Norwegian Cruise Line has pledged to invite “hundreds” of agents on Norwegian Encore’s debut sailing as it announced Broadway musical Kinky Boots will be its new show on board.
More than 3,200 places for agents, media and NCL staff from the UK and Europe have been made available for the sailing from Bremerhaven, Germany, to Southampton in November 2019.
Harry Sommer, NCL’s executive vice president for international business development, said Encore would become the line’s flagship once it launches.
Speaking today from Meyer Werft shipyard, where the ship is being built, Sommer said: “Encore will become the flagship even though it is not massively different from its sister ships – Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Joy and Norwegian Bliss – and it will be an evolution from the ship before.
“We will have 3,200 people on the ship when it sails from Bremerhaven – more than 1,000 will be from the UK. Hundreds will be UK agents.”
At the vessel’s keel-laying ceremony, Sommer added Encore is 30% complete 11 months before its launch.
Musical hit Land of Lola from Kinky Boots was performed at the shipyard by four performers as the news was announced the production would run on Encore.
“Having Kinky Boots is a continuation of the fact that we have high quality entertainment on board our ships,” Sommer said. “This is a process which has been ongoing for the last two or three years.
“We are not a US-centric cruise line anymore, whether it be food, activities and entertainment. We believe that NCL stands for ‘edgy’.”
Last month, NCL bosses revealed that Encore’s go-kart track would be “bigger and better” than Bliss’ 1,000ft course.
Explaining how the track would differ, Sommer said: “The track is visibly larger than the one on Bliss’. There are couple of extra turns and there 11 feet of the track goes over the side of the ship, so you are racing over the sea.
“It is also easier to overtake.”
The track will have a covered viewing area in the middle and spectators will be able to provide passing go-karts with “a turbo boost” by tagging them with a laser beam.
The ship’s laser tag arena will feature a new experience based on the lost city of Atlantis.
Norwegian Encore will also have a 10,000-square foot indoor virtual reality complex called the Galaxy Pavilion.
Multisensory virtual experiences and simulators to an escape room taking guests on a labyrinth of adventures, means passengers of all ages will be able to find something to enjoy.
Once Encore has crossed the Atlantic, the 4,000-passenger ship will cruise out of Miami each Sunday and sail seven-day voyages to the Eastern Caribbean from November 17 2019 through to April 2020.