NCL new entertainment on the JADE

NCL Introduces New Entertainment on Norwegian Jade
Published on: April 25, 2008

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has introduced new entertainment on Norwegian Jade as part of the ship's year-round deployment in Europe. The new entertainment includes four off-Broadway musicals, the show "Tony n' Tina's Wedding," an expanded "The Second City" comedy show, and a classical dance production by choreographer Twyla Tharp.

In addition, Norwegian Jade is the first NCL ship to feature Freestyle 2.0 enhancements, including new menus in the restaurants, upgraded bedding and enhanced activities programming, including NCL "U" enrichment classes, themed parties, sports programming and enhanced youth programs. On Norwegian Jade, NCL has replaced the traditional cruise director with both a master of ceremonies and a guest activities director. The master of ceremonies is a professional entertainer who hosts all evening events while the guest activities director coordinates the ship's daytime activities. In addition, the entertainment scheduling has been changed to allow guests more flexibility and choice each evening. The nighttime production shows are offered twice per cruise, but only one performance per evening, in contrast to the traditional offering of one production show being offered twice per night. In addition, most evenings there is a second show that includes acrobatics, action comedy and magic. All shows are performed live with the accompaniment of the Norwegian Jade orchestra.

Norwegian Jade's new Freestyle Entertainment includes "Smokey Joe's Café, The Songs of Leiber and Stoller"; "SHOUT! The Mod Musical"; "And the World Goes ‘Round: The Songs of Kander & Ebb"; "Showdown," a mock reality singing competition; "Sinatra Suite," a two-dancer ballet choreographed by Tharp; "The Second City International Cabaret," a seven-member improvisational group; "Tony n' Tina's Wedding" about a traditional Italian-American wedding with audience members as guests; and "Bar Central," a piano lounge. New Freestyle 2.0 activites include NCL "U", which includes offerings focused on four areas: Digital Age & Technology; Destination Education; Food, Wine and Spirits; and Comedy & Humor. Guests can choose seminars such as digital photography, destination discovery overviews, mojito making, tequila tasting, French pastry making, 30-minute Italian meals, corporate world improv tips, and improv for kids. Guests can party to the wee hours with two new themed nighttime parties: NCL's White Hot Night and NCL's Monte Carlo Night. Held in the Spinnaker Lounge on Norwegian Jade, the White Hot Night is a dance party where guests are asked to wear white. Monte Carlo Night is held in the casino. Outside on deck, guests are treated to sailaway parties throughout the cruise. Drink flags have been added on all deck chairs with witty sayings such as "I'm unwinding. (Please don't make me walk to the bar)." In addition, cold towels are delivered regularly throughout the day, and crew members are equipped with Evian spritzers to cool off guests. All new sports activities have been designed to make the sports deck more interactive. These activities include basketball tournaments, fitness classes such as body sculpting and stretch-and-relax, scheduled walks with the activities staff, and scheduled shuffleboard, table tennis and human-sized chess games. Kid's Crew hours have been expanded and run from 9 am through to 10:30 pm on both port and sea days. As part of Freestyle 2.0, table games, Nintendo Wii and Xbox video game consoles have been added to the Teen Lounge.