Major itinerary change

[Stan Biffard]

Princess has made a major itinerary change on its Jan 20,2025 116 day world cruise. I found out just after I booked it. It will no longer go north then through the Suez Canal and instead go to Cape Town and go up the other side of Africa.

[Woody14]

I could not imagine any cruise company wanting to take people through the Suez at the moment with all going on there.

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@Stan Biffard Thanks for sharing that change. Will these changes impact your decision to continue on with this itinerary? Have you cruised to any of these destinations before? I would still think this is an incredible cruise despite this change! Princess Cruises is a great cruise line choice fur such an epic itinerary. 

@Woody14 You make a good point. That could be a major (and possibly only) factor impacting this itinerary change. 

[3Sisters]

@Stan Biffard Will you be on that 116-day cruise? Even though the itinerary has changed slightly, I still feel you will be able to immensely enjoy this cruise. Yes, it's a bummer changes have already been made for your January 20, 2025 itinerary, but at least Princess Cruises was honorable enough to notify guests ahead of time. Unfortunately, I'm noticing that cruise lines have been holding off until the last second to notify guests about itinerary changes. Personally, I prefer to learn about the changes rather than later. It's more courteous nonetheless. 

@Woody14 That's true. Hopefully that area regulates sooner than later.

[Emrys]

On 4/24/2024 at 2:52 PM, Stan Biffard said:

Princess has made a major itinerary change on its Jan 20,2025 116 day world cruise. I found out just after I booked it. It will no longer go north then through the Suez Canal and instead go to Cape Town and go up the other side of Africa.

@Stan Biffard I'm guessing it's this one? Princess Cruises Changes World Cruise Itineraries (cruisehive.com)

[Seaawgs]

We just canceled our Holland America world cruise over a similar itinerary change. While I certainly don't blame them given world conditions,  removing  bucket list destinations needs compensation. With cruise companies having their bread buttered on all sides these days, they've returned to and surpassed their punishing rules. Proceed with caution before making any future payments. After that, they can make any changes and you just have to accept it. Read carefully!

[3Sisters]

@Seaawgs I think a bit of compensation would be appropriate. Did HAL not offer an incentives? The cost of a world cruise is really steep, so you have to get what you want out of it. If you are skipped desired destinations without fair reciprocation, it may be better to try something else. Do you plan to skip that HAL world cruise and possibly try again the following year? A few different cruise lines offer world cruises. What made you choose HAL over the other cruise lines? I have looked into a couple of world cruises, but it seems the itineraries are pretty subject to change, particularly due to weather/political affairs. 

Was this the itinerary?

https://www.cruisehive.com/holland-america-line-changes-itinerary-for-upcoming-grand-voyage/127666

Edited May 9 by 3Sisters

[Seaawgs]

@3Sisters the itinerary on this one was excellent, taking a southern route once exiting the Canal. Similarly, a more southern route from Australia to Africa. Most World cruises wander the Orient for far too long and skip The Seychelles, Mauritius and South Africa. No compensation or consideration was offered. It's likely this ship will be an extra with scheduling being complete for other ships .

[3Sisters]

@Seaawgs That does sound like an excellent itinerary! I think that is an unforgettable cruise experience that most cruise lines don't offer. Have you taken a world cruise in the past? It's quite unfortunate no compensation was offered. I will have to be more intentional about browsing the routes. You seem very knowledgeable on world cruises. Clearly you have done some good research! I guess if you are going full forge with an epic cruise itinerary that will eat up half of your year it has to be exactly what you are looking for. South Africa is a dream destination for most and would be a must see for me. Have you cruised to South Africa in the past?

[Seaawgs]

@3Sisters no, we have never been on a world cruise nor have we visited Africa. The replacement itinerary is a good one but it relies heavily on more traditional stops which we've visited. Kenya, Tanzania, Jordan, The Red Sea are now gone.There have been several changes overall to the itinerary along with added disclaimers in Australia. It will likely change more becoming less like the cruise we booked. The other issue is visas. If you choose to obtain them on your own, you now have visas for countries you're no longer visiting. 

[3Sisters]

@Seaawgs Those are some major skipped stops. I don't blame you for canceling and waiting for the right itinerary. Africa is one of those places you want to spend some quality time in since it's so remote! The vast tourist opportunities in areas like Kenya shouldn't be skipped. I wonder if many world cruises end up like this, rerouting and shifting itineraries quite often. It makes me think like maybe the world cruise itinerary may be too good to be true. I didn't even think about visas! That would be such a tedious feat for an itinerary like this. That takes so much time and energy! If you book your world cruise through a travel agent, will that person help you obtain all of those necessary documents/visas? You have to pay for those visas too, right?