Norwegian Gem drops two ports

[Javajitterz]

Norwegian Gem sailing drops two ports

[shof515]

this was bound to happen. Puerto Plata is not ready for cruise ships, that area is still being under construction

 

The dock at the Grand Turk is mostly owned by Carnival Corporation

[MeHeartCruising]

I'm not doubting the accuracy of the news, but that website sure has issues if it wishes to be considered a news site.  Half the time, the article refers to the Norwegian pearl and half the time it is Norwegian gem.  Or "gemstones".

 

And advertising itself as "Just another WordPress site" at the top doesn't exactly add a level of professionalism. 

 

Again, I'm not saying the news isn't true.

Edited November 14, 2021 by MeHeartCruising

[HuliHuli]

6 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

Again, I'm not saying the news isn't true.

The news is true and @shof515's assessment is consistent with my own assessment.  BTW, I'm on that sailing.

[MeHeartCruising]

Just now, HuliHuli said:

The news is true and @shof515's assessment is consistent with my own assessment.  BTW, I'm on that sailing.

 

My posting had an error in it. I have corrected it.  I'm NOT doubting the news.  I was just pointing out what a poorly written article it is from a news website.

[Javajitterz]

2 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

My posting had an error in it. I have corrected it.  I'm NOT doubting the news.  I was just pointing out what a poorly written article it is from a news website.

Horribly written website, agreed. The site I originally tried to post was lined through a news aggregator and for some reason came through as gobbledy gook

[Javajitterz]

3 hours ago, HuliHuli said:

The news is true and @shof515's assessment is consistent with my own assessment.  BTW, I'm on that sailing.

 

[Javajitterz]

I'm on the Escape in January and we are supposed to do Puerto Plata. Curious if we will be canceled as well

[AKR2011]

The new itinerary adds St. Johns, Antigua and is in San Juan at night. Also extends the time in Tortola. I would prefer that myself. As others have said, Puerto Plata isn't ready. Grand Turk is very small. Wish I was on this one!

[Yesimapirate]

Is there a reason they simply aren't docking at Amber Cove I Puerto Plata?

 

I realize it's Carnival's dock.  Not saying it was accurate but I was told by multiple people at NCL and a travel agent that they're were doing just that.   I'll be pretty disappointed if my Dec cruise drops Puerto Plata for Nassau. I understand things change and I certainly expected it with Covid-19,  but more than a couple of weeks notice would have been nice.

[shof515]

1 hour ago, Yesimapirate said:

Is there a reason they simply aren't docking at Amber Cove I Puerto Plata?

 

I realize it's Carnival's dock.  Not saying it was accurate but I was told by multiple people at NCL and a travel agent that they're were doing just that.   I'll be pretty disappointed if my Dec cruise drops Puerto Plata for Nassau. I understand things change and I certainly expected it with Covid-19,  but more than a couple of weeks notice would have been nice.

 

There is a new cruise dock a few miles down the road called Taino Bay that is under construction. this is where Norwegian and other non Carnival ships will be docking in the amber cove area

[HuliHuli]

1 hour ago, Yesimapirate said:

Is there a reason they simply aren't docking at Amber Cove I Puerto Plata?

 

I realize it's Carnival's dock.  Not saying it was accurate but I was told by multiple people at NCL and a travel agent that they're were doing just that.   I'll be pretty disappointed if my Dec cruise drops Puerto Plata for Nassau. I understand things change and I certainly expected it with Covid-19,  but more than a couple of weeks notice would have been nice.

NCL told me the same lie.  Amber Cove (the port) was built in part by Carnival for their brands.  I've been there and the port setting is excellent.  Amber Cove (the area) is adjacent to Taino Bay where the new port is being constructed.  There is a wealth of data on the web about their plans.  Amber Cove (the port) has pier space for two ships and even if Carnival would allow NCL to dock, I believe there are already two Carnival brand ships scheduled to be there the day we were to arrive.

[Yesimapirate]

1 hour ago, HuliHuli said:

NCL told me the same lie.  Amber Cove (the port) was built in part by Carnival for their brands.  I've been there and the port setting is excellent.  Amber Cove (the area) is adjacent to Taino Bay where the new port is being constructed.  There is a wealth of data on the web about their plans.  Amber Cove (the port) has pier space for two ships and even if Carnival would allow NCL to dock, I believe there are already two Carnival brand ships scheduled to be there the day we were to arrive.

Understood.  My issue is that NCL didn't just wake up this week and realize they had an issue.   The change and more importantly,  the notice, should have been done earlier. 

[HuliHuli]

36 minutes ago, Yesimapirate said:

My issue is that NCL didn't just wake up this week and realize they had an issue.   The change and more importantly,  the notice, should have been done earlier. 

Well you are certainly entitled to that opinion.  Maybe you can enlighten us as to when the change and the notice should have been made given your knowledge of the DR and TC port operations in today's environment where ports are updating their protocols daily.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

NCL (and other lines) will dock in Amber cove if there is an open berth (ie one or less CCL family vessels in port that day).  The new port at Taino Bay (in Puerto Plata) was supposed to open in Early December but was recently pushed back (again) until at least March 2022, so several cruise lines have had to scramble and move itineraries around.  Sometimes it can take several weeks/months from when cruise lines get notice from a port before they can publish a new schedule as they have to work with other ports for berthing space, and therefore they do not announce itinerary changes until all the details are finalized.

[HuliHuli]

14 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

NCL (and other lines) will dock in Amber cove if there is an open berth (ie one or less CCL family vessels in port that day).  The new port at Taino Bay (in Puerto Plata) was supposed to open in Early December but was recently pushed back (again) until at least March 2022, so several cruise lines have had to scramble and move itineraries around.  Sometimes it can take several weeks/months from when cruise lines get notice from a port before they can publish a new schedule as they have to work with other ports for berthing space, and therefore they do not announce itinerary changes until all the details are finalized.

Amber Cove is a Carnival Corporation exclusive cruise port on the Dominican Republic's north coast.  Carnival's exclusive port Amber Cove encompasses 30 acres (12 hectares / 0,12 km2) of waterfront property.  Carnival Corporation invested ~USD 85 million to develop the purpose-built cruise ship terminal Amber Cove.  So I'm curious, what "NCL [ships] (and other lines)" have docked at Amber Cove that are not part of the Carnival Corporation brands?

[davencl]

9 hours ago, AKR2011 said:

The new itinerary adds St. Johns, Antigua and is in San Juan at night. Also extends the time in Tortola. I would prefer that myself. As others have said, Puerto Plata isn't ready. Grand Turk is very small. Wish I was on this one!

Well that's interesting.  We're on an Oceania cruise starting Jan. 14. We got notice that Antiqua was dropped and replaced with St. Maarten.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

7 hours ago, HuliHuli said:

NCL told me the same lie.  Amber Cove (the port) was built in part by Carnival for their brands.  I've been there and the port setting is excellent.  Amber Cove (the area) is adjacent to Taino Bay where the new port is being constructed.  There is a wealth of data on the web about their plans.  Amber Cove (the port) has pier space for two ships and even if Carnival would allow NCL to dock, I believe there are already two Carnival brand ships scheduled to be there the day we were to arrive.

Well, NCL seem to think they are being granted access to Amber Cove until Taino Cruise Center in Puerta Plata opens, and a look at multiple port listing sites shows ships from NCL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Virgin scheduled to use the facility in December of this year. While it may have been exclusive to Carnival Corp in past, right now they are sharing with other companies due to the delayed opening of the new facility.  Any day with 3 vessels listed would see the non Carnival Corp vessel displaced. 

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by AtlantaCruiser72

[shof515]

The problem with those port listing sites/ships in port sites is they dont show where the ship is docking. All carnival exclusive ships will be amber cove and all non carnival ships will be at Taino. Virgin will be docking exclusive at Taino once that area reopens up.

 

I also noticed this problem with New York City, almost every site will show Royal Caribbean as being docked in NYC and sometimes the royal website will say this yet their actual terminal is in New Jersey so annoying and confusing

[HuliHuli]

8 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Well, NCL seem to think they are being granted access to Amber Cove until Taino Cruise Center in Puerta Plata opens, and a look at multiple port listing sites shows ships from NCL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Virgin scheduled to use the facility in December of this year. While it may have been exclusive to Carnival Corp in past, right now they are sharing with other companies due to the delayed opening of the new facility.  Any day with 3 vessels listed would see the non Carnival Corp vessel displaced. 

Yes - I saw the statement on NCL saying the ship would dock at Amber Cove.  But if you're following other CC threads you know NCL has cancelled all scheduled calls to DR on recent cruises.  And the site you quoted is the very same site that states "Amber Cove is a Carnival Corporation exclusive cruise port..."  I see you left that out.  Finally, if you look at the port schedule you posted, it includes "all ships (in links) with cruises going to or leaving from Amber Cove, Dominicana, [and] Puerto Plata."  So the schedule reflects several NCL ships, but that does not tie them to Amber Cove.  Clearly @shof515has recognized (above) the subtle nuance of these schedules.

Edited November 15, 2021 by HuliHuli
typo

[AtlantaCruiser72]

@HuliHuli Just an update on Puerto Plata / Amber Cove - I sail on the Encore on 12/12 and as of today NCL still are saying we are docking at Puerto Plata (Amber Cove).  I will report back post cruise as to what actually transpires :)

[CarolinaMamma]

51 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

@HuliHuli Just an update on Puerto Plata / Amber Cove - I sail on the Encore on 12/12 and as of today NCL still are saying we are docking at Puerto Plata (Amber Cove).  I will report back post cruise as to what actually transpires 🙂

We are on Encore January 16th and I’m wondering how much notice they will give us if ports change. Not a big deal, as I’ll be happy to cruise, wherever we go, but I’m a planner and like to know in advance what to expect. 

[HuliHuli]

On 11/29/2021 at 8:57 PM, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

@HuliHuli Just an update on Puerto Plata / Amber Cove - I sail on the Encore on 12/12 and as of today NCL still are saying we are docking at Puerto Plata (Amber Cove).  I will report back post cruise as to what actually transpires :)

Well, DR was scrubbed on my current cruise and unless the Taino Bay port is magically opened, it will likely be scrubbed for you as well.

[CruisinMaterial]

NCL cancelled some excursions today for DR on the NYE cruise on Getaway. However, not all were cancelled so I don't know if that's the start of a shift or what is going on with Taino Bay.

[bookbabe]

1 hour ago, CruisinMaterial said:

NCL cancelled some excursions today for DR on the NYE cruise on Getaway. However, not all were cancelled so I don't know if that's the start of a shift or what is going on with Taino Bay.

We had ours on the Encore for that same week cancelled for DR as well.  Looking at the list, it looks like it was all the ones at Coconut Cove that included more than just the beach and food.  We had the full park pass, which was cancelled, but the phone rep said we could switch to the regular beach-only excursion or the one that only included food and bar, so I think the issue might be with the add-on attractions at CC (like the ATVs and zip line) rather than with the port.  We picked something different, so I can’t say for sure, but that’s what the rep seemed to be implying.