Norwegian announces additional dining venues for Escape

Bayamo by Jose Garces

Norwegian Cruise Line has announced more dining venues to be added to Norwegian Escape, which is due for delivery in November 2015.

Jose Garces, the James Beard Award-winning Iron Chef, will launch two speciality restaurants. The venues will offer Latin-inspired culinary dishes from classic Mexican dishes to Cuban specialities.

Bayamo by Jose Garces will showcase Latin dishes with a heavy Cuban-influence set within a chic dining room. Al fresco dining will also be available on The Waterfront. Dishes will feature the flavours of Latin America with Spanish influences.

Pincho Tapas Bar by Jose Garces will offer traditional Spanish tapas à la carte within a lively casual setting. Plates will be prepared on an authentic La Plancha grill right at the bar in front of guests.

Sugarcane Mojito Bar will complete the space and serve as an entry to Bayamo. Guests who wish to have a cocktail before dinner can enjoy live Latin music whilst selecting from more than ten different mojitos and rum-based cocktails.

Open for lunch through dinner Food Republic will be a modern, up-scale food emporium from The Pubbelly Restaurant Group. Guests will experience a culinary journey via small plates, with flavours ranging from Asia to Central Europe and the Mediterranean, all available à la carte. The Food Republic will offer guests the freedom to choose what they want and when they want it thanks to the venue's iPad ordering system.

As a first-at-sea concept, the District Brew House will be an urban craft beer hall featuring an exclusive partnership with Miami’s Wynwood Brewing Company. This venue will have its own keg room, 24 draft beers on tap and more than 50 different bottled beers on offer. The District Brew House will also offer a menu of gastropub-style plates for snacking.

The Cellars, A Michael Mondavi Family Wine Bar will offer wine experiences, with a focus on tasting, education, and the enjoyment of wine, all accompanied by small plates and tapas, available à la carte.

Carlo’s Bake Shop by Buddy Valastro, star of American television shows “Cake Boss” and “Next Great Baker”, will offer confections including cannoli’s, lobster tails, tiramisu, plus a variety of other unique cakes, cupcakes and Italian cookies, all available à la carte.

Norwegian Cruise Line also announced several entertainment additions.

The Escape Theatre will be home to two Broadway musicals – “Million Dollar Quartet” and “After Midnight”.

The Supper Club will offer a dinner show concept. The first show offered will be “For The Record”, a show that celebrates classic soundtracks of motion picture masters in a one-of-a kind 360° post-modern cabaret.

Headliners Comedy Club will also be added to the vessel following its success on Norwegian Getaway. The venue will showcase  comedians chosen through its partnership with Levity Entertainment Group, the world’s largest producer of live comedy.

Escape will visit Southampton in October en route to Miami from the shipyard where it is being built in Germany. Passengers can book a two-night cruise from Hamburg or one night on board on October 27. The ship will host an invitation-only event on October 28.

(Photo credit to Norwegian Cruise Lines)

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Blowing hot and cold with Norwegian Escape

Snow Room on Norwegian Escape

A Snow Room chilled to freezing point and the largest thermal suite at sea are among the relaxation spaces planned for Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest and largest ship, Norwegian Escape.

Passengers will be able to enjoy the facilities of the company’s most innovative Mandara Spa to date, plus the adults-only Vibe Beach Club and Spice H2O night club with an all-new grotto area for guests to cool off after a day in the sun.

The spa will span two decks, and contains a hydrotherapy pool, steam room, sauna, sanarium, salt room and whirlpools as well as 17 heated loungers with unobstructed views of the ocean.

As its name promises, the Snow Room – chilled to as cold as -6 degrees C, will send out flurries of powdery snow claimed to stimulate blood circulation and strengthen the immune system.

The spa will also have 24 rooms offering massages, facials and other treatments, including teeth whitening, acupuncture, and Botox.

The ship's fitness center will have the latest Technogym weight training and cardio equipment linked to to Apple music devices and there will be a large HD screen for guests to watch television or training programmes.

Group fitness courses include Pilates, body sculpting boot camp, yoga, Zumba and TRX. Boxing buffs can take part in Norwegian Fight Klub will provide a high-intensity cardio boxing class. Personal training sessions, nutritional consultations and metabolic testing will also be available.

Spice H2O, located at the stern of the ship on deck 17, is an adult-only enclave with sun loungers surrounding a huge video screen, and with two hot tubs. An all-new soothing grotto area, complete with waterfalls and perfect for cooling off from the Caribbean sun, will offer an exotic escape.

For an extra fee, guests aged 18 and over will also have the opportunity to enjoy another private retreat – Vibe Beach Club.

Spice H2O on Norwegian Escape

Norwegian Escape, under construction at the Meyer-Werft shipyard in Germany, is expected to make a brief visit to Southampton in October. From 14 November, it will take 4,200 passengers a week on seven-night cruises to the eastern Caribbean from Miami.

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Take a look at the new cruise ships arriving in 2015

The forthcoming year looks very promising for the cruise industry as five new vessels are scheduled to launch within the next twelve months.

The first to launch is P&O Cruises’ Britannia. At 142,000 gross tons the vessel will be the largest the cruise line has ever ordered. The line has opted for a contemporary interior décor design for this family-friendly ship. She boasts 1,837 cabins (including 27 single occupancy cabins), 26 bars, restaurants and cafés and four swimming pools. In a first for the cruise line every outside cabin will have its own private balcony. Britannia’s maiden voyage sets out on 14 March from Southampton.



Viking Star is the first ocean cruise ship from Viking Ocean Cruises, sister line to Viking River Cruises. The inaugural cruise commences on 11 April from Istanbul, Turkey on an epic 50-day voyage around the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. At 47,800 gross tons with a capacity of 928 guests, the luxury Viking Star is very much an intimate vessel. Highlights of the vessel include the aft infinity pool, alfresco dining options and the luxurious staterooms, each one with a private balcony.



On 22 April Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas will embark on her maiden voyage from Southampton. This Quantum-class vessel is expected to be almost identical to Quantum of the Seas which was launched in October of this year. The 168,666 gross ton vessel promises to be one of the most technologically-advanced cruise ships afloat. The ship will benefit from a modern contemporary décor and boasts 2,090 cabins (including 28 studio cabins). The Quantum-class ship will offer Dynamic Dining offering five complimentary main restaurants with a further eight additional-fee venues available.



Ponant Yacht Cruises & Expeditions are looking forward to welcoming Le Lyrial to the fleet. The inaugural sailing will see the yacht sailing from Venice on 9 May cruising along the Adriatic and Dalmatian Coast. At a mere 10,944 gross tons, this luxury intimate yacht will offer just 122 staterooms and suites, each with private balconies, and will feature contemporary Mediterranean-inspired interior décor.

Ponant Le Lyrial

Lastly, on 25 October Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Escape will depart on her maiden voyage from Hamburg, Germany bound for Miami, USA via Southampton. The cruise ship is the first in the “Breakaway Plus”-class and it builds upon the success of the Breakway-class vessels. At 164,600 gross tons she will accommodate up to 4,200 passengers. She will boast the largest ropes course and aqua parks at sea, together with an expanded “The Haven” area and a range of dining venues at “678 Ocean Place”.



(Photo credit to Ponant Yacht Cruises & Expeditions; ©Philip Plisson)

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Escape to offer largest ropes course and water park

Norwegian Escape's Sports Complex

Norwegian Cruise Line’s largest ship ever, Norwegian Escape, will offer the largest ropes course at sea when she launches in November 2015.

The three-storey course is designed to set hearts racing, with two planks (six-inch wide beams that extend eight feet from the side of the ship) and five Sky Rails (zip tracks) that allow guests to soar through the air. The longest Sky Rail takes guests out over the side of the ship for the ultimate bird’s eye view over the vessel. Three Sky Rails will be installed within the main Ropes Course whilst two more will be added to the Kids’ Ropes Course, which offers child-friendly fun, challenges and feats. 

Norwegian Escape's Aqua Park

Norwegian has have also unveiled the Aqua Park which also will be the largest at sea. It will boast four multi-storey water slides. In addition there will be a dedicated Kids’ Aqua Park, two swimming pools and four hot tubs on offer. The Kid’s Aqua Park will feature a two-storey climbing structure for children to explore along with interactive wet elements such as water cannons and elevated buckets.

In terms of family entertainment, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle miniature golf course is to be added along with ship-wide entertainment from Nickelodeon as well as Norwegian Cruise Line’s first dedicated nursery for children aged two and under.

Norwegian Escape will be the largest ship in the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet at 164,600 gross tons and will build upon the features and facilities of their Breakaway-class ships. The ship is currently being constructed at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany. Norwegian Escape is due to be home-ported in Miami and will offer seven-night itineraries to the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

Other features previously announced include an expansion of the Haven area on-board, the dining venues to be added and most recently was the addition of Miami’s Tobacco Road bar to the vessel.



(Photo credit to Norwegian Cruise Line)

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Tobacco Road bar escapes to a cruise ship

Miami’s oldest and most legendary bar, Tobacco Road, will find a new home aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest and largest ship, Norwegian Escape.

The bar, which was issued Miami’s very first alcohol licence, closed its original location last month after 102 years in business. Located within 678 Ocean Place, the new location of the celebrated tavern will incorporate elements of the original bar, including the iconic neon sign, memorabilia and photographs. 

Norwegian Escape will begin weekly seven-night cruises from her year-round homeport of Miami to the Eastern Caribbean on 14 November 2015. The ship will be the largest to be based year-round in Miami, carrying 4,200 guests to Caribbean destinations including St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Tortola, British Virgin Islands and Nassau, Bahamas.

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Mouth-watering selection of restaurant venues set to return on Norwegian Escape

The publicity machine for the next Norwegian Cruise Line ship is getting into gear. Between now and its launch in just over 12 months’ time, there will be no escape from announcements about … Norwegian Escape.

But truth be told, there’s little new in this week’s  news about some of the restaurants on the new ship – which adds one more deck than little sisters Breakaway and Getaway, to provide more cabins.

The venues and the layout will be very much the same as before, with many of them opening out onto al fresco dining areas on The Waterfront, and others gathered around the three-deck atrium known as 678 Ocean Place (because it occupies space on Decks 6, 7 and 8).

It’s almost inconceivable that there would not be another O’Sheehan’s Bar on this ship – as long as the likeable Kevin Sheehan is chief executive of the company at least – and Escape will also feature Norwegian regulars such as Cagney’s Steakhouse and Le Bistro.

One innovation is a “private” group dining area carved out of part of the Taste restaurant – if a space seating 100 people can be described as private.

For now, at least, there’s no word on whether Geoffrey Zakarian’s upscale restaurant Ocean Blue – a feature of both Breakaway and Getaway – will return on Escape. We’ll have to see whether he or another chef will create dishes for the most expensive extra-cost dinner venue on the ship.

The Waterfront (above), a wide promenade deck running three-quarters the length of the ship, provides outdoor tables for  the Moderno Churrascarie, Cagney’s, and La Cucina.

The concept is in complete contrast to the design of Royal and Regal Princess – and P&O’s soon-to-be-launched Britannia  - all of which have limited open deck space apart from the higher sundecks.

Outdoor space on Deck 7 of these ships is provided only outside the bar area and shops of the central piazza, and alongside the Vista Lounge – but not extending around the stern.

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First steps for new cruise ships Ovation of the Seas and Norwegian Escape

It’s been an exceptionally busy week at the German shipyard of Meyer-Werft. No sooner had they completed a ceremony to mark the first steel-cutting on the third Quantum-class cruise ship for Royal Caribbean, than they were laying the first block in dry-dock for Norwegian Cruise Line's newest vessel.

The name of the Royal Caribbean ship was announced as Ovation of the Seas; it is scheduled for delivery in autumn 2016. Sister ship Quantum is in the final stages of construction and, weather permitting, will travel down the River Ems to the sea within the next few days. It will visit Southampton for three days at the end of October before crossing to the United States to spend the winter cruising from New York to the Caribbean. In the spring it will relocate to Shanghai, China.

Next in line will be Anthem of the Seas, still being assembled in Meyer-Werft’s giant construction shed; it will arrive in Southampton in the spring for a season of European cruises. Each vessel measures 167,800 tons and will carry almost 4,200 passengers.

Norwegian Escape (above) will have about the same passenger capacity but is marginally smaller at 164,600 gross tons (a measure of volume, not weight). Based on the design of Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway, it has an extra deck to provide more cabins and room for extra public spaces.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s CEO, Kevin Sheehan was on hand as a crane lifted block 35/41 - the first of 86 in total - into the dock. When it enters service in November next year, Escape will operate seven-day cruises from Miami to the eastern Caribbean.

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Norwegian Plan A Miami Escape

Here at World of Cruising we've heard that  Norwegian Cruise Line's brand new ship for 2015, Norwegian Escape, will make its home in Miami, sailing year-round to the eastern Caribbean.

As well as revealing the ship's new hull artwork (above), NCL declated that, like this year's newcomer Norwegian Getaway, the Escape will homeport in the South Florida port and take on the Getaway's Caribbean itinerary, calling at St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands and Nassau in the Bahamas, as well as offering three days at sea.

The Getaway will herself move to a new 7-day Caribbean itinerary - Norwegian's private island of Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas; Ocho Rios in Jamaica; George Town in Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico.

With these two ships sailing year-round from Miami, this will allow their previous flagship, Norwegian Epic, to be part of a 2015/16 deployment (as already announced) sailing from Barcelona year-round.

The line’s full deployment for winter next year also includes its return to South America cruises, a larger Jewel-class ship sailing to the Mexican Riviera, as well as the addition of Port Canaveral, Florida as a seasonal home-port.

The 20156/16 opens for booking on March 26.

More Info: call 0785 201 8900 or visit www.ncl.co.uk.

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Norwegian Plan A Bigger Haven

Norwegian Cruise Line have revealed the first real details of their forthcoming Breakaway-plus ship, the Norwegian Escape, which will make its debut in late 2015, and the headline item is an eye-catching expansion of their exclusive Haven concierge area, which provides a more deluxe cruise experience within the ship.

The 163,000-ton new-build - currently under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany - will be larger than current flagship Norwegian Epic but also have key features of the recently introduced Norwegian Breakaway and Getaway duo, plus all-new spaces and interactive experiences. Where the Escape will be based, and her itineraries, will be announced in mid-March, when it will also be open for booking.

Although it boasts a full 4,200 berths, The Haven will offer 95 of its upmarket suites, an increase of 31 from Breakaway and Getaway, which in turn had added to the Epic's 60. They include four Haven Deluxe Owner's Suites (pictured, above), at more than 1,300sq ft each, even larger than the 932sq ft versions on Getaway and Breakaway.

There are also The Haven Two-Bedroom Family Villa, The Haven Courtyard Penthouse and The Haven Deluxe Spa Suite. Like its sister examples, the Escape's Haven will also be by keycard-access only and also includes a private restaurant with outdoor terrace, lounge and an enhanced courtyard area with retractable roof enclosing a pool, two whirlpools, sauna, spa treatment rooms and sun deck. 

The Haven’s other benefits include priority embarkation and disembarkation, platinum keycard, butler and concierge service, in-suite espresso/cappuccino machines, gourmet treats delivered each evening and plush bathrobes, slippers and oversized towels. All suites will feature pillow-top mattresses and fine linens from The Bliss Collection by Norwegian.

The ship also continues Norwegian's unique Studio staterooms for solo cruisers, with 82 located within another keycard-access complex. Each Studio has a full-size bed, window to the corridor and separate areas for toilet, sink and shower, plus access to the private Studio Lounge.

More info: call 0845 201 8900 or visit www.ncl.co.uk.

 

The new edition of World of Cruising is now out, and you can see the digital version online on our home page at www.worldofcruising.co.uk. To subscribe at our special offer rate for 2014, see this link.

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