PoA itinerary change

[Joshthedog]

We are on the PoA in July and recently received an email from NCL about an itinerary change. They removed the NaPali coast from 7/22 through 9/30 sailings and extended the time in Kauai. Wonder what the real reason is they cancelled.

 

Fron NCL
“Our company is 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 are excited to share that we have revised Pride of America's sailing from July 22, 2023, through and including September 30, 2023, to now include an extended call in Nawiliwili, Kaua'i.”

[Peachypooh]

Missing the NaPali coast in Hawaii is like missing Glacier Bay in Alaska. Sorry to hear that. You will have to decide if this is acceptable to you.

[mertziek]

51 minutes ago, Peachypooh said:

Missing the NaPali coast in Hawaii is like missing Glacier Bay in Alaska. Sorry to hear that. You will have to decide if this is acceptable to you.

I agree.  Wonder why the change but I’d rebook the cruise for another date if possible if the Napali sail by has been removed.  The Napali coast was one of the highlights of our cruise.

Edited March 8, 2023 by mertziek

[GeezerCouple]

1 minute ago, mertziek said:

I agree.  Wonder why the change but I’d rebook the cruise for another date if possible.  The Napali coast was one of the highlights of our cruise.

This is worrisome...

IF the cruiselines start to drop the scenic sail-by routes, one might almost want to fly.  Well, not quite... There's still the "just unpack/pack once" aspect, which is very relaxing.

 

But a LOT of cruising IS the scenery, those scenic vistas.

 

One doesn't get off the ship at Hubbard Glacier, yet that was one of the highlights ever of our cruising.  (We must have had a very active calving day.  Amazing!)

Even the general Alaska Coast, from Glacier Bay to Seward, with the snow-topped mountains in the view almost the entire time, but no port stops: beautiful!

Some of the New Zealand Fjords!!

And of course, all of the Antarctic "drive-by itineraries".

Etc.

 

I hope this isn't the beginning of the end, but perhaps a change is coming, and especially given the financial problems most cruiselines are having, sitting in port is less expensive than keeping the same systems going *plus* moving all of that weight long distances.

 

GC

 

[LloydJr]

25 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

I hope this isn't the beginning of the end,

It may be more signs of the end for POA.  IIRC, they had chronic staffing issues prior to Covid and they've only gotten worse.  They may be at the point of having to squeeze every last dollar of savings they can find simply to generate positive cash flow from each sailing.

 

Are there SHOREX options to see the Napali coast, perhaps in a smaller boat that can get closer and spend more time?  IIRC, the POA sail-by was too short and not very close to shore.

[jdc987]

It happened to me for Inside passage in Alaska.  Not right. 

I believe at the right price, they can still fill those ships with limited itineraries. Just do not sell me a cruise that is not sailing the published route.  

[Crown Vic]

Was on PoA last October. There was a struggle to maintain good service because of the lack of staff. Only once a day cabin service, some specialty and one main dining room closed etc. Still a very enjoyable cruise which included the Napali Coast sail by.
Gotta save fuel somehow but not sure how much of a difference this change will make. Environmental sensibility, which is a good thing, is among the latest catch phrases.

Cheers!

[Joshthedog]

If this wasn’t the third time we have booked this trip I would seriously consider rebooking. The first two trips were canceled because of Covid. Have thought about a Shorex to see the coast, will see what we can find. I did send an email to our PCC but no response so far and 

I wasn’t really expecting one.

[mscloyd]

They have done the same thing on other itineraries elsewhere.  The March 11 NCL Joy Western Caribbean just cancelled their stop in Roatan and substituted Bimini.  Citing the same message above. And it was just announced a few days before the cruise. Nothing you can do about that. I get that they want to be as eco friendly as possible, but people are not going to be happy if they get the reputation for changing itineraries all the time after final payment!

[LloydJr]

11 minutes ago, mscloyd said:

I get that they want to be as eco friendly as possible, but people are not going to be happy if they get the reputation for changing itineraries all the time after final payment!

Some of us think that despite their published reasons, this has nothing to do with the environment.

[cruiseny4life]

3 minutes ago, LloydJr said:

Some of us think that despite their published reasons, this has nothing to do with the environment.

Of course it has nothing to do with the environment! It's all about saving money. NCL should just say so instead of lying. 

[AdoraBelle]

57 minutes ago, LloydJr said:

IIRC, they had chronic staffing issues prior to Covid and they've only gotten worse

There was a long thread on another social media site about a week ago, allegedly posted by someone who had been hired & trained for POA, but then told at the very last minute that they were no longer needed, and essentially let go right before they were supposed to fly out to meet the ship. This (again, allegedly) happened very recently, and to a whole group of trainees at once. 

It was specific to POA. I don't know what staffing roles were affected. 

[SimplyAlbert]

We're on a November sailing and got the same notice.   We're just going to do a shore excursion to see it.

[LloydJr]

I just checked NCL.com.  The graphic itineraries on all future POA bookings now appear to have removed the Napali coastline segment.  Awful move.  Ironically, just a week ago we found out about the 16 day Spirit HI - AK - Vancouver options and decided to reschedule our 2024 POA booking to the Spirit itinerary.  The one thing we didn't like?  That the Spirit sailing didn't do the Napali coastline.  I guess that became a non-issue quickly....🥱

[Crazy planning mom]

So glad I did this cruise before.  It's one thing to drop Roatan.  It's another to drop the Napali coast or the inside passage.  I hope this doesn't become an industry wide trend.

[GeezerCouple]

34 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said:

So glad I did this cruise before.  It's one thing to drop Roatan.  It's another to drop the Napali coast or the inside passage.  I hope this doesn't become an industry wide trend.

 

I'm guessing it *will* become much more widespread.

 

Think about it:  They get to save money *and* cloak it all in "environmental" and "climate change" terminology.

Win/win!  

 

GC

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, AdoraBelle said:

There was a long thread on another social media site about a week ago, allegedly posted by someone who had been hired & trained for POA, but then told at the very last minute that they were no longer needed, and essentially let go right before they were supposed to fly out to meet the ship. This (again, allegedly) happened very recently, and to a whole group of trainees at once. 

It was specific to POA. I don't know what staffing roles were affected. 

This has always been a problem with US crew on the NCL Hawaii ships.  They need to accomplish training, and the training requires minimum class sizes (it is third party, not NCL training), and documentation, and so potential crew have to commit to training and documentation without any guarantee that a position will be available to them when they get their training and documentation completed, and NCL, after paying for the training, is not going to pay wages for the crew to sit at home, so the crew are "let go" (to use a term that non-maritime hotel crew would think about) until someone on the ship goes on vacation.  There is not a huge pool of potential crew standing by, without pay, waiting to take a job when it becomes available, unlike the international crew.

[Ellis1138]

If this was actually about the environment, there wouldn't be cruises at all.

[dexddd]

When you constantly see people ask which side of ship to see Napali Coast and then to drop it stinks.

[Peachypooh]

We took a land based vacation and took a small boat to see the NaPali coast. It was great but I think seeing it from the deck of a cruise ship would have been a better perspective

 

[MagnoliaBlossom]

We have done this cruise twice and the Napoli Coast was one of the highlights.  So very wrong headed to do this.

[Laszlo]

18 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

I'm guessing it *will* become much more widespread.

 

Think about it:  They get to save money *and* cloak it all in "environmental" and "climate change" terminology.

Win/win!  

 

GC

The environmental excuse is getting really old. We heard them all on our 12 day Getaway cruise. They changed port times (for the worse), missed a port and then had three sea days home. The meet and greet got a little testy at times with the one officer trying to explain things and he ended up just talking in circles about it ended with I don't agree with it but its what corporate needs to do. 

[ULCajunCruiser]

Changes our plans.   Will now have to hunt for an excursion to see the Napali Coast and cancel the plans we had made for that day!!  Very disappointed!!   Once again it seems as though NCL is selling something they have no plans on delivering!!

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

Changes our plans.   Will now have to hunt for an excursion to see the Napali Coast and cancel the plans we had made for that day!!  Very disappointed!!   Once again it seems as though NCL is selling something they have no plans on delivering!!

 

It's seeming to come to this.

 

Yes, their terms and conditions state that they can make changes, etc.

That is VERY different than "changing" the product to be something other than what is advertised when purchased.  Okay, allow some time for adjustments.  This is way past that...

 

GC

[Ellis1138]

I wondered how long it would take for the email to come to us. Our sailing is February 24, 2024:

 

"Dear Valued Guests,

On behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), we thank you for your loyalty and for making us your vacation of choice.

We have important information regarding your upcoming sailing. We ask Travel Partners to share this information with impacted guests.

We are committed to providing the best vacations at sea and exceptional guest experiences while 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. As such, we have altered Pride of America's seven-day Hawaii Inter-Island itinerary from January 6, 2024, through and including December 28, 2024 by extending the scheduled overnight call to Nawiliwili, Kauai, allowing you more time to enjoy this tropical paradise.."

 

At least this gives me a while to find what Na'Pali excursion we want.