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Norwegian Caribbean Line

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Public
Traded as
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 (8%)
Website www.ncl.com

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (Norwegian) is a Bermudian company operating cruise ships, headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, 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. Norwegian is a publicly traded company with 44% publicly listed on NASDAQ, with major shareholders including Genting Group (28%), Apollo Global Management (20%), and TPG Capital (8%) as of 30 June 2014. Norwegian Cruise Line controls approximately 8% of the total worldwide share of the cruise market.

The cruise line was founded as Norwegian Caribbean Line in 1966 by Knut Kloster and Ted Arison, with the 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.


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