Norwegian Cruise Line: Cruise company cancels sailings planned for 2025 - what to do if you have a booking

A cruise line has announced that it is cancelling over a dozen cruises that were planned for 2025. The cruise line said the cancellations come due to “varied events” including the “ongoing situation in the Red Sea and Israel.”

Norwegian Cruise Line said that affected passengers are being offered the option of rebooking their cruises to alternate dates of travel that offer similar itineraries, adding that new cruises to replace the cancelled sailings will be announced in two weeks. The cancelled cruises were set to visit an array of areas of the globe, including the Western and Eastern Mediterranean, the Caribbean, the Adriatic Sea, the Middle East, the Red Sea, Asia and Northern Europe.

However, several itineraries included destinations in areas that are currently facing geopolitical challenges, including Israel and the Red Sea. The Norwegian Viva’s cruise was scheduled to sail on 29 Sep 2025 from Haifa, Israel, to Istanbul, Turkey for ten nights. The now-cancelled itinerary featured visits to several destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Holy Land, with ports of call in Egypt, Cyprus, Israel, Greece and Turkey.

A spokesperson for the cruise line told T+L: "The recent 2025 itinerary cancellations are a result of varied events including the ongoing situation in the Red Sea and Israel, modified dry dock schedules for ship enhancements, a full ship charter, and lastly, to accommodate the demand for shorter close-to-home voyages to the Bahamas. In addition, we understand the inconvenience and frustration this disruption may cause affected guests, so we have shared alternative sailings similar to their original booking.”

The cruise line said that guests impacted by the cancellations will receive a full refund and a 10% percent discount in the form of a Future Cruise Credit towards any sailing through 31 December 2025. The company encourages impacted guests to contact the firm  at 1-800-327-7030 for more information.  

Despite the cancellations, the cruise industry continues to rebound since COVID-19. The industry is expected to grow to 130 million global passengers in 2026, which is up from 73 million global passengers in 2022, according to a 2023 report from the Cruise Lines International Association. 

Listed below are the affected itineraries:

• Norwegian Epic - 20 Feb, 1 Nov, 11 Nov 2025 

• Norwegian Jade - 4 March, 13 March, 24 March 2025

• Norwegian Pearl - 19 April, 5 May, 16 May, 15 October 2025

• Norwegian Sky - 27 May, 5 June 2025

• Norwegian Spirit - 1 January, 17 May 2025

• Norwegian Star - 18 May, 29 May, 9 June 2025

• Norwegian Viva - 27 May, 20 September, 29 September 2025