Norwegian Cruise Line cancels Alaska cruises due to relocation

A cruise to Alaska is a dream for many travelers, but Norwegian Cruise Line has reached out to eager cruise passengers with the sad news that the first Alaska cruise in 2025 will be canceled. Norwegian Delight has been canceled.

The difficult cruise was a desired 10-day cruise that was supposed to start Seattle, Washington April 2, 2025 with calls at Ketchikan, Sitka, Icy Strait Point, Skagway, Juneau, and Victoria, as well as a scenic cruise of iconic Glacier Bay.

“Norwegian Bliss cruise on April 2, 2025 canceled due to fleet reorganization” the notification letter said. “Norwegian Bliss will be repositioned and its new routes will be available to book from 16 September 2024. We apologize for the inconvenience as we appreciate you choosing to spend your holiday with us.”

It is interesting that the cancellation of the cruise was explained by the term “fleet realignment”, since it concerned only one cruise of a Breakaway Plus class ship with a gross tonnage of 168,028.

Just to be clear, Norwegian Delight will sail the 2025 Alaska season, but that season will now begin with a second scheduled sailing on April 12, 2025. This will be a 7-day cruise, as will the ship’s remaining voyages until the final sailing of the season on October 11, 2025.

A cancelled cruise may simply be changed to a shorter cruise or may be chartered for private use for all or part of the 10-day period.

Read also: The best time to cruise in Alaska – months to choose from

All guests on the April 5, 2025 cruise will automatically receive a full refund for their cruise and any prepaid purchases. This refund will be returned to the original form of payment, but may take up to 30 business days to process.

If travelers have used their Future Cruise Credit (FCC) to purchase an Alaska trip, the full amount of the credit will be automatically returned to their Latitudes loyalty account within 10 days and will be available for use on another Norwegian Cruise Line cruise.

Additional remuneration offered

In addition to a full refund, Norwegian Cruise Line is also offering affected guests additional compensation in the form of a 10% FCC discount on any published sailing through December 31, 2025.

This means guests can book an alternative Alaska cruise at a discount, or choose any other itinerary – the Caribbean, Europe, the Mexican Riviera or anywhere else any Norwegian ship is sailing.

If travelers want to book a similar cruise to Alaska again in 2025, there are still a few sailings available Norwegian Delight (April 12, April 19, April 26) and Norwegian Encore (April 20, April 27).

Each of these cruises will, however, last 7 nights, not the original 10-day cruise that was canceled.

The 9-day cruise is even closer Norwegian joydeparting Seattle on April 23, 2025 with visits to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point and Victoria, as well as a cruise of Glacier Bay.

A similar route can be very tempting for travelers because Norwegian joy is a sister ship Norwegian Delight in the Breakaway Plus class, which ensures a close relationship between the two ships.

Please note that Norwegian Cruise Line does not offer any additional onboard credits, price protection or other discounts if travelers rebook to another Alaska cruise in 2025, beyond the availability of the 10% FCC discount.

With more than seven months to go before a cancelled cruise is due to depart, travellers still have time to plan alternative holidays, although their choices may be more limited due to the large number of reservations.

If passengers have already booked airline tickets or made other travel arrangements before or after their flight, they must contact their airline, hotel or other service provider to cancel their reservation or obtain a refund, if necessary.

If the cancellation was made through Norwegian Cruise Line, guests may contact the cruise line or their travel agent to ensure that the cancellation and refund will be processed in full.