Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) will provide passenger cruise service from Jacksonville, FL, beginning November 2025, after the JAXPORT board of directors unanimously approved an agreement with the line. The 2,394-guest Norwegian Gem will homeport in Jacksonville from November to April every year through 2028, offering seasonal cruises to the Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean. Sailings will be available to book beginning February 15.
When Norwegian Gem arrives at JAXPORT in November 2025, it will mark the first time NCL homeports in Jacksonville. The city is a growing drive-to cruise market, with over 98 million consumers living within driving distance of the JAXPORT Cruise Terminal.
Norwegian Gem will offer three 12-day and two 11-day round-trip Eastern Caribbean sailings from Jacksonville, calling to at Great Stirrup Cay, NCL’s private island in the Bahamas; Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; St. Thomas and St. John’s, U.S. Virgin Islands; Antigua; Basseterre, St. Kitts; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and more. The ship will also sail a series of four- and five-day cruises to the Bahamas, calling to Great Stirrup Cay, Freeport and Nassau.
The cruise industry in Jacksonville is responsible for nearly 800 jobs and over $187 million in annual economic impact for Northeast Florida, according to a 2019 study. Sixty percent of travelers surveyed cited easy access to the port as the primary reason for cruising out of Jacksonville, and more than three-quarters of passengers surveyed said they would be “very likely” to return to the city for a future vacation.
For more information, visit www.ncl.com.
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