Gem Itinerary Change - No Bar Harbor

[Laszlo]

June 28th - July 5th sailing..... of course they did it after final payment

 

What I don't understand is the new capacity for Bar Harbor was suppose to take effect in 2025. Cruises there for 2024 were Ok to go since they had signed the agreement in 2023

[shof515]

In October, some of the breakaway sailings to bar harbor is also canceled. My cruise in the middle of October is canceled when i look at the bar harbor ship schedule 

[Laszlo]

5 minutes ago, shof515 said:

In October, some of the breakaway sailings to bar harbor is also canceled. My cruise in the middle of October is canceled when i look at the bar harbor ship schedule 

Looks like the harbor is closed for the 4th in Bar Harbor. You would have thought this would have been passed along months ago to NCL. I would have picked another date

[1025cruise]

Portland is a fine replacement. Just e aware that everyone needs to get off the ship for uscbp processing.

[cruiseny4life]

7 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Portland is a fine replacement. Just e aware that everyone needs to get off the ship for uscbp processing.

Unless you really, really wanted to see a small bucolic village at the base of Acadia National Park. Granted, you're not there long enough to really see Acadia, but a hike up the Bubbles and then over to Jordan Pond House could easily be done. 

 

I suppose one can get a lot of beer in Portland.

 

29 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Looks like the harbor is closed for the 4th in Bar Harbor. You would have thought this would have been passed along months ago to NCL. I would have picked another date

One would think so since it's closed every July 4th. But what do I know? I certainly don't have the resources of a multibillion dollar company at my disposal...

[Laszlo]

24 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Unless you really, really wanted to see a small bucolic village at the base of Acadia National Park. Granted, you're not there long enough to really see Acadia, but a hike up the Bubbles and then over to Jordan Pond House could easily be done. 

 

I suppose one can get a lot of beer in Portland.

 

One would think so since it's closed every July 4th. But what do I know? I certainly don't have the resources of a multibillion dollar company at my disposal...

We have been there before and love. Going with friends who have never been. Already had the little Chevy Bolt booked to explore the park.... oh well

[graphicguy]

I read some of the posts like this and wonder what NCL is thinking?  

 

Whomever is doing their spreadsheets showing financials of skipping ports (regardless of the reasons they give for doing so), do not take into consideration the long term outlook this would negatively impact somewhere down the road.

 

This will eventually hit their reputation with those of us who will now start to question the cruise we're looking at may not be the itinerary they're advertising.

 

After final payment itinerary changes (always seem to happen after final payment) is a bad look for NCL.

 

Their announcements are written as some sort of fiction.  We can see through those press releases.

[Laszlo]

17 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I read some of the posts like this and wonder what NCL is thinking?  

 

Whomever is doing their spreadsheets showing financials of skipping ports (regardless of the reasons they give for doing so), do not take into consideration the long term outlook this would negatively impact somewhere down the road.

 

This will eventually hit their reputation with those of us who will now start to question the cruise we're looking at may not be the itinerary they're advertising.

 

After final payment itinerary changes (always seem to happen after final payment) is a bad look for NCL.

 

Their announcements are written as some sort of fiction.  We can see through those press releases.

What burns me is months ago, right after we booked the cruise I went online to the Bar Harbor Harbor info site. It has a bunch of info along with a cruise ship schedule. The Gem was not shown in Bar Harbor on July 4th. I called NCL and they said no, they must have had a typo and NCL had the Gem docking there. I'd like to ring someones neck at NCL. We could have easily picked another date

[yakcruiser]

It looks like part of researching future cruises will be going to all port websites and seeing if the particular ship we are looking at is actually scheduled to be there.

[Travelling2Some]

9 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

It looks like part of researching future cruises will be going to all port websites and seeing if the particular ship we are looking at is actually scheduled to be there.

After being burned 3 cruises in a row with bogus itinerary changes I've become very suspicious. Now I always check the ports websites to make sure they really have a reservation.  The Port Authority has zero reason to lie.  NCL has both motive and opportunity.

[Travelling2Some]

Also, we had one of the October cruises booked and canceled it when they canceled Bar Harbor.  Actually it was part of a B2B with Bermuda and we canceled both.  Looking at other non-NCL options now to replace it.  Two can play this game.

[Laszlo]

4 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

Also, we had one of the October cruises booked and canceled it when they canceled Bar Harbor.  Actually it was part of a B2B with Bermuda and we canceled both.  Looking at other non-NCL options now to replace it.  Two can play this game.

Unless you go on a ship with less than 1000 passengers you are not going to Bar Harbor after 2024. I guess NCL is out of Bar Harbor for good. NCL still have Bar Harbor on the 2025 itinerary and they know dam well they are not stopping there

 

I would take a 4th day in Bermuda over Portland in a heartbeat

Edited April 24 by Laszlo

[Travelling2Some]

7 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Unless you go on a ship with less than 1000 passengers you are not going to Bar Harbor after 2024. I guess NCL is out of Bar Harbor for good

 

I would take a 4th day in Bermuda over Portland in a heartbeat

Yes, I'm assuming this will exclude all of the major cruise lines going forward.  One of the reasons we booked it was that we were thinking "last chance" to port in Bar Harbor.  Years ago we booked one of the last sail outs from Venice for the same reason.  Looks like Juneau and Key West are on the endangered list now.  Bar Harbor, Key West and Venice get plenty tourism by land but Juneau is a bit of a surprise since nobody can be driving there.

Edited April 24 by Travelling2Some

[Menocchio]

29 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

 Bar Harbor, Key West and Venice get plenty tourism by land but Juneau is a bit of a surprise since nobody can be driving there.

I'm getting the very vague impression that Juneau isn't aiming for as restrictive a ban as Bar Harbor did. These days, every port should probably draw a line somewhere lest they end up with multiple Icons of the Seas showing up at the same time. 

[Sunseeker810]

I was on the Encore in January and was handed a port change notice while waiting to board the ship!  The reason was because of a festival in Puerto Rico.  Do you really think that they weren't aware of this since it happens the same time every year? They also shortened our time in St Thomas for no apparent reason. 

[MarkieMarkNYC]

1 hour ago, Travelling2Some said:

After being burned 3 cruises in a row with bogus itinerary changes I've become very suspicious. Now I always check the ports websites to make sure they really have a reservation.  The Port Authority has zero reason to lie.  NCL has both motive and opportunity.

I have also had port cancelations on a number of recent cruises. All have been close to or after the time of final payment. I haven't had this experience with other cruise lines I've used.

I enjoy NCL, but after my cruise this summer, I don't plan to book any more with them. I already have bookings on Viking, Oceania, RC, and HAL well into 2026.

 

[FLAHAM]

Interesting thread.  My Gem cruise from Boston to Quebec City in Sept 2025 still shows a stop in Bar Harbor.

Edited April 24 by FLAHAM

[Laszlo]

1 minute ago, FLAHAM said:

Interesting thread.  My Gem cruise from Boston to Quebec City in Sept 2025 still shows a stop in Bar Harbor.

Yea, thats not happening. IDK what the other cruises on the Gem out of Boston to Bermuda are doing

[shof515]

17 minutes ago, Menocchio said:

I'm getting the very vague impression that Juneau isn't aiming for as restrictive a ban as Bar Harbor did. These days, every port should probably draw a line somewhere lest they end up with multiple Icons of the Seas showing up at the same time. 

 

Juneau issue is with hot berthing where the Bliss leaves and then the Encore pulls in about 30-60 minutes later and there is also too many ships in port at the same time like around 5 ships. For most ports i think they should be a limit of only 2-3 ships 

[yakcruiser]

8 minutes ago, FLAHAM said:

Interesting thread.  My Gem cruise from Boston to Quebec City in Sept 2025 still shows a stop in Bar Harbor.

I know there is a 0% chance of my Sept 2025 cruise stopping at Bar Harbor, but I'm genuinely interested in how long they will continue to market Bar Harbor as a stop.

[njkate]

1 hour ago, Travelling2Some said:

Yes, I'm assuming this will exclude all of the major cruise lines going forward.  One of the reasons we booked it was that we were thinking "last chance" to port in Bar Harbor.  Years ago we booked one of the last sail outs from Venice for the same reason.  Looks like Juneau and Key West are on the endangered list now.  Bar Harbor, Key West and Venice get plenty tourism by land but Juneau is a bit of a surprise since nobody can be driving there.

Yep Key West has been dropped and replaced with Cozumel on upcoming Jade cruises

[Laszlo]

7 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

I know there is a 0% chance of my Sept 2025 cruise stopping at Bar Harbor, but I'm genuinely interested in how long they will continue to market Bar Harbor as a stop.

Probably until April of 2025 Lol

[WickedRed]

You really don't want to go to Bar Harbour on 4th of July weekend.  That place is going to be mobbed with (other) tourists that weekend.  Trails, shops, food places are all going to be packed. Lines everywhere. It would be a miserable and frustrating experience.  Oh let's not forget what traffic is going to be like. 🤮 I know that doesn't help with your frustration with NCL, they really shouldn't have planned on BH that weekend anyways. Maybe be just as frustrated with BH for taking the original berthing on that weekend.  With the 4th being on a Thursday, there is going to be a huge influx of people coming into Maine for the weekend.  Portland isn't going to be much better, but at least they have size in their favor to help with the crowds. 

[Cruising Lynne]

2 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Unless you go on a ship with less than 1000 passengers you are not going to Bar Harbor after 2024. I guess NCL is out of Bar Harbor for good. NCL still have Bar Harbor on the 2025 itinerary and they know dam well they are not stopping there

 

I would take a 4th day in Bermuda over Portland in a heartbeat

Id love a fourth day in Bermuda. Unfortunately, they have to get out of there to make room for the next ship to come in.

Maybe NCL hopes that Bar Harbor will change the restriction by 2025. I think they should raise the number of passengers allowed and just ban the really big ships. Less than 1000 passengers is ridiculous. Many of the businesses in Bar Harbor would agree.

[cruiseny4life]

2 minutes ago, Cruising Lynne said:

Id love a fourth day in Bermuda. Unfortunately, they have to get out of there to make room for the next ship to come in.

Maybe NCL hopes that Bar Harbor will change the restriction by 2025. I think they should raise the number of passengers allowed and just ban the really big ships. Less than 1000 passengers is ridiculous. Many of the businesses in Bar Harbor would agree.

Personally, I hope Bar Harbor keeps the ban. Heck, I'd be ok with them decreasing the number to 250. 

 

I do have to agree about four days in Bermuda! That would be lovely!