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Star cruise, end of March, engine problems cancelling port?


luvavacation
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Norwegian Star has experienced technical issues that affect the overall speed of the vessel resulting in a revised itinerary on your upcoming sailing March 29, 2020. While we regret this change, we assure you that we have made this difficult decision with your safety and wellbeing in mind


 

Just received an email with the above information. Bonaire being removed for Nassau, and Curaçao stop shortened. Ok, things happen, but 4 months out, wouldn’t it be expected that a problem would be fixed in that time?

 

Now I’m wondering if this could turn into a cruise with a ship that doesn’t move (was that a Carnival cruise that happened to a couple years ago?).  We booked this cruise for the ABC islands. Final payment was due about a week ago and NCL conveniently decided this now?

 

Nice of them to let us passengers know ahead of time, but the timing is not producing any goodwill. I know ports can change, my family has had many cruises over the years and we get that. Sure would’ve been nice though to be informed before final payment was due last week, since the price we paid for this cruise is not the price we would pay for a cruise with Nassau.  Been there, done that 10+ times, not wanting it again, really looking forward to the ABC islands!  
 

Most of all, sure do hope we don’t end up just bobbing in the ocean!
 

 

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The itinerary changes for the Star keep coming......and conveniently just after final payments are due.  We are booked on the TA on the Star leaving April 19 and concerned that there will be changes to the TA itinerary.

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Sorry to hear about the disappointing change for your cruise. I have been watching a cruise in May, but am holding off on booking it until closer to the date due to the projection of this issue not being fixed until April. Will keep an eye on airfare though  because those prices might be the deciding factor as the date gets closer. 

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1 minute ago, bobfour said:

The itinerary changes for the Star keep coming......and conveniently just after final payments are due.  We are booked on the TA on the Star leaving April 19 and concerned that there will be changes to the TA itinerary.

 

I was thinking about taking that sailing as well. It has a nice itinerary, but I am a bit nervous so we are waiting to book one of the sailings later in May out of London which should be after they make the repairs. The itineraries in May are really nice.

 

 

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4 hours ago, luvavacation said:


 

Norwegian Star has experienced technical issues that affect the overall speed of the vessel resulting in a revised itinerary on your upcoming sailing March 29, 2020. While we regret this change, we assure you that we have made this difficult decision with your safety and wellbeing in mind


 

Just received an email with the above information. Bonaire being removed for Nassau, and Curaçao stop shortened. Ok, things happen, but 4 months out, wouldn’t it be expected that a problem would be fixed in that time?

 

Now I’m wondering if this could turn into a cruise with a ship that doesn’t move (was that a Carnival cruise that happened to a couple years ago?).  We booked this cruise for the ABC islands. Final payment was due about a week ago and NCL conveniently decided this now?

 

Nice of them to let us passengers know ahead of time, but the timing is not producing any goodwill. I know ports can change, my family has had many cruises over the years and we get that. Sure would’ve been nice though to be informed before final payment was due last week, since the price we paid for this cruise is not the price we would pay for a cruise with Nassau.  Been there, done that 10+ times, not wanting it again, really looking forward to the ABC islands!  
 

Most of all, sure do hope we don’t end up just bobbing in the ocean!
 

 

You have been a CC member for many years, this "problem" with the Star has been well documented for months, no reason to think it will be fixed any time soon.  Ignore the pom poms.

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1 hour ago, mugtech said:

(was that a Carnival cruise that happened to a couple years ago?).  We booked this cruise for the ABC islands. Final payment was due about a week ago and NCL conveniently decided this now?

That Carnival ship was the TRIUMPH - really a bad sailing very bad PR for Carnival.

 

Now about your cruise with the objective of the ABC islands - I would call NCL and see what alternatives they have.

While the cruise contract - port calls are optional and subject to change - changing this much of the itinerary does

change the cruise considerably and deserves another look.

 

The NCL STAR should be relegated to cruising Miami Nassau until fully operational !

Somewhere speed and distance are not a factor in port calls. 

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I'm sorry NCL waited until after final payment to make this announcement.  I believe cruises should have the right to change ports without penalty when there are  weather, safety or medical reasons and I roll my eyes at cruisers whining about port changes during hurricanes, in hurricane season.  But this is a mechanical defect that NCL knew about for a long time and chose not to fix, so it seems like they have a moral obligation to let people know about the change prior to final payment.

Edited by kitkat343
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First, I would like to apologize for the blue highlighting in my original post.  I didn't see it on my phone, but I see it on my desktop!  Oops!

 

Second, I really only read the boards when I have a cruise in consideration.  Thus, while I had heard of problems with some of the NCL ships, I had no idea that a company would allow a ship to just keep sailing, months later, with the problems continuing on.  I suppose I made the great mistake of trusting a corporation that the ship I set foot upon was in the best condition possible on the day it was leaving port.  Then, if we missed a port due to bad weather or other unforeseen circumstance, oh well, it happens and we make do, but this, this just feels sneaky.

 

The more I read now, the more my eyes are opened and I see that this is happening on a few ships in the NCL fleet.  I suppose I wouldn't be as irritated by this if we had booked just a standard Caribbean cruise with islands that we had done numerous times before and this was just a cruise for fun, but no, this was booked specifically because it left from a port close to our home, and it went to islands we have never seen, plus it's during my husband's birthday. 

 

If we had received the information of the port changes before we made final payment 10 days ago, then I would have looked into other options for his birthday, but for the cost of this trip, I am not pleased about the change in the itinerary.

 

I didn't think NCL was like this in the past.  I thought customer service was more important at one time.  I suppose my Pollyanna view of cruising is incorrect and needs a reality check.  

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4 hours ago, CTCruiser001 said:

Our 10 day from Brooklyn April 9th sailing has been removed from the booking engine completely - We just made final payment 3 days ago!!! Waiting to hear from anyone receiving word from their TA's or PCC's... 😑

Im on this sailing as well, if you hear keep us posted because there is like only 10 more days where I could cancel and get a full refund as Im paid in full

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3 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

I'm sorry NCL waited until after final payment to make this announcement.

That is NCL's method of operation, I have 10 more days where I can cancel my TA in April and get a full refund as I don't know if this boat will make it across the Atlantic lol

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It's very unfortunate when you lose the ports you have really been looking forward to for a long time.  It's a big inconvenience but considering these ships run 24/7/365 there is always someone that is going to be affected no matter what.  Although, I must admit it's always better if it happens to someone other than me.   🙂

 

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise regardless.

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11 hours ago, blueslily said:

 

I was thinking about taking that sailing as well. It has a nice itinerary, but I am a bit nervous so we are waiting to book one of the sailings later in May out of London which should be after they make the repairs. The itineraries in May are really nice.

 

 

@blueslily-do you have information on when NCL is planning to make the repairs to the Star?

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1 hour ago, luvavacation said:

I had no idea that a company would allow a ship to just keep sailing, months later, with the problems continuing on.

What do you propose they do - anchor it off the coast, cancel all cruises on the ship and abandon it until repairs can be made?  As has been stated in other threads regarding this ship - parts can't just be pulled from a shelf and shipped, they need to be produced in many cases.  Yes, some may be relatively standard parts but when you're talking about major engine components they don't just have them lying around.

 

The ship is safe to sail, she has 4 generators, one of which is presumably offline right now.

 

Some recent reports in those other threads were that she was cruising near top speed, for which all engines and both azipods are needed.  Why they're still changing itineraries is a mystery if that's the case.

 

Oh yeah, some speculation is that she needs to be out of the water and a hole cut in the side to make the needed permanent repair.  Drydock space isn't exactly easy to come by, and often needs to be scheduled pretty far in advance.  Look at the Caribbean Princess issues - I believe she sailed at reduced power for EIGHTEEN MONTHS before parts and drydock space could be coordinated.

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1 hour ago, luvavacation said:

I suppose I made the great mistake of trusting a corporation that the ship I set foot upon was in the best condition possible on the day it was leaving port.

 

Technically, it is in the best condition possible when it leaves port because it's not able to be repaired at the moment. As people who have actual experience with ship mechanics/electrical/propulsion have stated across numerous threads it's not like they can just get Amazon Prime to ship new parts to them in 2 days. The part often has to be custom made (after they know what's wrong) and depending upon the issue they might need a dry dock to fix it - which would mean outright canceling cruises to do the fix. But dry docks are booked out well in advanced so even if they get a part they are often waiting for the ability to fix it if it's changed. 

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5 hours ago, CTCruiser001 said:

Our 10 day from Brooklyn April 9th sailing has been removed from the booking engine completely - We just made final payment 3 days ago!!! Waiting to hear from anyone receiving word from their TA's or PCC's... 😑

I cleared my history and cookies, the TA is still listed what vanished was cruise right before us the Bahamas/Bermuda one which is 04/09, I got confused the TA is 04/19 still let us know what you find out

Will check again later

Edited by njkate
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52 minutes ago, njkate said:

That is NCL's method of operation, I have 10 more days where I can cancel my TA in April and get a full refund as I don't know if this boat will make it across the Atlantic lol

It just made its transatlantic and there were no issues...

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We have been  expecting an itinerary change, as I have been following the Star situation. I noticed on the roll call for the trip before this one, that they had some itinerary adjustments. I told my husband that we would probably hear about some changes after final payment. At least we still have the A and C of our ABC islands cruise, but we did book it hoping to go to Bonaire. Bonaire is the only port on the itinerary we haven't been to!  We had a snorkeling trip planned. With the ship not up to maximum speed, I figured we would lose Bonaire. Glad we still have Great Stirrup Cay at the beginning of the trip, and I don't mind Nassau, but would have preferred a stop in Grand Cayman or Key West on the way back.

Edited by DZcreature
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April 7th she pulls into Fl and April 19th she leaves NY on a transatlantic.  Before there was a cruise showing in between these days but I can no longer find it.  Is it possible for a slot for maintenance during these voyages, one could hope.   

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7 hours ago, hallux said:

What do you propose they do - anchor it off the coast, cancel all cruises on the ship and abandon it until repairs can be made?  As has been stated in other threads regarding this ship - parts can't just be pulled from a shelf and shipped, they need to be produced in many cases.  Yes, some may be relatively standard parts but when you're talking about major engine components they don't just have them lying around.

 

The ship is safe to sail, she has 4 generators, one of which is presumably offline right now.

 

Some recent reports in those other threads were that she was cruising near top speed, for which all engines and both azipods are needed.  Why they're still changing itineraries is a mystery if that's the case.

 

Oh yeah, some speculation is that she needs to be out of the water and a hole cut in the side to make the needed permanent repair.  Drydock space isn't exactly easy to come by, and often needs to be scheduled pretty far in advance.  Look at the Caribbean Princess issues - I believe she sailed at reduced power for EIGHTEEN MONTHS before parts and drydock space could be coordinated.

How about they stop selling things they know they are not going to deliver?  If they knew something was wrong with the ship, why did they sell the itinerary to begin with?  What changed from the day before the cut off period to get their money back to the day after?  Did something else break?

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