NCL Freestyle Cruising

Refreshingly different holidays

Wiesbaden 2009 – Hardly any rules, nothing compulsory, a holiday at sea according to your own preferences and wishes, with new inspirations every day – these associations hardly come to one’s mind when thinking about cruising, but it is exactly what NCL Freestyle Cruising is all about. This innovative way of cruising developed by the cruise line NCL challenges the conventional model of cruise holidays and is designed to meet the changing needs of today’s cruise passengers. Freestyle Cruising is characterized in particular by having no fixed dining times, no formal dress codes, up to thirteen different restaurants, a great variety of lounges, bars, theatres and other entertainment and activity options as well as a relaxed disembarkation.

On May 28, 2000 NCL ushered in a new era of cruising when it introduced Freestyle Cruising aboard Norwegian Sky. In 2001, NCL implemented its innovative cruise concept on all of its ships. Beginning with Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Star in 2001, all six ships to follow have been purpose-built for NCL Freestyle Cruising. In addition, the cruise line already laid the foundation for its third generation of Freestyle Cruising ship. Under the project name “F3”, the vessel of this new generation will be build in the Aker Yard S. A. in France. It will incorporate a world of new features and will be a further development of the company’s progressive dismantling of the structures, regimentations, and constraints of the traditional cruise experience.

As the transaction between NCL and Apollo Management was completed, the cruise line announced its “Freestyle 2.0” fleet wide initiative featuring significant enhancements in its on-board product that will further improve the guest experience. The enhancements have been implemented in summer 2008.

Elements of Freestyle Cruising

Freestyle Dining

On board the NCL Freestyle Cruising fleet, guests find up to thirteen different restaurants without set dining times and opening hours from 5:30 pm to midnight (seating until 10:30 pm) Thus, they can choose when, where and with whom to dine. In fact, if guests prefer, they can dine in a different restaurant each night of their cruise. Should guests however prefer to dine at the same table and/or at the same time every evening, respective reservations may be arranged on board. NCL’s new ships feature a restaurant seating guide, displayed on flat-screen televisions placed in key areas on the ship. They show each restaurant’s current occupancy status as well as possible waiting times. If a restaurant is fully occupied at a certain time and guests would like to wait for an opening, they will get a pager that works all over the ship and will be informed as soon as the table is available.

Freestyle Accommodation

Aboard the NCL Freestyle Cruising fleet, guests can choose from a wide range of stateroom categories to suite every taste and budget. Available stateroom categories include for example well-appointed inside staterooms for price-conscious customers, oceanview staterooms with private balcony as well as the largest and most luxurious suite complex at sea. This includes the unique Courtyard Villas which have access to a private Courtyard, swimming pool and sun deck as well as two Garden Villas, featuring three separate bedrooms, bathrooms and a living room. Both offer butler- and concierge service.

Freestyle Attire

Resort casual sums up life on board. For those who like to dress up a little bit, there is one designated restaurant with a more elegant ambiance available on every ship.

Freestyle Service

With up to one crewmember per stateroom, NCL provides the highest crew-to-guest ration in its class. These large numbers of crewmembers guarantee a high service level and enable the cruise line to offer longer opening hours of the many public rooms and restaurants according to the NCL Freestyle Cruising concept.

Freestyle Experiences

Together with extensive sport and wellness facilities, NCL also offers a varied entertainment programme. Components include everything from computer and cooking classes to yoga and shore excursions with mountain biking or horseback riding. For guests who want to stay in contact with those at home, NCL pioneered with the industry’s first internet access on the high seas in 1999 which now is a fleet wide standard. NCL was also the first cruise line to provide remote wireless Internet access (Wi Fi) to its guests and in 2006, became the first cruise line to offer cell phone service fleet wide.

Freestyle Family

With NCL Freestyle Family, children between two and seventeen years cruise at the child fare from Euro 99,-. The new ships of the NCL fleet feature family-friendly cabin comfort with interconnecting doors in just about every category as well as suites with multiple sleeping rooms to accommodate families of every size. NCL’s complimentary Kid’s Crew and Teen’s Crew programme offer one of the most extensive entertainments for girls and boys aged two to 17 with specially trained counsellors. Children facilities aboard the NCL fleet include a separate kids’ pool, kids’ fun area and separate sections in the restaurants.

Freestyle Disembarkation

NCL´s guest-friendly disembarkation system allows guests to enjoy the final morning of their cruise and depart the ship at their leisure until 10 o’clock. Furthermore in some ports, we offer "Express Disembarkation". This means guests can leave the ship as soon as it is cleared by local authorities, carrying their own luggage off the vessel.

About NCL

NCL Corporation Ltd. is an internationally operating cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida. NCL (Bahamas) Ltd., Wiesbaden Office is the responsible branch office for the Continental European market.

In 2000, NCL introduced Freestyle Cruising – an innovative way of cruising, which offers passengers a maximum of individuality, freedom and flexibility on board. With NCL, set dinner sittings, formal dress codes and other traditional cruise rules are simply left at the pier.

Today, NCL has the youngest fleet among the world’s leading North American cruise lines. Three of its eleven purpose-built Freestyle Cruising ships are deployed in Europe in the 2009/10 season. NCL is presently building Norwegian Epic, a new third generation Freestyle Cruising ship, for delivery in 2010.

In October 2008, the cruise line received the World Travel Award as “Europe’s Leading Cruise Line”.

High resolution, downloadable images are available at www.ncl.com.
For information and images of the new F3 ships visit www.f3.ncl.eu

Further information at:

NCL (Bahamas) Ltd., Wiesbaden Office
Continental Europe Branch
Kreuzberger Ring 68, 65205 Wiesbaden, Germany

France
Phone: +49 1805 62 55 27 (€ 0,14/min. from landline network*)
Fax: +49 611 36 07 099

Other European countries
Phone: 00800 03 10 21 21 (toll-free from landline network*)
Fax: 00800 0310 21 22 (toll-free from landline network*)
*Rates differ for calls from mobile network.

E-mail: info-europe@ncl.com