The Norwegian Luna

Welcome to Norwegian Cruise Line’s brand-new ship: the Norwegian Luna, as she welcomed her first passengers on a three-day sailing over the weekend. My name is Katie Doyle, I’m Head of Content and Media at Travel Times and I had the utmost pleasure to be one of 2,000 press, travel and business partners on the sailing from Miami to the Bahamas, where we had the opportunity to explore Great Stirrup Cay as part of the whirlwind trip.

Luna, with a double occupancy guest capacity of 3,565 and a crew of 1,597, will sail from New York, offering guests four and seven-day round-trip itineraries to Bermuda from April 2027 through October 2027. With the flexibility of more time in port and overnight stays in Bermuda, guests can experience beautiful, pink sandy beaches as well as a variety of sea and land activities including catamaran boat rides, ATV rides, cave dives and scenic bike tours. 

As the cruise market expands rapidly in Ireland, I consider myself a new-to-cruiser focused on exploring every facet of the industry and its products since November of last year and I can say – NCL’s Luna certainly blew me away!

The magical design of Luna is also evident across the brand. The exceptional design curated by artist ELLE, who also had the pleasure of being Luna’s godmother, shows a purplish, blue dreamscape with diving herons and a starry night that incorporates the astronomical horoscope signs. On Deck 8, a half-moon sculpture lights up at night bringing a magical presence to the ship’s outdoor space.

Luna offers a diverse range of accommodations including solo, inside, oceanview and balcony staterooms, as well as suites in The Haven by Norwegian®, NCL’s exclusive ship-within-a-ship complex with a private restaurant, bar and lounge. As a solo-traveller staying in an oceanview stateroom, I recognized the brand’s ability to appeal to all types of travellers.

Solo rooms are not just for solo travellers, as Marc Kazlauskas, President of Norwegian Cruise Line, said at a Leadership Panel on Saturday. As the fleet of ships continue to see rises in multi-generational families, sometimes solo-passengers are the single members of the family that just “don’t want to have stay in the same room as Uncle Derek.” The Haven experience is often taken up by grandparents or parents of older children, which speaks to the premium family travelling onboard NCL’s fleet. With this ship, NCL also wanted to develop its family ethos, incorporating more tech to appeal to a broader age range of kids. Features like the splash pad have been expanded so that all the family can enjoy themselves across generations.

While I’ll tell you all about Great Stirrup Cay tomorrow in a dedicated feature exploring the Bahamas island, here were my favourite experiences onboard. There are seventeen dining options from bow to stern on Luna and I was lucky enough to feast on a few of them over my days at sea.

• The first was Indulge Food Hall which features an eclectic menu offering a variety of food from Caribbean favourites to Spanish tapas, Texas Smokehouse to Tamara Indian food. On each table, they have placed an interactive food menu, making ordering seamless and I was surprised by the spiciness and flavour of the menu’s offerings. I first tried NUDLS – their Asian option – and had a lovely Singapore noodles dish. On my final night, I went for Tamara – blown away by the tikka masala curry and naan bread that’s made fresh-to-order from their onboard tandoor that guests can spy in the open kitchen.

• In Hudson’s restaurant, also included as complimentary dining, guests can enjoy a diverse menu from croquetas to prawn cocktail, surf-and-turf to shellfish “Mahi-Mahi Moqueca” broth and even a roasted cassava and corn tamale. This beautiful room is elegantly designed and offers a jaw-dropping view of the ship’s aft.

• In Cagney’s Steakhouse, there are a range of entrées from rib-eye to New York strip on offer with a broad choice of sauces and cooking options to ensure guests receive their steaks exactly as they like it. One of my favourite things about this meal was that each steak-eating guest can choose their own knife to indulge in their chosen cut.

There are other speciality dining restaurants onboard from Japanese Hasuki teppanyaki, to Los Lobos Mexican, Sukhothai Thai restaurant and Onda by Scarpetta offering a range of Italian delicacies in pasta and pizza. Of these I did not try (there are only so many meals you can eat!) but if anything was going to lure me back to booking Luna in the future, it definitely would be these dining options.

Beyond the diverse range of cuisines onboard, as part of the press corps we were invited to travel up to the top decks of Luna to try their adventurous rollercoasters. At first, I was a little hesitant: anything moving me fast through the air is usually a resounding absolutely not but I found myself drawn up to the higher decks to see what was going on.

On Deck 17 and 18, Norwegian Luna offers another world: kids competing against their parents and grandparents at mini-golf and pickleball, grown-adults running around like kids to get another go on The Drop, the Moon Climber and the delightful (sometimes terrified) squeals of adults and children alike on the Aqua Slidecoaster. Not wanting to miss out on all the fun, I put my fears aside and tentatively tried the latter ride: this world’s first hybrid rollercoaster and waterslide launches guests (and I really mean launch with an animatronic arm that pushes you forward) into a wrapping tube that has you soaked by the end. I loved it so much, I did it three times!

Some guests chose to chill off in the many pools on board the ship that boasts plentiful seating, multiple hot tubs, and the exciting Kids’ Aqua Park. For a more serene experience, you could choose the Infinity Beach: home to two stunning infinity pools, lounge chairs, and a variety of plush daybeds for total relaxation. I decided to go for something quieter after the excitement of the Aqua Slidecoaster and made my way down to the Thermal Suites.

In the Mandara Spa, you start to understand how diverse the NCL Luna offering is: away from the excitement and heat of the upper decks, the Thermal Suites offer a serene quiet with a steam room, ice room, salt pool and more. I quality tested all of them for our ITTN readers and I most enjoyed the detoxifying cleanse in the clay sauna before melting into one of the heated loungers with a breathtaking view of the rear of the ship. The Mandara Spa also offers a range of treatments from nails to hair for women and men, to cleansing massages aimed at targeting your sorest spots. I was lucky enough to experience a classic Swedish massage for seventy-five minutes; a wonderful treatment where each guest’s personal aches and pains are targeted to ensure that you leave feeling relaxed and refreshed.

Last but certainly not least, one of my favourite experiences on board was attending the ELTON: A Celebration of Elton John™ at the Luna Theatre. This original production brings the legendary artist’s greatest hits to life in a high-energy show featuring dazzling choreography, powerful vocals and stunning costumes. For more incredible entertainment during the voyage, the cast of Syd Norman’s also presented a new “A Tribute to Eagles” show, along with the guest-favourite “Rumours” – a Fleetwood Mac show. Guests can also enjoy stand-up comedy in the Improv Room alongside “LunaTique™” – a lively and interactive experience with a vibrant troupe of circus performers and enjoy themed cocktails to immerse themselves in this outlandish pop-infused show.

All that to say, that I had an excellent time onboard NCL’s Luna – and I haven’t even got to our trip to Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas on Sunday! Stay tuned for that feature tomorrow.