Agents Have Epic Expectations for NCL Mega Ship

With the Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic’s arrival just over a month away, Travel Market Report turned to cruise sellers to find out what the level of excitement there is among their clients, and what aspects of the ship they’re most looking forward to experiencing.

Almost without fail, the agents are split into two camps – either the studio staterooms or the entertainment has their attention.

“The one aspect of the Epic that I’m most excited about is that it will have 128 ‘single cabins,’” Frank Hryszkanich of Travel, Ports & Voyages, LLC told Travel Market Report. “My single clients are very excited about being able to book a cabin for themselves, and knowing that there will be many singles aboard ship.”

The 128 inside, single supplement free Studio cabins are designed specifically for singles and though smaller than the traditional cabin at just 100-square-feet, they offer a full-size bed, storage space, a flat-screen TV and separate areas for the bathroom, sink and shower.

To give the cabins a more airy feel, each features a corridor-facing window. Cabin occupants can see out, but passengers in the hall can’t see in.

“One of the items that interests me most is the Studio Lounge and the single studio units,” said Colleen Gillette, owner of New Paltz Travel, who added the studios remind her of Pod Hotel rooms. “I think it may well attract the young single traveler.”

The Studio Lounge to which Gillette referred is an exclusive, shared social space open only to Studio cabin occupants. The Lounge features a bar, two large TV screens, a dedicated concierge for booking dinner reservations and shore excursions and comfortable seating for hanging out.

Hryszkanich believes it will attract more than just young singles. In addition to his agency business Hryszkanich also runs a single dinner and travel club and said his biggest problem has always been trying to get two people to share a cabin on a cruise. 

“With the Epic, it helps eliminate this problem for me, at least on Norwegian Cruise Line.”

Sherry Laskin, ACC, owner of Vacation Shoppe agreed. “I think they’re onto something with the single studio cabin. Rather than wait for a last minute single supplement reduction or elimination… starting out with a category for solo cruise passengers is an idea that should have been implemented a long time ago.”

All About the Entertainment

While the Studios certainly have stirred up a great deal of interest, the entertainment is equally as anticipated.

“It’s definitely the entertainment that’s doing it for clients,” said Elizabeth Klein of Anchors Away World Cruise Specialists. “It’s totally different than anything out there.”

Diane Mendoza of a California Cruises Inc. agreed. “We are most excited about experiencing the high entertainment value that Norwegian Cruise Line has to offer on the Norwegian Epic.”

Rather than being equipped with one large main theater with rotating shows, the Norwegian Epic will feature a variety of medium to small-sized entertainment venues, offering everything from Blue Man Group and the jaw-dropping acrobatics of Cirque Dreams and Dinner to the Second City improve comedy troupe and Legends in Concert, a tribute show featuring celebrity impersonators.

“Many of these out of the box experiences may be once in a lifetime for many,” Mendoza said.

Somewhat related to the entertainment, both Klein and Hryszkanich mentioned the Epic’s Ice Bar as something they or their clients are interested in experiencing. 

“The Ice Bar is pretty hot because it’s different,” Klein said.

Inspired by the original ice hotels in Scandinavia, Norwegian Cruise Line says their Ice Bar is one of only 14 in the world. Everything in the Ice Bar (entrance fee applies) is made of the stuff – the bar, the walls, the tables and stools. In fact, it’s so cold inside the Ice Bar, visitors have to wear special faux fur parkas.

One agent TMR spoke with said the clients who have already booked the Epic are looking forward to everything about the ship.

“It’s the whole ship. They want to have their bragging rights. It’s the newest; it’s the latest; it’s the greatest – they want to be on that,” Carolina Murillo, leisure district manager of Garber Travel.

In addition to the innovative Studio cabins and entertainment, Norwegian has upended the traditional cabin design offering what it calls the “New Wave” stateroom that features curved architecture and a new bathroom concept – the shower stall, toilet area and sink have been split up into three different areas. The sink is out in the open in the stateroom, while the toilet and shower are behind closed doors on either end of the cabin.

Hryszkanich, who told TMR he will be sailing on a special two-day cruise out of New York in early July, said he is interested in seeing what the staterooms look like, particularly the “rounded” aspect of the cabins.