Norwegian Cruise Line Cancels in Favor of Full Ship Charter

Guests looking forward to their February 6, 2025 sailing aboard Norwegian Joy are now disappointed to learn that the sailing has been cancelled for a full ship charter.

Norwegian Joy Cruise Cancelled

Norwegian Cruise Line has reached out to booked guests and travel partners to notify them of the cancellation of Norwegian Joy‘s February 6, 2025 departure.

“We are committed to providing exceptional vacation experiences, both aboard our ships and by taking our guests to some of the most sought-out destinations around the world. As a result of a full ship charter, Norwegian Joy’s sailing on February 6, 2025 has been cancelled,” the notification email read. “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

The impacted cruise is a 5-night Mexican Riviera itinerary with ports of call in Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada, sailing roundtrip from Los Angeles.

While guests will be understandably disappointed in the cancellation, the cruise is more than a year away. This gives travelers plenty of time to choose a different cruise or make alternative travel plans so they can still enjoy a fun getaway.

Norwegian Joy is one of the largest ships in the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet, able to welcome 3,883 passengers on each sailing (double occupancy), with 1,700 international crew members on board to ensure everyone has a joyous cruise.

Because the cruise line has cancelled the sailing, all guests are receiving full refunds back to the original form of payment. These refunds will be processed from Norwegian Cruise Line within 30 days, but individual financial institutions may have different processing times.

If a guest used a future cruise credit for the now-cancelled cruise, the full amount of the credit will be automatically returned to their Latitudes loyalty account, with no further action required.

As further compensation for the cancellation, Norwegian Cruise Line is giving all guests a 10% discount in the form of a future cruise credit that may be used toward any published sailing through December 31, 2025. These new credits will be available for use from December 25, 2023.

More Cruises May Be Cancelled

While the information provided only applies to Norwegian Joy‘s February 6, 2025 cruise, it is possible that several cruises around the same time period may actually be impacted.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s booking engine on their official website does not show any available sailings for the 167,725-gross-ton, Breakaway-Plus-class vessel during February 2025.

Originally, there were three cruises aboard Norwegian Joy during that month – the February 6 departure, as well as a 16-night cruise from Los Angeles to Miami departing on February 11, 2025. That cruise includes a Panama Canal transit and calls in Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, and Grand Cayman before arriving in Miami on February 27.

Similarly, the February 27 departure from Miami – a 4-night Bahamas cruise visiting Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay – is not available for reservations on the cruise line’s website.

While these cruises may indeed be chartered and therefore unavailable for new bookings, it is also possible they may be sold out with no further space available for reservations to be made.

Cruise lines do not generally reveal what groups arrange for full-ship charter sailings, as the charter organization handles the bookings. Music festival organizers, lifestyle groups, business corporations, and other large groups often arrange charter cruises to bring their members together for amazing getaways.

Read Also: Norwegian Cruise Ships – Newest to Oldest

Guests who are not part of charter sailings but have their cruises cancelled because of a new charter arrangement generally have no recourse about the cancellation, just as guests have no choice if a cruise line cancels a cruise for changes in dry dock schedules, ship redeployments, or other operational reasons.

Most cruise lines try to make such arrangements well before sailing dates, giving passengers plenty of time to choose another cruise or make alternative travel plans if they prefer.

Recently, Royal Caribbean International cancelled two cruises aboard two different ships for full-ship charter sailings, both of which are in 2024. Many other cruise lines also have charter sailings from time to time, and such arrangements are not unusual.