By
Rebecca Gibson |
Meyer Werft cut the first piece of steel for Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Breakaway Plus-class newbuild Norwegian Escape at its Papenburg yard in Germany on 20 March.
The ceremony was attended by representatives from Norwegian and Meyer Werft and marked the start of Norwegian Escape’s construction phase.
“Norwegian Escape will be tenth ship that Meyer Werft has built for Norwegian within the last 15 years and this one is very special, because of the dimensions of approximately 163,000 gt and the many new innovations onboard,” said Bernard Meyer, managing partner at the yard.
Named by the operator’s Facebook fans, Norwegian Escape is the first of Norwegian’s two 4,200-passenger Breakaway Plus-class ships. Both Norwegian Escape and her sister ship Norwegian Bliss will offer many of the innovative features found onboard Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway, which were launched in April 2013 and February 2104 respectively. The two ships will also offer a number of other new features, which are yet to be announced.
At Cruise Shipping Miami earlier this month, Norwegian revealed that renowned marine wildlife artist and ocean conservationist Guy Harvey has designed the newbuild’s hull artwork, which will feature an extensive underwater scene.
“Norwegian Escape will be the largest ship in our fleet and will continue our legacy of innovation,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian’s CEO. “Cutting the first piece of steel for Norwegian Escape marks the official start of construction for this remarkable ship. We are eagerly anticipating her delivery in October of 2015.”
Following her launch in October 2015, Norwegian Escape will homeport year-round at PortMiami and offer a seven-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary visiting Tortola, British Virgin Islands; St Thomas, US Virgin Islands; and Nassau, Bahamas from 14 November.