Norwegian Cruise Line has announced its return to service, with new itineraries sailing Europe and The Caribbean beginning July 25, 2021.
The 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. The Jade will sail on 7-day cruises to the Greek Isles, embarking from Athens (Piraeus) beginning July 25, 2021. Week-long Caribbean itineraries available from Montego Bay, Jamaica will begin Aug. 7, 2021 on Norwegian Joy and from Punta Cana (La Romana), Dominican Republic on Norwegian Gem beginning Aug. 15, 2021.
These new Caribbean itineraries include 10 to 11 hours of port time with each sailing featuring two days at sea and four ports of call. In addition, guests embarking on voyages from Montego Bay, Jamaica on Norwegian Joy will visit Harvest Caye, the company’s private resort destination in Belize.
Guests sailing aboard Norwegian Jade’s Greek Isles itinerary this summer and beginning of fall will visit a new destination every day with eight to nine hours of port time to explore.
“We have been working diligently towards our resumption of operations, focusing on the guest experience with health and safety at the forefront,” said Norwegian Cruise Line’s president and CEO Harry Sommer, in a press release statement. 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.”
All guests sailing aboard cruises with embarkation dates through Oct. 31, 2021 will be required to be fully vaccinated and tested prior to boarding the ships. Sommer stated that, “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 Nov. 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.”
The line’s parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has 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. As protocols evolve and additional information becomes available, updates will be published at ncl.com/sail-safe.
In conjunction with its return to service announcement, the line has cancelled all July and August itineraries aboard Norwegian Breakaway, Dawn, Escape, Getaway, Sky, Spirit, Star and Sun. In addition, voyages aboard Norwegian Epic through Sept. 1, 2021; and Norwegian Pearl through Nov. 7, 2021 have also been cancelled.
The line also extended its temporary Peace of Mind cancellation policy to guests sailing on cruises booked by April 30, 2021 with embarkation dates through Oct. 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 Dec. 31, 2022. In addition, final payment for all voyages with embarkations through Oct. 31, 2021, will require payment 60 days prior to embarkation versus the standard 120 days.
For more information, visit ncl.com.
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