NCL-Norwegian Cruise Line canceled 4th sailing for its Norwegian Escape ship.
The vessel set sail from Port Canaveral (Orlando, Florida USA) for a 7-day voyage (March 19-26) which was canceled after NCL Escape ran aground on a sandbar on Monday, March 14, just off Puerto Plata Harbor (Dominicana).
The accident happened as the liner with a total of 3223 passengers and 1618 crew departed the port city and got stuck at Taino Bay.
The vessel was scheduled for a week-long sailing, but the cruise company said repairs to Escape after she got stuck leaving Dominicana last week were taking “longer than expected.”
The ship got stuck after she had made contact with the sea/channel bed, causing minor hull damage. The Escape remained grounded for hours while waiting for the high tide. She was later freed and docked back at Puerto Plata.
In a letter emailed to booked passengers and travel partners, the cruise line informed those impacted that the scheduled April 2 cruise would no longer take place.
The letter is identical to the information provided when the March 26 sailing was canceled, and passengers are being offered similar compensation options to make up for the missed trip.
For more Norwegian Escape incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.