Norwegian Cruise Ship Drops Aruba Port Call Due to Availability Issues
If you're booked on Norwegian Prima's January 31, 2027 sailing from San Juan, check whether you had shore excursions planned in Oranjestad, Aruba — those will be automatically canceled and refunded. Your February 3 stop is now a sea day, with a new Philipsburg, St. Maarten call added on February 4 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you'd rather not sail with this change, you can cancel penalty-free more than 119 days before departure — currently you have 219 days.
NCL's letter is careful to say only that "operational conditions can change" — no specifics on why Oranjestad fell through, though Aruba's ongoing multi-year port revitalization is a plausible factor Cruise Hive flags itself, not NCL. My read is that swapping in Philipsburg, St. Maarten for February 4 (previously a sea day) rather than just cutting a port shows NCL trying to preserve the four-port count on this Prima sailing. Guests lose Aruba but gain a full itinerary; NCL loses nothing since standard cruise contracts don't require compensation for itinerary changes, only automatic refunds on pre-booked Aruba excursions. If I had a cabin booked on this January 31, 2027 sailing, I'd take the automatic excursion refund and either rebook shore plans for St. Maarten or, if Aruba was the whole point, use my 119-day cancellation window while it's still open — 219 days out, there's no urgency yet.