NEW YORK -- The Norwegian Epic will feature performances by the Blue Man Group and a Cirque-style show performed as passengers eat dinner, Norwegian Cruise Line revealed on Wednesday.
Making its final reveal about its next ship, NCL came to Blue Man’s hometown and to the small theater where the show took root in New York. The cruise line treated about 250 travel agents and members of the press to a sample of the Blue Man Group’s act.
NCL’s 4,200-passenger Epic, scheduled to debut in May 2010, is introducing cruise-industry firsts like cabins with curved walls and a bar made of ice.
On Wednesday, NCL executives said the ship also would introduce new concepts in entertainment.
The Epic will not have one main theater as most ships do, but will have other specially designed venues. The Spiegel Tent, which looks like a circus big top, is where the Cirque Dreams and dinner show will take place.
Performers will serve passengers dinner plates and fill their water glasses from the air as they perform theatrics throughout the meal.
The Blue Man Group, whose interactive shows combine music, comedy and theatrics, will perform in the 685-seat Epic Theater.
The Epic will also have a comedy club, where the Second Stage group, which has long performed with NCL, will call home.
Wednesday’s event coincided with the opening of sales for the Epic’s 2010 inaugural season. NCL Latitudes members could book Wednesday, and general bookings started on Thursday.
The ship's first scheduled cruise from Miami departs on July 17. It will spend its inaugural season alternating between eastern and western Caribbean itineraries.