Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) today celebrated two momentous milestones. Firstly, the Norwegian Gem began sailing once again from its homeport in Miami for the first time since COVID-19 caused cruising to shut down globally 17 months ago. Secondly, it marked the first time that the company has welcomed cruise-goers at its newly completed NCL Terminal at PortMiami.
Norwegian Gem becomes the third of NCL's 17 ships to resume sailing, following Norwegian Jade's restart in Athens on July 25 and Norwegian Encore's resumption of operations in Seattle on August 7. Norwegian Gem's departure today will sail guests on a seven-day voyage to the Caribbean, with calls to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; and Harvest Caye, NCL's private resort destination in Belize.
"It has been an exhilarating few weeks as we relaunch our fleet, reunite with our shipboard families and welcome our guests back for their long-awaited cruise vacations," said Norwegian Cruise Line's President and CEO, Harry Sommer. "I've been impressed and proud of how our global team and partners have come together to safely bring back cruising, an over $55 billion-dollar industry that positively impacts communities around the world."
"Today is even more special as it is the first time we are relaunching from our hometown and from the new NCL Terminal at PortMiami, Sommer continued. "After many months, we are ready to deliver a safe and memorable experience for our guests at every step of their cruise journey."
Now a prominent feature of the Miami skyline, the shiny new NCL Terminal at PortMiami can accommodate vessels that carry up to 5,000 passengers. It was constructed with sustainability as a top priority and was built to meet LEED Gold standards for optimizing energy, water efficiency, air quality, and utilizing local materials and resources.
Roughly 90 percent of all involved subcontractors, suppliers and vendors were actually area locals, which worked not only to encourage regional economic growth, but also to reduce the project's carbon footprint. NCL's parent company, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., also recently announced a new partnership with Miami-Dade County that will enable it to make its cutting-edge cruise terminal "Shore-Power Ready" by fall 2023.
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