Norwegian and Nickelodeon Hit the Open Seas

Nickelodeon at Sea hit the open waters this week, with the first sailing of the weekly semi-themed cruises aboard the Norwegian Jewel out of New York.

“We’re sliming some kids this week,” said Andy Stuart, executive vice president of global sales and passenger services, during an online Webcast.

And, in fact, the sailing has been a “huge success so far,” John O’Hara, Norwegian Jewel’s hotel director, stated. The Character Breakfast, which gives kids the chance to interact with their favorite Nickelodeon animated characters, sold out instantaneously and a second breakfast had been added.

“We’ll keep adding Breakfasts until everyone gets in who wants to,” O’Hara said.

The Nickelodeon at Sea cruises, which depart weekly, are selling quickly, Norwegian Cruise Line reported. The next three sailings are already sold out, and the line expects to sell out throughout the summer.

Also, in keeping with this week’s Norwegian Cruise Line Nickelodeon theme, the line announced the dates for its two 2011 Nickelodeon All Access cruises.

Different from the Nickelodeon at Sea sailings, which are now available on the Norwegian Jewel and will also be available on the Epic, the Nickelodeon All Access sailings are fully themed cruises that give guests exclusive access to a litany of Nickelodeon entertainment all day, every day.

The two cruises are set for Feb. 20, 2011, on board the Norwegian Jewel from New York, and July 24, 2011, on board the Norwegian Epic from Barcelona. The Feb. 20 Jewel sailing will be a seven-day roundtrip itinerary sailing from New York to Orlando (Port Canaveral), Nassau, and Great Stirrup Cay. The July 24 Epic sailing is also a seven-day itinerary but sails roundtrip from Barcelona to Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia), Naples, and Palma in Majorca, Spain. Cruises are priced from $1,349 per person.

Both cruises opened on April 28 to past guests and open to the general public on May 1. Travel agents should call (866) 234-5610 to book.

Among the activities passengers will be privy to will be face-to-face meetings with some of the network’s biggest human stars, exclusive screenings of never-before-seen movie and show episodes, character interaction, interactive game shows, Club Nick parties, and the chance for every child (or adult) to get slimed if they so choose.

Flyers advertising both types of Nickelodeon cruises are available on NCL U for agents to download.

Agents who already have unsold group space on these sailings may move the group to another sailing date or keep the space, but fares will be adjusted to the new group rates. All groups will require a deposit of $25 per person within 60 days of confirming space. Groups on these sailings will be restricted to 16 cabins or less.

Additionally, Norwegian will protect the cruise rates for guests already booked on these cruises. For guests wishing to switch to another sail date, the line will extend a $50 per person onboard credit for first and second guests.

New Ticketing System

With several new reservation-required attractions on board the Epic, Norwegian Cruise Line will soon launch a new ticketing system that can be used to pre-book seats before cruise departure, or during the cruise via guests’ in-cabin interactive TVs. A dedicated box office will also be available on the Epic for making reservations.

Standby space for all events may also be made available during the cruise, in keeping with the line’s Freestyle atmosphere.

Bookable events will include the Nickelodeon Character Breakfast Epic, SlimeTime Live Show, Blue Man Group, Cirque Dreams & Dinner, The Second City, and the Legends Theater performances.

All tickets are electronic and are applied to passengers’ key cards, which are scanned at entry to the event. The system requires individual reservations, so each guest must make his or her own reservations, and no group bookings for any events – including Cirque Dreams & Dinner – can be made. The system also has a failsafe written into it to prevent any one guest from seeing Blue Man Group more than once – this assures that every guest will have the opportunity to see the show.

The new ticketing system goes live May 11 for the Epic’s trans-Atlantic sailing.

For more information, visit. www.ncl.com.