Is there NO way to change April 2023 Getaway cruise to another NCL ship?

[KKB]

We booked the Getaway in April SPECIFICALLY because of Syd Normans.

Current passengers say there is no Syd Norman's show & it is GONE from the entertainment list on the Getaway on NCL's website.

I used chat today, willing to change to Prima or Breakaway the same time period & they said NOPE, can't be done since we are past 120 days.

Has anyone had any luck doing this?'

We are SO SO disappointed!

[timf2001]

I'm afraid you're out of luck.  Your reservation only guarantees you being on board the ship for a set number of days.  Entertainment, ports of call, or any other feature of the cruise are subject to change and the cruise line doesn't owe you anything if they change.  Once you're within the penalty period you're subject to whatever fees apply if you want to change ships, dates or cancel completely.

[kitkat343]

I’m on the 1/8 sailing which is advertised as a cruise to Barbados and the Dominican Republic.  Ncl ran a ship aground in the dr last March and hasn’t been able to bring back large ships there since (unless the carnival owned competing dock has space and they can rent, but that’s full on our sail date). Ncl cancelled the stop to the dr and replaced it with a sea day.  They are still advertising and selling this exact cruise as going to the dr.  
 

I booked this cruise late because my kids love the kids club, and waited  to book until ncl ended it’s policy of not letting 3 and 4 year olds in the kids club.  And now  people online are saying the kids club is cancelled on all sea days, which means I’m going to have a very unhappy 4 year old on my hands.  I contacted ncl which told me each ship is setting their kids club hours and when they couldn’t guarantee a kids club I tried to cancel and they refused to issue a refund or credit.  According to their contract, they have the right to cancel shows, cancel stops (which they need in case of emergencies like hurricanes and civil unrest) and can close the kids club.  

[KKB]

14 minutes ago, timf2001 said:

I'm afraid you're out of luck.  Your reservation only guarantees you being on board the ship for a set number of days.  Entertainment, ports of call, or any other feature of the cruise are subject to change and the cruise line doesn't owe you anything if they change.  Once you're within the penalty period you're subject to whatever fees apply if you want to change ships, dates or cancel completely.

OK...I thought we could not cancel at all. So we can cancel with a 25% fee...honestly the other trip is cheaper so might be worth it...I do want to sail Prima!

[JGmf]

1 hour ago, KKB said:

Current passengers say there is no Syd Norman's show & it is GONE from the entertainment list on the Getaway on NCL's website.

 

That seems super odd and seemingly crazy, given how the band is a relatively inexpensive act to produce and also due to its popularity.  What would they use the space for?  I hope this is a fluke.

[NYMama]

15 minutes ago, JGmf said:

 

That seems super odd and seemingly crazy, given how the band is a relatively inexpensive act to produce and also due to its popularity.  What would they use the space for?  I hope this is a fluke.

I would hope NCL is actively trying to recruit another band for Syd Norman’s. From what I have read, the contract for the band that was playing in Syd Norman’s ended.

[JGmf]

From what I understand, The Syd Norman's band is sort of like a talented Glee group of singers and musicians who follow the same songs and script NCL-wide, regardless of ship....they do the prom night thing with the same dialogue, the Fleetwood Mac thing, etc.  Kind of interchangeable.  If that contract is ended, that doesn't portend well for other ships either.

[Fischmom]

Syd Norman’s has me disappointed, too. It’s not the only reason we booked the Getaway but it was a deciding factor mixed with some other things.  I can’t believe they wouldn’t extend the contract. That band is so popular that not everyone can get in for every show. 

[AtlantaAlly]

Here is the cancellation fee schedule: 

 

https://www.ncl.com/about/cancellation-fee-schedule

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, KKB said:

We booked the Getaway in April SPECIFICALLY because of Syd Normans.

Current passengers say there is no Syd Norman's show & it is GONE from the entertainment list on the Getaway on NCL's website.

I used chat today, willing to change to Prima or Breakaway the same time period & they said NOPE, can't be done since we are past 120 days.

Has anyone had any luck doing this?'

We are SO SO disappointed!

Cancel

 

Pay the penalty

 

Rebook on another ship

 

File a cancel for any reason insurance claim. If you have NCL insurance, NCL (not the Aon insurance) will give you a 75% or 90% FCC. 

[KKB]

1 minute ago, BirdTravels said:

Cancel

 

Pay the penalty

 

Rebook on another ship

 

File a cancel for any reason insurance claim. If you have NCL insurance, NCL (not the Aon insurance) will give you a 75% or 90% FCC. 

I use my Chase Sapphire Reserve to book for travel insurance--but not cancel for any reason.

I did cancel. The penalty was half of what I thought it would be (forgot taxes, fees & gratuities are refunded w/o penalty).

The Prima cruise is cheaper so it all comes out in the wash!

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, kitkat343 said:

 Ncl ran a ship aground in the dr last March and hasn’t been able to bring back large ships there since (unless the carnival owned competing dock has space and they can rent, but that’s full on our sail date). Ncl cancelled the stop to the dr and replaced it with a sea day.  They are still advertising and selling this exact cruise as going to the dr.  

Not really true. After the Escape incident, we called at Puerto Plata, Taino Bay on the Encore. 
 

I don’t know why port calls are being cancelled. But they are calling in the DR. 
 

The area is politically unstable. A 8 hour  drive from Port a Prince, the heart of Haitian unrest and site of the kidnapping of Americans a year ago, it is not the safest area. Royal resumed calling in Haiti earlier this year - and even though they had heavily armed guards at the gate to their “private resort”, we did not feel overly safe when we were there I March. 

[ShadowRegent]

1 hour ago, kitkat343 said:

 And now  people online are saying the kids club is cancelled on all sea days

Really?  Definitely not my experience on the Escape a few weeks back.  Kids club had a morning, afternoon, and evening session any time we weren't in port.  If we were in port until the afternoon, they had an evening session.  If we were at sea, we had all 3 sessions.  I hope nothing has changed-- I can't imagine why they wouldn't run kids club on a sea day.

[kitkat343]

30 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Not really true. After the Escape incident, we called at Puerto Plata, Taino Bay on the Encore. 
 

I don’t know why port calls are being cancelled. But they are calling in the DR. 
 

The area is politically unstable. A 8 hour  drive from Port a Prince, the heart of Haitian unrest and site of the kidnapping of Americans a year ago, it is not the safest area. Royal resumed calling in Haiti earlier this year - and even though they had heavily armed guards at the gate to their “private resort”, we did not feel overly safe when we were there I March. 

Taino Bay is the alternative port in the DR.  It is owned by Carnival, and if Carnival has 2 ships scheduled there, there isn't any room for NCL to rent.  The problem isn't the cruises (like yours) in which there was space to rent at Taino Bay, its that there are days like the one in which the 1/8 cruise is scheduled in which there are already 2 Carnival owned ships docking there, and NCL knew since March they wouldn't be able to make it to the DR.

[kitkat343]

23 minutes ago, ShadowRegent said:

Really?  Definitely not my experience on the Escape a few weeks back.  Kids club had a morning, afternoon, and evening session any time we weren't in port.  If we were in port until the afternoon, they had an evening session.  If we were at sea, we had all 3 sessions.  I hope nothing has changed-- I can't imagine why they wouldn't run kids club on a sea day.

That's really good to hear.  All NCL could tell me was that each ship is setting its own kids club schedule.  It's possible only a few sailings had  a reduced schedule.  The FAQ page of NCL's website just added a disclaimer that states "Note: Youth program operations may vary by ship and sailing based on local regulations and continued return to service efforts."

 

The kids club staff usually only works in the kids club, and our sailing has 7 port days  in a row, so I don't actually know what the kids club staff would do for 7 days if they weren't working in the kids club.

 

I've posted in the roll call for the previous sailing on my ship, and if I am lucky a family will see that and be able to ask the kids club staff what next week's schedule will be like (this week is still a holiday week so it could be different).

 

My kids went on a cruise last august, and they visited Taino Beach and saw the planes land above their head in St. Martin and swam with dolphins, but the thing they keep asking me is "Mommy can we go back on vacation so we can go back to the kids club?"  They'd probably be happy with a cruise to nowhere with a 24 hour kids club.  But if they don't have one we'd be much better off rescheduling but its hard to know what to do.

[Karaboudjan]

1 hour ago, kitkat343 said:

Taino Bay is the alternative port in the DR.  It is owned by Carnival, and if Carnival has 2 ships scheduled there, there isn't any room for NCL to rent.  The problem isn't the cruises (like yours) in which there was space to rent at Taino Bay, its that there are days like the one in which the 1/8 cruise is scheduled in which there are already 2 Carnival owned ships docking there, and NCL knew since March they wouldn't be able to make it to the DR.

 

Amber Cove is the Carnival-owned terminal, not Taino Bay.

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, kitkat343 said:

My kids went on a cruise last august, and they visited Taino Beach and saw the planes land above their head in St. Martin and swam with dolphins, but the thing they keep asking me is "Mommy can we go back on vacation so we can go back to the kids club?"  They'd probably be happy with a cruise to nowhere with a 24 hour kids club.

Now you've got me curious.  My kids are way too old for kids club and my grandkids are likely years away.  What exactly do kids like about the kids club?

[gatorchinsky]

After reading this thread I went and looked at my Breakaway cruise for November and under Onboard Entertainment Syd’s is no longer there. I remember seeing it there before so I guess NCL is changing this. I hope they come up with a good band because it’s nice being able to go out for a few drinks and listen to live rock type music. When we were on the Getaway in October, the nights the band performed were always packed.

[Vacationlover2]

Oh wow. I hope they get another band together.  I was on the Breakaway in November and this was one of my favorite things.  Going in Getaway in March.  Please have Syd's!!

[J0Y0US]

On 12/31/2022 at 11:12 AM, timf2001 said:

Your reservation only guarantees you being on board the ship for a set number of days.

 

Biggest crock in all of the travel industry IMO

[KKB]

1 hour ago, gatorchinsky said:

After reading this thread I went and looked at my Breakaway cruise for November and under Onboard Entertainment Syd’s is no longer there. I remember seeing it there before so I guess NCL is changing this. I hope they come up with a good band because it’s nice being able to go out for a few drinks and listen to live rock type music. When we were on the Getaway in October, the nights the band performed were always packed.

Holy cow--it WAS still there yesterday!!

It IS still listed on Prima...tho I am not terribly hopeful. SHOOT

 

Yes, we line up 45-60 min early. ALWAYS packed.

Sounds like a contract issue...tho I spoke with several of the band members on our August cruise & they all felt it was a really good gig!

Edited January 1, 2023 by KKB

[kitkat343]

21 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Now you've got me curious.  My kids are way too old for kids club and my grandkids are likely years away.  What exactly do kids like about the kids club?

Honestly, it depends on the child.  Some kids have gotten overwhelmed at the kids club because there are a lot of kids and they have a hard time with caregivers they don't know and refuse to go back, so that's always something to bear in mind, especially if you are taking your grandchildren on vacation when they are  2 or 3.  

 

The staff in the kids club has generally been excellent, and they try their best to keep the kids happy so they will stay in the kids club and the parents get a break (and the cruise line hopes they will spend their free time at specialty dining, getting spa treatments or gambling).  They do nice arts and craft projects, and they have dance contests, and they play sports games.  They hand out small prizes that kids love (mine spent days planning how they could win a lanyard for their room key).  On NCL precovid, they taught the kids simple circus tricks and had a show in one of the ships smaller venues, which the kids and parents really loved.  Not sure if they still do that, but even on the lines where it is just a place for kids to play my children have always loved the kids club.  It makes intergenerational travel a much easier experience.