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Norwegian Cruise Line History

best cruise vacation norwegian cruise line

NCL was established as Norwegian Cruise Line in 1966 by Knut Kloster and Ted Arison. NCL only entered passenger services with the building of the Sunward (1) in 1966. Sunward was built to operate on a new cruise-ferry service from Southampton to Vigo, Lisbon and Gibraltar, her design being an enlarged version of the typical Scandinavian ferries being built at the time. The new line was called Klosters Sunward Ferries. Despite great promise, the route was not a success, and Sunward was soon moved to Miami to operate for Ted Arison (later to form Carnival) as Norwegian Caribbean Line on sailings to Nassau. The venture was so successful that additional ships were soon ordered, Starward. NCL'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, which is now a casino. NCL was responsible for many of the cruise innovations that have now become standard throughout the industry. In addition, the Cunard Ambassador was bought, becoming the Sunward II. The next stage in the company's growth was the bold step of buying the famous France, the world's longest liner, and converting her into the what was then the world's largest cruise ship, the Norway. In 2000,NCL – acquired by Malaysia’s Star Cruises after a spirited bidding war with other corporate cruise leaders -- also was first to deploy a modern ship full-time in the seven-day Hawaiian market. In 2003, NCL announced the purchase of the famed American flagged liners SS United States and SS Independence. Although it has promised to restore the SS United States back to service, the future of the great ship remains uncertain to this day. In August, 2007, NCL announced that New York based investment group Apollo Management is buying a 50% stake in the company for $1 billion, to become 50/50 partners with Star Cruises. Apollo will have three of five board members, so they are effectively taking control of NCL though the management lineup at the cruise line itself is expected to remain the same.

Norwegian Cruise Line