Norwegian Cruise Line’s 2,300-passenger Norwegian Gem made an unscheduled stop in PortMiami last night, but the ship never official docked.
Passengers on board are saying the brief visit was due to a medical emergency.
The NCL cruise ship did not have PortMiami on the itinerary at all. In fact, Norwegian Gem is currently on a 5-day voyage out of Jacksonville, Florida, so Miami is not even its homeport.
The vessel spent all day in Bimini yesterday and left the port at 5:00 PM. Passengers on board reported on social media that the ship headed towards Miami late last night.
“I’m onboard, we don’t have a helipad. We saw a fire rescue boat come on board around 10:30 pm, then we made our way into Miami. We never docked just sat in port for an hour (I assume for paperwork and to let off family) then left,” a Facebook user said.
A video uploaded to YouTube shows Norwegian Gem pulling into PortMiami at night. Tracking data shows that the ship arrived in Miami around 11:05PM. The ship performed a complete 180-degree turn, and a small boat came alongside the ship to transfer the passenger to the shore. Within just a few minutes the ship was back out to sea.
It should be noted that there isn’t a hospital in Bimini and Miami is just a short 50-mile trip from the island.
The Norwegian Cruise Line ship is currently back on schedule, visiting the cruise line’s private island at Great Stirrup Cay, and is expected to be back in Jacksonville on March 28, 2026.
Historical data from Vessel Finder shows the ship’s route to Miami after spending the day in Bimini.
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