The Norwegian Escape at sea. Photo: Norwegian Cruise Line

[Via Satellite 12-21-2015] Norwegian Cruise Line set a new record for “social media usage at sea” during the inaugural celebrations for Norwegian Escape, the newest and largest of the company’s 14-vessel fleet. From October 22 to November 11, cruisers logged 576,896 Facebook posts, 14,150 tweets and 11,367 Instagram posts for a total of 159 million impressions, surpassing the cruise line’s previous inaugural records for vessels in 2013 and 2014. The combined 159 million social media impressions garnered from Norwegian Escape’s inaugural events showed a 330 percent increase, compared to the impressions tracked from previous inaugural events.

EMC’s advanced hybrid communications network of satellite-terrestrial-cellular connectivity allowed guests and crew to connect their smartphones and other devices to post pictures and updates, call friends and family, and stay connected for important business communications as they experienced the cruise industry’s newest megaship, the fifth largest in the world. The engagement was ongoing during Norwegian Escape’s inaugural voyages. Guests and media were able to participate in a variety of inaugural social media events, from a sail-along Instagram scavenger hunt to a secret menu that could only be unlocked with a tweet.

“Our goal is to make sure our cruise partners’ guests and crew have the same connectivity experience on board as they have at home,” said Brent Horwitz, president of cruise and ferry services at EMC.