Cruise passengers on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Luna were told that their next stop in Great Stirrup Cay in The Bahamas had to be canceled due to technical issues with the ship.
Although it’s the newest ship in the NCL fleet (it only entered service in March 2026), Norwegian Luna is facing propulsion issues. The announcement came from the captain while the 3,565-passenger vessel enjoyed a scheduled sea day after visiting Tortola in the Virgin Islands.
The ship will now have an extra unscheduled sea day as it heads back to Miami.
The private island visit was the last port of call on the itinerary for the 2026-built ship. The current sailing is a 7-night Eastern Caribbean roundtrip that left Miami on October 17 and is scheduled to arrive back in PortMiami on October 24, 2026.
The ship is still operational and is currently sailing at around 15–18 knots, according to CruiseMapper. Cruising speed for Luna is usually around 22 knots, and it has a maximum speed of 25 knots. A photo shared by a passenger on Reddit appears to show the starboard Azipod running at reduced output.
Norwegian Cruise Line has confirmed the issue. A company spokesperson has stated the following:
“The safety and security of our guests and crew is a top priority. We recently learned of a technical issue that requires us to operate the ship at a reduced speed. While this does not impact the safety of the vessel, we had to adjust the original itinerary.”
The cruise line went on to say that Norwegian Luna would not be able to call on Great Stirrup Cay and that guests would be made aware of any new updates as they became available.
A current passenger said this about it on Facebook:
“Norwegian LUNA is having ENGINE ISSUES and running at half speed. Great Stirrup Cay stop tomorrow is canceled and we will head back to Miami so they can fix the engine.”
Another cruiser took to Reddit to announce the news:
“Just announced on ship. We will not be making it to GSC due to propulsion issues. Even with a pier you are not guaranteed a visit.”
Norwegian Cruise Line just recently finished building a multi-million-dollar pier at Great Stirrup Cay, and it’s been a big hit with regular NCL cruisers.
This pier removed the need for tenders. Small tender boats are not only slow at moving passengers to and from private islands, but they also can’t be used in rough seas and choppy waters.
In addition to a new pier, NCL has totally transformed the private island with Great Tides Waterpark. The grand opening just took place in early September, so this group of travelers were probably excited to try out the new amenities on the island for the first time.
The new waterpark features a 170-foot Tidal Tower centerpiece with eight slides (part of about 19 total slides and attractions), thrilling 10- and 15-foot cliff jumps, an 800-foot Wandering River, and Splash Cay, a large family splash zone.
So, it has to be a major disappointment for passengers to miss out on checking it out this time around. In similar past situations, guests have typically received refunds for any booked Great Stirrup Cay shore excursions.
No word yet on whether the next sailing (departing Miami on October 24) will be impacted, but hopefully Norwegian can fix the issues quickly. We will keep readers updated.
This article has been updated since its original publication.
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