Company Overview:
A few
people in cruising deserve special recognition,
and the original founder of NCL, Knut Kloster,
is certainly one of them. Another is Ted Arison,
the founder of Carnival Corp and father to
present day Carnival CEO, Micky Arison. The
Norwegian, Kloster, and the Israeli, Arison,
started selling Miami to Nassau cruises together
under the name "Norwegian Caribbean Line." And
so was humbly born not only what became two huge
companies, but also an entire industry. It all
began with a tiny 830-ton steamer, the Sunward,
originally built for ferry service in Europe. Of
course, there was a "disagreement" and Arison
left only to eventually start competitor
Carnival Cruise Lines, but Kloster kept the
company going, soon changing the name to
Norwegian Cruise Lines, adding more ships,
making waves and sometimes enduring rough seas.
Some of the landmark achievements in the history
of NCL include buying the SS France in 1979,
once the fastest ocean liner ever built (by the
French Government), and re-naming it the SS
Norway, then the largest cruise ship in the
world. NCL pioneered the first combined air-sea
program (marketed as "Cloud 9 Cruises") which
combined low cost air fares with the cruise,
which helped transform cruising from a Florida
novelty into a national industry. It was the
first cruise line to develop new ports in the
Caribbean, like Ocho Rios in Jamaica, and their
own "private island" in the Bahamas.
Despite a common notion of NCL being something
of a "budget" cruise line, Knut Kloster also
once owned the now famously retired Royal Viking
Line and operated it for several years (the
final Royal Viking build is now sailing for
Holland America as the Prinsendam). Many of the
concepts, and indeed many of the people who
worked for Royal Viking, including Knut's son
and namesake, are today vitally involved in
running the various luxury cruise lines in the
world. Knut's son, (Knut Kloster Jr.) created
the idea behind "The World of ResidenSea," the
world's first passenger-owned all-condo ship.
NCL also started Orient Lines in 1991, still in
operation, which focuses on international travel
on longer cruises worldwide more than the
typical sun-seeking cruise experience.
In
the year 2000, after a fierce battle for public
shares in which all the major cruise lines were
players, NCL was acquired by a surprise victor,
Star Cruises of Malaysia. Star Cruises operates
ships in the Asian market, and as parent company
of NCL has largely left the company unfettered.
Norwegian Cruise Line now operates a modern
fleet that sails to New England, Canada, Europe,
Alaska, Hawaii, Bermuda, and the Caribbean,
where it all began, and enjoys a reputation as
surviving because of its ability to adapt and
innovate in a very competitive environment.
In 2001, NCL revolutionized the cruise
experience by introducing "Freestyle Cruising",
making itself very attractive to potential
cruisers who find strict dining times and dress
codes counter-intuitive to being on vacation.
NCL's Free-style service, now in operation on
all of their ships, offers open seating dining
and a huge choice of onboard restaurants.
Passengers have the option of traditional cruise
dining procedures such as as meals included in
the cruise fare served at specific times at
reserved tables in the dining room, or they can
opt to go to go another dining room where the
mealtimes and seating are open. Or they can
select from several onboard alternative
restaurants offering a variety of cuisine, most
of them carrying a service charge.
"Freestyle Cruising" didn't just usher
in open seating, but also increased
entertainment options, improved casino services,
increased staffing, and flexible debarkation
arrangements. Passengers are encouraged to try a
different restaurant and style of cuisine every
night of their cruise, and may do so in
everything from French bistros to steakhouses to
sushi bars. Room service is available around the
clock.
In response to the terrorist
attacks on New York, after which many U.S.
travelers simply stopped flying, all the cruise
lines re-deployed most of their ships back to
homes port in the United States. Since all those
ships could not sail out of Miami, NCL coined
the phrase "Homeland Cruising" and started using
cities all around the United States as home
ports. Suddenly, cities like San Diego,
Charlotte and Baltimore, who had never seen
cruise ships before, had them stationed there
year-round. Naturally, the other cruise lines
soon followed.
NCL introduced "Homeland
Cruising", at that time, and took it a step
farther by being the first cruise line to deploy
a ship sailing out of New York City for warmer
climates all year-round, deploying Norwegian
Dawn on year-round Bahamas/Florida itineraries.
NCL introduced subsidiary company NCL America
after Congress gave the line exclusive rights to
operate a year-round, inter-island Hawaii
service without having to call at a foreign
port. In order to do this, the line agreed to
sail under the U.S. flag, to hire American
crewmembers, and to be subject to American
taxation and environmental regulations. The
first NCLA ship, Pride of Aloha, began weekly
sailings from Honolulu on July 4, 2004. Pride of
America, the first new ocean-going passenger
ship to be built in 50 years to sail under the
American flag, joined her a year later. Pride of
Hawaii joined them in June, 2006.
The
line has also bought two former American
flagships, the S.S. United States and the
Independence, for which plans are yet to be
announced.
| | | |
Norwegian Cruise Line
Experience:
No
cruise cruise line has vessels that vary one to
the next more than NCL, so watch our ratings and
reviews. They vary from being old and small to
modern, state-of-the-art vessels. The average
age of their ships has become much younger in
the last few years as they phase out the older
ones (mostly sending them to obscure Asian ports
to sail for Star Cruises) and introduce newer
models to the fleet.
Some of the older
vessels include sister ships Norwegian Dream
(1992) and Norwegian Wind (1992), both of which
were "stretched" in 1998 which is another way of
saying a large addition was added mid-ships to
both ships to add more public rooms, and
unfortunately many more cabins. As a result,
though these ships truly have some lovely public
rooms, they are small and crowded ships, with
few balcony cabins, and lines tend to get long.
Look for bargains on these ships. Norwegian
Majesty (1992), is just recently stretched and
refurbished. Norwegian Crown (sailed for Orient
Lines as the Crown Odyssey for many years) and
Norwegian Sea are still unstretched.
To
experience the best of Free-style cruising, seek
out the newer vessels, as bargains can be found
on them as well. Norwegian Sun, (2001), was the
first purpose-built vessel as a "Free-style"
ship. Another ship, Pride of Aloha (one of the
NCL-America Ships) was originally Norwegian Sky
(1999). Norwegian Star , Norwegian Dawn
(year-round from New York City), and the brand
new Norwegian Jewel are lovely, new ships built
for Free-style cruising. NCL also nabbed an
additional "Freestyle"-designed ship; parent
company Star Cruises has traded in its SuperStar
Leo in exchange for Norwegian Sea (which left
NCL's fleet in fall 2005) and renamed it
Norwegian Spirit, now also sailing out of New
York.
Similar to Norwegian Jewel.
Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Gem are scheduled
for launch in February and October, 2007. All
are 93,502-tons and feature modifications in
both technical and passenger areas. The new "Bar
Central" connects three venues - a martini bar,
champagne and wine bar and beer and whiskey pub.
The new ships have 10 restaurants, a passenger
capacity of 2,376 and are capable of 24-25 knot
speeds. And Norwegian Pearl has something which
is a first at sea - an actual bowling alley.
Pride of Hawaii is the same design, sailing
under the NCL-America banner (but no bowling
alley).
Though they get a little bigger
with each new ship, NCL's standard inside and
outside cabins are noticeably smaller than a lot
of the competition's. Indeed, Carnival's
185-square-foot standard cabins snicker
disdainfully at NCL's 110 to 165 square feet.
Moreover, the older ships have few balconies ?
only 16 on Crown, and a grand total of none on
poor Majesty.
Lavish Broadway-style
entertainment is on offer. Singer Jane L.
Powell, she of the big, memorable voice, is
regularly featured across the fleet. While the
main dining rooms are unlikely to serve you
anything to make you swoon with delight, there's
a wide variety of alternative dining on all the
ships, and these restaurants almost all offer
excellent cuisine and service well worth the
additional service charge. And if all else
fails, there's a "Chocoholic Buffet" on every
cruise to pacify your sweet tooth.
Fitness and sports programs vary by
ship. Europe, Hawaii, Bermuda and Caribbean
cruises offer golf instruction on special Tee-Up
Golf cruises, The Dive-In Snorkeling program is
a popular feature of Caribbean, Bermuda, and
Hawaii cruises. There are courts for paddleball,
volleyball or basketball, golf nets, and jogging
tracks.
When it comes to service, the
main thing to understand about NCL is that there
is a huge difference in the way the NCL ships
are crewed versus the NCL-America ships sailing
in Hawaii. The Hawaii ships, frankly,
experienced tremendous service issues when they
first came out, due to the fact that U.S. young
people had never held cruise ship jobs before,
and (due to no fault of NCL at all) they did not
prove to be of the temperament required to do
such a job. See individual ship reviews for more
details. The non-U.S.-crewed ships have very
personable crew and staff-members, many of them
gracious Asians who understand the benefits a
loyal and humble disposition add to a service
position.
| | | |
Fellow Passengers
Especially in its
Caribbean itineraries, NCL attracts many
first-time cruisers seeking a low- to mid-price
cruise vacation. Dress code is flexible, which
is to say a couple of large steps down from
country club casual. Don't be shocked to glimpse
T-shirts among the tuxedoes in the dining room.
Expect many first-time cruisers and
honeymooners; during summer vacations and school
vacations, families with children; Europe- and
New England/Canada-bound cruises attract mostly
couples over 55. Lots of different countries are
typically represented all of them
English-speaking including Australia, New
Zealand, and South Africa.
| | | |
Taking Kids:
Except on Europe
sailings NCL offers "Kid Crew" --
age-appropriate activities ranging from parties
and video arcades to learning sessions -- to
Junior Sailors, ages 2-5; First Mates aged 6-8;
Navigators, aged 9-12 and Teens aged 13-17.
Staff members won't change diapers, but you'll
be given a beeper so the staff can let you know
that your Junior Sailor has committed an
indiscretion. There are cribs for younger
passengers.
In-cabin private babysitting
is no longer offered, but group babysitting for
ages two to 12 is available from 10 p.m. to 1
a.m. each evening and on port days from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. for a fee.
NCL insists that
visitors to its casinos be at least 21. There
are no casinos on NCL-America ships. There is
one NCL ship (Norwegian Wind, currently) that
does sail the Hawaiian islands on an 10 or
11-day (alternating) itinerary that includes a
visit to distant Fanning Island. This ship is
not U.S,-flagged and therefore has foreign
crew-members and a casino.
| | | |
Shore Excursions:
NCL's
tours run the gamut from bus rides to private
helicopter tours. "Dive-in Snorkeling" and the
Sports Afloat programs help scuba and snorkel
enthusiasts prepare for their destination dives
while still onboard the ship. Shore excursions
are outlined on the NCL web site.
Tipping:
NCL automatically adds a fixed
service charge of $10 to the shipboard accounts
of passengers over 13 to make service personnel
feel appreciated; children between three and 12
are charged $5. Those under three get off
scot-free.
While further tipping is not
compulsory, NCL recommends a 15 percent gratuity
for bar service and urges the beneficiaries of
concierge or butler services to come up with a
little something extra. All else is at the
passenger's discretion.
| | | |
Repeat Passenger Programs:
Latitudes, the past
passenger program, is comprised of four levels
depending on number of cruises you have taken
Bronze,(1-4), Silver, (5-8), Gold (9-13), and
Platinum (14+). NCL, NCL-America and Orient
Lines sponsor special member cruises world-wide
throughout the year. Other benefits include
access to a Latitudes Customer Service desk; a
complimentary subscription to Latitudes, a
quarterly members-only magazine; exclusive
pricing on all sailings; the added enjoyment of
Polo Club benefits when sailing on Orient Line?s
Marco Polo; Latitudes Check-in Desk at the pier;
a Latitudes ship pin; a members-only cocktail
party hosted by the Captain; and a Latitudes
onboard liaison to ensure that all past guests
receive their benefits. Additionally Silver
Members receive an invitation to an exclusive
gathering on board and treats delivered to their
stateroom twice during the cruise; Gold Members
receive VIP service, which includes priority
boarding, an in-stateroom welcome basket upon
embarkation; priority restaurant reservations;
priority tender tickets; priority disembarkation
and an invitation to the Captain?s VIP cocktail
party. Platinum members receive all of the above
and enjoy the added benefit of a complimentary
dinner in NCL's signature restaurant, Le Bistro.
For more information call 800-343-0098.
| | | |
|
|
|
Back to Top
| |
