Norwegian Cruise Line cancels over 7 months of 2025 cruises

Table Of Content

• MORE: FBI accuses duo of swiping nearly $13,000 in sculptures from Carnival cruise
• A 3-Year, Nearly $100,000 Cruise Appears to Now Be Canceled
• What are customers saying?
• Europe Cruises to and from Southampton through September 25, 2021
• November 20, 2021 Caribbean Cruise on Caribbean Princess
• Four Sailings Aboard Carnival Panorama Are Cancelled
• Caribbean Princess Cruises from Ft. Lauderdale Departing March 2022 through May 2022

Under normal circumstances, a canceled cruise would be a good reason to phone the cruise line. Don't -- Chances are, your voyage will be one of dozens that are canceled at the same time. Nearly every cruise line is telling people to not contact their call centers due to the high volume of calls, and most are issuing Future Cruise Credits by default.

MORE: FBI accuses duo of swiping nearly $13,000 in sculptures from Carnival cruise

Now, less than two weeks before its maiden voyage, Life at Sea has acknowledged to anxious passengers that there is no ship, and that the once-in-a-lifetime trip has been canceled, CNN reported. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged travelers to avoid cruises, even after vaccination. The agency raised its Covid-19 warning level for cruise ships to 4, the highest level. Some would-be cruise passengers were in Istanbul, where the ship was originally scheduled to depart from, when they received news of the cancellation, per CNN. Cruise line cancellations due to mechanical failures would likely be covered under the common carrier clause, but only the amounts for which the cruise line doesn't reimburse you. If your cruise line offers you $500 toward flight and hotel changes, and you are out $1,000, you can file for the extra $500 with insurance.

A 3-Year, Nearly $100,000 Cruise Appears to Now Be Canceled

But wait, some of us don't dread airline bumps — we , in fact, seek them out. The biggest difference is that you'll rarely be able to volunteer to be bumped, though that can happen in some situations. For example, Royal Caribbean overbooked Allure of the Seas in 2023 and contacted passengers to ask if they would voluntarily swap ships or sailing dates to free up rooms. Guests on that now-shortened sailing are being contacted with their options, including an offer of onboard credit for the inconvenience and the choice to move to alternative sailings if preferred.

What are customers saying?

The 140,600-gross ton Celebrity Xcel will initially homeport at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, operating 7-night Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean cruises. Tests of onboard features are also done, including the FlowRider surf simulator and the Oculus Fall thrill ride in the ship’s AquaDome. Final touches are now underway onboard the ship, including to the carousel in the Surfside neighborhood. The ship, which will debut in January 2024 as the largest cruise ship afloat, will carry 7,600 guests at full capacity, plus 2,350 crew. Cruise directors play crucial roles on all ships, since they engage and interact with virtually all guests and help to set the line’s Fun Ship atmosphere. It’s been another busy week for cruise news, and Cruise Hive has all of the developments covered, including news about Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, and Royal Caribbean.

3-year cruise canceled weeks before setting sail, prompting passenger backlash - ABC News

3-year cruise canceled weeks before setting sail, prompting passenger backlash.

Posted: Mon, 27 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Where it can come in handy is if you had already paid for nonrefundable flights, hotel stays or tours before your cruise was canceled or changed. For example, when Carnival Freedom's funnel caught fire in March 2024, the line had to cancel its next two sailings for emergency repairs. The line not only refunded passengers on the canceled sailings their original cruise fares but also gave each guest a future cruise credit in the same amount as the original fare to encourage a future Carnival cruise booking. If you used a travel adviser, have them handle the details on your behalf -- though be aware that many agents are as overwhelmed as the cruise lines are at this moment, and rebooking, refunds or future cruise credits may take some time to be issued.

Crystal Cruises paused sailings through at least April 29

While Kuther said cruise cancellations are “pretty rare,” they are aggravating when they happen. “We were all upset because we were like, ‘How the hell can you cancel a cruise (around) two weeks out? Leading up to the cancellation, the cruise line kept passengers informed with frequent webinars. However, in a statement to ABC News, Ugurlu said nothing had been canceled, only postponed until the spring.

Norwegian Cruise Line cancels more than a dozen upcoming cruises - WFLA

Norwegian Cruise Line cancels more than a dozen upcoming cruises.

Posted: Thu, 11 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

This means there would be little or no time for possible port visits en route. Instead, the ship will move with all possible speed in order to reach Dubai (or the next planned embarkation port) on time to preserve future itineraries. The original itinerary had the ship sailing from Southampton to Rome (Civitavecchia), and guests might question why this leg of the voyage must be cancelled as it does not come close to the Red Sea. In fact, Civitavecchia is approximately 1,400 miles from the Suez Canal and the start of the Red Sea.

Because cruise lines and their passengers have far less flexibility than airlines and flyers, every effort is made to avoid bumping guests that have confirmed cruise bookings — but there are several reasons it can happen. Cruise lines employ some of the same approaches to inventory management as their airline counterparts, resulting in the ever-dreaded bumps. Plus, ship upgrade initiatives or mechanical repairs can cause changes to itineraries departing within weeks, months or even years. Undoubtedly, the ship’s October 23 departure – from Civitavecchia to Dubai, through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea – is likewise cancelled, and impacted guests will be contacted with details and options as necessary. Cruises, which are making a comeback after the pandemic, can be a great experience for families and retirees as you get to see many new places without the hassle of planning an itinerary yourself. If you're looking for a trip shorter than three years, there are still options, including many ways to save on booking a cruise.

The intense fallout is drawing comparisons to infamous debacles such as the Fyre Festival — the "luxury" music festival that was more like a "disaster relief area." But cruise company Life at Sea recently told customers who bought passage on a three-year voyage that rather than visiting 140 countries, their trip was called off. When the Life at Sea cruise line failed to purchase the German cruise ship AIDAaura, seen here in 2020, its plans for a worldwide cruise embarking in November began to unravel. On Nov. 19, two days after Holmes’ announcement, guests received another message, this time from Vedat Ugurlu, the owner of Miray International, who also stated that the cruise would not be departing, per CNN. The company also vowed to refund those who signed up for the cruise, whose costs ranged from $29,999 a year for a standard interior cabin all the way up to $109,000 per year for a luxurious suite with a large balcony.

If you’re going to organize a three-year round-the-world cruise, a good first step is probably to acquire a ship. But it seems that it was the company's focus, not the public's, that was the problem. Witman says she also shipped boxes to have on the cruise, back in early October. "Still waiting for my refund. And now you've gone belly up?" a woman who identified herself as a Life at Sea customer said recently on the company's Instagram account. The woman, a retired educator, did not respond to NPR's message seeking further comment. "Having a like-minded community of people that all were interested in travel at the ready was really appealing to me," she said.

Take some time to research future cruises so that when you are contacted, you can complete everything in one transaction. Fleet changes generally involve offers to move your reservation to a different ship sailing a similar itinerary, the ship you booked on different dates, or a different ship and itinerary altogether. Again, refunds are the cruise line's least favorite choice, so you should expect bonus credit if you opt to either move your reservation or accept credit for an alternative cruise. Because this kind of bump usually comes with advance notice, the offer you get might not include huge bonuses. Guests booked on the October 14, 2024 departure of Anthem of the Seas have been informed that their cruise must be cancelled.

"Because as you know, three-year cruises is a mega project. The reason for this is our vessel capacity—needed to exceed more than 600 cabins. And right now, we only have 104 cabins." Passengers can rebook on any Princess cruise, including a future cruise on the Star Princess or on the Sun Princess, which launched this year. This week, Celebrity Cruises—which is actually a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group—nixed four of its own planned trips on the Celebrity Eclipse, spokesperson for the company Susan Lomax confirmed to USA Today. "Royal Caribbean noted that cancelations were "a result of the ongoing COVID-related circumstances around the world, and in an abundance of caution."

With the complexities of international air travel and border closures, it is with a heavy heart that we have to continue to cancel select cruises. We know you were looking forward to sailing with us, and we apologize and share in your disappointment over these cancellations. You can find out details of your compensation by clicking the link that matches your sail date below. The October 2, 2024 departure was originally planned as a 12-night “Discover the Canaries” cruise but has now been shortened to an 8-night sailing. While the ship will still be returning to Southampton, this will give the vessel four extra days to make up the extra distance as she moves around Africa. The cancelled cruises all are Mexican Riviera sailings operating roundtrip from Long Beach, California, with departures set for November 11, 18, and 26, and December 2, 2023.

Despite the setback, Witman says she's been able to form connections with other would-be passengers, who have been keeping in touch via apps and group texts. Terms of the deal help illuminate the would-be passengers' financial and logistical plight. Under its 12-month payment plan, the first draw came due one month ahead of the sail date. Some passengers reportedly only learned of the cancellation after arriving in Turkey.

On November 17, passengers were informed by Miray Cruises, Life at Sea's parent company, that the company could not afford to buy a ship after "investors declined to support us further due to the unrest in [the] Middle East," according to ABC News. The company had been trying to buy AIDAaura, a 20-year-old ship, which was sold in November to another cruise company. Princess Cruises has pushed back the inauguration of its newest ship and canceled several sailings for next year in the process.