NCL SPIRIT SEPT 1 ICELAND IRELAND & NORWAY LOT OF CONFUSION RE ITINERARY

[lanceholt]

Months ago we booked the Spriit on the Sept 1 Iceland Ireland and Norway cruise which included 2 days and 2 nights in Reykjavik as the highlight.  Come to recently find out our time in Reykjavik has us docking at 6pm on Sunday and then leaving at 6am Tuesday.  So it has 1 day and 2 nights.  They sent an email re a 1 hour delay in docking in Dublin but didn't have the Reykjavik change highlighted so most missed.  I only found out when I tried to book a private tour for early the first morning and was told the dock schedule said 6pm.  On the website 6am docking is still listed along with some excursions which would not fit anymore or would have you on a 4x4 at night. 

 

I just spoke at length to a woman in Passenger Services about the docking time on the 8th in Reyjkavik.  She spoke to three different supervisors, first told me it IS 8am and when I pressed her further re what the port says in Reyjkavik, she talked to MORE supervisors and ended up saying they are docking at 6pm.  The Oct 23 email from them intended to inform us of that fact.  I did say well then you needed to put some words re that change in it and also highlight the change, then change it on the website, and also change the excursions listed for that day as your are heading for some upset passengers.  No one knew why it had a 12 hour change which is huge.  I rarely and I mean RARELY complain about anything on a cruise; my husband worked for Marriott for most of his career so we well know how hard the hospitality business is, but this is an error which needs to be corrected all the way through and immediately.  Any cancellations or changes need to be made by passengers at the 120 day out point and we are at 185 right now.  I did say that they need to then quit selling excursions on the 8th which are 6 hours long or what end up being through the city or countryside in the dark.  Customers do tend to accept changes more when they #1 know about it in detail  #2 know why it has to be made and #3 there is follow-up all the way through so there is no confusion.  Nuff said.  This should NOT be sold as a 2 days in Reykjavik cruise.

 

We will still take this cruise but this is a big disappointment....we would feel much better if they can explain it better and send out a more specific email and have correct info on the website.  Otherwise they are selling something people won't get.  This is our 10th cruise on NCL and the first big screw up like this....we had to miss the Edinburgh port at the last minute on our last cruise due to high wind but that was understandable and explained that day.  We've had some small docking time changes emailed to us on previous cruises but not something as big a change as this.  

[Misty81]

I’ve spoken to the UK customer service

who at first said it’s 8am and would not budge.  After persisting she checked and found the letter you refer to and is going to get it investigated.

 

im also disappointed with it stating day 14 is Dublin when you leave at 1am.  I read it totally wrong and thought we had 2 days in Dublin rather than 1 day and a day at sea.  Seems a little confusing to me.

 

After our cancelled cruise on the Jade in November I’ve come not to trust NCL unless I have it in black and white.  

[lanceholt]

In Dublin it is really a half day, we weren't bothered by that as we had been there twice already, but at least we knew about it going in.

 

[wendyp247]

We booked in December , after some of you received the changed in itinerary letter from NCL. The itinerary showed two full days in Iceland , as it still does on NCL we stem, which is very misleading since 2 days in Iceland was the main reason we booked this cruise.  I have not received a letter with any changes .We already have a non refundable airfare booked so we are committed to this cruise and will make the best of it.

 

 I spoke to my TA today, they called NCL and the supervisor at the "Big Box TA spoke with a NCL supervisor and confirmed arrival is to be at 6pm on 9/8. Our TA was very apologetic and said they are following up to make sure NCL changes their web page. and told me they don't like to sell cruises that  are misleading  and have the wrong itineraries. They were clearly not happy with NCl.  They have not received any written notice from NCL about the itinerary change.  We’re new to NCL and not impressed with such a big discrepancy in the port arrival time . We are seasoned cruisers,  50 + cruises and never had anything like this happen on another cruse line . NCL is not making a good first impression. Hopefully, there won't be any more unforeseen changes on the cruise. 

[lanceholt]

Seems to me that the customer service supervisors (I spoke to one a few days ago) don't have the ability to get this straightened out, but obviously also don't have the ability to kick it up a notch to get it all straight so that they don't get a lot of people angry.  The email received was an email to let us know that arrival time in Dublin would be 1 hour late and explained why.  No mention of arriving in Reykjavik 10 hours late, so most people didn't even catch that  including me. 

[shorefolks]

6 hours ago, wendyp247 said:

We booked in December , after some of you received the changed in itinerary letter from NCL. The itinerary showed two full days in Iceland , as it still does on NCL we stem, which is very misleading since 2 days in Iceland was the main reason we booked this cruise.  I have not received a letter with any changes .We already have a non refundable airfare booked so we are committed to this cruise and will make the best of it.

 

 I spoke to my TA today, they called NCL and the supervisor at the "Big Box TA spoke with a NCL supervisor and confirmed arrival is to be at 6pm on 9/8. Our TA was very apologetic and said they are following up to make sure NCL changes their web page. and told me they don't like to sell cruises that  are misleading  and have the wrong itineraries. They were clearly not happy with NCl.  They have not received any written notice from NCL about the itinerary change.  We’re new to NCL and not impressed with such a big discrepancy in the port arrival time . We are seasoned cruisers,  50 + cruises and never had anything like this happen on another cruse line . NCL is not making a good first impression. Hopefully, there won't be any more unforeseen changes on the cruise. 

 

I've quoted your posting to my TA who today received an answer of 8:00 a.m. from NCL. At this point, I don't believe anybody and will probably cancel before final payment next month. 

[Misty81]

NCL UK left a voicemail yesterday confirming it’s definitely an 8am dock.  I personally don’t trust a thing NCL say so I’ll just book my trips based on the later time. 

[Turtles06]

OP: I’m sorry this has happened. I’d be disturbed about such a big change as well, especially when it’s been so difficult to get clear answers. 

 

This appears to be the port’s own docking schedule, which shows the Spirit arriving at 6pm on Sept. 8:

 

https://www.faxafloahafnir.is/cruiseships/index.php?l=en&w=c

 

Since the NCL web site is showing a different time, have you called the Latitudes Desk at NCL to ask about the discrepancy?  (I have to say, though, that if NCL has directly sent an itinerary change, that’s probably what’s correct.)

 

Good luck!

[wendyp247]

Yes, when I call NCL they tell me docking time is at 8am. Which leads me to believe the agents at NCL  are only providing info that NCL provides to them which appears to be incorrect.Not very reassuring . This will probably be my first and  last NCL cruise.I'll go back to RCCL ,Celebrity, Disney, Carnival or Princess who appears to be more reliable, when it comes to providing information on their Itineraries.After almost 60 cruises we are interested in the itineraries so we can visit new places. We only booked this cruise because we had two full days in Iceland. Now we we  only have one full day in Iceland but we'll make the best of it. I have not received an Itinerary change, only the people who booked prior to December received the change letter. My TA hasn't received any notification of the change either. 

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, wendyp247 said:

We only booked this cruise because we had two full days in Iceland. Now we we  only have one full day in Iceland but we'll make the best of it. 

 

On NCL's part, I agree with you, it's definitely NOT the best way to make a first impression!   I will tell you that in my experience, though, this is not typical of NCL, but I do recognize that this is of no help to you here.

 

I see that you have non-refundable airfare, so you feel committed to this cruise.   Is the cost of changing your flights worth being able to book something you would rather do?

 

If you do stick with this cruise, I will tell you that with two nights and one full day in Reykjavik, you will have time for one of the two classic full-day tours -- the Golden Circle or the South Coast (the latter being longer than the former, and, imho, far more spectacular, though the former is more famous).   I don't want to hijack this thread, so I just wanted to refer you to the Ports of Call/Europe/Northern Europe forum (if you haven't been there already) for research on those tours, recommendations of private tour operators, etc.

 

I hope you enjoy whatever you decide!

[shorefolks]

6 hours ago, wendyp247 said:

Yes, when I call NCL they tell me docking time is at 8am. Which leads me to believe the agents at NCL  are only providing info that NCL provides to them which appears to be incorrect.Not very reassuring . This will probably be my first and  last NCL cruise.I'll go back to RCCL ,Celebrity, Disney, Carnival or Princess who appears to be more reliable, when it comes to providing information on their Itineraries.After almost 60 cruises we are interested in the itineraries so we can visit new places. We only booked this cruise because we had two full days in Iceland. Now we we  only have one full day in Iceland but we'll make the best of it. I have not received an Itinerary change, only the people who booked prior to December received the change letter. My TA hasn't received any notification of the change either. 

After quoting your experience to my TA, she suggested I call NCL myself. (I had held off calling because I was hoping she could get a more reliable answer.) I did call them and was quickly told that arrival time was 8:00 a.m.  I replied with the history of the situation and was then put on hold. After some time, the agent came back and said it was 6:00 p.m. after all. Is that true? Who knows?

 

By the way, our last scheduled cruise on NCL was cancelled after we had purchased the airfare. Somebody please tell me why I should have any confidence in this company.

[wendyp247]

5 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

On NCL's part, I agree with you, it's definitely NOT the best way to make a first impression!   I will tell you that in my experience, though, this is not typical of NCL, but I do recognize that this is of no help to you here.

 

I see that you have non-refundable airfare, so you feel committed to this cruise.   Is the cost of changing your flights worth being able to book something you would rather do?

 

If you do stick with this cruise, I will tell you that with two nights and one full day in Reykjavik, you will have time for one of the two classic full-day tours -- the Golden Circle or the South Coast (the latter being longer than the former, and, imho, far more spectacular, though the former is more famous).   I don't want to hijack this thread, so I just wanted to refer you to the Ports of Call/Europe/Northern Europe forum (if you haven't been there already) for research on those tours, recommendations of private tour operators, etc.

 

I hope you enjoy whatever you decide!

Can you please clarify, which of the two tours did you like better" Golden Circle of South Coast?  I'd love to see the Northern Lights but was told the time of year that we are going no guarantees to see them.  Looking for maybe something to do or see when we arrive at 6pm. 

 

[Turtles06]

31 minutes ago, wendyp247 said:

Can you please clarify, which of the two tours did you like better" Golden Circle of South Coast?  I'd love to see the Northern Lights but was told the time of year that we are going no guarantees to see them.  Looking for maybe something to do or see when we arrive at 6pm. 

 

 

My wife and I had the same reaction -- we both preferred the South Coast tour,  because we found it more spectacular.  Not just the amazing places we visited (including beautiful waterfalls and a black sand beach), but pretty much the entire drive.  (I will say, though, in terms of the Golden Circle, that it was special to be able to walk between the Eurasian and North Atlantic tectonic plates in Pingvellir Nat'l Park.)     It also helped that for the South Coast, we did a private shore excursion with GeoIceland (mini-bus with about 18 people); they were fantastic to deal with, our guide was terrific, and I highly recommend them.  For the Golden Circle, we did a ship's tour (Holland America), so it was a big bus, with an awful guide, and of course that negatively impacted our experience.  (I'm sure we would have enjoyed the Golden Circle more with GeoIceland.)

 

In early September, if conditions are right, you can see the Northern Lights, but the chances apparently are not that great that time of year.   (And of course there are no guarantees at any time of the year, since the sky could be cloudy!)

[danagswims]

I got an email from my travel agent today forwarding a message from NCL confirming the 6pm arrival 😞 is it worth it call customer service and complain? On the NCL website the itinerary still says 8am