Itinerary Changed with No Compensation Offered

[Cafedumonde]

8 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

May I ask why you thought that the old itinerary was better?

 

As I see it they will get one extra port, which in my opinion is a very nice port. I also think that they will dock in Stockholm instead of Nynäshamn and that's also much better.

For us they dropped one port about 7 months before the cruise.  It was the best port.  No notification- nothing.  From 4 to 3 ports.  I just happened to notice it.  It just really rubbed me the wrong way.  I get it.  They can do what they want.  They are a business, blah, blah, blah.  But it's just not polite to treat customers like chopped liver.  Lol.  That was over a year and a half ago and we haven't booked with them since.  Meanwhile we have taken 5 other cruises... on other lines.   I only peek over here occasionally because I have 2 lousy cruise next certificates and I've been too lazy to figure out how to sell on ebay.  But every time I come over here I see more customer service complaints.  Meanwhile NCL still has their prices pumped up.  Ugh.

 

I can't really comment on the OP's cruise, but I just think NCL should treat their customers with more care.

Edited May 3, 2019 by Cafedumonde

[mertziek]

On 4/24/2019 at 8:09 AM, spanishguy1970 said:

don't say that we are on the Getaway this coming October 😱

We are, too!!!  😳🤭

[sverigecruiser]

16 hours ago, Freshycat said:

 

You might say objectively the ports have the same value, but that doesn't help if somebody chose a particular cruise over another because they were looking for an overnight in Stockholm. 

 

On our 9-day Baltics cruise in August 2019, NCL changed the originally scheduled port of Stockholm to Gdansk. This was long before final payments so I think tons of people must have switched cruises because the prices fell by about 25%.  We couldn't switch because we are travelling with extended family and couldn't reschedule so we got the benefit of the price drop. But if it happens after final payments, it doesn't seem fair. 

 

I know the contract specifies they can change whatever, and I completely understand changing for emergencies and weather, but changing willy-nilly for no apparent reason other than poor planning becomes unfair and disrespectful to customers.

 

It's a question of trust and goodwill. This will be our first cruise ever, and if we keep cruising after that, I have decided based on this thread and my own experience that we will not book on NCL again. A company that does not respect its customers is simply too risky. The money is the least of it. My time and plans are precious too.

 

I don't say that the ports have the same value. Stockholm + Visby is much better than Nynäshamn even if Nynäshamn is overnight.

 

Maybe the truth is that NCL wanted to make the cruise better? Most people will prefer the new itinerary, especially if it is Stockholm now which I have seen in another thread.

 

I absolutely respect OPs opinion but most people will probably think that the new itinerary is much better. 

[sverigecruiser]

16 hours ago, Cafedumonde said:

 

I can't really comment on the OP's cruise, but I just think NCL should treat their customers with more care.

 

More people will appreciate Visby and Stockholm than Nynäshamn so most customers will be happy with the new itinerary.

[myjillian]

On 4/24/2019 at 9:38 PM, Lizabu said:

This is a really good suggestion. I’ve heard of people doing this on Mediterranean cruises when they want to spend more time in Rome for example and aren’t that thrilled about the next port. Just get a hotel and catch up with the ship the next day. Be sure you know what you’re doing though. I took a train in Sweden before and I found it confusing. All the announcements are in Swedish. And the signs. And the tickets. The tickets had car numbers and seat numbers on them and my nephew knew how to read the tickets and showed us our seats. Also the trains are electric. And there was an issue with the line and they canceled all the trains the one day. Some people said it happens all the time. We were just standing on a platform with like 600 people. And there was an announcement in Swedish and everyone left. So we were like !?! Lol

Just make sure that the ship knows your leaving the ship...if your going for good you have to have written permission from the home office...if it's an overnighter  port and your going to stay in a hotel you don'rt need permission... but if you just don't come back to the ship because you don't like the next port you better notify someone....if you miss the ship, not on purpose, that's again a different  plan.

[blulou]

Now that I have read all of the responses to my original post and have had time to process the situation, I have learned a lot about cruising and NCL.

 

First, I did not realize that my destination changed from 2 days in Nyansham to 1 day in Stockholm and 1 day in Visby.  Docking in Stockholm is a plus for us, even though we lost some time touring there.  Visby may be a little gem of a town, we won’t know until we get there.

 

Next, even though a number of responses said that we don’t deserve any compensation for the change and NCL has all legal rights to do so (which they do), I still think it is wrong for the cruise line to have all the power in this arrangement.  It’s just not good customer service to make changes to the itinerary for anything other than mechanical or weather related reasons, especially after the full refund date for the fare has passed.  There are plenty of cruise lines to choose from and now I am leaning toward a river cruise for our next vacation.  We did purchase travel insurance for the cruise, but we needed insurance that would pay if my vacation plans were cancelled for work reasons, which is a possibility due to the timing of the cruise for me.  This insurance had all the usual travel and medical coverages, but change in itinerary is not one of them.

 

Also, NCL seems to do this more often than other cruise lines, but this observation is based on what I have seen here and not based on actual data.  We chose NCL on this cruise primarily because of the spa features of a couple of cruises we did with them previously.  This time we got a good deal on a suite in The Haven and this itinerary change will give us more time to spend there and enjoy those accommodations.  

 

In conclusion, thank all of you for your responses, some of which were useful and some of which were not.  I learned a lot and now I am a much more informed consumer that knows what to expect with cruises.  I am now looking forward to this cruise even more now.

[dinkydee718]

Going on the Getaway in August and after we booked we got an email saying that they were substituting Poland for Sweden at all! No longer going to Sweden at all! 

[teamthodge]

On 4/23/2019 at 8:13 PM, tallnthensome said:

Am I reading this right? You gained an extra port and Stockholm over night was reduced to a single full day? Don't you think you're overreacting a bit here? Your trip wasn't shortened and you didn't have ports completely cancelled. Our 15 day Panama Canal cruise on the Bliss two weeks ago had at least three itinerary changes due to berthing/mooring issues in ports. I just dealt with it and it was still wonderful. I mean, you have a right to be upset if you wish as it's your cruise but I think you're going off the deep end on this one. Stuff happens but I wouldn't think about cancelling over this scenario. 

Wow.

[newmexicoNita]

On 5/3/2019 at 10:06 AM, Freshycat said:

 

You might say objectively the ports have the same value, but that doesn't help if somebody chose a particular cruise over another because they were looking for an overnight in Stockholm. 

 

On our 9-day Baltics cruise in August 2019, NCL changed the originally scheduled port of Stockholm to Gdansk. This was long before final payments so I think tons of people must have switched cruises because the prices fell by about 25%.  We couldn't switch because we are travelling with extended family and couldn't reschedule so we got the benefit of the price drop. But if it happens after final payments, it doesn't seem fair. 

 

I know the contract specifies they can change whatever, and I completely understand changing for emergencies and weather, but changing willy-nilly for no apparent reason other than poor planning becomes unfair and disrespectful to customers.

 

It's a question of trust and goodwill. This will be our first cruise ever, and if we keep cruising after that, I have decided based on this thread and my own experience that we will not book on NCL again. A company that does not respect its customers is simply too risky. The money is the least of it. My time and plans are precious too.

What is bothering you so much that you will never cruise NCL again? Changes happen. What about when, for some reason an airline slightly changes the route but still gets you to where you are going, is that a problem for you? If a change in ports was a daily happening or they were cutting a day off, I would totally understand, but a change in one port? That is nothing to be so upset about, at least I wouldn't be. 

[KateQ22003]

As someone who ended up in Canada instead of Bermuda last year and was compensated ZERO, I'm not a bit surprised by any of this.

[newmexicoNita]

16 minutes ago, KateQ22003 said:

As someone who ended up in Canada instead of Bermuda last year and was compensated ZERO, I'm not a bit surprised by any of this.

If it happened due to weather conditions that is understandable. Airlines do the same: they make no exceptions if it is weather related. If you ended up in Canada for other reasons, that if very different. Ending up in someplace not even related to your itinerary would upset any of us. 

[KateQ22003]

31 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

If it happened due to weather conditions that is understandable. Airlines do the same: they make no exceptions if it is weather related. If you ended up in Canada for other reasons, that if very different. Ending up in someplace not even related to your itinerary would upset any of us. 

I never said it wasn't understandable, I just said that there was no compensation offered. You would think that they would throw at least $25 to each passenger to buy a sweatshirt for Canada! Not to mention that the cruises to Canada are a fraction of what we paid for Bermuda.

 

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by KateQ22003

[TravelerThom]

On 5/4/2019 at 4:05 AM, sverigecruiser said:

 

I don't say that the ports have the same value. Stockholm + Visby is much better than Nynäshamn even if Nynäshamn is overnight.

 

Maybe the truth is that NCL wanted to make the cruise better? Most people will prefer the new itinerary, especially if it is Stockholm now which I have seen in another thread.

 

I absolutely respect OPs opinion but most people will probably think that the new itinerary is much better. 

 

On 5/4/2019 at 4:08 AM, sverigecruiser said:

 

More people will appreciate Visby and Stockholm than Nynäshamn so most customers will be happy with the new itinerary.

There is a simple way to prove your “most people” hypothesis. If it is true, NCL would have no trouble re-selling cabins at the same or higher price. Until NCL offers a full refund to those unhappy with the change so that that they can re-sell them at a presumably higher price, I will think that is just an apology for poor planning by NCL. 

[sverigecruiser]

15 minutes ago, TravelerThom said:

 

There is a simple way to prove your “most people” hypothesis. If it is true, NCL would have no trouble re-selling cabins at the same or higher price. Until NCL offers a full refund to those unhappy with the change so that that they can re-sell them at a presumably higher price, I will think that is just an apology for poor planning by NCL. 

 

I don't agree with you that it should be easy to resell cabins three months before the cruise.

 

Compared to many other itinerarychanges I have seen this isn't a bad thing.

 

Can you honestly say that Nynäshamn is a better port than Stockholm?

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by sverigecruiser

[Freshycat]

2 hours ago, newmexicoNita said:

What is bothering you so much that you will never cruise NCL again? Changes happen. What about when, for some reason an airline slightly changes the route but still gets you to where you are going, is that a problem for you? If a change in ports was a daily happening or they were cutting a day off, I would totally understand, but a change in one port? That is nothing to be so upset about, at least I wouldn't be. 

 

You mistake me, I am not the least bit upset. I am actually quite happy about the itinerary change because it resulted in a price drop that saved my extended family collectively over $12,000 on about $50,000 worth of cabins. I feel more than compensated for the change.

 

Nevertheless, in the future I will choose a more reliable cruise line because that is one of the aspects of the product I am looking for. It is difficult to organize an extended family vacation with many moving parts. This cruise is also just one part of a month-long European family vacation for us. Many of our bookings and deposits were made a year ago to ensure we could coordinate a large group and get the right mix of cabins close together.

 

A cruise line that demonstrates frequent changes for no good reason is unreliable and not one that offers me what I need. NCL is appropriate for people who have no need to plan ahead or who are comfortable with a high probability that their plans will be put in disarray. That's just not me, so I will find a cruise line that suits my needs better. 

Edited May 6, 2019 by Freshycat

[newmexicoNita]

43 minutes ago, Freshycat said:

 

You mistake me, I am not the least bit upset. I am actually quite happy about the itinerary change because it resulted in a price drop that saved my extended family collectively over $12,000 on about $50,000 worth of cabins. I feel more than compensated for the change.

 

Nevertheless, in the future I will choose a more reliable cruise line because that is one of the aspects of the product I am looking for. It is difficult to organize an extended family vacation with many moving parts. This cruise is also just one part of a month-long European family vacation for us. Many of our bookings and deposits were made a year ago to ensure we could coordinate a large group and get the right mix of cabins close together.

 

A cruise line that demonstrates frequent changes for no good reason is unreliable and not one that offers me what I need. NCL is appropriate for people who have no need to plan ahead or who are comfortable with a high probability that their plans will be put in disarray. That's just not me, so I will find a cruise line that suits my needs better. 

I have been cruising for many years and doing land vacations around the world as well: there is absolutely no cruise line that can guarantee you they will not change the itinerary or won't cancel for that matter.. It is rare, but things do happen that are out of the control of the cruise lines. 

[Freshycat]

6 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

I have been cruising for many years and doing land vacations around the world as well: there is absolutely no cruise line that can guarantee you they will not change the itinerary or won't cancel for that matter.. It is rare, but things do happen that are out of the control of the cruise lines. 

 

 From my own experience and what others are saying in this thread, it does not seem rare at all with NCL. 

 

I'm not looking for a guarantee nor do I want one -- safety first, please! -- but I am looking for reliability and I don't think a cruise line that likes to significantly change the product after they start selling it is reliable. Changing Stockholm to Gdynia/Gdansk is not the same thing as moving my dinner reservation from 6:00 to 6:20, which is a closer equivalent to the types of changes airlines make. Lopping off two days is a different vacation entirely.

 

Also, any airline that I have flown on that makes a change of significance usually offers me the option of a full refund even if it's a non-refundable fare. That's what happened when my direct flight got converted to a connecting flight four months before the time. (And I did cancel -- I couldn't handle a connecting flight with young kids at that time.) For some people it was an inconsequential change. For me it was the material aspect of the flight.

 

If travel companies want reliability as a selling point, they have to make changes only very reluctantly and compensate heavily to show they take it seriously. If they don't, they signal that this is not a core aspect of the product they sell.

 

I do expect to have a great time on the cruise (my needs are pretty simple: hot coffee, daily shower, good company) -- but when it comes to cruising again, we won't be able to look at NCL without discounting the reliability of the itinerary. And when somebody asks me whether I will recommend NCL, even if I had a great time, I'll have to warn them that it's an unreliable cruise line so don't pick it unless the itinerary doesn't matter to you. 

 

I mean, that is what even the NCL boosters here say -- don't count on the ports. So if that's how NCL chooses to market itself, it should be aware of the consequence.