Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and GRAMMY Award-winning artist and godmother of Norwegian Encore, Kelly Clarkson, hosted an exclusive concert on board Norwegian Prima to celebrate the ship’s debut in Texas, and to honor the 100 winners of Norwegian’s Giving Joy® campaign which recognizes teachers for the meaningful work they do every day.
GALVESTON, TEXAS (Oct. 28, 2022) – Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the innovator in global cruise travel, commemorated the debut of its all-new Norwegian Prima, and the brand’s first-ever voyage from Galveston, Texas, with an exclusive concert by GRAMMY Award-winning artist Kelly Clarkson.
The ship also served as the special venue for this year’s Norwegian’s Giving Joy awards ceremony, during which the Cruise Line and Clarkson recognized 100 teachers with a free cruise, and nearly $170,000 for the top three Grand Prize winners and their schools.
Norwegian’s Giving Joy is a month-long campaign which launched during National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 2 – 6, 2022) to recognize deserving educators for their unwavering commitment to bringing joy to the classroom. To celebrate these incredible individuals, and their often-times undervalued profession, as well as to kick-off Norwegian Prima’s first voyage from the Lone Star State, Norwegian Cruise Line hosted a showstopping award celebration. Special guests included NCL President and CEO Harry Sommer; Norwegian Bliss Godfather Elvis Duran, American radio personality and host of “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show;” and superstar and godmother to Norwegian Encore, Kelly Clarkson, who delivered a stellar performance of her chart-topping hits including “Miss Independent,” “Stronger,” and “Since You’ve Been Gone.”
To conclude the Norwegian’s Giving Joy Award Ceremony, Sommer, unveiled the top three Grand Prize winners who received the most votes, awarding them with donations for their schools.
The Grand Prize winners are:
- Patricia Hosmer from Bayonne High School in Bayonne, N.J. ($25,000)
- Theresa Schrager from Falcon Cove Middle School, Fla. ($15,000)
- Anthony Stirpe from New Rochelle High School in New Rochelle, N.Y. ($10,000)
In addition to the expected donations to their schools, each of the Grand Prize winners received a big surprise – nearly $40,000 each in prize money thanks to Norwegian Cruise Line partners, who were moved by the ethos of Norwegian’s Giving Joy annual teacher recognition program, which shines a light on these inspiring individuals who play an integral role in shaping the lives of their students and our future.
In addition to winning a balcony stateroom during Norwegian Prima’s exclusive five-day roundtrip voyage from Galveston, Texas from Oct. 27 – 31, 2022, calling to Merida, Mexico, each winner walked away with an AMEX gift card sponsored by American Express, and one randomly selected winner was awarded with a trip to San Francisco with two VIP Adrenaline Lounge Passes to any one of the SailGP Season3 events taking place May 6-7, 2023, donated by Survitec Group.
This year, Norwegian’s Giving Joy drew support for teachers all across North America, with winners from Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas in the U.S., as well as British Columbia and Ontario, Canada. To learn more about the 100 winners and their heart-warming stories, and to support those in your communities, click here.
Norwegian Prima makes her inaugural debut in Galveston, Texas.
The annual program is designed to highlight the connection between travel and education and to recognize teachers for their unwavering dedication to inspiring students every day. To date the program has awarded 230 teachers across the U.S. and Canada with free cruises and donated over $350,000 to schools and educators since 2019.
Following Norwegian Prima’s inaugural voyage from Galveston, Texas she will sail an 11-day itinerary to the Caribbean with calls to Cozumel, Mexico; Oranjestad, Aruba; Kralendijk, Bonaire; Willemstad Curacao; Norwegian’s private island in the Bahamas,Great Stirrup Cay, before arriving to Miami for her debut in the “Cruise Capital of the World.” She will return to Galveston for a season of Caribbean voyages in the winter of 2023/2024.
For more information about the Company’s award-winning 18-ship fleet and worldwide itineraries, or to book a cruise, please contact a travel professional, call 888-NCL-CRUISE (625-2784) or visit www.ncl.com.
ABOUT NORWEGIAN PRIMA
Norwegian Prima is the first of six vessels from Norwegian Cruise Line’s Prima Class, the Brand’s first new class of ships in nearly 10 years. Launched in August 2022, Norwegian Prima is the industry’s most spacious new cruise ship with the most outdoor deck space and expansive accommodations of any new build. Built in Marghera, Italy by world-renowned Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, Norwegian Prima is 965 feet long (294 meters long), 143,535 gross tons and able to accommodate 3,100 guests at double occupancy. The vessel has 20 decks, featuring nearly 1,600 staterooms, 18 dining venues and 17 bars and lounges. The ship features striking hull artwork created by Italian graffiti artist Manuel Di Rita, known commonly as “Peeta,” and was designed by world-class design and architectural teams including Italian designer Piero Lissoni and powerhouse architectural firms Rockwell Group, SMC Design, Tillberg Design of Sweden, YSA DESIGN and Miami-based Studio Dado who conceptualized and composed the aesthetic of various restaurants, staterooms and public areas on board. Norwegian Prima offers guests exciting itineraries, the highest staffing levels and space ratio of any new cruise ship in the contemporary or premium cruise category, and Brand-first experiences with Ocean Boulevard, Indulge Food Hall, The Concourse, Infinity Beach, Oceanwalk and the Penrose Atrium. Norwegian Prima also features multiple first-at-sea innovations including a three-story transformational theater-nightclub, the Prima Theater & Club; its three-level racetrack with the Prima Speedway; the fastest slides at sea, The Drop and Rush; and the cruise industry’s first sustainable cocktail bar with The Metropolitan Bar.
ABOUT NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE
As the innovator in global cruise travel, Norwegian Cruise Line has been breaking the boundaries of traditional cruising for 55 years. Most notably, the cruise line revolutionized the industry by offering guests the freedom and flexibility to design their ideal vacation on their preferred schedule with no assigned dining and entertainment times and no formal dress codes. Today, its fleet of 18 contemporary ships sail to nearly 400 of the world’s most desirable destinations, including Great Stirrup Cay, the company’s private island in the Bahamas and its resort destination Harvest Caye in Belize. Norwegian Cruise Line not only provides superior guest service from land to sea, but also offers a wide variety of award-winning entertainment and dining options as well as a range of accommodations across the fleet, including solo-traveler staterooms, club balcony suites, spa-suites and The Haven by Norwegian®, the company’s ship-within-a-ship concept. For additional information or to book a cruise, contact a travel professional, call 888-NCL-CRUISE (625-2784) or visit www.ncl.com. For the latest news and exclusive content, visit the NCL Newsroom and follow Norwegian Cruise Line on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube @NorwegianCruiseLine; and Twitter @CruiseNorwegian.