Does this look like an "itinerary change" to you?

[clojacks]

Just got an email from NCL that due to Ireland recently disallowing tendering from October to April, our Ireland cruise for Oct '24 has an "itinerary change". 

 

Original Day Destination Arrive Depart   Thu SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN   4:00 pm   Fri WATERFORD, IRELAND 1:30 pm 9:00 pm   Sat DINGLE, IRELAND 10:00 am 9:00 pm   Sun GALWAY, IRELAND 7:00 am 7:00 pm   Mon KILLYBEGS, IRELAND 7:00 am 7:00 pm   Tue BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND, UNITED KINGDOM 7:00 am 8:00 pm   Wed DUBLIN (DUN LAOGHAIRE), IRELAND 7:00 am 6:00 pm   Thu DUBLIN (DUN LAOGHAIRE), IRELAND 7:00 am 6:00 pm   Fri CORK (COBH), IRELAND 7:00 am 7:00 pm   Sat AT SEA       Sun SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN 5:00 am

Revised Day Destination Arrive Depart   Thu SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN   4:00 pm   Fri PARIS (LE HAVRE), FRANCE 6:00 am 7:00 pm   Sat BRUSSELS/BRUGES (ZEEBRUGGE), BELGIUM 8:00 am 6:00 pm   Sun AMSTERDAM (LJMUIDEN), NETHERLANDS 7:00 am 8:00 pm   Mon AT SEA       Tue OSLO, NORWAY 6:00 am 3:00 pm   Wed COPENHAGEN, DENMARK 9:00 am 5:00 pm   Thu BERLIN (WARNEMUNDE), GERMANY 7:00 am 9:00 pm   Fri HELSINGBORG, SWEDEN 9:00 am 4:00 pm   Sat AT SEA       Sun SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN 8:00 am

 

Looks like a bit more than an itinerary change to me. I'd be more inclined to call it a cancelled cruise, with the exception of the same ship being used..

Edited July 3, 2023 by clojacks

[ggTexasGal]

2 minutes ago, clojacks said:

Just got an email from NCL that due to Ireland recently disallowing tendering from October to April, our Ireland cruise for Oct 24 has an "itinerary change". 

 

Original Day Destination Arrive Depart   Thu SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN   4:00 pm   Fri WATERFORD, IRELAND 1:30 pm 9:00 pm   Sat DINGLE, IRELAND 10:00 am 9:00 pm   Sun GALWAY, IRELAND 7:00 am 7:00 pm   Mon KILLYBEGS, IRELAND 7:00 am 7:00 pm   Tue BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND, UNITED KINGDOM 7:00 am 8:00 pm   Wed DUBLIN (DUN LAOGHAIRE), IRELAND 7:00 am 6:00 pm   Thu DUBLIN (DUN LAOGHAIRE), IRELAND 7:00 am 6:00 pm   Fri CORK (COBH), IRELAND 7:00 am 7:00 pm   Sat AT SEA       Sun SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN 5:00 am

Revised Day Destination Arrive Depart   Thu SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN   4:00 pm   Fri PARIS (LE HAVRE), FRANCE 6:00 am 7:00 pm   Sat BRUSSELS/BRUGES (ZEEBRUGGE), BELGIUM 8:00 am 6:00 pm   Sun AMSTERDAM (LJMUIDEN), NETHERLANDS 7:00 am 8:00 pm   Mon AT SEA       Tue OSLO, NORWAY 6:00 am 3:00 pm   Wed COPENHAGEN, DENMARK 9:00 am 5:00 pm   Thu BERLIN (WARNEMUNDE), GERMANY 7:00 am 9:00 pm   Fri HELSINGBORG, SWEDEN 9:00 am 4:00 pm   Sat AT SEA       Sun SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN 8:00 am

Looks like a bit more than an itinerary change to me. I'd be more inclined to call it a cancelled cruise, with the exception of the same ship being used..

Remarkable... I'd be saying, "I don't know whether to laugh or cry!"

[SeekingKillerWhales!]

That is a lot of change! I hope some of the new ports are attractive to you clojacks. But yes, if I wanted a trip to explore Ireland, this would certainly feel like too much of a switch for me. I hope they allow you to change if this is not what you want. Good luck and please let us know what happens. 

[The Traveling Man]

3 minutes ago, clojacks said:

Just got an email from NCL that due to Ireland recently disallowing tendering from October to April, our Ireland cruise for Oct 24 has an "itinerary change". 

 

Original Day Destination Arrive Depart   Thu SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN   4:00 pm   Fri WATERFORD, IRELAND 1:30 pm 9:00 pm   Sat DINGLE, IRELAND 10:00 am 9:00 pm   Sun GALWAY, IRELAND 7:00 am 7:00 pm   Mon KILLYBEGS, IRELAND 7:00 am 7:00 pm   Tue BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND, UNITED KINGDOM 7:00 am 8:00 pm   Wed DUBLIN (DUN LAOGHAIRE), IRELAND 7:00 am 6:00 pm   Thu DUBLIN (DUN LAOGHAIRE), IRELAND 7:00 am 6:00 pm   Fri CORK (COBH), IRELAND 7:00 am 7:00 pm   Sat AT SEA       Sun SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN 5:00 am

Revised Day Destination Arrive Depart   Thu SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN   4:00 pm   Fri PARIS (LE HAVRE), FRANCE 6:00 am 7:00 pm   Sat BRUSSELS/BRUGES (ZEEBRUGGE), BELGIUM 8:00 am 6:00 pm   Sun AMSTERDAM (LJMUIDEN), NETHERLANDS 7:00 am 8:00 pm   Mon AT SEA       Tue OSLO, NORWAY 6:00 am 3:00 pm   Wed COPENHAGEN, DENMARK 9:00 am 5:00 pm   Thu BERLIN (WARNEMUNDE), GERMANY 7:00 am 9:00 pm   Fri HELSINGBORG, SWEDEN 9:00 am 4:00 pm   Sat AT SEA       Sun SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN 8:00 am

 

Looks like a bit more than an itinerary change to me. I'd be more inclined to call it a cancelled cruise, with the exception of the same ship being used..

Technically NCL could refer to this as an itinerary change, but I agree with you that it represents an entirely different cruise experience.  The new ports are interesting.  I have been to most of them and enjoyed my journey, but if you had your heart set on Ireland I definitely can see how you would be disappointed.  Can you tell us what ship is involved?  I also have a cruise around Great Britain scheduled for this October, but have not received any notice regarding tendering in Ireland.

[JeanKC]

9 minutes ago, clojacks said:

Just got an email from NCL that due to Ireland recently disallowing tendering from October to April, our Ireland cruise for Oct 24 has an "itinerary change". 

 

Original Day Destination Arrive Depart   Thu SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN   4:00 pm   Fri WATERFORD, IRELAND 1:30 pm 9:00 pm   Sat DINGLE, IRELAND 10:00 am 9:00 pm   Sun GALWAY, IRELAND 7:00 am 7:00 pm   Mon KILLYBEGS, IRELAND 7:00 am 7:00 pm   Tue BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND, UNITED KINGDOM 7:00 am 8:00 pm   Wed DUBLIN (DUN LAOGHAIRE), IRELAND 7:00 am 6:00 pm   Thu DUBLIN (DUN LAOGHAIRE), IRELAND 7:00 am 6:00 pm   Fri CORK (COBH), IRELAND 7:00 am 7:00 pm   Sat AT SEA       Sun SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN 5:00 am

Revised Day Destination Arrive Depart   Thu SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN   4:00 pm   Fri PARIS (LE HAVRE), FRANCE 6:00 am 7:00 pm   Sat BRUSSELS/BRUGES (ZEEBRUGGE), BELGIUM 8:00 am 6:00 pm   Sun AMSTERDAM (LJMUIDEN), NETHERLANDS 7:00 am 8:00 pm   Mon AT SEA       Tue OSLO, NORWAY 6:00 am 3:00 pm   Wed COPENHAGEN, DENMARK 9:00 am 5:00 pm   Thu BERLIN (WARNEMUNDE), GERMANY 7:00 am 9:00 pm   Fri HELSINGBORG, SWEDEN 9:00 am 4:00 pm   Sat AT SEA       Sun SOUTHAMPTON (LONDON), GREAT BRITAIN 8:00 am

 

Looks like a bit more than an itinerary change to me. I'd be more inclined to call it a cancelled cruise, with the exception of the same ship being used.

I mean, yeah, that would be a completely different cruise. If Ireland has banned tendering from Oct to April, then NCL should really cancel a cruise which is Ireland only.....Are they hoping nobody has a map and can't read and so don't realize that this Ireland cruise has become a load of random places elsewhere in Europe.......🤣🤣😱

Edited July 3, 2023 by JeanKC

[UKstages]

wowza.

 

i’d like to see more of the email explaining this… “ireland” is no longer allowing tenders? too many questions to know what to make of that.
 

also, if they haven’t already, i imagine NCL will be offering as much as 50% FCC for this itinerary or the choice of a full refund, even though they - technically - don’t have to. was there no offer or special accommodation mentioned in the email?
 

but this would be like flying to hawaii, but when you get there, you discover it’s not hawaii, it’s bali. nothing wrong with bali, but it is not where you were planning to go,

[clojacks]

3 minutes ago, UKstages said:

wowza.

 

i’d like to see more of the email explaining this… “ireland” is no longer allowing tenders? too many questions to know what to make of that.
 

also, if they haven’t already, i imagine NCL will be offering as much as 50% FCC for this itinerary or the choice of a full refund, even though they - technically - don’t have to. was there no offer or special accommodation mentioned in the email?
 

but this would be like flying to hawaii, but when you get there, you discover it’s not hawaii, it’s bali. nothing wrong with bali, but it is not where you were planning to go,

Here you go.....

 

Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners,


Thank you for your loyalty and for making us your vacation of choice.

We have important information regarding Norwegian Star's sailing on October 10, 2024. We ask Travel Partners to share this information with impacted guests.

We pride ourselves on delivering incredible experiences, both aboard our ships and by taking our guests to some of the most sought-out destinations around the world. While we try to maintain original itineraries as much as possible, at times modifications are made to optimize the itinerary or to accommodate certain circumstances. As such, due to recently imposed restrictions in Ireland, which do not allow tendering operations from October through April, we have revised the original itinerary as shown below. The updated itinerary will now include calls to France, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and Sweden, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the culture of Northern Europe.

[CruiseMH]

Well..as there is not a single port left from the original itinerary i would say,yes,this is a change.

A very big one.

In this case you must have the right to cancel it without rebooking onto another cruise.

 

[clojacks]

2 minutes ago, CruiseMH said:

Well..as there is not a single port left from the original itinerary i would say,yes,this is a change.

A very big one.

In this case you must have the right to cancel it without rebooking onto another cruise.

 

There was absolutely zero mention in the email of options if this "itinerary change" wasn't satisfactory...not a word about waiving penalties or compensation.

[UKstages]

there’s nothing inherently wrong with the way the NCL communication is written, except it completely ignores the central issue… which is that it’s an entirely different cruise! there’s no “we understand how disappointing this must be…” there’s no expression of sadness or regret and, most importantly, there’s no “we’re hoping you’ll still join us on this very special cruise and, as our way of saying thanks for sailing with us on this revised itinerary, we are offering you…”

 

remarkable.

 

I’d contact them as quickly as possible and cancel the cruise or negotiate some sort of comp if indeed you want to take this cruise.

 

that bit about fully immersing yourself in the culture of northern europe is precious. fully immerse yourself in northern europe… except for the specific country you wanted to visit most.

Edited July 3, 2023 by UKstages

[JeanKC]

That is crazy. Someone who wants an Irish cruise does not want a northern European cruise.......They want an Irish cruise. I can only imagine if the situation was the other way around and my Northern European cruise turned into an Irish cruise, how livid I'd be...... especially being Irish and already living in Ireland! Hopefully NCL will offer refund option etc as this is not the same trip by any stretch of the imagination. 

7 minutes ago, clojacks said:

Here you go.....

 

Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners,


Thank you for your loyalty and for making us your vacation of choice.

We have important information regarding Norwegian Star's sailing on October 10, 2024. We ask Travel Partners to share this information with impacted guests.

We pride ourselves on delivering incredible experiences, both aboard our ships and by taking our guests to some of the most sought-out destinations around the world. While we try to maintain original itineraries as much as possible, at times modifications are made to optimize the itinerary or to accommodate certain circumstances. As such, due to recently imposed restrictions in Ireland, which do not allow tendering operations from October through April, we have revised the original itinerary as shown below. The updated itinerary will now include calls to France, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and Sweden, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the culture of Northern Europe.

 

[NJGeorge]

Just when you thought NCL'S degradation has bottomed out they still seen to find new ways to screw their customers. 

 

[BirdTravels]

7 minutes ago, NJGeorge said:

Just when you thought NCL'S degradation has bottomed out they still seen to find new ways to screw their customers. 

 

Yeah! They are screwing their customers by abiding by government regulations. Go figure. 
 

Personally, I like the new itinerary. It is “safe” from the perspective that it does not require most passengers to get any visas or any other documentation. And they tried to pick well known ports. 

[bluesea777]

2 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Yeah! They are screwing their customers by abiding by government regulations. Go figure. 
 

Personally, I like the new itinerary. It is “safe” from the perspective that it does not require most passengers to get any visas or any other documentation. And they tried to pick well known ports. 

 
And the new itinerary consists of all non-tendering ports. 
 

 

[clojacks]

21 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Yeah! They are screwing their customers by abiding by government regulations. Go figure. 
 

Personally, I like the new itinerary. It is “safe” from the perspective that it does not require most passengers to get any visas or any other documentation. And they tried to pick well known ports. 

Couldn’t we have picked a “safe” itinerary on our own if that was a concern of ours? It appears like you totally missed the point.

[Asawi]

Wow! Well, if I had booked the original cruise it would have been to see Ireland.

Actually, I HAVE booked a cruise to see at least alittle bit of Ireland in October. The only Ireland tender port on that cruise is Dublin, so I hope we won't have a change similar to this! 

Getting a little nervous though!

[Asawi]

Oh, just notices it's October 2024! I hope that means we¨re good this year! 

[JandC_Cruising]

45 minutes ago, NJGeorge said:

Just when you thought NCL'S degradation has bottomed out they still seen to find new ways to screw their customers. 

 

Ummmm....if you don't believe that Ireland has imposed the restrictions, so be it.  I guess you really have a bug up something about NCL.

But, to dump this on NCL is absurd!  

They have been given new restrictions and have to alter the cruise.  

They "assembled" a new cruise itinerary and notified their customers promptly with over 15 months notice.

This is certainly disappointing to anyone who has booked this cruise, BUT it's for OCTOBER OF 2024!  There is plenty of time to simply cancel if the new cruise destinations are not of interest.

Honestly, What do you expect NCL to do?  Ignore the restrictions , just drop anchor and invade the various Irish ports!  

 

 

 

[MoCruiseFan]

1 hour ago, The Traveling Man said:

Technically NCL could refer to this as an itinerary change, but I agree with you that it represents an entirely different cruise experience.  The new ports are interesting.  I have been to most of them and enjoyed my journey, but if you had your heart set on Ireland I definitely can see how you would be disappointed.  Can you tell us what ship is involved?  I also have a cruise around Great Britain scheduled for this October, but have not received any notice regarding tendering in Ireland.

 

That is because it IS a itinerary change.  Nothing 'technically' about it at all.  Also, per the cruise contract that we all agree to they have every right to make the change and the passengers are due no compensatoin what-so-ever.

[The Traveling Man]

5 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

That is because it IS a itinerary change.  Nothing 'technically' about it at all.  Also, per the cruise contract that we all agree to they have every right to make the change and the passengers are due no compensatoin what-so-ever.

Technically, NCL might be able to continue to survive as a company, continue to find passengers to fill their ships, and continue to remind paying customers that the fine print in the cruise contract gives NCL permission to radically change a cruise of Ireland to a completely different cruise of the Baltic.  Technically, they can get away with that.  Practically speaking, however, I wonder how long they will continue to find suckers, er excuse me - paying passengers, who are willing to put up with such nonsense.  Yes, the terms of the cruise contract make it clear that they don't owe the OP a plug nickel for completely changing the cruise.  I wonder if the folks at NCL feel even the least bit of moral obligation to do the right thing and offer the OP either a full refund or significant financial compensation for this egregious alteration of the itinerary.

[LloydJr]

It sounds like NCL could have done one of two things:

a) cancel all reservations

b) change the itinerary without any change to price/cabin selections/promos/etc. (while allowing US passengers to still just cancel on their own)

 

If it were me, I would prefer "b."  It provides more options.

[LloydJr]

4 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

I wonder if the folks at NCL feel even the least bit of moral obligation to do the right thing and offer the OP either a full refund

Isn't a full refund already an option?

[The Traveling Man]

1 hour ago, bluesea777 said:

 
And the new itinerary consists of all non-tendering ports. 
 

 

And the new itinerary does not include any travel anywhere near any of the ports listed on the original itinerary, which one might logically assume were the reason the OP selected this cruise in the first place.

[The Traveling Man]

42 minutes ago, Asawi said:

Oh, just notices it's October 2024! I hope that means we¨re good this year! 

Whew!  Thanks for noticing.  I missed that on first reading, as well.  Yes, let's hope we're all good for this year.

[sansroof]

2 minutes ago, LloydJr said:

Isn't a full refund already an option?

It should be in the US, but not for other countries including UK.

 

OP, that's really lousy and frankly kind of a bizarre letter considering the massive change.  I would have expected a better explanation and some offer to ameliorate.  As an aside, as someone who was cross shopping many possible itineraries for this fall, the Ireland cruises tended to be more expensive, so there's a question of the relative value of the new itinerary (leaving aside whether passengers are even interested in it).