Norwegian Cruise Line specializes in "Freestyle Cruising." Freestyle ships offer guests more flexibility and freedom with fewer rules about traditional formal dress and set dining times. This casual, flexible environment often suits families.
Determined to upgrade with the times, Norwegian is currently trying out new amenities, including luxury villas, Champagne bars, interconnecting cabins, bowling alleys and electronic restaurant reservation systems. Norwegian Epic is the line's newest ship, unveiled in June 2010. It embodies the freestyle vibe with curved staterooms, live shows by Blue Man Group, a huge water park and over 20 restaurants. Norwegian is best known for its diverse dining options and noteworthy entertainment. Typically, the line offers seven-day itineraries from U.S. and Canadian ports.
Kids under 2 cruise for discounted rates and select ships offer specials on third and fourth guests. Infants under 6 months old cannot travel on Norwegian Cruise ships -- standard cruise law in most lines. If you have an infant outside of this age bracket, try the Disney Cruise Line instead, which opens its nurseries to infants as young as 12 weeks.
Ship Specifics
There are a total of 11 ships in Norwegian's fleet. Typically, ships hold about 2,000 to 2,400 passengers. The newest ship, Norwegian Epic, is a much larger ship with a guest capacity of 4,100. In the recent years, the cruise line has started phasing out its older ships to maintain an up-to-date experience for passengers. Norwegian Dream and Majesty, pre-Freestyle ships, were retired in the fall of 2008. Now, the only ship from the old days is Norwegian Sky, which makes short excursions to the Bahamas.
Ports and Destinations
Norwegian has quite a few U.S. homeports, including New York, Seattle, New Orleans, Boston and Tampa. Vancouver and Quebec City are the cruise line's Canadian homeports. Other homeports are located across Europe in the U.K., Italy, Germany and Spain. The ships are a good place to meet fellow passengers from other English-speaking countries, like Australia and South Africa.
Norwegian has voyages that transport passengers to Hawaii, Alaska and its Inside Passage, Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. Recently, Norwegian has expanded its Europe destinations to include the Baltic region, Eastern and Western Mediterranean and the British Isles. As of 2011, Norwegian Epic not only offers 13-day transatlantic cruises to and from Europe, but also a "Nickelodeon All Access Cruise" that allows kids to be led around the world by Dora the Explorer herself. On these cruises, children can watch never-before-seen episodes of iCarly, Victorious and SpongeBob SquarePants. Slimy game show rounds and meet-n-greets with Nickelodeon characters are also routine. Mediterranean cruises out of Barcelona are also on the horizon and expected to debut in the summer of 2011.
Want to stay closer to home? Norwegian offers 10-night cruises to Canada and New England. Shorter cruises of three or four nights are also available from Miami to the Bahamas. Five- to seven-night cruises to Bermuda disembark from New York or Boston. Norwegian is also the only cruise line to offer year-round Hawaiian voyages that begin and end in the islands. The Norwegian ship Pride of America offers seven-day cruises around the Hawaiian islands, stopping at Honolulu, Maui, Hilo, Kona and Kauai.
For more on Norwegian Cruise Line, visit our sister site Cruise Critic .
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