After just a year of introducing Panama into its itineraries, Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) has confirmed plans to discontinue its travels into the country following December 2024, according to Cruise Hive.
“We are committed to delivering exceptional experiences across our fleet, which includes curating itineraries to the world’s most sought-out destinations. Panama Canal voyages continue to be a favorite amongst our guests, with sailings open for sale through December 2024 embarking from Panama City,” NCL said.
Norwegian Jewel became the first ship on the cruise line’s fleet to sail into Panama City (Colón), Panama in 2022.
The only sailings left going into the Panama Canal are currently available in December of this year, followed by only one sailing in 2024, a nine-day cruise on Norwegian Gem destined to Cozumel and Jamaica from Panama City in December.
“Norwegian Cruise Line has confirmed that there are currently no plans on homeporting a ship out of Panama following December 2024,” a recent Cruise Hive report states, stating that “a spokesperson said it will sail out of Panama through December 2024.”
According to the Panama Tourism Authority, the changes made by Norwegian result from challenges related to the logistics and infrastructure required to operate in the country. The company was further impacted by an incident involving a collapsed gangway with passengers during a boarding process on the Norwegian Encore.
“The cruise line is discontinuing cruises with Panamanian ports as a homeport, such as the Norwegian Jewel cruises to Curacao, Aruba and Cartagena from Panama City,” a recent Cruise Hive report explains. “Cruises that have a regular scheduled port call are not affected.”
News of the changes comes soon after the company reported a share decline for the fourth financial quarter of 2022, falling short by more than 10% despite a global rise in travel demand, Globe Banner reported. The declines are a direct result of higher fuel prices and interest rates.
“We’ve seen a very, very strong record – near record booking levels dating back to November,” CEO Frank Del Rio said, according to a recent CNBC report. “So we simply don’t see a weakening consumer.”