The company was founded as Norwegian
Caribbean Line in 1966 by Knut Kloster
and Ted Arison, with just one 830-ton
cruise ship/car ferry offering low-cost
Caribbean cruises. Arison soon left to
form
Carnival Cruise
Lines, while Kloster
acquired additional ships for Caribbean
service.
NCL pioneered many firsts in
the cruise industry like: the first Out
Island Cruise, the first combined
air-sea program (marketed as "Cloud 9
Cruises") which combined low cost air
fares with the cruise, first shipline to
develop new ports in the Caribbean, like
Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Like the original
Sunward of 1966, NCL's second
ship, the Starward had the
capability to carry automobiles through
a well concealed stern door. Later, this
area was turned into cabins and a two
deck movie theater, which is now a
casino.
NCL was responsible for many of
the cruise innovations that have now
become standard throughout the industry.
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)
is a company operating
cruise ships,
headquartered in Miami,
Florida. It began
operations in 1966 under
the name Norwegian
Caribbean Line.
The
company is best known
for its Freestyle
Cruising concept, which
means that there are no
set times or seating
arrangements for meals,
nor is formal attire
required.
orwegian
Cruise Line has a
daughter company, NCL
America. NCL itself is
jointly owned by Star
Cruises (who in turn are
owned by the Genting
Group based in Malaysia)
and Apollo Management,
with both companies
owning 50% of NCL.
