Norwegian Cruise Line has reached out to booked visitors on a number of sailings of the brand new Norwegian Viva with discover that the ship’s itinerary has been modified and the port of Kralendijk, Bonaire has been eliminated.
Whereas no various port has been added, the occasions in different ports of name on every itinerary have been prolonged to compensate.
The impacted sailings embody the ship’s February 16 and February 23 departures, each in 2025. These 7-night itineraries are similar, now with similar modifications.
The ship will set sail from San Juan, Puerto Rico as deliberate on Sunday, with no change within the 7 p.m. deliberate departure. On Monday, the go to to Punta Cana (La Romana) within the Dominican Republic will now be from 7 a.m. to three p.m., relatively than the unique 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This offers visitors an additional hour to discover the gorgeous tropical vacation spot.
Tuesday’s name to Oranjestad, Aruba shall be from 11 am. to 9 p.m., a complete of 10 hours in port. The unique itinerary had Norwegian Viva visiting simply from 1-9 p.m., solely eight hours. Wednesday, the ship shall be in Willemstad, Curacao from 7 a.m. to five p.m., a one-hour achieve from the unique itinerary of 8 a.m. to five p.m.
Thursday was to have been the go to to Kralendijk, Bonaire, however as a substitute, that day will now be a day at sea. Because the ship was to have been docked from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., it is a lack of 7 hours of port time.
Friday, the ship’s name to Castries, St. Lucia shall be considerably expanded. As a substitute of the unique itinerary of 1:30-7:30 p.m. (6 hours), the ship will now go to the port from 7 a.m. to five p.m. (10 hours).
Likewise, the Saturday go to to Basseterre, St. Kitts, is now from 7 a.m. to five p.m. (10 hours) as a substitute of simply 9 a.m. to five:30 p.m. (8.5 hours).
All pre-purchased shore excursions booked via Norwegian Cruise Line for Bonaire on these impacted itineraries shall be routinely cancelled, with full refunds returned to visitors’ authentic type of fee. If essential, shore tour occasions for the opposite ports of name shall be adjusted accordingly.
The 142,500-gross-ton, Prima-class Norwegian Viva can welcome 3,215 visitors at every crusing. She is at the moment spending the summer season and autumn seasons within the Mediterranean, earlier than she’s going to transfer to San Juan in December.
Why the Modifications?
The reasoning for the modifications to each single port on every of Norwegian Viva‘s impacted itineraries, in addition to dropping Bonaire utterly, has not been detailed apart from a comparatively generic clarification Norwegian Cruise Line has ceaselessly used with such modifications.
“As we proceed to optimize itineraries for enhanced port and shore tour availability for the final word trip expertise, gas optimization as part of our dedication to the setting and sustainability efforts, in addition to world maritime laws, now we have adjusted the unique itinerary,” the e-mail notification stated.
The thought of dropping Bonaire as a port go to for “shore tour availability” is fascinating as Norwegian Viva was the one ship scheduled within the port on Thursday, February 20 in addition to the next week on February 27.
It’s potential that the opposite ports of name may have extra crowding, and increasing the occasions in port will allow extra shore tour alternatives for passengers.
Learn Additionally: Norwegian Cruise Line Haven – What You Must Know
Whatever the motive, vacationers shall be understandably disenchanted within the change, notably if this can be their first cruise to the Southern Caribbean. Bonaire is a part of the distinctive “ABC” cruise itinerary – Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao – that many vacationers be aware as a bucket-list crusing.
As Norwegian Viva is providing quite a few similar itineraries whereas she is homeported from San Juan from mid-December 2024 via early April 2025, it’s potential that different crusing dates could also be equally impacted.
Company booked on sailings throughout that point interval ought to keep in shut contact with Norwegian Cruise Line in case of updates or changes.
