Cruise travelers often book sailings well in advance to get the best deals and the best selection of ships, itineraries, and staterooms. It can be disappointing, then, to have found the perfect cruise only to have it cancelled, no matter how far in advance that may be.
Guests booked on two sailings of Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Getaway have now been notified of just that situation as their cruises have been cancelled for full ship charters.
The impacted sailings are the ship’s August 17 and August 21 departures in 2026. At nearly two years away, this is well in advance and gives travelers plenty of notice so they can choose a different oceangoing getaway.
The now-cancelled cruises are a 4-night and 3-night Bahamas voyage, respectively, with calls to Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island destination in the Bahamas.
All booked guests will receive a full refund of their cruise fare, which will be automatically returned to the original form of payment. Refunds may take up to 30 days to process from the cruise line, but the actual time when the funds are available may depend on individual financial institution’s processing policies.
If travelers use a future cruise credit (FCC) to pay for their now-cancelled cruise, that FCC will be reinstated to their loyalty Latitudes account.
Furthermore, all guests will also receive a new FCC they can use on another Norwegian Cruise Line sailing.
“As a genuine acknowledgement of the inconvenience caused, we will be extending a 10% discount in the form of a FCC to be used towards any of our published sailings through December 31, 2026,” the notification read. “While we share your disappointment, we look forward to the opportunity to rebook your dream cruise vacation and to welcome you aboard soon.”
Norwegian Cruise Line does offer several alternative options for guests to consider. Norwegian Getaway is homeported from Miami and offering a lengthy series of the same 3- and 4-night Bahamas itineraries.
Specifically, the ship’s 2026 August 3 and August 10 departures are the same 4-night sailings, while the August 7 and August 14 cruises are the identical 3-night itineraries as the now-chartered cruises.
Why the Cancellation?
Norwegian Cruise Line does not offer further details about why these two cruises are now cancelled, other than the change is due to a “full ship charter.”
This type of booking cancellation is not unusual, as many organizations and groups offer charter sailings as oceangoing meetups. This may be for a lifestyle cruise, music festival event, corporate retreat, hobby-based sailing, or other themed cruise.
To be clear, Norwegian Getaway is not being removed from service and there are no technical problems or dry dock plans related to these now-cancelled cruises.
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The ship will still be sailing as planned, but the guests onboard must be affiliated with the charter sailing in order to book. The cruises will not be able to book directly through Norwegian Cruise Line, but must book with the charter agency or group organizing the cruise.
While two back-to-back cruises are cancelled, it is possible the sailings are being combined for one longer 7-night cruise voyage for the charter. This may mean some port of call changes for the new sailing, instead of visiting both Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay twice.
Of course, it is also possible that to separate sailings are being chartered either by the same or different organizations, and it has been best to choose the adjacent dates for convenience or operational reasons.
The 145,655-gross-ton, Breakaway class Norwegian Getaway can welcome 3,963 guests aboard at each sailing. The ship is also home to more than 1,600 international crew members who work very hard to ensure that all travelers – on a public cruise or a charter – have a truly fabulous getaway.