NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE ANNOUNCES HIGHLIGHTS OF ITS 2003/2004 ITINERARIES

New Norwegian Dawn's Seven-day Sailings From New York to Florida and the Bahamas Underscore NCL's Homeland Cruising Program

MIAMI, April 17, 2002 - A spectacular new ship and groundbreaking itineraries mark the dawn of a new era in cruising for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) as the industry innovator announces highlights of its fleet deployment for 2003/2004.

Building on the success of its Homeland Cruising program, NCL's fleet deployment features exciting news for the New York cruising market as well as an expanded slate of sailings from Seattle to Alaska and throughout the homeland. In addition, NCL will offer more seven-day roundtrip departures from U.S. and Canadian ports to Alaska, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Hawaii and Canada/New England than any other cruise line.

NCL's 2003/2004 season highlights include:

NCL's brand new 92,000-ton, 2,240-passenger Norwegian Dawn, based in New York from May through October, will use her great speed to offer seven-day roundtrip cruises calling on four ports in the Bahamas and Florida: Nassau, NCL's private island Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, Miami and Port Canaveral, Florida;
•The only five-port, seven-day summer cruises to Canada/New England with embarkations in Boston and New York on Norwegian Sea;
An increased presence in Seattle cruising to Alaska with three modern ships covering all of Alaska;
A Caribbean season that will feature the line's newest and largest vessels and the biggest Caribbean deployment NCL has ever offered;
An exclusive year-round seven-day Hawaii program on Norwegian Star, including calls on the four main Hawaiian islands and Fanning Island, a secluded Micronesian hideaway;
An exotic South America itinerary and a popular traditional Europe season on Norwegian Dream, NCL's only non-homeland cruising ship.
"Our 2003/2004 itineraries will mark yet another innovative product for NCL headlined by the introduction of Norwegian Dawn," said Colin Veitch, NCL's president and chief executive officer. "Her sister ship, Norwegian Star, has generated a great deal of excitement and interest in Hawaii and now guests will be able to experience this innovative class of ship on Norwegian Dawn from New York and Florida."
After her winter season in the Caribbean, Norwegian Dawn will be the only ship sailing to the Bahamas and Florida from New York and the cruise industry's only ship offering Port Canaveral and Miami as ports of call.
"We think New Yorkers will find it irresistible on a Sunday afternoon to walk into a ship of this quality in their own backyard that will take them to two great ports in the Bahamas, offer them a day in exciting Miami, give them a chance to spend a day at Disney World, Universal Studios or the Kennedy Space Center and have them back in New York the following Sunday."

The ship debuts in December of 2002 and because of a series of inaugural events, the vessel's first sailing from Miami has been rescheduled from December 14, 2002 to December 21, 2002.

Norwegian Dawn will begin her first season of alternating seven-day Eastern/Western Caribbean sailings from Miami through April 2003. The Eastern Caribbean itinerary takes passengers to San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Tortola, British Virgin Islands and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. The Western Caribbean itinerary calls at George Town, Grand Cayman; Ocho Rios or Montego Bay, Jamaica; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.

On May 18, 2003, Norwegian Dawn will begin her groundbreaking New York departures, with stops in the Bahamas and Florida. New York departure dates are on sale effective April 15, 2002. Guests will also be able to sail out of Port Canaveral, a new embarkation port to be introduced to NCL's Homeland Cruising program.

"When we introduced Homeland Cruising last year and brought our ships closer to home to support upcoming travel trends, it was the right move," Veitch said. "We've received tremendous response from travelers who appreciate being able to take cruise vacations without traveling too far. We will continue this program throughout 2003 and have modified our ports of call and increased our embarkation cities to provide even more options for passengers."

More details on NCL's expanded program to Alaska from Seattle and further details of the 2003/2004 deployment schedule will be announced in the next few weeks.

Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line is an international cruise company and industry innovator that operates a fleet of nine ships sailing to more than 140 ports around the world. NCL is currently building Norwegian Dawn (for delivery December 2002), a 2,240-passenger sister ship to Norwegian Star.

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, Fla., (305) 436-0866; visit NCL's web site at www.ncl.com; or on AOL at keyword: NCL; or to download high resolution photography visit www.ncl.com/hires.

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