citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . may 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message norwegian cruise line type publicly traded traded as nasdaq nclh industry transportation founded 1966 headquarters bermuda domicile miami dade county florida united states hq key people frank del rio ceo products cruises owner genting group 28 % apollo global management 20 % tpg capital 7.9 % website www.ncl.com norwegian cruise line holdings ltd. norwegian is a bermuda incorporated us headquartered 1 company operating cruise ships headquartered in unincorporated miami dade county florida . 2 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 . norwegian is a publicly traded company with 44.1 % publicly listed on nasdaq with major shareholders including genting group 28.0 % apollo global management 20.0 % and tpg capital 7.9 % as of 30 june 2014 update . 1 norwegian cruise line controls approximately 8 % of the total worldwide share of the cruise market . 3 contents 1 history 2 future 3 norwegian cruise line ships 3.1 sun class 3.2 spirit class 3.3 dawn class libra class 3.4 jewel class 3.5 epic class epic 28 class 3.6 breakaway class 3.7 breakaway plus class 3.8 norwegian america line 4 future ships 5 former ships 6 references 7 external links history edit norwegian headquarters in miami dade county the cruise line was founded as norwegian caribbean line in 1966 by knut kloster and ted arison with just one 8 666 ton 140m cruise ship car ferry sunward which in 1966 operated as a car ferry between southampton uk and gibraltar for that one short season only . arison soon left to form carnival cruise lines while kloster acquired additional ships for caribbean service . norwegian 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 norwegians 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 . norwegian was responsible for many of the cruise innovations that have now become standard throughout the industry . norwegian made headlines with the acquisition of the france in 1979 rebuilding the liner as a cruise ship and renaming her norway . the conversion cost more than 100 million usd . the norway was at the time significantly larger than any existing cruise ship and exploited the extra space available by adding a greater than usual variety of onboard entertainment . her success paved the way for a new era of giant cruise ships . a boiler explosion in may 2003 forced norwegian to withdraw the norway from service later being laid up in bremerhaven germany until 2005 when she was towed to port klang malaysia with the claimed intent to use her as an anchored casino or slow overnight casino cruises on her remaining boilers . instead she was sold for scrap and renamed the ss blue lady 4 and later beached at alang gujarat india in august 2006 with claims that she had not been cleaned of toxic materials . 5 on september 11 2007 the india supreme court issued an order permitting her to be broken up at alang despite the presence of large amounts of hazardous asbestos remaining on board . 6 7 norwegian has expanded to other parts of the world including alaska europe bermuda and hawaii . between 1997 and 2001 the company also operated cruises out of australia under the name norwegian capricorn line . its subsidiary orient lines founded in 1991 to run the marco polo was acquired in 1998 . norwegian itself was acquired by the star cruises subsidiary of malaysia based genting group in 2000 . in 2007 star cruises sold the marco polo to transocean tours to be delivered in early 2008 . orient lines will cease trading when the ship is delivered to its new owners . in 2002 norwegian purchased the half complete hull of the first project america ship at the time under construction at ingalls shipbuilding in pascagoula mississippi usa which was towed to germany to be completed at the lloyd werft shipyard . subsequently norwegian acquired the rights to move two ships built entirely outside the united states under the us flag making it possible to start a us flagged operation under the brand name ncl america . 8 9 in 2003 the company announced the purchase of the famed american flagged liners ss united states and ss independence . although it has promised to restore the united states to service the future of the ship remains uncertain to this day . in their july 2007 fiscal report norwegian noted the sale of the independence renamed ss oceanic some time before . on july 1 2010 the ss united states conservancy struck a deal to buy the ss united states for 3 million . 10 on february 1 2011 the ownership was officially transferred to the ss united states conservancy . in august 2007 star cruises sold 50 % of norwegian for 1 billion to us based apollo management owners of oceania cruises in order to strengthen norwegian s financial position . 11 subsequently norwegian reported in february 2008 that the pride of aloha one of the two remaining ncl america ships would be withdrawn from service in may of the same year . initial reports suggested she would be transferred to the fleet of star cruises 12 but it was later announced that she would return to the norwegian international fleet as the norwegian sky 13 while the norwegian majesty and norwegian dream would be sold to louis cruise lines . 14 the sale of the norwegian dream was subsequently cancelled . 15 it was announced in september 2012 that the norwegian dream will become the superstar gemini for star cruises she will start service in january 2013 . on june 1 2012 norwegian announced the signing of a memorandum of agreement to exercise its option to purchase norwegian sky . the purchase price is approximately 260 million financing is being provided by the seller . 16 in january 2013 norwegian cruise lines filed for an ipo . 17 as of 30 june 2014 update apollo management only has a 20 % stake and the genting group owned star cruises only had a 28 % stake in the cruise line . 1 18 in september 2014 norwegian cruise line announced that it had purchased prestige cruise holdings the parent company of both oceania cruises and regent seven seas cruises in cash and stock for a total transaction consideration of 3.025 billion including the assumption of debt . 19 on 11 march 2014 norwegian announced that it was cancelling all future port calls at tunisia following an incident where the country forbade israeli nationals from disembarking . 20 on 9 january 2015 it was announced that kevin sheehan president and ceo had been succeeded by frank del rio co founder of oceania cruises . future edit on october 17 2012 meyer werft and norwegian reached a second agreement for the construction of two new vessels . slated for delivery in october 2015 and 2017 respectively . the project was under the code name breakaway plus class and it is expected for the vessels to be 163 000 tons and hold 4 200 passengers . the norwegian escape entered service in november 2015 and weighs 164 600 tons . norwegian is expected to confirm its option for the 2017 vessel soon . 21 two more vessels were ordered on july 14 2014 they will enter service in 2018 and 2019 and will be slightly bigger at 164 000 gt . 22 on february 29 2016 norwegian cruise line announced the name of the vessel that would start service in 2017 . the name will be norwegian joy and it will be designed for the chinese market . 23 norwegian cruise line ships edit sun class edit ship built entered service for norwegian last refurbishment tonnage class flag notes image norwegian sky 1999 1999 2004 2008 2013 77 104 tons sun class bahamas previously sailed as ncl america pride of aloha 2004 2008 constructed as costa olympia but sold to ncl during construction sister to the costa victoria norwegian sun 2001 2001 2016 24 78 309 tons sun class bahamas spirit class edit ship built entered service for norwegian last refurbishment tonnage class flag notes image norwegian spirit 1998 2004 2014 24 75 338 tons spirit class bahamas previously superstar leo leo class sister to the superstar virgo dawn class libra class edit ship built entered service for norwegian last refurbishment tonnage class flag notes image norwegian star 2001 2001 2015 91 740 tons dawn class bahamas originally ordered as superstar libra libra class norwegian dawn 2002 2002 june 2016 25 92 250 tons dawn class bahamas originally ordered as superstar scorpio libra class jewel class edit ship built entered service for norwegian last refurbishment tonnage class flag notes image norwegian jewel 2005 2005 may 2014 26 93 502 tons jewel class bahamas will sail from sydney australia in 2017 . 27 norwegian jade 2006 2006 2011 24 93 558 tons jewel class bahamas previously named the pride of hawaii norwegian pearl 2006 2006 april 2013 93 530 tons jewel class bahamas norwegian gem 2007 2007 november 2015 93 530 tons jewel class bahamas epic class epic 28 class edit ship built entered service for norwegian last refurbishment tonnage class flag notes image norwegian epic 2010 2010 october 2015 29 155 873 tons epic class bahamas 9th largest cruise ship in the world after royal caribbean international s liberty of the seas . 30 breakaway class edit ship built entered service for norwegian last refurbishment tonnage class flag notes image norwegian breakaway 2013 2013 n a 146 600 tons 31 breakaway class bahamas this ship was delivered on april 25 2013 and is home ported in new york city . 32 largest ship to be based year round out of new york city . norwegian getaway 33 2014 2014 n a 145 655 tons 34 breakaway class bahamas this ship was delivered on january 10 2014 and will be home ported in miami fl year round 35 breakaway plus class edit ship built entered service for norwegian last refurbishment tonnage class flag notes image norwegian escape 2015 2015 n a 164 600 tons breakaway plus bahamas 7th largest cruise ship in the world after royal caribbean s ovation of the seas . norwegian america line edit ship built entered service for ncl america last refurbishment tonnage flag notes image pride of america 2005 2005 march 2016 80 439 grt united states first large newly built us flagged cruise ship in nearly 50 years ; the only ship in its class . future ships edit ship class inaugural run tonnage flag home port notes image norwegian joy breakaway plus class 2017 168 800 gt 36 bahamas china formerly named norwegian bliss she will be the first ncl ship customized for the chinese market . 37 38 39 norwegian bliss breakaway plus class 2018 168 800 gt 36 bahamas seattle washington first ship designed for alaska itineraries . 40 tba breakaway plus class 2019 168 800 gt 36 bahamas 22 former ships edit ship built in service for ncl tonnage status as of 2016 . image sunward 1966 1966 1966 1976 8 666 grt scrapped in 2004 at chittagong bangladesh . starward 1968