I was among the lucky media invited on a shipyard visit of Norwegian Aqua with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) in Venice last week.
As a massive cruise fan, I was excited to see the behind-the-scenes of a cruise ship and learn about the building process.
We arrived in Venice and were transferred to Hotel Excelsior, a 5* oceanfront hotel. This hotel was home to the Venice film festival the previous week, so I wondered if I was staying in a room that a celebrity had stayed in. The hotel was built in 1906 and maintains a historic charm throughout.
The next morning, we had the opportunity to experience Venice, with a tour to Murano and Burano. We stopped at the Ferro and Lazzarini glass factory and enjoyed a wine tasting and lunch at Venissa Winery. Venissa was founded in 2002 when Gianluca Bisol discovered a small vineyard in a garden near the Santa Maria Assunta Basilica, the oldest church in Venice, situated on the island of Torcello. Ferro and Lazzarini glass factory was founded in 1929 by Eugenio Ferro and Giovanni Lazzarini. The glass factory has remained in the family business and we had the opportunity to watch glass being made.
An Evening of Celebration
On Tuesday evening, NCL hosted media and trade for a welcome dinner, with NCLH President and CEO Harry Sommer and NCL President David Herrera in attendance. This evening was filled with celebration for Norwegian Aqua, and a big announcement of the next ship Norwegian Luna. Some of the new onboard experiences were brought to life with a special performance from the new Prince Tribute ‘Revolution: A Celebration of Prince‘ that will be onboard Norwegian Aqua when it launches next April.
The brand-new and immersive Prince tribute show, ‘Revolution: A Celebration of Prince,‘ developed in partnership with Prince Legacy, LLC and Primary Wave Music, will honour and celebrate the Oscar winning, seven-time Grammy Award-winning and 38-time Grammy nominated artist during a concert-like experience featuring the music icon’s chart-topping hits, including “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Little Red Corvette,” “Delirious,” “Purple Rain,” and more. Read more about this show here.
Of course, the big news of the evening, well timed with the full moon, was the announcement of the new NCL ship Norwegian Luna. Norwegian Luna is the next evolution of NCL’s Prima Plus Class and will be 10% bigger than Norwegian Aqua, which is already 10% bigger than Viva and Prima. Norwegian Luna is open for sale and guests can choose from a variety of fun-in-the-sun voyages sailing roundtrip from Miami beginning April 4, 2026, through November 2026.
Visiting Fincantieri
The next morning, we were up bright and early for the shipyard visit of Norwegian Aqua in Fincantieri shipyard. Upon arrival, we were kitted out with safety gear, hard hats and steel-toe shoes. The tour was led by Nelson Martins, Regional Vice President – Fleet Hotel Operations Strategic Initiatives.
Norwegian Aqua is 10% bigger than Prima and Viva with a guest capacity of 3,571 and with the ship split into five safety zones, they extended between zones three and five to allow for bigger restaurant space. The biggest change on the ship, is the new Aqua Slidecoaster, instead of a racetrack. This included experience is the world’s first hybrid rollercoaster and waterslide at sea.
A new two-story duplex suite in the Haven offers guests the ultimate luxury onboard. There are more restaurants onboard with the launch of ‘Sukhothai’ a new upscale Thai restaurant, ‘Planterie’ a dedicated plant-based venue and a new ‘Swirl Wine Bar’. They’ve also moved some of the bars and restaurants, based on guest feedback, to enhance the guest experience and ensure a seamless flow to the ship.
Panel Discussion with NCL
After the shipyard visit, we returned to the hotel for a panel discussion with David Herrera, President, of NCL, Mark Kansley, Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations, NCL, Bryan White, VP of Entertainment Production, NCLH and Emanuele Truant, VP of NCL Project, Fincantieri.
During the discussion all members spoke about the importance of NCL’s brand identity, highlighting transparency and listening to guests and travel partners. The launch of Norwegian Luna sees an evolution of the brand with enhanced features including great service, entertainment and activities.
Brian White, VP of Entertainment Production discussed the enhanced entertainment including moving ‘Rumours’ to the main theatre to allow more guests to experience the show. There will also be a new R&B experience on board and of course ‘Revolution’, a production with over 100 individuals and over 506,000 individual sequins in the costumes.
Emanuele Truant highlighted the craftsmanship and ideas behind the new ships, emphasising the collaboration and success achieved in the partnership with NCL since 2016. Norwegian Luna is inspired by the relationship between the moon and the tides of the ocean. This is evident through the hull art designed by celebrated street artist ‘ELLE’. The art took 50-60 thousand manpower hours for the incredible mural painting.
The key message from the panel discussion was that NCL put their guests and travel partners at the forefront of their plans, they want to be the easiest cruiseline to do business with or trade partners. They take onboard guest feedback which is evident through the designs of the new ships.
The evening ended with a ‘Full Moon Party’ with lots of ship experiences including photo opportunities, another ‘Prince’ performance and choosing where we would cruise next. Seeing the ship in the shipyard has me excited to see Norwegian Aqua all put together and I was delighted to be part of the history of the ship. Thank you to Norwegian Cruiseline for an incredible few days in Venice.
