Carnival Restarts Homeport Operations in New York City

Carnival Restarts Homeport Operations in New York City

The Carnival Magic arrived in New York City on Thursday, marking the return of yet another homeport for the Carnival Cruise Line.

The vessel is now set to offer a series of four- to nine-night cruises to Bermuda, Canada and the Caribbean departing from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.

For its first sailing from the city since 2019, the Magic is operating a four-night itinerary to Bermuda.

In addition to two and a half days at sea, the cruise includes an eight-hour stop in King’s Wharf.

Running through late September, the New York program also features different week-long itineraries to the Caribbean visiting Grand Turk, the Bahamas, San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and more.

In September, the ship is offering two sailings to Canada as well. Sailing seven-night itineraries, the cruises feature calls in Saint John, Sydney and Halifax.

A Dream-class vessel, the Carnival Magic debuted in 2011 and offers a host of facilities and services.

In addition to traditional features such as a casino and a theatre, the vessel has the SportsSquare, an expansive sports complex with a ropes course and an outdoor fitness area, and The Lanai, a wrap-around promenade with whirlpools that extend out over the ship’s sides.

The vessel also offers an indoor/outdoor café and live entertainment venue called Ocean Plaza, as well as Carnival WaterWorks aqua park and a Serenity adults-only retreat.

Other attractions include the RedFrog Pub, a Caribbean-inspired watering hole with its own private label beer, and Cucina del Capitano, an Italian family-style restaurant that brings the heritage of Carnival’s captains to the table.

After first welcoming guests back in July 2021, Carnival Cruise Line completed its restart plans last month.

On May 2, the Carnival Splendor became the last vessel to resume service for the brand, marking the return of its entire 23-ship fleet.

With the return to New York City, Carnival has also resumed revenue operations from 14 homeports.  

Norwegian Breakaway Resumes Service From New York City

With its sixth ship resuming service today, Norwegian Cruise Line is returning to New York City. Sailing from Manhattan, the Norwegian Breakaway is welcoming guests back for a Bermuda cruise after an 18-month operational pause.

Through Oct. 31, the 145,000 ton-vessel is set to sail from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal every Sunday, offering its week-long Bermuda voyages.

With an overnight call in King’s Wharf – Bermuda’s main cruise port – and four days at sea, the cruises also offer plenty of time to enjoy the ship.  

Built-in 2013, the Norwegian Breakaway is known for its dining and entertainment options, which includes 678 Ocean Place.

A central complex on Decks 6, 7 and 8, the area is the hub of the ship, featuring several dining options, a selection of bars and lounges, an 18,000 square foot casino, entertainment venues and retail outlets.

On its top decks, the 4,000-guest ship offers the Aqua Park, a complete waterpark with five full-size water slides. Another open-air feature is a three-story sports complex that includes the largest ropes course at sea, a nine-hole miniature golf course, basketball court, rock climbing wall and more.

After a drydock in 2018, the vessel debuted refreshed public areas and introduced a new bar and lounge concept to the fleet with Syd Norman’s Pour House.

Modelled after influential rock houses such as CBGB’s, The Rainbow and others, Syd Norman’s features a vintage look, diner-style seating, signature cocktails and a playlist of rock from the late 1960s to 1980s.

In 2020, during the operational pause, the Breakaway underwent another drydock, receiving additional updates. Work carried out included large bridge and stateroom refits, and the installation of scrubbers and new propellers.

After her Bermuda season, the Norwegian Breakaway is set to relaunch service from New Orleans. Following a 14-night repositioning voyage, the vessel arrives in the Big Easy on Nov. 21, starting a series of week-long Western Caribbean itineraries.

After a long operational pause, Norwegian Cruise Line resumed revenue services in July, with the Norwegian Jade. Based in Piraeus, the vessel launched a program of destination-intensive cruises in Greece.

In August, the brand expanded its restart to Alaska and the Caribbean with the Norwegian Encore sailing from Seattle and the Norwegian Gem resuming service from Miami.  

More recently, the Norwegian Epic and the Norwegian Getaway welcomed guests back in Europe, offering additional itinerary choices in the Mediterranean.

On October 24, a seventh Norwegian ship is set to resume service, as the Norwegian Bliss departs Los Angeles to start a series of Mexican Riviera cruises.

Norwegian Dawn on schedule for next voyage

Norwegian Dawn

The Norwegian Dawn is structurally sound and will sail its next scheduled cruise from Boston on May 22, Norwegian Cruise Line said on Wednesday.

The Dawn ran aground on the sea bed near Bermuda after departing King’s Wharf on Tuesday. Norwegian Cruise Line said there was a temporary malfunction of the steering system.

Later on Tuesday, the ship was refloated to Heritage Wharf in Bermuda to be assessed by a team consisting of cruise line personnel; an independent dive team; and inspectors from the Dawn's classification society, DNVGL.

“The team confirmed the structural integrity of the ship, and the technical issue which caused the steering malfunction was identified and corrected,” Norwegian said Wednesday on its Twitter account.

The ship is expected to depart Bermuda at 3 p.m. on Wednesday and resume sailing to Boston.

All guests on the current voyage will receive a credit of 15% of their cruise fare to use toward a future sailing.