Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic will include an expansive Aqua Park with a tube slide called The Epic Plunge when it debuts in May 2010. The line said the ship will feature a 33-foot-high, 64-foot-wide rock climbing and rapelling wall, six bowling lanes, a mixed-use sports deck, squash court and three kids’ and teen activity areas. The ship will boast 14 restaurants and 18 bars and lounges. The Aqua Park will include three water slides, including one designed for children that zips through the rock climbing wall, a more adventurous three-story slide, and The Epic Plunge, a tube slide for inner-tubing into a bowl slide with a drop through a 200-foot-long tube. The Aqua Park also includes two main pools with arching water effects that illuminate at night, five whirlpools, a wading pool, and a kids’ pool with sculptures, water sprays and effects, and a kiddy slide.
Bowling lanes will be located in two venues -- three in the Bliss Ultra Lounge and three in O’Sheehan’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill. The sports deck will include a full-size basketball court, batting cage, bungee trampoline, rope course and a 24-foot-tall enclosed climbing cage called the spider web. The first squash court will be located in the fitness center.

The Kid’s Crew facility, called Recess, will be centrally located on Deck 14 adjacent and easily accessible to the family-friendly staterooms. Two separate areas are designed for kids ages 2 through 9 and ages 10 through 12. The kids’ area includes a space-themed play area, air hockey table, a light-up dance floor, Wii gaming areas, an arts and crafts area and a SurroundSound cinema. The Tween Zone has a futuristic feel that includes multiple Wii and PlayStation areas, along with a private karaoke performance stage that doubles as a cinema. The teen area, called Entourage, is located on Deck 16 and includes air hockey, pinball, foosball, a video jukebox, and nine large flat-screen televisions, five of which are located around a central video game console featuring PlayStation 3. In the evening, Entourage transitions into a hip nightclub with a space for dancing or just hanging out on comfy couches. Directly below is a video arcade.

The 14 Freestyle Dining restaurants include Taste, located in the ship’s atrium and serving traditional and contemporary cuisine; The Manhattan Room, reminiscent of an art deco supper club; Café Jardin, a casual eatery modeled after a traditional English country garden conservatory; Cagney’s Steakhouse & Churrascaria, featuring steaks and Argentinean churrasco grilled skewered meats; La Cucina, a Tuscan-style eatery serving regional Italian specialties including pizza and pasta; Le Bistro, Norwegian’s trademark French bistro; Shanghai’s, a Chinese restaurant and noodle bar reminiscent of Shanghai in the 1930s; Wasabi, a sushi and sake bar; Teppanyaki, with 115 seats and up to 24 knife-wielding chefs cooking exhibition-style; and O’Sheehan’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill, a sports bar that serves American favorites and comfort food around the clock.

NCL has launched a new version of Norwegian Epic’s microsite at epic.ncl.com. More announcements about Epic will be revealed in New York City on May 20, when the ship will also go on sale to the general public. The first Eastern Caribbean sailing is scheduled for July 17, 2010, and its alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries will be available for booking through April 2011. For more information on NCL, call 877.530.5699.