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

[Norwayfan1]

Curiosity got the better of me, and as I have an interest in the round Ireland cruises I contacted the Harbourmaster of Dun Laoghaire.

 

The reply I got is as follows...

 

I can only speak for Dun Laoghaire, a decision was made not to facilitate cruise ships on tender calls during winter months from next year, due to safety concerns and the likelihood of calls being cancelled due to bad weather, high winds and rough seas experienced in these parts, at that time of year.

 

Normally for the European winter months, cruise ships re-locate to the Mediterranean and Caribbean.

 

Dun Laoghaire has calls into October this year, breaking for winter and recommencing in April next year.

Following on from next year the cruise season in Dun Laoghaire will be April to October.

 

Note the text I placed in bold type... the response did not refer to a change for the whole of Ireland, and so it may be that the decision related to Dun Laoghaire only and other ports potentially would make a different decision. That, I cannot say.

[insidecabin]

2 hours ago, Norwayfan1 said:

Curiosity got the better of me, and as I have an interest in the round Ireland cruises I contacted the Harbourmaster of Dun Laoghaire.

 

The reply I got is as follows...

 

I can only speak for Dun Laoghaire, a decision was made not to facilitate cruise ships on tender calls during winter months from next year, due to safety concerns and the likelihood of calls being cancelled due to bad weather, high winds and rough seas experienced in these parts, at that time of year.

 

Normally for the European winter months, cruise ships re-locate to the Mediterranean and Caribbean.

 

Dun Laoghaire has calls into October this year, breaking for winter and recommencing in April next year.

Following on from next year the cruise season in Dun Laoghaire will be April to October.

 

Note the text I placed in bold type... the response did not refer to a change for the whole of Ireland, and so it may be that the decision related to Dun Laoghaire only and other ports potentially would make a different decision. That, I cannot say.

Interesting they say into Oct 2024, 

Prior to using Dun Laoghaire ships used to dock in Dublin.

 

Biggest ship I know of was Royal Princess and it was very tight.

[pmcx68]

I got an NCL email today with the monthly Latitude sale priced cruises.  I was excited to see a cheap Ireland cruise for the last week of September or the first week of October.  I then remembered the article I read yesterday and thought I would check on here.  Has the upcoming 2023 cruises changed?  I cant tell if this cruise has changed but I don't trust NCL to give the correct information.  If you call in I am sure they will just say the cruise is as posted.  For some reason I think i would get the updated itinerary after I make my payment.  

[MiniJeffrey]

On 7/3/2023 at 7:48 PM, 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..

 

Even though I would highly recommend visiting Bruges as being a beautiful fairytale city, I do get your point. This is not a change, it's a whole new cruise.

[WickedRed]

16 hours ago, pmcx68 said:

I got an NCL email today with the monthly Latitude sale priced cruises.  I was excited to see a cheap Ireland cruise for the last week of September or the first week of October.  I then remembered the article I read yesterday and thought I would check on here.  Has the upcoming 2023 cruises changed?  I cant tell if this cruise has changed but I don't trust NCL to give the correct information.  If you call in I am sure they will just say the cruise is as posted.  For some reason I think i would get the updated itinerary after I make my payment.  

 

IDK if this will help you, but it does sound like the changes are for next year.  I am on a British Isles cruise this October with 2 ports in Ireland: Dun Laoghaire (Dublin) and Cobh (Cork).  So far there have been no changes.  If weather conditions are typically and issue for these locations starting in October, I expect any changes to be last minute.  Honestly, when it comes to cruises that are not Boston to Bermuda then I'm batting about 60/40 with 60% of the cruises I've been on have had a last minute itinerary change. 

[Norwayfan1]

16 hours ago, pmcx68 said:

I got an NCL email today with the monthly Latitude sale priced cruises.  I was excited to see a cheap Ireland cruise for the last week of September or the first week of October.  I then remembered the article I read yesterday and thought I would check on here.  Has the upcoming 2023 cruises changed?  I cant tell if this cruise has changed but I don't trust NCL to give the correct information.  If you call in I am sure they will just say the cruise is as posted.  For some reason I think i would get the updated itinerary after I make my payment.  

See my post, number 78, if you missed it.

 

The Harbourmaster confirmed that calls to Dun Laoghaire were still scheduled into October this year.

 

You could contact the other port authorities on your cruise, to see if they still have those destinations scheduled.

 

I know you shouldn't have to, but best not to rely on NCL!  😬

[insidecabin]

24 minutes ago, WickedRed said:

 

IDK if this will help you, but it does sound like the changes are for next year.  I am on a British Isles cruise this October with 2 ports in Ireland: Dun Laoghaire (Dublin) and Cobh (Cork).  So far there have been no changes.  If weather conditions are typically and issue for these locations starting in October, I expect any changes to be last minute.  Honestly, when it comes to cruises that are not Boston to Bermuda then I'm batting about 60/40 with 60% of the cruises I've been on have had a last minute itinerary change. 

Cobh is a sheltered inlet with berth.

That should be safe unless really bad or they do a lot of changes.

 

Dun Laoghaire is Irish sea, even in calm weather there are escort Ribs for tenders  as the harbour has a lot of activity with small vessels some sail.

 

 

[bluesea777]

The new itinerary for Oct 10-20, 2024 cruise is now up in NCL.com.

 

@clojacks - care to look it up and compare the price to the one you already have. If new price is higher, consider keeping the new itinerary?

 

 

[omahabob]

7 hours ago, insidecabin said:

Cobh is a sheltered inlet with berth.

That should be safe unless really bad or they do a lot of changes....

 

 

Maybe they're worried about winds in the narrow channel getting to that berth. Who knows?

[insidecabin]

Dawn 8 July,

 

Dun Laoghaire cancelled today, 40knt winds and 2.5m seas, unsafe to tender.

 

They knew last night it was unlikely captain been warning for 2 days.

This is the second tender port in a row Stornaway cancelled yesterday.

 

This is on a cruise where the use of tenders at 5 ports was only advised  at Embarkation, the original schedule had 1.

 

[Norwayfan1]

10 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

Dawn 8 July,

 

Dun Laoghaire cancelled today, 40knt winds and 2.5m seas, unsafe to tender.

 

They knew last night it was unlikely captain been warning for 2 days.

This is the second tender port in a row Stornaway cancelled yesterday.

 

This is on a cruise where the use of tenders at 5 ports was only advised  at Embarkation, the original schedule had 1.

 

That's a real shame.

 

We had 5 tenders on our Norwegian Star Ireland cruise a few weeks ago and fortunately the weather was very good and they all went ahead.

 

I did find the allocation of tender tickets shambolic, though. For those without priority status, this involved joining a massive queue stretching all the way through reception, the night before each port, for tickets to be doled out at 9pm when most people would have liked to have been watching a show or dining.

 

I guess that's freestyle cruising for you! 

 

[insidecabin]

54 minutes ago, Norwayfan1 said:

That's a real shame.

 

We had 5 tenders on our Norwegian Star Ireland cruise a few weeks ago and fortunately the weather was very good and they all went ahead.

 

I did find the allocation of tender tickets shambolic, though. For those without priority status, this involved joining a massive queue stretching all the way through reception, the night before each port, for tickets to be doled out at 9pm when most people would have liked to have been watching a show or dining.

 

I guess that's freestyle cruising for you! 

 

Makes the tender process in the morning smooth you just wait for your number.

Those managing the tenders can just call next number if room.

 

The alternative shambles is you get told you line up at 6:45am once all your group is ready to go then wait for your number.

 

Then at 6:30 they call open tenders,  no one knows what's going on, the ticket people won't start tickets till their time.

 

Some turn up to get tickets when not ready so stay in line  some follow the suggestion and just go.

 

No tickets required then at some time with no warning they start tickets again but don't communicate very well.

 

Meanwhile People walking past the queue point asking where to get tickets get told just get on while they are still calling numbers.

 

Those managing the tender lines giving different information to the people handing out tickets on how you can use your tickets.

 

One says only when your ticket number active  then back of the line, other say any number up to current can join the line.

 

Is one way better?

 

 

 

[Norwayfan1]

1 minute ago, insidecabin said:

Makes the tender process in the morning smooth you just wait for your number.

Those managing the tenders can just call next number if room.

 

The alternative shambles is you get told you line up at 6:45am once all your group is ready to go then wait for your number.

 

Then at 6:30 they call open tenders,  no one knows what's going on, the ticket people won't start tickets till their time.

 

Some turn up to get tickets when not ready so stay in line  some follow the suggestion and just go.

 

No tickets required then at some time with no warning they start tickets again but don't communicate very well.

 

Meanwhile People walking past the queue point asking where to get tickets get told just get on while they are still calling numbers.

 

Those managing the tender lines giving different information to the people handing out tickets on how you can use your tickets.

 

One says only when your ticket number active  then back of the line, other say any number up to current can join the line.

 

Is one way better?

 

 

 

Maybe it depends on itinerary, but all I can say is that over many years I have only ever experienced the distribution of tender tickets on the day, and that has generally worked pretty well.

 

I accept there has to be a queue somewhere and at  some time, but I just didn't like having to stand in line so that I then missed half of a production show in the theatre.

 

[insidecabin]

2 minutes ago, Norwayfan1 said:

Maybe it depends on itinerary, but all I can say is that over many years I have only ever experienced the distribution of tender tickets on the day, and that has generally worked pretty well.

 

I accept there has to be a queue somewhere and at  some time, but I just didn't like having to stand in line so that I then missed half of a production show in the theatre.

 

In theory same day should work if people only go to collect when all their group is ready, this could be enforced quite easily.

 

What happens is a group sends someone to get tickets and then just go when ready which can be hours later expecting their low number to get them in line.

 

If people  miss their  slot you should go round again to get new tickets.

[Norwayfan1]

11 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

In theory same day should work if people only go to collect when all their group is ready, this could be enforced quite easily.

 

What happens is a group sends someone to get tickets and then just go when ready which can be hours later expecting their low number to get them in line.

 

If people  miss their  slot you should go round again to get new tickets.

Yes, I'd prefer that.

 

On our cruise, the first port was an afternoon arrival in Dunmore East. Understandably many people were very anxious to get off, so that they could try to get to Waterford, so I can understand there would be a scramble for tickets.  We weren't going to Waterford and were in no real hurry and it was two or three hours before they called our tender group, but we didn't mind.

 

Not surprisingly, for later ports many passengers probably felt they had to queue earlier for their tender tickets, which led to substantial queues forming through Reception even by 8pm for the 9pm distribution. Many ended up with early tender groups than they actually wanted.

 

On one day, we were given tender group 11, only to find that we were being called before 7.30am. In practice, many of those who queued the previous night and were in the tickets line ahead of us, had no wish to get off at 7am and were probably still in bed or having their breakfast!

 

[insidecabin]

1 hour ago, Norwayfan1 said:

Yes, I'd prefer that.

 

On our cruise, the first port was an afternoon arrival in Dunmore East. Understandably many people were very anxious to get off, so that they could try to get to Waterford, so I can understand there would be a scramble for tickets.  We weren't going to Waterford and were in no real hurry and it was two or three hours before they called our tender group, but we didn't mind.

 

Not surprisingly, for later ports many passengers probably felt they had to queue earlier for their tender tickets, which led to substantial queues forming through Reception even by 8pm for the 9pm distribution. Many ended up with early tender groups than they actually wanted.

 

On one day, we were given tender group 11, only to find that we were being called before 7.30am. In practice, many of those who queued the previous night and were in the tickets line ahead of us, had no wish to get off at 7am and were probably still in bed or having their breakfast!

 

That second cruise 21 May on the Star was not as good timings as the 11 May which were all early with long days.

 

The 11 May was in Dun Laoghaire on Sunday when there is limited public transport before 9am.

Dunmore east the message a ship was in got lost so limited transport and taxis.

 

Most tender ports they flew through the numbers early then the shorex kicked in and slowed it down.

[JulsLuvsTravel]

I would be so disappointed . I just find it odd that the whole itinerary change. This is for oct 2023? We did similar cruise,  3 of those ports are not tender ports, they should've opted to keep ireland ports without tender add some Scotland port, which was our itinerary, this may have been more acceptable. Good luck.

[insidecabin]

19 minutes ago, JulsLuvsTravel said:

I would be so disappointed . I just find it odd that the whole itinerary change. This is for oct 2023? We did similar cruise,  3 of those ports are not tender ports, they should've opted to keep ireland ports without tender add some Scotland port, which was our itinerary, this may have been more acceptable. Good luck.

The key ports on the round Ireland are the Atlantic west coast ones.

There are already loads of options for the east coast.

[Norwayfan1]

I read a while ago that the number of cruise ships currently able to dock in Dublin is severely limited because Dublin needs more space for cargo operations... and that there are plans to increase cruise ship capacity again longer term.

 

Assuming that is still the plan being followed, Dun Laoghaire will presumably still be on many itineraries when berths in Dublin remain limited.

 

I agree the big attraction of those NCL cruises is the rare opportunity to visit the west coast of Ireland.

[clojacks]

Interestingly, in searching a major cruise consolidators itineraries for Ireland for October 2024, not a single cruise shows up. A few weeks ago, quite a few of the luxury lines, like Oceania, Regent, etc had itineraries  including Ireland, I believe.

[njkate]

I had once taken an Irish ferry from Roselare I believe across the Irish Sea to Wales in October, very rocky so I can't imagine tendering

Edited July 8, 2023 by njkate

[Cruising Lynne]

A certain "famous" cruise vlogger has jumped on this itinerary change with a thumbnail claiming no refund in bold letters. This made me frustrated because it just isn't true. The cruise is over a year away so it can be cancelled and any money paid so far would be refunded.

 

The thing that I do not think is fair for passengers, is a cruise changing from one to five tender ports. I feel that any passengers who are physically unable to tender should receive some compensation. At least some on board credit to spend while they are stuck on board.

 

Of course Don's video led to a long list of comments bashing NCL. I know they do some strange things sometimes (lack of communication etc.), but I enjoy cruising with them. I have never felt unsafe on their ships and appreciate how clean the ships are. Not to mention the good food, entertainment and excellent crew.

 

[insidecabin]

3 hours ago, Cruising Lynne said:

A certain "famous" cruise vlogger has jumped on this itinerary change with a thumbnail claiming no refund in bold letters. This made me frustrated because it just isn't true. The cruise is over a year away so it can be cancelled and any money paid so far would be refunded.

 

The thing that I do not think is fair for passengers, is a cruise changing from one to five tender ports. I feel that any passengers who are physically unable to tender should receive some compensation. At least some on board credit to spend while they are stuck on board.

 

Of course Don's video led to a long list of comments bashing NCL. I know they do some strange things sometimes (lack of communication etc.), but I enjoy cruising with them. I have never felt unsafe on their ships and appreciate how clean the ships are. Not to mention the good food, entertainment and excellent crew.

 

There are regions with non refundable deposits.

 

Some of those(UK/EU) any notification of a major change should have have included the option to cancel for a full refund or accept the new itinerary giving the customer reasonable time to make their decision.

 

The 1->5 tender cruise has now had 2 tender ports cancelled.

 

Don't think the future cruises have had their itinerary updated either.

[Cruising Lynne]

7 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

There are regions with non refundable deposits.

 

Some of those(UK/EU) any notification of a major change should have have included the option to cancel for a full refund or accept the new itinerary giving the customer reasonable time to make their decision.

 

The 1->5 tender cruise has now had 2 tender ports cancelled.

 

Don't think the future cruises have had their itinerary updated either.

Thanks for the info on the different rules for UK/EU. Under this situation, it is ridiculous that NCL would not give the option for a full refund. It is a completely different cruise. It looks like an interesting itinerary but... Sorry for people who would not get their deposit back upon cancelling. Not so painful if a Cruise Next deposit was used. NCL needs to step up their customer service game. They are going to be losing loyal customers.

[latserrof]

On 7/8/2023 at 1:02 PM, Cruising Lynne said:

NCL needs to step up their customer service game. They are going to be losing loyal customers.

 

 

Does NCL care about its loyal customers, as long as there are other customers to fill the loyals' berths?  New customers are more-easily duped than knowledgeable veterans.

 

BTW, the NLC letter to the OP said "due to recently imposed restrictions in Ireland," 

which does not mean "in all of Ireland;"  it might be just one port, e.g., Dun Laoghaire, and NCL is using that as an excuse to switch to a whole different itinerary, for whatever reason suits NCL. ?

 

 

Edited July 10, 2023 by latserrof