Norwegian Cruise Line Suspends More Cruises Through March 31

Norwegian Cruise Line apparently had been holding out hope that it could start cruising in early March on three ships – Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Escape and Norwegian Joy.

All the other ships in the NCL fleet were shut down through March 31 as the pandemic surged and borders closed.

On Dec. 29, NCL changed that and postponed all sailings on the Norwegian Encore, Escape and Joy through March 31.
“We have extended our voluntary temporary suspension of ALL voyages through March 2021,” the company explained on its website. “Previously, we had announced the suspension of cruises on all ships except Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Escape, and Norwegian Joy. Today, we have added those three ships to the list of cruises suspended through March 2021.”

The company said it is continuing to work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to meet provisions in the Framework for Conditional Sailing Order issued on Oct. 30. The roadmap outlines the steps cruise lines must meet before the CDC allow the resumption of cruise voyages in the U.S.

“As we work through our return-to-service plan to meet these requirements, we will continue to partner with global and domestic authorities, including the CDC, to chart a path forward. In the meantime, our voluntary suspension of global cruise voyages currently includes all sailings through March 31, 2021,” a company statement said. “Given the fluid and evolving nature of the circumstances, we are making decisions as quickly and thoughtfully as possible, continuing to keep our guests’ and travel partners’ best interests at heart.”

In the meantime, NCL cranked up the marketing machine to encourage future vacation planning. The company in late November launched a new marketing campaign, including TV commercials featuring the song “I Want to Break Free,” by Queen.