sailingships

For those complaining about losing 2 more ports, the passengers on the Gem for Nov 1st, 11th and 22nd could lose up to 7 POC. 2 in Israel, 2 in Egypt and 3 in Turkey. What would NCL do about almost totally gutted cruises ? Those would be very long cruises to nowhere. 

If a Diamond doesnt know what he/she is entitled to receive during a cruise, why are you asking the 'peons' ? I doubt if a Silver would really care or be an expert in your level problems. Maybe changing to at least one more cabin will alleviate your angst ?

Just now, Sheila127 said:

Yes it is!

Oh good That's where we start our cruises. B2B2B to NYC

2 hours ago, sjane39 said:

The 24th is right for a POC for the Gem... Can you see if the Gem is in Athens on the 11th ?

16 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

@sailingships please! It's CYPRUS not Cypress!

 

You keep reminding me of the Cypress Gardens in Florida that I visited with my folks at age 6 in the 1960's. They had water-skiing shows!

 

😁

 

SORRY (In Carol Burnett's voice)

🙂 🙂 🙂 

11 minutes ago, LadyWalkTall said:

I am also traveling on the Gem November 1st. I wish NCL would keep passengers in the loop. If they cancel the ports in Egypt then my party is not interested in going. 

Our cruises are Nov 11th and 22nd. A couple of days ago I was told any moment we could get an Email . Just now I was told November cruises would get an Email in a week or 2. 

5 hours ago, njkate said:

Yes just saw that on news. They are then responsible to book their own flights home

There was a mention that there were 3,500 Americans aboard. Im sure whatever airline they would have flown home on will help them. Many of them had cancelled flights. Theyve already paid for their flights. Theres still a few thousand Americans still stranded though.

The Rhapsody just left Haifa for Cypress with Americans aboard.

1 minute ago, OctoP said:

How do you look this up? I’d love to be able to track this myself. 

CruiseHive has a tracker page. Mein Schiff is showing at Alexandria and Rhapsody of the Seas is at Haifa sent by the US govt to take the stranded Americans to Cypress.

Just announced on TV The US govt sent the Rhapsody to Haifa to pick up the stranded Americans.

2 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

According to the RCI board, that’s exactly what she’s doing. One poster put up this link:

 

https://il.usembassy.gov/security-alert-10/

On TV this morning. Americans are waiting at Haifa to be taken to Cypress by sea.

2 hours ago, PBM13 said:

Well its docked.  Not sure why?  

9 hours ago, CruisingAlong4Now said:

Could this be right?  The Rhapsody of the Sea is heading to Haifa?  Is it doing an evac?

Americans who were stranded in Gaza/Israel are waiting there to be taken to Cypress by sea.

In May for the Epic, Barcelona had an area for Haven passengers right next to the last door before you stepped onto the deck. Only Haven passengers or those in Transit could get that far. There were snacks and drinks there.

5 hours ago, OctoP said:

So, cruises that have Israel ports in the middle of the cruise (like the Gem Nov 1 sailing that we’re on) do not have the option to cancel but still no news on alternate plans. 

Your Nov 1st itinerary out of Istanbul has the same ports we have for Nov 11th and 22nd. If those Egypt and Turkey ports are also cancelled the cruises will be 10+ day cruises to nowhere. Mystery Cruises. 

13 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

 When I booked the cruise through my NCL PCC he said he couldn’t find it so he couldn’t apply the discount.  I’m kinda disappointed in this so called joke of a discount.

Book online. It should show up in the NCL pages when you look for cruises. Plus the word Military will be listed in your account info. Or just call someone else at NCL. 

3 hours ago, mistertomatoe said:

In January, the Gem skipped Bermuda due to weather but nothing was given for the port fees and taxes. 

If you are referring to the Panama Canal cruise, you had to ask about the refund for Bermuda. We got money back. When it didnt show up in our account, I went to Guest Services.

5 hours ago, yakcruiser said:

And there is a shuttle for 2 or 3 Euro that drops you off at the Columbus statue.

Not anymore. The shuttle used to have that stop right behind the building next to the statue but now its several blocks away, closer to the port. The price has gone back to 3 Euros (the driver doesnt carry change)

3 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

this is correct.  it's 4 months from the initial purchase.  If the 4 months has past, you can apply it to a cruise that leaves tomorrow

I just bought some CruiseFirst last month and right away used two for deposits on B2B cruises for next Sept. I think the 4 months thingy is for the cruise which must be at least that far out. 

Just now, cruiser2015 said:

I'm the OP, and I started this thread on 9/28.

So, if you commented about this months ago, it was on an older thread which I have not seen.

Questions do get repeated, especially if a lot of time has passed.

I dont mean this one. The subject has been discussed for months.  NCLs new veteran program was first announced nearly a year ago. We booked our first 10% off cruise on November 3rd, 2022, for a Jan 3rd cruise on the Sky. Since then every cruise this year has been 10% off.

18 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

You're a bit late with this response to my post of 2 weeks ago. The process to register was clarified in subsequent posts, which I guess you did not read before commenting. 

Actually I answered the posts months ago. Where were you ?

On 9/28/2023 at 11:28 AM, cruiser2015 said:

I have not gone through the process yet but will shortly. I'm expecting that a photo of my DD214 will be all that's required. One more point of interest - I told the rep I have been on NCL cruises for over 20 years and never heard about this discount. She said it's only been around a few on months.

I hope this will work for you - and anyone else out there in CC land.

I didnt need to use my DD214 Just had to supply any day I was actually in the military. Was accepted right away. The 10% discount just started as of Jan 1st this year. It was announced online the week before Veterans Day last year. We booked for Jan 3rd right away and got it then.  It shows up in the NCL pages if you are signed up.

11 minutes ago, RD64 said:

Israel is not going to happen! Sorry to disappoint the people that feel this is just a blip that inconveniences them. Egypt is just a wild card at this point as the situation is fluid. 

I'm so glad you keep on agreeing with me. Yes this is definitely not just a blip. But Egypt and Turkey might also be out as far as ports of call are concerned. Then what ?

2 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

 If NCL decides to cancel the cruise, you’re in luck.
 

The Gem will NOT be going to Israel for the unforeseen future. 

We're not planning to cancel and we dont expect to go to the 2 Israeli ports. But most of the rest of the ports are in Egypt and Turkey. Plus Cypress and Rhodes .We start in Athens so that wont be a problem.

This morning NCL told me that they are dealing with one cruise at a time and just the October ones for now.  On Oct 12 the Gem leaves Istanbul and goes to the middle of the Med. Oct 22 does the middle of the Med and then ends in Istanbul. Nov 1st, 11th and 22nd all had ports in Israel, Egypt and Turkey. The Nov 22nd cruise ends in Rome on Dec 4, then the TA to NYC. We're on Nov 11th and 22nd, both heavy in Israel, Egypt and Turkey. 

1 minute ago, kitkat343 said:

If I understand the schedule correctly, the Gem sailings do not originate or end in Israel - Israel was just a stop along the cruise.   It is unlikely they will cancel cruises that simply stop in Israel altogether.  They will attempt to find alternate ports, but if that isn't possible they can simply replace them with sea days.

 

The NCL cruises that actually originate or end in Israel are a more difficult problem logistically, since passengers have to reroute their air travel.  Hopefully those will be resolved quickly so the passengers can get new flights asap. 

No but for both our cruises we go to Israel, Egypt and Turkey. If NCL takes out those ports the cruises will be gutted. We do end and start in Istanbul. (Nov 11 and 22) As long as the Gem starts in Athens on Nov 11 as she is supposed to we might be OK . We fly into Athens.  I think NCL is deciding what to do on each cruise as it is due to sail. If our state dept gives out a travel advisory for the whole area the cruises will be cancelled. I would just like to know ahead of time so that we can make other arrangements etc.

Some of these cruises might be cancelled as the US Navy is now in the area and the ships were due to go north and south through that part of the Med. The Eastern Med is now part of a war zone. I just wish NCL would tell us something.