Norwegian Cruise Line has received two prestigious awards that recognize the quality of its onboard beverage programs. The line was honored with two 2023 Vibe Vista Awards, one for its wine program and another for its alcohol-free beverage menu.
NCL Gains Two Vibe Vista Awards
The 2023 Vibe Conference, a top gathering of beverage industry professionals, and the L’Academie Culinaire de France, a leading culinary organization, bestowed Vibe Vista Awards to Norwegian Cruise line during the annual event, held in San Diego in late February.
The cruise line was awarded Best Wine Program and Best Adult Alcohol-Free Program at the industry event, which recognizes top performers in chain and hotel beverage programs.
Norwegian Cruise Line has won nine Vibe Vista Awards in the last five years. In 2019 and 2022, the line was awarded Best Overall Beverage Program.
Norwegian Cruise Line Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations Mark Ansley said, “The foundation of our guest first philosophy is built on continuously innovating the onboard experience and further developing our award-winning food and beverage programs.”
Vibe Conference said it recognized Norwegian Cruise Line’s wine portfolio for its organic and biodynamic wine menu, a curated, vintage wine program and the Meet the Winemaker series, which offers guests exclusive opportunities to meet top winemakers, attend wine tastings and wine-paired dinners, and purchase hard to find wines. In fact, Norwegian announced last month that it plans to continue its popular Winemaker series for a seventh season.
Norwegian’s Adult Alcohol-Free Program was honored for its dry bar menu and low-alcohol cocktails initially featured at Vibe Beach Club on the line’s newest ship, Norwegian Prima, which entered service in August 2022.
Vibe is an exclusive, adults-only area that’s also available on Norwegian Bliss, Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Getaway and Norwegian Joy. Entry passes to the VIP retreat space are limited and can be reserved before cruise departure.
Culinary Honors, Too
Additionally, L’Académie Culinaire de France recently inducted two Norwegian Cruise Line officials into its organization. Norwegian Cruise Line Director of Culinary Operations Eric Bilodeau and Fleet Executive Chef Patrice Mick were inducted at a ceremony held in the French Consulate in New York.
Bilodeau assists with hotel operations and is the line’s Executive Pastry Chef, while Mick assists with culinary operations and the training and development of shipboard culinary members, according to the cruise line.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Ansley added, “We are thrilled to share the accomplishments of our skilled onboard culinary and beverage professionals whose talents continuously showcase NCL’s commitment to excellence and innovation in creating unique dining experiences for our guests.”
The organization inducts culinary professionals based on their background, career, passion for French cuisine and dedication to culinary education. Previous Norwegian Cruise Line inductees were Corporate Executive Chef Didier Lailheugue and Senior Director of Culinary Christian Pratsch.
