NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE ANNOUNCES NEW SHIP FOR 2004
"Project America" Hull to
Become Newest Freestyle Cruising Ship
MIAMI, August 19, 2002 - Norwegian Cruise Line
(NCL) announced today that it will add another 2,000-guest
ship purpose-built for Freestyle Cruising to its rapidly modernizing
fleet. The yet-to-be-named ship will be delivered in spring
of 2004 in time for the summer season.
NCL has contracted with Northrop Grumman Ship
Systems (NGSS) to buy all of the materials and equipment and
the work performed to date on the two "Project America"
vessels under construction at Northrop's Ingalls shipyard
in Mississippi. The substantially completed hull of the first
vessel, plus all of the associated equipment and materials,
will be transported to Europe, where work will be completed
in one of the major cruise ship building yards. NCL is in
advanced discussions with European yards to determine which
one will complete the ship.
"The acquisition of the 'Project America'
assets was prompted by the success of Freestyle Cruising,
the tremendous reception we have had to Norwegian Sun and
Star, and the need to add ships as soon as possible after
the delivery of Norwegian Dawn, our last scheduled new build,
in December 2002," said Colin Veitch, president and CEO
of NCL.
The original design of the "Project America"
ship has been modified and will sail under the NCL brand as
the latest addition to the company's revolutionary Freestyle
Cruising fleet.
"We were impressed with the initial creative
design of the ship," Veitch said. "Now with the
changes we have made, she will be an outstanding addition
to our fleet, bringing to four the number of new purpose-built
Freestyle Cruising ships we will introduce between 2001 and
2004."
In keeping with the groundbreaking Norwegian
Sun and Norwegian Star (both introduced in the fall of 2001)
and Norwegian Dawn (a 2,200-passenger sister ship to
Norwegian Star), the new ship will feature many
of the innovative hallmarks of NCL,
including open-seating main dining rooms, multiple
dining choices (eight restaurants), an Internet Café,
state-of-the-art entertainment venues, three pools, an expansive
spa and health and fitness center, extensive children's facilities
and an abundance of spacious public rooms.
Eighty percent of the staterooms will have an
ocean view, with 85 percent of those including private balconies
- a total of five decks with private balconies.
As with all Freestyle Cruising ships, guests
will enjoy no fixed meal times, no assigned dining companions,
resort-casual dress code, no cash-tipping, and a relaxed resort-style
ambience.
Once the completion of the first vessel is under
way, NCL will explore the feasibility of completing the second
vessel based on the work in progress and materials that have
been purchased as part of the deal with NGSS.
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 140 ports around
the world.
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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