NCL had a lot of cruise ships that left the fleet or were owned by the company. Therefore, we'll have the series of articles.
Well, let's begin...
Norwegian Caribbean Line was founded in 1966. Despite the name, the company is American, and its headquarters is located in Florida. NCL was the first in the cruise industry in many respects, but we'll tell you about it in the separate article. Today we'd like to talk about the history of the ships.
A small cruise ferry called Sunward was the first ship of the company.
In 1972, the company sold Sunward to Compagnie Generale Transmediterranee. Her new name was Ile de Beaute. The ship operated cruises from Marseilles for 4 years. In 1977, the ship served as a floating hotel in Sharjah, UAE under the name of Grand Flotel.
From 1978 to 1988, the ship was called Saudi Moon I and Saudi Arabian, she operated the Near East and the Middle East cruises.
In 1988, the former Sunward went to America to her new owners - Ocean Quest Cruises.
Then she had the owners from Denmark, Singapore, and Asia. The ship sailed under the names of Scandinavian Song, Santiago de Cuba, and Empress.
In 2004, after 38 (!) years of service, the ship was scrapped in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
The Sunward's success was so great that the company ordered several ships for construction almost immediately.
Starward was the first one. She joined the company in 1968. Source: Access All Oceans
Just like Sunward, originally, Starward had a deck for car transportation. Later this deck was converted into the cabins, a casino, and a cinema.
Another interesting fact: in 1975, the ship took part in the famous Peeper comedy.
Starward sailed under the flags of NCL for 27 years!
In 1995, the ship was sold to the cruise company called Festival Cruises. Her new name was Bolero.
In 2005, Orient Queen (the new name of the ship) went to Dubai. She was planned to operate cruises in the Persian Gulf, but this idea failed.
In 2006, the cruise liner participated in the evacuation of the US citizens from Lebanon. The evacuation was accompanied by the two US Navy warships. The cruise ship Orient Queen departs Beirut, Lebanon. The ship, under contract with the U.S. government, is part of the larger U.S. military mission to assist U.S. citizens in their departure from Lebanon.
In early 2016, there was news about the ship's scrapping. However, there's also information that currently the ship operates cruises along the coast of Turkey under the flag of the Turkish company called Etstur. Source: www.tatilyum.net
In 2004, the former Southward became known as Perla. The ship joined the fleet of Louis Cruise Lines. From 2008 to 2010, the cruise liner sailed under the name of The Aegean Pearl, and the Pearl Navigation company was her new owner.
Then the ship was owned by Rio Cruises and Venus Cruise Lines, and her names were Rio and Venus respectively.
In 2013 the ship was scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey. Source: www.maritimematters.com
The next ship purchased by NCL was the famous ship! One of the best ships in the world - SS France!
We've already talked about this ship in the article called History of Cruises. Part 5. Between the War and Boeing 747.
We'd like to remind you several facts.
At the time of construction (1961), the 65,000 ton SS France was the longest ship ever built. This record remained unchanged until 2004 (!) until RMS Queen Mary 2 was launched.
Besides, the ship was the largest ship! This record was cracked only in 1988.
Despite all the problems, SS Norway remained very popular! However, the problems continued. In 1999, in Barcelona, there was a fire on the ship. It knocked the ship out of service for 3 weeks. After that, the ship broke down in Bergen.
On September 9, 2001, SS Norway departed on one of the last transatlantic voyages from New York to Le Havre. In 2 days, there was the 9/11 terrorist attack. Source: PINSDADDY.COM
On May 25, 2003, the liner's boiler exploded when she was in the port of Miami. At least 8 crew members died. 17 people were injured. More than 2,000 passengers and about 900 crew members were evacuated.
On June 27, 2003, NCL decided to send the ship to Europe. The cruise liner crossed the Atlantic under tow.
It was stated that the ship would get the new boiler. During the repair, the crews of the other NCL's ships were trained on the ship.
After the repair, the company decided that the ship would cease operating cruises. SS Norway anchored in Bremerhaven, Germany, February 2004
To be continued.
We'll have more articles about the history of the other ships that sailed under the flag of Norwegian Cruise Line.
Below are photos (18+) for the fans of cruises and ships.
It's the story about how SS France/SS Norway was dying.
Sic transit gloria mundi...
SS Norway in the NCL's livery.