Norwegian Cruise Line has cancelled cruises aboard a further five cruise ships, adding to the cancellation of itineraries for eight ships announced earlier this month.

Norwegian Cruise Line has cancelled upcoming cruises aboard Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Getaway, Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Joy, and has warned guests to expect unpredictability going forward.

Norwegian Dawn is among a further five cruise ships that have had itineraries cancelled

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The move by Norwegian Cruise Line comes as COVID-19 cases soar globally, driven by the emergence of the more transmissible Omicron variant.

Norwegian Cruise Line has warned that further itineraries changes and cancellations are likely going forward due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 situation globally.

Norwegian Cruise Line has sent a letter to its guests and travel partners asking them to expect a degree of unpredictability going forward.

Among the possible challenges, Norwegian listed destinations suddenly modifying their travel requirements and restrictions, forcing the cruise line to revise its itineraries and potentially skip scheduled ports of call.

“In situations where a required itinerary change shortens the length of your cruise, we will provide you a prorated refund to the original form of payment,” the cruise line said.

“Furthermore, under certain circumstances, onboard services may be impacted or limited to provide the safest environment possible,” it added. “As always, we will do our very best to communicate any changes with you as soon as the information becomes available, however, many of these modifications may come at very short notice, or even during the voyage.”

Norwegian and Royal Caribbean have cancelled more than 20 itineraries so far due to Omicron

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In addition to cancelling cruises aboard three additional cruise ships, Norwegian Cruise Line has also extended the suspensions of some of the previously announced cancellations.

Latest cancelled cruises:

Norwegian Pearl cruises with embarkation dates through and including January 17, 2022

Norwegian Dawn cruises with embarkation dates through and including January 18, 2022

Norwegian Getaway cruises with embarkation dates through and including January 19, 2022

Norwegian Escape cruises with embarkation dates through and including January 22, 2022

Norwegian Joy cruises with embarkation dates through and including January 22, 2022

Norwegian Cruise Line is not alone in having to rapidly respond to the evolving Omicron situation, with Royal Caribbean International this month pausing operations on three ships.

Royal Caribbean said Symphony of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas would be withdrawn from service for anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months

The cruise line said the move was “a result of the ongoing COVID-related circumstances around the world, and in an abundance of caution.” Another of its ships, Vision of the Seas, will not return to cruising with passengers until early March.

Royal Caribbean is using four of its ships to house crew who test positive for the coronavirus and need to isolate.