julig22

17 minutes ago, Asawi said:

It may depend on where in the world you're usually cruising. When it comes to northern Europe, the REAL north (like Greenland and Iceland) itinerary changes and missed ports are more rules than exceptions. 

So true. I've been on the fence regarding a Greenland/Iceland cruise. I've been lucky so far going to Iceland, so it's Greenland that I'm hoping to see some day.

Other than a cancelled port in Mexico due to a hurricane, it wasn't until I went to Antarctica some 15 cruises later that I actually missed a port (Stanley) due to weather. Not to say that there weren't some pre-cruise itinerary changes along the way for obvious reasons (I had 2 different cruises scheduled to port in Russia). In many cases, other ports were substituted when the itinerary change was scheduled in advance of the cruise. Even with port changes during cruises the captain has often been able to find another port. 

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Yep! I look at it as a way for NCL to boost their gross revenue before a quarterly report. Boost that revenue however you are able! That's why the end date on the offer (I sadly don't have) is 12/31 to sail. 

There are also several repo cruises this fall that have no solo supplement. Several of the NE-Canada trips have a reduced solo supplement.

1 minute ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Thanks again; this is very helpful information. I have been hesitant about booking solo cabins. Even though they might be cheaper initially, once the solo cabins are sold out (as they are limited as you pointed out) and passed final payment, often the prices for non-solo cabins drop below the original price offered for solo cabins, as in your case. Glad to hear that fairness and logic won.

 

Yes, the only reason I even booked solo on this trip was because the balcony I wanted happened to be designated as solo and so I had to book a solo OV to upgrade to the balcony.

Earlier, I'd booked a solo cabin on a different cruise and at that time they wouldn't let me use my points to upgrade, had to book a regular cabin. So they keep changing the rules, hard to know what's the best approach..

2 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

This is great to know. Thank you for sharing.

 

Just to clarify...even though you booked a solo oceanview and made final payment, you were still able to get FCC when the solo supplement was removed for non-solo oceanview?

 

Oops, I'm getting my cruises confused LOL. Forget the solo supplement comment. After final payment, the OV price dropped to below what I'd paid for solo OV on an upcoming cruise - even with paying double. And for once I hadn't taken BOGO airfare, so FCC was on the table. Solo cabins were sold out so no price comparison available. I pointed out that it didn't seem quite fair to solos because of the limited number of cabins and they gave me FCC for the difference between what I'd paid for my solo cabin and the current price for OV.

1 hour ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

I booked an oceanview for the Sky TA and used my one time Diamond upgrade to a balcony. Solo supplement has dropped for oceanviews so it will be interesting whether my requested FCC will be honored.

 

You are on my bad list for canceling the Sky TA but there is still time to make up for that.

 

I was able to get FCC when they removed the solo supplement for an upcoming cruise, making a regular OV cabin considerably cheaper than the solo I'd booked. This was with a WP upgrade to a balcony.

2 hours ago, Jnd4evr said:

Do Not… I repeat Do Not use this service. I called yesterday and inquired she quoted me $580.64. I asked is that the total fee for round-trip for two people she said yes I said that does not make any sense to me that is cheaper than the buy one get one I asked her again. Are there any other fees associated with this and she said no I gave her my credit cardthat $580.64 was the portion of the total cost. My trip has now gone from $2709 to $3627. Saying I’m upset is an understatement.  I cannot cancel my trip and be reimbursed for the air I paid yesterday. 
The moral of this if it sounds too good to be true don’t do it

What does your statement say is the airfare cost? Do you have insurance that would increase your cost? Did they automatically add airport transfers (which can be removed)?

1 hour ago, Never cruise with NCL said:

We wouldn't be asking for a refund If I wasn't charged. While it’s true that we weren’t on the ship, we were still paying customers for the entirety of our cruise. The fact that NCL regularly communicates last minute changes to all passengers by email or text shows that they have the capability to ensure passengers are informed, regardless of where they are.  This isn't about asking NCL to go out of their way for one or two passengers it's about holding them accountable to the same standard of care they provide to all their customers. After all, customer care shouldn't stop just because we disembarked temporarily.

Hogwash. I have been on 20+ NCL cruises to date and I have NEVER received a text or email regarding changes to the itinerary once the ship has sailed. If they regularly communicated last minute changes to all passengers then you would have received that same communication.

Just exactly when were the changes to the itinerary made? Before the ship sailed or after the ship was underway? 

11 minutes ago, drew69 said:

Also, Amex or any credit card company won't help.  you can dispute a charge which only puts a temporary hold on it while the credit card reaches out to the vendor and if the vendor gives a satisfactory response, the charge is reinstated on your statement for you to pay.  In this case, the payment is probably long since paid anyway.

A credit card dispute can usually be instigated long after payment if the issue is services not received. But in this case, NCL provided the cruise but the accommodation wasn't what the OP expected. Hard to put a price tag on inconvenience.

30 minutes ago, Never cruise with NCL said:

Some of you argue that ships don't have to notify passengers. While this isn't the main topic, I'd like to share my perspective: this communication could be easily managed after the check-in process through an automatic text message, email, or, even better, a phone call. Suggesting that passengers shouldn't expect prompt notification about changes doesn't make sense it's in everyone's interest to hold them accountable for this!

And as a paying customer onboard I would say that not one of those announcements would reach me because when I was in Iceland I did not have phone service nor would I expect NCL to use that as a means of advance notification of a port change. 

But keep tilting at windmills...

Maybe make a post in Reddit - get a view from the rest of the world, since you seem to think that everyone here is biased and will only defend NCL.

4 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Except, of course, for the $$$ you need to purchase 100 shares of NCLH.  That's not an investment in equities so much as an investment in free money on all future NCL cruises.  If you cruise NCL often, you simply can't lose that bet.😎

I look at it more like a membership card where you get a discount on every purchase. But at the end of the membership, they buy back that membership card at the going rate.

3 minutes ago, erisajd said:

NCL sells cruises by the night.  Not the day.  Find me a 7 day cruise . . . Go ahead. I’ll wait. 

Um, just go to the NCL web page. 

2 minutes ago, Ellis1138 said:

So let's say you buy it now at 16 a share, so $1600. You would need to go on 16 7-day cruises to break it even with OBC. Or 7 14 day cruises.

Not exactly. Assuming the stock stays even, you still have your $1600 when you go to sell. So break even is if you sell at the same price you bought. In the meantime, you received $1600 in tax-free dividends for 16 cruises. 7-14 day cruises would only net $700, $250 kicks in on a 15 day cruise.

I bought long before covid so in the negative with respect to purchase price - but over 2K in OBC at this point and not planning to sell anytime soon.

37 minutes ago, erisajd said:

I've used the OBC - but - my question is how they offer it.  Technically, a 14 NIGHT cruise is a 15 DAY cruise - so if you are on a 14 night cruise you should get the $250 OBC . . . yet another problem with legal using two different terms in their business.  

What you are calling a 15 day cruise is advertised as a 14 -day cruise, so they are consistent in their terms. Now you might have a case if you happened to cross the international date line during your cruise. My 12 day transpacific cruise actually had 13 days (14 by your math). I made sure to pay my DSC ahead of time to make sure they only charged me for 12 days, wasn't sure if people onboard would be charged for that extra day LOL.

17 minutes ago, erisajd said:

$10pp, 4500 people. $45000 per cruise.  Figure 10-15 cruises annually have a skipped port.  $450,000 - $675,000 per year.  Perhaps per ship.  19 ships - could be $8,550,000 - $12,825,000 a year in extra revenue.  

 

You might not think its much per person, but in the aggregate it really adds up.  Port charges go up but it they go up significantly - you really think NCL is gonna eat it?  $1?  sure - they'll make a $1 off drinks and various surcharges but if that fee goes up the have the right to charge you for it - NCL isn't losing money on that. . . . 

Repeat. They DO NOT get to keep excess fees collected for port fees and taxes. And yes, if fees go up, they do eat it.

2 hours ago, hallux said:

Better than that, since many lock their phone in the safe for the duration - something given to you by your waiter at dinner or as you enter the buffet the day prior.  MOST people eat dinner, it's the best place to 'catch' someone if you have to get a message to them.

It would be very easy to post notices at the stairways & elevators and in the hallways. And in the app, on the TV. Might cut down on paper if they'd also do that for the auctions and other flyers.

Email and phone not so good, not everyone checks those.

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Gambler.

 

Pre-pandemic, 20%-25% of the adult passengers on many cruises were sailing on a casino comp/discount. Either directly from NCL Casinos at Sea or a certificate from a land-based casino. Think about that, every 4th door as you walk down the hall is sailing for free or at a discount. 

 

Post-pandemic, the gamblers are staying at land-based casinos or gone to other cruise lines. Last week, our cruise only had 4% casino guests (which is the lowest I have ever seen). 

 

And casino reservations get the Shareholder Benefit. 

LOL my question was to @dbrown84 who declared my answer regarding SH benefits to be false. So I was inquiring about the personal experience there, as I made no mention of CAS comped cruises.

1 hour ago, dbrown84 said:

Not true.  I've only sailed comped, and I get the SH benefit every time 

Are you a TA or NCL employee?

It seems to mean that if NCL is giving you a free or highly discounted promotional rate then you can't also get the SH benefit. So for example, giving a free cruise to a travel agent or NCL employee/family.

Here's a thought - If you want special notifications, tip your steward or the "Embarkation Manager" ahead of time so that you have someone to contact you and keep you updated on any itinerary changes. Especially if your itinerary includes ports that are frequently missed due to weather or other adverse factors. NCL distributes information to the onboard passengers, does not rely on email.

Curious to know if the OP even knows when the decision(s) were made to skip ports - if they were made at the last minute or well in advance.

Interesting that so many cruisers wouldn't see the other side of things. Maybe because there isn't another side. And I don't work for NCL  - or anybody for that matter, been retired for over a decade.

38 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Do you folks really think that a trip insurance company would reimburse for this situation?  Maybe they would.  I'm just asking.

If there is a CFAR clause I suppose they'd get reimbursed for the 2nd cruise that they missed. Although if I was putting in a claim I might not go into details as to why I didn't embark in Reykjavik, assuming they were booked as separate trips.

2 hours ago, kamikazii said:

I'm just curious if anyone has had luck with the former of either catching an released spot online or booking on the ship an excursion that was previously sold out? Thanks in advance 🙂

Both. I was able to snag a spot on-line for an excursion by watching the web-site every day. The person at the excursion desk told me to just keep calling back, although I think the website is an automatic update, so grabbing it there is probably faster.

I also got a slot onboard on an excursion simply because I was solo I believe. They had 1 cancellation so they passed over the people wanting more than 1 ticket.

1 hour ago, prov2727 said:

Anecdotally, they don't make all the spots available online ahead of time but keep some back to sell once the cruise begins.

Pure rubbish! NCL is way too business savvy to leave any money on the table. What on earth would be the reason to turn away a paying customer - who might turn to a private vendor if they can't book with NCL. Any openings in previously sold-out excursions are due to cancellations or - in rare cases - they've found another tour guide at the last minute. 

What they do hold back are restaurant reservations - since there is no cost, that reduces the number of no-shows by people who just book because they can.

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

The couple I can recall, GSC and Scotland, nothing.

 

I've seen other reports of GSC getting small refund.

 

I'm guessing they don't have to estimate GSC.

To repeat. It's not about any individual port. It's the overall amount paid in taxes and port fees by passengers vs the overall total amount the ship is charged for all ports on the trip.

Ports are never guaranteed.  It's a risk you take. I'm sure the passengers onboard were notified of scheduling changes but unless you had an agent onboard why would you expect to get notified? Or that they have to prove to you why they missed 1 or more ports? They have thousands of other passengers onboard, it would be up to you to keep in touch with the ship not the other way around. Not allowing you to board in Greenland was probably due to regulations of some sort.

Without insurance you're probably out of luck from a legal standpoint.

17 minutes ago, Gatorj said:

It seems this is a very hard itinerary to get Dailies for.  Anyone?  Anyone?  

 

The Roll Calls are virtually silent as well.

Maybe because that itinerary doesn't exist yet? Currently sailing a 7-day itinerary. But there is a specific group on FB that is for dailies - maybe try there. Or see if there is a group for the current sailing and join.

Also note that even the crew doesn't usually know the entertainment schedule until embarkation, as it can depend on the schedules for the contracted entertainment for each specific cruise. So it's still a shot in the dark with respect to planning ahead.