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Cruise Canceled for Norwegian Escape Due to Repairs
Another cruise is canceled for Norwegian Escape as further repairs are needed after the ship ran aground March 14, but guests have options.

By
Melissa Mayntz
Affiliate Disclaimer

Modified Date: Mar 22, 2022

Photo Credit: JHVEPhoto / Shutterstock
Norwegian Cruise Line has provided a further update on Norwegian Escape after the vessel ran aground in the Dominican Republic last week. Due to the need for ongoing repairs, the cruise line has canceled another 7-day sailing, but guests aren’t necessarily going to miss their cruise this weekend.

Norwegian Escape Cruise Canceled
More guests have now been impacted due to Norwegian Escape running aground while departing Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic on March 14, 2022. The cruise line informed guests today that their March 26 departure from Port Canaveral has been canceled.

NCL said in a letter sent out on March 22, “We are very sorry to inform you that the repairs onboard Norwegian Escape will take longer than originally expected and as result, your voyage onboard Norwegian Escape March 26, 2022, has been canceled.”

The cruise line went on to say, “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may cause, as we understand now more than ever the desire to travel and reconnect with the places and people, we’ve missed most.”

Photo Credit: Joni Hanebutt / Shutterstock
The March 26 voyage was originally scheduled to be a 7-day Caribbean itinerary, and Puerto Plata was to be the first port of call on the voyage, following a day at sea. Other calls included St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Tortola in the U.K. Virgin Islands, and Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island in The Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay. The itinerary was also to have included a total of two days at sea.

Compensation Options
Guests are being offered two options as compensation for their now-canceled voyage. A full refund is available, returned to the original form of payment, plus a future cruise credit (FCC) worth 50% of the cruise fare paid, not including taxes and port fees.

Read Also: Things to Know About the Norwegian Escape Cruise Ship

This will be the default option for all guests, and refunds will be processed within 15 business days. The new FCC will become available on April 4, 2022, and must be used by April 4, 2023. If guests used a prior FCC to book this Norwegian Escape cruise, that FCC will be returned to their Latitudes account.

Photo Credit: Leonard Zhukovsky / Shutterstock
While the full refund is the default option, there is another choice available. If impacted guests still want to set sail this weekend – the original cruise was to have departed Port Canaveral on Saturday, March 26 – they can switch their booking to another sailing this weekend and will also receive an FCC worth 100% of the value of the canceled cruise (minus port fees and taxes).

The new FCC will not be available until April 4, however, meaning it cannot be used on this weekend’s sailing, but must be used by April 4, 2023.

Only select sailings are available for this option, as follows:

March 26 – Norwegian Joy sailing from Miami, visiting Roatan, Honduras; Harvest Caye, Belize (a private Norwegian Cruise Line island); and Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico
March 27 – Norwegian Breakaway sailing from New Orleans, visiting Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; Harvest Caye, Belize; and Costa Maya, Mexico
March 27 – Norwegian Dawn sailing from Tampa, visiting Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; Harvest Caye, Belize; and Costa Maya, Mexico
March 27 – Norwegian Encore sailing from Miami, visiting Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Tortola, U.K. Virgin Islands; and Great Stirrup Cay, The Bahamas (a private Norwegian Cruise Line Island)
All the replacement sailings are 7-night voyages. Space is limited on these sailings, however, and while the best effort will be made to book passengers in similar cabin categories, matching categories may not be available.

If guests want to sail this weekend, they must contact Norwegian Cruise Line at 1-866-234-7350 by 9 p.m. Eastern Time on March 23, 2022, to indicate their choice, or else they will automatically receive the default full refund and 50% FCC option.

Guests choosing the alternate sailings will have their airfare rebooked by Norwegian Cruise Line if they purchased flights through the cruise line; otherwise, guests must contact their travel agent or airline to make appropriate flight arrangements.

Update on Norwegian Escape
While the cruise line has not provided an update on the extent of the damage to Norwegian Escape, the ship was evaluated after it was freed from the sandbar and remained docked in Puerto Plata as guests were returned home. Two tugboats helped free the large, Breakaway-plus class vessel, as well as naval ships and other local operators.

Norwegian Escape after Running Aground in Puerto Plata (Photo Credit: Melissa Mayntz)
High winds as the ship was originally departing Puerto Plata on March 14 are believed to have played a part in the incident, pushing the ship onto the sandbar.

What appears to be minor damage has been spotted on Norwegian Escape‘s hull, and the vessel has been inspected. The ship has since returned to Port Canaveral, but without guests aboard.

It is possible that further inspections will need to be made to ensure the vessel is safe and fully operational, and canceling the March 26 sailing will give the cruise line time to make that assessment.

Feel free to discuss this topic and all things cruise at our new boards. A place where readers can ask questions, help their fellow cruisers and general cruise discussions on cruise lines and ports.

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Life is too short...Always SMILE🤗

23 hours ago, AK Dreaming said:

I am hopefully sailing on the Escape this weekend.  I was supposed to be on the 19th but it was canceled.  I was wondering if anyone has been the first on board after a cancellation or week off?  Will our cabins be ready as soon as we board?  If so, I want to just walk my luggage on with me.  

We were on the Joy with no passengers before us and cabins were ready. I still checked our bags, just in case. That way you don't have to drag them along.

4 minutes ago, jskinsd said:

Any compensation?✌️

Yes. $25.00

Just off the Joy....

No behind the scene tour.

No Wine around the World tasting.

No Dinner with Officers.

Have they resumed 

1. Behind the scene tour?

2. Dinner with Officers?

3. Wines Around the World tasting?

4 hours ago, Shirt-man said:

We lost a stop at Cozumel due to a propulsion problem. Attached is a original before the cancellation and a revised sea day.

 

Sorry but I don't have menus.

 

Great cruise for us as it was a B2B. We did not have to leave the ship for the turnaround. Staff was great.

March 5-12 cruise 1,885 passengers

March 12-19 cruise 2,800 passengers

Excursion Joy March 12-19.pdf 1 MB · 24 downloads Freestyle Daily Day 1 March 12.pdf 3.32 MB · 35 downloads Freestyle Daily Day 2 March 13.pdf 1.01 MB · 25 downloads FreeStyle Daily Day 3 March 14.pdf 778.7 kB · 13 downloads FreeStyle Daily Day 4 March 15.pdf 942.26 kB · 10 downloads FreeStyle Daily Day 5 March 16.pdf 843.83 kB · 10 downloads FreeStyle Daily Day 6 March 17 sea day.pdf 552.1 kB · 10 downloads Freestyle Daily Day 6 March 17.pdf 1.34 MB · 8 downloads FreeStyle Daily Day 7 March 18.pdf 879.46 kB · 12 downloads Joy March 12-19 Cruise Shows.pdf 1.13 MB · 17 downloads NCL Disembarkation Joy March 19.pdf 2.19 MB · 9 downloads

Thank you so much.

2 hours ago, dcassetta said:

If we order just the continental breakfast items - fruit, pastries, etc, does that incur the room service charge?

No charge.

We just tip the person bringing breakfast to the room.

It's so nice. Just to relax. Chill out.

Sorry. No vaccine even tho she is only 12, NCL will not allow her to cruise.😪☹

1 hour ago, screenname2004 said:

For the NCL ships with Starbucks store on board, can one gets their free birthday drink on their birthday while cruising?

 

I did on the Encore in Dec 2021.

Still a bargain to me. Crew members work so hard. They deserve it.

8 minutes ago, Ottawa_Cruiser said:

Does anyone know when NCL plans on returning to full guest capacity onboard their fleet?

According to my NCL Consultant from Miami office...no time soon.

They have not been given a date.

1 hour ago, rkennedy553 said:

First day but I will let you know…it was very lax prior to this day anyway 

Just curious...how many guests on board?

56 minutes ago, jenneloveslife said:

So annoying.  Tested positive Feb 3rd and supposed to sail March 13. NEW CDC guidance says I shouldn’t have to test, but NCL has not changed that policy yet. So I run the risk of not sailing.  It all comes down to the test on March 11. 
 

FYI - CDC says…If you tested positive for COVID-19 infection no less than 10 days and no more than 90 days before the date of embarkation and recovered (regardless of your vaccination status), you do NOT need to get tested before or after cruise travel unless you have symptoms. People can continue to test positive for up to 90 days after diagnosis and not be infectious to others.

• Travel with a copy of your positive test result and a letter from your healthcare or a public health official that states you have been cleared for travel. The positive test result and letter together are referred to as “documentation of recovery.” If you are asked by officials in a foreign country, you may be required to show this documentation.

Have to have a negative test 2 days before sailing...no exceptions.

Negative test-Sail and have fun.🙂

Positive test-No sail.  Have fun at home.☹

Just travelled on Encore and Joy...both husband and I wore shorts in MDR, Savor, Teppanyaki.

Only place we wore long slacks was Ocean Blue and Le Bistro.

2 hours ago, scorpioncrawl said:

Is there an outdoor movie screen on Encore? One site states there is, another says no. Also, is there a walking track? And is there soft serve ice cream anywhere?

Yes. Movies are shown outside.

Yes. Walking track.

Yes. Soft serve in buffet.

Was on the Encore in December. Loved it.

1 hour ago, Trish Traveler said:

Is the app necessary on-board?

Not necessary. I lock my phone in the safe for the week.

Take a break/vacation from technology.

It does a body/mind good.

57 minutes ago, nattie said:

Toastie I was looking for is ham and cheese, but I'll take what they have. DS will be excited!

They will make it for you.

I asked instead of cheese and tomato, could I have cheese and ham...and it appeared within minutes. Just ask. Very accommodating.

Love NCL

41 minutes ago, nattie said:

Kind of off-beat question: Does O'Sheehan's have "toasties" on the menu? DS fell in love with them in Ireland and finding a "proper toastie" in US has been almost impossible (except for one truly English cafe in Davenport, FL).

Yes, they do have a grilled cheese and tomato.  It was good.

Hope thats close enough to what you want.

10 hours ago, goldmom said:

Did you have to ask for the credit or was it automatically added to your onboard account?  Thanks!

Go to CruiseNext desk and ask about wine tasting, dinner with officers, and ship tour...if they are not offering any of those (due to covid)...OBC will be added to your account.

Once everything is back to "normal"...No OBC.

1 hour ago, Suite Heart said:

Pre-Covid you used to have to ask at the CruiseNext desk to sign up for those items.

 

So how did you go about getting the $50 OBC ?

Same procedure. Go to CruiseNext desk.

When we asked about wine tasting, ship tour, or dinner with officers, we were told...these were not happening and were told OBC would be on our account.

This was on the Joy.

20 minutes ago, Deb and Jack said:

I would try once, then take credit  🙂

Once they start behind scenes tour, dinner with officers, and wine tasting...you won't get OBC.

36 minutes ago, susique said:

Hi,, I was just wondering if the dinner with officers was something you asked about or did they give it to for being SAPPHIRE?

Its one of the perks of latitude status...but currently as stated above, it is currently suspended due to covid safety. Also no ship behind the scene tour or wine tasting.

7 minutes ago, CielG22 said:

I do, but I'm still used to tipping when I go out for a drink or a meal. So I'd feel bad not tipping. Only thing I can think of is to do what I used to do when I visited Germany which is tip when leaving the bar. It would at least make me feel better and that I wasn't being a stingy person.

Or tip good when you get your first drink instead of when leaving bar....Service will be outstanding.

You'll never be without a drink.

🍺🍹🍸🍷

16 minutes ago, CielG22 said:

It kind of does, when you talk about an "extra couple of bucks".

If you're not from the US, and you aren't on a sailing departing from a US port, you won't have anything smaller than maybe a $5 (and that depends on where you get your USD, some bureau de change won't give anything smaller than a 10 note of the currency you want) and they won't have very many of them, so they have to find somewhere to change the larger notes for smaller ones and, having never tried changing getting smaller denominations of foreign currency outside of the country I'm using it in, I'm not entirely sure how easy or feasible that would be. Especially since I don't want to be constantly charging tips to my onboard account.

So...ask for change from the bartender, get change from casino.

Crew members work so hard and deserve tips. 

Like the Nike slogan...."Just do it"