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Norwegian Cruise Line and Orient Lines
By Cindy Bertram
Clearly Norwegian Cruise Line is a cruise line that has successfully managed to re-invent itself again and again, has survived ownership changes as well as name changes, and is a true pioneer in the cruise industry.
Cruise Line of Innovation and Firsts
In its early days, NCL pioneered the private out island port for its guests as well as the Bahamarama cruises. It was the first cruise line to offer full Broadway shows onboard. And in l999, NCL actually introduced the first Internet access for guests aboard with its Internet Café. Then came its highly innovative "Freestyle Cruising" concept for its guests in 2000, followed by its Homeland Cruising program, which greatly expanded roundtrip cruise itineraries sailing from U.S. ports seasonally. And in May of this year, NCL launched the first roundtrip cruise service from New York City with the Norwegian Dawn.
Most recently, NCL has successfully established itself as a leader in the Hawaii cruise market, with "Project America" firmly in place - its new flag brand, NCL America, will begin offering 7 day inter-island cruises from Honolulu beginning in July of 2004; these will be U.S. flagged and U.S. crewed ships.
An innovator from the beginning, in l977 NCL pioneered the "out island" concept, with its purchase of Great Stirrup Cay island in the Bahamas. This was a first in the industry - offering a private island experience as an exclusive port of call, for use only by NCL cruise passengers, and other cruise lines began emulating the concept.
In addition to its "white ships," NCL acquired the SS Norway (formerly the SS France) and in 1980, she entered service after undergoing over $100 million dollars worth of refurbishment, and was dubbed "the largest cruise ship in the world" at 1,035 feet long.
By l987, recognizing it was expanding into markets besides the Caribbean, NCL officially changed its name to "Norwegian Cruise Line." And NCL began expanding its fleet of ships, with the introduction of the Seaward, and later the Dreamward.
NCL parent company acquired two other cruise lines, Royal Viking Line and Royal Cruise Line, but by the mid l990s, these two cruise lines were phased out. Norwegian Cruise Line remained intact and became the full focus of the company. In the late 1980s, NCL started bringing in new ships to replace its "white ships." Also, NCL changed most of its ships names to reflect the "Norwegian" prefix - this was done in a move to strengthen NCL brand identity.
When NCL was acquired by Star Cruises PLC of Malaysia in February, 2000, it marked the rebirth of a cruise line known for innovation. Shortly after that in April 2000, NCL launched its new "Freestyle Cruising" concept.
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