NCL announces return to cruising from July 25

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), an innovator in global cruise travel, today announced its highly anticipated return to service, with new itineraries sailing Europe and The Caribbean beginning July 25, 2021.

 

The cruise line will restart operations at a reduced capacity with Norwegian Jade, Joy and Gem as the first of its 17-ship fleet to welcome guests back on board. 

 

Travellers long-awaiting a return to cruise will have the opportunity to spend the summer exploring ancient ruins and sunny beaches with all new seven-day cruises to the Greek Isles on Norwegian Jade from Athens (Piraeus) beginning July 25, 2021. 

 

They can also island hop with week-long Caribbean itineraries available from Montego Bay, Jamaica as of Aug. 7, 2021 on Norwegian Joy or from Punta Cana (La Romana), Dominican Republic on Norwegian Gem beginning Aug. 15, 2021.

 

"Over a year after we initially suspended sailings, the time has finally come when we can provide our loyal guests with the news of our great cruise comeback," said Norwegian Cruise Line's President and Chief Executive Officer Harry Sommer. 

"We have been working diligently towards our resumption of operations, focusing on the guest experience with health and safety at the forefront. The growing availability of the Covid-19 vaccine has been a game changer. The vaccine, combined with our science-backed health and safety protocols, will help us provide our guests with what we believe will be the healthiest and safest vacation at sea."

 

Sommer continued: "All guests sailing aboard cruises with embarkation dates through Oct. 31, 2021 will be required to be fully vaccinated and tested prior to boarding our ships. Given the ever-evolving nature of the pandemic, the accelerating rollout of the vaccine, and the speed of scientific learnings, it is premature to make decisions about our health and safety protocols for cruises with embarkation dates beginning November 1, 2021. We will continue to evaluate our health and safety protocols and rely on science and our expert council as we make decisions and evolve our policies and procedures." 

 

While the cruise line already had robust health and safety protocols in place, it has spent the past year further developing and refining those protocols, using the latest scientific findings and expert advice, it said. 

 

Yesterday, its parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings launched its SailSAFE Health and Safety program, which is founded on three pillars: 

1) Safety for guests and crew with vaccination requirements, universal Covid-19 testing and enhanced health screening protocols; 

2) Safety aboard with medical-grade air filtration, increased sanitation measures and enhanced medical resources; and 

3) Safety ashore through the collaboration with land-based tour operator partners to extend health and safety measures to each destination. 

 

Today, the company also announced its SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council comprising six experts at the forefront of their fields. Led by Chairman Dr Scott Gottlieb, former Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Co-Chair of the Healthy Sail Panel, which was formed to guide the cruise industry’s safe resumption of operations, the council’s work will complement the Healthy Sail Panel initiative and will focus on the implementation, compliance with and continuous improvement of health and safety protocols across the Company’s operations, the company said. 

 

The cruise line has been working closely with destination partners and others to help provide not only a safe vacation but an exceptional experience for guests. 

 

Sommer said: "Resuming operations is a comprehensive endeavour, involving many parties around the globe. We are very proud of our collaborations and look forward to deeper partnerships as we forge into the future."

 

Guests sailing aboard Norwegian Jade’s Greek Isles itinerary this summer and beginning of fall will wake up in a new destination every day with eight to nine hours of port time to explore.

 

In conjunction with its return to service announcement, the cruise line today cancelled all July and August itineraries aboard Norwegian Breakaway, Dawn, Escape, Getaway, Sky, Spirit, Star and Sun. In addition, voyages aboard Norwegian Epic through September 1, 2021; and Norwegian Pearl through November 7, 2021 have also been cancelled. Guests and travel partners with impacted reservations will be contacted directly, it said.

 

The cruise line also extended its temporary Peace of Mind cancellation policy to guests sailing on cruises booked by April 30, 2021 with embarkation dates through October 31, 2021. These guests have the flexibility to cancel their cruise 15 days prior to departure. Those who take advantage of the Peace of Mind policy will receive a full refund in the form of a future cruise credit which may be applied to any sailing through December 31, 2022. In addition, final payment for all voyages with embarkations through October 31, 2021, will require payment 60 days prior to embarkation versus the standard 120 days, it said. -TradeArabia News Service