The Port of St. Maarten on Friday will welcome another cruise vessel as the latest edition to the cruise industry; the Norwegian Getaway visits the destination for the 2014 cruise season.
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) took delivery of the 146,600 gross tonnage Getaway mid-November 2013. The vessel carries 4,000 cruise passengers and 1,600 crew and will sail out of the Port of Miami to the Eastern Caribbean. The vessel is 1063 feet long and 130 feet wide. The Norwegian Getaway was built at the German Meyer Werft shipyard.
Norwegian Getaway is similar to its sister ship Norwegian Breakaway. The vessel will dazzle guests with the excitement of 678 Ocean Place and The Waterfront, a variety of interconnected indoor and outdoor venues on three dynamic decks.
New vessels calling at the Port will add to the existing fleets of cruise vessels that visit the destination thereby increasing cruise passenger numbers. In 2013 the Port of St. Maarten surpassed the cruise record of 2012 where the destination catered to 1.785.670 million cruise passengers.
Port management of the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies is looking forward to welcoming another new vessel to the Port of St. Maarten on Friday. The ship has many new features which cruise passengers will very much welcome besides visiting the beautiful destination of St. Maarten/St. Martin.
"Norwegian Cruise Line is an important cruise partner for destination St. Maarten. The cruise line has been an innovator in cruise travel and has a 47-year history of breaking the boundaries of traditional cruising. The destination looks forward to welcoming the cruise passengers and crew to our country," Chief Executive Officer of the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies Mark Mingo said on Wednesday.
Norwegian Getaway will sail seven-day cruises from Miami to the Eastern Caribbean with ports of call including St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and The Bahamas.
Norwegian Getaway will feature a dazzling display of fireworks on every cruise. As guests dance the night away under the stars in the open-air Spice H20 venue at the aft of the ship, a mesmerizing color-filled fireworks show will light up the night sky, right above the ship. The fully-produced show is a visual masterpiece that is set to music, creating an incredible finale to the cruise.
Aqua Park is one of Norwegian’s biggest features, a five multi-story water slide. Norwegian Getaway and her sister-ship, Norwegian Breakaway, are the first cruise ships to feature the Free Fall two side-by-side slides where guests will stand up and have the floor drop from underneath, propelling them into a thrilling loop. Offering another first with a twist are two additional side-by-side twister slides called The Whip – that deliver an unforgettable adrenaline rush as they plunge guests on a spiral race to the finish line.
PHOTO CUTLINE: Norwegian Getaway