Updated: 9:45am – January 5, 2022
Norwegian Cruise Lines has made the decision to cancel sailings that have already begun amid a surge of COVID-19 cases among crewmembers.
Passengers onboard the Norwegian Pearl scheduled to sail an eleven-day voyage set to visit Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Costa Maya, and NCL’s private island of Harvest Caye in Belize, report receiving an announcement on their first day at sea that over 50 crewmembers have tested positive for COVID-19 and the company was requiring the ship to return to Miami. The public address announcements were quickly followed up by a letter sent to all onboard which read:
Today we identified several COVID-19 positive cases within our crew onboard Norwegian Pearl, which is sailing with 100% vaccinated guests and crew, most being asymptomatic and being monitored by our medical team. All affected crew and close contacts are currently in isolation.”
Norwegian Pearl is now scheduled to arrive in Maimi on January 6, and all guests will have to disembark. With the ship arriving earlier, it will also allow for further sanitation and cleaning. Norwegian has also canceled the ship’s January 17th sailing.
This situation comes as passengers booked to sail on the Norwegian Getaway on January 5, 2022 received a letter on January 4th informing them of the cancellation of the sailing.
As we continue to navigate the fluid public health environment, while focusing on delivering a safe experience for all on board, today we made the difficult decision to cancel Norwegian Getaway’s Jan 5 voyage due to COVID-related circumstances.
The Norwegian Getaway is due to dock in Miami today, January 5, with at least one positive COVID case on board, according to the CDC. The ship was expected to depart later in the evening on a nine-day journey.
In the email sent the passengers awaiting boarding the cruise line acknowledges that some cruisers may already be in Miami awaiting their trip.
All guests who secured flights through Norwegian Cruise Line and are currently en route or who have already arrived in Miami will receive new flight schedules within the next 24 hours to the email on file. All guests who secured flights independently are guided to work directly with the airline and travel insurance provider for reimbursement options.
In an email sent to travel agents, Norwegian also confirms the cancellation of Norwegian Getaway’s January 14th sailing.
Although no announcement has been made reports have begun to circulate on social media that the Norwegian Encore may also be en route back to homeport, however, it appears that the ship was denied entry to St. Thomas and Tortola. The ship has re-routed toward Norwegian’s private island Great Stirrup Cay, removing those two ports and replacing them with days at sea.
