Key Aspects:
- Instead of trying her luck at sea, Norwegian Escape will stay within the safety of the Manhattan Cruise Terminal until Hurricane Erin passes.
- Because of this necessary change, ports have been removed and replaced from the 10-night sailing to the Caribbean and Bermuda that was supposed to set sail on August 20, 2025.
- Hurricane Erin is expected to bring strong winds, flooding, and dangerous rip currents to New York and much of the East Coast during the second half of this week.
In the past few days, more than a dozen cruise ships have altered course to stay away from Hurricane Erin. Norwegian Escape, however, is taking a different tactic.
Instead of heading out to sea or pivoting to visit a different part of the world as other ships have done, she will stay put at New York’s Manhattan Cruise Terminal for two extra days.
The sailing that will be impacted by this is a 10-night cruise to the Caribbean and Bermuda that was supposed to depart New York tomorrow, on August 20, 2025.
The Breakaway Plus-class vessel will stay docked in Manhattan through August 21, and will anchor in the harbor through Friday, August 22.
Those two days were originally supposed to be sea days, before the NCL ship called on Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, on August 23 and 24, respectively.
Because of the delayed start, neither of these port calls will be possible anymore. That might be for the best, as Erin brought heavy winds and rain that left more than 150,000 people in Puerto Rico without power.
These days will now be spent at sea instead of in port.
In a domino effect, this means that the visit to Philipsburg, St. Maarten on August 25, and Tortola, British Virgin Islands, on August 26 will also need to be scrapped.
As a more practical alternative, those dates will be spent in Nassau, Bahamas, and Great Stirrup Cay, which is Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island in the Bahamas and the future home of the Great Tides Waterpark.
The only port call on the itinerary that has been left untouched is the planned visit to King’s Wharf, Bermuda, on August 28.
Stormy Weather Worsens Sea Conditions and Moods
Everyone knows that cruise lines can’t control the weather, or else hurricanes would never happen!
Even so, many of the up to 4,266 guests booked on this sailing are disappointed by the change, potentially leading to some stormy attitudes onboard.
As a good-will gesture, Norwegian Cruise Line has offered a 20% refund and a $200 onboard credit.
“They sent out an email stating itinerary changed due to hurricane Erin potential impact. Severe downgrade if you ask me and they’re only giving 20% refund and $200 credit per stateroom,” one impacted passenger shared.
While cruise guests could use this as an opportunity to explore New York more deeply, they likely will have to contend with some windy or rainy weather during their extended stay.
Read Also: What to Do Onboard a Cruise Ship in Bad Weather
Although Erin has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm as of August 19, the hurricane is still quite intense with wind speeds of 105 miles per hour.
According to the National Hurricane Center’s (NOAA) latest update at 5 p.m. EST on August 19, Erin will be running parallel to the US East Coast and is expected to be present from the night of August 20 (Wednesday) through at least all day August 21 (Thursday).
Although the hurricane will not make landfall, Erin may still bring storm surges and waves as high as 20 feet tall, potentially deadly rip currents, coastal flooding, and strong wind gusts.
