Norwegian Cruise Line extends pause in operations

Following the current global environment Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is extending the suspension of all cruise operations through October 2020.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. has announced an extension of its previously announced suspension of global cruise voyages to include all voyages embarking between October 1 and October 31, 2020 for its three cruise brands – Norwegian Cruise LineOceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

In an effort to provide additional transparency, beginning in August, the company plans to provide an update at the end of each month regarding the status of voyage suspensions, including any potential extensions.

Healthy Sail Panel

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings recently announced a collaboration with Royal Caribbean Group to develop enhanced cruise health and safety standards in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Healthy Sail Panel is comprised of top experts in public health, infectious disease, biosecurity, hospitality and maritime operations, and is tasked with collaboratively developing recommendations for cruise lines to advance their public health response to COVID-19, improve safety, and achieve readiness for the safe resumption of operations. The Company will continue to work in tandem with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the federal government and global public health authorities to take all necessary measures to protect its guests, crew and the communities visited.

Norwegian Cruise Line

A few weeks ago Norwegian Cruise Line announced the suspension of all sailings through September 30th. While Seattle based Alaska cruises were not canceled at the time, the cruise line did cancel select cruises in October. These included the October 4 Alaska sailing on Norwegian Joy and October 12 Alaska sailing on Norwegian Bliss. The Norwegian Breakaway (October 4 – October 11) and Norwegian Gem (October 2 – October 9) sailings to Canada/New England sailings were also canceled.

Today Norwegian announced it is extending the suspension of 2020 cruises to include all cruises embarking through October.

Guests who have an active reservation with Norwegian Cruise Line on a suspended cruise in October will automatically receive a refund of their cruise fare in the form of a Future Cruise Credit for 125% of the amount paid. The FCC must be used one year from issued date for any Norwegian Cruise Line voyage embarking through 2022.

Guests who prefer to not take advantage of a future cruise credit can elect to receive a lesser refund equal to the amount paid to date to the original form of payment 60 days after submitting the Refund Request Form which will be available online on August 3rd.

Peace of Mind

Guests who booked a cruise before August 31, 2020 with a departure date between January 1, 2021 through October 31, 2021 now have the flexibility to cancel their cruise 15 days before departure. Travelers who use this will receive a full refund via a Future Cruise Credit that they can redeem for a cruise before December 31, 2022. The Peace of Mind policy, which also allows guests to cancel their cruise up to 48 hours before departure for cruises in 2020 was introduced in March 2020 to reassure guests in these extraordinary times.

For more information about NCL’s Peace of Mind policy and the new health and safety protocols click here.

Further reading: Norwegian Cruise Line rolls out new health and safety measures

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