Norwegian Cruise Line celebrated the maiden voyage of the ship “Norwegian Epic” from the port of Haifa, which was chosen as the company’s home port. On board the ship you will find 16 restaurants, a casino, a discotheque, duty-free shops, a climbing wall, pools and a water park, and company officials promise that this is just the beginning
Published on: 16.11.22 18:10
The port of Haifa, and this is already a fact, is firmly on the tourism map of the international cruise ship companies. Yesterday (Tuesday) Norwegian Cruise Line celebrated its maiden voyage from the port. NCL operates in the field of cruises, and the ship “Norwegian Epic” became the first of the company’s 18 ships to dock at the port of Haifa.
“Norwegian Epic” is not the largest ship that docked in Haifa, but it is the only ship that arrived in Israel with about 4,000 passengers on board who all disembarked, and their place was taken by about 4,100 other passengers who went on an 11-day cruise in five countries – Israel, Cyprus , Greece, Turkey and Italy.
The weight of “Norwegian Epic” is 155,873 tons, its length is 329 meters, and it carries 4,100 passengers on board. It has 16 restaurants, a casino, a discotheque, luxury duty-free shops, a climbing wall, pools and a water park with slides and a plank course (a tube bowl slide four stories above the deck and nearly 200 meters long). Guests will enjoy international performances, including award-winning shows from Broadway.
The premium complex “The Haven” underwent an extensive renovation at the end of 2020, and it has 75 upgraded and designed suites, a restaurant and a pool. In fact, “Norwegian Epic” is the company’s first ship to introduce in 2010 the luxury concept of a ship-within-a-ship with dedicated private services for guests of the complex, luxury accommodation units, concierge service and personal butler, and it offers one of the largest premium complexes in the fleet of NCL.
“Norwegian Epic” will return to Haifa in December 2023, and then in March and October 2024, after renovations in South America, and will offer cruises of ten, 11 and 12 days with moorings in Ashdod, Limassol, Rhodes, Patmos, Piraeus, Naples, Livorno, Venice, Trieste, Civitavecchia and Split.
The water park on board “Norwegian Epic” (Photo: Hagit Hornstein)
To mark the historic moment, a traditional plate exchange ceremony was held on board the ship with the participation of the Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Tourism Kobi Breda and the Regional Vice President of NCL for Israel, the Middle East and Africa Nick Wilkinson, who said: “The Israeli market is very important to us, and we know that our Israeli guests long for it A long time to board our ship in the port of Haifa. We are pleased to offer guests this opportunity, which marks the beginning of a long-standing partnership between NCL and the region. Moreover, we are happy to announce that our newest ship in the premium class – ‘Norwegian Viva’ – will also dock in Haifa in 2025, and this confirms the importance of the Israeli market for NCL.”
The ceremony on board the ship “Norwegian Epic” (Photo: Moshe Maoz)
“Norwegian Viva”, which is NCL’s newest ship and the second in its premium class, will offer cruises from Istanbul, Haifa and Piraeus starting in the summer of 2025. The cruises will last nine and ten days in Mediterranean ports, including Athens, Mykonos and Santorini in Greece, Kusadasi in Turkey and Alexandria and Port Said in Egypt. Similar to its sister ship “Norwegian Prima”, “Norwegian Viva” will also boast the prestigious complex “The Haven” with an ultra-premium card that allows access only to guests of the complex, as well as additional experiences including Indulge Food Hall – a food complex of 11 restaurants, free diving on slides continents, and three tracks for car races.
NCL was founded 54 years ago, and today, as mentioned, its fleet numbers 18 ships that sail to more than 300 destinations around the world, including the company’s private island in the Bahamas (Great Stirrup Cay) and the company’s exclusive vacation destination in Belize (Harvest Caye).