Norwegian Jade and Gem Return With New Vibe Beach Clubs
On Norwegian Jade, a Deck Fourteen public area became a for-fee sun deck with cabanas, premium lounge seating and an added hot tub. The ship also added Starbucks on Deck Seven.
Norwegian Cruise Line has returned Norwegian Jade and Norwegian Gem to service after scheduled drydocks that added Vibe Beach Club areas and included technical maintenance and inspection work. Jade resumed May 4 in Vancouver for Alaska sailings between Vancouver and Whittier, while Gem resumed May 11 in Europe ahead of a Mediterranean season from Barcelona, Civitavecchia and Ravenna.
The work brings paid, adults-only deck space to both roughly 93,500-gt Jewel-class ships as Norwegian continues updating the class’s onboard product. Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Jewel received comparable Vibe Beach Club additions during late-2025 refits, along with smaller public-area and stateroom updates.
Product work during shipyard stays
Norwegian Jade entered drydock in Victoria, Canada, on April 20 after an April call in Seattle on its way north. The 2006-built ship underwent routine maintenance, technical upgrades and inspections at the Esquimalt Graving Dock before returning to service two weeks later.
Jade’s most visible guest-facing change was the addition of Vibe Beach Club on Deck 14, where a public area was replaced by a for-fee sun deck with private cabanas, premium lounge seating and an added hot tub. The ship also added a Starbucks venue on Deck 7, according to guest-facing information sent after the yard period.
Norwegian Gem entered drydock in Marseille after a late-April trans-Atlantic crossing. The 2007-built ship received technical maintenance, class work and its own Vibe Beach Club solarium before starting its summer deployment in the Mediterranean.
Gem’s first cruise back in the region was a six-night Western Mediterranean sailing from Barcelona to Cannes, Salerno, Messina and Livorno. Its summer program includes calls in Greece, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, France and Spain, with embarkation options from Barcelona, Civitavecchia and Ravenna.
Early passenger and itinerary effects
Jade returned from drydock with a temporary limitation on guest laundry service while installation work on updated laundry equipment continued. Norwegian told booked guests that laundry facilities were “temporarily operating at limited capacity” and that the ship would “prioritize essential onboard operations,” including linens, towels and food-and-beverage support.
For affected Jade sailings, paid guest laundry, dry cleaning and complimentary or discounted Latitudes loyalty laundry offers are not available. Norwegian characterized the disruption as short term but did not provide a date for guest laundry service to resume.
Gem’s Mediterranean program has also seen early-season itinerary changes unrelated to the shipyard work. Norwegian removed Koper, Slovenia, from several Civitavecchia-to-Ravenna sailings, including June 14 and June 28 departures, and at least one September voyage reported by guests. Replacement calls include Zadar, Croatia, and Trieste, Italy.
Norwegian did not directly identify the cause of the Koper cancellations. In letters to affected passengers, the line said operational conditions can change and that it had been informed “space is no longer available.” Shore excursions booked through Norwegian for Koper are being automatically canceled and refunded to the original form of payment.
Both ships had prior refurbishments in 2022. Jade’s Alaska season continues through the summer before a Sept. 21 Vancouver-to-Yokohama repositioning, while Gem is scheduled to leave Europe on Nov. 1 on a trans-Atlantic crossing to Tampa.
