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Itinerary subject to change at cruise lines discretion!


rogerbid
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34 minutes ago, gooch47 said:

Technically, couldn't they leave the embarcation port, go out to sea a few miles, sit there for however many days and return?  

 

28 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:
34 minutes ago, gooch47 said:

Technically, couldn't they leave the embarcation port, go out to sea a few miles, sit there for however many days and return?

I think they could - but if they did it often, they would see their sales impacted;  especially to the extent itinerary mattered to their passengers.  

I'm not exactly sure who the "they" is that you're referring to, but no, it would be illegal in the US, which banned "cruises to nowhere" a couple of years ago. A foreign-flagged ship has to make at least one call in a foreign country.

I suspect similar requirements exist in other countries with cabotage laws.

 

Note: The US ban on cruises to nowhere was technically implemented because DHS decided that most crew didn't hold the proper visa to work on a cruise to nowhere. The ban was not a direct result of the PVSA, although it may have been a contributing factor in the decision.

Edited by njhorseman
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2 hours ago, gooch47 said:

Technically, couldn't they leave the embarcation port, go out to sea a few miles, sit there for however many days and return?  

 

From the US, I think the  best they could do without lying to the government (Honest, it was a mechanical issue, we had to just stop all engines there until we fixed it and returned, bypassing the foreign port law) would be to go to the "private island" one day and then sit at sea...

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20 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I don't know the answer and sure don't disagree with you.  I don't know for certain, but suspect there is a real reluctance to provide notice about things like engine issues before the cancel date.  If I received notice before the cancel date I think I would seriously consider changing to another itinerary on a ship without any issues.  I would like that option but I suspect release of this kind of info is closely managed.  

Yes, my feeling too  was they mislead us and should have given us the option. If they had offered ports nearer to Ft. Lauderdale like Key west,  their or RCI's private island, Nassau, etc., we would have still been happy to do that cruise.

 

 And that was not the only issue. It being Thanksgiving week they were super full and the dining room tables were in too close together. I tired to scoot my seat back  to go to the bathroom and I hit the person at the table behind me we were packed in so close.   I ended up eating in the buffet if we were not doing  a speciality.

 

then also we would have hit elite status after that cruise but about 4 months before they changed  how they counted the points  for going up to the next level which made us  still 10 points too short.  So Ii guess it really was all 3 things that left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

Anyway  we used to pick Celebrity over other lines if the itineraries were similar even if the other line would have saved us a substantial amount.  We were loyal fans of that line. Not any more. If I do Celebrity in the future it will be because of an unique itinerary or super deal.

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On 6/5/2019 at 5:30 AM, paul929207 said:

We just relax and enjoy where they take us.

 

Yup. Beats working!

 

We missed Athens on a cruise because of the riots there a few years back. Was bummed because I love history and wanted to see the Parthenon but understand passenger safety is foremost. Ultimately is was great. We went to Olympia and had a great visit there.

 

Missed Halifax once because of weather in October.

 

I think those are the only two ports missed in more than a dozen cruises.

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On 6/7/2019 at 7:37 AM, cb at sea said:

You should know that when you book your first cruise....don't people read the INFO from the cruise line?  This has ALWAYS been their "rule".

I suspect that the majority of first time cruisers don't read the fine print and therefore expect the cruise will go to all ports on the itinerary, in perfect weather of course! 

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NCL missed an opportunity to keep passengers happy. We missed three ports on our transatlantic cruise on a Princess ship last fall. Instead of going to Bergen, Belfast, and St. John's, we ended up going to Vigo and Ponta Delgado. We received $27 back in port fees, $200 per person refundable onboard credit, and 20 percent of the cruise fare toward another cruise on Princess booked by the end of this year. Our itinerary change was also due to weather--the remnants of Hurricane Florence forced the ship to sail a southerly route across the Atlantic rather than the original planned route.

 

The only thing that I wished Princess had done differently was to have given us notice of the credit sooner. We did not get the letter until after our last port stop, which was five days after the change in itinerary was announced. We would have taken a shore excursion if we had known about it sooner. 

 

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It is not TOTALLY under their discretion. I'm sure the various cruise lines are not happy with the fact that they were FORCED to cancel stops in Cuba. And there is either a hurricane or not, something not determined  by the cruise lines.

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On 6/5/2019 at 5:30 AM, rogerbid said:

From your responses I take it that it is very rare and due only to extenuating circumstances.  If so, I can live with it😊

Well, I wouldn't classify it as "rare." Not that it happens frequently but it does happen. 

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On 6/7/2019 at 7:37 AM, cb at sea said:

You should know that when you book your first cruise....don't people read the INFO from the cruise line?  This has ALWAYS been their "rule".

No, most people don’t read terms and conditions or even contracts, and when they do they don’t bother to make sure they understand what it all means.

 

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To quote the Geico commercial - "Everyone knows that"

 

This is the relevant section from your cruise contract 

 

"Itinerary Deviation: The Guest agrees that the Carrier has the sole discretion and liberty to direct the movements of the vessel, including the rights to: proceed without pilots and tow, and assist other vessels in all situations; deviate from the purchased voyage or the normal course for any purpose, including, without limitation, in the interest of Guests or of the vessel, or to save life or property; put in at any unscheduled or unadvertised port; cancel any scheduled call at any port for any reason and at any time before, during or after sailing of the vessel; omit, advance or delay landing at any scheduled or advertised port; return to port of embarkation or to any port previously visited if the Carrier deems it prudent to do so; substitute another vessel or port(s) of call without prior notice and without incurring any liability to the Guest on account thereof for any loss, damage or delay whatsoever, whether consequential or otherwise."

 

This means that they could theoretically cancel all the ports and go to sea and drop anchor for 7 days, change the embarkation or debarkation port, and probably not even leave the embarkation port and there is nothing that you can do about it.  

 

If you can't handle this, don't cruise.

 

Don

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2 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

We have missed at least one Port on half of all our cruises, if the Port is what you are really after, find another way to visit.

Of course —- and anyone who thinks they can “do” Florence (for one example) on a 10 hour port call at Livorno - which involves three or four hours on the road - will get little more than the right to tick it off the list.

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8 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course —- and anyone who thinks they can “do” Florence (for one example) on a 10 hour port call at Livorno - which involves three or four hours on the road - will get little more than the right to tick it off the list.

I think Rome is an even better example. And a port that I really thought we just did not have the time to see all we wanted to see was Stockholm.

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On 6/5/2019 at 5:20 AM, rogerbid said:

HI,

 

I was appalled to read the following report on www.news.com.au : (https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/travellers-stories/why-cruise-company-had-a-right-to-ruin-womans-trip/news-story/c197e946292adbdf28443602a00d3ab5 )

 

To summarise, NCL changed itinerary of a Baltic cruise and cancelled 3 (of the 5 scheduled) ports of call without explanation.  No ports were substituted thus increasing the number of sea days.  No compensation was offered to the passengers.

 

Have other members on here experienced such a change to their itineraries?  It seems to me that this is a horrendous state of affairs and effectively means that you cannot be sure of anything when booking a cruise.

 

I have enjoyed several NCL cruises but will definitely think twice about chancing my luck on another!

 

Roger B

Roger,

I have more bad news for you.

The airlines have the same policies.

 

Maybe you should just stay home.

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8 hours ago, Donald said:

Roger,

I have more bad news for you.

The airlines have the same policies.

 

Maybe you should just stay home.

 

The airlines don't have the same policies. If you book an airlineticket with multiple stops the airline will not change the stops without letting you cancel the ticket and get the money back.

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9 hours ago, Donald said:

Roger,

I have more bad news for you.

The airlines have the same policies.

 

Maybe you should just stay home.

We once had a flight scheduled non-stop from one of the NY airports to Fort Lauderdale. The airline added a stop in DALLAS. Plus we would no longer have been able to board our cruise.

 

They did let us cancel with no penalty.

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I am not sure that all the cancellations for safety are justified. If I recall correctly, Holland America cancelled port stops in west Africa on their world cruise a few years ago because of an Ebola outbreak miles and miles away. Crystal did not cancel those ports during the same outbreak. I would have been sorely vexed by the unnecessary cancellations, although I am betting that geographically challenged HAL passengers were relieved.

 

Our only cancelled port has been Gozo, justified by record storms in the area.

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1 hour ago, whogo said:

I am not sure that all the cancellations for safety are justified. If I recall correctly, Holland America cancelled port stops in west Africa on their world cruise a few years ago because of an Ebola outbreak miles and miles away. Crystal did not cancel those ports during the same outbreak. I would have been sorely vexed by the unnecessary cancellations, although I am betting that geographically challenged HAL passengers were relieved.

 

Our only cancelled port has been Gozo, justified by record storms in the area.

 

Often cancellations like that are driven by the cruise line's insurance company. Same when it's some kind of civil unrest.

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1 hour ago, whogo said:

I am not sure that all the cancellations for safety are justified. If I recall correctly, Holland America cancelled port stops in west Africa on their world cruise a few years ago because of an Ebola outbreak miles and miles away. Crystal did not cancel those ports during the same outbreak. I would have been sorely vexed by the unnecessary cancellations, although I am betting that geographically challenged HAL passengers were relieved.

 

Our only cancelled port has been Gozo, justified by record storms in the area.

 

Completely agree with this.

 

About 5-6 years ago, my parents and I were coincidentally booked on cruises on two separate cruise lines that were both calling on two ports in Tunisia either on the same day (one port) or one day apart (the second port).

 

My British-based small cruise line made both calls in Tunisia without any flurry or fuss whatever. My parents, who were on HAL, found letters on their beds upon embarkation saying that these two ports of call had been cancelled due to "safety concerns".

 

(And mind you, this was before the tourist shootings at the museum in Tunis.)

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On 6/10/2019 at 11:34 AM, whogo said:

I am not sure that all the cancellations for safety are justified. If I recall correctly, Holland America cancelled port stops in west Africa on their world cruise a few years ago because of an Ebola outbreak miles and miles away. Crystal did not cancel those ports during the same outbreak. I would have been sorely vexed by the unnecessary cancellations, although I am betting that geographically challenged HAL passengers were relieved.

 

Our only cancelled port has been Gozo, justified by record storms in the area.

 

Yeap, an outbreak miles and miles away means it is safe, as no one can get on a scooter and ride those miles and miles.

 

Like a recent case of Ebola in a country where there was no Ebola, due to a person coming from an Ebola area.

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On 6/10/2019 at 11:16 AM, cruisemom42 said:

 

Completely agree with this.

 

About 5-6 years ago, my parents and I were coincidentally booked on cruises on two separate cruise lines that were both calling on two ports in Tunisia either on the same day (one port) or one day apart (the second port).

 

My British-based small cruise line made both calls in Tunisia without any flurry or fuss whatever. My parents, who were on HAL, found letters on their beds upon embarkation saying that these two ports of call had been cancelled due to "safety concerns".

 

(And mind you, this was before the tourist shootings at the museum in Tunis.)

 

Seems to me that if they are shooting tourists the safety concerns were real.  

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On 6/8/2019 at 9:54 PM, navybankerteacher said:

Of course —- and anyone who thinks they can “do” Florence (for one example) on a 10 hour port call at Livorno - which involves three or four hours on the road - will get little more than the right to tick it off the list.

 Really My daughter did that tour. She said the bus ride was an hour each way. I think she had 5 hours in Florence? I don't know as we chose the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

 

But that is the reason we did not do Paris from La Havre. A 3 hour train ride both ways So we did Versailles and took a land trip to Paris a couple of years later.

 

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