Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), an innovator in global cruise travel with a 57-year history of breaking boundaries, has launched its 2024 Europe travel season with the arrival of Norwegian Epic to its seasonal homeport of Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy, before embarking on a 10-day Greek Isles and Italy voyage.

 

During this Northern Hemisphere summer travel season, guests embarking on NCL cruises in Europe will have the opportunity to choose from 101 distinctive itineraries with 38 roundtrips and 63 open-jaw sailings, calling to 140 captivating ports across Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, Greek Isles, and the Atlantic Coast, NCL said.  

 

Additionally, guests can fully explore highlight destinations such as Istanbul, Turkey; Florence (Livorno), Italy and Reykjavik, Iceland with select itineraries offering overnight calls. Cruises will be departing from 13 homeports with New York City; Le Havre (Paris), France; and Oslo, Norway being three brand new options for NCL voyages to Europe.  

 

The company will have a total of nine ships in the region, including its newest innovative vessels, Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva, as well as Norwegian Escape, which returns to Europe following its first successful season in 2022.

 

With an average of 10 hours in port, guests can explore at their leisure or choose from a wide range of shore excursions designed to provide guests with an in-depth experience of each destination.  For more immersive experiences, NCL offers a unique collection of shore excursions including, Beyond Blueprints, where guests uncover the design secrets and stories of Europe’s most iconic architectural landmarks; Gourmet Tours, designed for the foodie-driven traveller allowing them to go behind the scenes of local cuisines; and Go Local, a selection of excursions inviting guests to unveil the everyday rhythms and customs of life in destinations. Guests aiming to spend even more time in Europe and dive deeper into the rich history of the region can take advantage of NCL’s expanding Cruisetours program, a pre- or post-cruise-option that includes roundtrip flights, hotel stays, transportation and excursions.  

 

Cruisetours are currently available in 10 European destinations, such as Istanbul, Turkey; Paris, France; Barcelona, Spain; Reykjavik, Iceland; Rome and Venice, Italy, amongst others, it said.

 

“As we return to Europe this season, our goal remains the same—curating unmatched experiences for our guests in Europe’s most iconic and sought-after destinations.” says Ben Angell, Vice President and Managing Director, Norwegian Cruise Line APAC. “With over 100 distinctive itineraries across 140 ports in Europe, more inclusive pricing and an extensive range of immersive excursions and extended time in port, a European cruise holiday offers unrivalled value with the convenience of being able to wake up in a new destination nearly every day.”

Not only do NCL’s European voyages across 2024-2025 offer great value each sailing also provides a significantly enhanced experience with a variety of offerings to enjoy on board, including high-production value entertainment; up to 20 world-class dining options; and a wide array of shipboard activities suitable for the whole family, from thrilling races on the only three-level racetracks at sea to serene moments in the award-winning Mandara Spa®.  Moreover, with NCL's Freestyle Cruising philosophy, guests have the freedom to tailor their holiday experience to their preferences, with no fixed schedules or dinner times.  NCL’s freedom of choice and value proposition invites guests to explore the world while enjoying the convenience of unpacking just once and waking up in a new and exciting destination almost every day.  Plus, with NCL’s Free at Sea offer, guests can customise their holiday even more to their desires by receiving value-enhancing perks such as specialty dining, unlimited beverage package, shore excursion credits, free airfare for the second guest, and others.

 

Itinerary highlights for NCL cruises in Europe include:

Norwegian Star Sails a Series of Open-Jaw Sailings to Iceland, Greenland and Canada: Norwegian Star, the only ship in NCL’s award-winning fleet equipped for polar navigation, which makes it possible for it to reach ports above the Arctic Circle.  As such, the ship will be the first in the NCL fleet to offer a new summer series of breath-taking and port-rich 12- to 14-day open-jaw sailings between New York City and Reykjavik, Iceland with calls to Akureyri and Grundarfjordur, Iceland; Qaqortoq, Greenland; and St. John’s (Newfoundland) and Halifax, Canada. These itineraries will embark in July and August 2024.

 

Explore the Blue and White Greek Isles with Norwegian Getaway: Norwegian Getaway will homeport in Athens (Piraeus), Greece on June 25 embarking on seven- to 10-day Greek Isles roundtrip itineraries. Each day, the ship will moor at a new port allowing guests to explore bucket-list destinations like Istanbul, Turkey; Iraklion, Santorini and Mykonos, Greece as well as hidden gem Izmir (Ephesus), Turkey. Select departures include overnight stays in Istanbul giving guests more than 24 hours to visit Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace and the Grand Bazaar.

 

Norwegian Viva’s Cruises to the Mediterranean: Between May and November 2024, NCL's newest ship, Norwegian Viva, offers guests a selection of nine, 10- and 11-day open-jaw voyages cruising the Mediterranean. These unique itineraries feature a different embarkation and disembarkation port in sought-after destinations such as Athens (Piraeus), Greece; Lisbon, Portugal; Venice (Trieste) and Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy, allowing travellers the opportunity to plan an extended holiday either pre- or post-cruise. 

 

Almost No Days at Sea Onboard Norwegian Escape’s Mediterranean Sailings: Norwegian Escape will be the company’s largest vessel in Europe this season at nearly 165,000 gross tons. The ship will homeport in Barcelona, Spain; Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy; and Trieste (Venice), Italy sailing eight- to 10-day roundtrip sailings in the Western Mediterranean calling to a sun-kissed port each day as well as seven- to 11-day open-jaw sailings with stints in Italy, Greece and France with only one day at sea.

 

Additionally, NCL cruises in Europe are already on sale through December 2025 giving guests the chance to plan and book their next European summer getaway early. - TradeArabia News Service