Norwegian Cruise sees strong demand in Jax, leader says (Courtesy of the Jacksonvile Business Journal) — A newcomer cruise line set sail out of Jacksonville in October, eyeing what one of its executives calls an exciting market with plenty of demand.
Norwegian Cruise Line is giving travelers in the Southeast another option for their vacations on the high seas.
Louis Ruiz, Senior Director of Port Operations for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said the cruise ship operator is ready to capitalize on a vast drive-to-market.
“Jacksonville is such a strategic location, with 98 million people within an overnight driving distance of Jaxport, we really feel like we’re going to be able to offer our product to a whole new group of people,” Ruiz said.
Passengers already began boarding the Norwegian Gem the morning of Halloween, poised to walk through the halls of various luxury amenities.
The cruise ship is kicking off its service with a dash of haunting decorations to end 2025’s spooky season. Norwegian’s inaugural sailing will only be a weekend-long voyage, but future trips will be up to 11 days.
The ship will run seasonal service from November to April every year through 2028, offering seasonal cruises to The Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean.
Ruiz teased new announcements on Norwegian’s future in Jacksonville, but offered scant details.
“Stay tuned,” he said.
Reaching 20 years of hosting Carnival Cruise Line at its cruise terminal, Jaxport ushered in an agreement with Norwegian to begin operating out of its facilities last year.
Carnival, which tallied a record number of passengers in the last year, was a positive sign for Norwegian, said the Senior Director of Port Operations.
“It shows us that there’s a great demand here,” Ruiz said. “Watching the numbers that go on cruises week-in and week-out here, we feel that there’s a strong demand for a new product.”
City officials attending the ceremony to mark Norwegian’s inaugural service out of Jacksonville pointed out that Norwegian is arriving at a time of tremendous growth for Jacksonville, and making its debut when plenty of people arriving in town for other attractions such as the Florida-Georgia game
“I think people are learning our story. We’re on the ocean. We’re on the interstate. We’re on the river,” said Mayor Donna Deegan. “We have a beautiful location here in Jacksonville, but we’re also growing by a couple 1,000 people every year. So I think the interest in our original cruises certainly was one of those things that signaled to everybody else this is an opportunity to grow.”
Photo courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Lines