Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), has celebrated a new milestone as Norwegian Epic became the first of its 18 ships to homeport in Haifa, Israel.
The 4,100-passenger and 155.873-gross tonnage ship will embark on her open-jaw 11-day voyage to five countries including Israel, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey and Italy.
Nick Wilkinson, NCL Regional Vice President of Israel, Middle East and Africa, said: “The Israeli market is hugely important to us, and we know that our Israeli guests have been longing for embarkations out of their beautiful country for a while. We are delighted to offer our guests the opportunity, signifying the beginning of a long-standing partnership between NCL and the region. What’s more, we’re thrilled to announce that none other than the newest ship in our Prima Class, Norwegian Viva, will be visiting Haifa in 2025, reaffirming the significance of the Israeli market to us at NCL.”
The celebration was marked with a traditional plaque exchange ceremony on board Norwegian Epic, attended by the Vice President of the Ministry of Tourism, Israel, Kobby Barda.
Commencing her maiden voyage from Haifa yesterday, November 15, Norwegian Epic will sail a variety of 10-, 11- and 12- day sailings in December 2023 as well as in March and October 2024, calling to Ashdod, before stopping in Limassol (Cyprus), Rhodes (Greece) (Turkey), Patmos, Piraeus (Greece) Naples, Livorno, Venice (Trieste) and Civitavecchia (Italy) as well as Split in Croatia.
The international cruise line has further announced that Norwegian Viva, its newest ship and the second vessel of its ground-breaking Prima Class, will offer open-jaw voyages from Istanbul, Haifa and Piraeus (Athens) in the summer of 2025. The 9- and 10-day sailings will visit highlight ports in the Eastern Mediterranean including Athens (Piraeus), Mykonos and Santorini in Greece, Kusadasi in Turkey as well as Alexandria and Port Said in Egypt. NCL will be the only cruise line to offer open-jaw sailings between Istanbul and Haifa for Eastern Mediterranean sailings in spring and fall 2025.
