Norwegian Cruse Line's Gem ship will return to New York after a 10 night trip to the Caribbean was canceled mid-voyage on Thursday due to COVID-related circumstances. A Norwegian spokesman told FOX Business that the ship docked overnight in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, and would be back in New York soon. The company did not offer an estimated arrival time or further details on the situation.
Norwegian has canceled the following 2022 trips: Norwegian Dawn cruises with embarkation dates through and including Jan. 18 Norwegian Escape cruises with embarkation dates through and including Jan. 22 Norwegian Cruises with embarkation dates through and including March 26 Norwegian Spirit cruises with embarkation dates through and including April 23rd. Norwegian Cruises with embarkation dates through and including March 23 Norwegian Spirit cruises with embarkation dates through and including March 19 Norwegian Spirit cruises with embarkation dates through and including April 23 Norwegian Escape cruises with embarkation dates through
All Norwegian guests impacted by cancellations will receive a full refund of their trip fare in the original form of payment for the amount they paid. Passengers will get a future cruise credit that can be applied toward sailings through May 31, 2023.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Framework for Conditional Sailing Order expired on Saturday, and the latest cancellation came after it expired. The agency has switched to a voluntary COVID 19 risk mitigation program for cruise ships.
The CDC's maritime unit will work closely with participating cruise ships, monitoring COVID 19 preventive measures and onboard cases through daily enhanced data collection and inspections. The ships that operate in U.S. waters and sail on international itineraries that choose not to participate in the program will be designated as gray under the agency's sign that the CDC has not reviewed or confirmed the cruise ship operator's health and safety protocols. Only those sailing in U.S. waters will not be listed.