How do you cruise? One company has pinned its flag to the mast and is urging us to ‘Cruise like a Norwegian’.
Given that I’ve just returned from Norway in order to see a couple of Hurtigruten explorer ships, I feel reasonably qualified to talk about Norwegian cruising.
However, in this instance, the line encouraging us to cruise the Norwegian way is Norwegian Cruise Line, a US-based company with resort-style ships that couldn’t be more different than Hurtigruten’s working coast-hugging vessels.
Frankly, I was initially confused about NCL’s new marketing message which the line is urging travel agents to adopt in order to shift consumer awareness of cruising away from price alone.
After all, I’m not Norwegian and I’m not entirely sure why I would want to cruise like one – no disrespect to the four million-plus citizens of Norway.
Yet I am reliably informed by NCL’s top man in Europe that focus groups used to test the message in the UK ‘got’ the concept and associated it with the company rather than taking to the seas wearing Viking helmets.
The idea, I’m told, is to have a generic term which can be applied to the Norwegian Cruise Line experience of casual ‘freestyle’ cruising, a concept designed to offer passengers more freedom of choice on the company’s casual cruising ships. For example, unlike some other cruise lines, there are no set meal times, no strict requirements to dress for dinner and no formal nights.
So, if the company is to be believed, you can cruise like a Norwegian, party like a Brazilian, surf like a Hawaiian, dine like a Parisian and love like a Venetian when taking a cruise on board one of the line’s 11 ships.
New tag line
The new tag line is being introduced in all branding, online, in all promotional material and on board ships as a new point of differentiation.
Vice president and general manager international Francis Riley told me that the objective was to create a club-like following for the company and move away from an industry-wide obsession with pricing.
With a record number of four ships being deployed in Europe next summer – representing a 40 per cent rise in capacity – Norwegian is anxious to attract more British passengers on board both in summer and winter. In addition to the four vessels offering fly-cruises in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe in summer 2012, there will be two vessels in winter 2012-13.
Europe next summer will see Norwegian Spirit join the European deployment, while the winter offering will be doubled with a second vessel in winter 2012-13 allowing operations to both the Canary Islands and the Eastern Med.
The addition of two new generation ships – Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway – by the company in 2013 and 2014 respectively means that the line will have an ever greater variety of offerings.
Claimed to be offering the ‘best of the best’ from Norwegian’s existing fleet, the ships will draw on the line’s experience of introducing ten ships in ten years, starting with Norwegian Star and Sun and culminating with Norwegian Epic in 2010.
Breakaway
Breakaway and Getaway will combine the “form and function” of the line’s Jewel class vessels’ cabins with the modern design feel of Norwegian Epic. That does mean a return to standard cabin design rather than the wavy walled accommodation complete with odd separate shower, wash basin and toilet arrangement introduced on Epic.
The ships will also see the reintroduction of cabins with ocean view windows. Around a quarter of the 158 ocean view cabins will be designated to families with space to sleep five people.
There will also be 449 inside cabins, many of which will interconnect and sleep up to four passengers. These will be located on various decks across each ship and some will be adjacent to the children’s facilities, as will designated family mini-suites. For those with small children, a number of cabins will have bath tubs.
Studio cabins for solo passengers – introduced successfully onto Norwegian Epic – will also feature together with the Haven ‘ship within a ship’ concept of 42 high grade suites within their own area featuring a pool, restaurants and chill out zones. A further 18 suites will be located throughout each ship.
The first of the 4,000-passenger newcomers will be based in New York offering cruises to Bermuda, an itinerary expected to be popular with Brits seeking to combine a stay in the Big Apple with a sun and beach getaway.
Deployment details of where the second new build ship will sail have yet to be disclosed but with the line’s biggest ship Norwegian Epic confirmed for a second summer in the Mediterranean from Barcelona next year, it will be interesting to discover whether another newcomer will be seen in European waters in the near future.
The UK remains NCL’s biggest market in Europe despite the line reverting to being purely fly-cruise having shifted a ship from Dover to Copenhagen to sail on northern Europe itineraries from this summer.
While the line isn’t giving anything more away at this stage, all the signs suggest that more of us will be cruising like Norwegians from next year and beyond. You never know, but there may even be an unexpected spin-off benefit for Hurtigruten.
Related posts:
- On the Waterfront One of the great pleasures associated with holidaying at...
- Cruise Lines Go Large In 2010 Cruise companies are on course to defy the recession...
- Shipping forecast It would be easy to assume that the time...
- Battle of the Giants It’s not quite Godzilla verses Destroyer but an almighty...
- More than an austerity cruise There’s been a cruise in the news in the...
Leave a Comment