(Bloomberg) -- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. is giving passengers on its Norwegian Escape a choice: get off the ship in Miami Thursday or stay on board and sail away from Hurricane Irma.
The 4,200-passenger vessel set sail from Miami Saturday on what was to have been a seven-day cruise. Instead of calling on Mexico ports, the voyage has been cut by two days so passengers who live in Florida can return to their homes, the company said.
The company is encouraging guests who don't have other options to stay on board. Norwegian said it didn't know how many passengers would stay, where the ship will go or even when it will return to Miami.
The choice to put the Escape back out at sea is “quite ingenious,” said Ross Klein, a professor who studies the cruise industry at Memorial University of Newfoundland, in St. John's, Canada.
Ships are built to stay at sea in storms and the Escape won't likely burn much fuel once it gets to calmer waters. Meanwhile, Norwegian will be able to generate revenue from passengers staying on board.
“Those bars are going to be busy,” he said.
Singer CeeLo Green is on the ship, according to his publicist, but he plans to disembark in Miami.
All guests will receive a refund for the missed days of their cruise, along with a 25 percent credit toward a future sailing on Norwegian. Guests who need to make changes to any flights will also be reimbursed for any change fees up to $300 per person.
Cruise line operators, who get about a third of their business from the Caribbean, have been scrambling to deal with Irma, a category 5 hurricane on track to pummel islands such as Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The storm is expected to hit southern Florida late Sunday or early Monday.
Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and others have redirected ships out of the path of the hurricane, ended trips early and canceled voyages that have yet to leave port. Many are offering full refunds and credit toward future bookings.
To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Palmeri in Los Angeles at cpalmeri1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Crayton Harrison at tharrison5@bloomberg.net.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
