NCL constant itinerary changes?

[AHubs95]

I’m newer to NCL and really love the unique itineraries offered. But I’ve sailed on 4 cruises with NCL recently and there have been constant itinerary updates before the ship sets sail!
 

For example, Viva was set to dock in Key West but replaced with Nassau a few weeks before. I am sailing on NCL Dawn to Africa in a few weeks, and the itinerary was changed to remove Madagascar and add more sea days. Just saw another post about Dawn removing more ports on a repositioning cruise a few months after… My recent cruise on NCL Star had an updated itinerary to cut short a few hours in Edinburgh…

 

Is this common for NCL? I have never had so many itinerary updates and I’ve cruised 40+ times, mostly with RCL. 

[mugtech]

Get ready for more of the same, happens with other cruise lines also.

[AHubs95]

7 minutes ago, mugtech said:

Get ready for more of the same, happens with other cruise lines also.

I’ve cruised extensively and it seems that NCL changes way more than anything I’ve experienced with RCL, Carnival or Celebrity. Seems to happen right after final payment too. 

[v3cruiser]

It does seem like NCL is creating a more noticable trend of port cancellations and itinerary changes. Had 4 port cancellations between 2 most recent cruises. 

 

It's funny this thread came up because I was beginning to chuckle a bit at ncls new south America itineraries to Antarctica wondering if NCL has any intention of going there or just trying to make money off of eager cruisers. The waters between Antarctica and cape horn are not the smoothest yet I've experienced 4 port cancellations because of sea conditions that pale in comparison to the drake passage. 

[kitkat343]

 

The previous threads on this topic are:

 

 

 

You can check the recent cruise critic ship reviews of a ship you are considering  to see if your itinerary/ship tends to be affected by last minute cancellations in the itinerary by NCL.  Travelers with disabilities and families need to research backup ports because sometimes these cancellations turn into sea days but other times there are port substitutions.   You also should carefully check all cancellation policies for private tours prior to booking.

 

7 hours ago, AHubs95 said:

I’m newer to NCL and really love the unique itineraries offered. But I’ve sailed on 4 cruises with NCL recently and there have been constant itinerary updates before the ship sets sail!
 

For example, Viva was set to dock in Key West but replaced with Nassau a few weeks before. I am sailing on NCL Dawn to Africa in a few weeks, and the itinerary was changed to remove Madagascar and add more sea days. Just saw another post about Dawn removing more ports on a repositioning cruise a few months after… My recent cruise on NCL Star had an updated itinerary to cut short a few hours in Edinburgh…

 

Is this common for NCL? I have never had so many itinerary updates and I’ve cruised 40+ times, mostly with RCL. 

 

Cancellations happen on all lines, but on other lines I'm not aware of cancellations happening after final payment unless there are problems with  weather, safety issues in ports or mechanical issues with the ship.  

 

I also like NCL's itineraries.   But when we sailed the Getaway last January, they cancelled one port and the morning of another after final payment to help the environment.  They continued to advertise the original itinerary, and wouldn't let anyone switch, not even people who booked directly with them after the cancellations and weren't notified.     

 

We didn't want to risk sailing with NCL again, and RC's Anthem is having mechanical issues affecting ports so despite the insanity of sailing Cunard with children, we are attempting that next.

 

 

On one of the other threads on this topic, a very wise cruise critic poster said they book NCL after final payment only when its discounted so they won't be too frustrated when there are itinerary changes.

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by kitkat343

[hallux]

I've sailed NCL 4 times since 2019. Not a huge data set, but still informational.  There has been ONE port cancellation and it was during the cruise.  My upcoming cruise has had an alteration to the itinerary - ADDING a port...

[cruiseny4life]

3 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

We didn't want to risk sailing with NCL again, and RC's Anthem is having mechanical issues affecting ports so despite the insanity of sailing Cunard with children, we are attempting that next.

I want to say something snarky, but I'll just say, "good luck." I can't imagine taking kids on Cunard, let alone myself. Well, actually I could...if I can find just the right wardrobe that adheres to their ridiculous (hey, their cruise line, they can do what they want, right) dress code, but is as tacky/tasteless as possible. 

 

Having said that...I really do hope you have a brilliant time! If I remember correctly, your kids are young enough they don't need waterslides, splashpads, etc. Will you be posting your thoughts/review/etc.? If so, I'd love to follow along when it begins. 

 

****

More to the point of this thread - I've had the shocking itinerary change too! Thankfully, the main one occurred long before final payment change. I had a cruise booked on Escape back in March that would take us to Costa Maya, Cozumel, Roatan, and Harvest Caye. We received an email that instead of going to the western Caribbean, we'd now be traveling through the eastern Caribbean. Think Great Stirrup Cay (ok, this would have been awesome), St. Thomas, San Juan, and Puerto Plata. Why? "Due to increased demand..." 

 

As I mentioned, before final payment (the only time we've ever booked before final payment), we canceled that cruise and opted for a really great cruise onboard Joy to the western Caribbean. That cruise did not remain unscathed as "due to port congestion" we had a sea day added, in place of Costa Maya. Guess when we found out about that change? Yup!! Just after final payment. 

 

NCL is a hoot! A hoot, I tell ya! 

 

Whilst onboard we have had Bermuda cancelled on us three times. This is understandable as the weather conditions did seem to be poor. I'm fine with these type of alterations. 

Edited December 27, 2023 by cruiseny4life

[Laszlo]

Stuff happens, we have had whole itineraries change because I storms. Missed Bermuda entirely a few years ago and we headed to Florida and the Bahamas. We made it to Port Canaveral and then missed GSC AND Nassau, Lots of angry people on that one. It was a very slow trip back to NYC. On our last cruise which was 12 days we missed Puerto Plata, no explanation why. Three of our other ports had time changes due to fuel economy or some BS like that

Edited December 27, 2023 by Laszlo

[AHubs95]

15 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Stuff happens, we have had whole itineraries change because I storms. Missed Bermuda entirely a few years ago and we headed to Florida and the Bahamas. We made it to Port Canaveral and then missed GSC AND Nassau, Lots of angry people on that one. It was a very slow trip back to NYC. On our last cruise which was 12 days we missed Puerto Plata, no explanation why. Three of our other ports had time changes due to fuel economy or some BS like that

Of course, storms and emergencies happen. I’m talking about itinerary changes months/weeks in advance, most of which are after final payment. 

[Laszlo]

17 minutes ago, AHubs95 said:

Of course, storms and emergencies happen. I’m talking about itinerary changes months/weeks in advance, most of which are after final payment. 

Yup, that has happened on three of 12 cruises.... and just after final payment Lol

[complawyer]

we missed out on berlin and edinburgh on our last cruise in aug, due to the weather and the inability to dock in either ports.

 

we were on the 1st asian cruise on the star dec 2016 thru jan 2017. it left from hong kong, and ended in signapore.

 

we flew into hong kong 2 days prior to sailing. some of the ports i most wanted to see were taipai, hanoi, and cambodia.  Due to some mechanical problem, the Star couldnt dock in any of those 3.

 

being a Vietnam vet, i really wanted to see hanoi (for obvious reasons).

 

a soon as we boarded, we were advised of the cancelations.  we were offered a total refund if we didnt wish to continue, or a 50% reduction on this cruise, and another 50% reduction on a future cruise.

 

having made plans to stay over in Singapore, and having already paid for the airfare back  to los angeles and our hotel  stay   which was 14 days later, we opted for choice number 2 which i thought was a no brainer.

 

so sometimes miracles do happen and ncl does the right thing

[luv2kroooz]

Norwegian leads the industry in non emergency and non weather itinerary changes.

 

Reasons given for NCL are operational considerations, fleet redeployment, green/sustainable initiatives, none of which are emergency or weather related. 

[BirdTravels]

At least for the Viva, the change in ports was done several months versus a few weeks as asserted by the OP. 
 

And for us, sailing to Nassau was better than sailing from Florida a few miles down the coast to visit Florida.

Edited December 27, 2023 by BirdTravels

[Laszlo]

We had the green / sustainable initiative BS on our last cruise. They change a few dates around to our ports and said it was for fuel savings. When I went on my Garmin App and plotted the cruise it ended up being 160 miles longer and 6 added hours at cruising speed. When I brought this up and the meet and greet they didn't know what to say LOL

[cruiseny4life]

1 minute ago, Laszlo said:

We had the green / sustainable initiative BS on our last cruise. They change a few dates around to our ports and said it was for fuel savings. When I went on my Garmin App and plotted the cruise it ended up being 160 miles longer and 6 added hours at cruising speed. When I brought this up and the meet and greet they didn't know what to say LOL

The decision was also probably not made by the folks at the meet and greet. Some smartiepants at NCL corporate probably did the math wrong. Or, more likely, the entire reason is a giant marketing speak lie that shrouds the real reason for the itinerary changes. 

[dexddd]

This goes way back years when fdr took over.  There was a widespread, across the board reduction in port times.  One of the biggest was stops at Port Canaveral coming in early a.m. to one p.m.  Put a damper going to Orlando or Space Center.

[zqvol]

33 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

The decision was also probably not made by the folks at the meet and greet. Some smartiepants at NCL corporate probably did the math wrong. Or, more likely, the entire reason is a giant marketing speak lie that shrouds the real reason for the itinerary changes. 

You really should find a different cruise line with as many faults as you find with NCL

[yakcruiser]

1 hour ago, luv2kroooz said:

Norwegian leads the industry in non emergency and non weather itinerary changes.

 

Reasons given for NCL are operational considerations, fleet redeployment, green/sustainable initiatives, none of which are emergency or weather related. 

You forgot the most important reason. They make these changes to enhance our cruising experience.

[luv2kroooz]

Just now, yakcruiser said:

You forgot the most important reason. They make these changes to enhance our cruising experience.

....and all done for your and my convenience.

[cruiser2015]

2 hours ago, Laszlo said:

We had the green / sustainable initiative BS on our last cruise. They change a few dates around to our ports and said it was for fuel savings. When I went on my Garmin App and plotted the cruise it ended up being 160 miles longer and 6 added hours at cruising speed. When I brought this up and the meet and greet they didn't know what to say LOL

You dazzled them with science!

And they were overwhelmed - by total ignorance.

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

This goes way back years when fdr took over.  There was a widespread, across the board reduction in port times.  One of the biggest was stops at Port Canaveral coming in early a.m. to one p.m.  Put a damper going to Orlando or Space Center.

Our first cruise was in 2005, 1 pm arrival time.

[shof515]

3 hours ago, dexddd said:

This goes way back years when fdr took over.  There was a widespread, across the board reduction in port times.  One of the biggest was stops at Port Canaveral coming in early a.m. to one p.m.  Put a damper going to Orlando or Space Center.

 

which sailing were these? All of my past Florida/Bahamas cruises from NY always arrived in Port Canaveral at around 1pm and this is standard upon all of other NY based cruise lines like Royal and MSC that have similar arrival time

[CruiseMH]

4 hours ago, Laszlo said:

We had the green / sustainable initiative BS on our last cruise. They change a few dates around to our ports and said it was for fuel savings. When I went on my Garmin App and plotted the cruise it ended up being 160 miles longer and 6 added hours at cruising speed. When I brought this up and the meet and greet they didn't know what to say LOL

 

I really love people like you who really and honestly think that a garmin app help helps them to proove dozens of planning experts in the offices of NCL being wrong.

Sorry, but this is BS.

Cruising speed can be 9 knots an hour and it can be 18 knots an hour.

So even if they are at sea 6 hours longer it can be that they save a lot of fuel because they are simply going slower.

I had a backstage tour on an AIDA cruise ship in the past and the captain explained it.

the max. speed(depending on weather conditions) is 21 knts. Usually they are going at 12-15 knots as cruising speed.

He said if he compares the fuel consumption of going at 12 knots vs going at 15 knots it is a difference of approx. 20 %

if he compares the fuel consumption of going at 15 knots vs going at 18 knots it is a difference of approx. 50 % and if he compares the fuel consumption of going at 18 knots vs going at 20 knots it is a difference of approx. 80 %.

fuel consumption increases exponentially.

 

[Karaboudjan]

4 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

Norwegian leads the industry in non emergency and non weather itinerary changes.

 

Reasons given for NCL are operational considerations, fleet redeployment, green/sustainable initiatives, none of which are emergency or weather related. 

 

Do you have a source for that?  I would be interested in seeing the numbers.

[Laszlo]

33 minutes ago, CruiseMH said:

 

I really love people like you who really and honestly think that a garmin app help helps them to proove dozens of planning experts in the offices of NCL being wrong.

Sorry, but this is BS.

Cruising speed can be 9 knots an hour and it can be 18 knots an hour.

So even if they are at sea 6 hours longer it can be that they save a lot of fuel because they are simply going slower.

I had a backstage tour on an AIDA cruise ship in the past and the captain explained it.

the max. speed(depending on weather conditions) is 21 knts. Usually they are going at 12-15 knots as cruising speed.

He said if he compares the fuel consumption of going at 12 knots vs going at 15 knots it is a difference of approx. 20 %

if he compares the fuel consumption of going at 15 knots vs going at 18 knots it is a difference of approx. 50 % and if he compares the fuel consumption of going at 18 knots vs going at 20 knots it is a difference of approx. 80 %.

fuel consumption increases exponentially.

 

Smarty pants, that added 6 hours was going about 20knots because they went about 80 south to another island (backtracked) This change in itinerary was not done to save fuel. And the Garmin planner is on par with anything the cruise ships use, its a professional system just like the Garmin aircraft planning software

 

And those dozens of NCL planning experts went to the wrong dock in St Lucia, they let it slide and didn't go back to the correct one because the Epic was coming in two hours later. It did screw up the pickup point for everything booked on board. 

Edited December 27, 2023 by Laszlo