MAIDEN VOYAGE OF NORWEGIAN STAR NOW AVAILABLE FOR BOOKING

~ Norwegian Cruise Line's Newest Vessel Offers its Initial Cruise In Time To Celebrate Thanksgiving 2001 ~

MIAMI, Fla., April 16, 2001 -- Norwegian Cruise Line's newest and largest vessel, Norwegian Star, is now available for bookings. The ship, accommodating 2,200 passengers and 1,100 crew, will be built at the maximum size to fit through the Panama Canal. What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than sailing from one U.S. coast to another via the fabled canal?

On November 19, 2001, as a special Thanksgiving Day celebration, Norwegian Star will depart Miami to begin its 14-day maiden voyage to Los Angeles. The itinerary will take passengers through the Caribbean, with a stop in South America, transit the Panama Canal, make numerous visits along Mexico's gold coast, and spend the day in San Diego. Specifically, the itinerary includes:

Nov. 19 Depart Miami, Florida
Nov. 20-21 At Sea
Nov. 22 Oranjestad, Aruba
Nov. 23 Cartagena, Columbia
Nov. 24 Daylight transit of the Panama Canal
Nov. 25-26 At Sea
Nov. 27 Acapulco, Mexico
Nov. 28 Manzanillo, Mexico
Nov. 29 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Nov. 30 Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Dec. 1 At Sea
Dec. 2 San Diego, California
Dec. 3 Los Angeles, California

Departing on December 5, 2001, following her maiden voyage, Norwegian Star will offer a 10-day cruise from Mexico to Hawaii, before beginning her scheduled deployment in the Hawaiian islands out of Honolulu. This itinerary will include:

Dec. 5 Depart Ensenada, Mexico
Dec. 6-9 At Sea
Dec. 10 Hilo, Hawaii with evening sail past the Kilauea Volcano
Dec. 11 Kona, Hawaii
Dec. 12 Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii
Dec. 13-14 Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
Dec. 15 Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

A Stellar Line-Up of Culinary Options
With the flexibility of ten different restaurants and 11 different menus every night, Norwegian Star's passengers will be able to enjoy a different restaurant every night of a seven day cruise without even having to dine in the main restaurant, should that be their preference. In keeping with NCL's Freestyle Cruising, the ship will feature more dining options than any other ship in the North American market. Passengers can choose from an array of restaurants including:

Versailles - an ornate restaurant, offering the traditional six-course cruise dining experience.
Aqua - a contemporary-styled restaurant, offering a lighter modern menu.
SoHo Room - a high-end Pacific Rim restaurant featuring a fusion of Californian, Hawaiian and Asian cuisine.
Ginza - a Japanese restaurant featuring an à la carte section, a sit-up sushi and tempura bar, and a teppanyaki room.
Le Bistro - a French restaurant featuring NCL's trademark menu of nouvelle cuisine and French classics.
The Blue Lagoon - a food court-style casual eatery featuring hamburgers, fish & chips, pot pies and wok fast dishes.
Market Café - an Indoor/outdoor buffet restaurant extending over a third of a deck and including trademark "action stations" featuring prepared-to-order omelets, waffles, fruit, soups, ethnic specialties, and pasta in addition to extensive and varied selections arranged along 130 yards of buffet serving counters.
Las Ramblas - a Spanish Tapas restaurant and bar with full selection of hot and cold Tapas dishes and authentic entertainment.
La Trattoria - an Italian restaurant serving pasta, pizza and other popular Italian fare.
Endless Summer - a Hawaiian themed restaurant arranged around the second level of the central atrium and incorporating a performance stage and a large movie screen.

In addition, Norwegian Star will offer an array of casual snacking and café outlets, including an on-deck grill, an ice cream bar, a coffee shop and 24-hour hot and cold room service.

Norwegian Star will offer plenty of opportunities for those passengers who wish to work off any unwanted pounds. The Sports Deck will contain a golf driving range, volleyball and basketball court, while a two deck fitness and spa center will boast state-of-the-art cardiovascular workout equipment, aerobic and boxercise area with a sprung wooden floor, steam and sauna rooms, a jet-current exercise pool, an interior 20-yard lap pool, and whirlpool and hydrotherapy facilities.

Hawaiian-based Mandara Spa, the world's leading operator of landside resort spas, will pamper NCL passengers with an exotic menu of spa and beauty treatments combining the best of East and West.

Norwegian Star will set new cabin standards, with rich cherry wood finishing, tea and coffee makers in every cabin, and a much larger bathroom unit than those on other ships, with separate WC, shower, and washstand compartments separated by sliding doors. Seventy percent of cabins are outside staterooms and more than 70% of these have balconies.

Unlike anything on any other vessel today, a steel and glass structure on top of the ship, aft from the main sundeck, will boast a fantasy-world complex of multi-room villas offering panoramic views of the ocean, each with a roof terrace and private garden featuring open-air dining, Jacuzzis, and totally private sunning and relaxation areas.

Thirty-six penthouse suites, an entire deck of 107 mini suites with balconies and 372 standard staterooms with balconies, and an entire deck of 107 mini-suites with balconies are among the spacious and well-appointed accommodations located on the 15-deck ship. There also will be 20 cabins of various types designed for passengers with disabilities. Most cabins will include a sofa-bed or pop-up trundle bed giving a third lower bed and many will have a fourth, pull-down berth. The ship also will offer a large number of cabins (including suites and mini-suites) that can interconnect to create a two, three, four or five bedroom area suitable for small or large families.

The ship will be particularly family-friendly with a huge children's center complete with a playroom, outdoor pool, movie theater, computer rooms, teen center, video arcade, a nursery and toddlers' nap room. There will even be a special children's area in the buffet restaurant with their own low-level serving counter and kid-sized tables and chairs. In addition, one of the ship's most distinctive attractions will be the on-board theater, reaching up three decks and seating an audience of 1,150 in a traditional European opera house ambiance.

Cruise-only fares for Norwegian Star's maiden voyage, November 19 - December 3, start at $1,499 inside cabin/$1,699 oceanview cabin*; and $1,199 inside/$1,399 oceanview* for the 10-day cruise from Mexico to Hawaii, December 5 - December 15. Norwegian Star's seven day Hawaii holiday cruises start at $1,299 inside/$1,499 oceanview*. Beginning January 6, 2002, cruise-only fares for Norwegian Star's year-round Hawaii cruises start at $999 inside/$1,199 oceanview.*

Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line is an international cruise company and industry innovator that currently operates a fleet of eight ships sailing to more than 200 ports around the world. NCL is currently building three new ships: Norwegian Sun, a 1,960-passenger sister ship to Norwegian Sky (for delivery September 2001); and Norwegian Dawn, a 2,200-passenger sister ship to Norwegian Star (for delivery in December 2002).

For further information on NCL, contact a travel agent or NCL in the U.S. and Canada at (800) 327-7030; in Miami-Dade County, Florida, (305) 436-0866; or visit Norwegian Cruise Line on AOL at keyword: NCL.

*Cruise-only prices include port charges, exclude government taxes and fees and are subject to change.

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