Norwegian Cruise Ship Delayed, Next Sailing Shortened

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Joy has been delayed in Bermuda due to the remnants of what was Hurricane Idalia, which is causing the ship to be one day late in returning to New York.

Consequently, this will shorten the next cruise by one day, which changes the ports of call for that cruise.

Norwegian Joy Delayed

The Breakaway-plus-class Norwegian Joy has been delayed in Bermuda on its current sailing, a 5-night roundtrip sailing from New York to Bermuda.

Due to rough weather that kept the ship docked much longer than expected, the vessel will now be one day late returning to the Big Apple. Instead of arriving on Monday, September 4, Norwegian Joy will now arrive at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, September 5.

The ship was held in Bermuda due to strong winds and rain from the remnants of Hurricane Idalia, which did not dissipate as quickly as anticipated before reaching the tropical island. This meant the storm’s impact was stronger than expected on Bermuda on Saturday.

Webcams of the port area showed strong waves crashing over the dock while Norwegian Joy remained moored.

The intensity of winds as well as the direction they are from are part of the determination of whether or not a ship can depart and maneuver the channel and nearby coral reefs safely.

Next Cruise Shortened

Because of the delay, the next sailing will subsequently be shortened by one day. Instead of a 9-night Canada & New England sailing, the ship will sail an 8-night itinerary with two cancelled ports of call. These changes make the sailing a Canada-only cruise.

Norwegian Joy will now leave New York on Tuesday, September 5. The first two ports of call were originally scheduled to be Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine, but both those destinations have been removed from the itinerary.

Instead, the ship will head straight for Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ship will be in port from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, September 7, 2.5 hours longer than originally scheduled, giving guests more time to explore the quaint destination.

Similarly the time in the next port – Sydney, Nova Scotia – is also extended by 1.5 hours on Friday, September 8.

The remaining ports of call have not been adjusted and guests will still enjoy the same time and days in Charlottetown and Cornerbrook, as well as the overnight visit to Quebec City before debarkation.

At this time, there are no further delays anticipated for the ship, nor is the next sailing impacted in any way.

Compensation Offered

Guests on the now-shortened sailing will receive a pro-rated refund of their cruise fare and pre-paid onboard packages including pre-paid gratuities, for the missing day. Port taxes and fees for the now-cancelled visits to Boston and Portland are also being refunded to guests.

Norwegian Cruise Line is also providing limited assistance with airfare change fees if necessary, as well as hotel accommodations in New York for guests who may have arrived early.

The type of assistance available depends on whether guests booked their travel plans through the cruise line or made independent arrangements.

It will undoubtedly be disappointing to travelers to miss two popular ports of call, but the extended time in Halifax and Sydney do provide some additional opportunities for visitors to thoroughly enjoy those destinations.

The 167,725-gross ton Norwegian Joy can welcome 3,883 guests aboard at double occupancy, and also has 1,700 crew members aboard.

The ship is currently offering Bermuda sailings alternating with Canada & New England cruises through the peak fall foliage months. In mid-October, Norwegian Joy will reposition to Miami to offer Caribbean, Bahamas, and Panama sailings through the winter months before returning to New York in April 2024.