Norwegian Jewel became the first ship sailing from Panama City (Colón), Panama, for Norwegian Cruise Line in 2022. However, cruising from the country did not last long as the company seems to have decided to discontinue these homeport cruises, at least for the majority of next year, with only sailing in December remaining.
Norwegian Pulls Out of Panama
Norwegian Cruise Line has confirmed that there are currently no plans on homeporting a ship out of Panama following December 2024. Cruise Hive contacted NCL for a response, and a spokesperson said it will sail out of Panama through December 2024.
“We are committed to delivering exceptional experiences across our fleet, which includes curating itineraries to the world’s most sought-out destinations. Panama Canal voyages continue to be a favorite amongst our guests, with sailings open for sale through December 2024 embarking from Panama City,” NCL said.
There is only one sailing scheduled for 2024 from Panama. That sailing in December 2024 is the 9-day cruise on Norwegian Gem to Cozumel and Jamaica from Panama City.
The cruise line is discontinuing cruises with Panamanian ports as a homeport, such as the Norwegian Jewel cruises to Curacao, Aruba & Cartagena from Panama City. Cruises that have a regular scheduled port call are not affected.
According to the Panama Tourism Authority, NCL’s decision to pull out of Panama as a homeport was mainly due to the logistics and infrastructure needed to support operations.
Norwegian Cruise Line did not have much luck with Panama, particularly after a gangway collapsed with passengers from Norwegian Encore.
