About 1,600 people booked on the Norwegian Star during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver will have to find other accommodations, after the company that chartered the ship canceled four days before the charter was scheduled to begin.
Edmonton, Alb.-based Newwest Special Projects Limited Partnership cited poor sales as the reason for the cancellation of the 28-day charter. The Norwegian Star was scheduled to be in Vancouver throughout the Winter Olympics.
The cancellation included a four-day sailing from Los Angeles to Vancouver on Feb. 6 and a four-day cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles on March 2.
Norwegian Cruise Line said it was notified of the cancellation on Feb. 2 and that it was “exploring options” of what to do with the Star during the time it was supposed to be chartered.
NCL said the ship would resume its planned cruises on March 6, sailing a seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise from Los Angeles.
In a statement, Newwest said it “made the decision to cancel the charter due to slower-than-expected sales, along with expenses associated with the charter that were higher than anticipated.”
Newwest said it had 1,108 cabins for sale, or 2,216 berths. It had booked 1,600 guests during the Olympics, and approximately 1,300 passengers for the cruise to Vancouver and 2,200 for the cruise to Los Angeles.
The company apologized to those who had booked the space on the ship, and said they would offer refunds.
According to Canadian news source CBC, Newwest originally wanted $700 per night for the accommodations on the Star, including all meals. Newwest cut prices in half in September and reduced them to as low as $275 per night in January, the report said.
The report also said that the Star would have berthed in an industrial area of the city 30 minutes from Olympic venues, not downtown Vancouver.