Concerned About Port Time Changes

I agree with you. I wonder what will happen if NCL has to cancel a port.

 

This is the chance you take when you cruise. If you want to visit somewhere that much maybe you should take a vacation there instead of going on a cruise. Nothing is guaranteed.

If they completely cancelled the CC winers would go insane lol

If got no skin in this game, as I wouldn't care if the port times are changed for my cruise. What I don't understand is that NCL knows there are issues, whether it be an IT mistake or actual changes, so why don't they make a statement about it. Mr. Stuart has to know that these issues are getting negative publicity on here and on FB, but still the company remains silent. I'm beginning to think that they are of the mindset that if they don't say anything, it will just go away. If it is an IT issue why not send an email out to all passengers saying there is an issue and it will be fixed in X days. If they are actual changes, again, send an email out to all passengers explaining why the changes had to be made.

 

In this case, silence is not golden.

It makes me question their story that it's a tech glitch and not that they've seen the negative feedback and are reversing course. It strikes me, fairly or unfairly, that they tinkered, gauged the response, saw it was negative, and then said "it was an .... er.... tech glitch."

If got no skin in this game, as I wouldn't care if the port times are changed for my cruise. What I don't understand is that NCL knows there are issues, whether it be an IT mistake or actual changes, so why don't they make a statement about it. Mr. Stuart has to know that these issues are getting negative publicity on here and on FB, but still the company remains silent. I'm beginning to think that they are of the mindset that if they don't say anything, it will just go away. If it is an IT issue why not send an email out to all passengers saying there is an issue and it will be fixed in X days. If they are actual changes, again, send an email out to all passengers explaining why the changes had to be made.

 

In this case, silence is not golden.

This is my biggest gripe since this all started... complete and total radio silence. Why not take a few minutes to give customers a heads up on with all of these changes. It's just simple common courtesy but I guess NCL's corporate team doesn't believe in that?? :eek:

I agree with you. I wonder what will happen if NCL has to cancel a port.

 

This is the chance you take when you cruise. If you want to visit somewhere that much maybe you should take a vacation there instead of going on a cruise. Nothing is guaranteed.

I think it would depend on the reason. I think most people accept that ports can be missed due to reasons beyond the cruiseline's control (weather, emergencies, issues with the port, etc). I think far fewer people would be accepting if NCL told them (for the first time on board, of course) that they've decided that going to Port X costs them $Y in onboard spending, so they're going to skip it.

You are basing your mistake theory on the word of one person. I am not believing anything until I see it official. I find it very hard to believe that low level IT made such a far reaching error, especially when private tour operators are changing their tours to suit new port times.

How are private tour operators adjusting? The port schedule for St Thomas on our cruise shows the Escape in port from 8-6.

This is the now the official time on the web site & my NCL

The first thing my PCC said when I called was "Wait a minute, I have an e-mail showing a time change in Tortola. Let me check it out" because I called later on Monday, it was yesterday before he got back to me. Since the other changes seem to be accurate, I would call this one a mistake. Hardly a far reaching error, one port & one ship.

Call me dense but I don't understand the big deal. You are still going to the islands and able to spend time and do what you like.

Believe me, as a former St Thomas resident, there is no way I would have booked a cruise that left port at 3 to go sail around in circles for 17 hours. There are too many wonderful things to do in the afternoon & nothing open at 7 am, so no I would not have been able to do what I like. Anyhow, who wants to get up at 5:30 am on vacation.

I had another cruise lined up, in port the same day from 8-5. I also looked at a land vacation. both would have been less expensive than what I have booked now.

I am glad my PCC tracked down the mistake, so I can sail on the new ship.

And I just checked my MyNCL and it's changed now also to 8 to 6 p.m. as is NCL's website if one is looking to book.

 

Harriet

Thats a good thing, well be booking for February. I really hope the times in Bermuda don't change for next June.

I also received an email from NCL

Dear Mr.......

We are in receipt of the communication you sent to us regarding time changes in the port. There are many variables involved with changing port times. A letter is being sent to all the guest affected by the change.

We are sorry to learn that this has affected your vacation and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

We thank you for choosing Norwegian Cruise Line for your vacation destination.

Sincerely,

Kathryn Tanon

Passenger Services

I'm just simply annoyed that ncl has yet to address any of the changes. I have a scheduled tour for 1pm which is now the time the shop gets in. Now it doesn't show up under things that are booked which had me in a panic because I know it's paid for.

No notification of anything is what's annoying to me mostly. I'm sure the time will change and that's fine but at least let us 1000s of customers know what's happening!

It looks like another impacted sailing is Escape 11/21. The Tortola port hours on 11/25 have been changed from 8-4 to now 7-3. This completely ruins my port day in Tortola. I literally just booked our Cat sail to the Baths with Patouche 2 days ago (there was no change to the times then). There is no other outside company that does a trip over there and gets back that early. How convenient that NCL has their own excursion that fits the bill.

It looks like another impacted sailing is Escape 11/21. The Tortola port hours on 11/25 have been changed from 8-4 to now 7-3. This completely ruins my port day in Tortola. I literally just booked our Cat sail to the Baths with Patouche 2 days ago (there was no change to the times then). There is no other outside company that does a trip over there and gets back that early. How convenient that NCL has their own excursion that fits the bill.

Ships' times into ports do often fluctuate, and many vendors do adjust their operating hours around the ships' schedules since this is often their main source of business. It might be worth contacting Patouche, and waiting a bit to see what happens.

Pride of america was changed in kauai from 8 to 10. Not too happy because we were never told and are leaving in a few weeks. Thanks to CC we found out!

It really can depend on what you would like to do at the port. A cruise is one way to see different sites, and sometimes the ship excursion offerings aren't exactly what you are looking for. In recent years I have found that some of the ship's excursions on several cruise lines are hours shorter than they could be. For solo travelers sometimes a bit of "nitpicking" can't be avoided if you want to maximize your time in port.

You make a good point, as somebody that is only been on two cruises and I'm going on my third in November what is something that is on a Caribbean island that you cannot see or do through a ship excursion?

You make a good point, as somebody that is only been on two cruises and I'm going on my third in November what is something that is on a Caribbean island that you cannot see or do through a ship excursion?

You will find after you do a few more cruises that there are quite a lot of things you cannot find through a ship excursion, depending upon your interests.

You make a good point, as somebody that is only been on two cruises and I'm going on my third in November what is something that is on a Caribbean island that you cannot see or do through a ship excursion?

Honeymoon beach on Water Island & Cinnamon on St John come to mind. The ranger led programs at the National Park on St John are fantastic. The Phantasea Botanical Garden , The Camille Pissarro House, The St Thomas Synagogue, Windsurfing, Ziplining, Tillett Garden, Fishing, surfing, ziplining etc. just on St Thomas/ St. John

Honeymoon beach on Water Island & Cinnamon on St John come to mind. The ranger led programs at the National Park on St John are fantastic. The Phantasea Botanical Garden , The Camille Pissarro House, The St Thomas Synagogue, Windsurfing, Ziplining, Tillett Garden, Fishing, surfing, ziplining etc. just on St Thomas/ St. John

Waterlemon Caye, Hawksnest Caye, Maho Bay, the Salt Pond all on St. John, ... the list goes on....

There is suffering all over the world. That doesn't mean a paying customer can't expect good customer service without being called a whiner. My father-in-law had a terrible accident two weeks ago and is now paralyzed. This a a horrible situation and has devastated all of us. That doesn't mean that we can't be disappointed that we are missing two hours in Kauai. We had a full day of plans and will not be able to fit it all in. Yes, we need to keep it in perspective, but I'm not a bad person for wishing that NCL wasn't eliminating 2 hours of my day in a place I may never get to see again.

Another DITTO from me. I'm a very grounded person but when I pay a lot of money for a nice trip I expect the cruise company to comply.

I'm sorry to hear about your father-in law. I hope your Hawaii trip turns out to be fantastic.

So sorry about your Father-in-law. Just enjoy your cruise as best you can! CC is here for information and help. I would not have known about the change had it not been for CC. So thank you all for the info.

So sorry about your Father-in-law. Just enjoy your cruise as best you can! CC is here for information and help. I would not have known about the change had it not been for CC. So thank you all for the info.

Thank you very much!

Soooo...if NCL is doing this to get us to spend more on the ship, how about all of us who booked the free UBP promotion start POUNDING the drinks the minute we leave port? Let's see how much NCL can LOSE in those two hours of Bermuda time they took away from me!

Or will the bars be intentionally understaffed and drinks watered down because of so many pax with UBPs?

Soooo...if NCL is doing this to get us to spend more on the ship, how about all of us who booked the free UBP promotion start POUNDING the drinks the minute we leave port? Let's see how much NCL can LOSE in those two hours of Bermuda time they took away from me!

 

Or will the bars be intentionally understaffed and drinks watered down because of so many pax with UBPs?

No kidding! I will give them their UBP back if I can have my day in port.:cool:

No kidding! I will give them their UBP back if I can have my day in port.:cool:

You would give up the ultimate beverage package just for a few extra hours? Wow

You would give up the ultimate beverage package just for a few extra hours? Wow

I can drink anywhere. I can't snorkel with sea turtles anywhere. Wow

I agree with you. I wonder what will happen if NCL has to cancel a port.

 

This is the chance you take when you cruise. If you want to visit somewhere that much maybe you should take a vacation there instead of going on a cruise. Nothing is guaranteed.

Obviously, if a port had to be cancelled there is a good reason - weather, or some other urgent reason. NCL is just screwing up left and right lately with all of their changes, and people are rightfully ticked off.

Obviously, if a port had to be cancelled there is a good reason - weather, or some other urgent reason. NCL is just screwing up left and right lately with all of their changes, and people are rightfully ticked off.

IA. I had a port stop in GSC cancelled cause it wasn't safe to do tenders with the weather. I was disappointed cause I'd been hoping to Jet Ski but I wasn't angry cause safety was more important in the bad weather. Changing port times without explanation and/or without notifying passengers, esp those who are on a cruise or soon to be on one, isn't good business. Those letters they've told some they're sending out should've gone out first. The lack of communication is the biggest frustration in this mess, IMO

You will find after you do a few more cruises that there are quite a lot of things you cannot find through a ship excursion, depending upon your interests.

In addition to what you said NCL excursions are more money since they need to make a percentage.

Harriet