Norwegian Cruise Line announced small changes for Norwegian Joy’s sailings from New York City. The change is one that guests will likely be able to appreciate. In May 2022, the cruise line has added Norfolk, Virginia, to the 7-day itinerary sailing from New York City to Bermuda for four sailings.
NCL Adds Virginia Beach To Norwegian Joy Itinerary
For Norwegian Bliss in 2023, Norwegian Cruise Line had already added Norfolk, Virginia, to the itinerary. It seems reasonable that the cruise line would do the same for cruises in 2022. And so it has.
For cruises on May 1, May 8, May 15, and May 22, 2022, guests will now be able to enjoy a full day in Virginia Beach, or plan a visit to Colonial Williamsburg before Norwegian Joy will set sail towards another historical point of interest, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda. It also seems that guests booked on cruises in June and July, also have the additional port of call.
The new itinerary now departs from New York on Sundays; the following Monday is spent in Norfolk, followed by a day at sea. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are then spent alongside the Royal Naval Dockyard. Saturday is spent at sea before arriving back in New York City on Sunday morning.
The addition of Norfolk, Virginia, certainly adds more incentive for guests to book. It boasts the largest naval base globally, the historic city of Williamsburg is nearby, and several beautiful historic districts can be explored.
Hampton Roads Naval Museum and the battleship USS. Wisconsin provides insight into the city’s long navy history, and walking along the waterfront of downtown is an excellent way to see docked ships, sailboats, and tugboats.
There have been quite a few itinerary changes for Norwegian Cruise Line in recent weeks. Two port visits for Norwegian Gem’s November 28 cruise from New York were cancelled, a call to Bermuda for Norwegian Getaway’s 17-day transatlantic voyage was removed, Norwegian Encore’s November 14 sailing from Miami was cancelled, and Norwegian Epic’s transatlantic voyage was also altered.
Norwegian Joy is Back Sailing
The Breakaway-plus Norwegian Joy will be repositioning to New York City towards the end of April 2022, when she concludes her winter season of cruises from Port Miami. Her first cruise from New York will be a 5-day Bermuda cruise, while her subsequent cruises will be the 7-day cruises as mentioned.
The 167,725 gross ton cruise ship resumed operations on November 20, when she set sail from PortMiami after more than a 19-month pause in operations.
The vessel operates a series of seven-day roundtrip Caribbean cruises that call at Roatán, Honduras; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; and Harvest Caye in Belize, the cruise line’s private island destination. Norwegian Joy will offer these week-long sailings through April 2022.
Norwegian Joy had been intended to sail in the Chinese Market; however, the cruise line pulled the vessel from Asia in April 2019 to resume operations from the United States.
According to some reports, the vessel did operate in China for just over a year; however, several difficulties arose between the cruise line and local customs, prompting the cruise line to pull out of China with Norwegian Joy.
The company has chosen to take a route that involves sailing only with 100% of the guests and the crew members being fully vaccinated onboard, without exemption. This process has worked well for the cruise line, despite recent reports on a minor caseload onboard Norwegian Breakaway.
