The screen flickered into life and we were soon being informed: “There is no law that says you can’t make love at 4 in the afternoon on a Tuesday.”
This, it transpired, was Norwegian Cruise Line’s first TV commercial dating back to 1993 promoting the joys of romantic days at sea.
Norwegian’s exclusive PortMiami terminal opens to coincide with the arrival of Norwegian Encore in autumn 2019
It certainly stopped journalists gathered on the 38th floor of London’s iconic Gherkin in their tracks as they sipped an elaborate cocktail and awaited the unveiling of new details about Norwegian Encore, arriving autumn 2019.
Norwegian’s UK managing director, Nick Wilkinson, had dug the ad from the archives to give us all an idea of the incredible progress of cruising over the past 25 years. Apparently the next ad was so racy that it couldn’t be shown before the 9pm TV watershed … and we weren’t allowed to see it either. Shame.
Prior to this surprising delve into the past, Nick had been batting on about how Norwegian’s Premium All-Inclusive policy had been a tremendous success, wholeheartedly embraced by British cruisers, and how even the exotic cocktails we were being served by Norwegian Bliss’s master mixologist, Razvan Dorel Cordea, are all part of the deal.
SeaView couldn’t resist asking Nick if making love at four in the afternoon was also part of the all-inclusive package. A smile but a resounding “No”. Could you pay and add it to the bill? Another smile. Another “No”.
As for Norwegian Encore, Nick wouldn’t give us much of a steer on what we could expect from the ship, and how she might differ from her three sister Breakaway Plus ships, the most recent being Norwegian Bliss which arrived in April this year.
We did learn that her entrance into her Florida homeport will coincide with the opening of NCL’s own exclusive state-of-the-art PortMiami terminal.
Also that veterans Norwegian Star and Norwegian Spirit are to be completely rebuilt as “new” ships with all that Norwegian’s latest ships have to offer. “We don’t do botox,” said Nick. “We strip back to the bare metal.”
And as for Norwegian Joy, why was she being taken out of China, for which she was custom-designed, after little over a year in operation, and being repurposed for year-round service in Alaska from April 2019? Nick pleaded ignorance, and ducked any question that the China venture had failed. It is anticipated that the much smaller Norwegian Spirit will eventually fill the void, but not for some time..
As for cruising with Norwegian, I can’t wait for 4 on a Tuesday afternoon. It will mean, hopefully, that the bar will be deserted.