NCL Customer Experience on Israel issue.

[SpainAlien]

3 hours ago, Ozmodiar said:

This will be a bit of a challenge for NCL as they were using Haifa as the disembarkation/embarkation port, so not as easy as adding a new port mid-itinerary. From Cyprus, I think the best option might be back to Athens. Not sure if Antalya, Turkey or Alexandria, Egypt could do the turnaround. 

The UK have issued a warning against travelling to Egypt too now

[richmke]

NCL is working Athens as an alternative port. They have reserved a spot.

 

[Jetstreamer]

5 hours ago, SpainAlien said:

The UK have issued a warning against travelling to Egypt too now

 

Errm, no they haven't!  Nothing in the UK advice has changed recently.  They have for a long time warned against travel to certain areas of Egypt (mostly boarder areas), but those are areas most travellers are unlikely to end up.

 

All they added recently, relating to the Alexandria incident (which so far seems isolated) is: "Remain vigilant and exercise caution at tourist and religious sites, as well as public gatherings".

 

Again, no warnings are in place for any areas that a cruise would visit.  Thousands of British holidaymakers continue to fly to Egypt every week with holiday flights operating as normal today.

 

Link: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/egypt

Edited October 12, 2023 by Jetstreamer

[SpainAlien]

10 minutes ago, Jetstreamer said:

 

Errm, no they haven't!  Nothing in the UK advice has changed recently.  They have for a long time warned against travel to certain areas of Egypt (mostly boarder areas), but those are areas most travellers are unlikely to end up.

 

All they added recently, relating to the Alexandria incident (which so far seems isolated) is: "Remain vigilant and exercise caution at tourist and religious sites, as well as public gatherings".

 

Again, no warnings are in place for any areas that a cruise would visit.  Thousands of British holidaymakers continue to fly to Egypt every week with holiday flights operating as normal today.

 

Link: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/egypt

Oh that's odd Sky News announced yesterday that they had but I was travelling so I didn't have time to check 

 

[njkate]

11 hours ago, phillygwm said:

Without question, your itinerary will be changed.  This was a situation nobody expected 4 days ago and I'm sure it takes time to rearrange the logistics.  Cruiseship berths are not like the Marriott, where you can arrange something on short notice or go to the next town over if one is at capacity.

 

Yes, it sucks that you'll be forced to rearrange your itinerary on short-ish notice.  Hopefully you have travel insurance to cover the increase in cost.

Unfortunately most insurances do not cover anything if it’s because of an act of war

[Valposada73]

For what it’s worth, found this on the Athens Port Authority ship schedule this morning.   Nothing official from cruiseline yet so don’t go changing flights on my advice yet.  Ha.  

Edited October 12, 2023 by Valposada73

[allegrocontadino]

Piraeus Port Authority tends to be quite reliable, therefore I am confident this may be the final choice. Considering that the cruise is from today no more bookable, I guess official announcement is due soon.

1 minute ago, Valposada73 said:

For what it’s worth, found this on the Athens Port Authority ship schedule this morning.   Nothing official from cruiseline yet so don’t go changing flights in my account yet.  Ha.  

 

[richmke]

4 hours ago, allegrocontadino said:

Piraeus Port Authority tends to be quite reliable, therefore I am confident this may be the final choice. Considering that the cruise is from today no more bookable, I guess official announcement is due soon.

 

Regardless of the reliability of the Port Authority, it is only reporting that the berth has been reserved by NCL for the Epic. If I was working at NCL, that would be the first thing I do. Heck, I might have booked Istanbul too, and any other reasonable port (Rome, if they cancel the Cypress visit and do two sea days). Then figure out the logistics. If the other pieces fall into place, then make the official change to the cruise. If not, then cancel the reservation(s).

[allegrocontadino]

Well, yes and no at the same time. A slot has been booked at Piraeus port, with specific times and "E" sign, which means "embarkation" as opposite to transite. Therefore the procedure has somehow gone ahead. I suppose that it is a little bit more specific than blocking any available ports of the Med fpr the same dates. Yet, we will see as soon as an official announcement is made.

[CruiseMH]

18 hours ago, Ozmodiar said:

Not sure if Antalya, Turkey or Alexandria, Egypt could do the turnaround. 

 

At least Antalya was a turnaround port for the german-marked-based cruise line TUI cruises a few times in the past. So in general they should be able to handle it.

 

[sanger727]

7 hours ago, njkate said:

Unfortunately most insurances do not cover anything if it’s because of an act of war

 

The suggestion was for "cancel for any reason" insurance. For that, by definition, you don't have to provide a reason. What difference does it make to them if war broke out or your dog is sick. Either way, you are covered. 

[PATRLR]

19 hours ago, Golfgalag said:

Act of war cancels for any reason cause.    It’s insurance way out to not reimbursement 

Huh?   What you are saying is, if I have a "cancel for any reason" policy and I decide to cancel, for any reason, I can't if there happens to be a war going on nearby?

Cancel for any reason policies have other limitations that have kept me from buying one, so, I've ever looked closely.  But I find it very hard to believe what you've written.  

[Akhunter02]

My wife and I are on the same cruise. It’s easy to expect them to provide that information. The other cruise lines did it two days ago, I spoke to NCL this afternoon Israel is canceled. They will announce tomorrow where the new itineraries.  They will offer everyone the opportunity to cancel their cruise.  They will refund everything except for your fare

[njkate]

2 hours ago, sanger727 said:

 

The suggestion was for "cancel for any reason" insurance. For that, by definition, you don't have to provide a reason. What difference does it make to them if war broke out or your dog is sick. Either way, you are covered. 

I said most do not cover it and most people don’t bother to read all the fine print. If one has a trip/ cruise that goes to Israel I’m pretty sure the insurance knows why one would be cancelling 

 

https://www.travelinsurance.com/does-travel-insurance-cover-an-act-of-war/

Edited October 12, 2023 by njkate

[Smitheroo]

23 hours ago, Golfgalag said:

I was a loyal customer with NCL.     We are on a Rome to Israel cruise on November 8 to 20.     This cruise line can not give a definitive answer on final stop.    So how are we supposed to change our flights to get home.     It’s thanksgiving week.    All fights are full.    If they drop us off in Cyprus.    United does not flight out from there.    Good grief what is wrong with NCL.   If they will not give us a credit.  I will never book again with NCL.

I guess that would be one advantage of booking through the cruise line.  Kind of like only booking excursions run by the cruise line because if they are late the ship will wait. In the situation you describe,  they'd have to get you back home, I would hope.

[Smitheroo]

23 hours ago, RD64 said:

How do you people seriously expect them to give you a definitive answer to something that has developed literally overnight? Do any of you people actually follow the news?

 

I am sure during this totally unexpected humanitarian crisis - NCL is concerned with you specifically.

If I understand the post correctly and since she said something about a credit she wants to cancel (with refund) and NCL is not agreeing to that .  Maybe I'm naive but I would think this type of situation would be one where NCL would give the right to cancel without penalty.  But then someone posted that NCL is allowing people to cancel through the end of 2023.  And I also agree, a good argument for "cancel for any reason" insurance.  Another thing  keep in mind- when you travel to parts of the world where there is unrest, anything could happen.  Some of these comments are kind of rough though.  Maybe with years of traveling experience someone might have avoided this predicament but it does sound like it will be okay for the OP in the end

[Smitheroo]

22 hours ago, BunnyHutt said:

I was just reading an article written yesterday by The Points Guy. This is not just an NCL issue. 
 

The situation is awful and, if I were in this predicament (let’s face it, it’s a first world problem given all that is going on), I would cancel the cruise and the flights. Use credit on both for a vacation at a later date or another destination altogether. 

I think that they wouldnt agree to a credit and that is the point of the post. And she is anticipating difficulty finding new flights if NCL reroutes.  I dont think she is complaining that her travel plans are ruined  while so much suffering is going on. But now it sounds like NCL is giving refunds so....      If the OP hasnt purchased travel insurance (many people dont) let this be a lesson learned for the future.  We've all had to learn uncomfortable lessons at some point in our lives.   

[RD64]

No not tough at all - sometimes people just need to hear some honest and true facts, and accept them because they didn’t make an informed decision.

 

Would you purchase a major appliance or automobile without doing the appropriate research? If people make these travel decisions based on what a friend told them, or just making their own decision without doing the research or reading the cruise contract, they do have to accept some type of personal responsibility instead of playing Woe is Me because their travel plans are suddenly in dissaray.

 

 

 

[BunnyHutt]

2 hours ago, Smitheroo said:

I think that they wouldnt agree to a credit and that is the point of the post. And she is anticipating difficulty finding new flights if NCL reroutes.  I dont think she is complaining that her travel plans are ruined  while so much suffering is going on. But now it sounds like NCL is giving refunds so....      If the OP hasnt purchased travel insurance (many people dont) let this be a lesson learned for the future.  We've all had to learn uncomfortable lessons at some point in our lives.   

I realize the point may very well be moot, but why wouldn’t they agree to a credit? I thought for any cruise, while you may not be entitled to a *refund* if you cancel outside parameters of T&C, you have a balance sitting with the cruise line as a future credit. Same with non-refundable airfare. 

[Smitheroo]

8 hours ago, BunnyHutt said:

I realize the point may very well be moot, but why wouldn’t they agree to a credit? I thought for any cruise, while you may not be entitled to a *refund* if you cancel outside parameters of T&C, you have a balance sitting with the cruise line as a future credit. Same with non-refundable airfare. 

I dont know why they wouldnt agree to a credit   I was just going by what was written by the OP (I am assuming she asked them and was not just assuming)   I now realize that even with a cruise credit her flights would still be a problem.  This experience described here is a good argument for 1) having the cruise line take care of the flights   and 2) always have travel insurance especially with a cancel for no reason clause. (which is harder to get)   Trip cancellation insurance is not very expensive.  I just purchased a policy for my upcoming cruise and paid $136 which not only covers the trip but I think (I'd have to check for exact amount I ended up choosing, I looked at so many) 100,000 medical and a large amount for transportation.  Its medical I am most interested in as i am 73. Before Medicare, I always had excellent health insurance who would have covered bills in foreign countries  (I called and asked them)  Even an annual policy isnt extremely expensive. But if I were going on a cruise such as the one in this post I would be more concerned about the trip coverage because this cruise probably is pricey.

 

It seems like NCL is offering to refund in this scenario but again, those flights.

 

Just in case someone comments that 100,000  medical is not nearly enough (and I'd have to check, it may have been 500,000 I finally chose)  the cruise I purchased this insurance for is only for 1 week and much of it is on US soil.  If I were going to Europe or beyond I would be more careful about the amount of medical insurance I had.  And even 100,000 is way above what NCL offers and many other cheaper policies (NCL is not that much cheaper)

Edited October 13, 2023 by Smitheroo

[Smitheroo]

11 hours ago, RD64 said:

No not tough at all - sometimes people just need to hear some honest and true facts, and accept them because they didn’t make an informed decision.

 

Would you purchase a major appliance or automobile without doing the appropriate research? If people make these travel decisions based on what a friend told them, or just making their own decision without doing the research or reading the cruise contract, they do have to accept some type of personal responsibility instead of playing Woe is Me because their travel plans are suddenly in dissaray.

 

 

 

I agree, you do have to read the fine print and know what you are getting into but there are gentler ways of advising that.   btw, I dont research appliances I am buying except maybe if the cost was tremendous. A washer and dryer, no.   I might consider the brand and be skeptical if I had never heard of it but other than that, no.   

[Smitheroo]

23 hours ago, njkate said:

Unfortunately most insurances do not cover anything if it’s because of an act of war

even if it causes the cruise line to either cancel or reroute their plans ?  I can understand if a person didnt want to take the cruise if war in a nearby area was concerning but when it alters the cruise you booked, I would think that would be a different situation.  I can also understand the insurance side of it where the cruise line should agree to cancel and then insurance picks up anything not covered. But I am inexperienced in all of this (but learning fast)

[mjkacmom]

9 hours ago, BunnyHutt said:

I realize the point may very well be moot, but why wouldn’t they agree to a credit? I thought for any cruise, while you may not be entitled to a *refund* if you cancel outside parameters of T&C, you have a balance sitting with the cruise line as a future credit. Same with non-refundable airfare. 

If you cancel after final payment, you forfeit part or all of your fare.

[Akhunter02]

they will be announcing the change to the itinerary today as Israel is no longer a option, if wish to cancel their cruise. They will give you an onboard credit of the value of your room far  and refund everything else

[bluesea777]

4 hours ago, Smitheroo said:

I'm not sure why you wouldnt get everything back as your cruise is not until May 2024 but I have no experience with RCL.  Wouldnt travel insurance cover? Although you might not have purchased it yet but with a deposit that big I would think it would be wise to get travel insurance as soon as you booked and paid the deposit.  I have to admit I am not 100% savvy on these financial matters  And another reason why, when paying large amounts, to read the T & C carefully

 

That's RCL .... the deposits are non-refundable.