Following earlier reports and sightings of drink offerings onboard various ships, Norwegian Cruise Line has officially announced the switch from PepsiCo soft drinks to Coca-Cola products.
This change is in conjunction with the inaugural sailing of the cruise line’s newest vessel, Norwegian Prima, which is already serving Coca-Cola beverages.
New Partnership Announced
With Norwegian Prima already serving Coca-Cola products onboard, Norwegian Cruise Line president and CEO Harry Sommer officially announced the new partnership with a toast with the iconic Coca-Cola Polar Bear at the ship’s three-story, glass-walled Penrose Atrium.
“With the historic debut of Norwegian Prima, Norwegian Cruise Line continues to push boundaries across every element of the guest experience, so it’s perfectly fitting that we are unveiling and bringing on board a fresh, new beverage partnership with Coca-Cola during the christening of Norwegian Prima,” Sommer said.
“As a company rooted in history, Norwegian Cruise Line is honored to align with a fellow beloved brand, Coca-Cola, and we look forward to leveraging this relationship to continue to enhance our guest experience.”
Cruise lines often offer exclusive partnerships with beverage companies with carefully negotiated contracts. These contracts may include better pricing and incentives to be an exclusive beverage partner than if multiple brands were offered on a single ship.
Similar exclusive partnerships are common at theme parks, hotel chains, and sports stadiums. Other cruise lines currently offering Coca-Cola products include Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International.
Where to Find Coca-Cola Products
The new Norwegian Prima is the first vessel in Norwegian’s 18-ship fleet to carry Coca-Cola as its official soft drink. The remaining NCL ships will all be fully switched over to Coca-Cola products by December 2022.
Guests onboard different vessels have already reported the expanding availability of Coca-Cola drinks, including on Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Epic, and Norwegian Joy.
Additional ships will begin offering Coca-Cola beverages as bars and lounges can be adequately supplied, but there has been no calendar announced of which ships will have which drinks when. For the next few weeks, it is possible that guests on different ships may be enjoying different brands of soft drinks.
It can be a challenge to make the switch even on a single ship, since each vessel has many different bars, lounges, and restaurants that all need to be equipped with adequate supplies and new branding to promote the new partnership.
Norwegian Prima, for example, features more than 30 bars, lounges, and restaurants that must be prepared to meet drink needs.
The largest ships in Norwegian Cruise Line’s fleet, the Breakaway-Plus vessels – Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Joy, Norwegian Bliss, and Norwegian Encore – have up to 22 bars and lounges, all of which have to be supplied with the new drink options, not counting restaurants and dining venues.
On some ships, minibars in suites or other staterooms must also be fill with appropriate beverages, and drinks must also be made available through room service and dining room operations.
