The Saturday sky over Miami was gray and drizzly. So, the
outdoor christening ceremony for Norwegian Pearl, the new addition
to the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet, was moved indoors to the ship’s
art nouveau-themed Stardust Theater. As a result of the hastily
assembled Plan B, the Dec. 16 ceremony started 15 minutes late, but
the crowd of well-wishers took it all in stride. Even NCL president
and CEO Colin Veitch shrugged off the delay.
“Since this is a freestyle-cruising ship, there’s no fixed time
for a christening ceremony,” he joked.
Veitch’s devil-may-care comments set the tone for the evening,
which included a taped spoof of Robert Palmer’s “Simply
Irresistible” music video performed by Veitch and a company of crew
members. (The ’80’s hit is the Pearl’s theme song.)
The ship’s godmother, Rosie O’Donnell, was an especially fitting
choice for the light-hearted ceremony. The evening before the
christening, NCL had donated the Pearl for a charity cruise which
raised over $600,000 for O’Donnell’s For All Kids Foundation. A
grateful O’Donnell returned the favor by presiding over the
christening.
“I’ve been practicing in the casino,” she quipped, referring to
the lever she was about to pull to launch the champagne bottle into
the ship’s hull. Unfortunately the lever didn’t quite work the
first time, so O’Donnell comically yanked it a few more times
before the bottle finally crashed into the hull to cheers and
applause.
The two-night inaugural sailing that followed wasn’t long enough
for an in-depth exploration of the Pearl, but it was certainly
enough time to experience some highlights.
One of the ship’s unique selling points is a four-lane bowling
alley, heralded as the first in the cruising industry. It was
booked solid during the cruise and will doubtlessly remain so in
the future. It’s that cool.
The two pairs of lanes also flank the ship’s Bliss Ultra Lounge,
modeled after trendy nightclubs in Hollywood, South Beach and Las
Vegas. Dark, moody and a little bit naughty (queen-size beds
provide some of the seating) it is easily the Pearl’s most
happening hot spot. In fact, the enthusiastic reception surprised
even NCL, whose official parties in more traditional onboard
lounges were sedate affairs compared to the jam-packed Bliss.
“I hope it will be as busy when we’re selling drinks,” quipped
Andy Stuart, executive vice president of marketing.
Some of the other innovations aboard the Pearl include a
completely revamped Garden Cafe. Gone is the standard cruise ship
buffet, replaced by “action stations” where chefs prepare
everything fresh to order.
The Pearl also boasts top-of-the-ship Deluxe Owner’s Suites and a
rock-climbing wall, both firsts for the NCL fleet. I only saw one
brave soul willing to try out the latter, but everybody was
clamoring to get a glimpse of those eye-poppingly extravagant
suites.
Two stage shows by Jean Ann Ryan Productions were presented in the
Stardust Theater. The first, “Tubez,” was promoted as an evening of
“extreme sports,” but aside from a couple of nifty ramp tricks from
two hot-shot bicyclists (who later told me that this is the first
bike stunt show on a cruise ship), it was the usual parade of
scantily clad dancers. The audience was a bit underwhelmed by the
show, although a balletic duet between a male acrobat and a
particularly nimble female contortionist brought the house
down.
The second show, “Sea Legs,” a Las Vegas-type showgirl revue,
fared better. Both will be running throughout the next three years,
along with Second City comedy and improvisation acts and a third
show called “Garden of the Geisha.”
By the end of the inaugural festivities, it was hard to find
anyone who wasn’t thrilled with the Pearl. It’s a gorgeous ship,
filled with color and character, and the service is top-notch.
Apparently it was meant to be a sister ship to Norwegian Jewel, but
during a voyage on the Jewel, Tan Sri KT Lim, chairman of NCL
parent company Star Cruises, saw some opportunities for changes and
improvements. NCL plans to launch Norwegian Gem in October 2007 as
a sister ship to the Pearl. Spying chairman Lim among the throngs
at Bliss, I could almost see him thinking, “maybe we should add
more lounges like this to the Gem ... and another bowling
alley.”
