Norwegian Cruise Line is giving away cruises to 15 teachers it thinks ‘spread the joy of learning’

Is your teacher a class act? 

If so then you might like to nominate him or her to win a seven-day cruise aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Joy ship.

There are 15 places up for grabs and the winners will also receive a return flight and hotel accommodation to attend an awards ceremony where one teacher will scoop $15,000 (£11,302) for their school. 

Norwegian is looking for 15 teachers from the U.S or Canada who are ‘spreading the joy of learning’ in their classrooms as it re-launches Norwegian Joy – its 15th ship – after a $50million (£38m) makeover.

For the next four weeks, anyone in the US or Canada can nominate their favourite teacher and it’s not regarded as cheating for teachers to nominate themselves. Nominations should be submitted on the company’s website. 

The operator will select the winners from among the teachers whose names it receives by the closing date of Friday, April 12.  

Once the candidates are chosen, anyone will be able to vote for them or share their submission on social media to gain more votes.

The cruise operator says that the campaign acknowledges a very important synergy between travel and education, expressed in the mantra ‘travel broadens the mind’. 

‘Travel is a powerful means of education. It brings people closer to each other and to diverse cultures around the world,’ said Andy Stuart, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line. 

‘Through our Giving Joy campaign, we celebrate the power of education and travel, and reward teachers who have taken responsibility for our future, our children, and who lean into that responsibility with all they’ve got.’

Teachers also acknowledge travel and education go hand in hand. 

A survey by the Student and Youth Travel Association (SYTA) found that 74 per cent of teachers think that students who travel are more successful. 

For the next four weeks, anyone in the US or Canada can nominate their favourite teacher to win a cruise on the Norwegian Joy (pictured) – and it’s not regarded as cheating for teachers to nominate themselves

They also believe that travel can have far-reaching positive impacts on students’ careers and education.

Joy will embark on her first sailing of the season on May 4 – ahead of Teacher Appreciation Week which runs Monday 6 May through Friday 10 May – offering seven-day cruises from Seattle to Alaska. 

Later this year, she will sail from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera or the Panama Canal and from Miami to the Panama Canal. Next year, the itinerary will be from Miami to the Caribbean.