luv2kroooz

Sorry you have misinterpreted my posts. To clarify, I dont have access to information to know. What I have said clearly and consistently is that port authorities, tour operators, NCL have information that would substantiate the timing of when vendors were informed versus when paying passengers and prospective guests were informed of itinerary changes. Ive also said negligence and misconduct can not be disclaimed in a contract.

Ask a lawyer. I would imagine through records subpoenas. I have no idea. Probably never been litigated. Never been an issue with other lines

...better said...we won't be surprised when many vote with their wallets and make an intentional decision to sail other cruise lines. I guess it is already happening....the 15% discount coupons are reportedly showing up in past guests accounts.

Oh dear, you are grossly misinterpreting the intent of the cruise contract which is to provide flexibility in the rare, unforeseen case of civil unrest, hurricanes, medical emergencies. We are talking here about making behind the scenes itinerary changes, withholding those changes from existing and prospective guests, and then announcing the change at the last minute. NCL can't disclaim repeated misconduct or negligence in courts, but you are free to keep citing the terms of the contact. Other cruisecritic members could benefit from understanding contract law. It is not black and white as the above post implies.

Nice contribution to our discussion and deflection from the issue being discussed, which fails by the way. Many resort to silly, childish nicknames when blind loyalty clouds sound judgment. This cloudiness leads to them confusing whining with stating facts. No trolling here. We have already moved on from cruising with NCL and enjoy our time on other lines. But, if all you want here is people that praise and share your beliefs, why don't you move on and go start your own message so you can monitor and censor people. What we intend to do is follow current trends in the industry on this message board by providing information and receiving information. Please try to have a positive day.

Corporate leadership is authorizing the changes. Been doing it for years. Better to go to BBB or federal maritime commission....external 3rd parties.

That is good to hear. Thank you.

I wouldn't. I'd list the most attractive ports with the longest port times. In this post, the passenger booked the itinerary for more unique ports like St. Croix and Grenada and Tobago, to have them replaced by the commercialized St Thomas and St Maarten and a sea day. NCL markets unique itineraries which attract passengers to book. By the way, NCL has attributed their itinerary changes to fuel optimization over and again. They are looking to reduce fuel burn by cruising at slower speeds between ports. They do this by reducing port times and increasing sea days. This savings is an economic benefit to NCL. So, no speculation there.

This is a repo cruise from Miami to Panama. NCL routinely changes itineraries. They changed 4 on a prior TA cruise for us. Nothing was wrong with the ship. They did it only for their economic convenience and direct economic benefit. What makes you believe something is wrong with the ship? Wouldn't that impact every sailing leading up to and after the Jan 4 sailing?

Well, they do it differently now. Now, they know they are making itinerary changes internally but delay making the public port cancellation announcement until final payment has passed. IIRC, this happened recently on a Breakaway Canada New England sailing. Booked passengers curiously noted that there were no shorex available for certain ports. They also were looking at the port authority website cruise ship arrival/departure scheduled that didn't align with the itinerary NCL advertised to them and was currently advertising to the public. They called NCL and were told that all systems were go, no changes. And then after final payment had passed, the changes were announced and the revised itinerary magically now aligned with the itinerary that the port authorities had been showing for weeks.

Basic laws of supply and demand govern prices. More supply of cabins available translates to lower prices. Fewer supply of cabins translates to higher prices.

It is not you. It is becoming the norm on NCL. That would not surprise me. Their prior behavior supports this...better said, they've done that before. If true, that is very unfortunate.

I suppose you could look to land vacations, but I would keep it in the industry. We have found much better value on competing cruise lines since Covid. We paid about the same as an NCL cruise but in our opinion received better entertainment, more inclusive beverage packages, less daily service charges, itineraries delivered as marketed. So much so, that we never looked back to NCL. It doesnt mean we wouldn't sail NCL again if we could find value there. We like the design of the pre-Prima class ships and have usually had good service ...but since Covid, all things considered, it just hasn't been there for us. My sister just booked her first MSC cruise, as well.

Interesting. Wouldn't expect a need to offer discounts in the current market. Maybe they are seeing softening of demand.

...but it is no more or less faulty than NCL calling it a service charge yet making it discretionary and adjustable. A service charge isn't discretionary. A tip is discretionary. So, it feels like a tip in disguise. NCL can use contradictory definitions all day long on its website or it could be intentionally clear and put this matter to rest. Unless or until they do that, the debate rages on. To each their own ..call it want you want, treat it as a tip if you want or a service charge if you want.

Yeah, that is a good point. It can apply to US as well, though. By way of example, you can buy princess plus onboard for $60 per day. So a 7 day cruise costs $420, but when bought onboard you can apply OBC. So, if you get $50 from your TA and $100 from shareholder now your cost for the package would be $270, or $39 per day, which gets you 15 alcoholic drinks per day which includes water and coffees, plus fully unlimited, fast internet, plus some specialty dining, plus your daily gratuities for your waitstaff and cabin steward. Obviously, you need to factor in base fares, too, but the comparison can be made.

I would agree with you on both fronts. Under the old "free at sea", the only way they could increase revenue was by bumping the price of the theoretical base package which resulted in the service charge being more. I think the base price of the package was $109 per day (which no one paid) and then they assessed 20% on top. So, they either had to increase the base price of $109 even further, which would have just been silly since it is the most restrictive package in the industry or they could have raised the gratuity % even further, which would have also been silly, since they lead the industry in the %. So, they just said, the heck with the Free at Sea, let's just reimagine it as more at sea and we can charge $30 per day and get our price increase that way.

Yep, problem solved. No need to bribe any staff with money. Silly management policy anyway when you think about it.

Ahh, got it. Sounds like smoke in mirrors for the educated consumer. Everyone gets free at sea, so nothing really special or exclusive to this. I am moving on, then.

These prices are off the cuff crazy. Who in their right mind would pay for these very average, watered-down experiences. My local Ruths Chris and Morton runs circles around Cagney's and whatever they are calling their seafood restaurants these days. They can't raise the daily service charges any higher since they already lead the cruise industry in that category. I guess the next step is to soak everyone with dining surcharges. What a silly business model!! NCL always talks about how it is working tirelessly to deliver exceptional vacation experiences.....and this is evidently what they come up with.

Your experience has been wildly different than ours. Too bad. Maybe next time you'll get a better draw. There are multiple dinners every week as more cruisers attain status. So, the odds of getting the captain or hotel manager are slim.

You are certainly free to skip these events, though. Then you wouldn't have to subject yourself to the low-life gift shop manager or junior bridge officer. What a very, very sad, silly thing to write.... but not unexpected. Candidly, if you are having those experiences over and again, it is likely more you, than them. I've had the unfortunate circumstance of sharing a table with guests who feel compelled to share that they've sailed 8,000 times in the best suites on the ship or they go on and on and on about the bad food or bad entertainment or how they know Captain Luigi etc. No one else cares, including the officer. Arrogant, rude, condescending. You think they'd get the hint when the officer bolts when their time is up. It is best to keep those things out of the dinner conversation and focus on their families, cultures, favorite destinations, favorite ships, etc. Be humble and genuinely curious. Summarizing, if your people seem disinterested, it is likely more you, than them. You might approach your next dinner with that mindset. Cheers.

So, I will preface this by saying weather can be difficult to predict with ever changing conditions. That said, we have done 3 southerly crossings and 1 more northerly route. We've had mainly pleasant weather conditions that allowed for us to be outside in the sun. If you pass through a front, you can get some angry seas at 10-20 ft, but most ships handle them well and the seas usually subside in a day or two. As to Vibe, we don't typically find value there, but Viva has a very small main pool deck, so I guess if there was a ship that we would consider buying Vibe, Viva would be one of them. Enjoy your crossing...

Highly recommend. Great opportunity to meet other guests and officers. We have had security, assistant cruise director, medical staff. It is good to get to know other guests and we always enjoy getting to know the officers.

When you said you were booked on fully refundable airfare, I understood. The specific operational challenges NCL may or may not be facing really isnt relevant. People booked X, NCL is delivering Y. Y creates adverse economic impact to their passengers who dont have the benefit of refundable airfare.