The Port of St. Maarten has another new vessel that will be calling every Tuesday for the 2014 cruise season, namely Norwegian Getaway which made its inaugural call on today, Tuesday. The Getaway was in port with approximately 3700 passengers and 1600 crew, and St. Maarten was the vessels first port of call.
To welcome the Norwegian Getaway, a delegation boarding the vessel on Tuesday morning was led by Hector Peters, Port of St. Maarten General & Governmental Affairs representative. Peters presented a plaque of the vessel – an engraved photo of the Getaway as it docked at Pier 2 early Tuesday morning – to Captain Rune Myre. Capt. Myre visited the Port of St. Maarten before as Capt. of the Norwegian Dawn. St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies Supervisory Board member Renald Williams observed the plaque exchange and was delighted that another new ship would be calling at the destination.
New vessels calling at the Port will add to the existing fleets of cruise vessels that visit the destination thereby increasing cruise passenger numbers for 2014.
Capt. Myre said he was happy to be back in St. Maarten and thanked Peters for the warm welcome that was extended to him, his passengers and crew, adding that St. Maarten is a great place to be and that all ships should come to the island.
Capt. Myre who will be leaving the Getaway on Saturday also introduced the new Captain who will be taking over, namely Capt. Tommy Stensrud, who has visited the destination before as Capt. of the Norway and Norwegian Sun.
Capt. Stensrud said that St. Maarten had changed a lot over the years especially since he 1993, and was very pleased with the developments in the city, referring to the boardwalk beach promenade and the renovations of Front Street.
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is very proud of its latest addition to its fleet, weighing in at 146,655 gross tonnage. The vessel has a capacity for 4,900 cruise passengers and 1,600 crew and is sailing out of the Port of Miami to the Eastern Caribbean. The vessel was constructed at the German Meyer Werft shipyard.
NCL accepted delivery of its most innovative ship to date on January 10, 2014. Its maiden voyage was on January 16, 2016 out of Southampton, London. The Norwegian Getaway was christened by World Famous Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders on February 7, 2014.
Norwegian Getaway will sail seven-day cruises from Miami to the Eastern Caribbean beginning on February 1, 2014, with ports of call including St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and The Bahamas.
The ship has many new features which cruise passengers will very much welcome besides visiting the beautiful destination of St. Maarten/St. Martin.
Norwegian Getaway features 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.
The inaugural welcome committee comprised of staff from the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies, TELEM and members of the Cabinet of the Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunications.
PHOTO CUTLINE: Left to right: Capt. Tommy Stensrud, Capt. Rune Myre, Hector Peters and the Cruise Director.