People that know cruising know there is no better vacation, or one that provides such value. The great news for cruisers is that cruise lines continue to announce new ships. 2012 is no exception as Princess Cruise Lines announced the Royal Princess and Norwegian Cruise Lines announces the NCL Breakaway; both due in 2013.
Travelers initial response was much bigger than expected. In fact, anticipation for Royal Princess was so high, that Princess Cruises had its biggest booking day in history for the inaugural season of the ship. The maiden voyage will be from Southampton to Barcelona on June 16, 2013. Following that, it will take up its 12 day route between Barcelona and Venice. Royal Princess will have the capacity to carry 3,600 passengers with an expanded atrium, a water and light show, a larger adults-only section, and the SeaWalk. This glass-bottomed, enclosed walkway extends out over the ocean and features poolside cabanas. The ship will also feature Princess’s largest outdoor movie screen for Movies Under the Stars. Following the recent trend, almost all of its cabins will have balconies. Royal Princess will feature two main dining options; a traditional dining room for eating at a set time and two forward dining rooms for Princess’s popular Anytime dining where you can eat when, where and with whomever you like. In addition, there are two specialty restaurants; one Italian and one steak and seafood. There are five casual eateries ranging from the Ocean Terrace seafood bar to Vines, a wine, sushi and tapas bar. Four of the Royal Princess’s dining options are optional with charges from $20 to $25 per person.
Norwegian Cruise Line hopes to appeal to more family cruisers with the Breakaway, which will feature its largest ever children’s and teen’s facilities. It will also be the largest ship of any line to cruise from New York City at an impressive 144,017 tons. The ship can hold up to 4,000 passengers, 400 more than Royal Princess, with an additional 3,000 tons. One wonders if the additional 10% passenger load will impact the personalized service people have come to expect from Norwegian.
Breakaway will begin sailing in the summer of 2013 from New York to Bermuda, the Caribbean, and the Bahamas. This schedule is following its maiden voyage to New York from Southampton in April of 2013. The Breakaway will also feature its new Moderno Churrascaria on the Waterfront deck with ocean views. This is part of Norwegian’s new plan of moving restaurants and shops to a promenade deck with an ocean view. Many ships have their shopping and specialty restaurants tucked away in interior corridors. Norwegian’s Waterfront concept will move many of these venues out to open decks. which we feel is a welcoming change.
Specifics about Breakaway’s dining options are still a bit sketchy, and some deck plans aren’t complete yet, but from viewing available deck plans, there will be plenty of options for eating aboard the ship’s 18 decks. Many of the restaurants listed are also on the Epic, so they are known entities. The Breakaway also has the Freestyle dining option pioneered by Norwegian.
Main dining will be in the traditional Manhattan Room Restaurant. Above the Manhattan is Cagney’s Steakhouse, an optional dining experience. Those sailing in suites have access to the Haven Restaurant for exclusive, private dining at no additional charge. Other dining options include Taste, featuring traditional and contemporary cuisine, Shanghai’s Noodle Bar, featuring Asian fusion, and the French and Italian offerings of Le Bistro and La Cucina. All in all, there are at least ten restaurants on board the Breakaway, about half of which are complimentary. The optional choices range from $10 per person at La Cucina to $25 per person at Cagney’s Steakhouse.
With new ships continuing to be produced in this economy, it says a lot about the cruise lines continued commitment to the cruise industry. And that can only be good news for those who love to cruise.
