Norwegian Cruise Line continues to "break the mold" of the onboard cruise experience.
At its latest, and final, announcement here regarding its upcoming Norwegian Epic cruise ship, the cruise line announced the line-up of onboard entertainment options, which will include a full-length Blue Man Group show, an interactive Cirque Dreams and Dinner show, and more.
"The face of Norwegian entertainment is obviously blue," said Andy Stuart, executive vice president of global sales and passenger services for Norwegian, explaining the process the line took when looking for the right partner to represent the face of Norwegian Cruise Line's entertainment.
According to Stuart, Norwegian Cruise Line's executives looked at entertainment offerings in New York City's Broadway, the Las Vegas Strip and London's West End, all revealed one thing -- Blue Man Group, no matter where its staged, is one of the most popular show productions out there. Furthermore, Stuart said, the Blue Man theater company and Norwegian are aligned in "our idea of breaking the mold" of traditional cruise ship entertainment.
"They're all about innovation and we're all about innovation... it was a meeting of the minds," he said.
Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line's CEO, added: "Having a world class creative organization like Blue Man Group headline the entertainment on Norwegian Epic will provide our guests with a sensory experience unlike any other at sea."
The Blue Man Group, which incorporates music, comedy and multimedia theatrics, will perform eight full-scale productions a week in the ship's 685-seat Epic Theater. According to Phil Stanton, one of the three founding members of Blue Man Group, each Blue Man production is site specific, so parts of the Norwegian Epic's show will involve being on a ship.
'Big Top' at Sea
In yet another first for the cruise line, Norwegian Epic will be the first ship to feature a Spiegel Tent, or "big top" at sea. Housing a 265-seat theater-in-the-round, the big top will feature Cirque Dreams and Dinner.
The two-hour, one-of-a-kind interactive, theatrical, dining experience will offer aerialists, acrobats and contortionists performing in mid-air and juggling of dinner courses, among other feats.
According to Neil Goldberg, producer/director of Cirque Dreams, contortionists will be cocktail waitresses bending over backwards to pick up a guest's napkins and aerialists will drop from the sky to fill their water glasses.
The Second City, Norwegian's popular comedy act that currently plays limited shows on every sailing, will be given a dedicated home onboard the Epic -- the Headliners Comedy Club. The 280-seat comedy club will enable The Second City to perform their improvisational comedy act every night.
Fat Cats, a 200-seat jazz club, will feature nightly live blues and jazz performances. The venue is designed to be as laid back as jazz, with a hint of Memphis in its décor.
Not quite as laid back will be the Epic Casino, Norwegian Cruise Line's largest casino.
The Epic Casino will span more than 13,000-square feet, feature a Monte Carlo-inspired theme and offer 340 slot machines, as well as numerous table games. The Casino will be open to Taste, the Atrium restaurant below it, and open to Bar Central above it.
Open for Bookings
Norwegian Epic's 2010 inaugural sailings are now open for individual bookings, with cruise fares starting at $699 per person. The first Eastern Caribbean sailing from Miami (its year-round homeport) is scheduled for July 17, 2010, and the ship's alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries are available through April 2011.
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