Norwegian Sun, currently sailing on a 20-night Panama Canal cruise, has experienced technical issues since April 24 during its stop in Cartagena, Colombia.

The problems have led to power outages and the air conditioning system going offline. Although technical teams have worked diligently to resolve the situation, the ship remains docked in Cartagena on Tuesday.

At the very least, the scheduled transit of the Panama Canal will not happen today, while the impact on the remaining port calls on the Pacific coast remains unclear.

Extended Stay in Cartagena Due to Electrical Difficulties

Just days after departing from Miami on April 21, guests onboard Norwegian Sun have been quite literally left in the dark, as the 78,309 gross tons Sky-class cruise ship has been experiencing technical difficulties since arriving in Cartagena, Colombia, on April 24.

Norwegian Sun’s Captain Maksym Kyselov sent a letter to guests on April 24, stating that the stay in Cartagena would be extended due to technical problems. However, the issues appear more severe than initially anticipated as the cruise ship remains docked in Cartagena today, April 25.

Captain Maksym Kyselov: “We are committed to delivering exceptional guest experiences at sea, however, at times, unexpected circumstances may arise. Earlier today, we experienced electrical difficulties, which resulted in some amenities going offline. Since then, services have begun to return. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused”

Consequently, the Panama Canal transit scheduled for April 25 has been cancelled and will be rescheduled for later this week. In the letter, Captain Kyselov expressed his regret for the inconvenience and informed guests that the all-aboard time for the day was extended to midnight to allow for more exploration of the city:

One guest contacted Cruise Hive and shared their experience: “Power has been out on Norwegian Sun most of the day. Ship staying overnight in Port of Cartagena, Colombia, while the crew works to fix electrical problems. Tuesday’s Panama Canal transit won’t happen. No further updates expected until the morning.”

Tension Grows Onboard

While many will understand the situation onboard, the delay is unfortunate for the guests who boarded the Norwegian Sun on April 21 for the 20 Night Panama Canal cruise. In a follow-up message from a passenger currently onboard Norwegian Sun, the tension onboard seems to grow with little communication from Norwegian Cruise Line.

“Frustrating to be 12:07 p.m. here in Colombia and no information regarding the situation. No Freestyle Daily newsletter has been distributed for today, nor any other communications except for a vague announcement by the captain at about 8:20 this morning that they are working on a new itinerary.”

That the situation is indeed quite serious shows as Norwegian Cruise Line was forced to close the dining rooms on April 24, and guests were offered a buffet only for dinner. 

“The dining rooms were closed for dinner last night. Only a lackluster buffet was offered. Although this is certainly annoying, we do appreciate NCL’s desire not to set sail without full power. And we’re lucky this problem happened while we were in port and not at sea.”

Impact on Cruise Itinerary

Norwegian Sun‘s itinerary covers multiple ports from April 21 to May 11. The cruise began in Miami, Florida, on April 21, followed by the now-extended stop in Cartagena, Colombia, on April 24.

From Cartagena, the cruise was scheduled to visit Puntarenas, Costa Rica, on April 27 and San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, on April 28. Subsequent stops include Acajutla, El Salvador, on April 29 and Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, on April 30. The call in Nicaragua has been cancelled as the port is not currently allowing cruise ships to dock.

The ship would then sail to Mexico, making port calls at Huatulco, Acapulco, Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas; Victoria, British Columbia in Canada, and arriving in Seattle on May 11.

It remains unclear how the delay in Cartagena and the rescheduling of the Panama Canal transit will affect the remaining itinerary of the Norwegian Sun cruise. Guests eagerly await updates on any possible changes to the schedule and how the cruise line plans to accommodate them.

Following the repositioning cruise to Seattle, Norwegian Sun will sail in Alaska this summer with 9, 10, and 11-day cruises with ports of call such as Sitka, Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, and more.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has unveiled new short- and near-term greenhouse gas (GHG) targets as part of an updated climate action strategy, aiming to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. 

The company’s global sustainability program, Sail & Sustain, will concentrate on three main pillars; Efficiency, Innovation, and Collaboration. These include improving the fleet’s energy usage, developing technologies that enable the use of green fuels, and seeking partnerships to develop green fuels.

Ambitious Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) has set ambitious goals in its climate action strategy to reduce greenhouse gas intensity by 10% by 2026 and 25% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. The targets include emissions from the company’s ships, islands, and facilities and activities related to fuel production and energy sourcing.

You can watch the newly released video below:

These interim goals are part of Norwegian’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050, including its entire greenhouse gas footprint. 

Harry Sommer, President and CEO-Elect of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., said: “We are proud to further refine and strengthen our climate action strategy and commitments including by setting milestone GHG intensity reduction targets which will guide us on our ambitious pursuit of net zero by 2050.”

At the same time, NCLH former CEO has been clear in the past the company will not be pursuing LNG-powered ships, as many others in the cruise industry are doing. Instead, Norwegian is focusing on three separate ‘pillars’ to reach its goals.

Focusing on Efficiency, Innovation, and Collaboration

NCLH has developed its climate action strategy around three central pillars, Efficiency, Innovation, and Collaboaration. Efficiency involves improving the existing fleet’s energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions. 

NCLH plans to achieve this through investments in systems and technologies, equip approximately 70% of its fleet with shore power technology by 2025, and implementing smart itinerary and voyage planning.

Innovation is centered on the development of long-term solutions and technologies that enable the use of green fuels, such as methanol and biofuels. In 2022, the company successfully tested biofuel blends on multiple ships.

Norwegian has already been taking steps to reach this goal by modifying the plans for two future Prima Class newbuilds using green methanol. 

“We also recently took an important step forward on our pursuit of net zero by announcing the modification of two of our future Prima Class newbuilds to accommodate the use of green methanol in the future,” Sommer continued.

Collaboration, the third pillar, stresses the importance of working with stakeholders to collectively address climate change. Norwegian is creating partnerships to develop green fuels and participates actively in industry associations and regional forums, such as the Methanol Institute and the Pacific Northwest to Alaska Green Corridor initiative.

The Pacific Northwest to Alaska Green Corridor initiative is a collaborative effort between ports, governments, and cruise operators in the region.

The initiative aims to explore the establishment of a maritime green corridor that accelerates the deployment of zero greenhouse gas emission ships and operations between Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington.

In the last weeks, all major cruise operators have revealed their plans that should take them to 2050 and becoming net zero carbon. Carnival Corporation, MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean Group have set their sights on LNG as a transitional fuel, as well as a large number of other innovations. 

Norwegian Cruise Line has reached out to guests booked on Norwegian Breakaway‘s transatlantic crossing to alert them that the sailing is now cancelled – even though it wasn’t due to depart until February 2025.

The cancellation is due to a change for where the ship’s technical maintenance, a regularly scheduled drydock, will take place, which puts the vessel out of position to make the cruise efficiently.

Transatlantic Crossing Cancelled for Norwegian Breakaway

The February 7, 2025, departure for Norwegian Breakaway has been cancelled to better facilitate the ship’s regular maintenance and technical upgrades.

The 12-night cruise was to have been a transatlantic crossing, repositioning the ship from Miami, Florida to Barcelona, Spain for the summer season in the Mediterranean.

In between the crossing and beginning departures from European ports, the ship was planned to spend six weeks undergoing technical refurbishment and stateroom upgrades.

Those upgrades will still take place, but will now be at a different shipyard than originally planned, which means the transatlantic cruise – bringing the ship to Barcelona – is no longer possible in order for the ship to arrive for refurbishment on schedule.

Guests impacted by the cancellation have been notified, and their cruise fare is automatically being fully refunded back to the original form of payment. If guests paid for the now-cancelled cruise with a future cruise credit (FCC), that credit is being automatically returned to their loyalty account.

As a further gesture of goodwill, Norwegian Cruise Line is also providing all booked guests with an (FCC) with a value of 10 percent of the cruise fare. The FCC must be used toward any published sailing through December 31, 2025.

“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” the email to guests concluded. After the dry dock, the 145,655-gross-ton Norwegian Breakaway is still scheduled for a summer of Mediterranean sailings.

Other 2025 Norwegian Cruise Line Transatlantic Cruises

Transatlantic cruises, while once the only way to move across the Atlantic Ocean, today are amazing voyages and once-in-a-lifetime sailings for many cruise travelers. Because there are only a few such sailings each year, the cancellation of Norwegian Breakaway‘s cruise will be a disappointment to everyone already booked.

Fortunately, the cancellation is early enough – nearly 22 months prior to sailing – that guests should not have difficulty changing their travel plans while still enjoying a transatlantic cruises. (Unlike Cunard, which recently cancelled a transatlantic crossing on embarkation day!)

Norwegian Bliss has a transatlantic crossing scheduled to depart Miami, Florida on January 4, 2025, visiting the Azores, Portugal, Spain, and France on its way to Southampton, England, and will return in reverse order one month later, departing Southampton on February 2 for a westbound transatlantic sailing back to Miami.

On March 31, 2025, Norwegian Epic is setting sail from New York to reposition to Rome, and will visit Bermuda, the Azores, Portugal, Spain, France, and other ports of call in Italy along the 15-night sailing.

Norwegian Pearl is offering a 14-night transatlantic from New York to Southampton departing on April 24, 2025, calling on ports in Canada, Iceland, Ireland, and France along the way. Norwegian Prima is doing a similar itinerary just three days later, departing New York on April 27, 2025.

With so many options and nearly two years to make plans, guests eager for a transatlantic sailing are sure to still find fantastic cruises that will exceed their vacation expectations.

Guests aboard the Norwegian Dawn transatlantic crossing are not going to enjoy as many ports of call as they planned for, as just one day after setting sail, the ship’s master has notified passengers that two ports visits are unable to be kept on the itinerary – one due to icebergs and another due to weather.

Some compensation is being provided, but not all guests are pleased with the result, given that two full ports are being cancelled.

Norwegian Dawn Transatlantic Sailing Adjusted

Norwegian Dawn departed on her transatlantic repositioning sailing between New York and Southampton on Thursday, April 20, 2023.

The very next day, guests received letters in their staterooms notifying them that two upcoming ports were being cancelled – St. Pierre & Miquelon, as well as St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Both ports are northeast of New York along the route to Iceland, but are currently posing hazardous conditions for visiting cruise ships.

“Unfortunately, due to the presence of icebergs near St. John’s, Newfoundland and forecasted adverse weather conditions enroute to Reykjavik, Iceland, our itinerary has been revised,” the email, signed by the ship’s captain, Asen Gyurov, explained.

Norwegian Dawn was to have called on St. Pierre & Miquelon on Sunday, April 23 from 12:30-8 p.m., and on St. John’s on Monday, April 24 from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The two ports of call are approximately 260 miles (418 kilometers) apart for sailing distance, but just 185 miles (298 km) in a straight line measurement.

Weather in the region is forecast with showers and strong winds reaching 20 miles per hour (32 kilometers per hour) or higher on the previously scheduled port days, conditions that can make either docking or tendering too dangerous.

Furthermore, a visit on such poor weather days would be a very disappointing experience for guests and could result in cancelled excursions.

The ship was able to visit Halifax, Nova Scotia, successfully on Saturday, April 22, and the remainder of the ports of call are unchanged at this time.

During the 14-night cruise, Norwegian Dawn will also call on Reykjavik, Iceland; Belfast and Dublin in Ireland, and Paris in France, before arriving in Southampton on Thursday, May 4, 2023.

Compensation Offered

Because two ports of call are cancelled with no alternative ports being offered, Norwegian Cruise Line is providing guests with $25 of onboard credit each for the first and second guests in each stateroom (maximum of $50 per stateroom). That credit is non-refundable, but can be used for onboard purchases.

All shore excursions booked through the cruise line for the now-cancelled ports of call are being automatically cancelled and fully refunded to guests’ onboard accounts.

There is no word on whether taxes and fees may be refunded for the missed ports, and not all guests onboard are pleased with the compensation offer, considering the ship will now spend half of the lengthy sailing – a full seven days – at sea.

It must be noted, however, that any cruise line can alter a ship’s itinerary for any reason, and many cruises lose ports of call due to weather.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Guest Ticket Contract explicitly outlines that the cruise line may “cancel any scheduled call at any port for any reason and at any time before, during or after sailing of the vessel.”

Are Icebergs Really a Threat?

The idea that icebergs might be of concern in late April can be a surprise to travelers who may be accustomed to setting sail in more tropical destinations, but icebergs are a real threat to cruise ship safety and navigation throughout the year.

In late June 2022, Norwegian Sun hit a small iceberg while sailing in the Hubbard Glacier area, resulting in a mid-cruise cancellation and several cruises cancelled afterward while the ship underwent repairs.

Furthermore, one of the world’s most famous cruise ships – Titanic – struck an iceberg and sank in mid-April 1912, roughly 550 miles (885 km) southeast of Newfoundland; well south of Norwegian Dawn‘s itinerary route.

With these ports of call cancellations, the 92,250-gross-ton Norwegian Dawn can take a much safer route and be sure guests enjoy their transatlantic crossing in comfort.