Company aboard Norwegian Encore had an surprising itinerary change instantly after setting sail on the present cruise, however thankfully, one other port of name was in a position to be substituted as a substitute. As a substitute of visiting Nice Stirrup Cay, the cruise ship visited Nassau on Monday, December 19, 2022.
Nice Stirrup Cay Not Potential As a consequence of Climate
Norwegian Encore set sail from Miami on Sunday, December 18, and friends have been notified instantly that the subsequent day’s name on Nice Stirrup Cay, Norwegian Cruise Line’s non-public island vacation spot in The Bahamas, wouldn’t be attainable. As a substitute, the ship was rescheduled to spend the day in Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas.
The port swap was seemingly as a result of climate, as excessive winds have been forecast for the neighborhood of Nice Stirrup Cay on Monday, December 19. The island is a young port – requiring the usage of small boats to ferry friends from their anchored cruise ship to the dock inside a small harbor.
Relying on the severity and route of the winds, it may be inconceivable to carry the small tender boat regular alongside the cruise ship for friends to embark or debark on a slender, transferring gangway.
Moreover, tough seas in the course of the 10-15 minute trip from the sheltered harbor to and from the cruise ship might be very unsettling to friends vulnerable to movement illness.
Throughout Norwegian Encore‘s scheduled time for Nice Stirrup Cay, winds have been starting from 10-15 miles per hour (16-24 kilometers per hour), greater than sufficient to create tough and unsafe situations, significantly with larger gusts exceeding even these speeds.
Nassau, nevertheless, has an intensive dock able to accommodating even the biggest cruise ships with ease, making for a a lot safer expertise when the climate is probably not good.
Company Certain to Be Disenchanted
Regardless of the change as a result of security causes, some friends onboard Norwegian Encore are undoubtedly disillusioned within the port swap. Whereas each Nice Stirrup Cay and Nassau may be tremendous locations to go to, the attract of Nice Stirrup Cay is its exclusivity as a personal island solely accessible to Norwegian Cruise Line friends.
Nassau, alternatively, is the capital of The Bahamas and the biggest metropolis within the island nation, commonly visited by many cruise strains. Which means that common cruisers could have already visited Nassau quite a few occasions, and the extra crowded port may be much less enjoyable than a personal seashore.
On Monday, three different ships have been already scheduled to go to Nassau: Royal Caribbean Worldwide’s Concord of the Seas, Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras, and MSC Cruises’ new MSC Seascape.
When added to the three,998 friends aboard the Breakaway-plus class Norwegian Encore, as many as 20,000 or extra cruise friends have been visiting Nassau on the identical day, creating super crowds for a few of the hottest native excursions, eating places, retailers, and extra.
Ending the Cruise
Norwegian Encore is slated for a day at sea on Tuesday, December 20, and a go to to Puerto Plata within the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, December 21. One other day at sea will observe, earlier than the ship arrives again in Miami on Friday, December 23. No different modifications have been introduced for the rest of the 5-night itinerary.
All cruise vacationers are accustomed to itinerary modifications primarily based on climate and different components, and whereas cruise strains do attempt to keep up their initially deliberate schedules, the protection of the ship, friends, and crewmembers is all the time the primary precedence.
Norwegian Encore is the biggest ship in Norwegian Cruise Line’s fleet, weighing in at 169,116 gross tons. She entered service with Norwegian Cruise Line in late 2019 and is presently homeported from Miami, providing quite a lot of Caribbean sailings. Whereas most are 7-night sailings, a number of 5-night and one particular 11-night crusing can be accessible.
In April 2023, the ship will reposition to Seattle to supply 7-night sailings to Alaska for the summer season season.
