Norwegian Cruise Line Mechanical Problems End Ship's Voyage Early

Mechanical issues have forced a Norwegian Cruise Line ship that operates a popular Caribbean route to dock early.

The Norwegian Jade ended a scheduled 10-day cruise after only a few days at sea after leaving Miami on Friday. The 2,400-passenger ship docked in Puerto Rico — its first port of call — and Norwegian began making arrangements to fly passengers home.

According to Seatrade Cruise News, shortly before the ship was scheduled to depart San Juan on Sunday night, the captain announced that the remainder of the voyage was canceled. Its other scheduled ports of call included St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Martin.

It is still unclear exactly what mechanical problems the ship was having, as Norwegian hasn't specified, but it did say all services on board the ship are fully operational.

"While this issue does not affect the safety of the ship, it will prevent her from sailing the scheduled itinerary," the cruise line told USA Today. The Norwegian Jade remained docked in Puerto Rico through Tuesday, and then it sailed (with only crew on board) to its home port of Miami to get the necessary repairs. All passengers were required to be off the ship by Tuesday.

The ship had an entire technical overhaul in 2017, Cruise News reports, with thrusters, stabilizers and an exhaust gas cleaning system among some of the parts that received extensive work.

The cruise line apologized to customers for the botched vacation and offered them full refunds and a full credit for a future cruise in the same amount of the lost fare.

"We are very sorry for the inconvenience and disappointment this unexpected situation has caused, especially during this special holiday cruise, and we thank our loyal guests for their patience and understanding," Norwegian said.

The Jade, which was built in 2006, is scheduled to depart for its next cruise from Miami on Nov. 26 for an 11-day voyage to the Panama Canal.