Encore itinerary change 1/28

[BermudaBound2014]

Just received the following itinerary change for the Encore departing 1/28/24.

 

Reason stated is fuel efficiency.

 

The changes are very minor but those booked on independent tours may want to inform operator.

Edited to add- I believe there is a major run taking place in Miami on the 28th. I received notice to expect major traffic back ups getting into the port. We are just walking down the pier from getting off the Carnival  Celebration so the traffic won’t affect us, but those arriving to the port on the 28th should plan for possible traffic  delays and note that the ship is now leaving a bit earlier than originally planned 

 

Edited December 5, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[junieh]

We received the same news for our 14 Jan sailing so it must be a general change, not specific to a certain sailing.

[APDMOM]

Interesting… net ship time gain is 1 hour 45 minutes (if my 2:30 AM math is correct). Curious to know how much fuel it saves and if they will leave more pier runners behind for fuel efficiency too. 

[vacation44]

We have similar changes to our February 11, 2024 Encore cruise.  

[CaptainBazz]

Our March 3rd cruise has the same changes.

[luv2kroooz]

7 hours ago, APDMOM said:

Curious to know how much fuel it saves and if they will leave more pier runners behind for fuel efficiency too. 

On our cruise it saved nothing. What the compressed port times created were huge lines when trying to disembark and re-embark the ship at the end of the day. There are no pier runners, just long lines. As a result of the lines, the ship is unable to leave the port at the revised earlier time. They end up dropping the lines at the originally scheduled time, anyway. So, effectively, they are just disrupting everyone's travel plans and creating huge lines to disembark and re-embark the ship, for our convenience, of course. But hey, as long as they make these changes in the name of fuel efficiencies and as long as they are committed to delivering vacations and are working tirelessly, everything should be A-OK!!

[Laszlo]

Gives you 2 more hours in St Thomas, plenty of time to head over to St John which is much nicer than St Thomas

[hallux]

9 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I believe there is a major run taking place in Miami on the 28th

There's a marathon.  I've seen discussion about it related to my January 27 cruise from Miami but never looked deeper into it. 

 

The traffic for cruising because of THAT can't be nearly as bad as the traffic for cruising on the 27th - Norwegian Bliss, MSC Seascape, Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Magic and the new Icon of the Seas (inaugural revenue sailing) are all embarking that day.  The port will be a MADHOUSE!  The 28th looks almost as bad!!

[david.lister42]

We have an Encore sailing in January too though the times are slightly different in some cases from what was posted above. Big win for USVI as we'll have more and earlier time at Magen's Bay Beach. Big loss with Antigua as it'll make for a more hurried return to the ship rather than the leisurely return we had planned. Also slightly bad with a loss of an afternoon hour at Taino Bay. The rest don't affect us in any significant way.

 

I fully expect what luv2kroooz mentions above will happen.

[Turtles06]

4 minutes ago, david.lister42 said:

Big win for USVI as we'll have more and earlier time at Magen's Bay Beach

I was going to note the same thing. Big difference in being able to head over to the beach at 9am rather than at 11am. 

[BermudaBound2014]

Im totally fine with the changes, just sharing info for those with independent tours.

 

Anyone boarding on the 28th need to pay careful attention to the marathon. All roads surrounding the port are effected/closed. If I remember correctly, last year this caused ships to leave hours late.

 

https://www.themiamimarathon.com/marathon/
 

 

[cruisingcasinos]

Same changes for Feb 25 

[kitkat343]

On my Panama Canal cruise, I got confused about the dates because Panama was listed twice (first for scenic cruising through the canal and then when it docks).  I gave the wrong date to the next private tour provider.  I was worried but they actually checked my ship's docking records and had already corrected the error before I contacted them.  Thankfully, the good private tour operators should be on top of this, but it was good of you to notify people.  That won't solve the backup of people all trying to embark at the same time, but hopefully the private tours won't have an issue.

[junieh]

Just out of curiosity, can you all see the new times on your NCL app? I received an email from NCL and another one from my TA to notify me of the schedule change but on my app, the times are still the old ones. Is it the same for everyone else?

[Sugar Magnolia]

11 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Anyone boarding on the 28th need to pay careful attention to the marathon. All roads surrounding the port are effected/closed. If I remember correctly, last year this caused ships to leave hours late.

 

https://www.themiamimarathon.com/marathon/
 

 

 

This is definitely a concern. I am prepared to walk the 2 miles from the Miami train station to the terminal. Unsure whether the trolley or rideshare will be running inside the zone.

 

[BermudaBound2014]

8 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

This is definitely a concern. I am prepared to walk the 2 miles from the Miami train station to the terminal. Unsure whether the trolley or rideshare will be running inside the zone.

 

 

If I remember correctly, the day of this marathon was a mess last year. Maybe do a search for cruises that left on the marathon day in 2023 to see just how bad it was? I could be thinking of another marathon, but I don't believe so.

 

We are literally walking from the Carnival Celebration down to the Encore so will thankfully miss traffic. 

[JoeTec]

10 hours ago, junieh said:

Just out of curiosity, can you all see the new times on your NCL app? I received an email from NCL and another one from my TA to notify me of the schedule change but on my app, the times are still the old ones. Is it the same for everyone else?

I am on the Jan 14th sailing & mine just updated this morning.  So far none of my excursions have changed times 

[junieh]

Thank you. Yes mine just updated today too. I haven't booked any excursion though so couldn't comment on that side of things