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Port of Nassau Miscounts Ships, Turns Norwegian Epic Away

I wish this was an April Fool’s joke, but I unfortunately cannot say that it is.

According to various reports, the Norwegian Epic was apparently turned away from the Port of Nassau this morning after the port authority overbooked the port. Yes, you heard that correctly. An employee at the Nassau Port Authority scheduled 6 cruise ships in a port that can only accommodate 5 cruise ships. How did this happen? I have no idea. Regardless of how did it, Norwegian, Atlantis Resorts, and local business owners are furious at the port over this huge scheduling error.

Cruise ships docked in Nassau. (photo: about.com)
Cruise ships docked in Nassau. (photo: about.com)

For those who don’t already know, Atlantis Resorts is located on Paradise Island, which is only minutes away from the port. The resort is very popular with cruise guests as they offer a day pass to the resort’s extensive water park. It is no doubt one of the most important tourism attractions in the Nassau area both for the community and cruisers. According to one of Atlantis’ public relations representatives, at least several hundred cruisers from the Epic were scheduled to use the Atlantis Resort’s facilities today. Atlantis Resorts confirmed that the losses from the ship not calling in port amounted to around $100,000.

Local small business owners are taking a similar hit in revenue and are definitely not happy with the port authority. One local business man told a local Bahamian newspaper, “This is one of the biggest cruise ships in the world, how can they just allow it to be turned away? Whatever boat replaced it could not have been as big and could not have brought as many tourists to town. How do you overbook a [port] anyway?”

It is a very good question and you would think that the port authority would feel sorry that the Epic was turned away wouldn’t you. Well, you would be wrong.  Bahamian Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe was quoted as saying, “It tells you that there is a demand for the berths out there. But when you are in demand you expect that to happen. Of course with our berthing schedule we intend to perfect it and to make sure that we don’t have those kinds of situations again.” So they are apparently pretty arrogant when it comes to having a busy port and too proud to issue a formal apology to Norwegian or the Epic’s guests. Classy.

In the end, I think it is only proper that we give the Port of Nassau a new slogan. The Port of Nassau: We’ll see if we can squeeze you in.

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Header photo courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line.

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By Mike Faust

Mike Faust is an avid world traveler, often found traversing city streets in Asia and Europe rather than his home city of Boca Raton. Mike has touched down in 39 countries, set sail on 35 cruises, and flown over 400,000 lifetime miles.

11 replies on “Port of Nassau Miscounts Ships, Turns Norwegian Epic Away”

The arrogant attitude by the Bahamian Tourism Minister should be met by the cruise lines with some sort of sanction, to help him “adjust” his attitude — like, cancel a number of port visits to Nassau….and take their passengers elsewhere, until Nassau can get its act together.

I couldn’t agree more Nicholas. It seems that Nassau cares more about the number of ships they want docking there instead of the guests who are actually benefiting the local businesses and economy. Someone need to show Nassau that they cannot continue with this kind of attitude.

If NCL or any other cruise line that regularly calls on Nassau stopped.or limited visits fleetwide.. .well ..a certain tourism minister would have some serious explaining ..and possibly groveling..would be the order of the day..

I think that would be a very smart move for the cruise lines. They need to put Nassau back in it’s place. The cruise lines don’t need Nassau, they have plenty of other ports of call to choose from.

The funny thing about Nassau is its one of my least favorite ports. For me, its convenient at best. And in most cases launching pad for more distant, more desirable ports. Where does the arrogance even come from? There’s more to cruising that overpaying for Atlantis and getting tanked at Señor Frogs. I totally agree, NCL should threatened to pull ALL calls. Money ALWAYS talks.

Four years ago we were on Ventura, scheduled to call at Aruba. A few weeks before we travelled we were told we would not stop there as there were too many ships that day. I guess we had a few weeks notice, but surely these things are planned months if not years ahead.

So when you pay for a cruise and you choose a vacation based on the ports you would like to see, it only makes sense to me you should be compensated for the lack of port. If I pay for a cruise that says I have 5 ports to stop at and we stop at 4 then I expect them to discount that or add another port. That is Insane. You don’t charge someone for a full tank when you only give them 3 quarters.

Are you getting off the ship that day you don’t go into port? Otherwise, I believe you will still be using your cabin and eating food on board……that isn’t 3/4’s it’s a sea day and they always return your port fees whether you realize it or not. If you don’t agree with the contract, don’t cruise.

Unfortunately, If one reads the fine print (and who DOES?!) on most any cruise line’s ticket, you will see that they are exempt from any and all responsibility should the itinerary need to be changed for any reason. It’s fully understandable that this clause is in there and the cruise lines need this protection. With the vagaries of the weather, developing “political” situations in various countries, mechanical issues, etc., this becomes a must….or the cruise lines would be sued out of business.
That said, yes, of course, it is very disappointing if a port (or two or three….) scheduled during a cruise is skipped for whatever reason. But the cruise lines do a great job, in almost all instances, of making-up for the skipped port by planning special additional activities at-sea, adding another port, or, sometimes, offering discounts on future cruises. I’ve run into the whole range during my decade of cruising on commercial ships.
Bottom line: cruising is still the best bang for one’s vacation buck! No matter where you end up! (IMHO!)

Was on the ship – we were told it was the port authorities fault. As arrogant as the port authority was – try NCL on for size. NCL refunded the $20 port fee and provided no other recourse for their ‘valued guests’. I sent a follow up letter after returning home and were told NCL would do nothing for us. We understand it was not their fault but who bears the responsibility? Is there no recourse for the people who did not get what they paid for? Do we complain to the port authority? Will they help us out? We chose the cruise to visit the Atlantis and were very disappointed with NCL’s inaction on the matter. We didn’t get what we paid for and NCL has done nothing to help out. How hard would it be to offer some discount on a future cruise? Future revenue, customer satisfaction etc. Currently we are out to spread the word of NCL’s terrible handling of this difficult situation.

Hi Jordan,
This was, as you pointed out, the fault of the Bahamian Port Authority and Norwegian had no control over the situation. According to the cruise contract of which you accepted the terms, Norwegian is not required to compensate any guests for missed ports of call or change in itinerary. Norwegian did refund you the $20 port fee. They were not required to do so, but did anyway. I’m not sure what else you are looking for from Norwegian. They have already done more than what they were required to do.

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