PHOTO: Celebrity Chef Geoffrey Zakarian created the Ocean Blue restaurant, pictured above on Norwegian Getaway. (Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line)
Norwegian Cruise Line is parting ways with another high-profile partner - celebrity Chef Geoffrey Zakarian, who developed the Ocean Blue specialty restaurants on the Norwegian Breakaway and Getaway.
Earlier this month, the line revealed it was ending a partnership with Nickelodeon, so the children's programming will end on Norwegian Epic in October and on the remaining four ships beginning in January. It also will not appear on the new Norwegian Escape, which is due out in November.
"As we continue to create fresh, new dining concepts and bring exciting, new Broadway entertainment for our guests, it means we are saying goodbye to some great partnerships such as Blue Man Group, Nickelodeon and Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian," the company wrote in the latest Latitudes magazine for past guests.
TravelPulse reached out to Norwegian to see why the Zakarian partnership ended, but didn't hear back. But it's clear the line is changing a lot about its onboard cuisine.
In recent months, Norwegian has eliminated some specialty restaurant cover charges in favor of per-item pricing. It also made the dining packages more flexible, so instead of having to dine at specialty restaurants every night of the cruise, guests can choose, say, three or four nights, during a seven-night voyage. The company also eliminated cover charges at Asian restaurants on 11 ships and implemented a $7.95 room service delivery charge.
Also, effective Aug. 1, Norwegian is increasing its recommended service charges to $13.50 per person, per day, for passengers booked in any staterooms up to a mini-suite and $15.50 for those in suites.
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