PHOTO: Food Republic is a new dining concept set to debut on Norwegian Escape. (courtesy Norwegian Cruise Line)
Norwegian Cruise Line will provide some completely new dining and entertainment experiences onboard its new Norwegian Escape, set to debut in November 2015. During a lunch onboard Norwegian Breakaway in New York City, the line said its largest ship, which will sail out of Miami, will include a number of new culinary experiences as well as two Tony Award-winning musicals and a new Supper Club.
Top culinary experiences are being developed by James Beard Award-winning Iron Chef Jose Garces and Miami restaurateurs Jose Mendin, Andreas Schreiner and Sergio Navarro of The Pubbelly Restaurant Group. The ship also will feature two new beverage concepts, The District Brewhouse, featuring craft beers from Wynwood Brewing Company, and The Cellars, a Michael Mondavi Family Wine Bar.
New shows will include Tony Award-winning Broadway musicals After Midnight and Million Dollar Quartet, along with a new supper club concept exclusive to Norwegian Escape called Dear John Hughes, created by For The Record and featuring classic soundtracks from director John Hughes motion pictures in a 360-degree cabaret and dinner experience.
"With Norwegian Escape, we are transforming culinary experiences at sea and continuing our legacy of innovation that has revolutionized dining in the cruise industry," said Drew Madsen, Norwegian's new president and chief operating officer.
Jose Garces Restaurants: Chef Jose Garces, also a winner of the Iron Chef contest, will launch two specialty restaurants, his first at sea, onboard Norwegian Escape. With 11 restaurants from Philadelphia to Phoenix, Garces creates Latin-inspired cuisine, ranging from classic Mexican dishes to Cuban specialties. Onboard Norwegian Escape, he will debut Bayamo by Jose Garces, which will highlight Latin dishes with a heavy Cuban-influence in a chic dining room and al fresco on The Waterfront area of the ship.
Dishes will feature the flavors of Latin America with Spanish influences, such as Berenjenas, roasted eggplant with tomato rice and a saffron emulsion, and Bacalao Carbonizado, black cod with a squid ink glaze, saffron, and tomato and chorizo rice, among others.
Pincho Tapas Bar by Jose Garces will offer traditional Spanish tapas a` la carte in a casual setting. Plates will be prepared on an authentic la plancha grill right at the bar in front of guests and will feature Latin dishes including Tortilla Espanola (Spanish omelet), Boquerones (white anchovies with pine nuts), and Jamo´n Ibe´rico (specialty ham imported from Spain).
Sugarcane Mojito Bar, which is on other Norwegian ships, will complete the space and serve as an entry to Bayamo. Guests who wish to have a cocktail before dinner can settle into the tropical setting, enjoy live Latin music, and select from more than 10 different mojitos and rum-based cocktails.
Food Republic: This new concept for Norwegian will be a modern, upscale food emporium from the Pubbelly Restaurant Group featuring global cuisine for sampling and sharing. Guests dining in the Food Republic can order small plates, with flavors ranging from Asia to Central Europe and the Mediterranean, all available a` la carte.
Food Republic is being developed by some of the hottest restaurateurs in Miami, partners Jose Mendin, Andreas Schreiner and Sergio Navarro, who together have opened six eateries in the city over the past three years. Mendin has been recognized as a semi-finalist for Best Chef South by the James Beard Foundation for three consecutive years, and has been nominated as People's Best New Chef by Food & Wine magazine.
Open for lunch through dinner, Food Republic's menu will include dates with chorizo featuring smoked bacon, spicy tomato and goat cheese crema; Japanese Amberjack with lemongrass romesco, charred tomato and hazelnuts; and Black Truffle braised shortrib dumplings, with white corn soy, red shiso leaf, and grana padano.
Guests can choose what they want, when they want it, using an iPad ordering system. With a simple swipe of their key card, food is prepared to order and brought directly to the guest's table.
District Brew House: This is a hip, urban craft beer hall developed in partnership with Miami's Wynwood Brewing Company. It will feature a keg room, 24 draft beers on tap and more than 50 different bottled beers, Wynwood Brewing Company is known for its signature brew, La Rubia Blonde Ale. Along with La Rubia, the District will also serve an all-new brew from Wynwood Brewing Company that will be available only on Norwegian Escape.
The District Brew House will also offer a menu of gastropub-style plates for snacking that will complement the beer and beverage offerings, including handcrafted cocktails from Bar Lab's James Beard Award-nominated mixologists Gabriel Orta and Elad Zvi. Guests sampling the District's offerings will also be entertained with interactive nightlife and sing-alongs of everyone's favorite tunes, as well as a traditional photo booth, where guests can add their photo to the District's pin board and leave their mark.
PHOTO: The new Suppler Club on the ship will feature an immersion into the films of John Hughes.
The Cellars: This Michael Mondavi Family Wine Bar will be Norwegian's first wine bar in partnership with the Michael Mondavi Family. It will feature an array of immersive wine experiences, focusing on tasting, education and the enjoyment of wine, accompanied by small plates and tapas available a` la carte. The curated wine list features 35 grape varietals, including top selections from Tuscany's Ornellaia and Michael Mondavi's own Napa Valley Estate. The Wine Bar will offer an indoor tasting room and 180-degree ocean views at the outdoor wine bar on The Waterfront.
Carlo's Bake Shop: Just like on Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway, Norwegian Escape will feature Carlo's Bake Shop by Buddy Valastro, star of TLC's "Cake Boss" and "Next Great Baker." The shop features famous cannolis, lobster tails, tiramisu, plus a variety of other unique cakes, cupcakes and Italian cookies, all be available a` la carte for guests.
After Midnight: Norwegian Escape will feature "After Midnight," the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, in the Escape Theater. Winner of the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Astaire Awards for Best Choreography, After Midnight, which recently completed its run on Broadway, combines the big-band songs of Duke Ellington, an onstage jazz band, and the best dancing from Broadway. A cast of singers, dancers and tappers will bring Harlem's Cotton Club to life. After Midnight on Norwegian Escape will be presented by special arrangement with Scott Sanders Productions.
Million Dollar Quartet: Also showing in the Escape Theater following a successful run on Broadway and currently touring nationally as well as performing in Las Vegas, Million Dollar Quartet is the hit musical inspired by the famed recording session that brought together rock 'n' roll icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the first and only time. On Dec. 4, 1956, these four young musicians gathered at Sun Records in Memphis for what would be one of the greatest jam sessions ever.
Million Dollar Quartet brings that legendary night to life, featuring a score of rock hits including "Blue Suede Shoes," "Fever," "Great Balls of Fire," "Walk the Line," and more. This musical will bring guests inside the recording studio with four major talents who came together as a red-hot rock 'n' roll band for one unforgettable night.
Dear John Hughes: In a new concept exclusive to Norwegian Escape, the Supper Club has been re-imagined for a dinner and show developed by For The Record, a critically acclaimed Hollywood night that celebrates classic soundtracks of motion picture masters in a one-of-a kind 360-degree post-modern cabaret.
Guests will spend an evening being entertained by a mashed-up retrospective of the John Hughes' coming of age 1980's teen films, such as "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," "Weird Science," "Pretty In Pink" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
Headliners Comedy Club: Expanding a successful run that began on Norwegian Getaway, Headliners Comedy Club will offer up the nation's top comedians through the line's expanded partnership with Levity Entertainment Group, one of the world's largest producer of live comedy. Levity employs more than 300 artists nationwide each week, including Daniel Tosh, Amy Shumer and Jeff Dunham.
Norwegian Escape's dining and entertainment also will include outposts of several popular land-based outlets, including the first-ever floating Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant and 5 O'Clock Somewhere Bar, a music venue and outdoor bar on The Waterfront that will feature live nightly performances. The ships will also feature Miami's oldest and most legendary bar, Tobacco Road.
Other features include largest ropes course at sea, a three-story multiplex complete with two walk-the-plank experiences and five Sky Rails, as well as zip tracks that allow guests to soar through the air. Norwegian Escape's Aqua Park will be the largest at sea and includes a new Aqua Racer slide, while the expansive sports complex, including a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle miniature golf course.
The ship will also feature an expanded Kids' Aqua Park; entertainment from Nickelodeon, the No. 1 entertainment brand for kids; along with the line's first dedicated nursery for young cruisers two and under.
Mandara Spa will feature the line's first snow room and the largest Thermal Suite at sea, with 17 heated loungers, hydro-therapy pool, whirlpools, steam room, dry sauna, samarium and salt room. In addition to the spa, adults will have two private lounge spaces to enjoy onboard at Vibe Beach Club and Spice H2O, which will feature an all-new grotto area where guests can cool off after a day of sunbathing.
Accommodations include The Haven, the line's luxury ship-within-a-ship complex, along with Studios, designed and priced for solo travelers; as well as many options for families, multi-generational groups, spa enthusiasts and more.
Norwegian Escape, currently being built at Meyer Werft in Papenberg, Germany, will sail weekly seven-day cruises year-round from Miami to the Eastern Caribbean beginning on Nov. 14, 2015. The 164,600 gross-ton ship will be the largest ever to home port year-round in Miami, carrying 4,200 guests double occupancy to such Caribbean destinations as St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Tortola, British Virgin Islands and Nassau, Bahamas.
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