Norwegian Escape Heads to Barcelona for 16-Day Drydock
Weather changes shortened Norwegian Escape's Halifax visit by five hours in September, with some company-booked shore excursions cancelled and fully refunded.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Escape is sailing from New York to Barcelona ahead of a 16-day drydock scheduled to begin in mid-October 2026. The ship left North America in late September on a 16-night repositioning cruise and will transfer to a European shipyard without passengers after reaching Spain.
The drydock will cover routine maintenance and updates. Built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, in 2015, the 165,157-gross-ton Norwegian Escape was the first ship in Norwegian’s Breakaway Plus class and accommodates 4,266 guests at double occupancy.
The maintenance period falls between two Atlantic crossings, with the return voyage due to leave Barcelona in late October. That sailing will bring the ship to Port Canaveral in mid-November for a winter program of seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruises.
The eastbound itinerary originally included nine destinations across Canada, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Spain. Adverse weather forced the cancellation of the Sydney call, leaving Halifax as the ship’s Canadian stop before it headed toward the Azores.
Ponta Delgada is scheduled for early October, followed by Gibraltar, Melilla, Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca before the voyage ends in Barcelona.
Weather disruption before the Atlantic crossing
The preceding Canada and New England cruise also required weather-related changes. In a letter to guests, Norwegian Escape Captain Simone Croci cited “a developing nor'easter expected to impact the northeastern United States and Canada Atlantic coast” as the reason for shortening the Halifax visit.
The ship departed the Canadian port at 5 p.m. on September 24, five hours ahead of schedule. It was also expected to reach New York shortly after midnight on September 26, approximately seven hours earlier than planned, before beginning the European repositioning voyage.
Croci said the adjustment was needed to get ahead of the storm’s strongest forecast conditions and support the ship’s arrival in New York. Norwegian revised company-booked Halifax shore excursions to fit the shorter call; tours that could not operate within the new hours were cancelled, with full refunds credited to guests’ onboard accounts.
Back across the Atlantic to Port Canaveral
The westbound cruise will also last 16 nights, calling in Spain, France and Morocco before reaching Central Florida. Its scheduled stops include Marseille, Palma de Mallorca, Cartagena, Motril, Cadiz, Tangier and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Once in its winter homeport, the ship will operate weeklong sailings calling at Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands and Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas. The itineraries also include Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegian’s private island destination in the Bahamas.
The Port Canaveral deployment is scheduled to continue through November 2027. Norwegian Escape is then due to reposition to Galveston for the 2027-28 season.
See current Norwegian Escape fares and itineraries on Cruise Lookup.
