Itinerary change?

[Cruisin K Man]

I'm not sure about others booked on the NorwegianGetaway departing January 8th, I  did not hear about any changes to this itinerary.  It looks like NCL is missing the boat on communicating with customers. 

This is very disappointing news. Cancelled ports of call along with a lack of shows are pushing people to other cruise lines.

Wake up Norwegian.  People want the trip as advertised not a revised itinerary to help your bottom line.

[DJS]

I find this so disappointing.  People work hard and save their money to be able to afford a cruise/vacation for their family.  The cruise was sold specifically as Dominican Republic in the title.  They continue to sell it that way, and my itinery is still showing it on the app.  No changes have appeared on my app nor was I notified by email. In fact, when I called yesterday they initially said DR had not been removed, then checked and sure enough it is.  I also learned via Facebook this weeks cruise saw the rope course closed, musicians for Syd Norman's Pour were sent home and Syd Norman's has also been removed from the itinery.  Babysitting service is advertised , but not available.  If it was one port cancelled due to emergency or weather that would be one thing.  But cancelling port to save money on a cruise they sold is unacceptable.  Add to this the increase in service fees, while the same week notifying customers the room stewards are being cut on half as is the cleaning service.  Regretting giving them my business now.  Oh ans incidentally, the NCL Escape cruise which ended December 31, 2022 did in fact stop at this port.  

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@Cruisin K Man I am very surprised you were not informed of any itinerary changes prior to embarkation. I find that a bit odd, unless these changes occurred after embarkation. Usually when I book a cruise, I am notified of the itinerary changes via email. Could you expand on what changes were made on your NCL cruise?

@DJS Thanks for expanding further one this! I would say the cruise line should offer some sort of alternative option, or potentially some sort of cruise credit due to this change. At least the portion of the service fees could be refunded. I absolutely agree. What a shame you were unable to visit the DR during that cruise.

[Big Rob]

Porta plata in Dominican Republic is an absolute dump, their dock is as good as it gets, we stopped there last year on a Norwegian cruise and took Norwegian sponsored  trip, we were over loaded on a truck that looked like it was hacked and Frankenstein together from 30 other junks, the tour guide hardly spoke English and it took us over an hour to get to the beach we were supposed to be going  to, mind you half of the trip was off road and nearly threw people off the crappy truck the people there live in paradise and don't take care of their island there was garbage everywhere if you compare it to Bermuda its an absolute garbage dump,  you don't see so much as a cigarette butt on the streets of Bermuda they keep their island pristine I'm not upset at all Norwegian decided to stop going there, I wouldn't risk grounding another multi million dollar ship for that dump, frankly I wish they would stop docking in nassu in the Bahamas also, there's another place I can do without, as soon as you step out of the gate at the port somebody tries to sell you drugs and you feel like your about to get mugged. They should build a dock for their own island, well key its very nice the only problem is they have to tender you over and its usually to windy the last 5 cruises that we should have stopped there we were only able to get over there once.

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@Big RobThat is a bummer you haven't had pleasant experiences in Puerto Plata. I have cruised there once before, and I felt that Puerto Plata has limited excursion offerings. I did, however, enjoy the beach there. I think that could be really beneficial for the line's private island. A private dock would be a great investment. I wonder is Norwegian Cruise Line will build one in the future. Why don't you enjoy Nassau?

[davemya626]

Thats horrendous. A less similar but related thing happened with my mother's  NCL getaway from NY to Bermuda, but i think a few hrs notice since was already there and due to weather and then day of had to dry port stop for the one port it was supposed to go to. Reimbursed at 75 a room (not head, mind you) but still.

[3Sisters]

@davemya626 I'm glad to hear there was a least some sort of reimbursement! It's such a bummer that so many guests are experiencing this issue time and time again.

@Cruisin K Man This is such a shame!

[Harry]

On 1/1/2023 at 5:09 PM, DJS said:

I find this so disappointing.  People work hard and save their money to be able to afford a cruise/vacation for their family.  The cruise was sold specifically as Dominican Republic in the title.  They continue to sell it that way, and my itinery is still showing it on the app.  No changes have appeared on my app nor was I notified by email. In fact, when I called yesterday they initially said DR had not been removed, then checked and sure enough it is.  I also learned via Facebook this weeks cruise saw the rope course closed, musicians for Syd Norman's Pour were sent home and Syd Norman's has also been removed from the itinery.  Babysitting service is advertised , but not available.  If it was one port cancelled due to emergency or weather that would be one thing.  But cancelling port to save money on a cruise they sold is unacceptable.  Add to this the increase in service fees, while the same week notifying customers the room stewards are being cut on half as is the cleaning service.  Regretting giving them my business now.  Oh ans incidentally, the NCL Escape cruise which ended December 31, 2022 did in fact stop at this port.  

FYI... I believe the real reason for cancelation of Puerto Plato was that Escape got grounded. They were working feverishly on the harbour to get it to depth.

[3Sisters]

@HarryI actually heard this exact thing from a Dominican neighbor of mine this weekend! We had his family over for dinner and he shared that the new port in Puerto Plata was not dug deep enough, and the ships were damaging the coral reefs. Hopefully by the time I get there is August this issue is resolved! Apparently Marriott and Ritz Carlton are also building their own separate ports to the area as well. Even Vin Diesel signed a contract to build a large studio over there. The area is booming! 

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@Harry Thanks for adding that information! This very well could be a justifiable reason for the itinerary change. 

[PaulB]

This is disappointing news. No communication is annoying however a missold holiday essentially is even worse. That's happened to myself recently, pay and book a holiday only to be cancelled last minute is draining. 

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@PaulB That's such a bummer you had a similar circumstance happen to you! I guess it truly can happen for any industry. Natural disasters do happen and can be unavoidable. One of the most frustrating cancellation experiences I have had is with a flight. Being stranded in an airport is never fun!