This Underrated Cruise Line's Themed Experiences And Live Theater Performances Are Simply Top-Notch

"Top-notch cruise performance" might not be the first thing to come to mind when thinking of Norway, unless you envision ocean-faring black metal-themed music festivals. Sadly, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) doesn't have those, nor anything else Norwegian, because it's actually an American-based cruise company registered in the Bahamas. However, it does have plenty of other live performances and unique themed experiences across its many, many different ships. Those performances help turn an underrated (and sometimes poorly-rated) cruise line into something unique. And if you close your eyes, you can still imagine you're on a Viking longboat headed out on a raid.

In a nutshell, each NCL ship has its own set of shows and experiences. If you're really keen on a specific performance and want to incorporate it into your cruise, you can take this into account when choosing which ship to book. For example, the soon-to-launch Norwegian Aqua has "Elements: The World Expanded," a dance meets magic and light show. However, Norwegian Viva might take the cake. Aside from "Beetlejuice: The Musical," there's also magic-themed and time travel-themed escape rooms, and even go-kart racing around a multi-level track on the deck of the ship. But, no matter if you prefer a cruise that's typical or odd, or laid-back or exciting, it's likely that NCL has something to suit you. 

While it's commonplace for cruise lines to have onboard entertainment, Norwegian Cruise Line goes above and beyond in the live theater department. It's all part and parcel of NCL's "return on experience" philosophy, as Travel Weekly cites, which aims to give passengers the most for their money. To this end, NCL is currently moving away from Broadway shows to in-house shows that CEO Harry Sommer describes as "a little bit shorter, a little bit more lively" and will allow guests to get back to other activities. This is partially why NCL's dedication to theatrical performances lands it in the top choices for live entertainment along with cruise lines like Carnival and Disney that often outshine the competition. Carnival, however, still has the world's first cruise ship rollercoaster, while Disney has a 700-foot water slide.

On NCL's theatrical and musical performance front, we've already mentioned "Elements: The World Expanded" on the new Norwegian Aqua and "Beetlejuice: The Musical" on Norwegian Viva. Those who go for Latin music and dance, meanwhile, might want to check out "Burn the Floor" on Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Epic. Beyond that, "Burn the Floor" also has a separate Bossa Nova show on Norwegian Prima. 

If you want to move away from Latin music to pop or rock, there's "Legends in Concert" on the Norwegian Pearl — a show featuring upper-crust Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, and Lady Gaga impersonators, among others. And of course, for a return to our classic musical past, there's "Jersey Boys" on Norwegian Bliss, a musical biopic about the Four Seasons that's toured internationally and won Grammy, Tony, and Olivier awards. 

Sitting and watching a theatrical performance is thrilling in its own right. But there's a difference between something you watch and a participatory, full-body experience. Thankfully for cruise-goers, Norwegian Cruise Line's got you covered in this department, too. And like with their sit-down theatrical performances, NCL offers a full range of above-and-beyond themed experiences to suit a variety of tastes. Sure, it might not be the kid-focused Sea Dragon Pirate Cruise out of Panama City, Florida, but then again, what else is?

Take Norwegian Viva's two escape rooms, Magic and Pearl, which feature magic and time travel-themed experiences respectively, last 45 minutes, and suit one to six players each. Anyone who's done escape rooms knows how fun they can be, and having access to them on a cruise is pretty awesome. Norwegian Epic, Bliss, Encore, and Joy, for their part, have the Cavern Club — a full-on recreation of the Liverpool music venue and pub that launched The Beatles' career. 

And even though we joked about a glaring lack of Vikings on a cruise line named after Norway, Norwegian Joy at least hosts the Monsters of Rock Cruise. The rock-themed experience includes some heavy-hitting bands like Symphony X and Black Label Society. And if we want to ramp up the brutality, there's the metal-themed Headbanger's Ball on Norwegian Jewel featuring Lamb of God as the headliner. While it might not be as calm and collected as sipping some wine next to a pool, it rounds out NCL's mission to provide first-rate live entertainment for passengers of all leanings across all of its ships.