Norwegian Cruise Line Chooses Panama as Home Port
[By: Panama Maritime Authority]
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) chose the port terminals of the province of Colón (Colón 2000) and the province of Panama (Panama Cruise Terminal), as Home Port, according to the Director of Ports and Auxiliary Maritime Industries (DGPIMA) of the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA), Max Florez.
The six operations (embarking/disembarking) that Norwegian Cruise Line will carry out, between December 2024 and December 2025, will be the following:
- Four NCL operations with the ships Norwegian Jade and Norwegian Gem with capacity between 2,400 and 3,400 passengers.
- Two operations of the six-star ship Sirena, belonging to the exclusive fleet of the luxury cruise company Oceania Cruises, with a capacity for 800 passengers.
This decision by NCL adds to the announcement made by the shipping company Royal Caribbean International (RCI) last week when it chose Panama once again as its home port for its operations in the Caribbean in the 2025-2026 cruise season.
“Panama meets all the conditions to be chosen as a port of call or home port: it has a solid hotel infrastructure and indisputable tourist attractions,” added Florez. The visitor experience in both cases is completely different. At the port of call the tourist spends a few hours in the stopover city. While at the home port the visit can last for a few days, which represents greater interaction between the tourist and the local economy.
“It is important to highlight that cruise ships pay for anchoring and use the services offered by our auxiliary maritime industry, among them, provisioning, which consists of providing the ship with supplies, such as food, drinking water, medicines, among other necessary supplies for the operation of the ship, its crew and passengers,” concluded director Florez.
Panama City, with its modern metropolis, combines imposing skyscrapers with an unbeatable range of shopping malls. Visitors can travel through the Panama Canal, visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Casco Viejo, and enjoy the nearby beaches. Colón, for its part, offers paradisiacal beaches, historical forts such as San Lorenzo, and the Colón Free Zone. Both cities provide a unique mix of culture, history, nature, commercial catering and adventure, making Panama a world-class tourist destination.