At the annual Cruise Shipping Miami conference in mid-March, Norwegian Cruise Line released more information about the 4,000-passenger Norwegian Breakaway, which debuts in April 2013 as a year-round, New York-based vessel.
Two specially designed public areas will debut: The Waterfront and 678 Ocean Place. The Waterfront follows a Boardwalk concept and will offer eight outdoor dining and lounging venues, including the Brazilian steakhouse Moderno Churrascaria, Cagney’s, La Cucina, Shaker’s Cocktail Bar, Malting’s Beer & Whiskey Bar and the new Ocean Blu seafood restaurant with its raw bar and adjoining sushi bar. Another Waterfront first is the gelato bar and a yet-to-be-announced entertainment venue sharing the outdoor space.
Passengers will find several successful features introduced on Norwegian Epic at Breakaway’s 678 Ocean Place, including The Manhattan Room, a restaurant with a dance floor overlooking the stern, and Shanghai’s Noodle Bar. The extremely popular pub, O’Sheehan’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill, which will be open 24 hours and busy for at least 20 of them, will be back, and so will the Bliss Ultra Lounge, but without bowling. The ship also will have one of Norwegian’s teppanyaki restaurants, with the addition of a traditional Japanese rock garden, and Le Bistro. The two main dining rooms will be dubbed Savor and Taste.
Also in the complex, spanning more than 18,000 square feet on Deck 7, the Breakaway Casino will offer guests the opportunity to try their luck on more than 300 of the latest slot machines, along with 26 gaming tables featuring poker, black jack, roulette and craps. Bar 21, located adjacent to the casino, has video poker and multiple plasma television screens.
In addition, Breakaway will debut the largest youth- and teen- dedicated facilities on the Norwegian fleet. For the first time, the youth area, called Splash Academy, will be distributed over two decks, 12 and 13, conveniently located near the family-friendly staterooms. Areas are designed specifically for three age groups in addition to the teens’ section, Entourage, located at the top of the ship on Deck 16. Babies and toddlers under age three, along with their parents, will also have their own dedicated play space with activities. For security, Norwegian has an e-Youth tablet-based electronic registration system.
On Deck 12, three to five-year-olds will have vibrant colors and child-sized furniture, with wall mounted activities to encourage exploration and coordination. In a separate area decorated with fun graphics, six to nine year olds will have building block activity centers. This group has an interactive dance mat with a corresponding large video screen and a dedicated space housing popular video game stations, along with a relaxing video viewing lounge.
Upstairs on Deck 13, 10 to 12-year-olds will have their own area containing a multipurpose visual dance space with a touch screen jukebox, plenty of moveable tables for activities and comfortable beanbags for lounging. An activity zone will include everything needed for arts and crafts and more. There is also a hangout area with dedicated gaming stations that will feature the latest video games and a lounge area with sofas and chairs in bright colors.
The teen area is completely separate on Deck 16. Entourage, for ages 13 through 17, includes air hockey, foosball and an arcade center with five separate areas and large screens to play the latest video games while lounging on comfy sofas. In the evening, Entourage becomes a teens-only nightclub with a dance floor, a large screen television and music, including a video jukebox. Entourage has the advantage of being located next to the video arcade and a step away from an outdoor eatery and refreshment area.
Norwegian Breakaway will sail from her year-round homeport in New York City to Bermuda in the summer of 2013 and the Bahamas and Florida and the Caribbean in the winter.
The Details
Norwegian Cruise Linewww.ncl.com
