Norwegian Cruise Line is coming under fire from cruise passengers for once again cancelling a number of sailings in order to redeploy the fleet.
This time, the cruise line has cancelled a number of cruises in the Mediterranean on Norwegian Getaway, including a transatlantic voyage, to extend the ship’s Caribbean season.
All cruises on the ship between 29th September 2024 and 27th November 2024 have been cancelled, which is 7 individual sailings. The cruises were all based in the Med, departing from Piraeus (Athens), Istanbul, Trieste, and Civitavecchia (Rome).
You’d assume that, once the new Caribbean cruises are arranged, a replacement transatlantic cruise will be offered since the ship has to sail across the ocean anyway.
However, it still leaves guests with bookings in those two months without a cruise holiday, and looking for a replacement.
Worse still is that it comes for some guests just shortly after the cruise line sent automated emails to guests telling them it was time to book their flights for their cruise.
On the 11th January NCL sent an email saying nows the time to book your flights. We did, and hotels for stays in the departure and arrival ports. We spent £1.5k on these and they’re non-refundable. Why send that email if you know you’re likely to cancel it?
Reddit post from col_blimp
Cancellations such as this are particularly harsh on guests because the cruise line isn’t forced into the decision – they make the change because they believe they’ll make more money with the ship elsewhere.
And while cruise lines are businesses, many believe they should honour the bookings that customers have made in good faith.
NCL is compensating customers – as well as a full refund, they will receive a 10% discount on a future cruise between 1st February 2024 and 31st December 2024 – though it’s unclear if that’s a sailing date, or just when the cruise must be booked by.
It’s expected that similar cancellations may soon be coming for Norwegian Epic as well.
This is becoming a regular occurrence for NCL. 7 months of cruises for Norwegian Sun were cancelled in November, and 3 months of Norwegian Escape cruises were cancelled in October, again for redeployment.
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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
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