Norwegian Cruise Line is working on bringing the entire theater program back on cruise, the cruise line’s Senior Vice President for Entertainment and Cruise Programs, Richard Ambrose, said during a virtual press conference.

“When we go back into service – which is hopefully very, very soon – there will be a full entertainment program. Some of our favorites are going to be a little delayed and that’s just because of the rules that we have to abide by to get the crew safely onboard the ship and rehearsed… Some shows are going to be delayed by up to four to six weeks. But they’re coming,” Ambrose said. “When we open a ship, it will have a full entertainment component.”

Ambrose said that theater guests onboard the Norwegian fleet will be seated in a checkerboard way.

“We only have to be a meter apart right now, so it’s going to be every other seat. And we also have to have space before and after a guest. You won’t have somebody sitting in front of you, you won’t have somebody sitting behind you. It’s like a big checkerboard if you consider it that way,” he said, adding that social distancing will also be observed between the cast and the guests.

Norwegian Cruise Line is also trying to figure out how it will ensure that there are no crowds when entering and exiting the theater, Ambrose added.

All of Norwegian’s theater casts will be in bubbles, according to Ambrose.

This means that the cruise line will not be able to have as many performers simultaneously onboard as it used to, which pre-pandemic was “anywhere between 200 and 300.”

“They come in – we know that they are COVID-free, and we want to keep them that way. So, they transfer to their studios in their transportation that we provide, they go back to their housing, and they never intermingle as much [as possible.] You have all these different ships with different cast coming in. And then you also have a costume department that is totally in a bubble,” he said.

The performers won’t have to wear masks on stage, but everyone in the backstage area will.