Luxury cruise ships keep getting bigger, fancier, and more luxurious. But that makes it harder to make your own ships stand out. Pool on deck, waterslides, and a helicopter? Been there, done that. Even a rollercoaster on the ship is now old news. But how about a racetrack? A Ferrari-partnered racetrack? On a ship? That’s a new one.
Norwegian Cruise Lines has done just that. They’ve put a two-story go-kart track on the top deck of their newest ship, the Norwegian Joy. That’s right, a race track on the top of a boat. The karts will be electric, and capable of speeds up to 65 km/h. Or should that be 35 knots? Either way, there isn’t much run-off area and the water trap is a long way down. Think of it like the harbour side of the track at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The track will be run in partnership with Scuderia Ferrari Watches. So the karts won’t quite be real Ferraris, but there will still be lots of scarlet and prancing horses around. They’ll take your photo at the finish as well, like on a theme part rollercoaster. The watch brand will have a store beside the track so you can put something on your wrist to make sure you don’t miss your next lap. Or dinner.
If you want to take a spin around the first racetrack-at-sea, then you’ll need to take a bit of a flight first. The Norwegian Joy sails out of China, from the home ports of Shanghai and Tianjin. Regular service is expected to start in June.