Ncl America Invites Hawaii Artists to Design Pride of Aloha Hull and Crew UniformsCompetitions to showcase Hawaii Artist's Creativity

Miami, Sept. 15 - Last month, NCL America announced that Pride of America, the first ocean-going U.S. Flagged cruise ship in nearly 50 years, would feature on its hull a vibrant, artistic interpretation of the Stars and Stripes combined with the United States' national bird - the Bald Eagle. Now, the company is turning to Hawaii artists to create a hull design for its newest addition to NCL America, Pride of Aloha, which launches service on Oct. 1, 2004.

In addition, the company is looking for artists and students to compete to design an "Aloha" shirt for crew uniforms to be worn aboard both Pride of Aloha and Pride of America vessels.

"We are inviting local artists to participate in these designs to ensure an authentic representation of Hawaii," said Colin Veitch, NCL America's president and CEO. "Since December 2001, when we home ported Norwegian Star in Honolulu, and as we continue to expand our presence in the islands, we have been embraced by the people of Hawaii. We want to continue to find ways for us to develop partnerships, programs and friends in Hawaii and this is just one way we hope to do that."

Pride of Aloha Hull design
From its restaurant and public room décor to the furnishings in its staterooms, Pride of Aloha's interior design will be infused with Hawaii influences. The winning hull design will also reflect Hawaii's rich culture, and will additionally conform to the following parameters:

The design will be easy to replicate and recognizable from a distance of over one mile
The design will have one iconic theme representing Hawaii
The design will have no more than 10 colors, will utilize shadowing for depth effect, and will not feature blended colors
Artists will use the hull graphics on Norwegian Dawn and Pride of America as reference with respect to the area of the hull to be covered and the dynamic appearance of the graphic design
All designs must fit within the areas outlined on the scaled hull graphic drawings issued to prospective entrants, and artists should include a short description of their design;
NCL will work with the winning entrant to adapt (if necessary) and transfer the design to the ship's hull.

The winning artist will see his or her work displayed on the hull of the ship, receive a $10,000 cash award and win a cruise for two aboard Pride of Aloha's inaugural voyage.

NCL America will send prospective artists photos of the hull designs currently featured on Norwegian Dawn and Pride of America, photos of various angles of Norwegian Cruise Line's (NCL) Norwegian Sky (which will be re-flagged and renamed Pride of Aloha next October), a package of scaled hull graphics, plus an electronic form on which entrants may draw and color their design.

The competition is open to any Hawaii artist, including college students and children. Entries will be judged on the basis of their creativity and appearance. NCL will also work with the winning artist to publicize the artist and his or her artwork. NCL will judge the entries for the competition and notify the winner in November 2003.

Hawaii artists interested in entering the hull design competition should e-mail Trevor Young, Senior Director of Hotel Operations for Star Cruises, at tyoung@starcruises.com.my or send a fax to 001-49-4961-81-4304. Both should include the artists' address and artistic background. NCL will respond to all inquiries with further information and detailed specifications. Entries must be postmarked and received by Oct. 31, 2003 at NCL America's offices at 700 Bishop Street - Suite 900, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813.

Signature shirt design
NCL is also sponsoring a competition to create an "Aloha" shirt fabric design for crew aboard Pride of America and Pride of Aloha. The contest is open to students currently enrolled in the University of Hawaii's art program, and the winning design will represent NCL's Freestyle Cruising concept as well as the Hawaii Islands. Interested artists will receive an entry package that includes an entry form and detailed information on Pride of America and Pride of Aloha.

The winning artist will receive $2,000 and a cruise for two aboard Pride of America or Pride of Aloha. NCL will judge the entry and notify the winner by Oct. 15, 2003. NCL will also work with the winning artist to publicize the artist and his/her artwork.

The shirt fabric design should fit the following parameters:

The design will be printed onto a polycotton fabric in four-color ranges (same design with one or two color changes) to depict different departments aboard ship
The fabric design should be simple, appropriate for crew and representative of Hawaii
A maximum of five (or fewer) colors are to be used
Entries using airbrushing will not be considered
Any pattern used must be a 12" by 12" repeatable pattern
All entries must consist of all four-color prints on a 12" by 12" art card.

Entry forms can be picked up at the University of Hawaii's Art Office or from NCL America's Honolulu office. Shirt-design contestants should send their entries to NCL America's offices in Honolulu, with entries postmarked by Sept. 30, 2003.

Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line is an industry innovator. NCL recently announced its new brand, NCL America, under which its US flagged ships will operate. The company is currently building its first US Flagged ship, Pride of America, which begins inter-island Hawaii cruises on July 4, 2004. NCL is also the leader in roundtrip seven-day cruising from U.S. and Canadian ports, offering its popular Homeland Cruising program seasonally from Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Orlando (Port Canaveral), San Juan, Seattle and Vancouver, and year round from New York, Houston and Honolulu.

For further information on NCL, contact a travel agent or NCL in the US and Canada at (800) 327-7030; in Miami-Dade County, Fla., (305) 436-0866. To download high resolution photography visit www.ncl.com/hires.

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