Norwegian Epic hits pier in San Juan

I'm sure most of you have heard about Norwegian Epic hitting parts of the pier in San Juan last week.  The ship was apparently having engine issues reducing their maneuverability which, combined with high winds in San Juan, caused this minor incident.

In case you haven't seen it yet, here is the video.

Obviously, those moorings are meant to "break away" rather than punch a hole in the ship which would be much worse.  The ship did suffer some minor damage, but nothing too severe.  Embarrassing for NCL but at least no one was injured.

Norwegian Epic Delayed

Well, it looks like the dark cloud of bad luck surrounding the Norwegian Epic is still hanging around.  Currently she is in Rotterdam which is her first of a few publicity stops before crossing the Atlantic to the US.  Unfortunately for her passengers and NCL, she will be departing from Rotterdam late and at a reduced speed which will put her over seven hours late for her next port of call, Southampton.

The reason for the delay, technical problems arising from the ship's propeller shaft.  Bad news.

Norwegian Epic Successfully Completes Sea Trials

With a string of bad luck and suspicious fires behind her (hopefully forever), NCL's Norwegian Epic completed her second and final round of sea trials over the weekend.  Upon her return to the shipyard, work continued to make her ready for her official turnover to NCL on Thursday June 17th.

Following the turnover she will head to Rotterdam for some publicity events and then Southampton next week where she will then depart on her transatlantic trip to New York on June 24th.  She will arrive in NYC on July 1st, and dock at pier 88 where she will be christened by Reba McEntire on July 2nd.  Following that, Norwegian Epic will host the Macy's July 4th fireworks event on NBC in New York harbor.

Once all that is done she will head to Miami to begin alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings from July 10, 2010 through April 2011.  Starting in May 2011 she will be sailing the Western Mediterranean from Barcelona through October 2011.

Another fire on Norwegian Epic

Apparently there has been a rash of fires on board NCL's Norwegian Epic as she nears completion at the shipyard in France.  There was one on May 4 that I wrote about and shortly after another was reported on the higher decks near the waterslide.  Now, just this weekend on June 6th, a third fire was reported as the shipyard workers and their families were taking a tour of the almost finished ship.

Apparently the fire started on deck 8 in an air conditioning room and it forced the evacuation of hundreds of people.  Luckily there were no injuries and the damage was minimal but that isn't where this story ends.  French officials are treating the fire as suspicious and there have been statements to the effect that it appears to have been deliberately set.  The investigation is ongoing.

NCL has announced that the ships delivery and inaugural events will proceed as scheduled.  So far this ship is off to an interesting start with this string of bad luck.  Let's hope it ends here.

Fire on Norwegian Epic

Monday night a fire broke out onboard NCL's Norwegian Epic while she was getting her final touches at the shipyard in France.  The fire is reported to have started at around 11PM in the aft section of the ship on deck 4.  Firefighters quickly got the blaze under control and managed to keep it from spreading to other areas of the ship.  Damage seems to be isolated mainly to the ships wiring and no injuries were reported.  The cause of the fire is under investigation but work on the ship has resumed.  She is still scheduled to be delivered on June 15.

Norwegian Epic news

NCL recently announced some more details on the soon to enter service Norwegian Epic.  When she sets sail, Epic will feature the largest spa and fitness center of any ship afloat with a total of 31,000 square feet.  Also, passengers will have their choice of 21 dining venues and a total of 11 will be free of charge.

Here are the press releases:

Norwegian Epic To Feature Largest Spa At Sea


Norwegian Epic To Offer 11 Complimentary Dining Options

Norwegian Epic passes sea trials.

NCL's Norwegian Epic took another big step toward entering service by completing her first round of sea trials this past weekend.  After 4 days sailing around the Atlantic with hundreds of technicians and engineers from the shipyard in France aboard, she returned to the dock where work will continue to get her ready for her maiden voyage in June 2010. Before that voyage can happen, however, there will be another round of sea trials set for later this spring.

Norwegian Epic ahead of schedule

Another in the list of ships that are going to be complete ahead of schedule, Norwegian Cruise Line announced that their new Norwegian Epic will be completed early and they have added a new voyage. Her inaugural transatlantic voyage will now be on June 24, 2010 and she will arrive in New York on July 1, 2010. Also, a new voyage has been added departing from Miami on July 10, 2010 which is one week earlier than previously scheduled.

Norwegian Epic floated out

NCL's latest entry into the world's ugliest ship contest, the upcoming Norwegian Epic, has been floated out of drydock in France marking a milestone in it's build. Scheduled to be completed by May 2010, the ship will be the largest and most innovative in the NCL fleet.

Definitely an exciting ship, if I could get past the looks.

NCL's F3 ship is now Norwegian Epic

Norwegian Cruise Lines has announced that their upcoming 150,000 ton F3 project will be named the Norwegian Epic. The ship, which was to be one of a pair of ships, will debut in May 2010 and sail Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Miami. All the revolutionary stateroom design and onboard amenities already announced have apparently survived the conflict between the company and the shipyard which resulted in some design changes and the cancellation of the second ship.

Booking are scheduled to begin in March.

Norwegian's F3 project back on schedule - Sort of

Norwegian Cruise Line has apparently settled their issues with the shipyard that will be building their new F3 project. There were serious disagreements regarding changes in design and rising costs. As a result, there will be only one ship built instead of a pair. The decision to cancel the second ship arise from the poor economic conditions as well as the additional costs associated with building the first ship.

Luckily for both sides, the second ship which was already under construction in France, had not progressed very far.

NCL's F3 project in limbo.

Rumors are circulating that there is a dispute developing between NCL and Aker Yards of France over the construction of the new F3 line of ships from NCL. The F3 ships promise to feature revolutionary changes in cruise ship design. That is, if they ever get built. The keel for the first F3 ship was laid in April and delivery was scheduled for March 2010.

Since the contract was signed for the first two ships in the family, there have been major changes relating to NCL and the ships. Originally, the ships were ordered by Star Cruises, NCL's parent company. Star then decided to move the ships over to NCL's fleet. After that Star Cruises sold about half of NCL to Apollo Mgmt who decided that they wanted to make some changes to the design of the ships requiring time and money of both the cruise line and the shipyard.

NCL has no comment on the situation but the rumors persist. Some even suggest that Apollo Mgmt has decided to cancel the project all together and take a $200 million penalty instead of having to pay the full price of the ships at about $1 billion each.

So, at best, it looks like there will be some delay in the delivery date. Worst case scenario is that these ships may never get built. I hope that's not the case. They sounded pretty interesting.

NCL reveals more info on F3 ships

Yesterday, the same day that Royal Caribbean revealed more info on their Oasis of the Seas, NCL decided to also reveal additional info on their upcoming ships codenamed F3. Unfortunate for them. There are however, some interesting features coming on these new ships. NCL is certainly making a play at becoming an industry influencing line, like Royal Caribbean, when it comes to amenities and features on their ships.

NCL already released info on their new cabin design that will be employed on these 150,000 ton 4,200 passenger ships. They will feature unconventional non box shaped design with open bathroom areas.

Yesterday's event revealed features like the POSH beach club, a private area with a pool, waterfall, beds and cabanas. Early mornings feature yoga classes and other health treatments. Also during mornings, you can "rehab" from partying the night before with bloody marys, mimosas, and salty dogs. Afternoons are pool time and late nights it becomes an outdoor night club.

Halo will be an exclusive bar and lounge for VIPs and passengers in the Garden Villas. It will feature private gaming tables and there will be a fee for "regular" passengers.

Spice H2O will be the pool area which will also serve as a dining location and outdoor theater. It will be Asian themed and at nights there will be music and dancing. The pool floor will be able to rise as a cover allowing it to be used as a dance floor. The concept sounds sort of like Royal Caribbean's AquaTheatre on Oasis of the Seas.

Most interesting is the inclusion of a frozen bar like what you might find somewhere in Scandinavia. The Ice Bar will be an actual frozen bar contained in a vault maintained at 17F degrees. Passengers will be wearing fur coats and mittens to enter. Should be nice after a hot day.

In a controversial move, NCL also announced that there will be admission fees for all of the venues aside from Spice H2O. They claim that it will be for crowd control since most of the venues have limited seating. We'll see how that goes over.

Here is the link to the full story from CruiseCritic.