What happens if an NCL is forced to miss a port?

[Carl Nival]

Is NCL pretty good about giving you a refund on shore excursions if you book them through NCL?

[bakerintn]

Yes, they will refund your NCL shorex if it does not happen.

[Got Tequila?]

Is NCL pretty good about giving you a refund on shore excursions if you book them through NCL?

 

No problem if you book your excursion through NCL and miss the port...they will refund the excursion to your on board account.

[Starry Eyes]

Yes, if you book an NCL excursion, you get a refund if the port is canceled. Also, once in a while, an excursion is canceled due to inclement weather (like cave tubing canceled due to a flood or snorkeling due to a thunderstorm); if NCL cancels them, those NCL excursions are also automatically refunded.

[che5904]

Fly in the ointment here. Do they refund if they miss a port and the excursion is "non-refundable".

 

As I was looking for excursions for our last cruise, I came across some that were marked as "non-refundable".

[DevCruise]

Fly in the ointment here. Do they refund if they miss a port and the excursion is "non-refundable".

 

As I was looking for excursions for our last cruise, I came across some that were marked as "non-refundable".

 

I believe it says somewhere it's non-refundable if canceled by the passenger.

[che5904]

I believe it says somewhere it's non-refundable if canceled by the passenger.

 

Nope.

 

"Experience the beauty of Alaska, as you fly over jagged peaks towering over the Chilkat Glacier, cascading waterfalls surrounding the Ferebee Glacier, or the spectacular 'river of ice' known as the Meade Glacier. Flight routes and landing zones are selected daily to ensure that you receive the best the area has to offer. Once you've reached your destination, you'll be given the opportunity to explore and enjoy a walking tour of a lifetime. Note: Participants must be able to enter and exit the helicopter with limited assistance as well as walk for short distances on uneven and slippery surfaces. Flight time is approximately 40 minutes with approximately 40 minutes on the glacier. This tour is non-refundable."

[JohnIreland]

Nope.

 

"Experience the beauty of Alaska, as you fly over jagged peaks towering over the Chilkat Glacier, cascading waterfalls surrounding the Ferebee Glacier, or the spectacular 'river of ice' known as the Meade Glacier. Flight routes and landing zones are selected daily to ensure that you receive the best the area has to offer. Once you've reached your destination, you'll be given the opportunity to explore and enjoy a walking tour of a lifetime. Note: Participants must be able to enter and exit the helicopter with limited assistance as well as walk for short distances on uneven and slippery surfaces. Flight time is approximately 40 minutes with approximately 40 minutes on the glacier. This tour is non-refundable."

 

That only applies if the passenger tries to cancel.

[che5904]

That only applies if the passenger tries to cancel.

 

Not arguing just concerned if I was to book something like this. The information you give above. Is that based on fact or what you believe, since it doesn't say that anywhere that I could find when we were booking our last cruise excursions. And I do recall there was a thread on here in the last year where someone booked (privately) something like this that was non-refundable and lost their money when the port was missed.

[JohnIreland]

http://www2.ncl.com/terms/shorex-dining-entertainment-spa

 

Cancellation or Modification

 

Cruise schedules are subject to change at the discretion of the Captain, and may occasionally be affected by variations in arrival or departure times, inclement weather, and mechanical or equipment difficulties. NCL reserves the right to change Shore Excursion prices, itineraries and departure times without notice. Excursions are subject to cancellation or modification depending on the number of guests participating. NCL reserves the right to cancel a Shore Excursion for any reason, including inclement weather, and shall not be liable for any loss to participants. Participants holding tickets for canceled Shore Excursions will receive a full refund. Should it be necessary to abandon a Shore Excursion due to difficulties en route, NCL will arrange the best possible refund for participants according to the circumstances.

[che5904]

http://www2.ncl.com/terms/shorex-dining-entertainment-spa

 

Cancellation or Modification

 

Cruise schedules are subject to change at the discretion of the Captain, and may occasionally be affected by variations in arrival or departure times, inclement weather, and mechanical or equipment difficulties. NCL reserves the right to change Shore Excursion prices, itineraries and departure times without notice. Excursions are subject to cancellation or modification depending on the number of guests participating. NCL reserves the right to cancel a Shore Excursion for any reason, including inclement weather, and shall not be liable for any loss to participants. Participants holding tickets for canceled Shore Excursions will receive a full refund. Should it be necessary to abandon a Shore Excursion due to difficulties en route, NCL will arrange the best possible refund for participants according to the circumstances.

 

Thanks, I was actually asking for personal experience since this would be a case of one written statement cancels out the other IMO. Which does not assure me of much.

[Cmdr Cody]

I have a friend who paid for an excursion outside of the cruise line (CCL) in this case. They did not get refunded when the port was skipped due to violence. He was quite upset since passengers who booked the same tour through the cruise line WERE fully refunded. Carnival (or any other line) can't be expected to refund something not paid for through them. Tom, my friend was always bragging about saving money by booking in advance through the tour groups over paying the cruise lines extra fee.

On my last cruise a tour we booked onboard was cancelled by the tour group due to not enough people booking it, NCL refunded the full amount.

[Starry Eyes]

Thanks, I was actually asking for personal experience since this would be a case of one written statement cancels out the other IMO. Which does not assure me of much.

 

No personal experience here. Still, if NCL (or NCL vendor) canceled an excursion, even if marked nonrefundable, did not refund the money, leaving the passenger without money or excursion, I think we would hear about it here. the nonrefundables are often special and expensive excursions, aren't they, so people would really complain.

 

as a parallel, I buy nonrefundable airline tickets, but if the airline cancels the flight (or changes the time dramatically) and they are unable to re-accommodate me, the airlines have refunded my money. I believe NCL would, too. I know you want personal experiences, but the lack of such complaints speaks almost as loudly as their presence.

[che5904]

No personal experience here. Still, if NCL (or NCL vendor) canceled an excursion, even if marked nonrefundable, did not refund the money, leaving the passenger without money or excursion, I think we would hear about it here. the nonrefundables are often special and expensive excursions, aren't they, so people would really complain.

 

as a parallel, I buy nonrefundable airline tickets, but if the airline cancels the flight (or changes the time dramatically) and they are unable to re-accommodate me, the airlines have refunded my money. I believe NCL would, too. I know you want personal experiences, but the lack of such complaints speaks almost as loudly as their presence.

 

Very good point, I never thought about that analogy. And yes it is true, I have only seen that complaint when purchased privately.

 

Thanks for putting my mind at ease.

 

Of course before I booked something like that through them, I would always double check but it's nice to have an idea before you even go that route.

[rvsullivan]

Well, for first hand experience. Three years ago on the Spirit, Costa Maya was cancelled due to high winds, the captain tried 3 times to dock and could not do it. We, among hundreds of others on board go a full refund for our tour booked through NCL. Based on the noise level of others that booked on their own, I don't think private tours were all as lucky.:D

[roger001]

If you book a tour through NCL, and NCL cannot get you to the tour for whatever reason, or if the NCL tour can't operate for whatever reason, NCL will refund your money. If you book a tour through a private operator, and NCL cannot get you to the tour for what ever reason, then whether you get a refund or not is strictly between you and the tour operator, not an NCL problem. Reference the non-refundable tours (meaning if the tour is cancelled by the passenger, not NCL), non-refundable tours are designated as such when they are like the helicopter ride. The huge helicopter operating expenses remain constant, it will fly with just the remaining passengers, and your non refundable purchase is necessary for expense/profit whether you occupy a seat or not.

[deladypilot]

If a port is missed due to NCLs decision, then you will be refunded the money for excursions booked through NCL. If you book privately, you will have to deal with those tour guides yourself. NCL is not responsible for that. Its a chance you take booking on your own. You do have the option of getting travel insurance for your privately booked excursions.

 

You will also get a refund on your port charges, usually in the form of OBC. It wont be a lot, but they wont charge you for a port you missed.

[tel2]

Hi!

 

We are on the Pearl June 10 to Alaska, and have booked over $1600. in "non-refundable" excusions, so as you can imagine, we had precisely the same question. Because I am a bit high-strung, I called three different times and got the same answer each time -- if the port is missed or the excursion is cancelled by NCL, all money will be refunded. However, they were very careful to tell me, each time, that it if is just lousy weather, i.e., pouring rain, foggy, and the excursion is still going forward but we just do not want to go, then no refund. They did say that with the helicopter tours they were frequently cancelled because of inclement weather affecting safety issues, in which case, all money would be refunded.

 

Terry

[jaimedag]

We were on the Epic and the Nassau port was cancelled due to high winds. We got our excursion fees back, our port fees per person and 2 free drinks! LOL Tip your waiter well. We got 2 free buckets of drinks ;)

[NMLady]

Not arguing just concerned if I was to book something like this. The information you give above. Is that based on fact or what you believe, since it doesn't say that anywhere that I could find when we were booking our last cruise excursions. And I do recall there was a thread on here in the last year where someone booked (privately) something like this that was non-refundable and lost their money when the port was missed.

 

The key word here is PRIVATELY. Even though excursions booked privately on non-NCL excursions might not be refunded, the OP question was about NCL excursions. Those ARE refunded if the port is skipped. The non-refundable phrase is if the PASSENGER cancels. The phrase is used because most tours are refundable even if the passenger cancels.