Everything You Need to Know About Norwegian Cruise Line

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Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) launched its 14th ship, Norwegian Escape, in October 2015. Carrying 4248 passengers, Escape is the biggest vessel in NCL’s fleet of colourful, modern megaships – each one features distinctive artworks on its hull, with Escape’s designed by famous US marine-wildlife artist Guy Harvey.

 

Apart from Norwegian Spirit and Norwegian Sky, which launched in 1998 and 1999, all the ships have been built in the 21st century. All have the first name “Norwegian” except for Pride of America; this 2186-passenger ship was built in 2005 and is the only ship to cruise year-round in Hawaii, offering weekly, seven-day island itineraries from Honolulu. The ships are popular with families, multi-generational groups, couples and singles and are known for their ‘Freestyle Cruising’ experience – no need to pack suits and posh frocks for formal nights, although of course you can dress up if you want to.

 

Norwegian Escape is the first of four Breakaway Plus class of ships; the second is due to launch in March 2017 and will be built for the Chinese market; two additional ships are being built for 2018 and 2019. Escape and its identical fleetmates are bigger than the next-newest Breakaway class of ships, Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway, which launched in 2013 and 2014, each accommodating 3963 passengers.

 

The new Norwegian Escape shares a lot of features that have proved to be extremely successful on the Breakaway ships, notably single Studio cabins and a dedicated Studio Lounge, plus private ‘The Haven’ by Norwegian, a “ship within a ship”. Facilities at The Haven by Norwegian are only accessible to passengers staying in its 55 suites; they include a private pool, courtyard, lounge and restaurant. There is also a private fitness area, hot tub, 24-hour butler service and priority embarkation and disembarkation.

 

There’s a huge choice of eateries on board NCL ships – each one has up to three main dining rooms, buffets and grills plus specialty (extra charge) restaurants. Ocean Blue serves seafood cuisine, Moderno Churrascaria and Cagney’s Steakhouse specialise in meat dishes, Teppanyaki is the Asian-fusion option, French food is served at Le Bistro and Italian at La Cucina. Cover charges range from US$20 to US40 per passenger and you need to book for specialty dining venues.

 

Escape has the three-deck 678 Ocean Place dining and entertainment complex as well as The Waterfront – a boardwalk dining concept that first appeared on Breakaway and Getaway. New to the ship are Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant, a bar based on Miami’s famous Tobacco Road and the 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar in The Waterfront, featuring live music.

 

NCL’s ships are renowned for their action-packed activities and Escape takes them to a whole new level. It will feature the largest ropes course at sea, complete with five Sky Rails (zip-lines) and planks to walk over the side of the ship. The new Aqua Park, which is also the largest of its kind at sea, has four multi-deck water slides and a dedicated Kids’ Aqua Park, two pools and four hot tubs. The Aqua Racer slide is a new feature – a tandem waterslide where competitors race side-by-side, and the Free Fall, which first appeared on Breakaway, is another heart-stopping adventure for thrillseekers of all ages. Escape’s sports complex includes a full-size basketball court for competition and a new bocce ball court.

 

Family-friendly adjoining cabins, interconnecting suites, kids’ clubs and activities are a big plus on NCL’s ships for family cruisers. Norwegian Escape is the first in the fleet to offer childcare services for children aged six months to three years; the Guppies program, which is also available on all ships, is an open play area for parents and children to interact together. It has various themed activities and sensory-based games, hosted by a trained co-ordinator.

 

Splash Academy is NCL’s age-appropriate kids’ programs for children between three and 12, supervised by experienced staff; it’s divided into Turtles (3-5), Seals (6-9) and Dolphins (10 to 12). Activities range from arts, crafts and painting to circus school and treasure hunts. Entourage is designed for teens aged 13 to 17; the fun space hosts videogames, movies, arts, music and sports, and themed events and parties are held in the evenings. Babysitting for smaller children and the Late Night Fun Zone for older kids are also on offer for a reasonable fee, when parents want to go out to play by themselves.

 

The entertainment line-up on NCL ships includes award-winning musicals and Broadway-style shows; Escape features After Midnight, a jazz revue, and Million Dollar Quartet, a musical inspired by the music of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. Escape has a new show, For the Record: The Brat Pack Live at the Supper Club. Fans of magic shows will enjoy Norwegian Getaway’s magical dining experience at the Illusionarium – Getaway’s Broadway shows are Legally Blonde and Burn the Floor. All ships feature live bands, piano bars, comedy shows and discos and more traditional shipboard entertainment such as shuffleboard and table tennis.

 

NCL operates cruises in Alaska, Bermuda, Canada and New England, the Caribbean and Bahamas, the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, South America and Transatlantic. At the end of 2016, the line is sending a ship to Asia and Australasia for the first time since 2001, while Norwegian Star will sail itineraries departing from Istanbul, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney and Auckland.

 

On January 16, 2017, Norwegian Star will sail a 21-day itinerary from Hong Kong to Sydney. It will then do a 12-day cruise from Sydney to Auckland, departing on February 6, 2017. Ports of call include Melbourne and Burnie in Australia; and Dunedin, Akaroa, Wellington, Napier and Tauranga in New Zealand. Norwegian Star will also sail a 19-day itinerary from Auckland to Singapore departing February 18, 2017. Ports of call include: Bay of Islands, New Zealand; Sydney, Brisbane, Airlie Beach, Cairns and Darwin, Australia; Komodo and Bali, Indonesia; and Kuala Lumpur (Port Kelang), Malaysia.

 

In 2016, Norwegian Escape, which is now the largest ship to port year-round in Miami, will sail weekly seven-day cruises to the Eastern Caribbean. Norwegian Epic will spend summers in the Mediterranean and winters home-ported in Port Canaveral, offering three-, four- and seven-day Eastern and Western Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries. Norwegian Breakaway is the largest ship to home-port in New York, from which it sails itineraries of 2-14 nights to Bermuda, the Bahamas and Florida.

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