The Everywhere blog

The cruise industry has an image problem: old folks and tacky people. Enter Freestyle Cruising, Norwegian Cruise Line's attempt to reinvent the cruise experience. Loud Hawaiian shirts, sugary cocktails, and tasteless buffets are out. In their stead, Norwegian hopes to create more tasteful cruises that appeal to well-heeled jet-setters.

Freestyle Cruising is designed to be a far cry from the traditional cruise experience. Geared toward the young and rich, Norwegian Cruise Lines hopes to revolutionize the luxury cruise experience by offering amenities such as 10 ultra-chic bars, organic cooking classes, a rock-climbing wall, a four-lane bowling alley, and a giant Nintendo Wii screen mounted on a two-story wall.

Will it work? Norwegian hopes the newly launched swanktitude will attract a younger, richer clientele, but according to a 2006 overview published by the Cruise Line International Association, the age of the average cruiser was between 43 and 49.

Changing that demographic is what Freestyle Cruising is all about. Norwegian's effort is the first of its kind, but it probably wont be the last. Airlines like Jet Blue and Virgin have honed in on young hipsters, and they've gained traction, so maybe those lines for the two-story high Nintendo Wii will be longer than expected on Norwegian's boats.

Meanwhile, if you're wondering what it's like to be a member of the crew aboard a typical cruise liner, two Everywhere contributors have written articles describing their lives aboard ship. Check out: A Farewell to "Ship Life," by Derek Baron, and Cruise Ship Life - The Good, The Bad & The Just Plain Bizarre, by Tom Mosher.

(Photo: A Freestyle cruise liner, from msnbc.msn.com)