Norwegian Cruise Line offers midrange mainstream cruising experience on modern cruise ships with diverse itineraries. The company is somewhat below it's main competitors (Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Holland AmericaCruise Line) and targets middle class passengers, mostly from the U. S. and Canada. Starting with one ship in 1966, NCL was first established by Oslo-based Klosters Rederi A/S, one of Norway's oldest and most respected shipping firms. Its first cruise ship (M/S Sunward) repositioned from Europe to the then-obscure Port of Miami for Caribbean cruising. Adding four more cruise ships by 1971 and the former S/S France (renamed the Norway) in 1979, NCL was on its way to becoming a cruise industry leader and one of the largest cruise companies in the world. Norwegian Cruise Line acquired the one-ship Orient Lines in 1998; its Marco Polo offers destination-oriented cruising to exotic ports of call. Owned by Star Cruises of Malaysia since March 2000, Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is notable for revolutionizing the cruise experience by introducing "Freestyle Cruising," which translates to dine-as-you-like options by way of a variety of restaurants and your choice of casual or formal attire. NCL is also carving itself a niche in the homeland cruising specialty, featuring a number of continental U. S. homeports -- NCL offers the only year-round service out of New York on its Norwegian Dawn and, starting in fall, 2005, Norwegian Spirit. That cruise ship will offer 10- and 11-night Southern Caribbean itineraries from the Big Apple. Norwegian Cruise Line is the only cruise line to offer year-round Hawaiian itineraries. Beyond that, NCL's earned quite a distinctive coup with its NCL America program. With U. S.-flagged cruise ship, the company is the only cruise line in the industry to offer year-round seven day inter-island Hawaii cruises with round-trip itineraries from Honolulu.
Norwegian Cruise Line offers good working conditions for it's crew members and competitive salaries, but in case you could secure a position with any of the above mentioned cruise lines, it is our opinion that they are a better choice.
Norwegian Epic: Bahamas registry, inauguration 2010, 153,000 gross tons, 4,200 passengers, 1,730 crew members.
Itineraries: Eastern/Western Caribbean out of Miami, FL.