Jewel Alert...Robo Calls...Dec.5th Sailing now Dec.6th

[crew mom]

Update from NCL via Facebook:

Updated as of 3 pm EDT

 

Because of a crane collapse during Norwegian Jewel’s dry dock in Boston, Norwegian Jewel will arrive later into New York on Monday, December 6. The ship is now estimated to arrive at noon on Monday. Norwegian Cruise Line sincerely apologizes for this further delay and appreciates our guests’ understanding and cooperation.

 

Embarkation for guests sailing on Norwegian Jewel’s December 5 Bahamas & Florida cruise is now scheduled to begin at noon on Monday, December 6. For the comfort of our guests, we strongly recommend that guests not arrive at the cruise terminal until noon. The ship is scheduled to depart New York at 4 pm on Monday.

 

Norwegian Jewel’s itinerary has been revised to accommodate the new departure time. The ship will now call in Port Canaveral, Florida on Wednesday, December 8 from 1 pm to 8 pm and in Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas on Thursday, December 9 from 11 am to 6 pm.

 

Guests will receive a refund of 1/7 of the cruise fare paid and an onboard credit of $100 per stateroom.

[Fishbait17]

With the new revised sailing time, the switching of GSC for Nassau, the shortened port times, it sure sounds to me like they didn't get the azipods fixed at all...

 

Robin

[bermuda8553]

I just talked to NCL new itinerary Florida 1-8pm and GSC 11-6. Same compensation 1/7 refund $100 obc per cabin. Anyone with plans for disney and Universal is probably out of luck. Not enough time. This an Nassau were my reasons for this cruise. I understand they can't help what happens, but this new itinerary stinks.Not worth the money even with the obc, again I am one of the ones who was suppose to be on the Gem, so this is just another problem for this trip .

[drbabe]

Wow, no Nassau, an afternoon in Port Canaveral, and a day at GSC (weather permitting).

[CPT Trips]

Wow, no Nassau, an afternoon in Port Canaveral, and a day at GSC (weather permitting).

 

That's the same as all sea days on a six day cruise to nowhere! Heck since it's cold down south anyhow, what about a visit to scenic Halifax?

 

Halifax Wednesday 46° F | 35° F That's just slightly chillier than Port Canaveral.

[Fishbait17]

that, and I'm sure NCL didn't do this on purpose, or are they looking to screw up anyone's vacation. Things happen. I probably would just cancel and do another cruise some other time than that one. I wouldn't want a shortened cruise. (or maybe there's not letting people cancel) I'm sure these employees are doing all they can.

 

Some of us were not given the option of rescheduling. I am a CAS guest and nobody at NCL knew what (if anything) we will receive for this massive inconvenience. There is a lot of confusion still, the dock is sending people away, the call center doesn't seem to have a lot of answers. While I am positive that this is financially draining on NCL (by changing Nassau to GSC they will make a chunk of their money back) it is their responsibility, and they need to make their customers happy..

 

Robin

[CruiseBabe125]

If you settle for what they give you...you deserve what you get...

[Ms belp]

LOL:D--I was thinking the same thing....

 

So was I!:D

[NYcruzzer]

With the new revised sailing time, the switching of GSC for Nassau, the shortened port times, it sure sounds to me like they didn't get the azipods fixed at all...

 

Robin

 

Good point. I too wonder if they were able to fix the azipods ? If not what effect will it have on the 10 day Carribean itineraries ? I hope all that go on the 12/6 cruise have a great time.

[AClady]

hmmmmm just thinking, I should be at a sail-a-way party right now, not surfing the web.

[theshortchef]

that, and I'm sure NCL didn't do this on purpose, or are they looking to screw up anyone's vacation. Things happen. I probably would just cancel and do another cruise some other time than that one. I wouldn't want a shortened cruise. (or maybe there's not letting people cancel) I'm sure these employees are doing all they can.

 

You would just cancel. Considering that they are unwilling to give me a refund I guess I am too cheap. But you would forfeit the multiple thousands that I paid for the garden villa?

[Mrs. H.]

hmmmmm just thinking, I should be at a sail-a-way party right now, not surfing the web.

 

 

Mr.H. and I looked at the clock at 4:00 and thought how sad it is that we are at home and not cruising.

[Cruisin&Relaxin]

Good point. I too wonder if they were able to fix the azipods ? If not what effect will it have on the 10 day Carribean itineraries ? I hope all that go on the 12/6 cruise have a great time.

 

According to an NCL post on the Meet and Greet forum for the cruise, "the technical issue affecting the azipod was corrected in dry dock."

[alwalaska]

You make a good point about the early boarding time for those driving from a distance but in reality, how many people do you think fly into NYC in Dec to cruise to the Bahamas rather than fly to FL and spend more time in the tropics? I'd say the numbers are slim.

 

You would be surprised how many come from a distance. On our March (still cold) cruise from NJ, there were many who drive in from significant distances (ie, PA, OH, MA, CT, etc.) We came from central OH. Also for those of us in the Midwest and New England we can fly much less expensively to NY than to Orlando or Miami. We have been trying to find ways to cut costs so that we can cruise more often. Cruising from closer ports is one way to do that. An extra night in NYC is a significant cost.

 

I guess getting there early in the day is now a non-issue since the Jewel will be even later arriving. I am guessing they are doing testing or something since NYC is only 165 nautical miles. At 18 knots, that is only 9 hours. I'm guessing that things could still change again if something goes wrong with the testing.

 

I am with those who think that a 1/7 refund and $100 OBC/stateroom is not sufficient, especially for those with 4 in a stateroom. There have been major itinerary changes and as someone else said, this isn't a weather problem.

 

Its situations like this that make you wonder about how well the cruise line would handle other issues, even when it doesn't directly affect you this time, it could the next time.

[RichNY]

We had to cancel this cruise a few days ago because of the death on my mother..The PR rep from NCL saw my post about possibly rebooking and asked me to email my name and phone number....about 30 minutes later a rep called and told us that our entire reservation was restored...we are sooooo happy..we really need a vacation :D

 

 

Thank you NCL

[coffeecat]

We had to cancel this cruise a few days ago because of the death on my mother..The PR rep from NCL saw my post about possibly rebooking and asked me to email my name and phone number....about 30 minutes later a rep called and told us that our entire reservation was restored...we are sooooo happy..we really need a vacation :D

 

 

 

Thank you NCL

 

Rich,

I am so sorry about your mom and was following the thread today and am sooo happy that you are back on the ship! I really truly hope that you have a WONDERFUL vacation.

Coffeecat

[BikerAl]

You would be surprised how many come from a distance. On our March (still cold) cruise from NJ, there were many who drive in from significant distances (ie, PA, OH, MA, CT, etc.) We came from central OH. Also for those of us in the Midwest and New England we can fly much less expensively to NY than to Orlando or Miami. We have been trying to find ways to cut costs so that we can cruise more often. Cruising from closer ports is one way to do that. An extra night in NYC is a significant cost.

 

I guess getting there early in the day is now a non-issue since the Jewel will be even later arriving. I am guessing they are doing testing or something since NYC is only 165 nautical miles. At 18 knots, that is only 9 hours. I'm guessing that things could still change again if something goes wrong with the testing.

 

I am with those who think that a 1/7 refund and $100 OBC/stateroom is not sufficient, especially for those with 4 in a stateroom. There have been major itinerary changes and as someone else said, this isn't a weather problem.

 

Its situations like this that make you wonder about how well the cruise line would handle other issues, even when it doesn't directly affect you this time, it could the next time.

 

I believe it is a little over 300 nautical miles Boston to NY. At your 18 knots that is 16.6 hours.

 

Al

[alwalaska]

NCL is giving everyone a fair shake as compared to what we incurred on Carnival Legend.

 

The ship was delayed getting to NYC. It was due in Monday morning for us to board 11 a.m. We were called Sunday evening and told ship was delayed to be at the pier 8 p.m. for boarding. I cannot fathom the pain in the butt it must have been for people flying in. It was only the two of us this trip and good thing our friend could take us later. (he also took the day off from work to take us in the a.m.). We arrived at the pier at 8 p.m. to a disaster area - 2,000 just getting off and 2,000 trying to board. They stuck us in the pier building next door in 90 degree atmosphere - didn't even offer folks some bottled water.

 

Long story short of this - we didn't not board until 1 a.m. All Carnival gave us was $25 OBC per cabin for "missing lunch" (we had two hot dogs and went to bed whoopee) No money back on cruise fare. People were fuming. Purser's desk personnel wanted to quit their jobs. I wrote a letter to Carnival after the cruise (we enjoyed ourselves on the cruise despite what happened) explaining we should have been given the equivalent of a day's lost fare. They sent me a we're sorry letter and offered us 15% off next cruise (of course it had to be used in a year).

 

So whether or not this was beyond their control, seems to me they're do right by passengers. Also don't forget that GSC gets skipped if there is high winds, rough seas, etc., so we've always found it a crapshoot that you ever get to go there (2 NCL cruises we took they skipped).

 

I know it's really really really aggravating but sure seems to come with the territory of cruising (hurricanes, rough seas, medical emergencies, etc)

 

Maybe they'll also offer some future cruise credits as well.

 

Was you itinerary changed at all? I don't see these two situations as the same unless they ended up canceling one or more of your ports.

 

Now the one place where I say Carnival majorly failed in your situation was in not having food and drinks available while you waited 5 hours to get on the ship.

[alwalaska]

I believe it is a little over 300 nautical miles Boston to NY. At your 18 knots that is 16.6 hours.

 

Al

 

That would make a lot more sense. I was using a web site that provides distance between ports, but I have no way of know if it was accurate. I am guessing, the computer program probably did it as a bird flies and forgot to take Cape Cod into consideration.

[Crusin6]

You make a good point about the early boarding time for those driving from a distance but in reality, how many people do you think fly into NYC in Dec to cruise to the Bahamas rather than fly to FL and spend more time in the tropics? I'd say the numbers are slim.

however, it is possible that some pax will be spending time in NYC pre or post cruise to enjoy the Christmas season...so the numbers might actually be higher than a normal winter week cruise out of NYC

[chrisnleigh]

Rich,

I am so sorry about your mom and was following the thread today and am sooo happy that you are back on the ship! I really truly hope that you have a WONDERFUL vacation.

Coffeecat

 

So very sorry about your mom. Hope you have some time on your cruise to reflect on her life and enjoy your memories, relax on your cruise. Remember the good times.

Chrisnleigh:)

[jeffstew]

That would make a lot more sense. I was using a web site that provides distance between ports, but I have no way of know if it was accurate. I am guessing, the computer program probably did it as a bird flies and forgot to take Cape Cod into consideration.

 

According to NOAA, it's 386 nautical miles from Boston to New York. That suprised me- I thought it would be much less than that.

[Globaliser]

Whatever the rights and wrongs of what happened before, Norwegian Jewel is definitely on her way to New York.

 

The attached PDF is a live-ish plot of her position. She is the blue ship east of Provincetown with her track showing on the plot. At the plot time (about three minutes ago), she was making 21.7 knots.

Norwegian Jewel.pdf

[alwalaska]

According to NOAA, it's 386 nautical miles from Boston to New York. That suprised me- I thought it would be much less than that.

 

Can you tell me where you found that info? I like learning things like this and the web site I visited was obviously way off.

 

It is a lot closer to drive between the two than to sail. Definitely surprised me too.

[wg6530]

If I were suddenly presented with a shortened cruise, I too would be surprised, disappointed and a bit frustrated. I know because it happened to me a few years ago (NCL Crown delayed arrival in Baltimore by 1day due to engine damage by orphan fishing net in Boston, I think it was 2003). NCL really tried to tart passengers as well as they could, but some were are inconsolable as some here. I still sail NCL, not because they are perfect. they are not, but neither are the other major cruise lines operating in the US.

 

Want examples? Well the largest family of cruise companies includes Carnival with an unhappy Legend passenger on this very thread, also with the recent Splendor fire. I only recall one other major fire on a cruiseship also happened on Princess, also owned by the worlds largest cruise company. Rather scary stuff.

 

the second largest company operating here in the US owns Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Well Celebrity made a bunch of passengers very mad recently when the Century had severe mechanical issues and a cruise was cancelled on about day 2. Angry posts on this forum were directed against Royal when the volcano disrupted travel this past spring.

 

third largest is NCL.

 

I suppose Disney is next. Maybe they don't disappoint passengers. I hope not.I wouldn't know- not my style and no mouse is worth that much to me.

 

Or maybe MSC is sailing more here than Disney. Heard good things? I have not.

 

Of course, there are other lines in other parts of the world. Maybe they are better, maybe not, butI bet there are unhappy passengers on every one of them.

 

If NCL disappoints you, you certainly should consider withholding future cruise dollars. But you may have difficulty finding that perfect cruise line to sail in the future. Oh, and I have heard of and experienced worse service failures on land vacations.

 

Lacking perfect options, I will continue to cruise the lines I enjoy most. I respect everybody else's choices.