Anyone heard of any changes for Dawn cruise out of San Juan on jan7

I realize the cruise industry is trying their best to rearrange itineraries as a result of the storms and there are still more hurricanes making landfall !

My question is - has anyone heard anything about NCL DAWN ON JAN 7?

Our final payment is due in less than 2 weeks and wondering if we have any major changes?!

Praying for the residents of the islands affected !!

Based on the attached article, you might expect major changes to your cruise.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/hurricane-maria-leaves-puerto-rico-facing-months-without-power-n803326

Good news the ta has extended payment to nov 9 like ncl

I assume you meant Oct. 9th and glad to hear it :)

I understand what you are saying but they have a 10 day cruise ending in San Juan on the 7th

It will be interesting to see what they do

Hope to find out before our final payment is due !

I would put money on the Dawn just coming straight to Tampa in November with Western Caribbean itineraries mirroring the one they will have in January

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So this really brings up a point I have never thought about. I fully understand a cruise line changing an itinerary due to weather, etc. but never gave consideration about embarkation point. This is especially true for a port like San Juan. Does one have any options if they make a significant change to another area?

I would put money on the Dawn just coming straight to Tampa in November with Western Caribbean itineraries mirroring the one they will have in January

 

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If that were to happen would NCL do anything for folks who had plane tickets and pre-paid hotels for San Juan?

I would think the air lines may give a credit voucher...hotel has proabley been destroyed so i think that may be a loss. I am not sure if you charged the room its possible the charge card can credit you....its worth a phone call

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We are scheduled to sail on the Dawn out of San Juan on November 12. Will be interesting to see what happens with this itinerary. I pray for those poor people who have likely list everything.

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We are scheduled to sail on the Dawn out of San Juan on November 12. Will be interesting to see what happens with this itinerary. I pray for those poor people who have likely list everything.

 

 

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Lost everything

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Yes I did mean final payment oct 9 thanks for noticing !

I'm on the Dawn out of Boston ending in PR Nov 3rd to the 12th. I called NCL just to find out if they give you a credit if they cancel the cruise if you didn't have the insurance. They said they hardly ever cancel a cruise but didn't seem to have any info on what would happen if they couldn't reach the disembarkment port. I am sad since I was staying a week after the cruise - prepaid for timeshare - so certainly lost that. Was feeling sad for myself till I watched some video's out of Puerto Rico. Can't imagine what they are dealing with - looked horrible in some areas.

We sail out of San Juan on the Dawn 11/19 and I am staying optimistic!

First, San Juan is the capital of P.R. it is the finacial, industrial and tourism heart of the country. Over 2 million people (more than half of. P.R.'s population) lives and works in San Juan or its municipalities. The rebuilding efforts will be concentrated here to get the people back to work and providing for their familes. Tourists are necessary to P.R. especially to San Juan.

Secondly, I have cancel for any reason insurance so any non- refundable costs for our trip will come back to us. We had to cancel a cruise in 11/16 to treat our 20 year old son's cancer. Stuff happens; so insurance is a required and budgeted cost of traveling for our family. Will we be disappointed if we or NCL cancels our cruise? Heck yes. But our neice and her family who live near San Juan have been affected far greater than my disappointment could ever be. If the port of embarkation should somehow need to be changed by NCL, well, we'll just have to make some phone calls. It's a small percentage of our total life that will be used up. I've spent a bunch of time researching the ports of call that we already know we won't be calling on and once they announce our new ports I will start all over again.

Can you imagine the amount of time spent making phone calls and searching the iternet if you had to rebuild your house and replace all of your household possessions?

Third, NCL rarely cancels cruises. It is a great financial cost to them, it creates a negative image to the public and it causes a loss of income to the people who live and work at the missed ports of call. I'd guess there is a negotiating war going on amongst the open ports and the many cruise lines for dates and times. What a puzzle of strategy these hurricanes have created! Imagine 10 ships battling it out for 5 berths at a port. Would this cause a bidding war or are prices firmly set at what can be charged?

Fourth. being in this wait and see pattern is better than the same situation our family was in almost exactly one year ago. On September 26 our son called to tell us he had cancer. One year ago we were told he could have 6 months to one year left to live. But...because of great optimism and fantastic medical care he is alive and back to his normal college student self. So therefore I AM OPTIMISTIC and if you are sailing with us, show us your optimism too!

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Well I am on the Dawn in late Dec and just got off the phone with NCL....not impressed with their customer service experience. As you know San Juan has no power and depending on what you read, the cruise port may not be operational in December (with the assumption that the cruises will be reconstituted due to the considerable damage on some of the scheduled stops. Norwegian refuses to confirm that my cruise will exist, and admits that it may start from a different port than San Juan, perhaps out of mainland US. However, if I cancel now they want 25% and within a few days its a 50% penalty. They had a real 'not my problem' attitude and really focused on the 'buyer beware' nature of the cruise. I just can't fathom that in unusual circumstances this is the customer service attitude they take. I think 50% penalty is unreasonable given that they won't even tell me where the cruise might originate (who can book international flights over Christmas with no notice?). If that is their business model then this cancellation fee is the only money they'll ever get out of my family

Google San Juan Cams for a live viewing at a Hilton.

Reports AA flying into San Juan today and Delta tomorrow.

Well I am on the Dawn in late Dec and just got off the phone with NCL....not impressed with their customer service experience. As you know San Juan has no power and depending on what you read, the cruise port may not be operational in December (with the assumption that the cruises will be reconstituted due to the considerable damage on some of the scheduled stops. Norwegian refuses to confirm that my cruise will exist, and admits that it may start from a different port than San Juan, perhaps out of mainland US. However, if I cancel now they want 25% and within a few days its a 50% penalty. They had a real 'not my problem' attitude and really focused on the 'buyer beware' nature of the cruise. I just can't fathom that in unusual circumstances this is the customer service attitude they take. I think 50% penalty is unreasonable given that they won't even tell me where the cruise might originate (who can book international flights over Christmas with no notice?). If that is their business model then this cancellation fee is the only money they'll ever get out of my family

Maria hit Puerto Rico only a couple days ago, give them time (at least a few days) to reassess the situation. Of course mainland US will help with recovery and restoration, but give them time. Soon they will have a clearer picture of the future and you will be informed whether the itinerary still stands or changes, and they may offer you options if it does change.

This season (Sept - Dec) has been devastating for the Caribbean, and all cruise lines (the ones that send ships to the affected islands) have been scrambling to find alternate ports but the trouble is each port can only hold certain number of ships at a time. This is why Norwegian Escape now has at least 3 different West Caribbean itineraries from now until end of year, instead of just one same.

You can cancel now if you wish, just to lose the 25%, but it'll be your own option, not NCL's.

By the way, I do not believe that mayor saying they'll be without power in all PR for "months"!

Report on CBS this morning. 20% of San juan has had their power restored. Give the folks time and they will get the island back together. Also, the RCCL Adventure of the Seas will be returning to dock in San Juan tomorrow.

Sailing out of San Juan on Nov. 26th....still waiting to hear what changes will be made. Fly into San Juan 2 days earlier......its hard being patient as everything is paid for. Lesson learned for this novice traveler out of Southern Ca. Travel Insurance when booking during hurricane season. Unfortunately the NCL booking agent wasn't such a good sales person. All they did was ask if I wanted Travel Insurance. Had they said "Your are traveling during hurricane season in the Caribbean" I would have bought it!

Following

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Sailing out of San Juan on Nov. 26th....still waiting to hear what changes will be made. Fly into San Juan 2 days earlier......its hard being patient as everything is paid for. Lesson learned for this novice traveler out of Southern Ca. Travel Insurance when booking during hurricane season. Unfortunately the NCL booking agent wasn't such a good sales person. All they did was ask if I wanted Travel Insurance. Had they said "Your are traveling during hurricane season in the Caribbean" I would have bought it!

Unfortunately, most people are not sold on purchasing travel insurance until they need it :( FYI, most cruise line booking agents are nothing more than order takers. Many have never even seen the inside of a cruise ship and the only info they can provide you is what they are given in their handbook. Many people rather control their own reservations by booking direct with a cruise line, but it's usually not a very good idea for a novice, unless you have a friend who is very experienced to help you.

San Juan will have power well before the rest of the island. I have not seen any info on damage to the pier areas in San Juan. A great source of hurricane related info pertaining specifically to the cruise industry is the USA Today. Speculating on departure ports at this point is of no value.

 

By the way, I do not believe that mayor saying they'll be without power in all PR for "months"!

I heard that comment from an executive at the power company and once upon a time I worked in the utility business.

PR' s grid was decimated and probably not very redundant, they have less flexibility to shift power around so when something goes out, it is out until fixed. Here we usually live in places with multiple ways to get power to an area so we go off for minutes, sometsometimes hours, but rarely days.

PR' s grid is what we call overhead so winds bring down poles and wires with ease. We often live in places where the grid is largely buried and the poles and wires are not the core. PR will likely replace 70+% of the poles for that power grid, those have to found then brought to the island along with all the cable wire and crews and equipment to remove, haul, replace. Pole lines do indeed take weeks to build once you have material, equipment and manpower.

So far my comments are basically about getting power to a home or business, distribution. That power comes from a power plant over transmission lines. No clue how bad the transmission lines are damaged. Those are the big grey poles that are really tall along the highway. Those are not just hanging out in the back yard, they may have to be produced and shipped, months are not out of the question if those went down.

I am a half full kind of person, but this business I know a little too well so I have to keep it real.

I struggle to see my November 19th cruise leaving from San Juan.

We sail out of San Juan on the Dawn 11/19 and I am staying optimistic!

 

First, San Juan is the capital of P.R. it is the finacial, industrial and tourism heart of the country. Over 2 million people (more than half of. P.R.'s population) lives and works in San Juan or its municipalities. The rebuilding efforts will be concentrated here to get the people back to work and providing for their familes. Tourists are necessary to P.R. especially to San Juan.

 

Secondly, I have cancel for any reason insurance so any non- refundable costs for our trip will come back to us. We had to cancel a cruise in 11/16 to treat our 20 year old son's cancer. Stuff happens; so insurance is a required and budgeted cost of traveling for our family. Will we be disappointed if we or NCL cancels our cruise? Heck yes. But our neice and her family who live near San Juan have been affected far greater than my disappointment could ever be. If the port of embarkation should somehow need to be changed by NCL, well, we'll just have to make some phone calls. It's a small percentage of our total life that will be used up. I've spent a bunch of time researching the ports of call that we already know we won't be calling on and once they announce our new ports I will start all over again.

Can you imagine the amount of time spent making phone calls and searching the iternet if you had to rebuild your house and replace all of your household possessions?

 

Third, NCL rarely cancels cruises. It is a great financial cost to them, it creates a negative image to the public and it causes a loss of income to the people who live and work at the missed ports of call. I'd guess there is a negotiating war going on amongst the open ports and the many cruise lines for dates and times. What a puzzle of strategy these hurricanes have created! Imagine 10 ships battling it out for 5 berths at a port. Would this cause a bidding war or are prices firmly set at what can be charged?

 

Fourth. being in this wait and see pattern is better than the same situation our family was in almost exactly one year ago. On September 26 our son called to tell us he had cancer. One year ago we were told he could have 6 months to one year left to live. But...because of great optimism and fantastic medical care he is alive and back to his normal college student self. So therefore I AM OPTIMISTIC and if you are sailing with us, show us your optimism too!

 

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Cindy, I applaud you. I cannot imagine the strength you have to survive a cancer diagnosis in one of your children. There, but for the Grace of God, go I!

You have the the absolute correct outlook on this whole thing. Hug your son for me.

Maria hit Puerto Rico only a couple days ago, give them time (at least a few days) to reassess the situation. Of course mainland US will help with recovery and restoration, but give them time. Soon they will have a clearer picture of the future and you will be informed whether the itinerary still stands or changes, and they may offer you options if it does change.

 

This season (Sept - Dec) has been devastating for the Caribbean, and all cruise lines (the ones that send ships to the affected islands) have been scrambling to find alternate ports but the trouble is each port can only hold certain number of ships at a time. This is why Norwegian Escape now has at least 3 different West Caribbean itineraries from now until end of year, instead of just one same.

 

You can cancel now if you wish, just to lose the 25%, but it'll be your own option, not NCL's.

 

By the way, I do not believe that mayor saying they'll be without power in all PR for "months"!

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More trouble possibly coming for the northwest part of the island. NBC and CNN are reporting a dam failure.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/puerto-rico-precarious-situation-hurricane-recovery-begins-n803926

San Juan will have power well before the rest of the island. I have not seen any info on damage to the pier areas in San Juan. A great source of hurricane related info pertaining specifically to the cruise industry is the USA Today. Speculating on departure ports at this point is of no value.

San Juan already has restored power to 20% of the grid. Also, the port sustained very little damage and will be accepting ships this evening with supplies. This all bodes well for our cruise in Jan.