News

Big news for Panama City’s tourism industry — Norwegian Cruise Lines has officially announced plans to use Panama City as a homeport in 2022 and 2023.

Norwegian becomes the first cruise line to officially announce plans to use Panama City’s Fuerte Amador Cruise Terminal as a homeport, which will provide new opportunities for cruise travelers to explore Panama City Real Estate. This will create a ripple effect, encouraging other cruise lines to take advantage of the new cruise ship terminal on Amador Causeway and provide a steady supply of new visitors to the city.

“This new agreement enables nearly 24,000 guests to experience the beauty of Panama each year,” said Harry Sommer, president, and chief executive officer, Norwegian Cruise Line.

Norwegian says it will offer 12 homeport voyages from Panama in 2022 and 2033, using Panama City and the Colon Cruise Terminal. The trips will start on March 20, 2022, with the Norwegian Jewel sailing a nine-day itinerary traversing the Panama Canal and visiting destinations such as Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; Oranjestad Aruba; Willemstad, Curaçao; Kralendijk, Bonaire, and Cartagena Colombia before arriving at the Caribbean side of Panama in the city of Colon.

According to a release from Norwegian, on Dec. 6, 2023, Norwegian Joy will offer a 10-day voyage sailing from Fuerte Amador and visit Puerto Limon; George Town, Grand Cayman; Roatán, Bay Islands; Harvest Caye, the Brand’s private resort destination in Belize; Cozumel, Mexico, and Great Stirrup Cay, the company’s private island in the Bahamas before ending her journey in Miami.

The agreement with the Panama Tourism Authority will run through 2024. Under the terms of the agreement, Norwegian will receive Panama Canal transit benefits while operating homeport turnarounds. The cruise line will also promote Panama as a destination and buy goods in Panama.

 This is definitely good news for Panama, and Norwegian’s announcement will certainly be the first step as many cruise lines expand their operations in Panama.