Purpose-Built Ships for Freestyle Cruising

NCL's new purpose built ships are built for Freestyle Cruising, Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Star, offer an unprecedented 19 different dining choices. The Norwegian Sun boasts nine distinctive restaurants, offering 10 menus including, Norwegian Star offers 10 restaurants with 11 menus more than any other cruise ship in the world. Norwegian Dawn was purpose-built for Freestyle Cruising. Like her sister ship, Norwegian Star, she will also boast 10 restaurants including two main restaurants each offering a different menu, a round-the-clock buffet-style restaurant with bistro service in the evenings, and five gourmet and ethnic restaurants. All venues will offer food standards as varied and as high in quality to compete with the best shoreside restaurants.

All NCL's full-service and specialty restaurant menus incorporate a variety of regional specialties to allow guests to savor the culinary creations unique to the exotic destinations visited during their cruise. As is the case with each ship's main restaurants, each specialty restaurant offers Freestyle Dining where passengers can choose when, where, and with whom they dine, including choosing the same table and waiter every night if that is their preference.

Chef Henry Haller, the former White House executive chef whose culinary innovations spanned five presidential administrations, has created a special "President's Menu," exclusive to NCL. The entire dinner menu consists of memorable dishes and prized recipes served during Haller's more than 20 years at the White House, and are offered on most itineraries.

Additionally, as part of a special, ongoing alliance with Cooking Light magazine, NCL dining options feature Cooking Light recipes, which are rotated onto the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus on all NCL ships throughout the year. Menus are printed in English, French, Spanish, Norwegian, German and Portuguese for international guests. There is also a daily children's menu. In addition, all ships designate restaurants as non-smoking areas.

New Dining Concepts

NCL also introduced innovative dining concepts, including the "President's Menu," created by former White House executive chef, Henry Haller. The entire dinner menu consists of unique dishes and prized recipes created during Haller's 20 years at the White House. NCL also has a partnership with Cooking Light magazine, to offer delicious and healthy recipes featured on the Pacific Heights menu onboard Norwegian Sun, as well as throughout the NCL fleet. The ships offer several small, intimate restaurants, and a signature restaurant called Le Bistro. International and regional dishes, vegetarian, low fat, low calorie and children's menu items are available. NCL's popular "chocoholic buffet" is offered on all voyages.

The line continues to expand the depth and variety of its culinary styles and outlets to provide passengers with new menus, new restaurants and more freedom of choice. One of the most innovative aspects of this cruising concept is the Freestyle Dining component, allowing guests to eat whenever, wherever and with whomever they wish.

Part of the Freestyle Dining experience is to offer guests exciting new menu selections and the opportunity to enjoy a different restaurant and different style of food each night of a seven-day cruise. New ships offer a range of restaurants to rival any resort in the world, from traditional restaurants to French, Italian, Asian fusion, sushi, teppanyaki and Spanish tapas.

Entertainment

The line was one of the first to offer big-name entertainers and full Broadway productions, and continues its tradition of entertainment excellence with exclusive agreements with Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The line has teamed with the top theatrical producers in the world and Jean Ann Ryan Productions to produce a series of award-winning musical productions for its fleet.

In addition to top-notch productions, NCL offers a range of evening entertainment that includes cabaret singers, stand-up comics and specialty acts such as jugglers, ventriloquists, magicians and comedy hypnotists.

Mandara Spa

NCL continues its quest to offer passengers more options. All NCL ships offer the services of Mandara Spa, the leading operator of resort spas in the world, which complements NCL's innovative Freestyle Cruising offering passengers more freedom and choices in a relaxed, resort-style atmosphere. Mandara Spa's services are consistent with the Freestyle Cruising approach of giving passengers complete freedom of choice throughout their cruise vacation. "

Mandara Spa incorporates local spa traditions and therapies particular to the history, culture and geographical regions to which NCL sails and seeks fresh, indigenous products from local markets to include in spa services.

"Kid's Crew" Program

Norwegian Cruise Line makes cruising a fun experience for the entire family with an enhanced "Kid's Crew" program, featuring expanded hours of operation and, for the first time, a year-round program for children ages 2-5. Youths aged 2-17 enjoy a four-tier creative lineup of activities specially designed for each age group. While parents can appreciate NCL's onboard amenities such as spa facilities, casinos, or a cozy dinner in Le Bistro, the kids may enjoy games, parties, scavenger hunts, visits to the Captain's bridge and much more.

In addition to regularly scheduled hours on days at sea (9am to noon, 2pm-4:30pm and 7:30pm to 10pm). "Kid's Crew" program is available on the first evening of each cruise from 8pm to 10pm, as well as on port days from 3pm to 5pm and 7:30pm to 10pm. It provides children with even more occasions to enjoy creative activities that have been specifically designed for them. Activities are organized according to age group. They are Junior Sailors (ages 2-5); First Mates (ages 6-8); Navigators (ages 9-12) and Teens (ages 13-17). The "Teen Passport" program allows teens to purchase a coupon book for $30, including 20 non-alcoholic specialty drinks, as well as pizza parties.

A qualified staff of trained counselors run NCL's "Kid's Crew" program in a safe and secure environment. The staff attends special training courses on team and confidence building, communication skills, safety, and working with children who have special needs. The fleetwide program is available year-round and is free of charge. Families can enjoy these creative activities in innovative spaces that have been incorporated into the "Kid's Crew" program. Norwegian Star, Norwegian Sun, Norwegian Dream, Norwegian Majesty, Norwegian Dawn and Norwegian Wind feature an imaginatively designed "Kids Korner," an inviting children's playroom. While an NCL vessel is in port, parents with infants and toddlers have access to the children's facilities from 9am to 11:30am, and age appropriate toys and items are available onboard. Eight special menus were designed to appeal to the younger palate.

"Kids Soda" package, which can be purchased separately, offers a soda cup, telescopic plastic straw, unlimited fountain sodas and costs $16 on a seven-day cruise, $10 on a four-day cruise and $8 on a three-day cruise.

Guests with Special Needs

Each ship in the NCL fleet offers designated staterooms with wider doorways and bathrooms that will accommodate wheelchairs and staterooms with lights and under-pillow vibrating alarms for guests with hearing impairments.

Four Corners of the Globe

The ships of Norwegian Cruise Line offer cruises to the four corners of the globe. These diverse destinations include Alaska, Bermuda, Canada/New England, the Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, the Panama Canal and South America.

Great Stirrup Cay

NCL was the first cruise line to offer a private tropical island experience exclusively for its passengers. Great Stirrup Cay is located 120 nautical miles due east of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and is the northernmost island in a chain of islands known as the Berry Islands in the Bahamas. The 2.5 by 1.5-mile-island boasts white sand beaches, lined with palms. Its pristine waters are home to an abundance of colorful marine life, which inhabit the surrounding coral reefs.