''Norwegian Encore'' is a ''Breakaway'' Plus-class

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

operated by

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), also known in short as Norwegian, is an American cruise line founded in 1966, incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Miami. It is the fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling about 8.6 ...

(NCL). She is the fourth ''Breakaway'' Plus-class ship in the fleet, following sister ships ''

Norwegian Bliss ''Norwegian Bliss'' is a cruise ship for Norwegian Cruise Line, which entered service on 21 April 2018. The ship was built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. The ship had a schedule of debuting in Alaska, United States in June 2018, and is ...

'', ''

Norwegian Escape ''Norwegian Escape'' is a ''Breakaway'' Plus-class cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), a subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. She was the fleet's first ''Breakaway'' Plus-class ship to be delivered and was designed with ...

'', and '' Norwegian Joy,'' and debuted in November 2019.

History

Construction and delivery

Planning and construction

On 14 July 2014, NCL announced that it had reached an agreement with

Meyer Werft Meyer Werft is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types have be ...

for a €1.6 billion order of two new ''Breakaway'' Plus-class ships, scheduled for delivery in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Each ship was initially estimated to be approximately and have 4,200 passenger berths. In February 2017, it was announced that the ship scheduled for delivery in 2019 would be designed for the Chinese market, much like her sister ship, '' Norwegian Joy''. However, in January 2018, it was later announced that the ship would instead be designed for the Western market like her other sister ship, ''

''. Construction started with the ship's steel cutting on 31 January 2018, the day her name was also announced as ''Norwegian Encore''. Her keel-laying ceremony was performed on 28 November 2018, accompanied by a performance from the musical '' Kinky Boots''. ''Norwegian Encore'''s float-out was on 17 August 2019 and the ship was towed from the building dock to receive her funnel cladding and further outfitting. The ship began her scheduled conveyance along the Ems towards the

Eemshaven Eemshaven (; en, Ems Harbor) is a seaport in the province of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. In 1968, the Dutch government declared the Ems estuary (Eemsmond) to be an economic key region. One of the key developments for the region ...

for her sea trials on 30 September 2019 and completed it on 1 October.

Delivery and christening

''Norwegian Encore'' was delivered to NCL on 30 October 2019 in

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

. The ship was the 14th and last ship that Meyer Werft has built for NCL. Andy Stuart, then-president and CEO of NCL, announced on ''

The Kelly Clarkson Show ''The Kelly Clarkson Show'' is an American daytime television variety talk show hosted by American singer Kelly Clarkson. It is produced and distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and features Clarkson interviewing celebrities and seg ...

'' on 10 September 2019 that

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

would be the godmother to ''Norwegian'' ''Encore.'' Clarkson performed at the christening ceremony and officially named the vessel on 21 November 2019 in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

prior to the ship's debut in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

on 24 November.

Deployments and operational career

For her inaugural season, ''Norwegian Encore'' held different preview events in Europe, with a preview cruise from Bremerhaven to Southampton, before her inaugural voyage, an 8-day transatlantic sailing between Southampton and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The ship held different preview events in New York and

upon her arrival in North America, prior to her christening and debut. Following her debut in Miami, her deployment covered the Eastern Caribbean through the rest of her inaugural season. ''Norwegian Encore'' was scheduled to homeport in New York in summer 2020 to sail to

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

, the

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

, and

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, before moving back to Miami in winter 2020 to cruise the Western Caribbean. In spring 2021, she was expected to make her first full

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

transit to be deployed to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

for her first summer

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

season. However, in March 2020, at the start of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, NCL suspended all sailings. After the last passengers had disembarked from ''Norwegian Encore'' following this suspension, it was reported that several crew members had become sick and one who had already disembarked was later diagnosed with the

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

. By early October 2020, the ''Norwegian Encore'' was reported at anchor in

Weymouth Bay Weymouth Bay is a sheltered bay on the south coast of England, in Dorset. It is protected from erosion by Chesil Beach and the Isle of Portland, and includes several beaches, notably Weymouth Beach, a gently curving arc of golden sand which str ...

, off the south coast of England. On 18 October, she arrived at the

Port of Southampton The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. The port has been owned and op ...

, where she docked alongside the City Cruise Terminal.

Design and specifications

''Norwegian Encore'' has an overall length of , moulded beam and maximum draft . The ship has gross tonnage of and deadweight of . ''Norwegian Encore'' has 20 decks, 2,043 staterooms and capacity for 4,004 passengers at double occupancy. ''Norwegian Encore'' has five main engines with total output power of . The vessel has two MAN B&W 14V48/60CR, each with power of and three MAN B&W 12V48/60CR, each with power of . The propulsion system is two ABB Azipod XO units with total power of 40 MW, which allows service speed of 22.5 kts, while the maximum speed during trials exceeds 25.0 kts. The engines are equipped with scrubbers and a heat recovery system for improved energy efficiency.

References

External links

* {{Norwegian Cruise Line 2019 ships Ships built in Papenburg Ships of Norwegian Cruise Line