Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has unveiled its 21st vessel - and the next vessel in its Prima Plus Class - Norwegian Luna. Setting sail on April 4, 2026, Norwegian Luna will offer a variety of sunny sailings roundtrip from Miami into the Eastern and Western Caribbean, including visits to Great Stirrup Cay, NCL’s private island in the Bahamas, which will feature a brand-new pier by late 2025.
“For 2025 and 2026, we will have one new ship joining the fleet every year,” Kevin Bubolz, VP & Managing Director - Continental Europe, Middle East & Africa, Norwegian Cruise Line, tells us. Bubolz is referring to Norwegian Luna’s twin sister-ship Norwegian Aqua, which will start sailing in March 2025, also with a variety of itineraries exploring the Caribbean Sea. Both ships are currently being built by renowned Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.
BIGGER, BETTER
At 1,056 feet long, 156,300 gross tons, and accommodating approximately 3,550 guests at double occupancy, Norwegian Luna will boast an overall 10 per cent size and capacity increase from Prima Class ships, Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva.
“Our Prima Class, with its elevated experience, is already very successful, especially in the Middle East. Both Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva offer a lot of space per passenger - open deck spaces and all the cabins are nice, but, of course, the Haven suites are a class apart,” he tells us.
The Norwegian Aqua and Norwegian Luna in NCL’s Prima Plus Class, will be 11 metres longer than the current Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva. “Offering more to guests is an overall theme of our evolution. Norwegian Cruise Line is on a journey to a more elevated product and that’s reflected very well in the new ships that we’re building. We’ve done lots of little tweaks based on guest feedback to our menus, in the various dining rooms, to our entertainment as well.
“There’s going to be new shows and other announcements coming into next year as well,” says Kevin.
Last month, NCL announced a brand-new, immersive Prince tribute show as part of an extensive entertainment programme – including only-on-NCL productions and returning guest favourites - onboard Norwegian Aqua in April 2025.
AVAILABILITY VS LEAD TIME
The Haven deck aboard Norwegian Luna and Norwegian Aqua will have more space and a few more Haven cabins will also be available. “The increased capacity in suites bodes well for availability, because we’ve seen that suites fill up quite fast from other parts of the world and the Middle East misses out because of its late-booking tendency.
“Booking early means you get the nicest Haven suites, also, interconnected suites so the whole family can be next to each other.”
While the Middle East shows some improvement in booking timeline over the years with a current average of 108 days prior to sailing, some markets book on an average 200 days ahead of the sailing – meaning that the choicest cabins may be booked quite early out.
START BOOKING AHEAD
It’s already a bit late to be actively planning for Christmas 2024 sailings as most itineraries will likely have been sold out, especially suites as families tend to travel together for Christmas, Bubolz reminds.
“October is a very good time to start thinking about the next year’s season,” he advises regional agents. “The European season begins quite early in March.”
From the Middle East, about 80 per cent of cruise travellers head to Europe, specifically to the Mediterranean sailings, Bubolz says, not surprisingly. We would like to see a higher share of Middle Eastern travellers explore our other sailings – Asia, for instance, has some interesting itineraries to explore, including Japan in the South Pacific.
“If you want to have a bit of a cool down in the summer, then I personally recommend Alaska, which is not something that really has taken off for us from the Middle East yet, but it’s a fantastic combination, if you go to like Seattle, and then you have a one week cruise up to Alaska, and then maybe you add another week in the USA.”
Alaska itineraries are likely not meeting their maximum potential from the region because of the visa hurdles (as both Canadian and US visas are needed).
SUMMER SUNSHINE
Summer 2024 has been a great one for NCL, compared to the year before. “This summer, we were very well sold early on and so we didn’t have as many last-minute offers within the last 60 or 30 days, compared to previous years.”
“It was a very successful summer with very good prices from our point of view, which means trade partners earned a good commission as well.
“From the Middle East, normally there is a slump, so August is often a very slow month, but none of that this year. I can tell you we’ve had a very good summer of bookings, and the market was really healthy this summer.
“We are very positive, and we will continue to expand our efforts, especially in the GCC region.”
Rebecca Ransom, MEA Business Development Manager at NCL, has been tasked to grow international trade distribution for NCL and successfully keeps NCL top of mind for emerging markets in the Middle East and the GCC. She was spotted last month at the Travel Counsellors Award Ceremony as well as TBO Travel Roadshow, interacting with agents and keeping them up to date on the NCL product.