Norwegian Cancels Curaçao Port Call on Caribbean Sailings

Published on Dec 22, 2025, 11:38 am CST

7 min read

Key points

Willemstad, Curaçao was removed from select Norwegian Cruise Line itineraries because of ongoing naval activity
Norwegian Epic skipped the Curaçao call on December 17, 2025, and added an unscheduled stop in Bridgetown, Barbados
Norwegian Sky's January 5, 2026 itinerary now shows one fewer port, with Curaçao omitted and time shifted to a sea day
Line booked shore excursions tied to the canceled call are generally refunded when a port or excursion is canceled
Travelers with third party tours and flight or hotel plans built around Curaçao should recheck timing and cancellation terms immediately

Impact

Shore Excursions: Canceled Willemstad tours trigger refunds for line booked excursions, while third party operators may require separate cancellation steps
Independent Tours: Private guides, taxis, and pre paid activities in Curaçao can become non refundable if you miss cancellation windows
Onboard Experience: A replacement sea day can increase crowding in dining, pool, and entertainment venues, especially on port intensive itineraries
Pre And Post Cruise Hotels: Travelers who planned Curaçao hotel nights around the port day may need to move stays or absorb change fees
Flight Connections: If you scheduled flights around a specific port day, verify airport transfer timing and avoid tight same day connections

Norwegian Cruise Line has removed Willemstad, Curaçao from select Caribbean itineraries, citing ongoing naval activity that affects port access. The change matters most for guests who built their day around shore excursions, independent tours, and tightly timed travel plans that hinge on one high value southern Caribbean stop. Travelers should verify their updated itinerary in the NCL app, confirm how excursion refunds will post, and adjust any flight, hotel, and third party bookings connected to Curaçao as soon as possible.

The practical change is simple, your ship may still sail, but Willemstad may disappear from the schedule, and your "port day" becomes either a different port call or an extra day at sea. Norwegian Cancels Curaçao Port Call is not a weather diversion story, it is a port access constraint that can persist until maritime restrictions clear.

Reporting indicates Norwegian Epic, sailing a seven night southern Caribbean itinerary from San Juan that departed on December 14, 2025, did not make its scheduled Willemstad call on December 17, 2025. Instead, the ship reportedly sailed to Bridgetown, Barbados on December 18, 2025, using what had been a planned sea day as an unscheduled port call. Notably, other cruise ships reportedly called in Curaçao the same day, which suggests the disruption may be time bound or vessel specific rather than a blanket closure of the cruise port.

A second, forward looking change affects Norwegian Sky. Guests booked on the January 5, 2026 sailing have been warned in cruise industry reporting that Willemstad was removed due to "ongoing naval activity," and that the day will be spent at sea instead. Third party itinerary listings for that January 5, 2026 departure currently show eight ports, including Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia, and Tortola, but not Curaçao, which is consistent with a Curaçao omission.

If Curaçao was the anchor stop of your itinerary, it helps to separate two risks. First, the missed port itself, and the loss of planned tours. Second, the knock on timing changes that can move all aboard times, change the pacing of sea days, and shift how much buffer you have for pre cruise and post cruise travel.

Who Is Affected

The most directly affected travelers are passengers sailing on the specific itineraries where Willemstad has been removed, including those who booked ship sponsored shore excursions in Curaçao, and those who arranged private guides, beach clubs, dive trips, or rental cars tied to the scheduled port hours. Travelers who planned Curaçao as a one day "port intensive" highlight are likely to feel the impact more than travelers treating it as a flexible beach day.

Cruisers combining the sailing with hotels and flights are also exposed. Some guests structure an entire Caribbean trip around a signature port day, for example, booking refundable hotels in San Juan with the assumption of a specific return time, or planning same day flights after disembarkation because the itinerary looks stable. When a port drops and sea days shuffle, that stability can evaporate quickly, and the cost often shows up in change fees, missed tour deposits, and rushed transfers.

Travel advisors and groups should pay extra attention. When a port is removed close in, the friction often shifts from "what happened" to "who does what next," especially for multi cabin groups who booked different mixes of ship tours and private tours. For general Curaçao planning context, including Willemstad logistics that may still matter for future sailings, see Curaçao.

What Travelers Should Do

First, pull up your sailing in the NCL app or your booking portal, and compare the current port list, arrival times, and all aboard times against what you saved when you booked. Then screenshot the updated itinerary for your records, and immediately cancel or rework any third party tours in Curaçao, because many operators use cutoffs that can turn deposits into sunk costs. If you booked ship excursions for Curaçao, watch your onboard account and your payment method for automatic reversals tied to canceled excursions, and keep the confirmation emails until the refund posts.

Second, use a simple decision threshold for rebooking versus waiting. If your Curaçao tour is non refundable inside 72 hours, or if your plan depends on a specific activity window, like a scuba charter with a hard departure time, treat the port call as unlikely, and pivot now. If your stakes are lower, like a flexible beach day with no prepaid elements, you can wait longer, but you should still adjust expectations and avoid stacking other time sensitive commitments on top of the port day.

Third, monitor three things for the next 24 to 72 hours. Watch for additional itinerary notifications from Norwegian, watch for third party itinerary listings to update port counts and timings, and watch for any official maritime advisories that could widen restrictions across nearby southern Caribbean waters. For regional context on how security posture can ripple into commercial operations near the ABC islands, see U.S. warships shift toward Venezuela, Caribbean travel impact explained.

Background

Cruise itineraries are operational plans, not guarantees, and ports can be canceled when safety, security, or navigation constraints change. Norwegian's guest ticket contract gives the line broad discretion to deviate from the published itinerary, including canceling a scheduled port call and substituting other ports without prior notice, and it also allows compliance with government orders or directions tied to security and safety. In practice, that framework is why a ship can skip Willemstad on short notice, and why the replacement may be an added sea day or a substitute port that fits fuel, crew, berth availability, and onward scheduling constraints.

The disruption propagates beyond the single missed port. At the source layer, Curaçao's local tour inventory goes unused, and guests lose the one day they expected to access the island by ship. At the next layer, the ship's operations and onboard experience shift, because a sea day concentrates demand into dining, pool, spa, and entertainment venues that would have been diluted by passengers dispersing ashore. Then the ripple hits the wider trip stack, including airline and hotel timing. A moved or added port can change when people disembark, when luggage logistics feel comfortable, and how much buffer exists for separate ticket flights. This is the same mechanics travelers see in other port disruption events, even when the trigger is different, as in Bermuda cruise cancellations ripple post-Imelda.

Refund outcomes also diverge by booking channel. When a port or shore excursion is canceled, Norwegian states guests are refunded what they paid for the excursion, and its published policies note that canceled shore excursions receive a full refund. That generally covers ship sponsored tours. Independent tours, third party shore excursions, and self arranged transportation are governed by each operator's own terms, which is why the fastest value preserving move is often canceling early, even if you are still hoping the port returns.