Norwegian Cruise Line Changes Its Tune on Entertainment

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)’s “More at Sea” program, among other things, is guiding NCL to offer more diverse entertainment that will almost certainly include future shows similar to “Revolution: A Celebration of Prince,” debuting on Norwegian Aqua in April. 

That was made clear during a Jan. 30 media Q&A, where the running joke was who could say “more” more. The panel featured NCL’S president David Herrera; vice president of entertainment production Bryan White; conceiver, director, and choreographer of “Revolution: A Celebration of Prince” and “Elements: The World Expanded” Patricia Wilcox; and senior vice president of hotel operations Mark Kansley.  

The October 2024 announcement of “More at Sea,” which includes updated Wi-Fi and food and beverage packages, was met with mixed reviews from cruisers and travel advisors. Now that it has officially launched, it remains to be seen how that’s playing out on board. 

But as far as entertainment goes, NCL is promising more variety, more spectacle, and more immersive experiences. It was hinted several times throughout the conversation that NCL will “continue to pay tribute and celebrate artists that we know our guests know and love,” according to White. 

Traditionally the cruise line has put on Broadway shows for its guests and still delivers performances such as “Beetlejuice the Musical” on Norwegian Viva and “Jersey Boys” on Norwegian Bliss. Given the recent additions of original shows – with shorter runtimes and less story line – TMR asked the panel of executives about the fate of Broadway musicals on its ships. 

“It’s not that we’re moving away or toward anything. We’re listening to our guests; we’re listening to our partners,” Herrera said. “We want to give our guests more experiences, more opportunities to enjoy what they told us they wanted.” 

White elaborated on NCL’s survey of guests’ entertainment preferences, saying they want “music that they recognize, from artists that they know and love; visual spectacle, so it doesn’t matter what language they speak or what age they are, there’s going to be something from the video to the costume to the lighting that they can see; and narratives that are easy to follow.” 

Steven Eidelberg, vice president of marketing and partnerships at Cruise Brothers a top-selling agency of NCL products, told TMR that NCL’s new approach to entertainment is “bound for success,” as it employs Broadway-quality talent for shorter, more engaging shows that allow them more time to go explore more on the ship. 

“There are some die-hards who love ‘Beetlejuice,’ ‘Donna Summer,’ etc., but for the most part our clients are happier with the shows that offer something ‘different’ when it comes to entertainment with specialists, like the aerialists in Elements,” he said. “I think it is like moving from having only the selection of Broadway to now having the more wider selection of Las Vegas.” 

When asked what travel advisors should know as the debut of Aqua nears, Herrera said: “Our goal is to be the easiest cruise line to do business with. We’re really good at some things, we’re going to get better at others. I look forward to deepening and broadening the relationship with all our travel partners.”