Key Aspects:
- Norwegian Encore’s upcoming 7-night Caribbean voyage, which embarks in Miami on November 8, 2025, has had its final port call of the sailing replaced.
- Instead of calling on Cozumel, Mexico, on November 13, the NCL ship will visit Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas on November 14.
- The itinerary change was made due to updated port availability at the Cozumel Cruise Port.
Norwegian Cruise Line has issued an important update for some future guests of Norwegian Encore.
The Breakaway Plus-class ship will be operating a 7-night sailing to the Caribbean based out of Miami, Florida, on November 8, 2025, but the back end of the voyage will look a little different than expected.
“We want to let you know that, due to updated port availability, we will no longer be visiting Cozumel, Mexico,” reads a letter from the cruise line.
“The good news? We’ve added a call to Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas, our private island exclusively for Norwegian Cruise Line guests.”
Initially, Cozumel, Mexico, was supposed to be the final stop of the cruise on Thursday, November 13, 2025.
However, this date will now be spent as a sea day. Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, which is Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island, will now be the final port call on Friday, November 14, 2025.
“When we make an itinerary change, it’s never just a line on a map, it’s something we think about carefully, always with your experience at the heart of it,” NCL continued.
While no additional compensation is being provided for the port swap, any shore excursions that were booked for Cozumel directly through Norwegian Cruise Line will be automatically refunded to the original form of payment.
New activities and tours specific to Great Stirrup Cay will become available for booking in approximately three weeks.
The remainder of the 7-night itinerary remains unchanged. Before arriving in Great Stirrup Cay, the 3,958-guest ship will first call on Harvest Caye, NCL’s private island in Belize; Roatan, Honduras; and Costa Maya, Mexico.
Port Availability is Behind the Change
Although it’s not always clear why the cruise lines alter itineraries, Norwegian Cruise Line has made it known that limited port availability in Cozumel is the culprit in this specific case.
“Every now and then, unexpected changes pop up, like port availability, that can shake up even the best-laid plans,” Norwegian Cruise Line explained.
“While we work closely with port authorities to lock in every detail well in advance, circumstances can still shift, and sometimes we’re informed that space is no longer available. These changes are often beyond our control…”
Updated port availability may refer to congestion within the cruise port, or it could be related to portions of the infrastructure temporarily becoming unavailable due to factors like the need for maintenance or repairs.
It will be a busy day for cruising in Cozumel on November 13, when Norwegian Encore was supposed to be present.
Three Royal Caribbean ships (Mariner of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, and Grandeur of the Seas), two Carnival ships (Carnival Jubilee and Carnival Dream), and one Holland America Line ship (Zuiderdam) are all on the port schedule for the same date.
Cozumel can dock up to eight ships at once at its three separate cruise terminals (and more if tender operations are employed), so capacity would not have been met even if Norwegian Encore didn’t alter course.
However, busy days like this can make the destination feel very overcrowded, especially in Cozumel’s downtown area.
Guests will likely have a more relaxing experience at Great Stirrup Cay, where the 169,116-gross ton vessel will be the only one to dock that day.
