Norwegian Jade became the first Norwegian Cruise Line cruise ship to start cruising in the Mediterranean this year. The vessel kicked off the European season for Norwegian Cruise Line as she sailed from Civitavecchia, Italy.
The NCL vessel will sail one cruise from the Italian cruise capital before she repositions to Pireaus, Greece, the same port from where Norwegian Jade became the first ship in the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet to resume sailings in 2021.
Norwegian Jade Kicks off European Cruise Season
Although most of Europe is still battling some lingering cold spells, that is no reason not to get cruises going. This is why Norwegian Jade became the first cruise ship for Norwegian Cruise Line to resume operations in the Mediterranean.
Sailing from the Italian cruise capital of Civitavecchia, the port close to Rome, the cruise ship departed on a 9 Night Greek Isles cruise visiting Palermo in Sicily; the beautiful and historical city of Valetta in Malta; Santorini and Rhodes in Greece; Kusadasi and Istanbul in Turkey; and finishing off with a visit to Mykonos in Greece. Norwegian Jade will finish her first cruise in Piraeus, Greece, on April 8.
On April 8, Norwegian Jade will sail a second 9-day voyage that will call in Greece, Turkey, Israel & Cyprus.
From April 17 onwards, the Norwegian cruise ship will be sailing on a series of 7-night cruises from Pireaus, with several different options available to guests, including calls to Ephesus in Turkey, Ashdod and Haifa in Israel, and ports in Greece such as Santorini, Patmos, and Mykonos.
Norwegian Jade’s season in the eastern Mediterranean will last through the end of November 2022. After that, the ship will depart on an epic 18-day cruise along the East-African coastline towards Cape Town, South Africa.
Norwegian Jade First Again
It’s not the first time Norwegian Jade becomes the first in the fleet to sail in Europe. Last year, the 93,558 gross-ton cruise ship was the first Norwegian Cruise Line cruise ship in the entire fleet to resume cruises after the global pause in operations.
Norwegian Jade sailed from Pireaus on July 26, 2021, the first time a Norwegian Cruise Line ship had sailed with passengers in 500 days.
At the time, Harry Sommer, the president and CEO of Norwegian, said: “We are excited to embark on the Great Cruise Comeback with a brand-new itinerary and homeport for our brand, offering our guests an even greater selection of unique vacations at sea.”
That great cruise comeback is still ongoing, although Norwegian has made great strides towards its goal of having all ships operational before the summer of 2022. For now, only four ships remain:
- Norwegian Star beginning April 3, 2022, from Barcelona, Spain
- Pride of America starting April 9, 2022, from Honolulu, Hawai’i
- Norwegian Sun beginning May 5, 2022, from Seattle, Washington
- Norwegian Spirit starting May 7, 2022, from Papeete, Tahiti
It’s not a bad effort from a cruise company that has been cautious and steadfast in approaching the pandemic in the last two years. So far, it seems the plans from Harry Sommer and NCLH CEO Frank De Rio have worked out pretty well.
