Miami - November 20, 2002 - NCL's popular Homeland Cruising program just got bigger! The leader in round trip seven day cruising from U.S. and Canadian ports announced today a further fleet expansion and the addition of three new U.S. home ports - Baltimore, Houston and New Orleans - taking to 12 the number of U.S. ports from which cruisers can go Freestyle Cruising with NCL. Crown Odyssey, currently in the group's Orient Lines brand, will be remodeled for Freestyle Cruising and transferred into the NCL brand in the fall of 2003 as part of a broad redeployment affecting two other NCL ships also.

With these changes NCL's ships will now sail on roundtrip itineraries seasonally from Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Orlando (Port Canaveral), San Juan, Seattle and Vancouver, and year round from Miami, Houston and Honolulu.

"Homeland Cruising has been well received by cruisers and travel agents alike since we introduced it a year ago and it is now very much the focus of our expansion plan for NCL," said Colin Veitch, chief executive officer and president of Norwegian Cruise Line and Orient Lines. "We have brought the ships to the consumers rather than asking them to fly across country to get to the ships. This has been so successful that we have been looking at ways of adding more ships to the program, and we have decided that bringing Crown Odyssey back into the NCL fleet will allow us to open up several more Homeland ports. By making this switch we are now able to look forward to commencing operations in two exciting new ports and also returning to Houston where, back in 1997, we were the first line to offer a Texas-based cruise."

Changes for 2003 and beyond include:

• Crown Odyssey will be transferred to NCL in September 2003, when she begins a series of 11-day Canada/New England sailings from Baltimore with prices starting at $1599 per person. She then takes over Norwegian Dream's previously scheduled South American itinerary for the 2003 Winter/Spring season. In May 2004, she will take over Norwegian Sea's Philadelphia and New York based 7-day sailings to Bermuda through October before heading to South America again for the Winter;

• Norwegian Sea will move to Houston, Texas commencing in November 2003 after her Summer Bermuda season. From then on, she will be based in Houston year round sailing a 7-day, four-port exotic Western Caribbean itinerary with prices starting at $399 per person. NCL is the only major cruise line to sail from Houston rather than Galveston, and the only cruise line offering a year-round ship. According to Veitch: "Houston's attraction over Galveston, from a consumer standpoint, is that it is much closer to the population center of Houston and the suburbs. It is also much closer to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston for passengers flying in from other parts of the U.S. and Canada."

• Norwegian Dream heads to New Orleans in November 2003 where she will spend the Winter and Spring sailing a 7-day, four-port exotic Western Caribbean itinerary with prices starting at $399 per person. She will continue her very popular Summer season in Scandinavia/Russia in April and her Canada/New England fall program from Boston.

"Houston and New Orleans are great drive up markets as well as extremely attractive ports of embarkation, especially for consumers in the western half of the United States who won't have to catch the red-eye all the way to the East Coast in order to experience a Western Caribbean cruise," Veitch added. "NCL opened up cruising from the Gulf ports in 1997 with our breakthrough Texaribbean program from Houston and we are excited to be going back there after an absence of over two years. Norwegian Sea has done her job opening up New York for us and now the new Norwegian Dawn will take over there. We are now looking forward to building on the original success we had in Houston."

Norwegian Sea enters dry-dock in January 2003 where she will undergo a multi-million dollar retrofit. She will launch her Houston year-round cruises beginning Saturday, November 8th, 2003 to the Exotic Western Caribbean, calling at Cozumel, Mexico, Roatan, Honduras, Belize City, Belize, and Cancun, Mexico.

Norwegian Dream will begin her New Orleans run on Sunday, November 2, 2003 when she will begin sailing a series of 7-day cruises to Cozumel, Mexico, Roatan, Honduras, Belize City, Belize, and Cancun, Mexico.

On February 12, 2003, Crown Odyssey will go into dry dock in Singapore where significant changes will be undertaken. Three restaurants will be added including NCL's signature Le Bistro, an Italian pasta café and a covered al fresco dining café. The ship will also have a state-of-the-art fitness center and children's activity area added. The spa and casino will both be expanded and a number of additional cabins will be added.

After she concludes her Spring India and Africa CruiseTours and completes her Summer 2003 Mediterranean season (April 28th through Sept. 1st), Crown Odyssey will enter the NCL fleet on September 15, 2003 with a series of four 11-day Canada/New England sailings from Baltimore. She then repositions to Miami on Saturday, November 1, 2003 before beginning her Chilean Fjords/Strait of Magellan cruises on Sunday, November 16, 2003. On Monday, March 22, 2004 she repositions from Miami to Philadelphia beginning her Spring season sailing to Bermuda on Sunday, April 4, 2004. She repositions to New York to continue sailing to Bermuda beginning Sunday, May 30, 2004.

Orient Lines' Marco Polo continues successful Antarctic itineraries in 2004/05 and offers expanded European programs in 2004 Earlier than ever before, Orient Lines will announce its 2004/05 schedule for Marco Polo, the line's 826-passenger vessel. Highlights include a first time British Isle cruise from Britain, a continuation of her popular Scandinavia cruises, an expanded Mediterranean season and a return to Antarctica in 2004/05. Details of itineraries will follow in the next few weeks.

"Marco Polo has an incredible following with our guests who enjoy her destination-rich itineraries and inclusive CruiseTour packages with first class or deluxe hotel stays pre or post cruise, " Veitch said. "With the transfer back of Crown Odyssey, Orient Lines reverts to its original status as an exclusive one-ship line and we are committed to offering the same award winning experience to Marco Polo's guests (and fan club) for years to come."

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.

For more information about Orient Lines, please call a travel agent, or Orient Lines directly toll free at (800) 333-7300 or visit www.orientlines.com.

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