Women in sunhats and men in baseball caps lugged suitcases and scurried up a ramp to board a hulking Norwegian Cruise Line Jewel ship Thursday afternoon. Moments later, thunder cracked, rain drizzled, and lightning lit up the Delaware River.
The passengers of Norwegian’s inaugural voyage out of its new permanent terminal at PhilaPort likely couldn’t get out of the Philly region soon enough. They were all headed to sunny Bermuda.
The opening of the $66 million terminal in Tinicum Township, Delaware County, followed Norwegian Cruise Line’s return to the Philly area earlier this year, making it the first cruise line to sail from the region in more than 15 years and marking the return of the industry to the region.
The seven-year partnership between PhilaPort and Norwegian will avail area residents to journeys to various exotic cruise destinations without having to travel to New York, Boston, or Miami, where Norwegian’s other East Coast ports are based.
The Jewel will make voyages to Bermuda until Sept. 26 and the Pearl will arrive in November offering five-day to 14-day trips to Bermuda, the Caribbean, Bahamas, Canada, and New England through April 2028. In summer 2028, Norwegian will offer seven-day Bermuda and Atlantic Coast voyages aboard its Gem ship.
The return of the cruise industry to the area is anticipated to contribute around 2,200 new jobs and generate about $300 million in local economic activity annually, said Dan Farkas, executive vice president of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
“It benefits all. It’s benefiting the local hotels, the restaurants, the transportation providers, as well as the many vendors that provision the ships,” Farkas said at Thursday’s new terminal unveiling, before marking the celebration by enjoying a tiny cheesesteak hors d’oeuvre.
Read more Trump signs order renaming Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America’ in the United States
The cruise industry evacuated the Philly region about 15 years ago as the ships that companies were running outgrew the Navy Yard port, said PhilaPort spokesperson Sean Mahoney. About four years ago, Norwegian approached the port about sailing out of the region again, Mahoney said, but a series of obstacles related to siting, land ownership, and permits cropped up.
It also involved a protracted battle with weather, said Michael Pearson, PhilaPort’s chairman.
“There were times when it did not seem possible,” Pearson said. “But the PhilaPort board and staff pushed against the naysayers and the frozen river and, with the help of our partners, we got this thing done.”
At Thursday’s celebration, Norwegian presented a $20,000 check to Tinicum Township’s fire department and a $30,000 check the Boys & Girls Clubs to benefit three local branches. The donations were part of their Sail & Sustain program, aimed to benefit the communities where they run services.
As the final several stragglers boarded the ship to Bermuda, they enjoyed a quintessentially Philly send-off — being serenaded by a Mummers’ band in an unpredictable and muggy rainstorm.