Norwegian Escape cancels sailing out of Port Canaveral after ship runs aground in Dominican Republic

Dave Berman, Florida Today
·3 min read

Norwegian Cruise Line has canceled Saturday's scheduled sailing of the Norwegian Escape out of Port Canaveral, after the ship ran aground earlier this week while leaving a port in the Dominican Republic. The ship sustained what the cruise line described as "minor damage" to the hull.

As a result of that incident at the Dominican port of Puerto Plata, which occurred on Monday, Norwegian cut short that seven-night cruise — which originated last Saturday from Port Canaveral. The cruise line is arranging to get passengers home, via charter flights from the Dominican Republic to Orlando.

Norwegian Cruise Line cut one sailing short and canceled another scheduled sailing from Port Canaveral of the Norwegian Escape, shown in this file photo, after the ship ran aground while leaving Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.
Norwegian Cruise Line cut one sailing short and canceled another scheduled sailing from Port Canaveral of the Norwegian Escape, shown in this file photo, after the ship ran aground while leaving Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.

In a statement provided to FLORIDA TODAY, the cruise line said: "During the afternoon of March 14, 2022, Norwegian Escape made contact with the channel bed, as it was departing Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. In the early morning on March 15, the ship was refloated and returned to the dock at Puerto Plata, where she is currently located."

Norwegian said that, "while there is minor damage to the ship’s hull, all guests and crew are safe. The current cruise will be shortened, and the cruise scheduled to embark on March 19 will be canceled so that the necessary repairs can be made."

Entering the lineup: Norwegian Escape rejoins Port Canaveral cruise lineup, giving port record fifth brand

Previous cancellations: COVID impact: Norwegian, Royal Caribbean cancel four Port Canaveral cruises

2019 incident: Freak weather causes Norwegian cruise ship to list, injuring passengers

In a letter to passengers that some passengers posted on social media, the ship's captain wrote that, "in an abundance of caution," the remainder of the cruise was canceled, and that Norwegian would arrange for charter flights to get passengers to Orlando, as well as buses from Orlando to Port Canaveral for passengers who drove to the port and needed to pick up their vehicles.

The letter indicated that passengers will get a full refund of the cruise cost, plus a 100% credit for a future cruise through March 25, 2023.

"We apologize for this unforeseen event," the captain wrote. "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused, as we understand, now more than ever, the desire the desire to travel and reconnect with the places and people we've missed more."

The ship had been leaving the Dominican port in relatively high winds, when the incident occurred, according to various reports.

Diane Luensmann, Port Canaveral's vice president for government and strategic communications, said Port Canaveral is working with Norwegian to provide Norwegian Escape passengers access to Cruise Terminal 10's parking facilities, if they need to pick up their vehicles.

Luensmann said the ship was carrying 3,157 passengers on this cruise.

In a March 2019 incident, several passengers aboard the Norwegian Escape were injured when what cruise officials described as a "sudden, extreme gust of wind" made the ship list. The ship was en route from New York to a port-of-call stop at Port Canaveral.

Earlier this year, the cruise line canceled two seven-night sailings of the Escape out of Port Canaveral — on Jan. 15 and 22 — as cases of COVID-19 surged.

The Norwegian Escape is a "Breakaway Plus Class" cruise ship, with a passenger capacity of 4,266, based on double-occupancy of its cabins, and a crew of 1,733. It was built in 2015.

For the winter sailing season, the Norwegian Escape offers seven-night voyages from Port Canaveral to the Eastern Caribbean, visiting such ports as Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Great Stirrup Cay, the company's private island in the Bahamas.

The Escape is one of the largest in Norwegian's 17-ship fleet.

It is one of seven multiday cruise ships now based at Port Canaveral.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bydaveberman.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Cruise line cancels sailing after ship runs aground in Dominican Republic