UPSET - Pearl Cancels On Me Again Due To Charter!

Do one charter say the 10 then do the 11 day either B2B or over the 2 or 3 months offered but not every single one of them. What I'm saying is one sailing chartered then public then charter or B2B charter then public then charter.

There's a lot of work for the music charter and NCL regarding setup for their 'concerts' on board. It wouldn't be time efficient or make sense for them to put everything up for the charter.....take it all down again for the public......set it all up again for the charter.....take it all down again for the public.....etc. etc. etc.

Better to do all the work....take care of all the charters.....take it down for the public until the charters come again next year.

Harriet

Why does NCL continue to advertise and allow customers to book on the Pear in January and February when they know that the ship will be chatered? NCL could easily hold off on allowing passengers to book until a year before the sail date. I know that somebody will try to defend NCL, but why advertise a cruise that is not going to happen.

These charters have actually only signed the agreement/contract with NCL within the last week or two so before that nothing was definite.

Harriet

These charters have actually only signed the agreement/contract with NCL within the last week or two so before that nothing was definite.

 

Harriet

I gotta say, it's kinda surprising that as the OP of this thread and the one specifically reporting getting burned by NCL, it's odd that you seem to be their number one apologist. One would think you would be livid over this situation, and not very accepting of any lame corporate excuses.

I gotta say, it's kinda surprising that as the OP of this thread and the one specifically reporting getting burned by NCL, it's odd that you seem to be their number one apologist. One would think you would be livid over this situation, and not very accepting of any lame corporate excuses.

Yes, I'm upset that my cruise was cancelled. But life goes on and business is business. I knew that there was this possibility when I booked the cruise as it's right there in black and white on their contract. That doesn't mean that I'm happy that it happened. All and all NCL has been VERY good to me and I'll still cruise NCL whenever I can. Will I book another cruise to the Caribbean with them on the Pearl....no.

Oh, and I never said I was burned by NCL. I said I was upset that my cruise was cancelled.

Harriet

Can you give me some examples? Have you had this happen a lot on other cruise lines?

I've had a 7 day cruise on Carnival cancelled by a full charter by nudists.

Had a 7 day on RCCL cancelled for a 4 day full charter by Chick-Fil-A....(RCCL then ran a 3day cruise to nowhere to use the other 3 days)

Every cruiseline will take a full charter at a drop of a hat and displace, the non-full regular cruise.

Clearly NCL is NOT filling the longer cruises, if they are allowing them to be constantly cancelled for the charters. (10+ day cruises never fill like the 7-8 days do. Thus why there are so few offered.)

Plus with NCL, now owning sixthman charters, the profit they make, from keeping the additional markup for the music cruises, offsets any losses they incur with onboard credit to the cancelled cruisers.

I don't understand, the folks, who KNOW the Pearl is the designated music cruise ship, then get upset when they book and their cruise gets cancelled.:confused:

If you know it is going to be something that will bother you, and you don't like to gamble, just don't book it and aggravate yourself. (I know after reading this and the other monthly thread about this subject, I will never book the Pearl with such a high chance of a cancellation)

These charters have actually only signed the agreement/contract with NCL within the last week or two so before that nothing was definite.

 

Harriet

I can understand that the contracts with NCL were only recently signed. However, it you look back at the last three years, the pearl has been chartered every January and February. Given the popularity of the music cruises, I am conviced that these charters will continue to happen every year.

I can understand that the contracts with NCL were only recently signed. However, it you look back at the last three years, the pearl has been chartered every January and February. Given the popularity of the music cruises, I am convinced that these charters will continue to happen every year.

If this is true, then NCL is culpable and they should just consider the Pearl out of service for every Jan & Feb. If it gets to be June (or so), of the prior year and no charter, then they could start listing cruises available to the general public.

There's a lot of work for the music charter and NCL regarding setup for their 'concerts' on board. It wouldn't be time efficient or make sense for them to put everything up for the charter.....take it all down again for the public......set it all up again for the charter.....take it all down again for the public.....etc. etc. etc.

 

Better to do all the work....take care of all the charters.....take it down for the public until the charters come again next year.

 

Harriet

Really thats all good BUT they should have NEVER decided to use the Pearl for the 10/11 day runs to begin with. NCL surely knows well in advance whats booked. They should have just left the Sun or replaced with something else ..BAD NCL . We came to NCL because we wanted to do the Hawaiian trip , liked it so much that we stayed with NCL and then found the 10/11 day trips and have since stayed. I dont have an issue with leaving NCL and also telling people why..remember word of mouth saying....

Can you give me some examples? Have you had this happen a lot on other cruise lines?

 

Happy and safe cruising all!

You might find this an interesting read.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=760

Sorry to all those that have been bumped, I would really be bummed out after planning my vacation.

@Harriet, to have the rebooked from a charter, chartered. That really really sucks.

You might find this an interesting read.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=760

 

 

Sorry to all those that have been bumped, I would really be bummed out after planning my vacation.

 

@Harriet, to have the rebooked from a charter, chartered. That really really sucks.

Che, you should know by now, it's risky business to confuse folks with facts!!!;)

Che, you should know by now, it's risky business to confuse folks with facts!!!;)

teehee RV, that's too funny. :D

 

I don't understand, the folks, who KNOW the Pearl is the designated music cruise ship, then get upset when they book and their cruise gets cancelled.:confused:

Well I think it is a human reaction to be upset or disappointed at your vacation being uprooted, even knowing this could happen. Being ticked at NCL, I agree with you is a different story and I'm assuming that's what you mean.

This is one reason that I didn't choose the Pearl for my last cruise. Any ship with any cruiseline can be chartered out from under you, but the Pearl is definitely NCL's ship this happens with the most.

I think it would be quite a shock to anyone that doesn't understand that this can happen though. Even after reading my contract for my first cruise (let's face it, it contains a bunch of mumbo jumbo :) ). I was shocked the first post I read on ships being chartered after people had booked. It took me a while to get my head around the fact that this could happen.

I'd be curious to know how many cruises each cruise line has cancelled for charters in recent years. We aren't diehard loyalists to any cruise line, so I read a few of the boards. It seems to me that NCL cancels more than the rest. This is just my perception, but it makes me think twice about booking another cruise with them. I could be wrong, because I don't document every cancellation. It's not that big of a deal to me. I would love to see some actual data though.

I just ck'd the NCL site and the 10/11 day cruise is still up for booking....

I just ck'd the NCL site and the 10/11 day cruise is still up for booking....

Not in October 2014 nor January, February 2015. Originally, NCL had the Pearl doing 9 ten day cruises and 8 eleven day cruises. They canceled 6 of the 10 dayers and 4 of the 8 dayers.

Like others have mentioned, it is not the fact that NCL canceled for charters, but rather that NCL moved the known charter ship, the Pearl to the longer 10/11 day cruises that is causing the frustration. Currently, the Sun is doing these routes.

I personally think NCL intentionally moved the "charter ship" to these routes knowing they would cancel them. The Southern itinerary obviously costs more in fuel to operate than the shorter Western routes - of which they have too many IMO. Good business move? For their check book - yes. However, people like me do not want to take another 'same old Western' cruise and I also have no desire to sail on one of the new ships with all the gizmos. Notice next year that the Getaway is on the only ship doing the 7 day Eastern - excluding those leaving from New York which is not a desirable cruise for me IMO. Therefore, if one wasn't willing or able to switch to the March cruises and still desired to travel on a longer route, NCL left them with only the choice to select a different cruise line to fulfill their vacation.

I do appreciate that in this case that NCL did price protect our January cruise, but unless I can get the new dates off from work I will have no choice but to cancel. The January cruise was perfect and the February sailing would have worked too but that late in March, not so much. Right now I am double booked and will decide in the next couple of weeks which one I will take.

Not in October 2014 nor January, February 2015. Originally, NCL had the Pearl doing 9 ten day cruises and 8 eleven day cruises. They canceled 6 of the 10 dayers and 4 of the 8 dayers.

 

Like others have mentioned, it is not the fact that NCL canceled for charters, but rather that NCL moved the known charter ship, the Pearl to the longer 10/11 day cruises that is causing the frustration. Currently, the Sun is doing these routes.

 

I personally think NCL intentionally moved the "charter ship" to these routes knowing they would cancel them. The Southern itinerary obviously costs more in fuel to operate than the shorter Western routes - of which they have too many IMO. Good business move? For their check book - yes. However, people like me do not want to take another 'same old Western' cruise and I also have no desire to sail on one of the new ships with all the gizmos. Notice next year that the Getaway is on the only ship doing the 7 day Eastern - excluding those leaving from New York which is not a desirable cruise for me IMO. Therefore, if one wasn't willing or able to switch to the March cruises and still desired to travel on a longer route, NCL left them with only the choice to select a different cruise line to fulfill their vacation.

 

I do appreciate that in this case that NCL did price protect our January cruise, but unless I can get the new dates off from work I will have no choice but to cancel. The January cruise was perfect and the February sailing would have worked too but that late in March, not so much. Right now I am double booked and will decide in the next couple of weeks which one I will take.

We've never sailed on Carnival, but 14 days vs. 11 seems like an easy decision to me. :D

We are booked on the March 6 cruise. Hope they don't extend the charter

Actually, we are booked on the March 5 cruise, which is supposed to be 11 days. When I go online, they are selling a 10 day cruise for March 6, with a totally different itinerary and higher price. Also, we did not receive any emails from NCL. I guess we will be in the next wave. Hope they don't protect the price by expecting the same amount for the day shorter cruise.

I don't think the charter will be extended, but who knows. I say that because the Sixthman CEO mentioned the price to charter the Pearl was higher in a March and he didn't want to have to pass that increased cost along to passengers. That's why the rock boat was moved from Feb to Jan in 2015.

Who books non-refundable airfare eleven months in advance?

People who expect to go on a cruise!!!

I know most people never read the fine print but.....

 

http://www.ncl.com/about/additional-terms-and-conditions#itinerary

 

ITINERARY CHANGES

In the event of strikes, lockouts, stoppages of labor, riots, weather conditions, mechanical difficulties or any other reason whatsoever, NCL has the right to cancel, advance, postpone or substitute any scheduled sailing or itinerary without prior notice. NCL shall not be responsible for failure to adhere to published arrival and departure times for any of its ports of call. NCL may, but is not obliged to, substitute another vessel for any sailing and cannot be liable for any loss to passengers by reason of such cancellation, advancement, postponement or substitution. Reservations are subject to change or cancellation in the event of a full-ship charter, and in such event, NCL shall refund all passage moneys paid by the passenger.

 

Harriet

I will take a legal perspective on this. "All monies paid by the passenger" does not say "all monies paid by the passenger to NCL"

There may be an opening there. I am not a lawyer but that is really broad.

People who expect to go on a cruise!!!

Really? Purchasing non-refundable airfare a year in advance is so not prudent it boarders on irresponsible. Too many things can happen in that timeframe. Injury, illness or death. A change in employment situation. Or, you could find a better cruise or vacation option. On top of that, the cheapest airfare options are usually found about eight weeks out. I guess you could protect yourself with trip insurance, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

I will take a legal perspective on this. "All monies paid by the passenger" does not say "all monies paid by the passenger to NCL"

 

There may be an opening there. I am not a lawyer but that is really broad.

Erm; it says all "passage" monies, the passage being the voyage on an NCL ship, as opposed to a flight on an aircraft not belonging to NCL. I Don't think there is any scope there.

I just called NCL. The representative knew nothing about the March 5 sailing date being cancelled and our booking remains unchanged in their system. I told her to look at the Pearl for March 6 and she saw that there was a sailing then with a different itinerary. She thought it was funny that passengers know about the change and the people working at NCL do not. I asked if they really expected people on an 11 night cruise to forgo the first day and still pay the same or more and she mentioned the $100 credit, which I pointed out is about 20% of the price of the day. Will wait and see if NCL behaves responsibly. The 11 day cruise they are pushing on March 26 overlaps Easter and Passpver, which makes it a no-go for many.

Who books non-refundable airfare eleven months in advance?

We like to use points for flights, so we book 330 days in advance. Of course, for a NCL cruise out of Miami, we drive to the pier but for other trips routinely book in advance. We can cancel and get the points back, but there is a penalty.

On a different note, what cruise line routinely cancels cruises for a music show that they own? You would think they would decide those days in advance, so as not to upset people.