June 15, 2010 – Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Cruise Line’s largest and most innovative Freestyle Cruising ship to date, returned from her final successful sea trials on Sunday, June 13, 2010, after three days of sailing the Atlantic Ocean before she is delivered on June 17. During the sea trials, technicians and engineers from STX FRANCE SA, along with Norwegian Cruise Line representatives, checked more than 60 different aspects of the ship’s performance by running trials of the vessel’s speed, maneuverability, hydrodynamics and propulsion, amongst others. Overall, the ship performed very well and exceeded expectations. Additional photos are posted to the cruise line’s Facebook page at www.ncl.com/facebook.
On June 17, Norwegian Epic will depart the STX FRANCE shipyard and sail to Rotterdam for a two-day inaugural cruise. On June 21, the ship will sail a one-night preview cruise to Southampton , arriving on June 22 for a two-day inaugural sailing. On June 24, the ship will depart Southampton on a sold-out seven-day transatlantic crossing to New York arriving on July 1. The ship will be christened by legendary entertainer Reba McEntire on July 2 followed by a two-day inaugural cruise. Norwegian Epic will be the host venue for the 34th Annual Macy's 4th of July Fireworks event taking place on Sunday, July 4. The event includes a national, one-hour, live entertainment broadcast on NBC-TV beginning at 9 p.m. ET. Norwegian Epic arrives in Miami on Wednesday, July 7 where a welcome event will be held at Bicentennial Park from 2-4 pm. For more information on the event, head to http://epic.ncl.com/epicmiami. Inaugural festivities conclude with a two-day sailing on July 8.
Following inaugural activities, Norwegian Epic will sail alternating seven-day Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Miami from July 10 through April 30, 2011. Ports of call on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary include Philipsburg, St. Maarten; St. Thomas , US Virgin Islands; and Nassau , Bahamas . The Western Caribbean cruises visit Costa Maya , Mexico ; Roatán, Bay Islands , Honduras ; and Cozumel , Mexico . The 2011 cruise season from May-October will have Norwegian Epic sailing a series of seven-day Western Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona . When she returns to Miami on November 5, 2011, she will sail a series of seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruises through April 7, 2012.
I have my place on Epic reserved for later on this year. I am particularly looking forward to seeing the Blue Man Group and also hopefully getting a peak at Ice Bar. I can't wait to see photos and reviews over the nest few weeks and really get me in the mood
ReplyDeleteStuart - Thanks for your comments. We will be providing a full review on the Norwegian Epic when she arrives in New York in Early July. Stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteThanks for Reading our blog!
Nick