Passengers on Norwegian Aqua’s current Eastern Caribbean sailing have had their itinerary trimmed to make room for an unplanned refuelling stop. The ship left PortMiami on November 8 on a seven-night cruise. In a letter to guests signed by Captain Ashutosh Chandra, Norwegian Cruise Line said the ship would add a technical call at Freeport on Grand Bahama on November 14 for bunkering, the industry term for taking on fuel, and shorten two other port days to fit it in.
The first change came in Tortola on November 12, where the departure time moved 30 minutes earlier, from 2:00pm to 1:30pm. The bigger cut is at Great Stirrup Cay, the line’s private island in the Bahamas, where the November 14 call now runs from 9am to 4pm instead of 10am to 6pm. That is three fewer hours on the beach on what for many guests is the highlight of the week.
The Freeport stop itself offers nothing for passengers. The ship will sit at anchor from 7:30pm until 11:59pm while it refuels, and nobody will be allowed ashore. The return to Miami at 7am on November 15 is unchanged. Shore excursions that cannot be rearranged around the new times have been cancelled, with refunds credited to guests’ onboard accounts. Posts on Reddit describe a similar change on the ship’s October 25 sailing, suggesting the fuel stop may be becoming a pattern.
Cruise contracts give lines wide latitude to alter itineraries, so compensation beyond excursion refunds is unlikely. If you are booked on an upcoming Aqua sailing from Miami, keep an eye on emails and the cruise line’s app in the days before departure, and book private-island activities with flexible cancellation terms in case the schedule moves again.
Sources: Cruise Hive, Cruise Industry News
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