NCL Ships at Amber Cove

[Laszlo]

1 hour ago, AwesomO said:

not sure if you'd have anything to stand on since terms of service explicitly says ports can be changed at any time for any reason. 

You need to read the fine print. We had a Bermuda cruise out of NYC diverted because of a hurricane that never even hit Bermuda. We wound up go to Florida (PC). We were then suppose to go to Nassau and GSC. Nassau then got cancelled and when we got to GSC is was too windy to stop. So our 7 day cruise ended up going to Florida and back to NYC with one stop LOL. Lots of angry cruisers that week

[asmit4]

2 hours ago, Laszlo said:

You need to read the fine print. We had a Bermuda cruise out of NYC diverted because of a hurricane that never even hit Bermuda. We wound up go to Florida (PC). We were then suppose to go to Nassau and GSC. Nassau then got cancelled and when we got to GSC is was too windy to stop. So our 7 day cruise ended up going to Florida and back to NYC with one stop LOL. Lots of angry cruisers that week

While the fine print says this could happen and they don't owe you anything- wondering if they gave you guys anything at all for this. 1 port in the USA would make people really angry I bet. 

[Laszlo]

3 minutes ago, asmit4 said:

While the fine print says this could happen and they don't owe you anything- wondering if they gave you guys anything at all for this. 1 port in the USA would make people really angry I bet. 

Everyone got $50 OBC, I don't remember what we got back in port fee's from missing Bermuda

[dbrown84]

sign me up!!!!

[kitkat343]

I agree that the contract protects NCL legally, but for me personally there is a big difference between something NCL could not predict (hurricane, port strike, civil unrest, fire, dangerous water conditions) and a situation in which they clearly know months ahead of time it is unlikely or impossible for them to reach a port.  

 

If the weather conditions forced us to miss a port, I'd be disappointed but not blame NCL.   In this situation, I am very disappointed in NCL for not making it clear to customers as soon as they knew this was a long term issue  (for me that was prior to my booking this cruise in November 2022) that this might be an issue.  I would have known to not tell my kids about the planned activities in the DR (there are animal experiences you have to book in advance there so I needed to see if my kids wanted to do them before booking), and I could have made a better informed decision between this cruise and a similar one leaving a week earlier on RC from Bayonne.  

 

As someone who travels on cruises primarily because it is the easiest way to travel with kids, I am extremely concerned because we've seen other cruise lines doing this too (Princess did this in Alaska last summer, and that's even worse because Alaska is a bucket list trip for many people.  They had a propeller issue that couldn't be fixed that slowed down a ship and caused them  to miss part of their itinerary) 

 

I understand the cruise ship contract needs to have  a way to protect the industry for unforeseeable emergencies that make it necessary to change the itinerary, but it seems misleading to not share important information with customers when there are likely planned itinerary changes before they book their cruise (in my case there are already two ships scheduled for Amber Cove, so making the DR seems quite unlikely).  While my kids are young it is unlikely we will stop cruising because we need the kids club, but when we get older this will make us much more likely to choose other types of vacations.       

Edited December 15, 2022 by kitkat343

[Laszlo]

6 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

I agree that the contract protects NCL legally, but for me personally there is a big difference between something NCL could not predict (hurricane, port strike, civil unrest, fire, dangerous water conditions) and a situation in which they clearly know months ahead of time it is unlikely or impossible for them to reach a port.  

 

If the weather conditions forced us to miss a port, I'd be disappointed but not blame NCL.   In this situation, I am very disappointed in NCL for not making it clear to customers as soon as they knew this was a long term issue  (for me that was prior to my booking this cruise in November 2022) that this might be an issue.  I would have known to not tell my kids about the planned activities in the DR (there are animal experiences you have to book in advance there so I needed to see if my kids wanted to do them before booking), and I could have made a better informed decision between this cruise and a similar one leaving a week earlier on RC from Bayonne.  

 

As someone who travels on cruises primarily because it is the easiest way to travel with kids, I am extremely concerned because we've seen other cruise lines doing this too (Princess did this in Alaska last summer, and that's even worse because Alaska is a bucket list trip for many people.  They had a propeller issue that couldn't be fixed that slowed down a ship and caused them  to miss part of their itinerary) 

 

I understand the cruise ship contract needs to have  a way to protect the industry for unforeseeable emergencies that make it necessary to change the itinerary, but it seems misleading to not share important information with customers when there are likely planned itinerary changes before they book their cruise (in my case there are already two ships scheduled for Amber Cove, so making the DR seems quite unlikely).  While my kids are young it is unlikely we will stop cruising because we need the kids club, but when we get older this will make us much more likely to choose other types of vacations.       

To be fair all we know right now is Puerto Plata is on our itinerary and we are supposed to dock there. Hopefully that will happen, if not I really hope NCL has a good alternative.... and three days at sea is not one of them Lol

[AwesomO]

I hear you, I do. My February itinerary just had several changes (Cancelled Grand Turk and St Maarten, and added Puerto Rico and Bermuda, neither of which I'm interested in sailing to, as I also have kids and wanted easy beach itineraries) and DR is another scheduled stop that may or may not happen. So at this point, it's really not even the same cruise. It's frustrating, but we're past final payment so nothing I can do. It's been booked for 2 years now. Even if I could cancel/reschedule, nothing is in that same price bracket for a holiday week at this point in time. It's not right, but NCL has made sure they can't be held financially liable for these changes. 

Edited December 15, 2022 by AwesomO

[farjar]

We are scheduled to be in Puerto Plata January 31st on the Dawn.  Besides the Dawn four other ships are scheduled; the Gem, the Encore, the Celebration and the Nieuw Amsterdam.  Since the Celebration and the Nieuw Amsterdam are Carnival properties I assume they will be docked at Amber Cove while the three NCL ships will be at Taino Bay.  Seems like too many ships to be there all once.  I wouldn't be surprised if there were port cancellations.  It would be nice to be informed of that ahead of time so alternative plans can be made.  

[asmit4]

2 hours ago, farjar said:

We are scheduled to be in Puerto Plata January 31st on the Dawn.  Besides the Dawn four other ships are scheduled; the Gem, the Encore, the Celebration and the Nieuw Amsterdam.  Since the Celebration and the Nieuw Amsterdam are Carnival properties I assume they will be docked at Amber Cove while the three NCL ships will be at Taino Bay.  Seems like too many ships to be there all once.  I wouldn't be surprised if there were port cancellations.  It would be nice to be informed of that ahead of time so alternative plans can be made.  

Exactly. If they KNOW, they should tell passengers. IMO the laws should change. Passengers should be told if there is a reasonable assurance that a port might not happen. Waiting until people board to tell them stuff they knew well in advance is wrong. 

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, farjar said:

We are scheduled to be in Puerto Plata January 31st on the Dawn.  Besides the Dawn four other ships are scheduled; the Gem, the Encore, the Celebration and the Nieuw Amsterdam

We’re on the Gem that day.  NCL has not been bringing the bigger ships to Taino Bay, so maybe the Dawn and Gem will make it. In any event, this says that three ships can dock at Taino Bay. 
 

https://www.porttainobay.com/en

 

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Turtles06

[Vegasgreg19]

Our upcoming trip (Jan15th) shows a flip flopped itinerary on the ports schedules than from what NCL has for us. NCL says we are going to GSC first and the port schedules have us going there the last day. Also for DR shows 4 ships in port with 2 being the Carnival Celebration and HAL Nieuw Statendam and the Encore and Getaway also being there the same day. If both the Encore and Getaway can't dock at Amber and Taino Bay not an option because of the size, I am guessing we will be "Cancelled" and they will either then tell us about the flip flopping itinerary then instead of now even though they know already that we won't be docking there. I would rather they be upfront with us and tell us now rather than making it look like they had no idea and springing it on us like " Oh my gosh we are so sorry but it looks like we won't be able to dock today!" To me it just seems kind of shady to do folks that way.

[mking8288]

For our upcoming Getaway's planned stop at DR, looks like we could and should be able to dock at and use Amber Cove ... only 2 ships listed in total, seriously doubtful that mega ships will be safely docking in the shallower Taino Bay until it is.  

 

Our scheduled time for DR is from 11 am to 4 pm, with AC being another 20+ minutes each way from downtown, planning any kind of independent shorex isn't going to be easy or simple ... even with NCL.  We aren't going to do anything until onboard & figure out where we are most likely going ... there's no need to book anything for good old Nassau or GSC.  Just wing it - if we do make it ashore at the Cove, we'll probably just check out the shops nearby & not go further into town with the limited time. 

 

Besides, we've done a # of virtual tours of DR over at YouTube ... will be just fine staying onboard, could just be another sea day - NCL isn't going to refund the port taxes/fees/charges collected already, no matter what. 

[KAYKAY121]

4 hours ago, Vegasgreg19 said:

Our upcoming trip (Jan15th) shows a flip flopped itinerary on the ports schedules than from what NCL has for us. NCL says we are going to GSC first and the port schedules have us going there the last day. Also for DR shows 4 ships in port with 2 being the Carnival Celebration and HAL Nieuw Statendam and the Encore and Getaway also being there the same day. If both the Encore and Getaway can't dock at Amber and Taino Bay not an option because of the size, I am guessing we will be "Cancelled" and they will either then tell us about the flip flopping itinerary then instead of now even though they know already that we won't be docking there. I would rather they be upfront with us and tell us now rather than making it look like they had no idea and springing it on us like " Oh my gosh we are so sorry but it looks like we won't be able to dock today!" To me it just seems kind of shady to do folks that way.

The  Encore is scheduled to dock that day at 7:00 AM so it looks like the Encore itinerary will be ok unless they decide to move it to another port. I haven't seen any Encore deviations for DR unless I just missed them on here. 

[TominNC]

Has Encore stopped at Taino Bay since it's been back in the Caribbean?  There are two Carnival's at Amber Cove on the 21st

[wil e coyote]

Both Amber Cove and Taino Bay show Escape on their schedules for yesterday, 12/19. Does anyone know which port (if any) Escape actually used?

[European_CruiseGirl]

14 minutes ago, wil e coyote said:

Both Amber Cove and Taino Bay show Escape on their schedules for yesterday, 12/19. Does anyone know which port (if any) Escape actually used?

Vesselfinder would indicate that it was at Amber Cove (see pic from live history data, Amber Cove is situated where Escape was). 

Edited December 20, 2022 by European_CruiseGirl

[wil e coyote]

10 minutes ago, European_CruiseGirl said:

Vesselfinder would indicate that it was at Amber Cove (see pic from live history data, Amber Cove is situated where Escape was). 

Thanks! I'm watching this with some interest as we are on the Escape next month and scheduled to be in Puerto Plata on 1/30. But as others have noted, there are no NCL ships on the Amber Cove schedule in January, and the Taino Bay January schedule is empty. There are two Carnival ships scheduled for Amber Cove on 1/30, so it seems unlikely that Escape will be there.

[Laszlo]

1 hour ago, wil e coyote said:

Thanks! I'm watching this with some interest as we are on the Escape next month and scheduled to be in Puerto Plata on 1/30. But as others have noted, there are no NCL ships on the Amber Cove schedule in January, and the Taino Bay January schedule is empty. There are two Carnival ships scheduled for Amber Cove on 1/30, so it seems unlikely that Escape will be there.

You can follow me here....  We leave on the GA January 8th and are suppose to dock in Puerto Plata January 17th

 

[mking8288]

46 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

You can follow me here....  We leave on the GA January 8th and are suppose to dock in Puerto Plata January 17th

@wil e coyote We'll be shadowing Laszlo's port stops to see how their planned stops do, waiting for the GA's homeward trip to NY to make their exodus so that we can embark.  Our stop at PP or Amber Cove is scheduled for Jan. 29th and port calendar showing 2 ships at PP, thus possible for GA to dock at the Cove & not "divert" elsewhere ... all that, subject to change if come Jan. 1st. - an updated port schedule as posted show otherwise, i.e. 2 Carnival ships going to AC.  

 

Regardless, port charges/fees/charges been paid (as part of total) since full payment was due a while ago .. it's pretty clear NCL isn't likely going to refund or adjust anything - just going to deal with it, but not booking any shorex either, 2 to 3 hours plus a little slack to rush ashore aren't going to be worthwhile, aside from stretching sea legs and take a few selfies (and photos) near the shops by the piers to "check-in" on our Google Map as "Local Guide" ... that we visited, LOL.  

 

We'll have roaming 4G LTE coverage at the other ports ahead of our 1/29 calling on PP, pretty sure we can track down things onboard from the Shore Ex desk and post an update for interested folks here on CC ... others are free to ignore or not read about it. 

Edited December 20, 2022 by mking8288

[kitkat343]

The 1/8 Getaway cruise has cancelled its stop in the Dominican Republic and replaced it with a sea day.  Despite the fact that this cruise was originally billed as a cruise to Barbados and the Dominican Republic, they are not offering any compensation.  It's really frustrating for me because we have children and would have chosen the RC cruise a few weeks earlier leaving from Bayonne because it is one day shorter since I wouldn't want my kids to miss an extra day of school just for a sea day (they are in a DLI Spanish/English school, so a day in the DR would have been very helpful for them to practice their Spanish.)

Edited December 20, 2022 by kitkat343

[kitkat343]

Here's the update for those on the 1/8 sailing (my family is in two cabins and only my husband's cabin was notified so I'm posting it below so everyone has a chance to change their plans.  Three of the other port times are now later.

 

riginal Day Destination Arrive Depart   Sun NEW YORK CITY, NY   3:00 pm   Mon AT SEA       Tue AT SEA       Wed SAN JUAN, PR 4:00 pm 10:30 pm   Thu BASSETERRE, SAINT KITTS - NEVIS 12:00 pm 7:00 pm   Fri CASTRIES, SAINT LUCIA 8:00 am 5:00 pm   Sat BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS 7:00 am 4:00 pm   Sun ST. JOHN'S, ANTIGUA 9:00 am 6:00 pm   Mon ST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS 7:00 am 3:00 pm   Tue PUERTO PLATA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 9:00 am 4:00 pm   Wed AT SEA       Thu AT SEA       Fri NEW YORK CITY, NY 7:00 am

Revised Day Destination Arrive Depart   Sun NEW YORK CITY, NY   3:00 pm   Mon AT SEA       Tue AT SEA       Wed SAN JUAN, PR 4:00 pm 10:30 pm   Thu BASSETERRE, SAINT KITTS - NEVIS 12:00 pm 7:00 pm   Fri CASTRIES, SAINT LUCIA 10:00 am 7:00 pm   Sat BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS 7:00 am 4:00 pm   Sun ST. JOHN'S, ANTIGUA 12:00 pm 6:00 pm   Mon ST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS 7:00 am 6:00 pm   Tue AT SEA       Wed AT SEA       Thu AT SEA       Fri NEW YORK CITY, NY 7:00 am

 

Edited December 21, 2022 by kitkat343

[asmit4]

So as of 1/8, no large ships going to DR. Good to know!  I go end of February and there are only 2 ships in the DR during that time- so I can probably presume they will go to Amber Cove if Taino isn't available but who knows. 

[tqdrivenws6]

We were on the Escape, 12/3 departure from Port Canaveral, due in to Puerto Plata on 12/5 (day 2). We docked at Amber Cove, and on day 6 NCL issued approx $19/passenger OBC to each account for the 'inconvenience'. Must have been plenty of people complaining, we were on an NCL Excursion to Ocean World the whole day so we didn't really notice the change.

[kitkat343]

12 minutes ago, asmit4 said:

So as of 1/8, no large ships going to DR. Good to know!  I go end of February and there are only 2 ships in the DR during that time- so I can probably presume they will go to Amber Cove if Taino isn't available but who knows. 

There were already 2 carnival owned ships (one carnival one HAL) scheduled for Amber cove on the day the Getaway was scheduled to dock, so that absolutely wasn't an option for us.  There's no guarantee for you, but your chances are much higher of that working out.  Good luck!

Edited December 21, 2022 by kitkat343

[CruzinMel]

I'm on Escape departing 12/31 and we are supposed to hit the DR on 1/2 - I want to book an excursion, but I don't want to have to deal with the stop possibly getting canceled or feeling rushed and uncomfortable.  Things happen, but this is getting a wee bit out of hand.