ok, has ncl finally crossed the line?

[complawyer]

if any of you havent as yet read it, ncl spirit has supposed to embark from tokyo at the end of nov and a folowing cruise in dec and disembark in manilla!

i might aslo add that i understand post covid, ncl invested over 100,000,000 to completely refurbish the spirt. so please dont play  the mechanical problems card!

in the past, i  have posted many times, trying to at least give my opinion on what i considered various annoyances and not major problems that would otherwise spoil the entire cruise ( cancelling a show, canceling a port, some food not up to par or expectations)

 

i too have been disappointed when we  couldnt dock in taipei, or hanoi, and last year when we couldnt dock in berlin. These were all ports i had been eager to visit and were mostly my reasons for booking those cruises

 

also, many times my wife and i leave from 1 european city, to disembark in a totally different port. we did it in april, rio to lisbon, next week, reykjavick to southhampton, and in nov, barcelona to capetown . we book airfare and hotels consistent with these ports.

IMO, what ncl has now done  is beyond inexcusable!  tokyo to  manilla has now been changed from tokyo to hong kong, leaving passengers who made their plane reservations, and possibly hotel reservations trying to scramble getting home from china as opposed to the phillipines.

As per their usual MO, this announcement was made long after final payment was due.

if ncl is willing to pay the airfare difference for all its inconvenienced passengers (which aint gonna happen) i see this as the only way to appease this problem.

 

this is completely wrong on so many levels, it leaves me gobsmacked.

 

what say you all?

[yakcruiser]

 

12 minutes ago, complawyer said:

if any of you havent as yet read it, ncl spirit has supposed to embark from tokyo at the end of nov and a folowing cruise in dec and disembark in manilla!

i might aslo add that i understand post covid, ncl invested over 100,000,000 to completely refurbish the spirt. so please dont play  the mechanical problems card!

in the past, i  have posted many times, trying to at least give my opinion on what i considered various annoyances and not major problems that would otherwise spoil the entire cruise ( cancelling a show, canceling a port, some food not up to par or expectations)

 

i too have been disappointed when we  couldnt dock in taipei, or hanoi, and last year when we couldnt dock in berlin. These were all ports i had been eager to visit and were mostly my reasons for booking those cruises

 

also, many times my wife and i leave from 1 european city, to disembark in a totally different port. we did it in april, rio to lisbon, next week, reykjavick to southhampton, and in nov, barcelona to capetown . we book airfare and hotels consistent with these ports.

IMO, what ncl has now done  is beyond inexcusable!  tokyo to  manilla has now been changed from tokyo to hong kong, leaving passengers who made their plane reservations, and possibly hotel reservations trying to scramble getting home from china as opposed to the phillipines.

As per their usual MO, this announcement was made long after final payment was due.

if ncl is willing to pay the airfare difference for all its inconvenienced passengers (which aint gonna happen) i see this as the only way to appease this problem.

 

this is completely wrong on so many levels, it leaves me gobsmacked.

 

what say you all?

There was a thread a few days ago started by someone who is on the cruise after yours. They were notified the day after final payment that they would be embarking the cruise in Hong Kong and not Manila. There have been problems before and I'm sure NCL knew long before now that they would not turnaround in Manila. They just didn't want anybody canceling.

Edited 4 hours ago by yakcruiser

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

@complawyer

 

if any of you havent as yet read it, ncl spirit has supposed to embark from tokyo at the end of nov and a folowing cruise in dec and disembark in manilla!

 

I haven't but what is happening?  And why?   Please post NCL's letter/email.

 

Thanks

 

We are on the "same" cruises in 2025, hope nothing happens to them.

Edited 4 hours ago by Anoynmous Phoenix

[ontheweb]

According to the cruise contract, there is no line. They can do anything (expletive deleted) that they want to do. 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

[edspec]

This seems their new sop.  Exactly why we won't be sailing with them until something changes.  As experienced cruisers we all understand the cruise contract and that ports can be changed but the way NCL is doing it, after final payment, with dubious reasons, no way.  Still can't believe what they pulled on the supposed Antartica cruise this year.  

 

[DorothyB]

I'm voting with my money.  I'm cancelling my Feb 2025 cruise and have an MSC cruise booked Nov 2025.  I will cruise NCL one more time to use my FCC and CruiseNext, but most likely not in 2025.  I do have two cruises that I've already passed final payment date on so will keep those.

[julig22]

Norwegian Cruise Line Changes Disembarkation Port Due to Operational Challenges (cruisehive.com)

 

Why insurance is always necessary. And believe it or not, something I always consider when deciding whether or not to use NCL airfare.

[ChiefMateJRK]

Sounds crazy. Can you get credit for your airfare?  If so,time to call your CC company and claw back payments to NCL. 

[Faels]

2 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Norwegian Cruise Line Changes Disembarkation Port Due to Operational Challenges (cruisehive.com)

 

Why insurance is always necessary. And believe it or not, something I always consider when deciding whether or not to use NCL airfare.

In the article it mentions operational challenges and turnaround time. Seems like if they went to Singapore as planned they wouldn’t be able to do all their in between cruise stuff before next cruise is scheduled to start. So choice was to switch debarkation port or delay cruise, and I imagine delaying one cruise would set off a chain of delayed cruises so moving ports was best option. Totally sucks and I’d be pissed but at least there’s a better reason than fuel efficiency which has been there go to for a bunch of other cruises this fall. 🤣

[JSar]

Yeah... I can tolerate a lot of changes, but changes in embarkation and disembarkation locations would definitely infuriate me since I generally buy my own cheap (and often non-refundable) airline tickets. I wonder if a change like this is covered by any travel insurance? And if so, would you have to have the cruise lines travel insurance, or would an independent travel insurance company cover this sort of change. And I would HOPE that in cases like this where they need to change an embarkation/disembarkation port... they would at least make a real effort to at least change to a nearby dock, preferably in the same country!

 

Other changes in itinerary, shore excursions, services provided I can adapt and go with the flow. But don't mess with my pre/post cruise docking cities. There better be a REALLY good reason for those changes... like a hurricane or a tsunami affect the area. Otherwise - someone better pay for my new flights that isn't me. 

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

Thanks to the "powers that be"!!!

 

Had I not been in for a full knee replacement recently we would have been on this cruise.  Phew!!   And what is worse it would have been the first of more than one.

 

It is probably the worst "change" that I have seen or read about that NCL has done.   I feel really sorry for all those who had have this thrust upon them, especially after final payment.

 

I hope that enough people "Kick up a Fuss" and NCL then does the decent thing in allowing a full refund for cancelling.   This is NOT the cruise advertised, it is not a CHANGE, it is a reorganization.

[ChiefMateJRK]

7 minutes ago, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

Thanks to the "powers that be"!!!

 

Had I not been in for a full knee replacement recently we would have been on this cruise.  Phew!!   And what is worse it would have been the first of more than one.

 

It is probably the worst "change" that I have seen or read about that NCL has done.   I feel really sorry for all those who had have this thrust upon them, especially after final payment.

 

I hope that enough people "Kick up a Fuss" and NCL then does the decent thing in allowing a full refund for cancelling.   This is NOT the cruise advertised, it is not a CHANGE, it is a reorganization.

Clawing back the money from NCL should be easy. Airfare?  Not so much. 
 

[Turtles06]

4 minutes ago, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

I hope that enough people "Kick up a Fuss" and NCL then does the decent thing in allowing a full refund for cancelling.   This is NOT the cruise advertised, it is not a CHANGE, it is a reorganization.

 

I agree that this post-final-payment change has really crossed a line.  When you change the disembarkation port to an entirely different country, and especially one for which most people will need a visa (at the last minute), not to mention a country that many people might not even want to set foot in at this point in time, you need to give people the option to cancel and get a full refund.  

 

If no refunds are allowed, I think what NCL has done is particularly outrageous.

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

@Turtles06

 

Just to correct especially one for which most people will need a visa (at the last minute),

 

Hong Kong is an Autonomous Region of China and has its own entry/exit rules.   The citizens of many countries, including the USA, do NOT need a visa.

 

But if you intended to spend 48 hours post cruise Hong Kong would be far more expensive than Manilla.

 

AND the "inconvenience payment" is an OBC not a refund so that doesn't help with the costs.

 

 

I hope that all 2000+ guests on the cruise bombard NCL with a complaint DAILY till something changes.   Remember the squeaky wheel; a 2000 wheeled avalanche might be needed. .

[mking8288]

Saddened to read this (and, many other similar not-that-different posts about changes ... within the past year + with (what I consider) alarming frequencies ... but can't and not going to say, shocked or surprised.  It's been going on and brushed off by many frequent posters here for months & months.  Wish you the best of luck & success in re-arranging flights, hotels and local sightseeing plans, etc. - hotel occupancies in HK aren't as bad as it was, pre-Covid ... nearly all the popular and must-do tourist sites are within easy access via mass transit and metered taxis

 

We just came back from a nice Alaska cruise with a different lines and about to do another cruise next week, not with NCL ... nor will we be sailing next January with NCL either.  

 

There are more flight options into/out of Hong Kong these days vs. Manila, but they aren't necessary cheaper and easier to arrange ... OP and others probably know this already, you will find a better hard and soft product by choosing non-US carriers for these long haul TP flights and connections are going to be inevitable.  Good luck.

 

On the bright side, at least you have the next several weeks to re-align plans and details, instead of getting a "Dear Guests" letter as your welcome onboard upon embarkation.