St. Thomas times fixed for Escape!!!!

[sixesandeights]

The 8am - 6pm times for St. Thomas have been restored for the Escape trips!!! Talked with NCL and they made a mistake in the time changes. They meant to shift Tortola from 8am-4pm to 7am-3pm and not St.Thomas. This should now be corrected in your MyNCL page. This is fantastic and I for one am very happy they corrected this so fast.

 

6&8

[CamaCama]

Yess!!! Just logged in and saw that!! Thanks for the update..

[Leavethekidswithmom]

I guess that blows the NCL conspiracy theory out of the water. [emoji33]

[punkincc]

I guess that blows the NCL conspiracy theory out of the water. [emoji33]

 

How so?

 

It does not explain all the other port time changes for Nassau, Bermuda, Tortola and Hawaii and Alaska. I may have missed some. Or were those typos also?

Edited July 22, 2015 by punkincc

[rs45thompson]

This is great news. I really didn't want to cut anything out.. Thanks for the heads up.

[david_sobe]

Wow that makes sense

When I read what people were posting here......it seemed impossible to enjoy the day at St John or St Thomas

Glad it was just an error

But c'mon NCL get your act together

[nancynana9950]

I really wish they backpedal on Bermuda! So messed up our plans:(

[nancynana9950]

Just wondering something. If they had not fixed the port times in St Thomas and left at 3:00, would it be possible to stay in St Thomas overnight ( or even St John) and catch the ferry over to Tortola the next day and reboard? I suppose that's what you would have to do if you missed the ship.

[vital1]

Yes. Tortola is literally a 30 min ferry ride from STJ. You'd need your passport bc you'd be entering the British Virgin Islands.

[dolita22]

Whew! Good to know! We really, really like St. Thomas and will be heading there with some friends on the Escape in January - their first visit. The shortened port time did not allow for much, so I'm glad to hear they changed it back!

[aquarianne11]

Thanks for the heads up! Very happy with the 8am-6pm schedule in St. Thomas. :)

[nancynana9950]

Finally heard back from NCL in response to my email about our shortened Bermuda time. So very sorry to inconvenience us but for "many variables involved in changing port times" we will sending letters to all our guests affected by the change. Blah blah blah. Still no reason why?

[HowardK]

Finally heard back from NCL in response to my email about our shortened Bermuda time. So very sorry to inconvenience us but for "many variables involved in changing port times" we will sending letters to all our guests affected by the change. Blah blah blah. Still no reason why?

 

I am convinced it is money- extra 3 hours on the ship + saved fuel costs. It seems they are testing different combinations of items and seeing what they can change without compromising profitability.

[punkincc]

Yes. Tortola is literally a 30 min ferry ride from STJ. You'd need your passport bc you'd be entering the British Virgin Islands.

 

No passport is required for this cruise, only a government issued ID and a birth certificate. So, how are we all getting off in Tortola without passports?:confused:

[mattwright]

No passport is required for this cruise, only a government issued ID and a birth certificate. So, how are we all getting off in Tortola without passports?:confused:

 

If you arrived at Tortola via ferry from one of the US Virgin Islands, you would need a passport for entry into the British Virgin Islands.

 

It's different when arriving via cruise ship. You rarely, if ever, have to show a passport except upon your return to the US.

[punkincc]

If you arrived at Tortola via ferry from one of the US Virgin Islands, you would need a passport for entry into the British Virgin Islands.

 

It's different when arriving via cruise ship. You rarely, if ever, have to show a passport except upon your return to the US.

 

Actually you don't even need to show one when you return to the U.S. closed loop cruise requires no passport.

 

Thanks for the info re travel by ferry from USVI to BVI. Good information to know.

[paulh84]

I'm still going to keep a backup plan in mind in case port times magically adjust again. With all of the mixed messages, who knows what will happen.

 

Does the ship typically sail or go offshore and sit all night? I remember being in STT years ago and looking out from our hotel and seeing number of ships all lit up sitting on the horizon all night.

 

I am convinced it is money- extra 3 hours on the ship + saved fuel costs. It seems they are testing different combinations of items and seeing what they can change without compromising profitability.

 

I agree with you. For a 20-25 mile trip..there is absolutely no logical reason to leave STT at 3pm.

[mking8288]

I'm still going to keep a backup plan in mind in case port times magically adjust again ... For a 20-25 mile trip..there is absolutely no logical reason to leave STT at 3pm.

 

Surely, they can & could - sail out to int'l water so that casinos can open up and run the ship at 1.5 to 2 knots instead of 7 to 10 knots, that is unless they can switch off some of lights & up the HVAC's temperature to lighten up the loads ... solar panels & giant turbines for wind-power might also help. If they simply dropped anchors, the ship might start to drift and move with the currents and that's not good - this way, they can ssure many it's going to be a smooth ride, as long as mother nature cooperate in the weather department.