NCL RECEIVES CRUISE CRITIC AWARDS FOR INNOVATIVE DINING AND homeland cruising program

MIAMI, January 5, 2006 - NCL Corporation (NCL) has been recognized by Cruise Critic, one of the industry’s leading Web sites, in its first-ever Cruise Critic Innovation Awards. The company received accolades for two of its groundbreaking programs: one for Freestyle Cruising, which offers the most innovative onboard dining program in the industry; and a second for pioneering the development of Homeport Cruising. These awards, created to celebrate Cruise Critic’s 10th anniversary, recognize trail-blazing accomplishments and ground-breaking developments in the cruise industry.

"Norwegian Cruise Line continues to redefine the nature of big ship cruising today,” said Carolyn Spencer Brown, Editor of Cruise Critic and Cruise Critic’s Review and News. “The company excels not just in the innovations we've singled out but also in other areas, ranging from "freestyle disembarkation" to creating a small-ship-within-a-big-one for luxury-minded passengers. We're continually inspired."

Cruise Critic is the leading cruise community site on the Internet and features cruise reviews, cruise line profiles, ports of call highlights, cruise features and cruise news. Cruise Critic also has the most heavily trafficked cruise message boards on the Web.

“There is no experience quite like Freestyle Cruising which allows guests the freedom to relax in resort casual attire, dine early or late and forget about everything except having fun,” said Colin Veitch, NCL's president and CEO. “It is our relaxed atmosphere, ample restaurant choices and flexible experience along with our myriad of close-to-home ports that sets us apart from the rest and allows travelers to enjoy the perfect vacation on their schedule, not ours.”

While onboard any NCL or NCL America ship, guests can choose from up to 10 restaurants, choosing to eat when they want, where they want and with whom they want. In addition, the company recently introduced its onboard Restaurant Reservation and Table Management system, currently offered on select ships. This state-of-the-art system allows guests to make dinner reservations for the entire cruise or just a specific night and restaurant. Large plasma screens, placed in key, high-traffic areas around the ship, display each restaurant’s current availability status. Indicator bars reflect when each restaurant is “full,” “moderate” or “empty.” If any restaurant happens to be full, screens also show an estimated wait time in each restaurant and the different table sizes available. Guests can make reservations by calling the Reservation Center or visiting the front desk.

If a restaurant is full, guests are put on a wait list, quoted a time frame and issued a pager. This allows diners to relax and enjoy a cocktail, enjoy some shopping or even visit the casino until their table is ready.

In addition to flexible dining options, NCL also was recognized for its successful Homeland Cruising program, which offers passengers regularly-scheduled, round-trip cruises from more ports in the United States and Canada than any other cruise line. NCL ships sail on seasonal roundtrip itineraries departing from Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston, Miami, Houston, Seattle and Vancouver, and year-around sailings from New York and Honolulu.

NCL Corporation ("NCL") is an innovative cruise company headquartered in Miami, Florida, with a fleet of 15 ships in service and under construction. The corporation oversees the operations of Norwegian Cruise Line, NCL America, and Orient Lines. NCL took delivery of its newest Freestyle Cruising vessel, the 93,502-ton Norwegian Jewel on August 4, 2005. The company is currently building three ships, including one more for the NCL America brand in Hawai`i - Pride of Hawai`i (delivery in April 2006) - and two further Norwegian Jewel class ships, which are scheduled for delivery in 2007. For further information, please contact NCL in the U.S. and Canada at (800) 327-7030; visit NCL's website at www.ncl.com or on AOL at keyword: NCL; or to download high-resolution photography, visit www.ncl.com/hires.