Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), also known in short as Norwegian, is a cruise line founded in 1966, incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Miami.[2] It is the third-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling about 8.7% of the total worldwide share of the cruise market by passengers as of 2018.[3] It is wholly owned by parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. It has had no connection with Norway since 1980, and only a limited connection before that.

Norwegian Cruise Line
Subsidiary
ISINBMG667211046 
IndustryTourism
Founded1966 (1966)
FounderTed Arison 
HeadquartersMiami, Florida, United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Harry Sommer (CEO)
ProductsCruises
Revenue$6.06 billion (2018)[1]
ParentNorwegian Cruise Line Holdings
Websitencl.com

History

The cruise line was founded as Norwegian Caribbean Line in 1966 by the Norwegian Knut Kloster and the Israeli Ted Arison, with the 8,666-ton, 140-m cruise ship/car ferry, Sunward,[4] which in 1966 operated as a car ferry between Southampton UK and Gibraltar, for that one short season only. Arison soon left to form Carnival Cruise Lines, while Kloster acquired additional ships for Caribbean service. Norwegian pioneered many firsts in the cruise industry, such as the first Out Island Cruise, the first combined air-sea program (marketed as "Cloud 9 Cruises"), which combined low-cost air fares with the cruise, and first shipline to develop new ports in the Caribbean, such as Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Like the original Sunward of 1966, Norwegians's second ship, the Starward, had the capability to carry automobiles through a well-concealed stern door. Later, this area was turned into cabins and a two-deck movie theater, later to be used as a casino. Norwegian was responsible for many of the cruise innovations that have now become standard throughout the industry.

SS Norway arriving at Southampton

Norwegian made headlines with the acquisition of the France in 1979, rebuilding the liner as a cruise ship and renaming her Norway.[5] The conversion cost more than US$100 million. The Norway was at the time significantly larger than any existing cruise ship, and exploited the extra space available by adding a greater-than-usual variety of onboard entertainment. Her success paved the way for a new era of giant cruise ships. A boiler explosion in May 2003 forced Norwegian to withdraw the Norway from service, later being laid up in Bremerhaven, Germany, until 2005, when she was towed to Port Klang Malaysia with the claimed intent to use her as an anchored casino or slow overnight casino cruises on her remaining boilers. Instead, she was sold for scrap and renamed the SS Blue Lady[6] and later beached at Alang, Gujarat, India, in August 2006 with claims that she had not been cleaned of toxic materials.[7] On September 11, 2007, the India Supreme Court issued an order permitting her to be broken up at Alang, despite the presence of large amounts of hazardous asbestos remaining on board.[8][9]

Norwegian has expanded to other parts of the world, including Alaska, Europe, Bermuda, and Hawaii. Between 1997 and 2001, the company also operated cruises out of Australia under the name Norwegian Capricorn Line.

Norwegian acquired Orient Lines in 1998.[10] After talks,[11] Norwegian itself was acquired in 2000 by Star Cruises, a subsidiary of Genting Hong Kong, part of the Malaysia-based Genting Group.[12] In 2007, Star Cruises sold Orient Line's Marco Polo to Transocean Tours,[13] and Orient Lines ceased operations in early 2008.[14]

In 2002, Norwegian purchased the half-complete hull of the first Project America ship, at the time under construction at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, US, which was towed to Germany to be completed at the Lloyd Werft shipyard. Subsequently, Norwegian acquired the rights to move two ships built entirely outside the United States under the US flag, making it possible to start a US-flagged operation under the brand name NCL America.[15][16] In 2003, the company announced the purchase of the American-flagged liners SS United States and SS Independence. In their July 2007 fiscal report, Norwegian noted the sale of the Independence, renamed SS Oceanic some time before. On July 1, 2010, the SS United States Conservancy struck a deal to buy the SS United States for $3 million. On February 1, 2011, the ownership was officially transferred to the SS United States Conservancy.[17]

In August 2007, Star Cruises sold 50% of Norwegian for $1 billion to US-based Apollo Management to strengthen Norwegian's financial position.[18]

Subsequently, Norwegian reported in February 2008 that the Pride of Aloha, one of the two remaining NCL America ships, would be withdrawn from service in May of the same year. Initial reports suggested she would be transferred to the fleet of Star Cruises,[19] but it was later announced that she would return to the Norwegian international fleet as the Norwegian Sky,[20] while the Norwegian Majesty and Norwegian Dream would be sold to Louis Cruise Lines.[21] The sale of the Norwegian Dream was subsequently cancelled.[22] The Norwegian Dream became the Superstar Gemini for Star Cruises, from January 2013.[23]

On June 1, 2012, Norwegian announced the signing of a memorandum of agreement to exercise its option to purchase Norwegian Sky. The purchase price was roughly $260 million, financing being provided by the seller.[24]

On October 17, 2012, Meyer Werft and Norwegian reached a second agreement for the construction of two new vessels, slated for delivery in October 2015 and 2017, respectively. The project was under the code name "Breakaway Plus Class", with the vessels expected to be 163,000 gross tons and hold 4,200 passengers. The Norwegian Escape entered service in November 2015 and weighs 164,600 tons.[25] Two more vessels were ordered on July 14, 2014, and they will enter service in 2018 and 2019 and will be slightly bigger at 164,000 GT.[26]

Initial public offering and reorganisation

Following an initial public offering and corporate reorganisation in 2013, Norwegian was made a wholly owned subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH),[27][28] while Norwegian's previous owners Genting Hong Kong, Apollo Management and TPG Capital exchanged their stakes in Norwegian for shares in the newly listed NCLH.[29]

On 11 March 2014, Norwegian announced that it was cancelling all future port calls in Tunisia following an incident wherein the country forbade Israeli nationals from disembarking.[30]

In December 2016, Norwegian Cruise Line announced it had reached an agreement with the Cuban government.[31] In May 2017, the Norwegian Sky was the first Norwegian Cruise Line vessel to ever visit Cuba. The Norwegian Sky makes weekly trips from Miami to Havana, making Norwegian the only line sailing that route weekly.[32]

On May 2, 2017, Norwegian Cruise Line announced a new PortMiami Terminal.[33] The construction began on May 1, 2018, and is scheduled for completion by fall 2019.[34] Between 2022 and 2025, Fincantieri will deliver four ships[35] and in July 2018, the company announced an order for two more Project Leonardo ships. They are expected to enter service in 2026 and 2027.[36] In December 2018, Norwegian revealed plans to build a new pier in Alaska's Icy Strait Point.[37]

COVID-19 pandemic

In March 2020, the Miami New Times reported that managers at Norwegian had prepared a set of responses intended to convince customers wary of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to book cruises, including "blatantly false" claims that the coronavirus "can only survive in cold temperatures, so the Caribbean is a fantastic choice for your next cruise", that "[s]cientists and medical professionals have confirmed that the warm weather of the spring will be the end of the [c]oronavirus", and that the virus "cannot live in the amazingly warm and tropical temperatures that your cruise will be sailing to."[38][39][40][41][42]

On March 14, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a No Sail Order for cruise ships. Concurrently Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings implemented a suspension of all cruise voyages across its three brands (Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises), with all 28 ships in port or at anchor and all passengers disembarked by March 28, 2020. This suspension has subsequently been extended through June 30, 2020.[43]:S-1

On May 5, 2020, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) said there is “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a “going concern” as it faces a liquidity crisis over the next twelve months.[43]:S-6

By the next day, NCLH was able to secure over $2.2 billion of additional liquidity in oversubscribed capital markets transactions, but at a price: (1) $400 million in common stock at $11 per share; (2) $675 million in senior secured notes due 2024 at a 12.25% interest rate; (3) $750 million in exchangeable notes due 2024 at 6% interest rate, and exchangeable at any time into common shares at $13.75; and (4) $400 million private investment from a global private equity firm.[44][45] On May 7, 2020, NCLH CEO declared that the company has secured enough liquidity to get through potentially 18 months of zero revenues and may resume cruising later in 2020.[46][47]

In anticipation of sailing again, Norwegian is implementing new health and safety measures, including installing H13 HEPA air filters.[48]. The company is also working with the CDC and the new color-coding system to indicate each ship's COVID-19 status, and to repatriate Norwegian crews still stuck aboard their vessel.[49] While NCL does anticipate sailing again, the cruise ship industry as a whole is under the microscope. On June 10th, 2020 the Financial Post referred to the cruise industry as floating Petri dishes. [50]

Fleet

As of December 2019, Norwegian Cruise Line operates 17 cruise ships, with six on order. It has also previously owned or operated 19 other ships. All its ships are flagged to the Bahamas, except for the Pride of America, which operates cruises within the United States and is flagged and registered in the US, as well as being owned by a US-registered subsidiary, NCL America.

Current ships
Ship Built In service for NCL Last
refurbishment		 Gross
tonnage		 Flag Notes Image
Spirit class
Norwegian Spirit 1998 2004–present January 2020[51] 75,904  Bahamas Previously SuperStar Leo
Sun class
Norwegian Sky 1999 1999-2004,

2008–present

 2019 77,104  Bahamas Originally constructed as Costa Olympia but sold to NCL during construction, sailed under NCL America as Pride of Aloha from 2004 to 2008
Norwegian Sun 2001 2001–present 2018[51] 78,309  Bahamas
Dawn class
Norwegian Star 2001 2001–present 2018 91,740  Bahamas Originally ordered as Superstar Libra
Norwegian Dawn 2002 2002–present June 2016[52] 92,250  Bahamas Originally ordered as SuperStar Scorpio
Pride of America class
Pride of America 2005 2005–present March 2016 80,439  United States The only US flagged cruise ship in the world
Jewel class
Norwegian Jewel 2005 2005–present November 2018[53] 93,502  Bahamas
Norwegian Jade 2006 2006–present March 2017[51] 93,558  Bahamas Formerly Pride Of Hawaii, reconstructed in 2008 as the Norwegian Jade
Norwegian Pearl 2006 2006–present February 2017[54] 93,530  Bahamas
Norwegian Gem 2007 2007–present November 2015 93,530  Bahamas
Epic class[55]
Norwegian Epic 2010 2010–present October 2015[52] 155,873  Bahamas The only ship in her class
Breakaway class
Norwegian Breakaway 2013 2013–present April 2018 145,655[56]  Bahamas
Norwegian Getaway 2014 2014–present June 2019 145,655[57]  Bahamas
Breakaway Plus class
Norwegian Escape 2015 2015–present None 164,600  Bahamas
Norwegian Joy 2017 2017–present February 2019 167,725  Bahamas Originally designed for China in 2017, but refurbished and transferred to the American Market in 2019.
Norwegian Bliss 2018 2018–present None 168,028  Bahamas
Norwegian Encore 2019 2019–present None 169,145[58]  Bahamas 9th largest cruise ship in the world after Royal Caribbean International's Spectrum of the Seas.

Future ships
Ship Inaugural Voyage Gross tonnage Flag Notes Image
Project Leonardo
Unnamed 2022 140,000
Unnamed 2023 140,000
Unnamed 2024 140,000
Unnamed 2025 140,000
Unnamed 2026 140,000
Unnamed 2027 140,000

Previous ships
Ship Built In service
for NCL		 Gross
tonnage		 Status as of 2019 Image
Sunward 1966 1966–1976 10,558 Scrapped in 2004 at Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Starward 1968 1968–1995 15,781 Scrapped in 2018 at Alang, India.
Skyward 1969 1969–1991 15,653 Since 2000 Leisure World for New Century Cruise Lines.
Southward 1971 1971–1994 16,710 Scrapped in 2013 at Aliaga, Turkey.
Sunward II 1971 1977–1991 14,194 Scrapped in 2014 at Aliaga, Turkey.
Norway 1961 1979–2003 76,049 Scrapped in 2008 at Alang, India.
Seaward / Norwegian Sea 1988 1988–2005 42,285 Previously SuperStar Libra. Now used as hotel ship for workers at MV Werften.[59]
Westward 1972 1991–1993 28,613 Since 1996 Black Watch for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.
Sunward 1973 1991–1992,

1992–1993

 28,551 Since 2005 Boudicca for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.
Dreamward / Norwegian Dream 1992 1992–2008 50,764 Since 2012 SuperStar Gemini for Star Cruises.
Windward / Norwegian Wind 1993 1993–2007 51,309 Since 2007 SuperStar Aquarius for Star Cruises.
Leeward 1980 1995–1999 25,611 Since 2007 Cristal for Louis Cruise Lines.
Norwegian Crown 1988 1996–2000,

2003–2007

 43,537 Since 2008 Balmoral for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.
Norwegian Star 1973 1997–1998 28,518 Since 2004 MS Albatros for Phoenix Reisen.
Norwegian Dynasty 1993 1997–1999 24,344 Since 2001 Braemar for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.
Norwegian Majesty 1992 1997–2009 41,662 Since 2018 Crown Iris for Mano Maritime.
Independence 1951 Never entered service 26,658 Wrecked and scrapped in 2010 off Alang, India.
SS United States 1952 Never entered service 38,216 Laid up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Seaward 1972 Never entered service 17,042 Sank in 2016 near the port of Laem Chabang, Thailand.

Private islands

Norwegian owns two private islands in the Caribbean: Harvest Caye in Belize and Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas.[60]

gollark: The sky, and MANY bees.
gollark: Hello, foolish mortals!
gollark: >pickup
gollark: Bees apinated?
gollark: Okay, I have no idea where it's from.

References
  1. "Norwegian Cruise Line revenue". Craft. Archived from the original on October 23, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  2. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/26/coronavirus-bailout-could-exclude-carnival-norwegian-royal-caribbean-cruise-lines.html
  3. "2018 Worldwide Cruise Line Market Share". Cruise Market Watch. 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  4. "Norwegian Cruise Line Celebrates Fifty Years". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  5. Kidd, Vernon (October 14, 1979). "Cruise Liners: Resort Hotels That Travel the World". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  6. SS Norway ex France Archived September 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Ssmaritime.com. Retrieved on October 17, 2011.
  7. "'Toxic ship' cleared for breaking". BBC. August 2, 2006.
  8. Maritime Matters: France, Norway Archived July 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Indian court says 'Blue Lady' can be broken up". Khaleej Times Online. September 11, 2007. Archived from the original on September 1, 2009.
  10. Ward, Douglas (2006). Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2006. Berlitz. p. 384. ISBN 981-246-739-4.
  11. "NCL in talks on possible partnership with Star Cruises". Business Times. December 8, 1999. p. 33.
  12. Asklander, Micke. "Kloster Cruise / Norwegian Cruise Line". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  13. "NCL Announces Farwell Season of Marco Polo". Orient Lines press release. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2007.
  14. Newman, Doug (March 31, 2008). "The End of Orient Lines". At Sea with Doug Newman. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  15. "Star buys Project America". Bnet. November–December 2002. Archived from the original on May 19, 2005. Retrieved April 14, 2008.
  16. "Project America rides again". MarineLog.com. January 18, 2003. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved April 14, 2008.
  17. http://www.washingtontimes.com, The Washington Times. "'Big U' gets a 20-month lifeline". The Washington Times. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  18. "Apollo invests $1billion in NCL Corp to take 50% stake". Cruise Business Review. August 17, 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
  19. "NCL Corporation Announces Adjustments to Hawai'i Fleet". NCL press release. Norwegian Cruise Line. February 11, 2008. Retrieved April 14, 2008.
  20. "It's official: Pride of Aloha rejoins NCL international fleet as Norwegian Sky". Cruise Business Review. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. May 6, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
  21. Joshi, Rajesh; Lowry, Nigel (April 14, 2008). "NCL close to offloading cruiseship trio". Lloyd's List. Archived from the original on April 26, 2008. Retrieved April 14, 2008.
  22. "No Dream for Louis Cruises". Cruise Business Review. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. September 30, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
  23. "SuperStar Gemini to undergo massive US$50mil refurbishment". The Star Online. September 29, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  24. "Norwegian Signs Memorandum of Agreement for Purchase of Norwegian Sky". Cruise Industry News. June 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  25. "Norwegian Cruise Line to Build Third New Ship". Cruisecritic.co.uk. October 17, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  26. "Norwegian Cruise Line Orders Two New Ships". cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  27. "Company History". nclhltdmedia.com. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  28. "Norwegian Cruise Line IPO soars 31%". USA Today. January 17, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  29. FORM 10-K (Annual Report) (PDF) (Report). Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. February 20, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  30. Sampson, Hannah (March 12, 2014). "After Israeli passengers rebuffed, Norwegian Cruise Line cancels Tunisia calls - Tourism & Cruises - MiamiHerald.com". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  31. "Sailing soon from the U.S. to Cuba: ships from Norwegian and Royal Caribbean". Miami Herald. December 7, 2016.
  32. "Norwegian Cruise Line kicks off voyages to Cuba". USA Today. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  33. Staff, CIN (May 4, 2017). "PortMiami Set to Develop New Terminal for Norwegian".
  34. Staff, CIN (March 7, 2018). "Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Announces New Terminal at PortMiami". Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  35. "Fincantieri: A New Class of Ships for Norwegian Cruise Line". February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  36. "Norwegian Cruise Line to Build More Leonardo-Class Cruise Ships - Norwegian Cruise Line". www.cruisecritic.com. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  37. Staff, C. I. N. (December 6, 2018). "Norwegian to Build Pier at Icy Strait Point in Alaska". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  38. "Norwegian Cruise Line managers urged salespeople to spread falsehoods about coronavirus". The Washington Post. 2020.
  39. Cardona, Alexi C. (March 11, 2020). "Leaked Emails: Norwegian Pressures Sales Team to Mislead Potential Customers About Coronavirus". Miami New Times. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  40. Gander, Kashmira (February 11, 2020). "Could Coronavirus Really Be Killed by Hot Weather? Scientists Weigh In". Newsweek. Retrieved March 12, 2020. Dr. Ravinder Kanda, senior lecturer in evolutionary genomics at Oxford Brookes University, U,.K., told Newsweek: "Little is known about the seasonal dynamics of this particular virus—we cannot take it for granted that the warmer weather will simply drive the virus out of existence."
  41. Gunia, Amy (February 28, 2020). "Will Warmer Weather Stop the Spread of the Coronavirus? Don't Count on It, Say Experts". Time. Retrieved March 12, 2020. Dr. Nancy Messionnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned against assuming the number of cases will slow as the weather warms. “I think it’s premature to assume that,” she said during a call with reporters on Feb. 12. “We haven’t been through even a single year with this pathogen.”
  42. Farber, Madeline (February 20, 2020). "Will the coronavirus die out as the weather warms?". Fox News. Retrieved March 12, 2020. "We hope that the gradual spring will help this virus recede, but our crystal ball is not very clear. The new coronavirus is a respiratory virus, and we know respiratory viruses are often seasonal, but not always. For example, influenza (flu) tends to be seasonal in the U.S., but in other parts of the world, it exists year-round. Scientists don’t fully understand why even though we have been studying [the] flu for many years,” Dr. William Schaffner, the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, told Fox News in an email.
  43. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. "Preliminary prospectus supplement: $350,000,000 ordinary shares". nclhltdinvestor.com: SEC filings. p. see page S-6. Retrieved May 5, 2020. The factors described above, in particular the suspension of cruise voyages and decline in advanced bookings, as well as debt maturities and other obligations over the next year, have raised substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, as the Company does not have sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations over the next twelve months, assuming no additional financing or other proactive measures.
  44. "Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. successfully secures over $2 billion of additional liquidity in oversubscribed capital markets transactions". market watch. May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  45. Duberstein, Billy (May 6, 2020). "Norwegian Cruise Line bites the bullet and raises more money: Why that's good and bad". motley fool. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  46. Helen Coster, Joshua Franklin (May 7, 2020). "Norwegian Cruise Line has enough cash for 18 months of no revenue - CEO". reuters.com. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  47. Clifford, Tyler (May 7, 2020). "Norwegian Cruise Line CEO: 'We expect to sail sometime in 2020'". cnbc.com. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  48. Settembre, Jeanette (June 2, 2020). "Norwegian Cruise Line reopening with medical-grade air filtration used in airplanes". FOXBusiness. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  49. Oliver, David. "CDC creates new color-coded system to designate ships with potential coronavirus exposure". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  50. https://business.financialpost.com/financial-times/the-2020s-were-meant-to-be-a-boom-decade-for-cruises-then-covid-19-hit-them-like-a-tidal-wave
  51. "THE NORWEGIAN EDGE®". Cruise Critic. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  52. "Norwegian Edge | Norwegian Cruise Line". www.ncl.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  53. Staff, C. I. N. (November 9, 2018). "Norwegian Jewel Set for Sydney Debut After Refit". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  54. "Norwegian Pearl Emerges From Dry Dock With Upgraded Cabins and Restaurants - Norwegian Cruise Line". www.cruisecritic.com.
  55. "Norwegian Cruise Ships | Cruise Ship Deck Plans | Norwegian Cruise Line". www.ncl.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  56. "Norwegian Breakaway". ncl.com. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  57. "Norwegian Getaway". ncl.com. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  58. "Keel laying ceremony for the Norwegian Encore". meyerwerft.de. Meyer Werft. November 28, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  59. "SuperStar Libra to Become Hotel Ship at MV Werften". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  60. "Norwegian Cruise Line unveils Harvest Caye to first visitors". The San Pedro Sun. November 23, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.