POA to be docking TWO hours later in...

[ndabunka]

POA to start docking in Nawiliwili, Kauai TWO hours later so if anyone has early tours... you may want to give the tour operator a call. I notice that the arrival has now (as of a few hours ago) been officially changed on the itinerary so we now arrive at 10am instead of 8am on Thursdays.

 

The way I learned about this was that one of our directly-booked tour operator's sent out an eMail letting us know. We called them and moved it to the next morning so that we could still have our evening for the Luau but it looks like all tour operators are scrambling to retain their reservations.

[don't-use-real-name]

OK the POA is going to be 2 hours late on its Kauai (Nawiliwili) port stop - - -

So what is the "Paul Harvey' "The Rest of the Story" ?

So did they have to go back to Kona for more coffee ?

Edited July 18, 2015 by don't-use-real-name

[pizzalady1]

OP is saying that the arrival time in Kauai is a permanent change. It shows 10am on my Dec 2017 cruise. Wonder why??

Edited July 18, 2015 by pizzalady1

[punkincc]

I would think that does not mean the ship will be pulling in at 10:00 am, probably much earlier, but still, it puts you a couple hours behind schedule for the day. But, since it is an overnight, you can just tack a couple hours on at the end of the day and get a full day, and then some, of touring.

 

Curious though to know the reason. Fuel savings between Hawaii and Kauai by going at a lower speed? Is the distance that much? I assumed that they could go at a leisurely pace and still get there in plenty of time for the original port time. Or maybe changes at the port they have no control over?

[Fido Chuckwagon]

OP is saying that the arrival time in Kauai is a permanent change. It shows 10am on my Dec 2017 cruise. Wonder why??

 

It's almost certainly to save on fuel costs by slowing the ship down, same thing they did with the stops in Nassau going from 10 am to noon. Just another cutback on NCL.

[ndabunka]

I would think that does not mean the ship will be pulling in at 10:00 am, probably much earlier.

 

Unfortunately, we were informed that they will be ARRIVING at 10am from the 17th through.... perhaps sometime next year thus why December reservations of the poster above also show the 10am arrival. I posted this here hoping to get "The REST of the story" but it appears that no one here knows either.

 

As a 100% guestimate, they could be docking later due to any of a number of things including: Shorehand contracts that allow their union workers to sleep later due to a new contract negotiation OR other ships negotiated for an earlier docking and you can only dock so many boats at any one time OR there are harbor restrictions on noise that prevent docking at such early hours OR greenpeace now has a thursday morning harbor rally or .... well, you know take a WAG

 

Hopefully someone from NCL who knows more than the general public will come on here and post the logic behind the change.

Edited July 18, 2015 by ndabunka

[dexddd]

I see our 11 day from SFO to HNL also changed. My guess it will be 2-3 weeks before I hear from NCL about it.

[Ilovesailing]

We've have done this cruise far too many times to know and see that there is nothing wrong with the original schedule and see it as nothing more than a cash grab for NCL and the only reason I can come up with is slower speed in order to save fuel.

 

Two hours makes a huge difference for driving to Hanalei Town, Kauai which is an hours drive if NO traffic that put's you at arriving sometime after noon, by the time you get off ship, go get rental car does NOT leave much if any for bathing on the beautiful beach at Hanalei as the sun is just to hot in the afternoon. It doesn't matter that the ship is over nighting it just screws the morning royally as there is no time to do it next day.

NCL forgets that they are the only house in town doing this itinerary and there are many reasons why this cruise almost always sells out. WE all know that this cruise is a money maker for NCL even w/o the casino.

 

Yes you can say future cruisers looking at booking this cruise won't notice the change but your the repeat clients will.

I also know that as per NCL contract they can choose to do what they want.

 

We will wait and see what BS Del Rio is going to do before we decide to cancel 2017 cruise.

 

I have also sent an email to NCL, I'll post what I hear back.

Edited July 18, 2015 by Ilovesailing

[pizzalady1]

Unfortunately, we were informed that they will be ARRIVING at 10am from the 17th through.... perhaps sometime next year thus why December reservations of the poster above also show the 10am arrival. I posted this here hoping to get "The REST of the story" but it appears that no one here knows either.

 

My cruise that I mentioned in post #3 is in December 2017, 865 days away, and it shows the 10am arrival.

[Molokai-Chuck]

I also have made way to many of these Hawaiian based sailings...and all the last legs were Kona to Kauai.

We always made it on time. So, there is nothing wrong with the distance. It has to be pure money. Plus they can sell drinks on board and art auctions for those 2 hours!

Not Happy with this move at all!

 

Chuck

[goinggoinggone]

This will be my third cruise on NCL and my first on the POA coming up next month. All of these changes were slightly irritating to me, but this one takes the cake. My plan to rent a car and head out early to the North Shore of Kauai will be messed up. I'll lose part of morning by the time I get the car and be on my way. I was looking at NCL for the Med next year, but I think I'll look much more carefully at the other lines.

[ndabunka]

NCL forgets that they are the only house in town doing this itinerary and there are many reasons why this cruise almost always sells out. WE all know that this cruise is a money maker for NCL even w/o the casino.

 

Ah, no they don't "forget" anything. In fact, this is probably DUE to what you observed. High demand for a product with limited availability and you have almost the PERFECT economics lesson, right?

 

Your argument that they are "making enough already" simply isn't logical. Does coach REDUCE the cost of their bags if there isn't a MK next to them? NOPE. Does Christian Louboutin reduce the prices on those red-soled shoes from the $2K they sell for because they are already a money maker? NOPE

 

I am an NCL stockholder and LIKE that they are trying to make more $'s for their stock holders. It's one of the reasons their stock has gone from $38/share to nearly $60 share in the last 8 months I have owned it. It DOES impact my vacation but I don't think that it will cause them to loose (enough) potential clients due to this one minor change.

 

Please do let us know what you learn from NCL corporate but I expect they will provide something logical (from their point of view).

Edited July 18, 2015 by ndabunka

[Ilovesailing]

While this message is from our PCC I'm only posting so that others do the same, as suggested in email. I doubt I will hear from corporate till next week.

 

Hi XXXX, I understand all your frustrations. I wish I could give you a reason. We have changed several times on many of our ships. I hope you will stay with us. You are booked so far out that things could change again in the future. We can always change back the schedule if we get a lot of criticism about the change. Hang in there with us. Thanks XXXXX

 

XXXXX | Personal Cruise Consultant

[goinggoinggone]

I just called a PCC at Norwegian and was told the new 10 AM docking time was "to improve the efficiency of the scheduled port times".

[Travelling2Some]

Now THAT'S an issue that would bother me. NCL can raise gratuities, take away the lobster tails and toss the specialty dining venues overboard for all I care. But when they start shortening port times it tips things in favor of land vacations for me. We cruise primarily for the ports so time in port carries a lot of weight with me when I choose which cruise to take.

[marathonrunner123]

Is this change effective immediately? I leave in a few weeks and I havent heard anything.

[pizzalady1]

Is this change effective immediately? I leave in a few weeks and I havent heard anything.

 

Check the itinerary under MyNCL and it will have the arrival time.

[goinggoinggone]

I did reply to the PCC's statement for more information and he replied, "I'm sorry I don't have more information for you. I know you want more in depth of an answer, but I can't give you one."

[ndabunka]

Is this change effective immediately? I leave in a few weeks and I havent heard anything.

 

It's appears to have become effective as of July 17th. However, it may be a permanent change. Let us know if you get any more details from NCL than others have been able to find.

Edited July 20, 2015 by ndabunka

[jenmouse]

Our cruise is in a month, and our booked excursion (departure at 8:15 AM) has disappeared. It is not giving me an option to book anything else, so I am assuming that they are trying to make adjustments. It would be nice if they would touch base with us and let us know what is going on, instead of having to hear it this way (and panicking a bit). If it isn't fixed in the morning, I will be on the phone - along with who knows how many other people. :(

[Jx2fields]

Well I am glad I read this thread as we booked our Dec 5th cruise in May and the itineraries then said we docked at 8 am and when we cruised on POA in 2011 we docked at 8 am. So I went online and check our itineraries now and sure enough it now says 10 am. We has been scheduling our day around the 8 am docking so that kind of messes up our day, but if you read the fine print they can change it without notice. :mad:

[FranknBeans]

Well I am glad I read this thread as we booked our Dec 5th cruise in May and the itineraries then said we docked at 8 am and when we cruised on POA in 2011 we docked at 8 am. So I went online and check our itineraries now and sure enough it now says 10 am. We has been scheduling our day around the 8 am docking so that kind of messes up our day, but if you read the fine print they can change it without notice. :mad:

 

 

The chances of it changing back is pretty slim, it's a decision that was made since sir del rio arrived an its nothing more than a cash grad to save on fuel.

[sixesandeights]

I never understood why people take this cruise anyway. The price is far to high for what you get. There are MUCH better ways to see Hawaii. Add to that the new "over promise, under deliver" attitude NCL has taken under FDR and it seems like even more of a ripoff to me....

 

6&8

[fshagan]

Does anyone know if the port charges depend on how long the ship is tied up to the dock?

 

That would make more sense to me than fuel costs on this itinerary.

[dexddd]

Well I am glad I read this thread as we booked our Dec 5th cruise in May and the itineraries then said we docked at 8 am and when we cruised on POA in 2011 we docked at 8 am. So I went online and check our itineraries now and sure enough it now says 10 am. We has been scheduling our day around the 8 am docking so that kind of messes up our day, but if you read the fine print they can change it without notice. :mad:

 

I had posted earlier about it would be awhile before we would get notified of the time changes but many months later we were never notified. For those unlike you who made plans and have no idea of the change in times until they get on the ship could cause problems.