The Jacksonville Port Authority approved a Norwegian Cruise Line ship to sail from the Jacksonville Cruise Terminal in 2025.
The 2007-launched Norwegian Gem will start sailing from Jacksonville in November 2025, sailing itineraries to Nassau, Freeport, and their private destination, Great Stirrup Cay in The Bahamas. The ship will operate a five-, five-, four-night cruise rotation.
The Norwegian Gem will also sail three 12-day and two 11-day roundtrip Eastern Caribbean sailings from Jacksonville, Florida. The destinations on these sailings will include Great Stirrup Cay, Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, St. Thomas and St. John’s in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Antigua, Basseterre in St. Kitts, and San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Norwegian Gem will sail seasonally from November through April, with renewal options.
In a meeting held at the Jacksonville Port Authority headquarters, JAXPORT CEO Eric Green said, “When Norwegian Gem sails next year, it will be the first time a Norwegian Cruise Line ship will be homeported in Jacksonville, Florida.”
The Jacksonville Port Authority announced last month that they are in talks with a highly interested cruise line for another ship at the port.
The same day, a landing page on the Norwegian Cruise Line website showed a Jacksonville homeport page with the words “Coming Soon!” Norwegian refused to comment, and it was later taken down.
JAXPORT has been in the cruise business for over 20 years, starting in 2003 with Celebrity Zenith, followed by a half dozen Carnival Cruise Line vessels.
History of cruise ships in Jacksonville (JAXPORT)
| Cruise Ship | Years sailed |
|---|---|
| Celebrity Zenith | 2003-2005 |
| Carnival Miracle | 2004 |
| Jubilee | 2004 |
| Celebration | 2004-2008 |
| Carnival Fascination | 2008-2016 |
| Carnival Elation | 2016-2019 |
| Carnival Ecstasy | 2019-2020 |
| Carnival Spirit | 2022 |
| Carnival Elation (resumed) | 2022-current |
| Norwegian Gem | November 2025 |
An economic impact study published by JAXPORT in 2019 shows that one cruise ship’s impact in Jacksonville is responsible for 800 jobs, a $137 million impact on the local economy, and 20,000 hotel beds. With two cruise ships calling Jacksonville home, those figures will quickly double, if not more.
