Getaway introduced in New York, but thoughts drift to warm Miami

By Arnie Weissmann

ABOARD THE NORWEGIAN GETAWAY — The frigid January weather in New York has kept most industry guests and media away from the Norwegian Getaway's distinctive outdoor attractions during the ship's inaugural sailing.

Few took advantage of the open-air dining on Waterfront, let alone the ropes course, water park with slides or other top-decks attractions.

The ship is a structural clone of its older sister, the Breakaway, which debuted last year, and having the passengers stay largely indoors kept them focused on the shifting of emphasis from themes of New York, where Breakaway homeports, to Miami, where the Getaway will be based.

“I like the subtle touches of Miami,” said Karen Giantomasi, client services supervisor for the online travel agency Cruise Direct International Voyager. “The mojitos in place of Champagne, Cuban food at the buffet.”

But many travel counselors said the shift in geographic emphasis inside really just supports the biggest change of all — that this ship will soon have a southern point of departure.

Although Wendi Randal of Liberty Travel in Pittsburgh doesn’t have clients in either homeport, the cold weather emphasized to her the importance of having a warm gateway. “You want [clients] to be able to try everything that’s outside, and you don’t want the weather to hinder that.”

One discerning couple didn’t mind at all that, other than the tweaking of restaurant and bar themes, the interiors were virtually identical. Sitting quietly and unnoticed at a side table at Sugarcane Mojito Bar off the atrium was Craig Cannonier, premier of Bermuda, and his wife Antoinette. 

He had been aboard during the inauguration of the Breakaway (which sails to Bermuda), and on this sailing was again in a suite in the Haven, the private area atop the ship which caters to upscale travelers.

“We’ve broken away, we’ve gotten away, next we’ll stay away — stay away from land,” he said. (He said he wasn’t worried about competition for Bermuda from cruising, and believes that port visits ultimately lead to subsequent longer land stays.)

As for the lack of differences — he did notice that “here, you have a mermaid painted on the outside” — he was sanguine. “They took a model that worked and built another. Why do something else? It’s not the same itinerary, so why not build a replica that works and take it to another destination?”

“We’ll bring our family aboard [the Breakaway] on our next vacation, down to our 3-year-old grandchild,” added Antoinette. “They do a good job.”

Cruise Ships Hired as Hotels- Could this past event be the reason for the Getaway Charter?

Cruise Ships Hired as Hotels

Norwegian Getaway chartered, inaugural cruise canceled

The Jacksonville Host Committee chose Landry & Kling to source cruise ship charters for Super Bowl 2005 because the city’s inventory of nearby hotel rooms fell short of NFL requirements. (6,000 people)

Ship selection was a complex process due to environmental and technical requirements, physical impediments for ships approaching the berthing points, unbundling of meal pricing and other modifications of ship service. Most challenging: however—how would Jacksonville accommodate 5 ships with only 1 passenger terminal?

“Using Five Cruise Ships as Super Bowl Hotels”

By Brendan M. Lynch, Meetings and Conventions Magazine

EVENT: The National Football League’s Super Bowl XXXIX, the New England Patriots vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, Feb. 6, 2005, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.

PLANNER: Joyce Landry, president and CEO of Landry & Kling, Meetings at Sea, a Miami-based company specializing in planning business events on cruise ships. Landry has worked as a planner since co-founding the company in 1982.

CHALLENGE: Because Jacksonville was the smallest municipality ever to bid for the Super Bowl, the pitch for the mega-event hinged upon the idea of using cruise ships on the city’s St. Johns River to supplement the local hotel room inventory. “The host committee wanted to have the ships operate like floating hotels, so corporate sponsors could move ship to ship and have freedom and flexibility,” says Landry. “Also, they wanted to allow the general public and sponsors from other hotels to come on board and use the ships as a venue.

Once Jacksonville won the chance to host the big game, it was up to Landry & Kling to attend to all the details of arranging for the ships.

SOLUTION: First, Landry had to determine what size cruise ships could be accommodated on the river. “We had so many bridges and overhead electric wires, we had to limit the height of the boats. Then we had to make sure they fit the depth and length of the docking facility,” she says.

It took a full year to identify and contract five appropriate vessels: Three ships came from Holland America Line, and one each from Carnival and Radisson Seven Seas. Together, the ships offered 3,667 deluxe and luxury rooms, 35 bars, 25 entertainment venues, 15 restaurants and five spas. More than 50 corporate sponsors of the game held 60-plus events, all coordinated through Landry & Kling.

“You can imagine that, in this new world, there was a multilevel approach to security,” says Landry. “We had to satisfy federal and state agencies, plus the Coast Guard and the Jacksonville sheriff’s office.”

Another challenge: to make sure the cruise ships would have no negative environmental impact. The vessels were hooked up to city utilities for water and electricity, so there were zero emissions.

In the end, the creative plan worked well. “People see the teamwork that takes place on the field and often miss the teamwork that is off the field,” Landry says. “It’s invisible. That’s what we’re proudest of — the ability to pull it off seamlessly.”