Norway Out, Much More From NCL!

Hi Everyone,

Various industry sources at this week's Seatrade Convention are filing
reports. Norwegian Cruise Line's CEO Colin Veitch said that the
Norway will not return to the NCL fleet. He said it could go to Asia
or become a floating hotel and no final decision had been made. No
surprise there.
NCL will keep SuperStar Leo in it's fleet and rename her, the
Norwegian Spirit. She will operate in Alaska & the Caribbean.
The Norwegian Sea will be transferred to parent company, Star Cruises,
and become part of their Asian fleet in the spring of 2005. The
Norwegian Sea will be replaced by the Norwegian Dream.
The New Orleans replacement has not been announced.
NCL's goal is to divest itself by 2010 of all the tonnage which it
owned prior to the Star takeover with the exception of the Norwegian
Sky.
NCL will sail 4-ships from Seattle to Alaska in 2005.
The Norwegian Dawn will sail 10-day & 11-day roundtrip cruises from
New York from November, 2004 to February 2005. She will no longer
sail the 7-night itineraries during the winter months.
If you have missed any of my news' postings, they are available on my
web site.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com

"CupCaked" wrote in message
I just got this same sad news of the SS NORWAY not entering the NCL
fleet again and being used at some point as a "floating hotel" (and
we've all heard about those before, haven't we?) I can't say that I'm
surprised at this. I just wonder what took them so long to make this
announcement?

Now, the next question is, what will NCL do with the SS UNITED STATES?
I'll give you three guesses.

Karen


If I'm not mistaken, NCL has stated more than once in the past that it was
not a question of if, but when NORWAY would be returned to service.

Some things about NCL never change. I still don't trust anything they have
to say.

Ernie

ps - Karen, I would not hold out much hope for SSUS.

From: Ray Goldenberg

Norwegian Cruise Line's CEO Colin Veitch said that the
Norway will not return to the NCL fleet.

The Norwegian Sea will be transferred to parent company, Star Cruises,

My love of sailing on NCL is rapidly dropping ...

Be seeing you
In the Village
Number 6

Hi Everyone,

I received this press release giving the official Norwegian Cruise
Lines version of the earlier posting of mine. If you have missed any
of my news' postings, they are available on my web site.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com


Company announces several updates for the NCL brand including the
transfer of Norwegian Sea to Star Cruises

MIAMI, March 17
Today during a press conference at the Seatrade Cruise Shipping
Convention, Norwegian Cruise Line’s President and Chief Executive
Office Colin Veitch made several announcements for the NCL brand.

1) SuperStar Leo will be permanently deployed in the NCL fleet after
her initial Alaska season and be renamed Norwegian Spirit. The ship
will spend the winter in Miami sailing five- and nine-day cruises.
Norwegian Spirit’s innovative nine-day itinerary leaves Miami on
Friday nights and travels to the Deep Southern Caribbean calling on
Bridgetown, Barbados; St. George’s, Grenada; Castries, St. Lucia; St.
John’s, Antigua; and Tortola, British Virgin Islands returning on
Sundays. According to Veitch, “This unique itinerary will be the only
way to cruise the Deep Southern Caribbean and only take a week off
work, all with the convenience of a Miami departure, which is just a
drive away for the large South Florida market or a short and
affordable flight for many markets around the U.S.” Norwegian Spirit’s
five-day itinerary will leave Miami on Sundays and call in George
Town, Grand Cayman and Roatan, Honduras.

2) Norwegian Sea will be transferred to the Star Cruises fleet in
Spring of 2005 enabling NCL’s parent company to go forward with its
plans to modify its fleet profile in Asia with relatively modern
vessels of medium capacity rather than mega ships. Medium sized ships
offer greater deployment flexibility and more diversification of
capacity in a developing market where demand patterns have yet to be
established. “This move once again demonstrates the advantage of
having a diverse fleet in two divergent markets that can be
strategically redeployed as part of an ever changing global
marketplace,” Veitch said. “The redeployment of a mid-size vessel such
as Norwegian Sea to Star Cruises is optimal for the Asian market and
utilizing a state-of-the-art mega ship such as SuperStar Leo is ideal
in the extremely competitive North American market.”

3) In October 2005, Norwegian Dream will take over Norwegian Sea’s
year round cruises out of Houston sailing Exotic Western Caribbean
seven-day cruises calling in Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; Belize
City, Belize; and Cancun, Mexico. The company will announce a
replacement ship for New Orleans shortly;

4) As NCL continues its fleet renewal program of adding bigger and
newer ships, Veitch announced that regretfully the S/S Norway would
not return to the North American cruise market. The company continues
to evaluate appropriate options for the vessel;

5) NCL will be increasing its deployment in Alaska in 2005 with an
additional ship bringing its total to four ships cruising Alaska’s
Inside Passage. Further details will be announced in the next few
weeks.

A full deployment schedule for the NCL and Orient Lines brands will
also be announced in the next few weeks.

More details on Norwegian Spirit
On May 15, 2004, Norwegian Spirit assumes Norwegian Sky’s Alaska
program through September 18, 2004.

After the Alaska season, Norwegian Spirit will undergo a significant
remodeling and refurbishment to further modify her for North American
service. Details on Norwegian Spirit’s refurbishment will be announced
soon.

“We have been extremely pleased with the welcome SuperStar Leo has
received since we first announced she would enter the NCL fleet for
the Alaska season,” Veitch said. “As the slightly smaller sister of
Norwegian Star, the ship will be right at home with our family of
modern Freestyle Cruising vessels.

“She is the perfect addition to the NCL fleet.”
Norwegian Spirit was built by Meyer Werft in Germany in 1999 and was
Star Cruises first newbuild and largest vessel. The ship is 879 feet
long and 106 feet wide, slightly smaller than her big sister,
Norwegian Star. Norwegian Spirit cruises at a maximum speed of 25
knots.

Like Norwegian Star, which begins her first Alaska season in May,
Norwegian Spirit offers a wide choice of interconnecting cabins
perfect for multi-generational families of all sizes. Staterooms
feature rich cherry wood finishing and the 391 balcony staterooms
offer a much larger bathroom unit than other ships, containing
separate WC, shower, and washstand compartments separated by sliding
doors. Sixty percent of cabins are outside staterooms and 66 percent
of these have balconies.

Most cabins include a sofa bed or pop-up trundle bed, giving a third
lower bed, and many have a fourth, pull-down berth. The ship also
offers a large number of cabins (including suites and junior-suites)
that can be combined to create two-, three- or four-bedroom areas
suitable for small and large families.

In keeping with Freestyle Cruising where guests can dine wherever,
whenever, and with whomever they wish, Norwegian Spirit features the
flexibility of eight restaurants including two main restaurants; NCL’s
signature restaurant Le Bistro; a traditional steakhouse; La
Trattoria, an Italian café; a buffet restaurant featuring action
stations; and a Japanese/Thai/Chinese Asian complex featuring an a la
carte section, a sushi bar, and a teppanyaki room.

Norwegian Spirit features world-class amenities including the Moulin
Rouge, a 900-seat, two level theatre; the Roman Spa and Fitness
Center; Buccaneer’s Wet n’ Wild kids center and a 78-seat cinema.
Norwegian Spirit Leo features nine bars and lounges, including a Bier
Garten that offers a selection of beers from around the world; a
champagne bar called Champagne Charlie’s; Henry’s Pub, a traditional
English pub; a karaoke lounge with private karaoke rooms; the
Celebrity Disco offering cocktails, entertainment and dancing; and the
Observatory, with sweeping ocean views, a dance floor and live
entertainment.

For reservations and more information, contact a travel agent.

Nothing will be done with the SS United States except pay any parking fees that
may come up. The only reason NCL bought the hull was to keep anybody else from
getting her.

Cal Ford
Lido Deck Cruises



In article , CupCaked says...


Hi Ray and everyone,

I just got this same sad news of the SS NORWAY not entering the NCL
fleet again and being used at some point as a "floating hotel" (and
we've all heard about those before, haven't we?) I can't say that I'm
surprised at this. I just wonder what took them so long to make this
announcement?

Now, the next question is, what will NCL do with the SS UNITED STATES?
I'll give you three guesses.

Karen



__ /7__/7__/7__
\::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.cupcaked.com/reviews
(...and leave off the "potatoes" to e-mail)

Interesting enough, the report only mentioned that NCL would have 4 ships in
Alaska. There is a possibility that one or more may be ported somewhere other
than Seattle. The possibility of having a NCL ship out of San Francisco makes
for some interesting marketing opportunities.

Cal Ford
Lido Deck Cruises


In article , Ray Goldenberg says...

Hi Everyone,

Various industry sources at this week's Seatrade Convention are filing
reports. Norwegian Cruise Line's CEO Colin Veitch said that the
Norway will not return to the NCL fleet. He said it could go to Asia
or become a floating hotel and no final decision had been made. No
surprise there.
NCL will keep SuperStar Leo in it's fleet and rename her, the
Norwegian Spirit. She will operate in Alaska & the Caribbean.
The Norwegian Sea will be transferred to parent company, Star Cruises,
and become part of their Asian fleet in the spring of 2005. The
Norwegian Sea will be replaced by the Norwegian Dream.
The New Orleans replacement has not been announced.
NCL's goal is to divest itself by 2010 of all the tonnage which it
owned prior to the Star takeover with the exception of the Norwegian
Sky.
NCL will sail 4-ships from Seattle to Alaska in 2005.
The Norwegian Dawn will sail 10-day & 11-day roundtrip cruises from
New York from November, 2004 to February 2005. She will no longer
sail the 7-night itineraries during the winter months.
If you have missed any of my news' postings, they are available on my
web site.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com

Cal Ford wrote:

Interesting enough, the report only mentioned that NCL would have 4 ships in
Alaska. There is a possibility that one or more may be ported somewhere other
than Seattle. The possibility of having a NCL ship out of San Francisco makes
for some interesting marketing opportunities.

Care to speculate which ship it might be?

"SNUMBER6" wrote in message
...
From: Ray Goldenberg

Norwegian Cruise Line's CEO Colin Veitch said that the
Norway will not return to the NCL fleet.

The Norwegian Sea will be transferred to parent company, Star Cruises,

My love of sailing on NCL is rapidly dropping ...

That just means that we have to sail on her again before she leaves
Houston~just as we did the Norway and old Pacific Princess before they left
;-( The Norwegian Sea was one of my favorites.

--Jean

Well, NCL Management pays about as much attention to me as my kids did when they
were in High School.......

but I think they should test the San Francisco market with a few sailings at
least and I think whichever smaller ship they have left by then would be a good
one. With a smaller ship they could offer a 12 day voyage and it would sell out.

Just my opinion but I think Princess needs the competition.

Cal Ford
Lido Deck Cruises


In article , RTCReferee says...

Cal Ford wrote:

Interesting enough, the report only mentioned that NCL would have 4 ships in
Alaska. There is a possibility that one or more may be ported somewhere other
than Seattle. The possibility of having a NCL ship out of San Francisco makes
for some interesting marketing opportunities.

Care to speculate which ship it might be?

Very sad about the old blue gal. Very sad indeed.

John
Office of Norwayites
The Zamgwar Institute