Norwegian Star - last minute change of itinerary

[jvswine]

[pe4all]

We were also on the 8/4-8/11 sailing.  As we boarded we were handed a change of itinerary paper about Bar instead of Kotor for a "technical stop."   We sat on our balcony watching a tender transfer over 50 new crew members (and their luggage) from shore to the ship.  What a wonderful start to their new jobs - getting off a very bouncy tender - lol.  

[jvswine]

the Star also will be missing Kotor today and heading to BAR.  The technical issue is the Star is the last ship to leave(last night 11:30pm-Venice time),  they can make to port in time.....I wish they would just call it as such

[Irish4Now]

Very disappointed! We leave on Oct. 27th and don’t feel confident this issue (late departure) will be resolved before that time. I think we’re one of 5 ships in port that day. We already had a sea day as Mykonos port is not included on this particular sail. So that would make 2 sea days on a 7 day sail. Would not have chosen Star if we could have known this ahead of time. 

[Mckbeth212]

Very interesting, We are on the Oct 20th sailing.  Hopefully this issue will be better in the fall.

[old nutter]

From what happened yesterday it looks as though the port are insisting that the ships have at least 3 tugs to reduce the danger of an accident, rather than only 2.  The round trip for those tugs is at least an hour to get the ships to the lagoon exit, so with 5 ships exiting, the whole process will take upwards of 5 hours to clear them all.

 

The run down to Kotor takes about 20 hours so to get hooked up and sorted by 1430 in Kotor, any ship from Venice needs to leave no later than 1830.  Once that becomes impossible from the port departure plans, there is no rush to leave.  The bulk of the time the ship would have been anchored in Kotor might as spent making the loading a bit less hectic, hence the Star seems to have left just before midnight to head to Bar for it's short technical stop of a couple of evening hours.

 

Solutions are going to clash with geography.  The loading time can't sensibly be changed because passengers are geared up for the port arrivals timings, so late departure could well be the order of the day from now.  The only way I can see that would solve it in the medium and long term would be to possibly switch days in Dubrovnik and Kotor so that the Sunday night run could be reduced to a more manageable time by making Dubrovnik the first stop, or having the last stop in Split instead, if the Dubrovnik to Venice run comes out too long.  Either way changing port bookings might be too difficult at short notice and might even not be possible if too many ships end up where the changes might even be feasible. Not good.  It is ironic that the two recent incidents that crystalised the problem both involved Italian shipping lines.

[nona0541]

I do not understand why people feel they need to be "compensated" for everything.  Read your cruise contract!!!  S--t happens and not everything in life requires compensation.  Always looking for something for nothing.  JMHO  And btw I have been on 20+ cruises.

 

Edited August 19, 2019 by nona0541

[ppcox]

I am sailing 1st September and I’m disappointed that I’m going to miss Kotor as I was looking forward to the sail into the port and the day there. This close to sailing plans are made and independent plans will need cancelling as always its the not knowing that will annoy most people.

I know now so will act accordingly but for the 2000 others not on cruise critic it seems unfair that they will not be informed by NCL before boarding.

This lack of communication from NCL is disappointing and makes me feel that my custom is undervalued. I understand the contract and have missed ports before and after the initially disappointment still had a fab cruise I guess i just like to know ahead of time so glad I’m on this board.

Does anyone know if the return into Venice time is effected ?

[pe4all]

51 minutes ago, ppcox said:

Does anyone know if the return into Venice time is effected ?

We arrived into Venice around 6 am on our sailing.   

[ppcox]

26 minutes ago, pe4all said:

We arrived into Venice around 6 am on our sailing.   

Thanks was worrying about getting  back in late too.

[azdmelani]

We are on the Oct 13 sailing.  Interested to see if this impacts our sailing at all.

[firstimer2009]

I'm on the Sept 22 sailing and feel like this is going to be the case for that cruise too.  That Sunday there are 4 ships on the cruise port schedule leaving around the same time. 

 

I love watching where the Star is on CruiseMapper and one thing I realized today is when they are in port in Venice another ship is always in front of them.  They probably arrive first on Sunday morning which means another boat gets parked in front, which means they can't depart until that ship is gone.

 

Oh well.  Looks like we get to sleep in on Monday and have breakfast on our balcony with mimosas and muffins and not have to get anywhere anytime soon. 

[jvswine]

I don't think the return trip is affected....I'll be watching to see what time they arrive.

 

If you check the web sites of the Port Authority of Venice and Kotor, they have the arrival times logged in or in Kotor, which shops are scheduled to dock several days in advance.

 

I wish NCL could be a little more transparent, I don't blame them-, only would like a little more heads up info

 

 

[ollienbertsmum]

I am on the 15th September sailing and I share the wish to be kept informed.  In today’s Information Age when we can find out “everything” from the price of sausages in a supermarket In Nottingham to the bus timetable in a town in Myanmar, I think that NCL could just let us know what changes they are making.  

 

So I miss Kotor - well that seems a good enough reason to make me want to cruise in this area next year.  Got to “glass half full” this change.  

[Irish4Now]

For many of us, this is a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip so no second chance to see Kotor or Montenegro on another cruise. (Life circumstances and finances won’t allow us another shot at this.) Now that these delays are an established issue which has been publicized, hearing something from NCL sure would be a nice gesture and show they really do value their customers. 

[Terbiker]

On 8/16/2019 at 7:45 AM, oxfordgirl20 said:

I have just had an email about a change of itinerary for the cruise I'm taking on Sunday morning.  The Star departs from Venice and the first POC was meant to be Kotor, Montenegro, which I was really looking forward to seeing.  I had heard the sail in to port is amazing.  Now, less than 48 hours before we depart, there's been a change (apparently it's because of an order issued by the Venice Harbour Master) and we won't be going to Kotor at all - we will be making a "technical stop" at Bar, Montenegro - and won't be able to get off the ship at all.  So the first POC will be Corfu on Tuesday.  Does anyone have experience of claiming any sort of compensation for this kind of change?  Last time I cruised with NCL, they changed the itinerary so we didn't sail into Stockholm but went to Nynashamn instead, but at least they put on free coaches to Stockholm so we still got to go there.  This time we will miss out on a whole country.

 

We’re going 10/6.  Well sad to hear but not anything one can do.  😢

[wxnerdz]

I know we all wish NCL would give us more notice but it is entirely possible that this is controlled by the Venice Harbor Master. If they aren't deciding until a few days before what time ships can go out because of these recent issues, then there's nothing NCL can do about it. Just thinking out loud.

[MDTrip]

We are on the Star on 10/27/2019. I am following this thread to see how many other cruises with this itinerary skip Kotor. 

 

Lynn

[jvswine]

Port schedules are done well in advance of sailing and have to be scheduled/confirmed so necessary support in available(tug boats, dock space etc...…). 

[Glide_Path]

On 8/19/2019 at 10:55 AM, nona0541 said:

I do not understand why people feel they need to be "compensated" for everything.  Read your cruise contract!!!  S--t happens and not everything in life requires compensation.  Always looking for something for nothing.  JMHO  And btw I have been on 20+ cruises.

 

Some times people book a cruise because of the ship, other times they book because of the destination/Ports of call.  A lot of time it's a combination both.  For the European cruises, especially for the non-European cruisers, it's a big deal to fly over then to miss a port or two.

 

You're 100% correct, they are within their contractual right to alter or modify the itinerary.  A lot of times treating your customers right , versus just doing just enough to fulfill your contractual obligation are two very different things.  A good will gesture goes a long way, they did after all, priced the cruise accordingly to the destination and ports of call.   

[jvswine]

Hopefully this is correct....and the Star will be going to Kotor.

 

 

[jvswine]

Kotor's published schedule of arrivals

 

[Turtles06]

On 8/21/2019 at 8:02 PM, Glide_Path said:

You're 100% correct, they are within their contractual right to alter or modify the itinerary.  A lot of times treating your customers right , versus just doing just enough to fulfill your contractual obligation are two very different things.  A good will gesture goes a long way, they did after all, priced the cruise accordingly to the destination and ports of call.   

 

I agree.  There can be a big difference between standing on your contractual rights and generating business goodwill.  I think a lot of cruise lines don't seem to understand how valuable goodwill is; it's costly to generate, and can be destroyed very easily.  And it's really not rocket science.

[barbl123]

We are on the Star 9/1- haven't been notified by NCL about changes but it is what it is!  I you actually read the many pages of info on your documents (I don't) they do say they have the right to change itinerary for any reason.  All in all -it's not the end of the world, we will still have a great time.   (drinks anyone?)😊 

[ppcox]

5 hours ago, barbl123 said:

We are on the Star 9/1- haven't been notified by NCL about changes but it is what it is!  I you actually read the many pages of info on your documents (I don't) they do say they have the right to change itinerary for any reason.  All in all -it's not the end of the world, we will still have a great time.   (drinks anyone?)😊 

See you onboard.  I do think an email explaining is all i really need to be ok with-it. Its not NCL’s fault. Would think it is straightforward to blanket email the effected passengers a week or two ahead. I am sure there would be less disappointment /anger if passengers were told before boarding.