Gem delayed, itinerary change??

[Kosi]

We were in Bermuda two weeks ago. We went swimming each day. Check the sea temps on www.weather.com if you want to know exact forecast. Ocean was 80. Pools on ship are always 84. Hot tubs are always hot.

 

Great place for a vacation any month of the year.

 

Come back and book a caribbean vacation if you want HOT.

 

Just another reason to purchase travel insurance that covers any reason for cancelling--not just medical. It is available.

 

Hope our homeport of Boston was hospitable to all those passengers from the various cruiselines stuck here for days. Great city for a pub crawl. Hope you enjoyed your unexpected stay.

 

Our tour guide there told us it gets very cold in the winter months!

[Karysa]

I was talking about the OP!! While we're at it you could lose a bit of the attitude also. Try putting your thoughts & prayers with the people who have been devastated instead of childishly whining about our cruise & NCL. If you want to it wouldn't hurt to pray that the port cannot open & it would need to be cancelled.

 

You are very confusing??? Aren't you the OP???

[lvz2cruz]

I would be really unhappy about this change. I think that it should be a choice, your money back or a shortened cruise with partial refund. Bermuda in November, nope not fair. If November was a good time for Bermuda cruises then there would be scheduled November cruises. This deal stinks to me and I would do whatever I could to get my insurance to cover me instead of going on that cruise.

 

You're absolutely right. November does not have beach weather. The locals don't go in the water past Labor Day because it gets cold. We have been mid September and some cruisers think it too cold then.

If a 7 night cruise gets 3 days in Bermuda, how can a 5 night get 2 days? Are we talking arrive one day at 4 and leave the next at noon?

Hopefully they will do as RCI did last week and give passengers the option to cancel with a full refund and quit stringing them along. Since they told passengers onboard in Boston yesterday they would be on for 4-6 more days, they know they will not have turnaround tomorrow. It would be nice if they treated customers like they wanted to keep them--like they were cared and valued, not we have your money, get lost.

As far as cancel for any reason insurance, you have to exercise that option more than 48 hours prior to your scheduled departure, so it would not help these people. It also only pays 50%.

Hope everything works out for those booked.:)

[Karysa]

You're absolutely right. November does not have beach weather. The locals don't go in the water past Labor Day because it gets cold. We have been mid September and some cruisers think it too cold then.

If a 7 night cruise gets 3 days in Bermuda, how can a 5 night get 2 days? Are we talking arrive one day at 4 and leave the next at noon?

Hopefully they will do as RCI did last week and give passengers the option to cancel with a full refund and quit stringing them along. Since they told passengers onboard in Boston yesterday they would be on for 4-6 more days, they know they will not have turnaround tomorrow. It would be nice if they treated customers like they wanted to keep them--like they were cared and valued, not we have your money, get lost.

As far as cancel for any reason insurance, you have to exercise that option more than 48 hours prior to your scheduled departure, so it would not help these people. It also only pays 50%.

Hope everything works out for those booked.:)

 

I can't help but think that people are going to challenge their insurance over this and perhaps a group claim will be launched. The cruise offered in no way resembles the cruise purchased. For 75% I would cut my losses with insurance and try to get a little something out of NCL but for 50% I think that I would fight it.

[Lou33]

It sounds like the port is now starting to open, but the cruise pier is not yet cleared.

 

So if the 10/29 cruise can't depart on Friday, what would they do? They probably wouldn't have time to reach Bermuda with just a four day cruise. Would they do a 4 day cruise to nowhere?

 

If they decide to cancel the cruise, what will they tell the passengers from out of state who may be flying in right now? How about the passengers who made it to NYC before the storm, and have been waiting ever since? It would have been nice if NCL gave an offer to opt out earlier this week, but at this point, it may be too late.

 

Once people arrive in NYC, it may be very difficult to reach the pier. Many tunnels are closed, lower Manhatten is blacked out, traffic is gridlocked. The Mayor is asking people not to travel to the city unless absolutely necessary. So forcing a few thousand cruise passengers to go to the pier will only add the gridlock.

 

If the pier opens in the next several hours, then NCL will still have some unhappy customers, but they can breath a sigh of relief. But if they need to cancel, then you may hear many passengers question why they didn't cancel sooner.

[DMH15]

Gee, in June we were hit hard by a storm. Everyones car on my street totalled. Windows smashed in so much glass and frames gone. Holes in roof. There is no way I could leave town on a cruise with immediate repairs required.

 

But, I would expect to recover from insurance and not NCL or any other cruiseline.

 

I would definately wait and see how it works out and most importantly document every communication.

[DMH15]

It sounds like the port is now starting to open, but the cruise pier is not yet cleared.

 

So if the 10/29 cruise can't depart on Friday, what would they do? They probably wouldn't have time to reach Bermuda with just a four day cruise. Would they do a 4 day cruise to nowhere?

 

If they decide to cancel the cruise, what will they tell the passengers from out of state who may be flying in right now? How about the passengers who made it to NYC before the storm, and have been waiting ever since? It would have been nice if NCL gave an offer to opt out earlier this week, but at this point, it may be too late.

 

Once people arrive in NYC, it may be very difficult to reach the pier. Many tunnels are closed, lower Manhatten is blacked out, traffic is gridlocked. The Mayor is asking people not to travel to the city unless absolutely necessary. So forcing a few thousand cruise passengers to go to the pier will only add the gridlock.

 

If the pier opens in the next several hours, then NCL will still have some unhappy customers, but they can breath a sigh of relief. But if they need to cancel, then you may hear many passengers question why they didn't cancel sooner.

 

Simple answer: NCL didn't know. Waited. Kept options open. Prob felt better for NCL and pax to salvage part of a cruise. Whatever happens this is for sure - you can't please everybody.

[Lou33]

As far as cancel for any reason insurance, you have to exercise that option more than 48 hours prior to your scheduled departure, so it would not help these people. It also only pays 50%.

 

If the cancel for any reason insurance pays 50%, then that is no help at all. Since at least four the the days are cancelled, then NCL has no choice but to refund 4/9 of your cruise fare, and most of the port charges. So everybody would get a 50% refund or credit regardless of whether they had insurance, and regardless of whether they went on the cruise. If I were booked on this cruise, I would consider just cutting my losses and write it off. Especially if I needed to fly in from out of state.

[Lou33]

Simple answer: NCL didn't know. Waited. Kept options open. Prob felt better for NCL and pax to salvage part of a cruise. Whatever happens this is for sure - you can't please everybody.

 

They could have pleased everybody by giving them a chance to opt out of the cruise for a 100% refund or future credit. The people from out of state could then forget about finding a flight, forget about all the uncertainty, and get on with their lives. The locals in NYC would still have the option to do a partial cruise if they wanted to. Everybody would be happy. If it turns out that they need to cancel the whole cruise, then no harm done, because the passengers had options. NCL may lose some money on the cruise (they will anyway), but they should make out in the long run by retaining future customers.

 

Yes, NCL didn't know, and that's exactly why they should have been more proactive earlier.

[ute_fan]

I'm staying out of this battle, but have you seen the most recent communication from NCL? It's on both Facebook and the NCL.com site.

 

November 1, 2012

 

On behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line and all of our officers, crew and corporate team members, we are deeply saddened by the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Sandy. Our sincere thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the storm.

 

As you may know, New York is my home town. I was born and raised in New York and I consider myself a New Yorker through and through. I can tell you that I truly feel your pain and frustration and sympathize with everyone who is living with the realities of the storm’s devastation. My family and I have been affected as well, as my house in New York is flooded and we are still trying to process it all.

 

The situation that has unfolded in the wake of this natural disaster has been unprecedented and extremely unpredictable. I would like to extend my personal apology to all of our guests who have been patiently waiting for the latest news and information from us regarding the status of their cruise on Norwegian Gem. Like you, we have been disappointed and frustrated with the uncertainty regarding the re-opening of the Port.

 

For those guests who were originally scheduled to set sail on October 29, I hope that you decide to take a much needed vacation and join us tomorrow on the five-day Bermuda cruise. While I know this is not ideal and is not the vacation you had planned, I am confident that you will find this opportunity to get away on a cruise an escape from the stress caused by the storm. The officers and crew of Norwegian Gem look forward to welcoming you aboard and offering you all of the wonderful amenities, services, dining and comfortable accommodations that you would expect.

 

Rest assured that you will be fully credited for the four cruise days missed. In addition, if you chose to sail with us tomorrow, I would also like to extend a 25% future cruise credit (based on cruise fare paid, valid for one year) as a thank you for your patience and understanding.

 

I also recognize that many of you who have been impacted by the hurricane may prefer to forgo the five-day cruise and sail on a future date. Therefore, I would like to extend to you the option to cancel and provide you with a future cruise credit for the remaining five days, so that you can re-book with us on another date. This would be in addition to the pro-rated refund for the four missed cruise days. If you would like to take this option, please call our reservations team at 800-327-7030.

 

On behalf of all our New York area guests who have been impacted, we will make a donation to the American Red Cross to aid in the relief efforts. New York is the most resilient city in the world and I know that the city will come back stronger than ever.

 

Regards,

[modelman]

You're absolutely right. November does not have beach weather. The locals don't go in the water past Labor Day because it gets cold. We have been mid September and some cruisers think it too cold then.

If a 7 night cruise gets 3 days in Bermuda, how can a 5 night get 2 days? Are we talking arrive one day at 4 and leave the next at noon?

 

It only takes 1.5 days to get to Bermuda, so you leave Friday at 4pm and arrive Sunday morning at 7AM. You are there for two full days, leaving Monday at 4pm or so, getting back to NYC Wednesday morning. The weather forecast for Bermuda is 76 and sunny on Sunday and 77 and partly sunny on Monday. The ocean temps as of today are 76 degrees, which is warmer than it ever gets in New England in the summer

[EaglesWin]

New thread with NCL CEO Kevin Sheehan's letter as posted on Facebook

[Lou33]

Rest assured that you will be fully credited for the four cruise days missed. In addition, if you chose to sail with us tomorrow, I would also like to extend a 25% future cruise credit (based on cruise fare paid, valid for one year) as a thank you for your patience and understanding.

 

I also recognize that many of you who have been impacted by the hurricane may prefer to forgo the five-day cruise and sail on a future date. Therefore, I would like to extend to you the option to cancel and provide you with a future cruise credit for the remaining five days, so that you can re-book with us on another date. This would be in addition to the pro-rated refund for the four missed cruise days.,

 

Great news! Especially for people from out of town. It would have be nice if they offered this earlier, but better late than never. I hope they don't have too many out of state passengers getting on a flight for NYC right now.

[Nalagh]

I would like to offer my help to those planning on going to Bermuda. I have been there twice in the past few months, and all is still fresh in my mind. I would be more than willing to share my itineraries with you, or tell some of the wonderful things we did. Just send me an email.

 

cherie.leblanc@gmail.com

 

Cherie

[Karysa]

Great news! Especially for people from out of town. It would have be nice if they offered this earlier, but better late than never. I hope they don't have too many out of state passengers getting on a flight for NYC right now.

 

I agree it's a little late, but many will be happy to take them up on this offer. The one's that swore that they would never sail NCL again will at least get 4 days worth of money back.

Here's to calm seas and beautiful weather for the passengers going to Bermuda!

[ute_fan]

Great news! Especially for people from out of town. It would have be nice if they offered this earlier, but better late than never. I hope they don't have too many out of state passengers getting on a flight for NYC right now.

 

It would have been nice if people could have made other plans earlier, but I think NCL had to wait until they could find out when the pier was going to be open before they could determine what their options would be. The entire situation is unfortunate, but it's hard for me to blame NCL when the whole mess is due to Mother Nature.

 

The company I work for has their corporate offices in New Jersey. They have been closed since Monday, and many of the employees are also without power too. In a lot of cases, they couldn't get to work even if they wanted due to the road conditions. One of our primary product lines requires constant refrigeration, and I'm guessing the company is going to be scrapping several millions of dollars of that product. Again, hard to place the blame on anyone but Mother Nature.

[jaja]

Just as a point of interest....bodies are still being recovered -(the last 2..young children in Staten Island NJ)...my fervent hope is that we all see what is realliy happening here....Prayers to all affected..and hope we all put this in proper perspective..

[Karysa]

Just as a point of interest....bodies are still being recovered -(the last 2..young children in Staten Island NJ)...my fervent hope is that we all see what is realliy happening here....Prayers to all affected..and hope we all put this in proper perspective..

 

Awful,awful news but I think that it is unfair to these cruisers to post such things only on this thread to make them feel guilty. There is a thread about Pulp Free OJ and one inquiring about Free Bathrobes on the Epic. Picking on these cruisers and on posters on this thread only is just mean. They more than the majority of cc members are well aware of what an awful tragedy has occurred and will continue to unfold.

[daffodiliaz]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2012/11/01/cruise-lines-criticized-sandy-delays/1674001/

 

 

Wonder if NCL's response had anything to do with a media outlet picking up the story. jakeT and Cruisin1111 were quoted. Hey, I recognized those two. LOL.

[ship-disturber]

I trust people have seen this

 

On behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line and all of our officers, crew and corporate team members, we are deeply saddened by the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Sandy. Our sincere thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the storm.

 

 

As you may know, New York is my home town. I was born and raised in New York and I consider myself a New Yorker through and through. I can tell you that I truly feel your pain and frustration and sympathize with everyone who is living with the realities of the storm's devastation. My family and I have been affected as well, as my house in New York is flooded and we are still trying to process it all.

 

 

 

The situation that has unfolded in the wake of this natural disaster has been unprecedented and extremely unpredictable. I would like to extend my personal apology to all of our guests who have been patiently waiting for the latest news and information from us regarding the status of their cruise on Norwegian Gem. Like you, we have been disappointed and frustrated with the uncertainty regarding the re-opening of the Port.

 

 

 

For those guests who were originally scheduled to set sail on October 29, I hope that you decide to take a much needed vacation and join us tomorrow on the five-day Bermuda cruise. While I know this is not ideal and is not the vacation you had planned, I am confident that you will find this opportunity to get away on a cruise an escape from the stress caused by the storm. The officers and crew of Norwegian Gem look forward to welcoming you aboard and offering you all of the wonderful amenities, services, dining and comfortable accommodations that you would expect.

 

 

 

Rest assured that you will be fully credited for the four cruise days missed. In addition, if you chose to sail with us tomorrow, I would also like to extend a 25% future cruise credit (based on cruise fare paid, valid for one year) as a thank you for your patience and understanding.

 

 

 

I also recognize that many of you who have been impacted by the hurricane may prefer to forgo the five-day cruise and sail on a future date. Therefore, I would like to extend to you the option to cancel and provide you with a future cruise credit for the remaining five days, so that you can re-book with us on another date. This would be in addition to the pro-rated refund for the four missed cruise days. If you would like to take this option, please call our reservations team at 800-327-7030.

 

 

 

On behalf of all our New York area guests who have been impacted, we will make a donation to the American Red Cross to aid in the relief efforts. New York is the most resilient city in the world and I know that the city will come back stronger than ever.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin M. Sheehan

[Lou33]

It would have been nice if people could have made other plans earlier, but I think NCL had to wait until they could find out when the pier was going to be open before they could determine what their options would be.

 

Hi Ute,

 

I don't understand what could have stopped them from making this offer sooner?

 

If they made an offer to give people the "option" to cancel and get a refund or credit a few days ago it would have relieved passenger many out of state passengers. And locals still had the option to do the Bermuda cruise if they wanted . On the other hand, if it turned out that port could not open on Friday, as they were hoping, then it would have the same net effect for NCL, because they would be giving a 100% refund anyway.

 

The way that I see it, the fact that they "didn't know" when the pier would re-open, only made even more important to give passengers advance notice of their options.

[jaja]

Awful,awful news but I think that it is unfair to these cruisers to post such things only on this thread to make them feel guilty. There is a thread about Pulp Free OJ and one inquiring about Free Bathrobes on the Epic. Picking on these cruisers and on posters on this thread only is just mean. They more than the majority of cc members are well aware of what an awful tragedy has occurred and will continue to unfold.

 

 

This is the thread that addresses this topic (not OJ) and in no way am picking on "these cruisers"-I am not a mean person..and my comment was not meant to be mean..or to make people feel quilty and I usually stay away from threads when they take certain direction...BUT I felt the need to respond...

I truly feel that sometimes we all (me included) sometimes see things in a narrow way......and sometimes people are so focused on their own problem...they fail to see the true gravity of the bigger picture...

and it it quite possible that cruisers outside the NY metro area do not know what is really happening (I live in the area and can give a perspective)

 

If I offened you...I am sorry...but I stand by my observation..

[Karysa]

This is the thread that addresses this topic (not OJ) and in no way am picking on "these cruisers"-I am not a mean person..and my comment was not meant to be mean..or to make people feel quilty and I usually stay away from threads when they take certain direction...BUT I felt the need to respond...

I truly feel that sometimes we all (me included) sometimes see things in a narrow way......and sometimes people are so focused on their own problem...they fail to see the true gravity of the bigger picture...

and it it quite possible that cruisers outside the NY metro area do not know what is really happening (I live in the area and can give a perspective)

 

If I offened you...I am sorry...but I stand by my observation..

 

This thread addresses the Gem Itinerary change. Of course these people are focused mostly on their issues. They also have been keeping up with the news on this topic probably more than most because of this. Dead children! Really, you didnt try to make them feel guilty in the least? I for one am not buying it!

[jaja]

Awful,awful news but I think that it is unfair to these cruisers to post such things only on this thread to make them feel guilty. There is a thread about Pulp Free OJ and one inquiring about Free Bathrobes on the Epic. Picking on these cruisers and on posters on this thread only is just mean. They more than the majority of cc members are well aware of what an awful tragedy has occurred and will continue to unfold.

 

This thread addresses the Gem Itinerary change. Of course these people are focused mostly on their issues. They also have been keeping up with the news on this topic probably more than most because of this. Dead children! Really, you didnt try to make them feel guilty in the least? I for one am not buying it!

 

 

 

I respectfully decline to comment further..

[Karysa]

I respectfully decline to comment further..

 

Can't imagine why.