Norwegian Cruise Line celebrated dual milestones this weekend when they not only sailed from Miami for the first time in 17 months, but also their new Terminal B saw guests for the first time.
Norwegian Gem is the third NCL cruise ship to resume cruises and the first from the cruise line to restart from Cruise Capital of the World, PortMiami.
“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 Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line. “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.”
Sommer went on to say that the day was even more special as NCL finally opened their brand new Terminal B at PortMiami.
Defining the Miami Skyline, the new NCL Terminal at PortMiami can accommodate cruise ships carrying up to 5,000 cruise guests. The construction marvel was designed with sustainability at the forefront and was built to LEED Gold standards for optimizing energy, water efficiency, air quality and utilization of local materials and resources.
In addition, approximately 90% of all subcontractors, vendors and suppliers were local to the region, reducing the carbon footprint of the project and encouraging local economic growth. Parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. recently also announced a partnership with Miami-Dade County to make the new state-of-the-art cruise terminal “Shore-Power Ready” by fall 2023.
Norwegian Gem will sail seven night cruises to the Caribbean and shorter cruises to the Bahamas. The cruise ship will head to New York in the fall and offer a variety of sailings to Bermuda, the Caribbean, and The Bahamas.
