Norwegian Cruise Line celebrated two milestones for the company—Norwegian Gem commenced voyages from Miami following a 17-month cruising suspension and the first guests were welcomed into its recently completed NCL Terminal at PortMiami.
Marking the third of the company’s 17 ships to resume operations after Norwegian Jade from Athens on July 25, 2021 and Norwegian Encore from Seattle on Aug. 7, 2021, Norwegian Gem set sail today on a week-long voyage to the Caribbean with calls to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; and Harvest Caye, the company’s private resort destination in Belize.
“It has been an exhilarating few weeks as we relaunch our fleet, reunite with our shipboard families and welcome our guests back for their long-awaited cruise vacations,” said Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line, in a press statement. “I’ve been impressed and proud of how our global team and partners have come together to safely bring back cruising, an over $55 billion-dollar industry that positively impacts communities around the world.”
Sommer continued, “Today is even more special as it is the first time we are relaunching from our hometown and from the new NCL Terminal at PortMiami. After many months, we are ready to deliver a safe and memorable experience for our guests at every step of their cruise journey.”
The new NCL Terminal at PortMiami can accommodate cruise vessels carrying up to 5,000 cruise guests. The construction marvel was designed with sustainability at the forefront and was built to LEED Gold standards for optimizing energy, water efficiency, air quality and utilization of local materials and resources. In addition, approximately 90 percent of all subcontractors, vendors and suppliers were local to the region, reducing the carbon footprint of the project and encouraging local economic growth. Parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. recently also announced a partnership with Miami-Dade County to make the new state-of-the-art cruise terminal “Shore-Power Ready” by fall 2023.
Constructed by NV2A Group and Haskell, and designed by the Miami-based firm of Bermello Ajamil & Partners Inc., the approximately 188,000-sq.-ft. building draws inspiration from a nautilus, with its spiraled and multi-level facade, opening to grand ocean and city views with approximately 122,000 sq. ft. of energy-saving glass features. Its artistically designed exterior is complemented by a carefully curated collection of art throughout the complex as part of Miami Dade County Art in Public Places, a program dedicated to enriching the public environment and to preserving and enhancing the artistic and civic pride of Miami-Dade County.
Norwegian Gem is scheduled to sail a series of week-long voyages to the Caribbean and 4-day cruises to the Bahamas through Oct. 17, 2021 before repositioning to New York for five to 11-night voyages to the Bahamas, Caribbean and Bermuda.
The company’s fleetwide redeployment will continue in partnership with local governments and are guided by the protocols of the Company’s SailSAFE health and safety program, which at its cornerstone includes that all crew and guests must be fully vaccinated to embark for voyages through Oct. 31, 2021.
For more information, visit ncl.com/sail-safe.
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