Norwegian Cruise Line Will Return to Sailing in the Caribbean, Europe this Summer

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) on Tuesday announced that it would kick off its return to service in July with itineraries in both Europe and The Caribbean.

After its parent company, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, submitted its plan to the CDC to return to service in the U.S. on Tuesday, NCL announced that it would be restarting outside of the U.S. as it continues to wait for word from the CDC.

Norwegian will return with three ships—Jade, Joy, and Gem. Jade will sail 7-day Greek Isle cruises starting on July 25, while Joy will sail 7-day Caribbean itineraries out of Montego Bay starting on Aug. 7 and Joy will sail the same out of Punta Cana starting on Aug. 15.

Bookings are now open. 

All guests and crew must be fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to departure in order to board. That includes all adults and all minors wanting to sail.

“Minors who have not yet been eligible to be vaccinated will not be permitted to sail on these voyages. Minors who have been fully vaccinated are welcome to sail,” NCL says on its website.

Norwegian will also sail with the same set of protocols (Sail Safe) that NCLH submitted to the CDC yesterday. Aside from the vaccination requirements, Sail Safe includes universal testing, a staggered embarkation process, a face mask requirement for all guests while indoors, contactless foodservice ship-wide, and more.

The port visits in the Caribbean will include 10 to 11 hours of port time with each sailing featuring two days at sea and four ports of call. Joy’s sailings will also include a visit to NCL’s private island, Harvest Caye.

In Greece, sailings will include a new port of call every day with 8 to 9 hours of time in port.

“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.”

Guests can follow along as NCL makes its final preparations to welcome guests on board with its new docuseries called EMBARK, premiering April 15 at 8 p.m. here and on Facebook.