Seven Months of Cruises Cancelled for Norwegian Cruise Ship

Norwegian Cruise Line has reached out to travel agents and booked guests to notify them that seven months of cruises aboard Norwegian Sun have now been cancelled. This includes cruises from late March through early November 2025.

Norwegian Sun Cruise Cancellations and Refunds

Booked guests have begun to receive notifications that seven months of sailings aboard Norwegian Sun have been cancelled. The email is also being sent to the cruise line’s travel partners so they may contact any of their impacted clients.

“As a result of a fleet redeployment, Norwegian Sun’s sailings from March 28, 2025 through and including November 3, 2025 have been canceled,” the email said. “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

Full refunds for all the cancelled sailings – a total of 22 cruises – are being automatically processed back to the original form of payment used when the reservation was made. These refunds will be processed from the cruise line within 30 days, and may take 7-10 days after that time to be processed through individual financial institutions.

If guests used a future cruise credit (FCC) to book their now-cancelled cruises, those FCCs will be reinstated to their loyalty accounts.

Furthermore, all guests will receive a 10% discount FCC for use on a future cruise vacation, valid for any Norwegian Cruise Line published sailing from November 20, 2023 through December 31, 2025.

“We sincerely appreciate your understanding and look forward to welcoming you aboard very soon,” the email concludes.

The 78,309-gross-ton Norwegian Sun can welcome 1,976 guests per sailing when booked at double occupancy, meaning as many as 44,000 guests or more may be impacted by this dramatic cancellation. The actual number of passengers affected is likely to be somewhat lower, however, as the sailings had not yet sold out before being cancelled.

Alternative Cruises

Norwegian Cruise Line is also informing guests that Norwegian Sky – sister ship to Norwegian Sun – will be offering similar itineraries to the now-cancelled cruises during the same March-through-November 2025 window, should travelers wish to rebook a different cruise.

The cancelled cruises aboard Norwegian Sun ranged from 7-16 nights, with most being 9- or 10-night cruises. Both Middle East and Mediterranean itineraries are impacted.

Guests could also use their new FCC discount for any Norwegian Cruise Line sailing elsewhere in the world, including aboard the brand new Norwegian Viva or the upcoming Norwegian Aqua, which will begin sailing in April 2025.

Why the Cancellations?

No explanation has been given for such extensive cancellations, other than “fleet redeployment.” This is the same explanation that was offered when months of Alaska cruises were cancelled for Norwegian Spirit, which was being chartered for the impacted window.

Similarly, three months of cruises aboard Norwegian Escape were cancelled just weeks ago, encompassing a window from January to March 2025.

Norwegian Cruise Line has an unfortunate history of these types of mass cancellations as ships are moved to different regions or dry dock schedules are shifted. Similar cancellations have previously impacted Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Joy, and other vessels.

Speculation will undoubtedly be rampant that Norwegian Sun may be leaving the cruise line either to be sold to another line or scrapped altogether, but these rumors are as yet unfounded and without official confirmation.

It is true that Norwegian Sun is one of the oldest ships in the line’s fleet, having first set sail in September 2001. By the time of the cancelled sailings, the ship will be more than 23 years old, a decent operational lifespan for any vessel, but not necessarily the end of useful operation altogether.

Smaller, more “seasoned” ships are often preferred for longer itineraries, as they offer an intimacy that larger vessels cannot.

They are also ideal for visits to more remote or unusual ports of call that may not be equipped to accommodate today’s largest ships and the thousands of passengers they can host on every sailing.

Stay tuned to Cruise Hive for more details as the future of Norwegian Sun is revealed.