Entertainment Onboard the Norwegian Epic (Part I)

As the owner of a successful travel agency, The Candy Cain Travel Co., I am fortunate enough to experience a lot of new hotels, cruise ships, resorts and other travel-related venues and forms of transportation. As a successful travel agent myself, I sell enough travel in order to receive complimentary trips.

When Norwegian Cruise Lines had a contest for agents to win a cabin for two on the inaugural sailing of the Norwegian Epic, I had to enter. The contest was to write about your experience with Norwegian Cruise Lines as well as their training program, NCLU. This is the entry I submitted:

There once was a gal from N.Y.
Who gave selling cruises a try
She knew what to do
Thanks to NCLU
And kissed her days of being broke goodbye.

NCLU helped to increase her sales
Through lessons, games, blogs and tales.
The AV Lab videos
Taught her much that she knows.
Now her commissions are as big as whales.

This gal's Freestyle Certification
Netted her a discount cruise vacation
Boy, did NCL hear it
when she sailed on the Spirit:
Praise coated with jubilation.

Much of her business is groups.
And she had to jump through big hoops.
She said, "My stomach was queasy,
'Til NCLU made it easy!"
Then she let out a series of whoops.

Norwegian she always recommends
to her family, clients and friends.
The classes and credit
Give her much more merit
to influence those ears that she bends.

So now you know this gal's pitch
and how NCLU made her rich.
"I'll sell NCL for a while,"
she says with a smile,
"I know that I've found my niche."

Well, you have nothing to lose.
We all know who you're going to choose...
So, just make it happen
And give her a cabin
On the Epic's Inaugural cruise.

Much to my delight, my entry was selected as one of the 100 winners from New York. I told my friend and assistant Ebony that I won, and invited her to join me on the cruise from July 2 - 4, 2010. We couldn't wait! We were most excited about the entertainment options that the Epic had to offer.

Most cruise ships offer the same type of entertainment: a comedian specific to the ship, a company that sings and dances, maybe a show for the kids and/or a theatre-style show for the adults. Sometimes there are specialty performers.

Not on the Norwegian Epic. This cruise ship features acts such as Cirque du Soleil, Blue Man Group, Second City, Slam Allen Blues Band, Legends in Concert and even Nickelodeon productions for the kids. Ebony and I were able to get to see the Blue Man Group, Second City's Presumed Murdered murder mystery lunch, Legends Unplugged and Slam Allen. We really wanted to get in to see Cirque du Soleil, but it was completely booked, as was Second City.

The first entertainment we were priveleged to see was the Slam Allen Blues Band in the Fat Cats Jazz Club. The vibe in the room was nothing short of electric. This is actually where Ebony and I watched the Christening from, and it was absolutely awesome. Slam Allen played their song Let the Good Times Roll and got the crowd jumping. Ebony spent an hour or two there on the second night, and said that the vibe was the same as the first time we went.

After exploring the ship and grabbing a quick bite, we headed to the early show of Blue Man Group. When we arrived, the 681 seat theatre was surprisingly empty. Ebony and I decided to get "great seats" and sat front an center-- literally in the front row. Right before the show started, the first four rows were given rain ponchos. Needless to say, we needed them! The show was surprisingly funny and interactive. Everyone that saw it seemed to enjoy it immensely. Since I have twin toddlers, there is no way that I am able to head into Manhattan to catch Blue Man Group in a show, so it was a real thrill to see them on the Epic.

We were famished once the show was over, so we high-tailed it over to the Manhattan Club, where we ended up sitting with two lovely women from Ohio. Fortunately, we had a late dinner, so we were able to watch the Legends Unplugged concert, which featured Madonna, Elvis and Tina Turner. All three performers and the backup singers were astounding. We literally stopped eating so that we could all focus our attention on the performances. It was a show truly not to be missed.

After an action and entertainment packed night, Ebony and I retired to our cabin. It was certainly a lot of fun, and we were excited to experience even more during our second day at sea.