Largest Chandelier at Sea Installed on Norwegian Epic

Just because something is bigger doesn't mean it's better. So, when we heard that another "first" for Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic, is the largest LED chandelier at sea, now installed in the ship's Epic Casino, we weren't that impressed until we saw this photo. While the image is somewhat small, the design is absolutely stunning.

The chandelier, which will change colors to all in the spectrum—up to 255 possible variations—is 21 feet in height with a diameter of nearly 11 feet and weighs two metric tons. Built in Vienna, Austria by Kalmar, a leading glass crystal maker who has designed some of the largest chandeliers for hotels and palaces around the world, and designed by UK-based SMC Architects and Lighting Design, it is fitted with approximately 40,000 crystal glass pieces of various shapes and sizes and spans vertically to three decks, with vantage points from the casino, Teppanyanki restaurant, Wasabi Sushi Bar, Malting's Whiskey Bar, Shaker's Martini Bar, and the Atrium. The design is of spiraling oval discs, each up to 30 feet in circumference, and 112 suspended crystal encrusted balls of up to one foot in diameter, which orbit the main structure at varying heights.

The chandelier is also the most energy efficient at sea. It is completely illuminated by LED technology, using over 10,000 diodes. It is fully dimmable to most effectively enhance the lead crystals and is currently being programmed by UK-based Project International. The impressive structure, which will be the focal point of the ship's Atrium, took a team of people three weeks to install it. No word yet on who will be responsible for cleaning it and how long that will take! For more information on Norwegian Epic, visit Epic.NCL.com.

Norwegian Epic will sail alternating 7-day Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Miami beginning July 10, 2010 through April 2011. From May through Oct 2011, Norwegian Epic will sail a 7-day Western Mediterranean itinerary from Barcelona, Spain. To book a cruise on Norwegian Epic, call Norwegian Cruise Line at 888-NCL-CRUISE (625-2784), visit NCL.com, or contact a travel professional.

Photo courtesy of B. Biger/STX France Cruise SA