bluesea777 Posted October 15, 2023 #26 Share Posted October 15, 2023 @Dr_Moos welcome to Cruise Critic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OctoP Posted October 15, 2023 #27 Share Posted October 15, 2023 (edited) @Dr_Moos I appreciate the information. I do feel bad for NCL’s customer service. Even one email from NCL could have avoided so many calls to them. A little communication really goes a long ways, even if it’s as simple as “We know you’re worried. We don’t have answers yet but we assure you we are working diligently to find the best solution, and will be in contact as soon as things are worked out.” Instead, it’s absolute crickets. Not one single email. I’m seeing so many comments on here about “The outcome is obvious so what are you whining about?” Nothing about it is obvious. We’re at their mercy. Not only that, we’re trying to piece things together from what different told after calling in, and other sleuthing skills. I’d always heard great things about NCL but this is not their finest hour. ETA - our cruise coordinator and the customer service reps have been wonderful. This is no criticism of them. NCL has out the entire weight of customer communication on their shoulders and they’ve been nothing but professional and kind to us. Edited October 15, 2023 by OctoP 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetstreamer Posted October 16, 2023 #28 Share Posted October 16, 2023 17 hours ago, Dr_Moos said: I am on the same Nov. 1, GEM cruise. After the Alexandria incident, I am not sure if my party feels comfortable to go to that part of the world anymore. I contacted NCL customer service and asked to be transferred to NCL STAR doing Lisbon-Lisbon cruise with the same sailing date as Gem. I hold the reservation for that cruise as option. Nice lady told me that she can not do it right now, because I would be a subject to cancellation policy and loose most of the fare money. But on Monday the company will decide on Egypt ports for GEM and offer options. She also mentioned that full refund might be offered. She also extended my reservation option with STAR until Oct. 18. We'll see what happens on Monday... It seems other cruise ships are still calling in Alexandria (e.g. Mein Schiff 2 today). So I would hope NCL don't cancel Egypt at this point. I'd much rather they wait and see and give us every chance of stopping there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBM13 Posted October 16, 2023 #29 Share Posted October 16, 2023 31 minutes ago, Jetstreamer said: It seems other cruise ships are still calling in Alexandria (e.g. Mein Schiff 2 today). So I would hope NCL don't cancel Egypt at this point. I'd much rather they wait and see and give us every chance of stopping there. Just seen that the Rhapsody of the seas has docked in Haifa. It could be a evac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Turtles06 Posted October 16, 2023 #30 Share Posted October 16, 2023 2 hours ago, PBM13 said: Just seen that the Rhapsody of the seas has docked in Haifa. It could be a evac. According to the RCI board, that’s exactly what she’s doing. One poster put up this link: https://il.usembassy.gov/security-alert-10/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailingships Posted October 16, 2023 Author #31 Share Posted October 16, 2023 2 minutes ago, Turtles06 said: According to the RCI board, that’s exactly what she’s doing. One poster put up this link: https://il.usembassy.gov/security-alert-10/ On TV this morning. Americans are waiting at Haifa to be taken to Cypress by sea. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OctoP Posted October 16, 2023 #32 Share Posted October 16, 2023 5 hours ago, Jetstreamer said: It seems other cruise ships are still calling in Alexandria (e.g. Mein Schiff 2 today). So I would hope NCL don't cancel Egypt at this point. I'd much rather they wait and see and give us every chance of stopping there. How do you look this up? I’d love to be able to track this myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailingships Posted October 16, 2023 Author #33 Share Posted October 16, 2023 1 minute ago, OctoP said: How do you look this up? I’d love to be able to track this myself. CruiseHive has a tracker page. Mein Schiff is showing at Alexandria and Rhapsody of the Seas is at Haifa sent by the US govt to take the stranded Americans to Cypress. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyWalkTall Posted October 16, 2023 #34 Share Posted October 16, 2023 I am also traveling on the Gem November 1st. I wish NCL would keep passengers in the loop. If they cancel the ports in Egypt then my party is not interested in going. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailingships Posted October 16, 2023 Author #35 Share Posted October 16, 2023 11 minutes ago, LadyWalkTall said: I am also traveling on the Gem November 1st. I wish NCL would keep passengers in the loop. If they cancel the ports in Egypt then my party is not interested in going. Our cruises are Nov 11th and 22nd. A couple of days ago I was told any moment we could get an Email . Just now I was told November cruises would get an Email in a week or 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesea777 Posted October 16, 2023 #36 Share Posted October 16, 2023 @sailingships please! It's CYPRUS not Cypress! You keep reminding me of the Cypress Gardens in Florida that I visited with my folks at age 6 in the 1960's. They had water-skiing shows! 😁 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailingships Posted October 16, 2023 Author #37 Share Posted October 16, 2023 16 minutes ago, bluesea777 said: @sailingships please! It's CYPRUS not Cypress! You keep reminding me of the Cypress Gardens in Florida that I visited with my folks at age 6 in the 1960's. They had water-skiing shows! 😁 SORRY (In Carol Burnett's voice) 🙂 🙂 🙂 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Moos Posted October 17, 2023 #38 Share Posted October 17, 2023 15 hours ago, sailingships said: Our cruises are Nov 11th and 22nd. A couple of days ago I was told any moment we could get an Email . Just now I was told November cruises would get an Email in a week or 2. Great..., what UK office told me couple of days ago was that they will publish options for November cruises yesterday - Oct 16. It's not only that the cruise becomes almost non interesting without Israel and Egypt , but some people might not feel comfortable traveling to that part of the world, The situation might worsen until Nov. 1. It looks like they will wait until very end, until our flight modifications become impossible or much more expensive. Hope someone will publish something here soon... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyWalkTall Posted October 17, 2023 #39 Share Posted October 17, 2023 It appears that the US and the UK have a substantial military buildup in the Mediterranean. The US has sent TWO aircraft carriers and their striker groups to the area. At this point, I think Norwegian is patiently waiting for people to cancel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OctoP Posted October 17, 2023 #40 Share Posted October 17, 2023 1 minute ago, LadyWalkTall said: It appears that the US and the UK have a substantial military buildup in the Mediterranean. The US has sent TWO aircraft carriers and their striker groups to the area. At this point, I think Norwegian is patiently waiting for people to cancel. People won’t/can’t cancel because they’ll lose all their money. I was so excited this morning when I saw an email from NCL in my inbox. That excitement died when I saw it was just an ad for their credit card. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Moos Posted October 17, 2023 #41 Share Posted October 17, 2023 New warships are arriving. Few days from now there will be a total of at least 10 US warships in the area. If they force us to cruise Greek islands, it will be a cruise between aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and many other interesting things to see... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakcruiser Posted October 17, 2023 #42 Share Posted October 17, 2023 2 hours ago, Dr_Moos said: New warships are arriving. Few days from now there will be a total of at least 10 US warships in the area. If they force us to cruise Greek islands, it will be a cruise between aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and many other interesting things to see... You will be well protected. 1 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CiCi1328 Posted October 18, 2023 #43 Share Posted October 18, 2023 Why hasn't NCL updated their passengers leaving from Istanbul to Israel, Egypt and other countries. I chose original intiernary. I paid to visit those countries. If I'm not going there give me a refund! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBM13 Posted October 18, 2023 #44 Share Posted October 18, 2023 3 hours ago, CiCi1328 said: Why hasn't NCL updated their passengers leaving from Istanbul to Israel, Egypt and other countries. I chose original intiernary. I paid to visit those countries. If I'm not going there give me a refund! Have they said they will not refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Turtles06 Posted October 18, 2023 #45 Share Posted October 18, 2023 4 hours ago, CiCi1328 said: Why hasn't NCL updated their passengers leaving from Istanbul to Israel, Egypt and other countries. I chose original intiernary. I paid to visit those countries. If I'm not going there give me a refund! Do you seriously think NCL is not working on this right now? It’s not a simple matter for a cruise line to change an itinerary with little notice and time, especially when it’s suddenly dealing with a war zone and all of the day to day unpredictability of what is going on in the region. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyWalkTall Posted October 18, 2023 #46 Share Posted October 18, 2023 3 hours ago, Turtles06 said: Do you seriously think NCL is not working on this right now? It’s not a simple matter for a cruise line to change an itinerary with little notice and time, especially when it’s suddenly dealing with a war zone and all of the day to day unpredictability of what is going on in the region. You act like NCL is moderating the peace agreement. NCL isn’t working in a war zone. NCL has already announced that all cruises embarking and debarking from Israel have been canceled or changed and all stops in Israel have been discontinued through the end of 2023. I’ve seen reports that some sailings have been canceled with full refunds. I’ve seen reports that Israelis citizens are eligible for a full refund on any cruise sailing from any port. So excuse us if we think we are entitled to the smallest amount of customer service and just a sliver of information on a cruise that I will leave for in just 12 days. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD64 Posted October 18, 2023 #47 Share Posted October 18, 2023 NCL isn’t working within a war zone, but their ships were scheduled to operate in a war zone - and now they must make logistical decisions based on this constantly developing geopolitical event. A decision made today may have to be changed several times by this evening. Now, please correct me if I am wrong, but to my knowledge the only Israeli cruises that were cancelled (and totally refunded) were those by RCL that sailed roundtrip from Haifa and catered to the local Israeli market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyWalkTall Posted October 18, 2023 #48 Share Posted October 18, 2023 4 minutes ago, RD64 said: NCL isn’t working within a war zone, but their ships were scheduled to operate in a war zone - and now they must make logistical decisions based on this constantly developing geopolitical event. A decision made today may have to be changed several times by this evening. Now, please correct me if I am wrong, but to my knowledge the only Israeli cruises that were cancelled (and totally refunded) were those by RCL that sailed roundtrip from Haifa and catered to the local Israeli market. My understanding from talking with NCL is passengers on the Epic could receive refunds. The information about Israeli citizens getting refunds came from an article on Cruise Hive. https://www.cruisehive.com/norwegian-cruise-line-cancels-all-remaining-israel-calls/113273 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OctoP Posted October 18, 2023 #49 Share Posted October 18, 2023 5 hours ago, PBM13 said: Have they said they will not refund. Yes. When I called customer service and asked if I had the option to cancel or reschedule because I was concerned about traveling in or near a war zone. They said I could, but they would not refund anything. The right thing for them to do would be to allow the option to reschedule for a future date. I’m not even talking about a refund. Just apply the funds to a future sailing. Those that felt comfortable going could still go. Those that didn’t want to take the risk could reschedule. At this point, I don’t expect they will do the right thing and allow us to make this choice. We will never go on a cruise with them again, knowing this is how they treat their customers. They won’t care but it’s the one and only thing we have control over. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OctCruise11 Posted October 18, 2023 #50 Share Posted October 18, 2023 (edited) Protests in Turkey going on Not looking good for Istanbul also. If NCL changes the port of embarkation I am sure they will give option for refund or 100% FCC Edited October 18, 2023 by OctCruise11 typo 100% not 10% 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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