Tag Archives: Norwegian Sky

Norwegian Cruise Line Sets Restart Plan With 3 Ships From Greece, Jamaica and Dominican Republic

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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings today announced it will restart service this July with cruises from Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Greece with the Norwegian Joy, Jade and Gem. 

The Jade will sail seven-day cruises to the Greek Isles from Athens starting on July 25. The Norwegian Joy will sail seven-day itineraries from Montego Bay starting on August 7, and the Norwegian Gem will launch service from the Dominican Republic on seven-day cruises starting on August 15.

The Jade’s Greek Isles program will see a different port call daily, including Iraklion, Rhodes, Mykonos, Olympia, Corfu and Santorini.

Both Caribbean sailings each feature four ports and two days at sea. Sailing from Montego Bay,  Norwegian Joy’s calls include Harvest Caye, Roatan, Cozumel and Ocho Rios. Sailing from La Romana in the Dominican Republic, the Gem will visit Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and Antigua.

Guests wishing to go ashore will need to purchase a Norwegian Cruise Line shore excursion for sailings taking place in July and August. Norwegian said this policy will be continually evaluated and it will modify requirements accordingly.

The company said the news was part of a two-pronged plan for its long-awaited return to cruising this summer, also including the proposal the company sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC on April 5, 2021, outlining its plan to restart cruising from U.S. ports starting July 4 and requesting the CDC lift the Conditional Sail Order.

All initial voyages will operate with fully vaccinated guests and crew in addition to the company’s robust, multi-layered SailSAFE health and safety program, which includes universal COVID-19 testing prior to embarkation.

The company has also announced the formation of the SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council, the company’s expert public health council, chaired by former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Dr Scott Gottlieb, which will complement the work of the Healthy Sail Panel (HSP).

“We are excited to unveil our initial plans for the resumption of cruise voyages embarking outside of the U.S. with sailings to the Caribbean and Europe. In addition, we continue to plan for a resumption of cruising from U.S. ports and await further discussion with the CDC regarding our proposal for a July 4 restart to participate in America’s national opening. As we prepare for our return to cruising, the health and safety of our guests, crew and communities we visit is our first priority, as demonstrated by the establishment of our robust, multi-layered SailSAFE health and safety program and our Company’s SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council,” said Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

“Safe and highly effective vaccines are a gamechanger and to create the safest environment possible, we will require all guests and crew to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccine requirements will be combined with multiple additional layers of protection against COVID-19 introduction, including universal testing, and we will continue to evaluate and modify protocols over time as the science dictates.”

Del Rio continued: “The return to cruising has been much-anticipated by our loyal guests, valued travel partners, the destinations we visit and our team members across the globe. We look forward to once again delivering best in class vacation experiences and also restarting our cruise ecosystem, bringing much needed economic benefit back to our homeports and the destinations we visit that have been significantly impacted by the halt in cruising.”

As Norwegian Cruise Line makes its final preparations to welcome guests onboard, guests will have the opportunity to follow along with its new docuseries, EMBARK – The Series, premiering April 15 at http://www.ncl.com/embark and Facebook.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises will announce details on their voyage resumption plans at a future date. All voyages on these brands with embarkation date through July 31, 2021, have been cancelled.

Jaxport Aims for More Homeports in 2021

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Jaxport cruise terminal 

The future is homeports, according to Fred Wong, chief operations officer at Jaxport (Jacksonville Port Authority). At least for the ports that are in the cruise business trying to mend after the blow of the pandemic.

“We are aggressively going out to the market to see if we can get additional homeports,” Wong told Cruise Industry News.

Wong spoke about Jaxport’s plans in the next five to 10 years. But while CDC’s new regulations have to stay in place, the port will be making the most of being in the port of call market.

“We have so much to offer … 22 miles of beaches, world-class golf, deep-sea fishing, historical sites in St. Augustine. So, we are most definitely taking a different approach to not only being a home port of call, which we are fully capable of being but being a more aggressive port of call as well, being in the intermittent of their service lines,” he said.

“Cruise vessels’ itineraries are forced to have seven days or less, and the CDC has the ability to shorten it even more. There’s no way that these vessels can get down to their predestined itineraries as they used to with their 11- and 14-day runs,” Wong explained.

Hit Hard

Norwegian Sky visiting Jaxport

Unlike some other ports that had zero cruise ships during the pandemic, Jaxport played host to several Norwegian Cruise Lines ships, such as the Norwegian Sky, the Norwegian Pearl, and the Norwegian Sun.

“They had to repatriate their crew, and of course, at Jacksonville Port Authority, we stepped in and housed about three to four of their Panamax vessels here for a couple of months – the duration for the repatriation of crews,” Wong said.

The pandemic did affect Jaxport, where about eight per cent of revenues and volumes are cruise. But doing breakbulk and military operations helped the port survive 2020 and made up for the cruise losses.

“Because of our diversity, we were able to pick some commodities back up that ran pretty strong, such as our breakbulk, which increased throughout 2020. Because, for some reason, during this pandemic, everybody wants toilet paper and paper towels. It was just going off the shelves. And, of course, the disinfecting wipes,” Wong said.

The port’s military operations increased too.

“At Jaxport, we are one of 17 strategic military ports in the U.S. Of course, when military operations ramp up, so do our operations. So, if you ask ‘how did 2020 fare off for Jacksonville?’ as our port authority goes – we did take a hit in cruise because it left the hole, but our other commodities kept us afloat,” he explained.

Predictions

The port predicts that it will take the whole winter and spring for them to get back on track with cruising.

“We have been waiting very eagerly for the CDC to drop the no sail order, which they did. It’s a little stringent, it’s a little rigorous – but I think the cruise industry in the ports such as us … we’re up to the challenge and up to the test to restart cruise,” Wong said adding that the port’s optimistic about restarting, as it will be done “very strategically and with precision.”

Given the still-existent flight restrictions, Wong did not worry about losing the port’s customer base.

“70 per cent of our customer base is a drive-up market. So, there are no planes or airlift that you have to take to get to us. We can reach about 70 million consumers with one day on the drive. That makes us very, very attractive,” he explained. “You don’t have to jump on a plane or a train to get here; you could just jump in your family van or vehicle and drive ready to our market.”

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings brands extend the suspension of sailings

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Norwegian Sky leaving the Port of Miami, photo credit Dave Jones

Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises have extended the suspension of all cruises until June 30.

The Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings brands extended the current extension from May 11 as they bid to help stem the spread of Covid-19.

The company said it will continue to work with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the federal government and global public health authorities to take “all necessary precautions” to ensure the health, safety and security of guests, crew and the communities it visits.

“We are committed to taking all appropriate actions to combat the spread of Covid-19 and, as such, have extended our global voyage suspension through June 30,” said Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. “We continue to work closely and in partnership with the US CDC, global public health authorities and local, state and federal governments to build upon our already rigorous health and safety protocols to ensure that our brands are ready to safely resume operations with these new protocols in place.

“Our teams are working around the clock to do what is right by our loyal guests and valued travel partners and we greatly appreciate their understanding as we continue to adapt to the ever-evolving global health environment.”

Guests who are booked on voyages with embarkation dates between May 11 and June 30, 2020, on Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises or Regent Seven Seas Cruises are asked to contact their travel agent or the cruise line for more information.