NCL Itinerary Changes After Final Payment *just the facts*

[yakcruiser]

Most New York to Carribean cruises that have had a day in Bermuda scheduled, have had they day cancelled. It does make sense logistically as Bermuda is out of the way and NCL would burn more fuel. The problem is they continue to market it as a stop when they know that they are not stopping there.

[Laszlo]

11 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

Most New York to Carribean cruises that have had a day in Bermuda scheduled, have had they day cancelled. It does make sense logistically as Bermuda is out of the way and NCL would burn more fuel. The problem is they continue to market it as a stop when they know that they are not stopping there.

My wife and I were on the Getaway in January 2022 on a 12 day. I went to the meet and greet and 90% of the questions to the crew was about the Bermuda stop in 24, 25. It made no sense to stop in Bermuda in the winter on a 12 or 14 day Caribbean cruise. The officers didn't argue the point, I remember one even winking and saying he would think Bermuda would be cancelled Lol

[CruisnHallelujahs]

1 hour ago, bluesea777 said:

 

 

If it were us, we'd be happy with the new itinerary: FULL day in Tortola and not having to go to Bermuda - in mid-December.

 

If Bermuda is still on itinerary, chances are: seas might be rough, and if there are high surf and high winds surrounding Bermuda the ship will NOT come here. Also, it's mid-December - short days, cool, and the sea will be too cold to swim in.

 

We've had ships by-pass Bermuda due to high surf and/or high winds during the winter.

 

Enjoy the full day in Tortola!

 

 

Very happy to have more time in Tortola.  Hopefully they add more excursions with later times.  Bermuda is the only port DH and I haven’t been too.  So was most looking forward to that.  Will get there some day.  We absolutely love sea days. If it was only us traveling We’d have no issue at all.  Was hoping our three young adult children would get the cruise bug and join us regularly.  Ending on three sea days (using up all their vacation days)…definitely won’t leave the best impression.  Wish they’d try a stop on GSC to break it up.   woe is me.  🙃

[shof515]

Norwegian Breakaway October 13 2024, removal of Bar Harbor, ME.

 

 

 

[smallestdog]

NCL Spirit, 10 December 2024. Change in departure port from Manila to Hong Kong 😵‍💫, additional sea day, changes in some port timings, and substitution of port of Taichung for Hualien.

Change notice received 1 day after final payment 🤐

 

 

[kitkat343]

7 minutes ago, smallestdog said:

NCL Spirit, 10 December 2024. Change in departure port from Manila to Hong Kong 😵‍💫, additional sea day, changes in some port timings, and substitution of port of Taichung for Hualien.

Change notice received 1 day after final payment 🤐

 

 

You win.  That's the worst I've seen yet.  

 

Are they compensating people for the flight changes that are needed for making the departure port more than 1000 km away? 

 

Is there an emergency that caused this drastic change?

Edited September 13 by kitkat343

[smallestdog]

6 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

You win.  That's the worst I've seen yet.  

 

Are they compensating people for the flight changes that are needed for making the departure port more than 1000 km away? 

 

just the usual 300 per person. yeah it sucks.

 

the cruise disappeared from NCL's booking site for a week before the announcement so I had a feeling something was brewing. 

 

Reason for change as per the email - "Due to operational challenges at the port and current limitations in available support and facilities, we are unable to deliver the high-quality turnaround experience we aim to deliver."

 

 

Edited September 13 by smallestdog

[yakcruiser]

I do believe that this would be the change that would make me say "I will never cruise NCL again". ONE day after final payment for a cruise that departs from a completely different port in a different country. I know it's in the contract, but I don't believe the biggest defender on here would say this is ethical. Most folks will probably be from the Far East and the change will not be that big of deal but for the North Americans and Europeans who will fly 12-15 hours this change is massive.

[smallestdog]

3 hours ago, yakcruiser said:

I do believe that this would be the change that would make me say "I will never cruise NCL again". ONE day after final payment for a cruise that departs from a completely different port in a different country. I know it's in the contract, but I don't believe the biggest defender on here would say this is ethical. Most folks will probably be from the Far East and the change will not be that big of deal but for the North Americans and Europeans who will fly 12-15 hours this change is massive.

 

If the cruise is now starting in HK instead of Manila, I'd expect cruisers on the sailing before this to also be affected as their cruise will now be ending in a different port, in a different country.

 

😵

[schnapperin]

4 hours ago, smallestdog said:

NCL Spirit, 10 December 2024. Change in departure port from Manila to Hong Kong 😵‍💫, additional sea day, changes in some port timings, and substitution of port of Taichung for Hualien.

Change notice received 1 day after final payment 🤐

 

 

The change of ports in Taiwan does make sense since Hualien was heavily impacted by the earthquake in April with the closure of the main attraction 

but the swap from Manila to Hongkong is worse for anyone on that cruise and the one before

also just got a change in port time for encore 13th October departure - they dropped the time in SF from noon to 2pm and now it’s 4.30 pm as they just realized that Ruby Princess has their turnaround at the same pier until at least 4 pm if all goes according to plan.

 

[luv2kroooz]

14 hours ago, shof515 said:

Norwegian Breakaway October 13 2024, removal of Bar Harbor, ME.

 

 

 

Ahhh, there it is finally. We've been waiting for that announcement. Thank you for sharing.

[pghflyer]

 

Really a shame about St. Pierre & Miquelon as that is a rare and unique port. At least they did it before final payment was due.

[Panhandle Couple]

1 hour ago, pghflyer said:

 

Really a shame about St. Pierre & Miquelon as that is a rare and unique port. At least they did it before final payment was due.

Just a guess, but not too many ships can get from Halifax to France in 18 hrs, (while losing 6 hours along the way) then make it back to Newfoundland in 12 hours (although you gain the 6 hours back).

[pghflyer]

Just now, Panhandle Couple said:

Just a guess, but not too many ships can get from Halifax to France in 18 hrs, (while losing 6 hours along the way) then make it back to Newfoundland in 12 hours (although you gain the 6 hours back).

Ha ha true but France has island territory in the area.....:)

[Panhandle Couple]

2 minutes ago, pghflyer said:

Ha ha true but France has island territory in the area.....:)

I will remember that for a future trivia question!!

[kjquilts]

2 hours ago, pghflyer said:

 

Really a shame about St. Pierre & Miquelon as that is a rare and unique port. At least they did it before final payment was due.

 

Wonder if these changes will also be made on the April 2025 Pearl transatlantic.

[Panhandle Couple]

10 minutes ago, kjquilts said:

 

Wonder if these changes will also be made on the April 2025 Pearl transatlantic.

After doing a little web crawling...

 

https://www.mustdocanada.com/things-to-do-in-saint-pierre-and-miquelon/

 

"Just like Newfoundland, the best time to experience Saint Pierre and Miquelon tourism would be between June and October. Even June can be hit or miss in terms of weather. However, Newfoundland has bigger cities and more things to do throughout the year. Saint Pierre and Miquelon, however, are quite small, making the timing of your visit more important."

 

April would seem to be not the best time to visit.  There are no other ships listed

 (cruisemapper) between 6 Oct 2024 and 30 May 2025.

 

 

 

 

[smallestdog]

The email from NCL on the change in embarkation port for the 10 December 2024 Spirit sailing alluded to problems at the Manila port affecting turnaround. There may be some truth to that, as there are reports of chaos at the Manila port when the Jewel docked in December 2023.

But that begs the question, what took NCL so long to make up their minds about Manila ? Were they just waiting for after final payment date to announce the change ?

 

Also its noteworthy that the Sky is also set to sail from Manila a month later on 17 January 2025. This cruise is still available for booking on NCL's site, and I do not see anyone on that roll-call talking about change in embarkation port. It would be interesting to see if they get notified after their final payment date next month...