NCL Itinerary Changes After Final Payment *just the facts*

[JamesIowa]

Lots of talk recently about NCL changes after final payment, some big some not so big. Thought a thread with just the facts may be helpful for others. 
 

Ship: Joy

Sailing date: 30 Nov - 15 Dec 2024

Destination: Panama Canal

Itinerary Changes: Dropped Acapulco and Mazatlan. Costa Rica added (0700-1800). Port times in Panama City and Guatemala extended, Other port date changes.

Reason Given: optimal guest experience 

NCL Notification: 108 days before cruise, 12 days after final payment 

Disposition: meh dont really care

Edited August 15 by JamesIowa

[Avon_Princess]

Thank you for starting this thread!! I have one too:

 

Ship: Jewel

Sailing date: 12 Dec - 23 Dec 2024

Destination: Caribbean

Itinerary Changes: Dropped Tortola, BVI. St. Thomas USVI added (0930-1600). Port time in Catalina Island reduced.  Port time in Puerto Plata and Aruba extended.  

Reason Given: optimal guest experience 

NCL Notification: 121 days before cruise, 1 day before payment 

Disposition: meh don't really care - I have been to all of these ports before and I am happy to go to St. Thomas.

 

[musicgal]

This is a good thread to start, James.  As of this hour, I have not been able to see our 11/30 Panama Canal cruise listed on the NCL website. It is likely that they are updating it, but as of yesterday you could still access the shore excursions for the cancelled ports.  They were still advertising the original itinerary- which I found to be rather sloppy on their part.

I also was not able to make a bid for upgrade after the email notification either, so I think they are in major overdrive updating everything.

I respect the fact that the cruise line has to alter an itinerary occasionally.  But, I think it is prudent as a consumer to note the frequency of these occurrences.  We all as reasonable travelers agree to be flexible with itinerary changes in our cruise contract, but at some point it must occur to the corporate decision makers that it begins to look like a bait and switch. It does seem as though these changes historically occur pretty soon after final payment- just a phenomenon to take note of. Thank you for the post.

[Ellis1138]

Ship: Encore

Sailing date:  3 Dec - 15 Dec 2024

Destination: Transatlantic (Vigo, Lisbon, Azores, Miami)

Itinerary Changes: Times adjusted slightly

Reason Given:  Alleged environmental concerns 

"We are committed to providing the best vacations at sea and have been working tirelessly to continue elevating the quality of the overall guest experience while positively impacting society and the environment. As we continue to optimize itineraries for enhanced port and shore excursion availability, as well as fuel efficiency, as a part of our commitment to the environment and sustainability efforts, we have adjusted the itinerary as shown below.
Please note, we will now depart London (Southampton), England at 4:00 p.m."

NCL Notification: 120 days before cruise, exactly 6 hours after final payment

Disposition:  I'm on this just for the Transatlantic experience, not the ports. I also got a great price, so am not cancelling, even after finding out we're the first post-Drydock cruise.

 

 

Edited August 15 by Ellis1138

[bluesea777]

6 minutes ago, Ellis1138 said:

Ship: Encore

Sailing date:  3 Dec - 15 Dec 2024

Destination: Transatlantic (Vigo, Lisbon, Azores, Miami)

Itinerary Changes: Times adjusted slightly

Reason Given:  Alleged environmental concerns 

"We are committed to providing the best vacations at sea and have been working tirelessly to continue elevating the quality of the overall guest experience while positively impacting society and the environment. As we continue to optimize itineraries for enhanced port and shore excursion availability, as well as fuel efficiency, as a part of our commitment to the environment and sustainability efforts, we have adjusted the itinerary as shown below.
Please note, we will now depart London (Southampton), England at 4:00 p.m."

NCL Notification: 120 days before cruise, exactly 6 hours after final payment

Disposition:  I'm on this just for the Transatlantic experience, not the ports. I also got a great price, so am not cancelling, even after finding out we're the first post-Drydock cruise.

 

 

 

Methinks the ship needs to sail away and get to the open sea before it gets too dark.

 

Sunset sailaways!

 

 

[bluesea777]

We also received emails about our two Gem Panama Canal cruises (back to back):

 

Ship: Gem

Sailing date: 2-11 Dec 2024

Destination: Panama Canal - Miami to Panama City

Itinerary Changes: Port times changes.

Reason Given: optimal guest experience 

NCL Notification: 111 days before cruise, 9 days after final payment 

Disposition: meh don't really care either but like the earlier arrival time & an extra hour in Curacao.

 

 

Ship: Gem

Sailing date: 11-20 Dec 2024

Destination: Panama Canal - Panama City to Miami

Itinerary Changes: Replaced Ocho Rios with Falmouth, and port times changes.

Reason Given: optimal guest experience 

NCL Notification: 120 days before cruise, bang on final payment due (!!)

Disposition: meh don't really care either.

 

 

 

[Menocchio]

Sure, I'll toss one (technically several) in for the dataset:

 

Ship: Bliss

Sailings: September 28 through October 19 2024 (guests for all sailings were included in a single email)

Destination: Alaska

Itinerary Changes: Leaving Juneau one hour earlier (now 10PM instead of 11PM), arriving at Skagway one hour earlier (now 6AM instead of 7AM)

Reason Given: "As part of our commitment to deliver exceptional blah blah blah"

NCL Notification: April 1, 2024. Well before final payment on any affected sailing

Disposition: I don't know who they are, but I'm sure someone is really disappointed that they aren't getting more of that famous Juneau nightlife. I don't like that they just through up that boilerplate instead of actually saying why they're changing (tides? port fees and regulations?) But it's an utterly innocuous change given well in advance, so there's really nothing to complain about here. 

 

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

How about everyone who gets an itinerary change emails, daily, something like the following!!

 

Dear NCL

 

Regarding the following statement that appears on the itinerary change I received:-

 

Reason Given: optimal guest experience 

 

Please explain how the changes you have made will improve the experience that I anticipated when I booked the cruise with the ports that were offered.

 

 

It may not get you anywhere but it will sure let NCL know that you are not happy with the change(s) and the reason.

 

[Barb Nahoumi]

4 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

 

Methinks the ship needs to sail away and get to the open sea before it gets too dark.

 

Sunset sailaways!

 

 

I love Lisbon and The Azores.  My family went there many times by plane and stayed a while.

[Seas2mountains]

Ship: Joy

Sailing date: December 29, 2024 - January 5, 2025

Destination: 7-Day Mexican Riviera Round-Trip Los Angeles: Cabo & Puerto & Vallarta

Itinerary Changes: Dropped Ensenada - replaced with Sea Day. Port times in Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta extended.

Reason Given: optimal guest experience top-of-mind - What do they mean by "top-of-mind"? Is this a new cliché phrase they are adding to justify the late changes after they have hooked the customer?
NCL Notification: 137 days before cruise, 17 days before final payment 

Disposition: Considering canceling and reviewing other cruise options but prices have increased as this is a holiday sailing. We have Vibe booked on this sailing and we really wanted to go to Ensenada.  We wanted to do some Ensenada Winery tours and see the dancing horses. We will likely keep this booking but are disappointed and booking more future cruises with Celebrity.

[njkate]

Ship: Jade

Date: June 15-22 2024

Changes: Switched Key West for Cozumel. Switched Oco Rios for Falmouth 

Reason: The current blurb they now send for guest enhancement based on guest feedback 

Notification: After final payment 

 

Had no choice at this point except to just suck it up, had no desire for Cozumel or I would have booked a cruise with Cozumel! There isn’t much in Falmouth and it’s a long bus ride to Ocho Rios so just stayed on board!

 

For this cruise the changes weren’t that big of a deal but had it been Europe and they played the Shell game it would have been. We all get changed or cancellations for weather, mechanical etc but lately this guest enhancement is pure BS imo

 

[WhiteOptima]

Ship: Joy

Sailing date: February 6, 2025-February 21, 2025

Destination:15-Day Panama Canal from Los Angeles to Miami: Mexico & Costa Rica

Itinerary Changes: Dropped Manzanillo-changed times in Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Reason Given: We are committed to providing the best vacations at sea and have been working tirelessly to continue elevating the quality of the overall guest experience while positively impacting society and the environment. As we continue to optimize itineraries for enhanced port and shore excursion availability, as well as fuel efficiency, as a part of our commitment to the environment and sustainability efforts, we have adjusted the itinerary as shown below. 
NCL Notification: 175 days before cruise, Final payment due 10/9

Disposition-Will not make or break other than there is one pathetic pool on Joy.  I had Bliss booked for December but work asked me to change to another date.   Why the time change in Costa Rica?  

[WhiteOptima]

Sorry, saw the title was after the final payment and mine was before.

[Seas2mountains]

Here is one more. This one is within one day of final payment. However, some TAs require payment a few days before the published NCL final payment date. We made the final payment yesterday afternoon.

 

We are very blessed to be able to cruise twice in December so I don't want to sound like I am complaining too much about these changes but we do make cruise decisions based on the published and advertised ports.

 

Ship: Viva

Sailing date: December 15, 2024 - December 22, 2024

Destination: 7-Day Mexican Riviera Round-Trip Los Angeles: Cabo & Puerto & Vallarta

Itinerary Changes: Dropped Bonaire - replaced with Sea Day. Port times in all other ports adjusted slightly - see below.

Reason Given: As we continue to optimize itineraries for enhanced port and shore excursion availability for the ultimate vacation experience, fuel optimization as a part of our commitment to the environment and sustainability efforts, as well as global maritime regulations, we have adjusted the original itinerary as shown below.
NCL Notification: 121 days before cruise, 1 day before final payment 

Disposition: We have not been to Bonaire and were looking forward to it. We did have an NCL excursion booked there. With a port intensive itinerary, a sea day is fine as now we know when the Latitude events will likely be scheduled. 

 

 

[Ellis1138]

As I read through each post, I'm somewhat aghast at how bad the "word salad" is in the reason. It's like they have ChatGPT writing it.

[Panhandle Couple]

On 8/15/2024 at 1:18 PM, bluesea777 said:

We also received emails about our two Gem Panama Canal cruises (back to back):

 

Ship: Gem

Sailing date: 2-11 Dec 2024

Destination: Panama Canal - Miami to Panama City

Itinerary Changes: Port times changes.

Reason Given: optimal guest experience 

NCL Notification: 111 days before cruise, 9 days after final payment 

Disposition: meh don't really care either but like the earlier arrival time & an extra hour in Curacao.

 

 

Ship: Gem

Sailing date: 11-20 Dec 2024

Destination: Panama Canal - Panama City to Miami

Itinerary Changes: Replaced Ocho Rios with Falmouth, and port times changes.

Reason Given: optimal guest experience 

NCL Notification: 120 days before cruise, bang on final payment due (!!)

Disposition: meh don't really care either.

 

 

 

Sounds like all NCL Jamaica calls are now going to Falmouth.  (I could be wrong)

NCL is not a Jamaica heavy cruise line (which I appreciate).

See link for what to do in Falmouth.  We have done the top 2, using the other two ports.  Falmouth, being between the 2, can offer both excursions w/o a long ride.

The whole port area sounds like Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.  You don't have to mix with the real locals unless you want to.

 

https://lifewellcruised.com/things-to-do-in-falmouth-jamaica-cruise-port-guide/

 

[WhiteOptima]

@Seas2mountains missing Bonaire would make me angry.  Some lines do the other ports so much that it is great to have Bonaire or other ports.   I mean it is not far from Curaçao so what the heck?  The port intensive cruises like your is why I love cruising out of San Juan.

[Menocchio]

17 hours ago, Ellis1138 said:

As I read through each post, I'm somewhat aghast at how bad the "word salad" is in the reason. It's like they have ChatGPT writing it.

Worse. Lawyers wrote it. 

The statement is written to cover such a broad range of possibilities to insulate NCL from any possible liability. If they said something that wasn't quite true, that's a potential problem in court. If they were too honest, that might also be used against them somehow. So they say everything and nothing. 

[pghflyer]

Is there any chance we can just keep this thread to the actual itinerary change posts?  Otherwise the thread may devolve into other disagreements (available on many other similar threads) and end up getting locked and closed. There are many other general discussion threads we can use for debating the "real" reasons and the "ethics" etc. etc.....for example this mammoth beast 🙂

 

 

[Travelling2Some]

We have had numerous disrupted itineraries over the past couple of years.  I do not remember specific dates but they were all announced after final payment or not until we were on the ship.  I recall:

 

Panama Canal LA to Miami - this cruise was unbelievably butchered.  (1) We were to have an overnight (1 1/2 days in port) at Panama City.  We never even docked due to the terminal being under construction. This had been ongoing for a very long time and NCL well knew we would never dock but continued to advertise the false information.  (2) Most outrageously, Costa Rica (well known to be a safe country with a great tourist infastructure) was cancelled and Acapulco (Level 4 - Do NOT travel advisories from both US and Canadian State Departments) was substituted.  Reason given?  For our SAFETY.  Do they think we are utter idiots??? (3) Nicaragua cancelled. Personally I had known before booking that Nicaragua was NOT going to happen as no cruise ships had docked there in a very long time.  Many other passengers were disappointed though.  Of course NCL continued to advertise the port indefinitely.

 

Baltic Capitals on the Dawn:  Woke up one morning in the wrong port by complete surprise.  NCL announced that morning that all shore excursions were cancelled and openly blamed the tour providers.  Duh, the tour vendors were in another port so, of course, they were not going to be available!  When we disembarked it was obvious that the townspeople had known we were docking there many days in advance.  They told us so!  Meanwhile the passengers were caught by surprise without time to cancel private shore excursions.

 

Transatlantic NYC to Lisbon on the Sun:  3 ports dropped:  (1) Newport substituted for Bermuda.  This was fine as Bermuda was still making demands regarding covid that many passengers did not want to bother with since it was just a port stop and we were headed to Europe.  (2) Horta, Azores.  Legit. A tender port and the rough seas were obvious.  (3) Madeira - reason claimed was "port crowding" but we were to be the only ship in port that day!  I knew I was wasting my breath but couldn't resist pointing this out to Guest Services just for giggles.  I think they must practice that "blank look" lol.

 

NYC to Quebec - cancelled Bar Harbor but did let us know before final payment.  We dumped it and got our deposit back but they continued to advertise the original itinerary.

 

The result of all this is that we no longer trust them with our more important travels.  We did Celebrity for Europe recently and just booked two Alaska cruises with Princess primarily because I don't trust them not to skip Glacier Bay for "environmental reasons" or some other BS.  Only doing last minute cruises with unimportant itineraries out of NYC going forward with NCL.  It's a shame since I like the product and we are Platinum.

 

 

[JohnIreland]

Ship: Joy

Sailing date: Sept 2nd to 10th

Destination:8-Day Canada & New England from New York to Quebec City

Itinerary Changes: 30 minute / 60 minute less in Boston / Charlottetown

Reason Given: 

We are committed to providing the best vacations at sea and have been working tirelessly to continue elevating the quality of the overall guest experience while positively impacting society and the environment. As we continue to optimize itineraries for enhanced port and shore excursion availability, as well as fuel efficiency, as a part of our commitment to the environment and sustainability efforts, we have adjusted the itinerary as shown below.

NCL Notification: Email sent Aug 13th (20 days before sailing)

Disposition:  Minor change.

 

[The Traveling Man]

On 8/16/2024 at 4:13 PM, Seas2mountains said:

Here is one more. This one is within one day of final payment. However, some TAs require payment a few days before the published NCL final payment date. We made the final payment yesterday afternoon.

 

We are very blessed to be able to cruise twice in December so I don't want to sound like I am complaining too much about these changes but we do make cruise decisions based on the published and advertised ports.

 

Ship: Viva

Sailing date: December 15, 2024 - December 22, 2024

Destination: 7-Day Mexican Riviera Round-Trip Los Angeles: Cabo & Puerto & Vallarta

Itinerary Changes: Dropped Bonaire - replaced with Sea Day. Port times in all other ports adjusted slightly - see below.

Reason Given: As we continue to optimize itineraries for enhanced port and shore excursion availability for the ultimate vacation experience, fuel optimization as a part of our commitment to the environment and sustainability efforts, as well as global maritime regulations, we have adjusted the original itinerary as shown below.
NCL Notification: 121 days before cruise, 1 day before final payment 

Disposition: We have not been to Bonaire and were looking forward to it. We did have an NCL excursion booked there. With a port intensive itinerary, a sea day is fine as now we know when the Latitude events will likely be scheduled. 

 

 

That means that the ship will have 38 hours to travel the roughly 500 miles from Curacao to St. Lucia instead of 24-1/2 hours to travel about 450 miles from Bonaire to St. Lucia.  That averages out to about 12 knots for 38 hours instead of 16 knots for 24+ hours.  That could amount to significant cost savings for fuel.

[complawyer]

unless you're really into scuba diving, there isnt a great deal going on in bonaire. it's picturesque,

but unless your heart was set on visiting there, personally, i wouldnt mind the extra sea day. been to aruba and curacao, if it is the same docking area, you can walk off the ship and walk to downtown curacao. it's really a nice way to spend the day.

 

also, ive been chomping at the bit to get a chance to visit saint lucia, maybe next year. cruise wise, my dance card is filled thru the end of the year

[CruzinMel]

On 8/15/2024 at 7:12 PM, Seas2mountains said:

Ship: Joy

Sailing date: December 29, 2024 - January 5, 2025

...

Disposition: Considering canceling and reviewing other cruise options but prices have increased as this is a holiday sailing. We have Vibe booked on this sailing and we really wanted to go to Ensenada.  We wanted to do some Ensenada Winery tours and see the dancing horses. We will likely keep this booking but are disappointed and booking more future cruises with Celebrity.

Totally agree - hubs and I are on this one and we almost canceled because we don't like back to back sea days.  The times shifting are a bit nicer, but we wanted to go to Ensenada.  "Optimal guest experience", my tushie.

[kitkat343]

4 hours ago, complawyer said:

unless you're really into scuba diving, there isnt a great deal going on in bonaire. it's picturesque,

but unless your heart was set on visiting there, personally, i wouldnt mind the extra sea day. been to aruba and curacao, if it is the same docking area, you can walk off the ship and walk to downtown curacao. it's really a nice way to spend the day.

 

also, ive been chomping at the bit to get a chance to visit saint lucia, maybe next year. cruise wise, my dance card is filled thru the end of the year

I think windsurfing is also a popular excursion in Bonaire.  My younger kids are too small for that, so we were actually signed up for landsailing.  Hurricane Ernesto took all of Bonaire's wind the day we docked, so our excursion was cancelled and I can't tell you how landsailing is either, but we had a lovely day on a boat and visited Klein Bonaire, which is a really lovely beach on an uninhabited island perfect for families.