Norwegian Getaway became the fifth Norwegian Cruise Line ship to resume operations when she set sail from Civitavecchia, Italy, on September 13. The vessel is also the third NCL ship to sail the Mediterranean.
Norwegian Getaway Restarts Operations
After more than 500 days without guests, Norwegian Getaway finally had the chance to start operations last week when she sailed with a select group of dignitaries, travel agents, and other invitees on a test cruise around the Mediterranean. NCL did this test cruise to ensure all the onboard protocols and measures the cruise line implemented worked as planned.
Today’s departure on September 13 means the first actual ‘revenue’ cruise the ship has undertaken. Norwegian Getaway is sailing from her homeport of Civitavecchia, a city close to Rome in Italy, on a ten-day itinerary between Italy, Croatia, and the Greek islands.
Ports that will be featured during the ten days are Dubrovnik, Corfu, Katakolon, Santorini, Mykonos, Naples, and Livorno, before returning to Civitavecchia.
From the end of October, the itinerary will be slightly changed to include ports in Israel, such as Ashdod and Haifa, Limassol in Cyprus, and Kusadasi in Turkey, while the ship will homeport in Athens.
The 145,655 gross ton, 3,963 passenger Norwegian Getaway will continue to sail the Mediterranean until December when she embarks on her epic transatlantic voyage. The vessel will sail from Rome on December 5 on a 17-day cruise that will visit ports, including Barcelona, Valencia, Ponta Delgada in the Azores, and Bermuda, before she arrives in Miami just before Christmas on December 22.
Safety First Onboard Norwegian’s Ships
Eamonn Ferrin, vice president of international business for Norwegian Cruise Line, focused on the health guidelines the company had successfully implemented fleetwide when he spoke to L’agenzia di Viaggi during the test voyage the ship undertook this week:
“Finally after 500 days we are back to sailing and now we add the fifth ship. Our policy remains that there are only vaccinated people, crew and guests on board. Before boarding at the terminal, there is the obligation to perform the rapid swab and you board after receiving a negative test result. Safety is paramount and this way passengers experience their cruise as the safest vacation in the world”.
Norwegian Cruise Line has spared no expense in ensuring guests have the safest possible experience onboard. Not only must every guest that steps onboard be fully vaccinated, but they will also need to undergo additional testing before boarding.
Also Read: Norwegian Cruise Line Extends Vaccine Requirements Through the Remainder of 2021
These strict requirements do lead Norwegian to offer a near as normal cruise experience onboard. All NCL sailings are mask-free, with no social distancing, no restrictions on capacity, no access or capacity limits to restaurants, shore visits, saunas, water slides, etc.
NCL Continues Its Comeback
Norwegian Cruise Line has slowly but surely ramped up its ships in the last few weeks and months. Despite a slower start-up than the competition in Royal Caribbean and Carnival Corporation, NCL now has five ships sailing.
Norwegian Jade, Norwegian Epic, and now Norwegian Getaway are all operational in the Mediterranean. Norwegian Encore is currently sailing between Seattle and Alaska, and Norwegian Gem became the first ship to set sail for the company from Miami, Florida.
In the next few weeks and months, we can expect to see Norwegian Breakaway sailing from New York City on September 26, Norwegian Bliss from Los Angeles on October 24, and Norwegian Escape from Port Canaveral on November 13.
