Cruise Business Review 3-1999
Norwegian Sky - First NCL newbuilding in six years
(excerpt)
The Norwegian Sky marks the beginning of series of newbuildings, which will bring better economies-of-scale for Norwegian Cruise Line. The company believes that there is a demand for medium-size ships in the contemporary segment, and that the next newbuildings will also be in the range of 80,000 gross tons. Norwegian Sky sails 7-night cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean during the winter season, but will introduce summer Alaska cruises from Seattle next May.
Hardly any newbuilding has
been the cause of so much anticipation as Norwegian Cruise Lines, ms Norwegian Sky. The first newbuilding
for the cruise line in six years is expected to mark the start of the company's return to
the major league. It was also an important moral boost for Norwegian Cruise Line employees,
who have had to suffer an uncertain future for an entire decade.
The $300 million Norwegian Sky was delivered from the german shipyard Lloyd Werft on July
28, 1999. After inaugural cruises in Europe, the ship was positioned into New England/Canada
itineraries.
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The company will have been
operating its much improved fleet for a year. The company can proudly boast the following:
three streched vessels - the Norwegian Dream, ms Norwegian Majesty and
ms Norwegian Wind; the
brand-new Norwegian Sky;
the flagship ss Norway; and
the newest ship in the Texan market, ms Norwegian Sea. The smallest units, ms
Norwegian Dynasty and ms Leeward, have just left the fleet, and the ms
Norwegian Crown will join Orient Lines' fleet next spring.
Fast building time
Although she is the first
true newbuilding in the NCL fleet since 1993, the Norwegian Sky was acquired in a
most unusual way. The company purchased the unfinished hull of ms Costa Olympia,
which was a legacy the bankruptcy of German shipbuilder Bremer Vulkan. NCL agreed with Lloyd
Werft, based in Bremerhaven, to complete the ship as the Norwegian Sky. This led to
a very short building time - only 20 months from contract to delivery. The interior of the
ship was designed by Tillberg Design of Sweden.
Lloyd Werft is not a newbuilding shipyard in the traditional way. In the past, it has
specialised in conversions, and is one of the leading players in the cruise ship
refurbishment market. Lloyd Werft and NCL share a long-standing relationship, which includes
among others things, the extensive refurbishment of ss Norway in 1990 and the
stretchings of three NCL vessels during 1998-1999. This co-operation is set to continue, and
Lloyd Werft will deliver the new 80,000-gross ton ms Norwegian Sun for NCL in the
spring of 2001. The firm contract has a price tag of $351 million, and it also includes a
contract for a sister ship. Both ships will be based on Norwegian Sky blueprints,
along with some improvements.
Lloyd Werft is not going to build the hull on this occasion either. It has awarded the
contract to Aker MTW, in
Wismar.
Not many similarities to Costa Victoria
Costa Crociere ordered the Costa Olympia in the early 1990s, and was
supposed to be an advanced sister ship to ms Costa Victoria, which was
completed in 1996. The bankruptcy of Bremer Vulkan, however, changed everything. The
steelwork was completed up to deck 11, but was missing the forward and aft sloping sections.
At the same time, the machinery was also in place.
There are very few exterior similarities to Costa Victoria, because most of the
superstructure was redesigned. Among other things, the bridge was moved down to Deck 10,
while on the Costa Victoria it occupies the uppermost deck. Small balconies were
added to the side of the ship, whereas the Costa Victoria features no balconies at all. The
outside cabins however, retained their rounded windows. The 3-deck high forward lounge was
fitted with luxury suites with balconies facing forward and children's and teenager's areas
were also added.
The result is an extremely well
balanced looking cruise ship with much nicer outside lines compared to the Costa
Victoria.
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