How many days out does NCL typically cancel a cruise?

[v3cruiser]

So im a little over 180 days out and was wondering if anyone knows, on average when NCL cancels cruises? I was going to look at alternatives just in case. 

[n4w]

?...typically, they don't cancel.

[KeithJenner]

Over the years I've had quite a few cruises cancelled for various reasons. Things obviously went a bit haywire due to covid, but other than that the only one I've had cancelled with in year was the Prima cruise that should have started tomorrow (cancelled in April).

 

If there are technical issues then they may cancel closer to sailing than that, and there have been a few of them lately with things like the damage to the Escape and issues with sailing to Japan and the Baltic. Those things are actually quite unusual though.

[Travelling2Some]

I don't think there is any pattern to this because cruises can be cancelled for many different reasons like a charter, political unrest, inadequate staff or supply chain issues.  If you have reason to think your cruise looks iffy then you could always put down a refundable deposit on a different one as a backup plan.

[farjar]

5 hours ago, v3cruiser said:

So im a little over 180 days out and was wondering if anyone knows, on average when NCL cancels cruises? I was going to look at alternatives just in case. 

NCL cancelled the entire Jan. 19, 2022 Getaway cruise on Jan. 11, 2022 just 8 days before we were to sail.  There were other cruises besides ours cancelled due to high Covid rates among the crew.   Currently there is another CC thread discussing how NCL is cancelling individual travelers on the POA in Hawaii due to under staffing.  It's hard to say what things will be like in 180 days.

[Sand and Seas]

5 minutes ago, farjar said:

NCL cancelled the entire Jan. 19, 2022 Getaway cruise on Jan. 11, 2022 just 8 days before we were to sail.  There were other cruises besides ours cancelled due to high Covid rates among the crew.   Currently there is another CC thread discussing how NCL is cancelling individual travelers on the POA in Hawaii due to under staffing.  It's hard to say what things will be like in 180 days.

Yes,  we had flown to Miami on Jan 4th and hours after we arrived we received cancellation notice of our Jan 5th cruise.     Yes, less than 17 hours before we were to board.  We had insurance, but it only covered the one extra night hotel plus the $$ cost to change our flight home.   After all, we did get to 'enjoy' the cross country each way😒

 

We spent several hundred dollars each for a two night stay in a Miami airport hotel (one night covered by insurance).  Best part was the good Cuban food we had before flying home.

[The Shrike]

Our cruise on the Escape back in January was cancelled just under three weeks before sailing, IIRC.  It was because of spiking Covid rates.

[pbenjamin]

21 minutes ago, The Shrike said:

Our cruise on the Escape back in January was cancelled just under three weeks before sailing, IIRC.  It was because of spiking Covid rates.

 

We were on that one too.  

[MotownVoice]

Beware the first cruise out of Drydock.  

[cruiseny4life]

Y'all! You're making me nervous...I cruise in under 3 weeks and keep dreading the you're cancelled cruise! I know the likelihood is small, but it's still in my head. Eeeeeek! 

 

Can't wait until I cross the gangway and have an iced tea. When we cancelled, then rebooked the other cruise we declined free at sea beverages, so no Free at Sea Plus for us...or Free at Sea drinks. 

Still - I'm hoping my cruise stays on the list! 

[Lineaway]

Had 4 cruises cancelled since March 2020.  2 were less than 2 weeks out.  Both were NCL.  One was last January and one was at the start of Covid.  Of the other two they were cancelled months out so we weren't scrambling last minute to get refunds (we are out over 350 bucks for cancelled flights).  One was NCL and one was Princess.  

Point being they can cancel any time and you just have to deal with it.  You can get insurance or hope your credit card covers you.    

[scooter6139]

Tony from LaLidoLoca pointed out yesterday that Mexico is having more "problems" and that some cruise lines are dropping the Ensenada port call from their itineraries.  Haven't seen NCL do that yet.

[KarimaJ]

19 hours ago, farjar said:

NCL cancelled the entire Jan. 19, 2022 Getaway cruise on Jan. 11, 2022 just 8 days before we were to sail.  There were other cruises besides ours cancelled due to high Covid rates among the crew.   Currently there is another CC thread discussing how NCL is cancelling individual travelers on the POA in Hawaii due to under staffing.  It's hard to say what things will be like in 180 days.

We had similar happen to us for our January Bahamas cruise, only about 1.5 weeks ahead.

[Treacherous Cretins]

On 8/16/2022 at 12:07 PM, v3cruiser said:

So im a little over 180 days out and was wondering if anyone knows, on average when NCL cancels cruises? I was going to look at alternatives just in case. 

 

There is no 'typical' or 'average' time frame for cancellations.  It can be anywhere  from year or more to a week or less.  While cancellations do happen, it is not what I would call frequent by any means.  We are never concerned about it and so far we have never had to deal with it other than COVID and all of us are sapphire latitude members.

[BirdTravels]

On 8/16/2022 at 11:07 AM, v3cruiser said:

So im a little over 180 days out and was wondering if anyone knows, on average when NCL cancels cruises? I was going to look at alternatives just in case. 

NCL never cancels cruises. So stop worrying. 
 

That being said, if there are cancellations, they are months in advance. Delays in dry dock. NCL deciding to do more non-revenue public relations cruises around the launch of a new ship. Chartering a ship to become the Bud Lite hotel for the Super Bowl. (We have had cancellations for all of these reason). 
 

And there have been acts of god which have resulted cancellations. Like ships running aground due to incompetence. The very rare weather related cancellation (hurricane parked near Miami for multiple days). Engine failure. 

[www3traveler]

A number of cruises on the Viva for next Summer have already been canceled-- supply problems.

[roboref]

NCL cancelled the NCL Escape cruises after the grounding, on Tuesday evening before sailing on Saturday, that was for several cruises. I even spoke with them on Monday and was assured the cruise would sail on Saturday, I saw other cruisers post on Tuesday night they had received cancellation notices, my travel agent called on Wednesday at Noon. Absolutely appalling!

[gabbygal99]

On 8/16/2022 at 12:07 PM, v3cruiser said:

So im a little over 180 days out and was wondering if anyone knows, on average when NCL cancels cruises? I was going to look at alternatives just in case. 

In early May 2022 they cancelled our April 2023 Getaway cruise because they are redeploying they Getaway to another location for the season due to some cancelled Baltic sailings (my sailing was NOT a Baltic sailing).

[bowen_mark]

We were on the Getaway in January 2022. We got the cancellation voicemail the day before embarkation at about 4PM, so 24 hours before leaving port. That was when they were having a lot of Covid issues, but that's what we got, under 24 hours notice.