NCL Getaway gaining - wow - an extra hour at sea ... from its revised San Juan, PR port stop later this month.

[mking8288]

Msg posted: Just received an itinerary change - but it was just talking 60 minutes away in San Juan. Instead of leaving at 10:30 PM (Monday, Jan 23, 2023) we will be leaving at 9:30 PM. Was expecting to see Puerto Plata taken away - update posted on our Getaway Roll Call later this month.  

 

Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners,
On behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ... < snipped > committed to driving a positive impact on society and the environment. As part of our global sustainability program, Sail & Sustain, we are continually seeking opportunities to reduce our overall carbon footprint, and recently committed to pursuing net zero greenhouse gas emissions across our operations and value chain by 2050. To support this mission, we have optimized our arrival and departure times. We appreciate your understanding and support on this important sustainability initiative. The revised itinerary is as follows:

 

We sincerely appreciate your understanding and look forward to welcoming you aboard the beautiful Norwegian Getaway for your dream vacation at sea!
As always, we are at your service.
Sincerely,

Katty Byrd
Senior Vice President, Guest Services
 

 

#cough #cough - Huh, Bah, humbug  (OMG, 👴🙄😣 we gained an extra hour at sea ... yay, anyone ??)  Enough time to still walk the waterfront & nearby cobblestone streets, stop in Starbucks, maybe stop at Señor Frog's ... and, oh, CVS is open nightly until 12 AM for essentials if anyone forgotten or need to restock, etc. - along Calle Marina or Route 1.  

 

Our planned stop for Puerto Plata, DR remained unchanged - discussed in another running thread - as is with this announcement.  Fingers crossed - stay tuned.  This might not any other ships/dates, etc. Isn't this going to result in more fuel being used ... maybe, the savings in port charges with a shorter stay, whatever.  

[shof515]

for 1 hour less port time it would be nice to get some kind of prorated refund like a few bucks..

[luv2kroooz]

Just when I thought I had seen it all.....shouldn't they be optimizing their carbon footprint on itineraries that have not yet been marketed to the general public? It is the classic example of booking X and getting something less. With the masses lining up to get off the vessel in San Juan at 4pm and an all aboard time of now 9pm, this is effectively a busted port call. 4-1000 wasn't terribly generous, but 4-9 is a quick walk around Old San Juan. Too bad.

[mking8288]

@shof515 LOL, both you and I know the drills & NCL's modus operandi.  Posting it as FYI for others in case they missed their spam mail.  Gotta be thankful to the writer for not invoking or exclaiming "unforeseen circumstances" with a more straight forward & direct story ... whether I buy that or find it acceptable, that's a different opinion reserved.  

 

Been to San Juan a few times and we kind of know that neighborhood well enough, suffice to say, good enough to hit solid pavement & stretch those sea legs ... first time re-visiting that old town lately.  Besides, cellular devices will be on "home" signals for a few hours to catch up with superior uploads & downloads.  The stop would've been much better if arrive at 8 or 9 am and depart at 1:30 or 2:30 pm, more practical ... not to mention, expecting probably 3,500+ passengers to be onboard, if not above 100% double occupancies, as all the upper tiered cabins are virtually full & sold out - just Insides & Studios remaining.  

 

Can't say I didn't try to positive spin on this for NCL ... an extra hour at sea instead, yee-haw  🤣 😬 🙄   At least, no surprised until we are on the ship & the gangways up, ready to sail to be "informed" then ... 

 

I hope this isn't go to impact @Laszlo & others sailing on the 8th 

 

Happy, safe and healthy New Year 2023 to all - let's go cruising.  Cheers ! 

Edited January 4, 2023 by mking8288

[wally4ever]

Alright... you know... I admire the idea of trying to improve carbon footprints.  I do.  But... I mean... it's a 100k ton cruise ship carrying god only knows how much food and requiring who even could guess how much fuel.  There's only so green the experience is going to be.

[JIMESOPUS]

Photo taken by @cruiseny4life  while aboard the GA this past week might explain the extra speed ( afterburners replacement )

Edited January 4, 2023 by JIMESOPUS

[RD64]

3 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

Just when I thought I had seen it all.....shouldn't they be optimizing their carbon footprint on itineraries that have not yet been marketed to the general public? It is the classic example of booking X and getting something less. With the masses lining up to get off the vessel in San Juan at 4pm and an all aboard time of now 9pm, this is effectively a busted port call. 4-1000 wasn't terribly generous, but 4-9 is a quick walk around Old San Juan. Too bad.

Back in the 1990’s on Carnival the port stop was 4PM -2AM. This allowed for people to enjoy a good local dinner if they so desired, then head over to the casino in Old San Juan. What I remember best is a night club - believe it was called Lazer - passengers, cruise staff, officers, and the line up of cabs headed back to the ship at the very last minute. They truly were the good ole days.

 

Four - Nine makes it barely worthwhile to get off the ship. I am sure there are other reasons involved here instead of the flimsy carbon footprint excuse.

[cruiser123!]

The Getaway has been leaving early for the past month.   The sailing before ours left 1 hour early and ended up getting in late.   Because of this, we left 3 hours early.   The officer I spoke to told me it's because of the wind and weather.  They can't go as fast when the seas aren't smooth.    

 

I think they should just say that outright instead of making people believe it wasn't a known risk of sailing in the winter.

[luv2kroooz]

1 hour ago, RD64 said:

Back in the 1990’s on Carnival the port stop was 4PM -2AM. This allowed for people to enjoy a good local dinner if they so desired, then head over to the casino in Old San Juan.

Yes, I remember that. It was San Juan on the Eastern run and Cozumel til midnight on the Western run. We had some crazy, amazing fun late nights in port and then it was back on board for the deck party at midnight. Those were fun times for sure!!

[Turtles06]

6 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Msg posted: Just received an itinerary change - but it was just talking 60 minutes away in San Juan. Instead of leaving at 10:30 PM (Monday, Jan 23, 2023) we will be leaving at 9:30 PM.

I’m sorry you’re losing that hour from what was already a relatively short port call.   I’ve seen that “carbon footprint” letter posted before, and it strikes me as ridiculous.  
 

 

[dexddd]

Well, at least give credit that 'Sail and Sustain' has replaced 'for your convenience, of course'.

 

We fully support this new initiative and to help have booked our upcoming trip with three suites on another line.