Call centre said all cruises before 31st Oct have to have NCL excursions

[SpainAlien]

So, I have just got off the phone from the UK call centre and they told me that on any cruise prior to 31st October 2021 you had to use NCL excursions only, on that basis I have just cancelled our Baltic cruise under the Peace of Mind policy.  We can do the Baltic next year or the year after, I'm sure it will still be there.

[sugcarol]

I was told the same thing on the Hawaii cruise. Not being allowed off the ship while in port unless you have their excursion will not be welcome news to passengers. Many people get off ship in port just  to walk around and that wont be allowed. It will be that way for a long time. I want to do the Old Lahaina Luau (my favorite) but is not the ships luau excursion so will be a no go. Reality is sinking in.

[PTC DAWG]

Seems reasonable to me, have to get back started somehow.  

[Middleager]

It's reasonable the re-starting cruises would require only NCL excursions. 

 

Now NCL gives this 2021.10.31 date, and I won't book any cruise before this date.  It doesn't mean after this date the restrictions will be lifted, the date can be extended. 

I'm looking at Jan./2022 b2b Panama cruises.  I wouldn't go if the restrictions are still in place.  As much as I'd like to return to cruising,  it's important for NCL to let people know asap, if they'd lift the restrictions by certain date.

 

[SpainAlien]

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

Seems reasonable to me, have to get back started somehow.  

I agree.  My December cruise to Western Caribbean I accept that it is likely to be just be NCL excursions and I have booked them already but that is not how I wanted to do the Baltic cruise.

 

 

[KeithJenner]

28 minutes ago, SpainAlien said:

I agree.  My December cruise to Western Caribbean I accept that it is likely to be just be NCL excursions and I have booked them already but that is not how I wanted to do the Baltic cruise.

 

 

As you say, the Baltics will still be there. There are some great itineraries listed for 2022 and 2023. I'd recommend the Dawn ones that go to some of the smaller places like Riga and Klaipeda.

[DCGuy64]

Expecting cruising to open back up AND expecting to be able to wander off on your own is asking too much, at this time. It's very unlikely to happen, at least at first. Personally, I like going on excursions and have often found wandering around to be a waste of time.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, SpainAlien said:

So, I have just got off the phone from the UK call centre and they told me that on any cruise prior to 31st October 2021 you had to use NCL excursions only, on that basis I have just cancelled our Baltic cruise under the Peace of Mind policy.  We can do the Baltic next year or the year after, I'm sure it will still be there.

So, rather than relying on minimum wage call center people who will say just about anything, let’s look at what NCL has in writing. NCL has a whole website on what their CURRENT plans are. 
 

https://www.ncl.com/sail-safe

Edited April 23, 2021 by BirdTravels

[Seany527]

I think the people on these boards know more than some of the call center reps. They should spend some time on here and learn a thing or two. 

[cabincop]

Let’s see what happens after the August cruises sail. My Baltic is end of Sept. I’m not worried. Airfare is booked gonna be a great 3week tour of Europe for me. I can suck it up 

[harkinmr]

Ship excursion requirements may be in place for the near future.  It has been a challenge for a number of cruise lines to get permission to port for multi-country itineraries in Europe for example.  Seabourn Cruises just cancelled most of its European sailings through September yesterday because of the complications for permission to port.  It's not just the cruise lines driving the shore restrictions, it's the countries they will be sailing to.

[Navis]

I find the 10/31/21 date the OP provided very interesting. We have nothing booked until March 2022 (on another small line), but we did receive a blast email about that line restarting Caribbean cruises this July through 10/31/21 (they line usually have this ship in the Med for the summer and the Caribbean in the winter so this is a big change).

 

For all these cruises through 10/31/21 they are already telling passengers only those with ship excursions will be permitted off the ship. The press release also included quotes from the Ministry of Travel for Barbados and she focused on really 2 things in granting permission to start up. First, she focused on the requirement that all passengers will be vaccinated (there is no children issue with this line as they do not cater to children at all). Second, that agreements had been made regarding cruise visitors to the island to protect the local inhabitants. My guess is that is why the excursion “bubble” is required.

 

I know this is just the Caribbean, but it does give some insight into what these ports are concerned about and gives credence to the 10/31/22 date.

[roger001]

There is so much uncertainty from week to week, or even day to day in some countries still, there is no way accurate planning can be done.  You can actually expect conditions of the particular cruise to be changed possibly up until it sails.   Don't count on anything.  There are no correct answers beyond the present.   

[hallux]

6 hours ago, Navis said:

I find the 10/31/21 date the OP provided very interesting.

I don't.  That was the expiration of the Framework for Conditional Sailing issued in October 2020.

[Navis]

21 minutes ago, hallux said:

I don't.  That was the expiration of the Framework for Conditional Sailing issued in October 2020.

Well, the NCL announcement only talks about June and July sailing I think (which was why the OP was giving us this additional information) and I’m not sure with the CDC’s rose had to do with any port outside the US.

[cabincop]

CDC has nothing to do with Europe. Also NCL clearly states they will reevaluate policy after July & August sailings.