Port Cancelled Less than 50 Days Out

[realnice46]

Just received email this morning about itinerary’s changes for Getaway June 16-27 Greek Cruise. They eliminated Corfu and replaced with Katalon/Olympia Greece. Very disappointed. I also posted on roll call but it’s very dead so I thought I would post here as well. Back to the drawing board. NCL said they would list their tours May 10. Also some changes to port times, that are good thing. Anyone with suggestions of what type of tours for new port?

[The Traveling Man]

10 minutes ago, realnice46 said:

Just received email this morning about itinerary’s changes for Getaway June 16-27 Greek Cruise. They eliminated Corfu and replaced with Katalon/Olympia Greece. Very disappointed. I also posted on roll call but it’s very dead so I thought I would post here as well. Back to the drawing board. NCL said they would list their tours May 10. Also some changes to port times, that are good thing. Anyone with suggestions of what type of tours for new port?

We really enjoyed the your to the original Olympic village and the historical museum associated with it.  We actually have been there twice.  On one of the tours we also visited an Agroturismo farm for lunch.  Great food, wonderful educational experience.

[Scubadoc]

Well, I hope this isn’t a trend. We’re supposed to be in Corfu in September on the Pearl and that’s one of the destinations We are very excited about! Do they say why they are changing it?

[bluesea777]

We'd rather go to Katakolo than Corfu. Been there twice.

 

Katakolo is closer than Corfu from Messina, and in turn Santorini is so much closer from Katakolo than Corfu. Expect better port hours in Katakolo and Santorini.

 

I saw that there's a Hop On Hop Off bus in Katakolo! Goes to Pyrgos and back.

 

 

[bluesea777]

31 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

We really enjoyed the your to the original Olympic village and the historical museum associated with it.  We actually have been there twice.  On one of the tours we also visited an Agroturismo farm for lunch.  Great food, wonderful educational experience.

 

^^^^ this.

 

I did that when we went to Katakolo the first time. The second time we just walked around the town and had lovely lunch in one of the waterfront restaurants.

 

Next time we get to go to Katakolo we'll do the Hop On Hop Off bus.

 

 

[realnice46]

39 minutes ago, Scubadoc said:

Well, I hope this isn’t a trend. We’re supposed to be in Corfu in September on the Pearl and that’s one of the destinations We are very excited about! Do they say why they are changing it?

No real explanation, seems to be a trend with NCL after following the boards on NCL. This is my grandaughter's  graduation trip and she's a little dissapointed. on the positive side some longer port times.

[realnice46]

Thank you all for port suggestions.

[The Traveling Man]

2 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

We really enjoyed the your to the original Olympic village and the historical museum associated with it.  We actually have been there twice.  On one of the tours we also visited an Agroturismo farm for lunch.  Great food, wonderful educational experience.

Sorry for my typo.  Obviously it should have been "tour" not "your."

[Alatraveler1]

Yours is not the only ship to drop Corfu for Katakalon, I think it's the third I know of.

[realnice46]

2 hours ago, Alatraveler1 said:

Yours is not the only ship to drop Corfu for Katakalon, I think it's the third I know of.

 

2 hours ago, Alatraveler1 said:

Yours is not the only ship to drop Corfu for Katakalon, I think it's the third I know of.

That’s interesting I wonder what the problem is.

[realnice46]

Looks like NCL cancelled Corfu on several cruise last year. I begin to think they include it to entice people to sign up but have no intention of actually going there. Several people think it was to cut fuel costs. 

[LoveThatCorgi]

8 hours ago, realnice46 said:

Just received email this morning about itinerary’s changes for Getaway June 16-27 Greek Cruise. They eliminated Corfu and replaced with Katalon/Olympia Greece. Very disappointed. I also posted on roll call but it’s very dead so I thought I would post here as well. Back to the drawing board. NCL said they would list their tours May 10. Also some changes to port times, that are good thing. Anyone with suggestions of what type of tours for new port?

Our Med cruise in 2022 visited both Corfu and Katakolon.  We enjoyed both!  In Katakolon, we wanted to visit Olympia and the archeological site.  We chose The Olympia Project semi-private tour with Niki Olympic Tours.  The included lunch was so good!!!

[realnice46]

1 hour ago, LoveThatCorgi said:

Our Med cruise in 2022 visited both Corfu and Katakolon.  We enjoyed both!  In Katakolon, we wanted to visit Olympia and the archeological site.  We chose The Olympia Project semi-private tour with Niki Olympic Tours.  The included lunch was so good!!!

Thank you  I will check that out.

[Alatraveler1]

13 hours ago, LoveThatCorgi said:

Our Med cruise in 2022 visited both Corfu and Katakolon.  We enjoyed both!  In Katakolon, we wanted to visit Olympia and the archeological site.  We chose The Olympia Project semi-private tour with Niki Olympic Tours.  The included lunch was so good!!!

That is what we are doing on our stop as of now, have read nothing but glowing reports about this tour.  The have also been almost immediate in responding to my questions.

[Jordan61]

23 hours ago, realnice46 said:

Just received email this morning about itinerary’s changes for Getaway June 16-27 Greek Cruise. They eliminated Corfu and replaced with Katalon/Olympia Greece. Very disappointed. I also posted on roll call but it’s very dead so I thought I would post here as well. Back to the drawing board. NCL said they would list their tours May 10. Also some changes to port times, that are good thing. Anyone with suggestions of what type of tours for new port?

 

Not gonna lie, I'm pretty jealous you're getting a replacement port. We're just getting an extra sea day, with our Tortola cancellation.

[realnice46]

7 minutes ago, Jordan61 said:

 

Not gonna lie, I'm pretty jealous you're getting a replacement port. We're just getting an extra sea day, with our Tortola cancellation.

Our 9 day cruise has no sea days pretty intense schedule, we may just use this new port as sea day. 

[PartyPlannerLady]

On 5/1/2024 at 1:39 PM, realnice46 said:

No real explanation, seems to be a trend with NCL after following the boards on NCL

 

That is because we all agree to this when we book a cruise.  I think it is paragrapn 6c in the contract.  When they do not give an explanation, people whine, moan, and b*tch that none was given.  When they do give one the same people whine, moan, and b*tch thatt they do not like the explanation.  In the end it really makes no difference why, the port is still cancelled.

[Twolittleboys]

1 hour ago, PartyPlannerLady said:

 

That is because we all agree to this when we book a cruise.  I think it is paragrapn 6c in the contract.  When they do not give an explanation, people whine, moan, and b*tch that none was given.  When they do give one the same people whine, moan, and b*tch thatt they do not like the explanation.  In the end it really makes no difference why, the port is still cancelled.

 

I don't quite agree. Yes, obviously the port is still cancelled and the cruise contract allows for this. It does make sense that the cruise contract has that paragraph because there are many cases in which ports have to be cancelled - the weather is too bad, port employees are on strike, the country is no longer safe... There is indeed a long list of valid reasons and nothing can be done about it.

However, if a cruise line seems to abuse that rule by cancelling ports late in the process (i.e. after final payment) and the reason given is basically "we will save money if we don't go there so we decided not to" that doesn't seem to be the spirit in which the contract was originally written: We plan this itinerary and will stick to it unless we can't.

This may not make any difference legally but I do think should be talked about (so potential cruisers are aware of the possibility/likelihood) and should factor in people's decision which cruise to book.

 

 

[pghflyer]

NCL has a bad habit of doing this recently for non-weather and non-safety related reasons...well covered in a few long threads.....

 

[PartyPlannerLady]

3 hours ago, Twolittleboys said:

 

I don't quite agree. Yes, obviously the port is still cancelled and the cruise contract allows for this. It does make sense that the cruise contract has that paragraph because there are many cases in which ports have to be cancelled - the weather is too bad, port employees are on strike, the country is no longer safe... There is indeed a long list of valid reasons and nothing can be done about it.

However, if a cruise line seems to abuse that rule by cancelling ports late in the process (i.e. after final payment) and the reason given is basically "we will save money if we don't go there so we decided not to" that doesn't seem to be the spirit in which the contract was originally written: We plan this itinerary and will stick to it unless we can't.

This may not make any difference legally but I do think should be talked about (so potential cruisers are aware of the possibility/likelihood) and should factor in people's decision which cruise to book.

 

I don't see anyone abusing anything at all.  It sucks when it happens, especially if the port being cancelled is one yo are really looking forward to visiting, but 'at any time for any reason with no explanation or compensation' seems to be a rather straught forwrad and easy to comprehand concepr.  I've sailed just two cruise lines (so far) and have had cancelled ports on both.The best thing the cruise line could do when a port is canclled is to just announce the cancellation and not add any explanation, no matter what it is some people will find a reason to gripe and complain.

[Twolittleboys]

8 hours ago, PartyPlannerLady said:

 

I don't see anyone abusing anything at all.  It sucks when it happens, especially if the port being cancelled is one yo are really looking forward to visiting, but 'at any time for any reason with no explanation or compensation' seems to be a rather straught forwrad and easy to comprehand concepr.  I've sailed just two cruise lines (so far) and have had cancelled ports on both.The best thing the cruise line could do when a port is canclled is to just announce the cancellation and not add any explanation, no matter what it is some people will find a reason to gripe and complain.

 

Well, unfortunately I again disagree. First of all I don't think the cruise lines should not give a reason. When you sell a product and something goes wrong with that product you should say why, even if it is not your fault. Even more importantly, people may still grumble but a large percentage will understand not being able to visit a port due to bad weather, engine trouble, safety concerns etc. Complaints would be much louder if there was no explanation at all.

 

Secondly, I am not saying there is abuse. But sometimes it kind of seems like it. No matter the wording, every part of a contract has to act in good faith. If I sell blue dresses and explicitly state ahead of time "Color variations can arise" that makes sense. Dye batches can be different, the internet images will look different on each device, etc. So customers shouldn't complain about the blue being too pale or too greenish or to dark etc. However, if I sell blue dresses even though I know all I have and will provide are red dresses, I don't think that would be okay.

[Purple_Pig]

They just did this for my Epic sailing.  I'm quite happy about it.  Would much rather go to Olympia.

[N-8]

I think it's all about expectations. People need to understand the terms they agree to when deciding to go on a cruise. I only read this board so there could be some confirmation bias going on in this echo chamber but cancelling ports happens and I just hope for our next cruise, our must stop isn't one of them. For me personally, the environmental/guest experience reason rubs me the wrong way but it's not going to stop me from cruising. Like I said earlier though, if there is a place I REALLY want to see, we will fly and spend time there versus selecting a cruise that stops there. Or we pick a cruise that starts or ends at our desired location. 

[AlaskaGoer]

NCL stated they will be posting the excursions on May 8th. Is there a set time or do they roll the dice on when they post it?

[AlaskaGoer]

On 5/1/2024 at 8:48 PM, LoveThatCorgi said:

Our Med cruise in 2022 visited both Corfu and Katakolon.  We enjoyed both!  In Katakolon, we wanted to visit Olympia and the archeological site.  We chose The Olympia Project semi-private tour with Niki Olympic Tours.  The included lunch was so good!!!

 

I was gonna wait till NCL posted the excursion list, but I might look into them instead.

 

Obviously my huge worry has been getting back to the ship on time.