NCL Change of Itinerary

[WendyCity11]

I just saw this online in regards to Hurricane Fiona.  Has anyone heard anything from NCL  - and if so, was there a timeline on how far out they will continue to make this change to the itinerary?  Thank you!

 

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian has modified its Caribbean itineraries to now sail the Western Caribbean. Voyages out of Miami that called in Puerto Plata, St. Thomas; Road Town, Tortola; and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas, will now have a new itinerary that will include Costa Maya, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; Harvest Caye, Norwegian's private island in Belize; and Cozumel.

Edited September 21, 2022 by WendyCity11

[rbxlady]

Have you seen anything on cruises out of Port Canaveral?

 

Edited to add that my 10/22 sailing out of PC still shows the same ports (GSC, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Puerto Plata).

Edited September 21, 2022 by rbxlady

[Karaboudjan]

Fiona should be far from the Caribbean by the end of next week, so I'd be surprised if they are making changes beyond then.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Karaboudjan

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, WendyCity11 said:

I just saw this online in regards to Hurricane Fiona.  Has anyone heard anything from NCL  - and if so, was there a timeline on how far out they will continue to make this change to the itinerary?  Thank you!

 

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian has modified its Caribbean itineraries to now sail the Western Caribbean. Voyages out of Miami that called in Puerto Plata, St. Thomas; Road Town, Tortola; and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas, will now have a new itinerary that will include Costa Maya, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; Harvest Caye, Norwegian's private island in Belize; and Cozumel.

Until Hermine hits the Western Caribbean next week. 

[darius427]

I just received an email from Norwegian letting us know that our itinerary for our March 2023 Getaway cruise leaving from New York and going to Virginia, Orlando, Great Stirrup Cay, and Bermuda has been changed.  It will now be going to Orlando for an overnight stay, Great Stirrup Cay, and Nassau.  I can somewhat understand taking Bermuda off the itinerary just in case, but I don't know why they changed Virginia.  I may just cancel this one as the main reason for this trip was the stop in Bermuda.  We have been everywhere else multiple times.  Oh well.  Maybe next time.  

 

Edit - I checked the website and it still shows the itinerary's as they were.  I don't know how long it typically takes Norwegian to update the website after making changes like these.

Edited September 21, 2022 by darius427
Added info

[WendyCity11]

Thank you for all your responses.

 

I wasn't sure if the devastation in the Dominican played a factor in their decision.

[schmoopie17]

1 hour ago, darius427 said:

 

Edit - I checked the website and it still shows the itinerary's as they were.  I don't know how long it typically takes Norwegian to update the website after making changes like these.

When they dropped Bermuda from our Nov 1st TA it took several days to see the changed itinerary on their site and on our reservation.

[rbxlady]

3 hours ago, Karaboudjan said:

Fiona should be far from the Caribbean by the end of next week, so I'd be surprised if they are making changes beyond then.

I didn’t know if this was because of damage in St. Thomas (though I’ve heard they were relatively unscathed), Puerto Rico, and the DR. I figured those problems might affect cruises that far in the future and didn’t know if they were making calls about those yet.

[rbxlady]

2 hours ago, darius427 said:

I just received an email from Norwegian letting us know that our itinerary for our March 2023 Getaway cruise leaving from New York and going to Virginia, Orlando, Great Stirrup Cay, and Bermuda has been changed.  It will now be going to Orlando for an overnight stay, Great Stirrup Cay, and Nassau.  I can somewhat understand taking Bermuda off the itinerary just in case, but I don't know why they changed Virginia.  I may just cancel this one as the main reason for this trip was the stop in Bermuda.  We have been everywhere else multiple times.  Oh well.  Maybe next time.  

 

Edit - I checked the website and it still shows the itinerary's as they were.  I don't know how long it typically takes Norwegian to update the website after making changes like these.

I wonder if that has to do with NCL and other cruise lines’ basically telling Bermuda they need to get with the program on COVID protocols, or they’re going to stop bringing in cruise passengers.

 

I can see how cutting Virginia and Bermuda, replacing them with an overnight stay in Port Canaveral, and adding Nassau would change the nature of the cruise enough to justify cancelling. Maybe it’s just me, but Nassau was not my favorite port, though it’s been a while.

[Heronymous]

I'm on the Getaway right now, they dropped VA from our itinerary but I never received notice of it, when I asked the hotel director his answer was similar to another random employee I asked in that they weren't 100% sure why but suspected an "issue" with the channel handling the ship.

 

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, rbxlady said:

I wonder if that has to do with NCL and other cruise lines’ basically telling Bermuda they need to get with the program on COVID protocols, or they’re going to stop bringing in cruise passengers.

So,,, you do a full season of cruises from Boston and New York to Bermuda this year,,,  then cancel one cruise in March of 2023 to show Bermuda that you object to their policies????

[NYMama]

17 hours ago, rbxlady said:

I wonder if that has to do with NCL and other cruise lines’ basically telling Bermuda they need to get with the program on COVID protocols, or they’re going to stop bringing in cruise passengers.

 

I can see how cutting Virginia and Bermuda, replacing them with an overnight stay in Port Canaveral, and adding Nassau would change the nature of the cruise enough to justify cancelling. Maybe it’s just me, but Nassau was not my favorite port, though it’s been a while.

I have the same original itinerary as @darius427 but sailing out of NYC on 2/18/23.  I have received no notification that my sailing has been modified.  Virginia is still first port and Bermuda is still last port.

[rbxlady]

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

So,,, you do a full season of cruises from Boston and New York to Bermuda this year,,,  then cancel one cruise in March of 2023 to show Bermuda that you object to their policies????

 

I don't work in business, nor do I have any cruise line/nautical experience that would inform my comment, but my job requires strategic moves and negotiation, so I tend to see things through that lens. Short of a one-off cancellation, it looks to me like this could be posturing to induce Bermuda to act, as in, "We are willing to cancel six months out if you persist in this course of action." However, I have no idea how many calls have been cancelled at this point.

 

Why would they not cancel the Bermuda calls that have happened so far this year? First, it's hard to take that stance when the cruise lines themselves were still requiring everyone to test before embarkation. NCL only dropped that requirement this month, and the cancellations I read about (several for Celebrity and at least one for NCL) were reported last week, about 12 days or so after NCL's drop took effect. I'm sure the cruise lines are working together toward this common goal, and decisions aren't made overnight.

 

Second, I have no idea how far into those cruises the ship reached Bermuda from NYC or Boston, in which case testing on board may not have been necessary if they were tested prior to embarkation. In other words, the cancellation criteria that Celebrity and NCL are threatening to follow now may not have even applied then.

 

Of course it could have nothing to do with this, as there are many reasons why a cruise line might change its itinerary. I was just throwing an idea out there as something that's not out of the realm of possibility-- that's why I said "I wonder if" in my comment above. Cut me some slack, Jack!

[Laszlo]

Its a blessing you are not stopping in Norfolk