Norwegian Spirit

Norwegian Spirit is a cruise ship currently operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She was built for Star Cruises as SuperStar Leo.

This article is about the cruise ship formerly known as SuperStar Leo. For the Thoroughbred racehorse, see Superstar Leo.

Norwegian Spirit in Venice in July 2018
History
Name:
  • 1998–2004: SuperStar Leo
  • 2004–present: Norwegian Spirit
Owner:
Port of registry:
Builder: Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany
Laid down: 5 October 1996
Launched: 24 September 1998
Acquired: 2004
In service: 1998
Identification:
Status: In service
General characteristics
Class and type: Leo-class cruise ship
Displacement: 75,904 GT
Length: 879 ft (267.92 m)
Beam: 106 ft (32.31 m)
Height: 163 ft (49.68 m)
Depth: 26 ft (7.92 m)
Decks: 14
Installed power: 4 ×  MAN-B&W 14V48/60 (4 × 14,700 kW)
Propulsion:
  • Diesel-electric; two shafts
  • Two ABB HSSOL 38/1256 propulsion motors (2 × 20 MW)
Speed:
  • 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
  • 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph) (maximum)
Capacity: 1,996 passengers
Crew: 965

History
The vessel as SuperStar Leo in Sydney Harbour, 2004

The vessel was constructed by Meyer Werft in Germany. Named SuperStar Leo in 1998, the vessel was the first of Star Cruises' Leo class. She was then homeported in Singapore in 1998 and operated 2–5 night cruises to Malaysia and Thailand. One year later, SuperStar Virgo arrived in Singapore. She was then based in Hong Kong in 10 September 1999 and offered 1–5 night cruises to China, Hainan, Vietnam and the South China Sea.

In 2003, SuperStar Leo was transferred to Australia due to SARS in Asia and she returned to Hong Kong afterwards.

In 2004, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) was planning to launch Pride of America. However, just prior to completion, the vessel partially sank when a storm hit the Lloyd Werft shipyards. To meet the already booked cruises for Pride of America, Norwegian Sky was immediately rushed into service as Pride of Aloha. To compensate for the unexpected events, SuperStar Leo was immediately transferred to the NCL fleet, her planned cruises cancelled (thus forcing Star Cruises to refund or re-book passengers), and after only two weeks of refits, the vessel emerged as Norwegian Spirit, ready to assume the planned cruises of Norwegian Sky.

Vessel class

Norwegian Spirit is the first ship of this design. She was followed by SuperStar Virgo, her sister ship which is with Star Cruises. No other ships of this particular design were constructed.[1]

Propulsion

Four 14-cylinder MAN B&W 14V48 medium speed diesel engines, each producing 14,700 kilowatts (19,700 hp), driving ABB electric propulsion motors coupled to twin propellers.

Cruises

Norwegian Spirit currently offers two different itineraries, based year-round in Europe; 12-night Grand Mediterranean cruises in the summer and autumn, and nine-night cruises to the Canary Islands in the winter and spring.[2]

Norwegian Spirit will be deployed seasonally to China beginning in summer 2020. Before this, the ship will undergo an extensive renovation.[3]

Incidents

In 2005, Norwegian Spirit hit a pier in Juneau, Alaska, causing minor damage. In 2007, Norwegian Spirit again struck a pier, this time in New York Harbor. In both cases, repairs were made to the ship. On 25 May 2008, at approximately 9:00 am, Norwegian Spirit contacted Pier 90 in New York City at the end of an eight-day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. She damaged the parking garage support columns and the bow of the ship.

In January 2006, a rogue wave was encountered off the coast of Tortola.

In March 2011, Norwegian Spirit was over 12 hours late due to a death on the ship and a collision into the pier in Mexico.

In October 2019, passengers held protests on a two-week cruise of Europe after planned stops were cancelled, toilets became blocked, and the cruise line offered as compensation a 25 percent discount off future cruises.[4]

In March 2020, passengers of Norwegian Spirit where banned from disembarking in Port Victoria, Seychelles amid fears over the coronavirus and the announcement of a temporary closing for cruise ships.[5]

Media

In 2003, Japanese TV drama Netsuretsu teki chuuka hanten took place on SuperStar Leo.

References
  1. Attractions dot Com, Bermuda. "Bermuda Attractions website". Bermuda Attractions. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  2. "Norwegian Cruise Line Press Releases". www.ncl.com.
  3. "Norwegian Cruise Line Moving Cruise Ships to New Homeports". cruisefever.net. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  4. "'We want a refund': Passengers on Norwegian Spirit cruise ship protest on board". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  5. Ernesta, Sharon (9 March 2020). "Seychelles closes cruise ship season amidst fears of COVID–19". Seychelles News Agency. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.