NYC-Bermuda Cruises Skipping Virginia for a few weeks

[OttawaJohn]

So just got this email.

 

On behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), we thank you for your loyalty and for making us your vacation of choice.

We have important information regarding Norwegian Joy's sailings from May 21, 2023, through and including June 18, 2023. We ask Travel Partners to share this information with impacted guests.

Our company is committed to driving a positive impact on society and the environment. As part of our global sustainability program, Sail & Sustain, we are continually seeking opportunities to reduce our overall carbon footprint, and recently committed to pursuing net zero greenhouse gas emissions across our operations and value chain by 2050. To support this mission, we have optimized our arrival and departure times. We appreciate your understanding and support on this important sustainability initiative.

 

Basically it's two at sea days now after leaving NYC, not Norfolk and one at sea on the way down.

 

Shame, was looking forward to checking out Virginia.

[meandcoffeetoo]

I also received a similar email for my cruise leaving July 30th.  Dates in the email I received are July 30, 2023 through and including August 13, 2023.

[luv2kroooz]

LOL!....we "recently committed to pursuing net zero greenhouse gas emissions across our operations and value chain by 2050."  so we are changing your itinerary 27 years before 2050.

Who writes this stuff over at NCL?

Edited January 6, 2023 by luv2kroooz

[Nyc2tropics]

Ha. Why don’t they just say they’re doing it to save $$ on fuel. 

[JesseB]

Having spent a good bit of time in Norfolk/VA Beach area I don't know what there would be to do there on a cruise port stop really especially in May, the water will still be pretty cold for a beach day....don't think you are missing much

[FLAHAM]

2 minutes ago, JesseB said:

Having spent a good bit of time in Norfolk/VA Beach area I don't know what there would be to do there on a cruise port stop really especially in May, the water will still be pretty cold for a beach day....don't think you are missing much

Crab lunch.

[wcook]

As my dad would say, “don’t piss on my ear and tell me it’s raining.” Note: my dad was a weird guy. 

[BirdTravels]

They do it to reduce fuel costs. Not having to run as many engines and sail as fast. I thought that they were originally putting in Norfolk to provision the ship. I guess they will continue to provision out of NYC. 

[shof515]

2 sea days there and 1 sea day back is the normal cruise itinerary they had back in the day before they add Norfolk 

[OttawaJohn]

32 minutes ago, shof515 said:

2 sea days there and 1 sea day back is the normal cruise itinerary they had back in the day before they add Norfolk 

 

Thanks, that's what I thought actually, I thought it was just NYC-Bermuda-NYC but hadn't looked into it yet. 

[mking8288]

NCL ships sailing out of NYC (Royal Caribbeans do the same) also do 5 and 6 days Bermuda round-trips, and even 4 days to Bermuda & back, as long as they sail on time, sea state and waves, and maritime weather conditions are favorable based on the chartered course/headings.  

 

Nautical distance between NYC and Bermuda is about 670 n.m. (shortest #'s seen, not a mariner ...) and with ships capable of running 21 to 22 knots under favorable conditions, wind & waves, etc. - can make the trip in about 35 hours or less.  

 

When the ship is taking 2 days to sail eastbound to Bermuda, she's often cruising at 12 or 13 knots, running 2 or 3 engines at most.  Coming back, going westbound - the bridge always tell the engine room to go "full speed", 18 to 19, 20 knots are common.  During seasonal whale migration time, USCG enforced maritime regulations that ships slow down and proceed with cautions to protect marine lives as whales are sometimes sighted in the area up & down the coastal Atlantic water, sometimes coming into the Lower NY Bay to play & feed.  

 

 

[ShadowRegent]

Just got this note as well.  Does anyone know how port fee adjustments work when they're made prior to final payment?  I'm curious if they'll remove them prior to payment or if they'd be an OBC.

[shof515]

10 minutes ago, ShadowRegent said:

Just got this note as well.  Does anyone know how port fee adjustments work when they're made prior to final payment?  I'm curious if they'll remove them prior to payment or if they'd be an OBC.

NCL will keep the port fees and taxes. they never refund it unlike other cruise lines.

[ShadowRegent]

13 minutes ago, shof515 said:

NCL will keep the port fees and taxes. they never refund it unlike other cruise lines.

 

We received about $130 refund as OBC when they switched out Taino Bay for Amber Cove at Puerto Plata on our last cruise.  That was a surprise for us, so I assumed they'd likely refund port fees for a removed port.

[uneamie]

We are heading for Bermuda on May7th on the Prima....I wonder if we will get an email too. The only thing I heard there was to do there was to tour a WWII ship that is right there at the port. I'l like to do that but if not that's OK too. 

[RosieRoo]

We were on the Joy in November. They were skipping this stop then. No prior notice. We were just told on the ship we wouldn’t be stopping there, no explanation. 

[zqvol]

13 hours ago, shof515 said:

NCL will keep the port fees and taxes. they never refund it unlike other cruise lines.

Never say never. 

[ngrund]

11 hours ago, uneamie said:

We are heading for Bermuda on May7th on the Prima....I wonder if we will get an email too. The only thing I heard there was to do there was to tour a WWII ship that is right there at the port. I'l like to do that but if not that's OK too. 

We probably will, excursions are no longer available on the wesite for our Norfolk day

[Beer Belly]

16 hours ago, uneamie said:

We are heading for Bermuda on May7th on the Prima....I wonder if we will get an email too. The only thing I heard there was to do there was to tour a WWII ship that is right there at the port. I'l like to do that but if not that's OK too. 

We were looking at the foot tour of the historic homes and the WWII ship, I'm a bit of a buff on both historic sites and WWII.

[ngrund]

26 minutes ago, Beer Belly said:

We were looking at the foot tour of the historic homes and the WWII ship, I'm a bit of a buff on both historic sites and WWII.

 

I just planned to get off the ship a bit, have some lunch and a few VA craft brews in the port area.

 

If we end up not stopping in VA on the cruise, I suggest you take a road trip, enough historic sights to enjoy a few days (Williamsburg, Navel Academy, etc) but just wait until Fall when its cooler

 

 

[Beer Belly]

33 minutes ago, ngrund said:

 

I just planned to get off the ship a bit, have some lunch and a few VA craft brews in the port area.

 

If we end up not stopping in VA on the cruise, I suggest you take a road trip, enough historic sights to enjoy a few days (Williamsburg, Navel Academy, etc) but just wait until Fall when its cooler

 

 

Might be doing a road trip to NC to look at real-estate, could be a stopping point for a couple days 👍

[MsTabbyKats]

17 hours ago, uneamie said:

We are heading for Bermuda on May7th on the Prima....I wonder if we will get an email too. The only thing I heard there was to do there was to tour a WWII ship that is right there at the port. I'l like to do that but if not that's OK too. 

We did that last May and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

[wally4ever]

I live a couple hours from Norfolk and I always think it's a little weird that it's a cruise port.  If I ever do a cruise from New York to Bermuda, that would definitely be a port I'd stay on the ship for.

 

Although I might feel differently if I didn't live nearby.

[kellygirl67]

I live in Northern Virginia and always thought Norfolk seemed like an odd cruise ship port as well….

[OttawaJohn]

22 hours ago, ngrund said:

We probably will, excursions are no longer available on the wesite for our Norfolk day

That's how it started for me to, I noticed a few days before the email that there was nothing for Norfolk, just Bermuda on the excursions page.