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Fleet-wide renovations planned for Norwegian ships

Norwegian Cruise Line has revealed it plans to invest $250 million (£147 million) in fleet-wide renovations that will take place during the course of 2015.

The NEXT makeover programme will focus on bringing “new enhancements, experiences and transformations” across the fleet and will include improvements to food and drink facilities, as well as entertainment amenities.

According to the firm, the renovations will bring older ships inline with the more modern Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway liners.

Kevin Sheehan, chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line, said: “The youngest fleet at sea continues to get even better with our robust enhancement taking place over the next two years, and we want to continue to provide fresh and relevant experiences to our guests every time they sail with us.”

The firm will continue its partnership with children’s television network Nickelodeon and plans to create further entertainment options for its youngest passengers.

According to Norwegian, the iConcierge app will be rolled out to all ships and Wi-Fi facilities will be upgraded. In addition, touch screens and digital signage will be fitted across the whole fleet.

Further technological improvements are planned, focusing specifically on improving efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint of the fleet.

Scrubbers planned for six more Norwegian ships

Norwegian Cruise Line sought to restate its commitment to environmental protection this month with the announcement that it will be bringing scrubbers to six more of its ships.

The cruise line’s newest ships, Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway, have already been fitted with innovative environmental systems, including ballast water treatment and waste fuel oil recycling.

However, it has also committed to bringing green technologies to the rest of its fleet, in order to meet the demanding emissions targets that are coming into effect for the North American cruise industry in the near future.

To this end, it will fit 28 scrubbers, which help to remove sulfur from the ship’s emissions, on the Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Sun.

In addition to these efforts, Norwegian Cruise Line is also looking at ways to improve the protection of the ocean through more sustainable environmental practices as part of its Eco-Smart Cruising programme.

This extends to rubbish and waste recycling, and any other way that can be identified to minimise the operational impact of its ships on the environment. Last year, the programme reached the following recycling milestones:
– 1,245 tons of cardboard, saving 23,500 trees and enough for 292 million newspapers
– 2,517 tons of scrap metal
– 2,988 tons of glass
– 669 tons of glass

Norwegian Cruise Line promotion: Buy one, get one free

Norwegian Cruise Line promotion: Buy one, get one free

By Tom Stieghorst
Norwegian Getaway 410-232Borrowing from supermarkets, Norwegian Cruise Line has applied the buy-one, get-one-free promotion to a pair of its cruise ships.

Through May 11, anyone booking a seven-day cruise this summer on the Norwegian Breakaway or Getaway, the company’s newest ships, will also get a three- or four-day Bahamas cruise on selected dates this fall or winter on Norwegian Sky, one of its oldest ships.

The promotion, dubbed “Buy Once, Cruise Twice,” has some restrictions.

Holiday dates for the Norwegian Sky are blacked out. The promotion applies to sailings from Sept. 5 to Nov. 21, then from Dec. 1 to Dec. 15 and from Jan. 2 to Feb. 27. The Sky cruise is also nonrefundable and non-transferrable.

Breakaway sails from New York to Bermuda in the summer, while Getaway sails the Caribbean from Miami. Each can carry 4,000 passengers. The 2,000-passenger Norwegian Sky departs from Miami.