Norwegian Cruise Line announced it will deploy three ships to Asia in 2024/2025 and is adding new ports of call to its Middle East and Africa sailings. In another first for the line, Norwegian Star will depart from Ushuaia, Argentina, on her 2025 South America voyage to Brazil and Antarctica. The new and expanded itineraries opened for bookings on March 7. Another three NCL ships will also debut in Asia with expanded offerings.
Several New Port Calls
Norwegian Cruise Line took the wraps off a new season of cruises operating from October 2024 to December 2025, a schedule that reflects a 37% increase in sailings to Asia, Antarctica, South America, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. At the same time, the line will boost by 15% its collection of immersive voyages, called Extraordinary Journeys.
New port calls will be made to Manama, Bahrain; Rarotonga, Cook Islands; Sokhna, Egypt; and Akita, Japan. Norwegian said the new collection of itineraries reaffirms the line’s commitment to providing guests with curated voyages to sought-after destinations.
Norwegian Cruise Line President and CEO said, ”Our guests are craving longer, immersive and more unique itineraries that take them off the beaten path. These new sailings represent the most diverse itinerary program to date and feature many brand firsts, including an extended Asia offering and new ports in Argentina, Bahrain, Japan and Egypt.”
Betting on Asia
The cruise line’s focus on Asia will see three ships sailing the region, the 2,018-guest Norwegian Spirit, 1,976-guest Norwegian Sun and 2,004-guest Norwegian Sky. Two of the ships, Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Sky, will deploy for an eight-month season from October 2024 to May 2025, operating cruises in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan.
The new port call in Akita will be offered on Norwegian Sun’s 12-day roundtrip sailing from Tokyo, embarking on Oct. 23, 2024. Norwegian Spirit will join the Asia deployment after a repositioning cruise from Australia on December 7, 2024.
The presence of three Norwegian ships in Asia follows the cancelation of the line’s entire Asia program in 2022 and 2023. The line announced in May 2022 that its planned schedule of sailings onboard Norwegian Sun between October 2022 and April 2023 was cancelled due to challenging and inconsistent local travel restrictions related to the public health environment in Asia. The ship was instead deployed to Europe.
Antarctica and Beyond
Norwegian’s maiden voyage from Ushuaia, Argentina, aboard the 2,348-guest Norwegian Star is a 14-day South America voyage to Brazil and Antarctica departing March 1, 2025.
The line said that embarking in Ushuaia reduces the number of sea days required for an Antarctica cruise, allowing guests more time in port. The ship will cruise through Paradise Bay in Antarctica and call at Puerto Madryn, and Buenos Aires, Argentina; Montevideo and Punta Del Este, Uruguay; and Sao Paulo (Santos).
The line’s maiden call to Manama, Bahrain, will be offered on its first dedicated Middle East sailing, a 7-day cruise on Norwegian Sun from Doha, Qatar, to Dubai, UAE, departing April 12, 2025. The itinerary includes an overnight stay in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and calls at Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and Sir Bani Yas.
Other Middle East voyages include a 16-day Middle East Extraordinary Journey aboard Norwegian Sky from Haifa, Israel, to Dubai, UAE. The itinerary includes a transit of the Suez Canal in Egypt.
Norwegian Spirit will return to Australia for her third season Down Under and will sail a new 14-day cruise from Sydney to Bali in December 2024. The ship will make the line’s maiden call to Rarotonga, Cook Islands in November 2025.
Extraordinary Journeys
Norwegian Cruise Line is enhancing its Extraordinary Journeys collection with two new back-to-back voyages aboard Norwegian Sky.
Departing in December 2024, the ship will operate a 16-day Africa sailing to the Seychelles, Kenya, Tanzania, Oman and other ports during its voyage from Dubai, UAE, to Mauritius. From Mauritius, the ship will offer a 17-day sailing to Singapore with calls to Seychelles, Maldives and Zanzibar.
Another cruise under the Journeys collection is the April 19, 2025 departure of Norwegian Sun on a 16-day cruise from Dubai, UAE, to Haifa, Israel. A new port call on this cruise is Sokhna, Egypt, a destination offering access to Cairo and excursions to the Great Pyramids of Giza.
