Norwegian Star March cruises cancelled

I have it from a reliable source that NCL will put the Norwegian Star in
drydock from March 9 through the 29th. Cruises during that time will be
cancelled.

No word on what options NCL is offering the affected passengers but TA's
should be getting notification letters "soon".


--
George Leppla http://www.countryside-travel.com

The Mother of All Group Cruises 2 - http://www.moagc2.com/
May 20, 2006, Caribbean Princess - http://cruisemaster.com/caribprin.htm
October 29, 2006 - SLEAZY 4! http://cruisemaster.com/sleazy4.htm

George Leppla wrote:
I have it from a reliable source that NCL will put the Norwegian Star in
drydock from March 9 through the 29th. Cruises during that time will be
cancelled.

No word on what options NCL is offering the affected passengers but TA's
should be getting notification letters "soon".


George here is the link http://www.ncl.com/news/pr/pr112205a.htm

MIAMI , November 22, 2005 – Today, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) announced
a revised schedule for Norwegian Star’s Mexican Rivera itineraries. The
change is being made because of damage to the forward thrust bearings of
the ship’s ABB-manufactured azipod propulsion system. Norwegian Star’s
engineers have been running comprehensive inspections on the pod and the
results show that a reduction of speed is necessary to prevent further
deterioration to the bearings. Although the ship can still travel at the
20 knot pace that is typical for most big cruise ships, she cannot
perform the maximum 25 knots that is a feature of the new NCL ships and
that is necessary to operate the published Mexican Riviera itinerary.
Therefore the itineraries from Friday, November 25, 2005 through the
March 1, 2006 cruise will be amended.

The azipods will be repaired during a newly scheduled dry dock in March
2006; the earliest date the company is able to secure the needed parts
and dry-dock availability to conduct the repair. The ship will resume
its scheduled high-speed itinerary beginning with the April 2, 2006
cruise. The company sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience caused by
this change to the itinerary and would like to thank our guests for
their patience and understanding.

NCL will be offering a $50 per person ($100 per cabin maximum) onboard
credit in recognition of any disappointment that may be caused by this
itinerary change. NCL is communicating this change and relevant
information to travel agents who have passengers booked on these
cruises. NCL has established a special toll-free number to assist with
passengers’ questions regarding the itinerary change. The number is
1-800-625-5672.

The new itinerary is as follows:

Day Port Arrive Depart
0 Los Angeles, California 6:00pm
1 At sea - - - -
2 At sea - - - -
3 Manzanillo, Mexico 10:00am 6:00pm
4 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 7:00am 6:00pm
5 Mazatlan, Mexico 8:00am 6:00pm
6 Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 7:00am 2:00pm
7 At sea - - - -
8 Los Angeles, California 9:00am

Notice no Acapulco now.

Phil
Seacruise

"Phil" wrote
I have it from a reliable source that NCL will put the Norwegian Star in
drydock from March 9 through the 29th. Cruises during that time will be
cancelled.

George here is the link http://www.ncl.com/news/pr/pr112205a.htm

Yep... saw that but again, it mostly addresses the itinerary changes before
March 1 and not which cruises will be cancelled or what options will be
offered the people booked on the cancelled cruises. As I understand it, the
drydock dates were just firmed up Friday and the official announcement will
be made "soon". You can define "soon" any way you want.... with NCL it
could be hours to weeks.


--
George Leppla http://www.countryside-travel.com

The Mother of All Group Cruises 2 - http://www.moagc2.com/
May 20, 2006, Caribbean Princess - http://cruisemaster.com/caribprin.htm
October 29, 2006 - SLEAZY 4! http://cruisemaster.com/sleazy4.htm