The cruise ship Norwegian Pearl has become the latest vessel to be hit by a COVID-19 outbreak amid the current global surge in cases by the highly contagious Omicron variant. Norwegian Pearl is heading back to Miami after the captain’s announcement that the current cruise is canceled due to “several COVID-19 positive cases” detected among the crew. The ship is expected to arrive in Miami on January 6, to disembark all passengers onboard.

Lately, cruise ships often report passengers and crew with COVID infections aboard and they are monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some of them had passed the allowed threshold of 1% of active cases, they are denied port entry.  According to V.I. Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion, the Virgin Islands has turned away two cruise ships with COVID infections aboard.

This holiday season Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings celebrated the big comeback and acknowledged crewmembers' crucial role and hard work in the company’s return to cruising with a holiday bonus. All crew members on board the NCL, Regent Seven Seas and Oceania Cruises ships received a $100 holiday cash bonus which will be deposited to their December account. 

With the recent uptick of COVID-19 in the world Norwegian Cruise Line has strengthened mask wearing protocols and will require COVID-19 testing at the terminal prior to boarding amid the emergence of the highly contagious Omicron variant and following outbreaks onboard their ships. 

Norweigian Cruise Line Holdings which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, is the first cruise company to require its shipboard employees to receive a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Crew Center received an email from a crew member aboard the cruise ship Norwegian Jade who wishes to remain anonymous, claiming that some crew currently on the vessel are Blacklisted by the United Arab Emirates for overstay. The crew member said that the people who are blacklisted by the UAE Immigration because their visa was not canceled during the ship’s last stay in the country, are not allowed to leave the ship and they might face fines up to $15.000.

Norwegian Cruise Line revealed the debut with the new Panama Canal cruises in 2022, becoming the first cruise line to offer Panama City as a homeport for cruise ships. Norwegian Jewel and other ships are scheduled for a variety of voyages in 2022 and 2023. This opportunity is great for the adventurous tourist to discover Panama and the Canal, with everything they have to offer. 

The Norwegian Dawn, as the 10th ship in the NCL fleet to resume cruises, welcomed guests back on December 8, with cruises from Tampa in Florida. Adding NCL to the choice list for those wishing to sail from Tampa, makes four major US-based cruise lines: Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line.

Despite the strict measures and immunization policies against the COVID-19, NCL’s cruise ship Norwegian Breakaway, returned to New Orleans with 17 positive cases, including one “probable case” of the Omicron variant in a South African crew member. The ship departed from New Orleans on the 28th of November visiting Belize, Honduras and Mexico, with 3,200 passengers onboard.

Norwegian Cruise Line announced cancelations of five South Africa sailings on the Norwegian Jade with embarkation dates from December 3, 2021, through January 26, 2022. An NCL spokesperson said that the reason for the latest cancelation is the safety of the guests, crew and communities they visit, as the company’s highest priority.