Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Unveils Next Phase of Return to Cruising Outside the U.S.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, today (April 28, 2021) unveiled the next phase of its long awaited plan to resume cruising outside of the U.S. this summer.
Oceania Cruises will resume operations with sailings to Scandinavia and Western Europe beginning in August and Regent Seven Seas Cruises will restart cruising with voyages from the U.K. beginning in September.
In addition, Norwegian Cruise Line will continue its phased restart with Mediterranean voyages on board Norwegian Epic and Norwegian Getaway in September, following its previously announced Caribbean and Europe itineraries beginning in July and August.
In parallel, the Company continues to await feedback on its proposal submitted to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) on April 5, 2021, outlining its plan to restart cruising from U.S. ports starting July 4th and requesting the CDC lift the Conditional Sail Order. All initial voyages will operate with fully vaccinated guests and crew in addition to the Company’s robust, multi-layered SailSAFETM health and safety program, which includes universal COVID-19 testing prior to embarkation.
“We are pleased to unveil the next chapter of our resumption of cruise voyages embarking outside of the U.S. with sailings in Europe on all three of our award-winning brands. We value the health, safety and well-being of our guests, crew and the communities we visit above all else and we have worked tirelessly to develop our science-backed plan to safely resume cruising, including mandatory vaccinations and robust SailSAFE preventative protocols,” said Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. “As part of our two-pronged approach to return to cruising within and outside of the U.S., we are simultaneously planning for a potential resumption of cruising from U.S. ports while we await further discussion with the CDC regarding our proposal for a July 4th restart to participate in America’s national opening.”
As part of the Company’s phased return to cruising, Oceania Cruises will restart cruise operations with the Marina in August, resuming her originally published voyage schedule commencing on August 29, 2021 in Copenhagen.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises will return to sailing with Seven Seas Splendor cruising from the U.K. beginning September 11, 2021. The voyage will also mark the resumption of Seven Seas Splendor’s inaugural season, with the ship having only completed two cruises with guests after being christened in February 2020. All voyages on these brands, excluding these newly announced voyages, with embarkation dates through September 30, 2021 have been cancelled. Impacted guests on voyages that will not operate will be notified accordingly.
Norwegian Cruise Line will continue its return to cruising with voyages in the Mediterranean during September and October on Norwegian Epic and Norwegian Getaway. Norwegian Epic will cruise seven-night Western Mediterranean itineraries from Sept. 5, 2021 through Oct. 24, 2021 and Norwegian Getaway will sail 10 to 11-day Greek Isles voyages from Rome (Civitavecchia) from Sept. 13, 2021 to Oct. 25, 2021.
The Company previously announced its initial restart with sailings originating in Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Greece beginning in July 2021 with Norwegian Joy, Jade and Gem. Certain sailings for Norwegian Cruise Line outside of these newly announced voyages have been cancelled. Impacted guests on voyages that will not operate will be notified accordingly.
The Company continues to expect a phased-in approach to reintroducing additional vessels across its three brands while taking into account the public health environment, global travel restrictions and port availability, among other considerations. All voyages will operate with the Company’s comprehensive SailSAFE health and safety protocols which were developed with leading public health and scientific experts including the Healthy Sail Panel and the SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council.
(Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. – NCLH)
