

When it happens to you, it sucks. We sail about 6 times a year and have had multiple itinerary changes and cruise cancellations on multiple cruise lines.

[WanderlustJourney]

Changes do occur from time to time, however I agree that a TA with a good relationship with NCL can and does pay off, they do have contacts that they can bring customer issues to and sometimes get favourable results. It happened with an issue I had on the Pearl back in September.

Edited January 15, 2017 by WanderlustJourney

[PaulInPGH]

Sorry your plans have been changed. I'm wondering if the switch to an Eastern Med cruise is the problem because that's not what you booked or you don't want that itinerary. Unless you've never visited ports in Italy, I wouldn't worry about Easter Med destinations. They're great too and actually more convenient.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Yes, we've never visited any of the Med ports, and we chose this cruise because of the number of stops in Italy, plus the stops in Spain and France. The replacement itinerary does far fewer ports in Italy, and nothing in Spain or France, so it is not at all what we are looking for in our first Med cruise.

[littlelulu01]

Sorry about your itinerary change. I've experienced them as well and yes they happen more than you'd think on all lines. In your case I'm not sure there's anything you can do. Certainly doesn't hurt to ask if you can change but since they are still embarking and disembarking same port and they have not cut the days they very well may tell you to either rebook a sailing you want on another date or keep the one you have at your cost.

 

Since the prices have gone up so much switching may end up giving you a bad taste and you are spending a lot of money & want to have a great vacation. You may want to look into the new ports. We were not crazy about going to Athens but had an excellent day this past season. Hired a guy we clicked with upon walking out of port who spoke excellent English who was a retired professor. He gave us a grand tour VIP all day and for $100 total we had one of the best days of the two week cruise. Athens looks to have really cleaned up and economic situation seemed much improved over previous year. Reading up on Greek mythology, birth of democracy... prior helped us appreciate it even more.

 

I'm not sure I'd ever try and fit Florence in on a port visit. We spent a few days post cruise there and in Lucca and even then it was way too little time. Good luck with your decision and hope it works out. Florence is a short high speed train ride from Rome and Barcelona is an inexpensive flight away if you want to extend your trip. If not, the new itinerary looks fun, not much hassle and less expensive ports so worth considering if you have a good price locked in on your cruise.

[PaulInPGH]

Sorry about your itinerary change. I've experienced them as well and yes they happen more than you'd think on all lines. In your case I'm not sure there's anything you can do. Certainly doesn't hurt to ask if you can change but since they are still embarking and disembarking same port and they have not cut the days they very well may tell you to either rebook a sailing you want on another date or keep the one you have at your cost.

 

Since the prices have gone up so much switching may end up giving you a bad taste and you are spending a lot of money & want to have a great vacation. You may want to look into the new ports. We were not crazy about going to Athens but had an excellent day this past season. Hired a guy we clicked with upon walking out of port who spoke excellent English who was a retired professor. He gave us a grand tour VIP all day and for $100 total we had one of the best days of the two week cruise. Athens looks to have really cleaned up and economic situation seemed much improved over previous year. Reading up on Greek mythology, birth of democracy... prior helped us appreciate it even more.

 

I'm not sure I'd ever try and fit Florence in on a port visit. We spent a few days post cruise there and in Lucca and even then it was way too little time. Good luck with your decision and hope it works out. Florence is a short high speed train ride from Rome and Barcelona is an inexpensive flight away if you want to extend your trip. If not, the new itinerary looks fun, not much hassle and less expensive ports so worth considering if you have a good price locked in on your cruise.

 

All good points, thank you.

 

Right now we're considering switching to the shorter 7 night out of Rome on the Epic, which will allow us to do some extended stays on either end of the cruise in Venice and/or Rome. Might try to sneak Paris in on the front end, still playing with dates and train schedules.

[pieshops]

please correct me if I am wrong but why would you need any "recourse" the cruise is 9 plus months away, well within the no penalty cancellation phase. Just cancel and find another line doing the same itinerary or change itineraries. Your insurance should cover any airline change fees

[welove2cruise*]

Our 7 night cruise out of London right after the Epic was in dry dock in 2015 was shortened by a day and we lost one of our stops. They reimbursed us for the extra hotel night in London pre-cruise as well as reduced the price and gave a small on board credit. It took a while to get the reimbursement after the cruise - and we were disappointed with the shorter cruise and the one port we missed was one we were really looking forward to, but all in all we were happy and had a great time. I would think they would make an effort to work with you.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[PaulInPGH]

please correct me if I am wrong but why would you need any "recourse" the cruise is 9 plus months away, well within the no penalty cancellation phase. Just cancel and find another line doing the same itinerary or change itineraries. Your insurance should cover any airline change fees

 

Sorry, maybe recourse was the wrong choice of words. There's plenty of time for us to change plans, and we haven't made any payments beyond our initial refundable deposit. I'm just annoyed that to take the same cruise we wanted (a couple weeks earlier), the price would be $800 more. We're likely going to change our trip entirely now, and I like what we've come up with as an alternative, but it's still frustrating when you have a good trip ready to go and then it changes.

[pieshops]

Sorry, maybe recourse was the wrong choice of words. There's plenty of time for us to change plans, and we haven't made any payments beyond our initial refundable deposit. I'm just annoyed that to take the same cruise we wanted (a couple weeks earlier), the price would be $800 more. We're likely going to change our trip entirely now, and I like what we've come up with as an alternative, but it's still frustrating when you have a good trip ready to go and then it changes.

 

I'm with you and completely understand. I wish I had 9 months lol we found out at the airport headed to Hong Kong on the 16th of December about the new itinerary for star after the mechanical issues. I had 4 days to revise our entire intneraty lol. 9 months is like an eternity. Good luck and enjoy

[luvtheships]

Based on all the stuff Ncl has been pulling the last few years (we've been cruising 2x a year since 2011 med and Carib)

 

We decided to do a 2 week land trip to Europe this year instead

 

Only prepayment is for airfare which is totally insured

 

No worries about itin changes

 

No worries about rushing through the ports

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[DMH15]

Sorry, maybe recourse was the wrong choice of words. There's plenty of time for us to change plans, and we haven't made any payments beyond our initial refundable deposit. I'm just annoyed that to take the same cruise we wanted (a couple weeks earlier), the price would be $800 more. We're likely going to change our trip entirely now, and I like what we've come up with as an alternative, but it's still frustrating when you have a good trip ready to go and then it changes.

 

 

Well, I feel your pain. We originally booked the Jade out of Houston. Two of us live in Dallas and the third in Austin. We planned to drive down and leave our cars at a friend's who would drivenus to/from the port. We planned to drive day of unless weather became an issue. Costs were minimal.

 

Then NCL pulled out of Houston and offered us alternatives. In order to be price protected and keep all of our great perks, like the old UDP, we chose the Jade from Tampa. Same week, same aft PH. THEY gave us $100.

 

We researched airfare, hotel and transfers and yeah, it meant after netting out the $100 it would cost each of us about $350.

 

But wait... there is more.

 

A few months later NCL cancelled our replacement cruise due to a charter. This time they offered us EPIC or DAWN. Period. I never imagined myself choosing a megaship. But, I have been on the DAWN and really did not like it. We wanted a spa trip and the Dawn spa was inferior to the Jewel class spas... at least at the time of our cancellation. Since then they have the beloved tile loungers. NCL gave us another $100.

 

So, we are on Epic next month. I worked my magic doing research, but we still ended up with about $500 in airfare and $400 to Port Canaveral for hotel and transfers.

 

It all came down to deciding if it was worth it to us. We said yes. So we are going and we are going to have a great time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[PaulInPGH]

Based on all the stuff Ncl has been pulling the last few years (we've been cruising 2x a year since 2011 med and Carib)

 

We decided to do a 2 week land trip to Europe this year instead

 

Only prepayment is for airfare which is totally insured

 

No worries about itin changes

 

No worries about rushing through the ports

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We actually spent most of today looking at that option, checking out train schedules and considering potential destinations. I think we're going to end up doing a combination of a shorter, 7 night cruise and an extended land trip pre and post cruise, rather than rebook the more expensive 10 night itinerary. I can definitely see the appeal of going totally land-based though.

[PaulInPGH]

Well, I feel your pain. We originally booked the Jade out of Houston. Two of us live in Dallas and the third in Austin. We planned to drive down and leave our cars at a friend's who would drivenus to/from the port. We planned to drive day of unless weather became an issue. Costs were minimal.

 

Then NCL pulled out of Houston and offered us alternatives. In order to be price protected and keep all of our great perks, like the old UDP, we chose the Jade from Tampa. Same week, same aft PH. THEY gave us $100.

 

We researched airfare, hotel and transfers and yeah, it meant after netting out the $100 it would cost each of us about $350.

 

But wait... there is more.

 

A few months later NCL cancelled our replacement cruise due to a charter. This time they offered us EPIC or DAWN. Period. I never imagined myself choosing a megaship. But, I have been on the DAWN and really did not like it. We wanted a spa trip and the Dawn spa was inferior to the Jewel class spas... at least at the time of our cancellation. Since then they have the beloved tile loungers. NCL gave us another $100.

 

So, we are on Epic next month. I worked my magic doing research, but we still ended up with about $500 in airfare and $400 to Port Canaveral for hotel and transfers.

 

It all came down to deciding if it was worth it to us. We said yes. So we are going and we are going to have a great time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Wow, now that is a lot of changes. Kudos to you for rolling with the punches.

[DipBrat]

Sorry, maybe recourse was the wrong choice of words. There's plenty of time for us to change plans, and we haven't made any payments beyond our initial refundable deposit. I'm just annoyed that to take the same cruise we wanted (a couple weeks earlier), the price would be $800 more. We're likely going to change our trip entirely now, and I like what we've come up with as an alternative, but it's still frustrating when you have a good trip ready to go and then it changes.

 

 

Those couple of weeks earlier are key. Weather much better in September compared to October.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums