Norwegian Cancels Transatlantic Crossing Two Years Early

Norwegian Cruise Line has reached out to guests booked on Norwegian Breakaway‘s transatlantic crossing to alert them that the sailing is now cancelled – even though it wasn’t due to depart until February 2025.

The cancellation is due to a change for where the ship’s technical maintenance, a regularly scheduled drydock, will take place, which puts the vessel out of position to make the cruise efficiently.

Transatlantic Crossing Cancelled for Norwegian Breakaway

The February 7, 2025, departure for Norwegian Breakaway has been cancelled to better facilitate the ship’s regular maintenance and technical upgrades.

The 12-night cruise was to have been a transatlantic crossing, repositioning the ship from Miami, Florida to Barcelona, Spain for the summer season in the Mediterranean.

In between the crossing and beginning departures from European ports, the ship was planned to spend six weeks undergoing technical refurbishment and stateroom upgrades.

Those upgrades will still take place, but will now be at a different shipyard than originally planned, which means the transatlantic cruise – bringing the ship to Barcelona – is no longer possible in order for the ship to arrive for refurbishment on schedule.

Guests impacted by the cancellation have been notified, and their cruise fare is automatically being fully refunded back to the original form of payment. If guests paid for the now-cancelled cruise with a future cruise credit (FCC), that credit is being automatically returned to their loyalty account.

As a further gesture of goodwill, Norwegian Cruise Line is also providing all booked guests with an (FCC) with a value of 10 percent of the cruise fare. The FCC must be used toward any published sailing through December 31, 2025.

“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” the email to guests concluded. After the dry dock, the 145,655-gross-ton Norwegian Breakaway is still scheduled for a summer of Mediterranean sailings.

Other 2025 Norwegian Cruise Line Transatlantic Cruises

Transatlantic cruises, while once the only way to move across the Atlantic Ocean, today are amazing voyages and once-in-a-lifetime sailings for many cruise travelers. Because there are only a few such sailings each year, the cancellation of Norwegian Breakaway‘s cruise will be a disappointment to everyone already booked.

Fortunately, the cancellation is early enough – nearly 22 months prior to sailing – that guests should not have difficulty changing their travel plans while still enjoying a transatlantic cruises. (Unlike Cunard, which recently cancelled a transatlantic crossing on embarkation day!)

Norwegian Bliss has a transatlantic crossing scheduled to depart Miami, Florida on January 4, 2025, visiting the Azores, Portugal, Spain, and France on its way to Southampton, England, and will return in reverse order one month later, departing Southampton on February 2 for a westbound transatlantic sailing back to Miami.

On March 31, 2025, Norwegian Epic is setting sail from New York to reposition to Rome, and will visit Bermuda, the Azores, Portugal, Spain, France, and other ports of call in Italy along the 15-night sailing.

Norwegian Pearl is offering a 14-night transatlantic from New York to Southampton departing on April 24, 2025, calling on ports in Canada, Iceland, Ireland, and France along the way. Norwegian Prima is doing a similar itinerary just three days later, departing New York on April 27, 2025.

With so many options and nearly two years to make plans, guests eager for a transatlantic sailing are sure to still find fantastic cruises that will exceed their vacation expectations.