Norwegian and Royal Caribbean Cancel Sailings Ahead of Irma

Posted on 6 September, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

With Hurricane Irma potentially heading to South Florida and key destinations in the Caribbean, cruise lines are scrambling to make changes to itineraries and have also cancelled a handful of sailings.

Norwegian Cruise Line has axed the Sept. 8 sailing aboard the Norwegian Sky. Guests get a full refund, plus a 50 percent future cruise credit.

The Norwegian Escape’s week-long Sept. 9 voyage from Miami is also cancelled. Guests get a full refund, plus a 50 percent future cruise credit.

For the Escape’s current Sept. 2 sailing, the ship will be returning to Miami on Thursday.

“Those guests who are residents of South Florida, who drove to PortMiami or who have travel plans already confirmed that will return them safely home by Friday afternoon may disembark the ship on Thursday if they wish to do so. For those guests who did not drive to PortMiami and are unable to secure a flight back home, we strongly encourage them to stay onboard the ship,” said Norwegian in a prepared statement.

Norwegian Escape will set sail from Miami on Thursday evening on a course away from the storm. While we are unable to confirm at this time when and where the ship will return to port, we welcome all guests to remain onboard to stay safe and secure.”

Royal Caribbean has employed similar tactics, and has cancelled the September 8 sailings on the Majesty and Enchantment of the Seas. Guests will receive a full refund and 25 percent future cruise credit.

Royal Caribbean said it will provide an end-of-day update on Tuesday regarding sailings aboard the Allure, Anthem, Empress, Harmony and Oasis.

The cancelled sailings will impact third quarter earnings.

Norwegian makes maiden call at the Port of Tyne

Posted on 4 September, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

Norwegian makes maiden call at the Port of Tyne

Norwegian Jade is the first of Norwegian Cruise Line’s ships to call at the Port of Tyne (Image: Michel Verdure for Norwegian Cruise Line)

Port of Tyne kicked off September 2017 by hosting a maiden call from Norwegian Jade, the first-ever Norwegian Cruise Line vessel to visit the UK port.

Berthing on 1 September, Norwegian Jade brought 2,400 passengers and more than 1,000 crew to explore North East England. They were able to visit attractions such as the city of Newcastle, UNESCO World Heritage sites of Hadrian’s Wall and Durham Cathedral and Castle, as well as Beamish museum, Alnwick Castle and Gardens and the Durham Dales.

Norwegian Jade will make three calls at the Port of Tyne in 2018.

“The combined effect of the Port of Tyne cruise and ferry business adds some £51 million to the regional economy supporting 1,700 tourism related jobs – making a significant impact,” said Steven Harrison, Port of Tyne’s COO. “The port has worked hard to expand our cruise operations to accommodate these large cruise ships and we are proud to welcome Norwegian Cruise Line for the first time – we hope that Norwegian Jade’s passengers and crew enjoy their visit and return again soon.”

The Port of Tyne will welcome a record 52 cruise calls in 2017, and has already provisionally booked the same number for 2018. This will bring around 50,000 cruise guests to the port each year, in addition to the 600,000 ferry passengers who also pass through on an annual basis.

Norwegian Cruise Line cancels ‘neo-Nazi’ cruise booking

Posted on 20 August, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

Image result for RebelCruise

Norwegian Cruise Line has cancelled a Caribbean cruise booking for a far right group’s conference.

Rebel Media – which has been dubbed a “neo-Nazi” organisation – is advertising its planned week-long sailing on an NCL ship out of Miami in November on its website as a “great way to meet like-minded Rebels”.

The Canadian-based group has members including Gavin McInnes, who has taken to Twitter to write “10 things I hate about Jews”, and Stephen Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) – the former leader of the English Defence League (EDL).

Race-fuelled riots took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, in the United States, last week which sparked violent clashes.

The event has drawn the attention of campaign group Hope not Hate, which is calling on NCL to cancel the booking.

The cruise line issued a statement which said: “We recently became aware that one of several affinity groups that booked space on an upcoming sailing was associated with and espoused views that are inconsistent with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings core values.

The company has therefore exercised its right to cancel this group’s reservation and provide a full refund. As a matter of policy, the company neither discusses nor discloses the identities of our individual guests or groups.”

Norwegian Cruise Line forecasts record earnings