Construction continues at Meyer Werft, as two of Norwegian Breakaway’s signature dining venues take shape. Pictured here is block 66, which contains the shells of the Waterfront, Moderno Churrascaria and Manhattan Room. Upon completion, these two restaurants will look like they do in the accompanying architectural renderings.

Norwegian Cruise Line and Meyer Werft executives had another ground-breaking event to cheer about on Friday, May 4, 2012 when they watched as the first piece of steel was cut for the construction of Norwegian Getaway. A plasma torch was used to cut the important first plate of steel in the yard’s state-of-the-art laser center in Papenburg, Germany. This piece is significant because it marks the beginning of the ship’s construction and will become part of Block 40 of Norwegian Getaway. Set to join the Norwegian fleet in 2014, Norwegian Getaway will homeport in Miami, year-round, giving guests the perfect opportunity to “Getaway” from their busy lives, routines, school, and daily stress for the cruise vacation of a lifetime. During his remarks, Kevin Sheehan, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line stated, “Cutting the first piece of steel for Norwegian Getaway takes us one step closer to having this ship join our fleet in 2014 and begin sailing year-round from Miami, the cruise capital of the world.” Mr. Bernard Meyer, Managing Director at Meyer Werft, also addressed the crowd, expressing his excitement for the arrival of Norwegian Getaway and the pride he has for the ship yard and their partnership with Norwegian Cruise Line. At the close of the ceremony, each attendee was given a small piece of steel, as a memento for their participation in this exciting milestone.

On Friday, May 4, 2012, Norwegian Cruise Line and Meyer Werft executives cheered as Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line’s chief executive officer, laid the traditional “lucky coin,” and watched as the first 350-ton block of Norwegian Breakaway was lifted and set into place by an 800-ton crane. The exciting Keel Laying ceremony took place at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany and many members of Norwegian’s Executive Team, including Michael Flesch, Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations; Mark Kansley, Vice President of Hotel Operations; Arturo Guerrero, Vice President of Newbuild and Refurbishment; Richard Ambrose, Vice President of Entertainment and Howard Flanders, Senior Vice President of Finance and Treasury, flew to Germany to witness this historic event. Friday’s ceremony marks a major milestone in the building of Norwegian’s newest ship – the start of block assembly. Throughout the building process, a total of 73 enormous blocks will be used to form the structure of the ship. During his remarks, Bernard Meyer, managing director of Meyer Werft, discussed how Norwegian Breakaway is the first ship to ever be built using their brand new, more efficient construction process.  The proprietary new system will allow the yard to deliver the more than 140,0000 ton ship – the yard’s largest ship, ever – in less than 12 months, an incredible feat in the ship building industry. “The anticipation is building for this incredible ship,” said Kevin Sheehan. “It’s thrilling to mark the start of the block assembly and realize that in one year we will take delivery of Norwegian Breakaway.  We can’t wait.” Kevin also expressed his sincere pride and appreciation for Norwegian’s New Build Team, led by Christer Karlsson, Vice President of New Build, and the dedicated, hardworking team at  Meyer Werft. At the close of the ceremony, Mr. Bernard Meyer led the group of Norwegian and ship yard executives in a champagne toast to Norwegian Breakaway and echoed Kevin’s praise of the partnership between the ship yard and Norwegian Cruise Line.