Itinerary reliable??

[slpm1]

I'm taking my first Alaska cruise and specifically chose a 9 day with NCL because of port times and Glacier Bay. I was especially looking forward to a full day in Victoria BC , wanting to visit Butchart Gardens and this cruise showed a port time of 1-midnight. My booking shows this time in port as well on NCL website. However I have been watching the prices and noticed Costco Travel has the port time as 6:30PM -midnight for the same cruise. I also pulled up this info from the pier 

 

https://gvha.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Ogden-Point-Cruise-Ship-Schedule.pdf'

 

which shows a port time of 9-midnight. (It's the NCL Sun arriving 9/12/23). Who do I believe? 

[jdc987]

6 minutes ago, slpm1 said:

I'm taking my first Alaska cruise and specifically chose a 9 day with NCL because of port times and Glacier Bay. I was especially looking forward to a full day in Victoria BC , wanting to visit Butchart Gardens and this cruise showed a port time of 1-midnight. My booking shows this time in port as well on NCL website. However I have been watching the prices and noticed Costco Travel has the port time as 6:30PM -midnight for the same cruise. I also pulled up this info from the pier 

 

https://gvha.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Ogden-Point-Cruise-Ship-Schedule.pdf'

 

which shows a port time of 9-midnight. (It's the NCL Sun arriving 9/12/23). Who do I believe? 

My opinion based on my recent experience and other posters.   Not NCL!

[Shel71]

No way to know for sure but I would be looking at the port schedule as the most reliable.

[BirdTravels]

24 minutes ago, slpm1 said:

Which shows a port time of 9-midnight. (It's the NCL Sun arriving 9/12/23). Who do I believe? 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

You believe your cruise itinerary from NCL. Considering the number of cruises each week, almost all sail in accordance with their published itineraries. 

 

Also, mentioning the name of a travel agent as you have is strictly forbidden on Cruise Critic. 

 

And you totally ignore any other snarky comments left by posters on this thread and anything you read on the internet. 

Edited March 11, 2023 by BirdTravels

[julig22]

If you have a sea day prior to Victoria then it's normally a full day stop. If coming from another port, Victoria is a quick stop to satisfy foreign port regulations.

[slpm1]

Oops sorry for mentioning the warehouse store. I wasn't aware. Yes the cruise shows a sea day prior to arrival in Victoria. 

[All-ready2cruise]

I would not book a cruise based on the itinerary. 

[slpm1]

Another odd thing. When I look at the same cruise now on NCL as if I were starting a new booking, it gives the evening arrival time. When I look at my booking, it still shows the 1PM arrival. 

[kitkat343]

You can also try posting this question on the Alaska boards - they may know more about the schedule.  As you may have seen on the other posts in the  NCL forum, there have been changes to NCL itineraries after final payment.  On the spirit, the inside passage has been dropped.  This was the most recent posting on the topic:  

  .  You should also search here and on zuckerberg's site (not sure I can name it) for roll calls for your ship, as there may be experienced cruisers on your sailing who have looked up this information and can clarify the issues.  

 

Just please note that in the past, NCL has cancelled and shortened ports after final payment for environmental reasons, and they have continued to advertise the cruises as sailing the original itinerary and not warned people who book after ports were cancelled about the cancellations.  They also won't allow passengers to make changes if they change the itinerary within final payment.  

Edited March 11, 2023 by kitkat343

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, All-ready2cruise said:

I would not book a cruise based on the itinerary. 

That is the only reason to book a cruise. 

[luv2kroooz]

I, too, would not believe NCL, and I don't mean that in a snarky way. But, you are free to ignore my opinion if you think I am wrong.

 

There have been numerous, well documented instances of more than a few itineraries where NCL has communicated changes to booked guests but continued to market the original itinerary to prospects. NCL is currently in an extreme cash conservation mode. They are saving cash by reducing time in the ports of call and increasing the amount of time spent sailing so that they can save money by sailing at  slower speeds.

 

These itinerary changes are made in the name of port congestion, unforeseen circumstances and green initiatives. I would use the website of the port that is managed by the port authority as my guide.

[CILCIANRQTS]

8 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

You believe your cruise itinerary from NCL. Considering the number of cruises each week, almost all sail in accordance with their published itineraries. 

 

Also, mentioning the name of a travel agent as you have is strictly forbidden on Cruise Critic. 

 

And you totally ignore any other snarky comments left by posters on this thread and anything you read on the internet. 

Believe only me… 🙄🙄

[bluesea777]

The Ogden Point cruise schedule may be incorrect as it is showing the Sun as coming from Ketchikan rather than Juneau, therefore it is showing the time as 21:00 - 23:59.

 

Note to NCL: if you read this, better contact Victoria to rectify the port details. 
 

The Sun departs Juneau at 2:15 pm two days prior, so the 1:00 pm arrival time is the one.

 

[bluesea777]

One more thing …. check your itinerary - if it says you’re leaving Juneau at 6:00 pm, then the itinerary doesn’t agree with NCL’s.

 

Please ask your TA to check with NCL and rectify their (TA) itinerary. 
 

 

[slpm1]

I've contacted my TA a number of times via email (to upgrade my room and with questions) and never got a response. He called me once early on but I had already booked on my own. I ended up calling in the 800 number to upgrade our stateroom. I'm going to check into the other suggestions as well. My itinerary shows us leaving Juneau at 2:15. I will try calling the TA during the week to get some sort of answer. Thanks for all the help for this rookie.

[CILCIANRQTS]

5 minutes ago, slpm1 said:

I've contacted my TA a number of times via email (to upgrade my room and with questions) and never got a response. He called me once early on but I had already booked on my own. I ended up calling in the 800 number to upgrade our stateroom. I'm going to check into the other suggestions as well. My itinerary shows us leaving Juneau at 2:15. I will try calling the TA during the week to get some sort of answer. Thanks for all the help for this rookie.

And the next time you travel, use another TA!
He’s making a commission on a trip he didn’t even book and still won’t call.

Probably a big box TA - We love you, now go away!!

[slpm1]

No I booked directly through NCL, it's my PCC I am talking about not a travel agent.

[MeHeartCruising]

14 minutes ago, slpm1 said:

No I booked directly through NCL, it's my PCC I am talking about not a travel agent.

 

He probably is no longer employed by NCL, then.  Hence no replies from his email.  Call the main number.  In my opinion, if a PCC doesn't return an email within a day, then it's fair game to just call the main NCL number.  They could be gone or on vacation.

[bluesea777]

I have a NCL PCC, and when I send him an email, I either receive a reply OR an out of office email with details of his co-worker who could assist me.

 

If you do not receive an OoO reply I would suggest calling NCL and asking for your PCC's name and ask for a new PCC if the former isn't available.

 

 

 

 

[bonvoyagie]

In looking at the NCL site as well as cruise timetables website there is a difference in the time of leaving Juneau - NCL shows a 2:15 departure while timetables shows a 6:00 PM departure. Leaving at 2:15 would allow you to get to Victoria early PM as per the schedule. Leaving at 6:00 would not allow the early PM arrival in Victoria. I know that the Encore and Bliss both arrive in Victoria late PM. I think that I would believe the multiple sites that show the evening arrival. In doing further research into this it appears that each sailing is different both in port order and times - the cruises before and after this one spends the whole PM in Victoria - one also leaves from Ketchikan the other from Juneau. Some cruises visit Sitka and Hubbard Glacier. If seeing Victoria is a priority for you I would look into another set of dates - check out Cruise Timetables.com and look at the NCL Sun.

Edited March 12, 2023 by bonvoyagie

[bluesea777]

5 hours ago, bonvoyagie said:

In looking at the NCL site as well as cruise timetables website there is a difference in the time of leaving Juneau - NCL shows a 2:15 departure while timetables shows a 6:00 PM departure. Leaving at 2:15 would allow you to get to Victoria early PM as per the schedule. Leaving at 6:00 would not allow the early PM arrival in Victoria. I know that the Encore and Bliss both arrive in Victoria late PM. I think that I would believe the multiple sites that show the evening arrival. In doing further research into this it appears that each sailing is different both in port order and times - the cruises before and after this one spends the whole PM in Victoria - one also leaves from Ketchikan the other from Juneau. Some cruises visit Sitka and Hubbard Glacier. If seeing Victoria is a priority for you I would look into another set of dates - check out Cruise Timetables.com and look at the NCL Sun.

Which timetables?

 

The Alaska cruise timetables (the private excursion agents use these) show the Sun leaving Juneau at 2:15 pm.

 

https://claalaska.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/JNU-Juneau-2023.pdf

 

[Encore37]

You can’t trust anything that comes from NCL anymore.  My last two cruises had itinerary changes at the embarkation port.  The latest being today on the Encore.  Found out when checking in that GSC will be replaced with Nassau.

[yocrui5e]

On 3/11/2023 at 1:25 AM, BirdTravels said:

That is the only reason to book a cruise. 

 

Itinerary and the ship should both be important!

For those who like itineraries, a change in ports is like a new-ship-lover booking for Norwegian Prima but ending up on the Norwegian Sun (it's not the end of the world but it's just ... kind of annoying!)

[phissy]

On 3/10/2023 at 6:31 PM, BirdTravels said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

 

 

Also, mentioning the name of a travel agent as you have is strictly forbidden on Cruise Critic. 

 

 

Yes, many of us are aware of this rule and just call it the big box travel site.

But, it does seem hard to reconcile this taboo when Cruise Critic itself has featured a story about this site.

 

Edited March 12, 2023 by phissy

[bluesea777]

42 minutes ago, phissy said:

Yes, many of us are aware of this rule and just call it the big box travel site.

But, it does seem hard to reconcile this taboo when Cruise Critic itself has featured a story about this site.

 

 

What's the date of this article?

 

I cannot find it and there is no search.