Norwegian Cruise Line to pull ship from Alaska in 2010

[mercedes]

Add Norwegian Cruise Line to the list of cruise operators pulling ships from Alaska.

NCL today announced it will redeploy the 1,936-passenger Norwegian Sun to Europe for the summer of 2010 instead of sending it to Alaska as it has in the past.

The Sun will assume the summer scheduled previously announced for the 2,376-passenger Norwegian Jewel, sailing 12-day trips to the Baltic region out of Dover, England from May 11 to Sept. 8.

The Norwegian Jewel, in turn, will move from Europe to New York for the summer of 2010, sailing a combination of seven-day Bahamas & Florida, 10-day Canada & New England and 10-day Eastern Caribbean cruises starting on April 24, 2010.

NCL cited rising taxes in Alaska for the Sun's withdrawal from the region.

“After carefully weighing the rising costs of deploying three ships in Alaska and taking into account the recently enacted legislation, in particular the $50 head tax, we felt it was necessary to redeploy Norwegian Sun,” CEO Kevin Sheehan said in a statement.

The change will leave NCL with just two ships in Alaska in 2010. It comes in the wake of Alaska cutbacks by Princess Cruises, Holland America and Royal Caribbean.

The Sun's new 12-day European itinerary will include stops in Copenhagen, Denmark; Berlin (Warnemünde), Germany; Tallinn, Estonia; overnight in St. Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm (Nynäshamn), Sweden.

NCL says passengers already booked on the Sun for Alaska in 2010 have the option of transferring their reservation to a comparable sailing on one of the line's other ships with their fare protected (or re-priced if the fare is lower), along with an on-board credit. Transfers must be completed by May 11, 2009, and the company has set up a dedicated phone line, 877-461-1160, that will be open weekdays starting tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EDT.