Key Aspects:
- Norwegian Cruise Line has significantly altered Norwegian Gem’s April 9, 2026 transatlantic cruise.
- The repositioning voyage sails from New York to Barcelona in advance of the ship’s summer series in Europe.
- Another day at sea was added and several port calls were changed.
At least one guest who is booked to sail a Norwegian Cruise Line transatlantic voyage in spring 2026 is up in arms about several major itinerary revisions that added an extra sea day and replaced multiple port calls.
The 15-night New York-to-Barcelona voyage on Norwegian Gem departs on April 9, 2026 and arrives in the Spanish city on April 24, 2026, setting up the ship for her summer series of cruises to Eastern and Western Mediterranean destinations.
Making matters worse, the cruise line announced the itinerary changes just one day before its cancellation penalties take effect: Anyone who cancels 119 days or before departure will forfeit 25% of their cruise fare.
The financial penalty grows as departure nears. For example, those who cancel between 61 and 90 days before departure will forfeit 50% of their fare.
Under Norwegian’s policy, full refunds are provided if the request is made at least 120 days before embarkation.
“I received an email yesterday, day 120 before cruise, where you could get 100% refunds. NCL has completely changed the cruise,” a frustrated guest posted on social media.
“There will be 6 days at SEA! Let alone no Nova Scotia, Azores, Lisbon or Cartagena. Today is day 119, looks like I will lose 25% of 7k if I cancel today,” the guest wrote.
The disappointed guest called the cruise line about its policy, and it confirmed that he would lose 25% of his total fare, since his inquiry was made 119 days before departure.
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The guest noted that he paid $7,000 for the voyage, so if he were to cancel he stands to lose $1,750.
Some commenters were sympathetic, but not all.
“It’s a transatlantic. There are going to be a lot of sea days. 4 is really no different than 6. If you don’t like sea days, then don’t book transatlantic,” one post reads.
Here’s How the Itinerary Changed
Norwegian Gem’s itinerary originally featured six days at sea, but the revised route increases that to seven. A port call on day 3 of the sailing, at Halifax, Nova Scotia, was cancelled, meaning there are no ports between New York and Portugal.
A scheduled call on April 16, at Ponta Delgada, Portugal, was changed to Funchal, Portugal, and the time in port was altered, too, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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After another sea day, the 2,394-guest ship will now call at Gibraltar instead of Lisbon, Portugal, on April 18. The time of that call is changed as well, from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Port calls on April 20 and 21 also are changed, from Malaga, Spain, to Motril, Spain, and Cartagena, Spain, to Ibiza, Spain, respectively. The call to Ibiza will now be from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. rather than the original 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Then, on April 22, a planned visit to Palma De Majorca, Spain, remains on the schedule but with a different departure time. Rather than depart at 1:30 p.m. the ship will depart at 3 p.m.
Finally, on April 24, the port call to Cannes, France, was changed to Marseille, France. Guests will gain some time in port on this visit, since the ship will depart at 6 p.m. rather than 3:30 p.m. Arrival time remains at 9 a.m.
Shore Excursions in Cancelled Ports Will Be Refunded
The cruise line is taking steps to align it scheduled shore excursions with the port times, and is cancelling tours in ports removed from the itinerary.
“If you booked a shore excursion through NCL for Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Ponta Delgada or Lisbon, Portugal, Málaga (Granada) or Cartagena, Spain; or Cannes, France, no worries, we’ve got it handled,” the cruise line wrote to booked guests.
“Those tours will be automatically cancelled, and a full refund will be automatically credited directly to the original payment method used at the time of reservation,” the line added.
Also, Norwegian is working to reschedule excursions to align with the port call time changes. Any that cannot be rescheduled will be cancelled.
The cruise line promised that new shore excursions to the added port call destinations would be available to book in about three weeks. Norwegian Cruise Line, with a current fleet of 20 ships, offered no reasons for the revised itinerary.
