What They Didn't Mention

In case you've missed just about any newscast in the last couple of days, Norwegian Breakaway encountered extremely  heavy seas as it sailed through winter storm Grayson on January 4 while it returned to New York from the Caribbean. Newscasts are showing lots of video of wet places in the ship as rain blew in through the various sliding doors, and there are numerous accounts of how rough the seas were.

There's an important piece of information being left out of most of the stories, however. 

The complete story appeared in the January 11 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Just Wait until Next Year

Since fans of the Chicago Cubs aren't using that phrase anymore, Norwegian Cruise Line thought they'd use it in New Orleans.

Next winter Norwegian will be replacing Norwegian Pearl with the 145,655-ton Norwegian Breakaway at New Orleans, the largest ship ever to be based at the Crescent City. The 4,000-passenger ship will nearly double Norwegian's capacity at New Orleans.

The complete story appeared in the October 3 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Crew Member Dies in Rescue Boat Accident

Four crew members from Norwegian Breakaway were injured today as a result of an accident while the ship was alongside in Bermuda.

The complete story appeared in the July 20 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Norwegian Breakaway Celebrates First Year in NY

New York's Ship Celebrates First Birthday

Norwegian Breakaway's godmothers, The Rockettes, along with the ship's officers mark
one year of sailing from Manhattan.

NEW YORK – May 13, 2014 – Norwegian Breakaway, the ship that brings the best of NYC to sea, celebrates one year of sailing from New York City this week. Since arriving in New York in May 2013, the ship has carried nearly a quarter of a million guests from New York to sunny destinations in Bermuda, the Bahamas, Florida and the Caribbean.

“Norwegian Breakaway has been hailed as a game-changer with in the cruise industry and we are so proud to celebrate this spectacular ship’s first year sailing from New York,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line’s chief executive officer. “The world-class dining, exciting amenities and high-caliber Broadway entertainment onboard are all an extension of the incredible activities this great city has to offer. Norwegian Breakaway is truly New York’s ship and we invite those who haven’t yet had the opportunity to sail on her to come join us on a future voyage.”

Her anniversary signals the start of the summer season, as the ship is sailing the second of 22 weekly cruises to Bermuda through September 28. Norwegian Breakaway offers seven-day voyages from the heart of Manhattan each Sunday, with three days in port at King’s Wharf, Bermuda. Guests sailing to Bermuda this season have yet another amenity to look forward to onboard, as the casino will now be able to open while the ship is in port, opening at 9 pm each evening while the ship is docked at King’s Wharf.

“Norwegian Breakaway has provided a quarter of a million visitors a new and exciting way to experience and enjoy the best that New York City has to offer,” said Fred Dixon, NYC & Company’s President & CEO. “She’s been a great addition to our city and we’re excited to have her continue to share the best of NYC every week.”

Norwegian Breakaway’s birthday week sailing also coincides an exciting milestone for the ship: Cirque Dreams & Dinner: Jungle Fantasy, held in the ship’s Spiegel Tent, will host its 2,000th performance onboard.

Over the past year, Norwegian Breakaway has had a positive economic impact on the city, contributing to the $229 million generated across the industry and a 16% increase in guest and crew spending in the city.

“We congratulate Norwegian Cruise Line on Norwegian Breakaway’s one year anniversary sailing out of New York City, contributing to an industry that plays a critical role in New York City’s economy,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President Kyle Kimball. “The City’s cruise operations supports thousands of jobs and is key to the City’s robust tourism and hospitality industry, and Norwegian Breakaway has been a valuable member of the City’s fleet.”

Norwegian Breakaway features 29 dining options, including restaurants from Food Network Star and Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian and Master Baker Buddy Valastro, star of TLC’s “Cake Boss”; three Broadway shows; an ice bar; a weekly fireworks show at sea; and the largest Aqua Park and ropes course at sea, including five water slides. Her signature hull art, designed by legendary artist Peter Max, brings the energy of the Big Apple to the ship wherever she sails.

For more information on the incredible features and accommodations on Norwegian Breakaway, visit www.breakaway.ncl.com.

Norwegian Breakaway
Designed as New York’s ship, Norwegian Breakaway brings the best of NYC to sea from her year-round homeport in Manhattan, offering the high-caliber dining and entertainment options that New York is known for worldwide. The ship’s groundbreaking design includes an open-air boardwalk, The Waterfront, and 678 Ocean Place; a wide range of indoor and outdoor venues on three dynamic decks that will create a whole new complex at sea that enhances guests’ connection with the ocean. Norwegian Breakaway’s entertainment includes three Broadway shows: five-time Tony nominated ROCK OF AGES; the dance sensation BURN THE FLOOR; and CIRQUE DREAMS & DINNER JUNGLE FANTASY. The famed comedy troupe The Second City, Howl at the Moon dueling pianos, and New York’s own Slam Allen also perform on the vessel. Norwegian Breakaway features an exciting fireworks show on every cruise that will dazzle guests on the second to last night at sea each week, and is the grand finale of a decadent 1980s-themed deck party.

Celebrity Chef and Food Network star Geoffrey Zakarian has also debuted his first restaurant at sea on Norwegian Breakaway: Ocean Blue by Geoffrey Zakarian, along with two additional venues, The Raw Bar and Ocean Blue on the Waterfront. Buddy Valastro, star of the TLC series “Cake Boss,” opened an extension of his popular bakery, Carlo’s Bake Shop, onboard. The ship features a total of 29 dining options on board and an Ice Bar, which is kept at 17 degrees Fahrenheit and features New York City-inspired specialty cocktails, as well as ice sculptures of the Brooklyn Bridge and Statue of Liberty to pay homage to New York City.

The top decks of Norwegian Breakaway feature the first Aqua Park at sea with five full-size water slides, including twin Free Fall slides, the first ever at sea, and a three-story sports complex that includes the largest ropes course at sea, a nine-hole miniature golf course, basketball court, rock climbing wall and more.

The ship also offers a rich mix of stateroom options including The Haven™ by Norwegian, comprised of 42 Suites at the top of the ship and 22 additional Suites located throughout the ship; the innovative Studios, designed and priced for solo travelers; Oceanview staterooms, Balcony and Mini-Suites; along with Spa Balcony, Mini-Suites and Suites in close proximity to the spa.


Source: Norwegian Cruise Line
Photo courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without permission.
 

Cruise News Daily Headlines for February 3, 2014

* Costa Concordia Claims Another Life
A diver working on installing the sponsons on Costa Concordia to facilitate its removal, died as a result of injuries he sustained while working on the ship Saturday.

* Seems Like Old Times
Carnival Triumph experienced a short power outage last Friday as it was sailing from Cozumel to Galveston. Normally, we wouldn’t cover this, except Carnival Triumph was the first ship refitted with all the redundancies and so forth to keep emergency power up and running to prevent a repeat (or worse) of last year’s incident on that ship.

* Two Children Drown aboard Norwegian BreakawayA tragic incident was unfolding late this morning aboard Norwegian Breakaway as it was east of North Carolina as it was heading from New York to Port Canaveral.
   The medical team was called to the Pool Deck because two small children were pulled from one of the swimming pools and were unresponsive.
   CPR was administered by the ship’s medical team, and they were able to resuscitate the older child.

* Other Things You’ll Want to Know
CND subscribers also read about fog closing the Port of Houston on Saturday, keeping Caribbean Princess in port ... and Carnival setting a record during wave season.

The complete articles appeared in the e-mail edition of Cruise News Daily delivered to our subscribers,

One last look at the Bud Light Hotel before it becomes Norwegian Getaway again.

Photo courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without permission.

First Look Inside Norwegian Breakaway

Meyer Werft delivered the 146,600-ton Norwegian Breakaway to Norwegian Cruise Line this morning at Bremerhaven. This is the first chance to really look around inside the ship.

Norwegian Breakaway at sea. But where's the New York skyline atop the ship that we always see in the commercials?

The Raw Bar

The Prime Meridian Bar

The Manhattan Room

Savor Restaurant

The Casino

The 678 Ocean Place complex surrounds the ship's atrium.

A suite in the Haven, which is a ship within a ship.

The Freefall Waterslide

Photos courtesy of Meyer Werft

Norwegian Breakaway Leaves Yard

Norwegian Breakaway left Meyer Werft at Papenburg (Germany) Wednesday morning (March 13, 2013) navigating slowly backward down the Ems River to the sea. The passage will take until Thursday morning as it maneuvers among the narrow passages, some with only a couple of feet of clearance. The ship is shown here just after passing through the barrier in the yard's lagoon and into the river.

Norwegian Breakaway just past the barrier at Meyer Werft and entering the River Ems

Norwegian Breakaway passing the bridge at Weener

The complete story appeared in the March 13 edition of Cruise News Daily


Copyright Meyer Werft and Cruise News Daily

Norwegian Breakaway Undocked at Meyer Werft

Norwegian Breakaway began making her first public appearance this morning just after 7:00am in Germany as the giant door to Meyer Werft's covered building dock was opened and the 146,600-ton ship was towed out into the lagoon.

Regular readers will note that the ship is coming out bow first. While Meyer's ships usually make their appearance stern first, this isn't unprecedented, as last spring AIDAmar also came out bow first.

Norwegian Breakaway is the largest ship produced to date by Meyer, but it will be eclipsed by Quantum of the Seas when it is delivered a year and a half from now.

With its Peter Max hull art, Norwegian Breakaway is one of the most colorful ships Meyer has ever delivered.

The next event for Norwegian Breakaway is its river conveyance, which is tentatively set for March 10. Delivery is scheduled for April 25.

The complete story appeared in the February 26, 2013 edition of Cruise News Daily.
Photos and video courtesy of Meyer Werft

Ready for Her Debut

Meyer Werft has set Tuesday (February 26, 2012) as the date Norwegian Breakaway will be undocked and towed out of the covered building dock at their Papenburg yard. After tests in the lagoon, the ship will remain at the finishing dock until its conveyance down the Ems River to the sea in early March.

Norwegian Breakaway is shown here in the covered drydock this week looking like she's ready for her debut.

Photo courtesy of Meyer Werft

The Most Visually-Interesting Ad Most People Will Never See

Norwegian Cruise Line has launched a clever advertising campaign - and one of the most visually-interesting we've seen in a long time. The only problem is that most of the
country will never see it.

The television ad is designed for the geographic market which will sail on Norwegian Breakaway's cruises from New York, which has a limited geographic appeal, although the
numbers of potential passengers in that area are huge.

The concept is all the New York experiences that will be available on Norwegian Breakaway's sailings to Bermuda and the Caribbean.

Norwegian Breakaway to Light up the Sky with Its Own Weekly Fireworks Show

Norwegian Cruise Line is taking onboard entertainment to a new level for a mainstream cruise line when Norwegian Breakaway is launched in May. Toward the end of the cruise, the ship will provide a fireworks display visible from its top deck as part of an ‘80’s-themed deck party.




Details appeared in the January 8, 2013 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Just Add Water

Last week we told you that the last piece of Norwegian Breakaway's hull had been put into place. On Sunday (October 21, 2012) Meyer Werft float up the ship for the first time in their covered building dock.

Once floating, the ship was then winched forward making room for another newbuild to be started behind it.

Photos courtesy of Meyer Werft.

Norwegian Breakaway Passes Two Construction Milestones

Norwegian Breakaway, under construction at Meyer Werft in Papenburg (Germany), passed a second milestone this morning in as many days.

In the first photo below, taken yesterday, the bow section was lifted into place, completing the assembly of the ship's hull.

The bow, known to the yard as Block 73, weighed 361 tons and took only 30 minutes to lift into place. The block measured 72 feet long, 101 feet wide and more than 39 feet high. Despite the weight, the process of lifting the bow into place took only about 30 minutes.

That was followed up this morning by another milestone when the last block of the superstructure was put into place. (below)

This is the most forward block of the superstructure that contains the navigational bridge, ports of the spa (the salt room), suites and staterooms.

Norwegian Breakaway is scheduled to enter service in April 2013.

First Look at Norwegian Breakaway's Peter Max-Designed Hull Art

Norwegian Cruise Line today gave the world the first look at Norwegian Breakaway's distinctive hull artwork designed by noted artist Peter Max.

It is the first time the line has commissioned hull art for one of their ships from a "name" artist.

The line features artwork on the hulls of all their vessels. Norwegian Breakaway's will have a New York theme tying in with the ship's New York year round home port.

Meyer Werft Lays Norwegian Breakaway Keel

Meyer Werft laid the first block of Norwegian Breakaway at their Papenburg (Germany) yard on Friday (May 4, 2012). The block was the first of 73 which will comprise the 144,000 grt vessel (measure of volume rather than weight). The first block itself weighed some 350 tons, and 72 more of these building blocks will be assembled to form the ship.

Norwegian Breakaway is scheduled to enter service in May 2013.

First Look at Norwegian Breakaway's Top Deck

Norwegian Breakaway will arrive in its year round home port of New York in May 2013. Atop the huge ship will be one of the most extensive sports and aqua park complexes at sea. Many of the features have been seen before, but Norwegian Cruise Line seems to be upping the ante on many of the elements.

The thee-story high water slides are part of the Aqua Park complex. There will be five slides of three types. One, called the Free Fall, will have passengers standing up and falling straight down when the floor drops from beneath them. The Free Fall will be the first of its type at sea

The Aqua Park will also feature two pools and four hot tubs.

The Nickelodeon-themed Kids' section of the Aqua Park will have a kid-sized pool and slide, and all sorts of things to squirt and spray them.

The three-story-high sports complex on Norwegian Breakaway's top deck will feature a 24-foot climbing cage, a rock climbing wall, and a 40-element ropes course. The ropes course includes a feature that takes those who dare 8 feet over the side of the ship.

Another element of the sports complex is the line's first 9-hole miniature golf course.

Cruise News Daily Headlines for March 14, 2012

* Rooms with a View 
The ships of Norwegian Cruise Line are all about multiple dining options. Today Norwegian released information about Norwegian Breakaway's specialty dining (17 dining venues and 12 bars and lounges), but the real news was where they'll be on the ship. More

* Going for the Gold - Again
This Saturday may be a noteworthy day at Port Everglades. Then again, it may be just another busy weekend cruise day.
   On Saturday, March 17, eight large ships are scheduled to turn around at the port, and that sets the stage to have a record-breaking day for the most passengers ever through any seaport on a single day.

The complete text of these stories appeared in the Cruise News Daily and was sent to subscribers.

Norwegian Breakaway Dining Goes Al Fresco

When Norwegian Breakaway debuts in April 2013, it will bring a somewhat different restaurant concept to the cruise industry. Several of the restaurants and bars will be facing and opening outward onto an outdoor promenade on Deck 8 that wraps almost all the way around the ship. The ocean views and al fresco seating will help the passengers connect to the sea. The promenade will be called the Waterfront. (Note: Video is at the bottom of this item.)

There will be a variety of restaurants and bars which open out onto the Waterfront.

Another major design element of Norwegian Breakaway is a three-deck-high atrium called 678 Ocean Place that will have many of the restaurants, bars and amusement areas opening onto it. Some of the Waterfront's venues will run halfway through the ship so that they will open onto both the Waterfront and into Ocean Place.

678 Ocean Place (the number 678, coming from the decks that it's on)

The casual Italian restaurant, La Cucina, is one of those venues with two "fronts."
It has this "front" on the Waterfront with al fresco dining.

La Cucina will also have a large indoor seating area.

La Cucina's other "front" offers seating on a "terrace" overlooking 678 Ocean Place.

The video below puts it all together with the walkthrough portions helping to demonstrate the flow from inside the ship to outside.

Renderings and video courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line

The complete article appeared in the March 14, 2012, edition of Cruise News Daily.

Norwegian Breakaway to Sail from New York thru Winter

Norwegian Cruise Line confirmed this morning that Norwegian Breakaway will indeed be homeported in New York year round with the announcement of the ship's winter 2013-2014 winter itinerary.

After completing the inaugural season sailing 7-day cruises from New York to Bermuda, beginning October 13, 2013, the 4,000-passengers ship will shift to a 7-day Bahamas itinerary. During the winter season, Norwegian Breakaway will also sail two 12-day southern Caribbean cruises on January 5 and 19, 2014.

The new itinerary opens for sale to the public on Friday, January 6, 2012.


The complete article appeared in the January 4, 2012, edition of Cruise News Daily.

Meyer Werft Cuts Steel for Norwegian Breakaway

Meyer Werft cut the first steel for Norwegian Cruise Line's first Project Breakaway ship today at their facility in Papenburg (Germany). The computerized plasma torch took four minutes to cut the the plate which will become part of a support in the double bottom in the middle of Norwegian Breakaway.

On hand for the event was Bernard Meyer (left), a Managing Director of Meyer Werft, and the man with his finger on the button, Kevin Sheehan, NCL's CEO.

The complete story appeared in the September 21 (2011) edition of Cruise News Daily.