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Norwegian spending big on fleet upgrade

Norwegian Cruise Line has set out on a major overhaul of its fleet, which will see the giant investing a quarter of a billion dollars over the next year.

The company is investing $250 million in a fleetwide renovation project called Norwegian Next that will see many of the entertainments and dining venues from its newer Breakaway-class ships rolled out across the rest of its fleet in the coming months.

A number of ships have already been refurbished recently including Norwegian Jewel and Norwegian Spirit. Norwegian Gem is set to get a makeover this year, while Norwegian Star and Norwegian Epic will go into the dry dock in 2015.

The Norwegian Next programme features a large number of changes including entertainment, children’s activities and onboard connectivity. In terms of the dining establishments found on Getaway and Breakaway, Norwegian will be bringing O’Sheehan’s Bar & Grill and Carlo’s Bake Shop to all of its ships, along with the Sugarcane Mojito bar.

It will also be bringing the main dining room on the other ships in line with its newest vessels and introducing Garden Cafes. There will also be new wine and cocktail menus, while bartenders and wine stewards across the rest of the fleet are set to receive additional training.

Among the new children’s activities will be more Nickelodeon entertainments and a special area at the cruise line’s private island Great Stirrup Cay. It is also introducing new bars on the island and ensuring that passengers calling here have access to larger beach areas and more cabanas.

“The youngest fleet at sea continues to get even better with our robust enhancement program taking place over the next two years,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line’s chief executive.

“We want to continue to provide fresh and relevant experiences to our guests every time they sail with us. We are investing significantly in making sure that our guests have the vacation of a lifetime and fully experience what it means to Cruise like a Norwegian.”

Norwegian Epic to call at Southampton

Norwegian Epic is to return to Southampton for the first time in five years from 2015, marking its first return to the port since its inaugural celebration in June 2010.

According to Travelmole, the ship will sail to the UK port during its two Iberian Peninsula cruises, which are scheduled for September and October next year.

First up is a six-night sailing departing from Barcelona on September 20th. Then, the first of the two cruises will depart from Southampton on September 26th, with port calls in Cartagena, Granada and Lisbon.

After that, there’s a seven-night cruise from Southampton to Barcelona on the cards, departing on October 11th. In the interim, the ship is scheduled to go into the dry dock in France.

There’s likely to be plenty more visits to the UK for Norwegian Epic once the ship relocates its home port to the Catalan city of Barcelona on a permanent basis.

At that point, it will offer year-round sailings to the Western Mediterranean and the Canary Islands and Morocco.

Norwegian features dining package in new promotion

By Tom Stieghorst

Norwegian Cruise Line said it will offer free dining and beverage packages in a Wave season promotion for sailings of Norwegian Breakaway and Getaway in the second and third quarters.

Andy Stuart, the cruise line’s vice president of sales, said the promotion, dubbed “The Ultimate Freesome,” has “never been done before at Norwegian.”

The offer includes a free Ultimate Dining package for booking a balcony or mini-suite cabin on the two ships during the promotion period from Feb. 27 to March 10. Those who book a suite in the Haven will get a dining package and an Ultimate Beverage Package.

The dining package allows for complimentary dining at the extra-charge alternative restaurants on Breakaway and Getaway. The first two guests in the stateroom will get the packages in the promotion. In the suite promotion, all guests will get the beverage package, with a soda package for anyone under 21 years old.

Stuart said the point was partly to promote the sale of dining packages by travel agents. 

“We really think this is a package more and more guests will enjoy,” he said. 

The package, new this year, costs $119 per person for seven-day cruises.

Norwegian launched the promotion on a webinar with more than 4,000 participants, a record number Stuart said. 

Attendees were eligible to win one of 50 free cabins on Getaway and Norwegian Epic, which were allotted at random to those still listening at the end.