New NCL boss pledges to make company ‘even better’

Norwegian Cruise Line’s new president and chief executive Marc Kazlauskas said he always felt the line had “punched below its weight” before taking over from outgoing boss David Herrera in January.

 

The travel industry veteran of 30 years, who previously served as CEO of Avoya Travel, president of FROSCH and managing director of Chase Travel Group, said: “I always knew how great the NCL product and crew was, but I also felt it punched below its weight.

 

“I thought this is absolutely the best cruise line but it needs to spend time on the brand; playing more into its freedom and flexibility message – making sure we go back to our roots.

 

“I also felt we needed to work on making sure we’re the trade’s best partner and felt that we needed to double down on revenue management. We were not where we should be on revenue management.

 

“I also wanted us to focus more on guest experience and collaborate more across our teams; to make changes and look for ways to improve. I wanted to look at our execution – how we work together,” he said.

 

“In short, I felt we were a great company – and I wanted to try and make it even better.”

 

Kazlauskas was speaking on a leadership panel at the launch of Norwegian Luna, the latest ship in the line’s Prima class to enter service.

 

Explaining that the ship had scored the highest ever guest satisfaction ratings for any in NCL’s history, he said it boasted more dining options “than any resort on land or at sea”.

 

Kazlauskas also said it offered “everything from high energy to quiet moments so that everyone is able to find a version of their own perfect vacation” on board.

 

“Your guests are never forced to run to our schedule,” he said. “Their entire experience is how they design it.”

 

Commenting on NCL’s private island, Great Stirrup Cay, in the Bahamas, which is currently undergoing a renovation, Kazlauskas said: “We’ve designed this to be an extension of the ship – giving guests the freedom to do everything or nothing at all.”

 

Asked if it was “satisfying” to be unveiling the revamped private island offering right next to Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at Coco Cay, Kazlauskas said: “Sometimes, others will launch something and you can watch it and do it a whole lot better. It’s not bad to be able to see what others have done first, and do it better.”

 

He added “We have so much space – we still have phase 2, 3 and 4 of our redevelopment to come. So the island will continue to evolve and without a doubt, it will be the best island out there. What we’ve done is really thoughtful. We’ve really listened to what our guests want and it will truly set us apart.”

 

The redeveloped island will have a new two berth pier by the end of this summer to remove the need for tendering. It will also have the Great Tides water park with 19 slides, cliff jumps at two heights, and a dynamic river with rapids also by the summer.

 

Already open are the upscale Silver Cove area, the adults-only Vibe Shore Club and The Lagoon with two Olympic size swimming pools, DJ and swim-up bar.

 

Kazlauskas said: “It’s going to be a total gamechanger for our brand and our industry.”

 

And he said private islands would increasingly important in customers’ choice of cruise.

 

“As we think about our future guests, private islands are becoming increasingly important – they allow us to double down on the freedom and flexibility message that we have across our fleet,” he said.