Norwegian to Enter Asia Market
by Daniel McCarthy /For the first time since 2001, Norwegian Cruise Line will sail in Asia.
The company’s president and COO Andy Stuart made the announcement during a webinar with travel partners yesterday.
“It’s an exciting journey. We have really exciting itineraries [to offer],” Stuart said.
Stuart also announced other developments, including the introduction of a new marketing campaign to debut next month and an update on the company’s newest ship, the Norwegian Escape.
New destinations
Stuart’s major announcement was the unveiling of several new routes for Norwegian, including the company’s first foray into Asian cruising since 2001.
“Norwegian is not known as much for some of the destinations we are now proudly visiting,” Stuart said.
Starting in 2016, the cruise line will be offering 11- and 14-day Southeast Asia sailings out of Hong Kong, 11- and 18-day Southeast Asia sailings out of Singapore, and 20- and 21-day sailings out of Dubai. The last time Norwegian sailed in Asia was during a relatively short season in 2001.
The cruise line will also sail out of Rio de Janeiro for the first time, as the Norwegian Sun will sail 10-day itineraries out of Brazil to Buenos Aires starting in February 2017.
Norwegian is also increasing its inventory in Australia, offering a number of new itineraries, including a 12-day sailing from Sydney to Auckland and a 19-day sailing from Auckland to Singapore.
Stuart, and the rest of the Norwegian executives on the call, noted that the new routes are a direct result of the company’s $3 billion acquisition of Prestige Cruises International last November.
He said that while the two brands have been kept separate, using the experience of Prestige—which is the parent company of Regent Seven Seas and Oceania Cruises— has helped Norwegian’s resolve to expand.
“It’s really the best of both world. [We] keep the brands separate and distinct but benefit from the experience and bring Norwegian places [we’ve never before],” he said.
Escape and Epic update
Norwegian’s newest ship, the Norwegian Escape, was floated out of its Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany last week. The float out also marked the official debut of hull artwork designed by Guy Harvey.
The ship is still on schedule to be delivered on Oct. 22, and will now move into the final phase of construction, which includes the addition of the NCL funnel and a third story to the ship’s rope course.
“The ship’s float out brings us one step closer to bringing the next evolution of Freestyle Cruising to the world and we couldn’t be more excited,” said Stuart.
The ship will sail seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruises out of Miami beginning Nov. 14.
Stuart said Norwegian plans to move the Epic to homeport in Port Canaveral for the first time. The company’s first 4,000 passenger ship will be the largest ever home ported in Port Canaveral.
The Epic will sail eastern and western Caribbean cruises starting next year.
Ad campaign debut and new offers
Norwegian debuted a new ad campaign that will start running in print and online media next month.
The new campaign, which Stuart titled “Nobody Does Anything Like Norwegian,” takes aim at highlighting what differentiates the cruise line from the rest of the market, from offers on board to ships and destinations.
“It’s a flexible campaign. We can really talk about any aspect of our product that is different from our competitors and help travel partners to really highlight that,” he said.
“We’ll be sharing all the greatest things that make our experience unique and different in the cruise category and the vacation category. . . for you and for you to share with your clients,” added Meg Lee, Norwegian vice president and chief marketing officer.
The cruise line is also offering new offers to incentivize agents to book with Norwegian. Agents who book by Sept. 30, a notoriously high booking period for holiday cruises, will get up to $200 to spend onboard for their clients.
Agents booking cruises will also have the opportunity to take advantage of Norwegian’s Freestyle Choice promotion, which lets travelers choose an unlimited beverage package, a dining package, free Wi-Fi or free shore excursions.