View of the city from Park Guell in Barcelona, Spain with moving clouds.
Love is in the air, but this Galentine’s Day, 13 February 2024, it’s all about celebrating the unsung heroines of our lives – our gal pals! Founded by the legendary, but fictional Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation over a decade ago, Galentine’s Day is a reminder of the importance of the extraordinary connections women share with their female friends and family.
A recent survey of Australian adult women conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)1, the innovator of global cruise travel, reveals that 51% of Australian women feel they are caught in the whirlwind of daily life and struggle to find enough time to nurture their relationships, leaving them on average with less than an hour of ‘quality time’ per week with the women in their lives. In addition, more than 80% of females surveyed appreciate girls’ trips as a worthwhile way to foster meaningful connections, with 54% feeling closer to their friends and 65% feeling refreshed after taking a girls trip away.
Further, 68% of Australian women surveyed agree that all-girls getaways are a fantastic way to toast to their friendships. Sailing to nearly 450 destinations around the world across its 19-ship fleet, NCL provides a variety of experiences to cater to women everywhere and their preferred travel options, like a beach getaway (42%), a spa weekend (36%) or culinary tours (32%).
Research showed the most popular destination for a girl’s getaway is to travel within Australia and New Zealand (61%). NCL offers a range of close to home sailings between December and March through 2026 with Norwegian Sun or Norwegian Spirit offering a series of 12 to 15-day open-jaw sailings between Sydney and Auckland visiting a range of picturesque coastal ports and iconic cities.
Fifty percent of the women surveyed find Europe an appealing destination including the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and the UK and British Isles. This year, NCL will feature 10 ships in the region, including its newest additions, Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva, offering a variety of itineraries from bucket-list destinations including Lisbon, Portugal; Trieste and Civitavecchia, Italy; Piraeus, Greece; Southampton, United Kingdom and Reykjavik, Iceland making it even more enticing for guests to add a few days exploring pre- or post-cruise.
With a third of women surveyed also choosing Hawaii as a top destination, NCL’s Pride of America is an attractive option as it is the only ship to offer roundtrip inter-island Hawaiian cruises from Honolulu. Featuring nearly 100 hours of port time, the award-winning itinerary visits the idyllic islands of Oahu, The Big Island; as well as includes two overnight stays in Maui and Kauai making it the perfect way to discover this photo-worthy destination.
Other hot spots within the top ten include the South Pacific and Asia with NCL offering voyages to Tahiti and Fiji through 2026 and a range of Asia voyages across a choice of four ships departing from exotic ports such as Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, Manila, Taipei and Seoul.
“We take pride in delivering a variety of experiences for our guests and providing them with the most memorable holidays with exceptional value,” said Michelle Wiederman, Marketing Director APAC for Norwegian Cruise Line. “Cruising brings all types of travellers and groups together, including women, to reconnect and strengthen their relationships while immersing in new experiences. When sailing with NCL, you can wake up in a new destination, discover new adventures on and off the ship, spend time relaxing in our world-class spa facilities and indulge in endless dining and beverage options. We offer something for everyone.”
According to the research, the majority of women (74%) have previously taken a holiday with their female friends and family, and 62% have or intend to go away on an all-girls trip in 2024. Findings show that for these women, an all-girls trip isn’t simply a holiday. It gives them the chance to have a real catch up with their gal pals, enjoy shared experiences and discover new places, leaving them feeling refreshed and closer to their friends.
Although Galentine’s Day is widely observed on 13 February, the overarching message of honouring female friendships and dedicating time for all-girl getaways is relevant all year long. NCL’s expansive product offering provides the perfect platform for ladies to sail away together anywhere in the world and create memories they can cherish for a lifetime:
- Value-for-time and money travel: Cruising offers one of the best values to explore multiple destinations, unpacking once and waking up in a new destination nearly every day. For female travellers looking to maximise their time and travel budget, NCL’s popular Free at Sea offering delivers additional amenities to further design their dream holiday, including specialty dining and beverage packages, complimentary Wi-Fi, shore excursion credits, free companion airfare and more.
- Explore bucket-list worthy destinations in one trip: When planning a girls’ getaway, research showed most women opt for visiting another city, a sun-kissed beach break or an adventure getaway. Sailing to over 450 destinations across the globe, NCL offers cruises for every girls’ trip dream destination, including the Mediterranean; Northern Europe; as well as the industry’s only inter-island Hawaii cruises from Honolulu sailing to five islands in seven days.
- Share a room or go solo – it’s up to you: When going on an all-girls trip, 72% of surveyed women said they are willing to share a room with their travel companions. From inside staterooms for the value-seekers to luxurious multi-bedroom suites in The Haven by Norwegian®, NCL offers a broad variety of stateroom categories for every taste and travel style. Moreover, the cruise line has recently more than doubled the capacity of its solo accommodation and expanded its offerings to include Solo Inside, Solo Oceanview and Solo Balcony stateroom categories, providing more options than ever before for women who prefer to have their own accommodation while travelling with friends.
- Indulge at your pace: Research shows that popular traditions for women to celebrate Galentine’s Day and their female relationships include drinks at a bar, a fancy dinner, a spa visit, group-mani-pedi sessions and shopping. As part of NCL’s freedom and flexibility product offering, female travellers can enjoy NCL’s breadth of onboard activities. All ships in NCL’s award-winning fleet feature a Mandara Spa® with thermal suite experiences, saunas and signature treatments. Most notably, Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva, the first two ships in the ground-breaking Prima Class, debuted the first charcoal sauna at sea and other brand-first experiences like an ice room, experiential showers, a flotation salt pool and infrared sauna.
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