Kelly Clarkson and Norwegian Cruise Line Celebrate 100 Winning Educators During Norwegian Prima’s Texas Debut

• NCL Awards 100 Educators Across the U.S. and Canada with a Free Cruise Aboard Norwegian Prima and Donates Nearly $170,000 to Schools and Teachers Around the Country
• GRAMMY Award-Winning Artist Kelly Clarkson Performs Onboard as Part of Norwegian’s Giving Joy^® Award Ceremony

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the innovator in global cruise travel, commemorated the debut of its all-new Norwegian Prima, and the brand’s first-ever voyage from Galveston, Texas, with an exclusive concert by GRAMMY Award-winning artist Kelly Clarkson.

The ship also served as the special venue for this year’s Norwegian’s Giving Joy awards ceremony, during which the Cruise Line and Clarkson recognized 100 teachers with a free cruise, and nearly $170,000 for the top three Grand Prize winners and their schools.

Norwegian’s Giving Joy is a month-long campaign which launched during National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 2 – 6, 2022) to recognize deserving educators for their unwavering commitment to bringing joy to the classroom. To celebrate these incredible individuals, and their often-times undervalued profession, as well as to kick-off Norwegian Prima’s first voyage from the Lone Star State, Norwegian Cruise Line hosted a show-stopping award celebration.

Special guests included NCL President and CEO Harry Sommer; Norwegian Bliss Godfather Elvis Duran, American radio personality and host of “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show;” and superstar and godmother to Norwegian Encore, Kelly Clarkson, who delivered a stellar performance of her chart-topping hits including “Miss Independent,” “Stronger,” and “Since You’ve Been Gone.” 

To conclude the Norwegian’s Giving Joy Award Ceremony, Sommer, unveiled the top three Grand Prize winners who received the most votes, awarding them with donations for their schools.

The Grand Prize winners are:

• Patricia Hosmer from Bayonne High School in Bayonne, N.J. ($25,000)
• Theresa Schrager from Falcon Cove Middle School, Fla. ($15,000)
• Anthony Stirpe from New Rochelle High School in New Rochelle, N.Y. ($10,000)

In addition to the expected donations to their schools, each of the Grand Prize winners received a big surprise – nearly $40,000 each in prize money thanks to Norwegian Cruise Line partners, who were moved by the ethos of Norwegian’s Giving Joy annual teacher recognition program, which shines a light on these inspiring individuals who play an integral role in shaping the lives of their students and our future. 

 Participating partners include:

• De Wave Group
• Independent Maritime Advisors
• Apollo Export Warehouse
• Clifford Paper
• Matermoll/Global Resources Registry
• Sangiorgio Export
• Viking Life Saving Equipment
• Lasvit 
• Scanship
• SubSea Global Solutions
• Chantier Naval de Marseille
• Dometic
• Fire Aid International
• Gerolamo Scorza
• RGB
• San Bernardo Ice Cream
• Ocean Beauty Seafoods LLC
• Alfa Laval Inc.
• AtmosAir
• Bourne
• Gerolamo Scorza
• SGDP
• SRC
• Interglobo International Freight Forward
• Sysco South Florida
• Freedom Fresh
• Armstrong Produce
• Freshpoint Connecticut, LLC
• Sazerac
• Michael J. Devine & Associates, Inc.
• Moet & Hennessy

In addition to winning a balcony stateroom during Norwegian Prima’s exclusive five-day roundtrip voyage from Galveston, Texas from Oct. 27 – 31, 2022, calling to Merida, Mexico, each winner walked away with an AMEX gift card sponsored by American Express, and one randomly selected winner was awarded with a trip to San Francisco with two VIP Adrenaline Lounge Passes to any one of the SailGP Season3 events taking place May 6-7, 2023, donated by Survitec Group. 

This year, Norwegian’s Giving Joy drew support for teachers all across North America, with winners from Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas in the U.S., as well as British Columbia and Ontario, Canada.  To learn more about the 100 winners and their heart-warming stories, and to support those in your communities, click here.

The annual program is designed to highlight the connection between travel and education and to recognize teachers for their unwavering dedication to inspiring students every day. To date the program has awarded 230 teachers across the U.S. and Canada with free cruises and donated over $350,000 to schools and educators since 2019.

Following Norwegian Prima’s inaugural voyage from Galveston, Texas she will sail an 11-day itinerary to the Caribbean with calls to Cozumel, Mexico; Oranjestad, Aruba; Kralendijk, Bonaire; Willemstad Curacao; Norwegian’s private island in the Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay, before arriving to Miami for her debut in the “Cruise Capital of the World.” She will return to Galveston for a season of Caribbean voyages in the winter of 2023/2024.  

For more information about the Company’s award-winning 18-ship fleet and worldwide itineraries, or to book a cruise, please contact a travel professional, call 888-NCL-CRUISE (625-2784) or visit www.ncl.com.

SOURCE Norwegian Cruise Line

Comments

Are you happy to hear that Kelly Clarkson and Norwegian Cruise Line celebrated educators in Galveston during Norwegian Prima’s debut? Do you have plans to sail on this new NCL cruise ship? Drop us an anchor below to share your upcoming cruise plans.

Stay up to date with the latest cruise news and travel updates!