Going where no ship has gone before

The new Norwegian Epic will host Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks in New York this summer with televised coverage. The fireworks are fitting since the new ship’s brand of glitzy entertainment is only one of the trends that will influence the future of the cruise industry.
 

One is its bigness. The Epic will hold 4,100 passengers and be the largest and most expensive ship ever built by NCL Corp.
 

`It’s a perfect way to introduce the Norwegian Epic — with its big focus on entertainment,” Kevin Sheehan, told the Miami Herald. He is chief executive officer of Miami-based NCL Corp., the parent of Norwegian Cruise Line.
 

The Epic is “arguably the most anticipated new cruise ship of 2010,” according to Cruise Critic.
 

The $1.2-billion Epic’s high-profile acts, which include the Blue Man Group, Cirque Dreams and Legends in Concert, will replace the standard fare — two shows a night in a main theater.
 

That’s in keeping with Norwegian’s “freestyle” concept of cruising, which boasts of letting passengers do what they want when they want. Diners, for example, can eat anytime they want with no required tables and no seat assignments. Norwegian pioneered the concept that has becoming commonplace among other lines.
 

Norwegian is also trying to bring aboard a whole new audience: 128 “inside” cabins for younger cruisers who want to pay less with the rationale that they spend most of their shipboard time away from where they sleep.
 

Norwegian is furthering its leadership in what it calls "a ship within a ship” that include these features:
 

• Lots of balconies.
 

• Radically different curve-shaped cabins.
 

• Lots of suites — 60 of them in fact. There’s a private casino and club for suite guests.
 

• Nineteen restaurants and a host of night spots, including Spice H2O, where a daytime pool floor morphs at night into an adults-only dance floor with a beach-club theme.
 

• The largest spa at sea — 31,000 square feet or the equivalent of a very, very large house. The spa will include “couple’s villas.”
 

• Children are not forgotten in the spa plans. Young cruisers will have their own roster of treatment, including an ice cream manicure.
 

• Thirty nine spa-dedicated staterooms, a first for the line and an increasingly popular trend in the industry. These offer free access to private spa facilities.
 

• A diverse roster of fitness classes including Pilates, sculpting boot camp classes and the usual yoga routines. A gym offers 37 treadmills and 18 cross trainers with the industry’s first-ever rappelling wall.
 

• There are 15 bars, including a cigar bar, a whiskey bar and martini bar. Nightclubs are open until the early morning hours.
 

• The Epic is also the first to offer single cabins, so single travelers don’t pay a premium.
 

The later option is drawing heavy bookings and is certain to be a trend in future ships.
 

The Epic will begin her maiden voyage on June 24 with a Trans-Atlantic voyage, before beginning her regularly scheduled seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings on July 10.
 

Eastern itineraries will include visits to St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Nassau. Western Caribbean sailings will stop at Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico, and Roatan, Honduras.
 

The Epic will sail from the Port of Miami weekly.
 

Prices are up to $13,000 for a seven-night cruise, though discounts are also being offered.
 

By David Wilkening