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Feb 4th NCL Star cruise to Antarctica , Argentina round trip via Chile and the Falklands with a 14 day stay photo travelogue

PBM13

By PBM13,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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bluesea777

bluesea777

Posted
Posted

Sorry to see that your time in Antarctica has been cut short by a day .... it's Mother Nature.

 

Very high surf/waves (30+ ft) coming to the region and I think the captain has made the call to zoom out and head to Falklands a day early for the safety of all on board.

 

At least you're in Falklands longer. Enjoy the penguins and the islands. Then you'll be sailing back to BA in calm seas.

 

We had the same misfortune in July 2022 when we were on Star Greenland & Iceland but did Norway & Iceland instead because of some storm and high surf brewing up in the sea between Iceland and Greenland. It broke our (and others') hearts as Greenland was on our bucket list. But we had a good time visiting Norway.

 

Current:

image.png.1c29edf09cb9449547ab04872e022d86.png

 

Tomorrow noon (projected):

image.thumb.png.5db9a829b577f1f6b09fcebd5b476a4a.png

 

Wed noon (projected):

image.thumb.png.f80f51ecbb9f2a2d1e082ee3f2594672.png

 

Thurs noon (projected):

image.png.6368e26b2dfb3a3a7168ec5d728976da.png

 

windy.com and select Waves.

 

Be safe.

 

 

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AceDoc

AceDoc

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

Sorry to see that your time in Antarctica has been cut short by a day .... it's Mother Nature.

 

Very high surf/waves (30+ ft) coming to the region and I think the captain has made the call to zoom out and head to Falklands a day early for the safety of all on board.

 

At least you're in Falklands longer. Enjoy the penguins and the islands. Then you'll be sailing back to BA in calm seas.

 

We had the same misfortune in July 2022 when we were on Star Greenland & Iceland but did Norway & Iceland instead because of some storm and high surf brewing up in the sea between Iceland and Greenland. It broke our (and others') hearts as Greenland was on our bucket list. But we had a good time visiting Norway.

 

Current:

image.png.1c29edf09cb9449547ab04872e022d86.png

 

Tomorrow noon (projected):

image.thumb.png.5db9a829b577f1f6b09fcebd5b476a4a.png

 

Wed noon (projected):

image.thumb.png.f80f51ecbb9f2a2d1e082ee3f2594672.png

 

Thurs noon (projected):

image.png.6368e26b2dfb3a3a7168ec5d728976da.png

 

windy.com and select Waves.

 

Be safe.

 

 

This itinerary change has nothing to do with weather, it is a change made for this and all future "Antarctica" cruises on the Star this season; they will be skipping the mainland. Also, the times were changed on all ports. The changes were told to us as we boarded the ship. The weather has been amazing, and hopefully we will reap the benefit of the extra time in Stanley.  

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Corriegr

Corriegr

Posted
Posted

Looks nothing to do with weather but corporate decision before ship sailed.

 

 

 

We were booked this time next year but think we are giving NCL the swerve as appears they have form for this itinerar. 

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mistertomatoe

mistertomatoe

Posted
Posted

I'm not sure how they can fix the issue given the reason mentioned here:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/norwegian-cruise-lines-drops-antarctica-from-itineraries-leaving-passengers-furious-on-edge-the-ice/5FXO7GCPJ5FMFJC6JKFOG2LJNI/

 

I did a quick search and apparently something changed recently.  When did NCL know about it? Maybe they expanded the areas where ships were supposed to go slow to further protect the whales. I'm not surprised NCL failed customer service 101. I'm sure they will try to get away with not compensating as much as possible. I especially love the "enhance your guest experience." They pulled the same crap on the cruises I've been on recently. More time at sea! More time at a port! Overnight at a port! They conveniently leave out what they took away. 

 

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kylenyc

kylenyc

Posted
Posted

I see that for a different itinerary, NCL says they are changing the itinerary to "optimize for fuel efficiencies" where they took away 30-60 minutes away from time in port and changed ports of call. So, guests on other itineraries are being short changed too although probably not as badly as those on Feb 4 Star.

 

This is consistent with the passengers on Star reporting the reason they were given was that it was a "slow down" order from Miami. I'm guessing the slow down order is to save fuel.

 

If cost of fuel is the reason, then why didn't they just impose the fuel supplement rather than short change Star passengers and create a PR nightmare. This whole situation is distressing. I hope something even worse isn't going on behind the scenes at NCL.

 

----------

Sent by NCL for a different itinerary some days after start of the Star Feb 4 cruise.

 

Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners,

 

We have important information regarding your upcoming sailing on board Norwegian XXXXXXXXXX on XXXXXXXXXX XX, 2024. Travel Partners are asked to share this information with impacted guests.

 

We are committed to providing the best vacations at sea and have been working tirelessly to continue to elevate the quality of our offerings and overall guest experience while driving a positive impact on society and the environment. As we optimize itineraries for fuel efficiencies, we have modified Norwegian XXXXXXXXXX's itinerary as shown below. Please note, the ship will now depart from XXXXXXXXXX,XXXXXXXXXX at XX:XX pm.

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scubacruiserx2 Holiday Sharing Rare

scubacruiserx2

Posted
Posted

 It appears that you may be in the Falkland Islands a day early . Hopefully , they will let you sleep in a bit instead of the 0600 tender time that they gave us in January where we missed breakfast at O ' Sheehan's because they we not open for breakfast early enough . And hopefully they have more tenders in the water or allow you to say later than the 2 pm last tender that  they told us . The reality was it was 1630 before we boarded . We never heard from the Captain once , much different than the early morning and lunch announcements that we hear every day on HAL . Additionally , if there were problems , he let us know on the PA .

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gymden

gymden

Posted
Posted

I am booked on this cruise 2nd January 2025 so fingers crossed everything will be sorted by then. I have never sailed with NCL before and the only reason we have chosen this itinerary is because of the Antarctic and Falkland Islands. 

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