Tag Archives: Kevin Sheehan

Norwegian mega-ship Epic to sail year-round in Europe

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By Phil Davies 

Norwegian mega-ship Epic to sail year-round in EuropeNorwegian Cruise Line’s mega-ship Norwegian Epic is to be deployed year-round in Europe.

Chief executive Kevin Sheehan revealed that the 4,100-passenger Norwegian Epic would move to Barcelona year-round in April 2015.

He was speaking on board the soon-to-debut Norwegian Getaway, which arrives in Southampton this week en-route to its home port of Miami.

“Consumers in Europe love the ship [Norwegian Epic],” Sheehan told reporters during a preview sailing of Getaway from Rotterdam for European travel agents.

Norwegian Epic already spends its summers in Europe sailing the Mediterranean out of Barcelona. The ship currently spends winters in the Caribbean sailing out of Miami.

The ship will become the largest cruise vessel ever based year-round in Europe.

Sheehan declined to reveal the itineraries Norwegian Epic will operate in Europe or whether it would be replacing one of the two smaller Norwegian ships now based year-round in Europe, Norwegian Spirit and Norwegian Jade.

Itineraries are due to be announced in mid-March.

The 155,873-ton Norwegian Epic is the world’s third largest cruise ship, behind Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.

Norwegian Cruise Line takes delivery of Getaway

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By Tom Stieghorst

KevinSheehanBernardMeyer-GetawayDeliveryNorwegian Cruise Line has taken delivery of its newest ship, the 4,000-passenger Norwegian Getaway.

The Miami-themed ship will head across the Atlantic for initial duty as the Bud Light Super Bowl hotel, before sailing to Miami where it will start year-round Caribbean cruises in early February.

Getaway, which is being delivered nine months after its predecessor, Norwegian Breakaway, took Germany’s Meyer Werft shipyard 15 months to build.

From Bremerhaven, the ship is sailing to Rotterdam, Netherlands, for the start of inaugural festivities, which will continue in Southampton, England, before the ship departs for a transatlantic cruise to New York.

Norwegian has two more ships on order, Norwegian Escape, due in the fall of 2015, and Norwegian Biiss, coming in 2017.

Norwegian Cruise Line has no plans for brand expansion

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Norwegian Cruise Line has no plans for brand expansion

By Tom Stieghorst
2013CruiseWorld_logo200x115FORT LAUDERDALE — Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings will stick with its core competencies and not acquire or start brands other than its flagship Norwegian brand, CEO Kevin Sheehan said at the CruiseWorld event on Friday.

Sheehan said he looked at several acquisitions after he came to Norwegian in 2008 but decided against them.

“I don’t want to create distractions for our team,” Sheehan said. “We have so many opportunities with our brand.”

In addition, Sheehan told travel agents that Norwegian is a variety of brands under one name. The Haven ship-within-a-ship luxury areas on Norwegian ships function as a luxury line, he said.

CruiseWorld 2013 Kevin Sheehan and Arnie WeissmannHe also cited a focus on solo cabins, family programs with Nickelodeon and the Pride of America ship in Hawaii as other brand-like experiences within Norwegian Cruise Line.

Sheehan said he is working hard to keep Norwegian focused on its own long-term future and goals, now that the company has become publicly traded. He said he would have preferred to go public later, but the private-equity owners needed some “affirmation” for their investors.

“I have always said to our investors, I know you are watching the next quarter, but I’m watching the next five years,” Sheehan said.

The next big event on Norwegian’s horizon is the arrival of Norwegian Getaway, which will sail from Miami year-round. Norwegian last had a ship sail seven-day cruises year-round from Miami 10 years ago.

Sheehan said he has tried to keep Norwegian’s ships consistently positioned to provide stability for travel agents, and that a limited number of ships left Miami as a seasonal market, until now.

Getaway is in the final stages of construction and is expected to arrive in New York in early February for a week’s duty as the Bud Light Hotel at the Super Bowl before coming to Miami for its maiden voyage.

Sheehan pointed out that Norwegian started the modern cruise industry in Miami 45 years ago.

“It’s just getting back to where we should have been all along,” he said.

Sheehan was the third cruise CEO to address CruiseWorld attendees, following talks by Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. CEO Richard Fain.