The first piece of steel has been cut at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany for the construction of Norwegian Escape, the first of two new Breakaway Plus Class ships for Norwegian Cruise Line.
The ship is set for delivery in the autumn of 2015. The first plate of steel was cut by a plasma torch and will become part of Block 46 that will comprise the new vessel. It will be the largest ship in Norwegian Cruise Line's fleet and the fifteenth ship built by Meyer Werft within the last fifteen years.
Hull Artwork
At Cruise Shipping Miami earlier this month, Norwegian announced that Norwegian Escape will homeport year-round in Miami following its delivery in late 2015 and sail a seven-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary starting November 14, 2015; visiting Tortola, British Virgin Islands; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and Nassau, Bahamas.
Norwegian also announced that famed marine wildlife artist and champion of ocean conservation Guy Harvey has designed the ship’s signature hull artwork which features an underwater scene of marine wildlife.
Breakaway Plus Class Ships
Norwegian’s two Breakaway Plus class ships, Norwegian Escape and Norwegian Bliss, will be approximately 163,000 gross tons and offer 4200 passenger berths. The ships were named by Norwegian’s Facebook fans around the globe. Norwegian Escape will be given the samen innovative features found on Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway, plus a number of new spaces and interactive experiences that are yet to be announced.
