Norwegian Cruise Line announces plans to put eight ships back into service in 2021
Norwegian Cruise Line has announced plans for eight additional ships to resumes cruises from September, 2021, but these vessels will be operating from the United States. The announcement marks the first time Norwegian Cruise Line has announced a plan for the resumption of cruises from the US in addition to other regions.
Norwegian Cruise Line will resume cruises from Miami, Orlando, New York, Honolulu, Los Angelese, as well as Panama City, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Syndey and Auckland. The eight ships initially planned for the new deployments are Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Sun, Norwegian Spirit and Pride of America, which operates out of Hawaii.
Cruises planned from US ports are contingent on Norwegian Cruise Line obtaining a Conditional Sailing Certificate from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
These are the cruise resumption plans by ship: Norwegian Joy will cruise from Miami beginning Oct. 19, 2021 with five to 11-day Caribbean voyages. Norwegian Breakaway will cruise seven-day itineraries to Bermuda from New York beginning Oct. 24, 2021. Pride of America will offer seven-day Hawaii interisland voyages from Honolulu beginning Nov. 6, 2021. Norwegian Bliss will cruise from Los Angeles for seven-day Mexican Riviera voyages beginning Nov. 7, 2021. Norwegian Encore will offer seven-night itineraries from Miami to the Caribbean beginning Nov. 14, 2021. Beginning Nov. 20, 2021, Norwegian Escape will cruise for the first time from Orlando (Port Canaveral), Fla., offering seven-day itineraries to the Caribbean. Norwegian Pearl will sail from Miami offering Panama Canal, Bahamas and Caribbean cruises beginning Dec. 23, 2021. Beginning Jan. 20, 2022, Norwegian Jewel will be the first ship in the fleet to offer roundtrip Panama Canal cruises from Panama City (Colón and Fuerte Amador). Norwegian Sun will sail for the first time in Asia beginning Jan. 28, 2022, offering a five-day Japan itinerary from Hong Kong, before sailing a variety of 11-day cruises from Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok. Norwegian Spirit will cruise 12-day Australia and New Zealand voyages from Sydney, and Auckland, New Zealand beginning Feb. 9, 2022.
Further redeployments will be announced in the near future, according to the cruise line.
In a statement, Norwegian Cruise Line’s President & CEO noted that when the first of its ships to resume cruises sets off, it will mark more than a year since the company was forced to suspend operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When we first welcome our guests aboard Norwegian Jade this July, it will be exactly 500 days since our ships last sailed,” he said. “I am so happy that we’re finally getting back to what we love the most, and I’m very proud that we continue to redeploy our fleet methodically.”
“We always said we wouldn’t rush to sail again, but that we’d get back to it when we felt we could do so safely while maintaining our incomparable guest experience,” he added. “Our efforts to resume cruising safely will continue to be slow and steady, guided by the science-backed protocols of our SailSAFE health and safety program and in collaboration with our destination partners as well as with a variety of governing bodies.”
Norwegian Jade will be the first cruise ship Norwegian Cruise Line puts back into service. She is due to cruise from Athens to the Greek Isles in July, while additional ships are scheduled to resume cruises in the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
