Norwegian Escape has been forced to skip the planned visit to Great Stirrup Cay on Friday, January 27, 2023, due to high winds that have made the visit too hazardous. Instead, the ship is spending the day at sea en route back to its homeport.

Norwegian Escape Skips Private Island

The Breakaway-class Norwegian Escape will not be calling on Great Stirrup Cay as planned on its current itinerary, due to poor weather conditions that make the port unsafe for docking. The ship is instead heading back to Port Canaveral, where the sailing will end on schedule on Saturday, January 28.

Great Stirrup Cay is Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island destination in The Bahamas, offering exclusive access to pristine beaches, watersports, and island vibes for visiting guests.

The private island is a tender port, however, requiring guests to use small boats to transfer from the larger cruise ship into a small, sheltered harbor. The approach to the docks can be challenging to navigate in rough weather, and high swells can make the journey back and forth from the cruise ship very unpleasant for any guests susceptible to motion sickness.

Rocking tender boats can also be very hazardous for guests to board from the cruise ship’s gangway.

Norwegian Escape was scheduled to be at Great Stirrup Cay from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but instead is spending a leisurely day at sea on its way back to Port Canaveral. The ship is finishing a 7-night sailing, having already called on several other ports, including St. Thomas and Tortola.

At the time the ship was scheduled to arrive at Great Stirrup Cay, winds in the region were recorded at 17 knots (20 miles per hour / 31 kilometers per hour), with gusts as high as 23 knots (26 mph / 43 kph). Wind conditions are expected to worsen throughout the day and into Saturday, January 28.

Pre-booked shore tours for Great Stirrup Cay will be automatically refunded to guests’ accounts, and the ship’s entertainment staff will work hard throughout the day to add extra games and activities onboard so everyone can find something to enjoy.

The new Norwegian Prima is scheduled to visit Great Stirrup Cay on Saturday, and may be similarly diverted if weather conditions do not improve. Guests on that 7-night sailing should listen for announcements from their captain and cruise director if changes need to be made.

Above all else, cruise lines keep the safety of their guests and crew members as their primary concern, and will always adapt itineraries if necessary to ensure a safe voyage. While the reasons for any

Other Private Islands

Great Stirrup Cay is just 1.5 miles east (2.4 kilometers) of another popular cruise line private island, Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay.

CocoCay, however, has a large pier and ships do not use tenders to transport guests to the island. Because vessels can safely dock even in some wind, the two ships calling on CocoCay today – Jewel of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas – have arrived without incident.

While the Caribbean can be very attractive in the winter months as a delightful escape from harsher northern weather, unpredictable winds and storm systems can still cause disruptions to cruise itineraries, even in what may seem to be a tropical paradise.

Guests should always be flexible with travel plans and port expectations, and never take such delays, diversions, or cancellations out on crew members who, after all, have nothing to do with weather patterns.

Guests boarding Norwegian Gem in New York today have been informed that their departure will be delayed due to winter weather, and because of the delay, the itinerary’s first port of call has been cancelled.

To compensate for the change, the second port of call has been extended to permit more shore time, and shore tours for the cancelled port are being automatically refunded.

Norwegian Gem Delayed Due to Storm

Due to expected severe winter weather, Norwegian Gem will not be departing the Manhattan Cruise Terminal in New York City as planned at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, January 25, 2023. Instead, the ship will remain overnight in the Big Apple and will depart at 3 a.m. to begin its 12-night, one-way voyage through the Caribbean to Panama City, Panama.

Guests are being notified as they board the vessel with a letter that outlines the itinerary changes.

“We are committed to delivering exceptional vacation experiences around the world. As such, it is always our intention to maintain original itineraries,” the letter reads. “However, at times unforeseen circumstances require us to make modifications. Due to adverse winter weather, the itinerary has been revised.”

The National Weather Service is predicting strong winds in the New York City area from Long Island to southeastern Connecticut, with gusts reaching as high as 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour) from the late afternoon and into the night.

Gale conditions with high winds and ocean waves from 9-14 feet (2.7-4.2 meters) are predicted in all nearshore waters beginning in the late afternoon.

This poor weather will make it too hazardous for the ship to safely navigate out to sea, and therefore it is much more advisable for the Jewel-class, 93,530-gross-ton vessel to remain securely docked until conditions improve.

Port Cancelled, Another Port Changed

In addition to the delayed departure from New York, Norwegian Gem will be skipping the planned visit to Bermuda, which was to have been from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, January 27. Instead, the ship will spend that day at sea.

While the ship was to have spent one day at sea before arriving in Bermuda and it is possible the departure delay could be overcome by higher sailing speeds to reach the port with only a minimal delay, the decision to cancel the port could be due to several factors.

First of all, while it is hoped the ship will be able to set sail at 3 a.m. – a delay of just 11 hours from the originally scheduled departure – it is possible that weather conditions will remain poor for longer than expected, and the vessel may not leave New York until much later in the morning on Thursday, January 26.

Norwegian Cruise Line has also recently been adjusting various ships’ itineraries for better sustainability, including operating ships at lower speeds for the best fuel efficiency and fewer emissions. To adjust Norwegian Gem‘s operation to compensate for the departure delay and still reach Bermuda in time for a reasonable port of call would be contrary to the cruise line’s Sail and Sustain initiatives.

To compensate for the loss of Bermuda, the ship’s visit to its next port of call, St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, has been extended by three hours. Now the ship will visit from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, January 29, instead of arriving at noon as originally scheduled.

All shore excursions booked through Norwegian Cruise Line for the now cancelled call in Bermuda are being automatically refunded to the original form of payment.

No other changes to the ship’s itinerary – which includes visits to San Juan, Dominican Republic, Aruba, and Costa Rica – have been changed at this time, and Norwegian Gem is expected to arrive at Panama City, Panama at 7 a.m. on Monday, February 6 as planned. The ship’s next cruise is a reverse one-way journey with slightly different ports of call, an 11-night sailing returning to New York on Friday, February 17.