Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)

Freestyle accommodation

Whether you're a couple, family or group you'll find the perfect accommodation for your NCL cruise.

From extra-spacious staterooms to interconnecting suites or a choice of luxurious villas, there's plenty of room whether it's just two or twenty of you travelling.

Freestyle fun onboard NCL

NCL have some of the coolest cruise ships around. You'll be fighting the kids for a turn on the two-storey Nintendo Wii^TM or be up on deck finding your next foothold on the 10m climbing wall.

Play ten pin bowling in the only ocean going alley, slam dunk a few balls on the basketball court or spend the day riding the slides in the pool.

When the kids have had enough of playing with Mum and Dad, you can relax at the Spa, or take a nap by the pool, while the children enjoy more fun and organised activities with the Kids' Crew.

Cruising by night

On an NCL cruise, the fun continues when the sun goes down. There are 13 different bars and lounges:

• Wine bars
• Piano bars
• Espresso bars
• Martini and Cocktail bars

You can dance your feet off in the night clubs and sing your heart out in the private karaoke room. Then there's the gaming tables to visit, the movies to watch and the Second City Comedy Troupe to see.

Dine freestyle too

What time's breakfast'lunch'dinner? Simply any time you choose. NCL cruises won't force you to get up early for breakfast or expect you to be seated by 7pm. You won't have to dress up if you don't want to or share a table with strangers either.

Choice

Instead you'll have up to 13 restaurants to choose from, and they'll be ready to serve you when you're hungry, with steak, sushi, Tapas, Tex-Mex, pasta, pizza and more.

Fine Dining

You can also make a reservation with one of the ships for formal restaurants if you want to treat yourself

Room Service

If you'd rather your meal was delivered to you, call room service and they'll set you a table in your cabin or on your private balcony.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the details of this page are correct at the time of publication. However, you should always check prior to booking that any essential information is accurate with either Virgin Holidays Cruises or Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL).

Which Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) cruise ship is right for you?

• Norwegian Breakaway
• Norwegian Dawn
• Norwegian Epic
• Norwegian Gem
• Norwegian Jade
• Norwegian Jewel
• Norwegian Pearl
• Norwegian Sky
• Norwegian Spirit
• Norwegian Star
• Norwegian Sun
• Pride of America

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) Destinations

Established in 1966, Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) has helped to revolutionise the cruise industry over the past 40 years with its relaxed attitude.

NCL was the first cruise line to pioneer the concept of Freestyle Cruising, doing away with dress codes, set dining times and rigid rules.

Today it operates one of the youngest fleets in the world, with ships including the Norwegian Jade, Norwegian Gem and Norwegian Majesty.

Blast from the past

Formerly known as Norwegian Caribbean Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) was established in 1966 by one of Norway's oldest shipping companies, Klosters Rederi A/S.

The cruise line's owners had intended to launch a ferry service, using the M/S Sunward, between Southampton, Lisbon and Gibraltar. However, political problems, including a dispute over the ownership of Gibraltar and lengthy waits at the Spanish border meant that the journey was not convenient for passengers.

Influenced by these factors, NCL took the decision to reposition the Sunward to Miami and begin operating weekly cruises of the Caribbean.

NCL's informal, single-class style of cruising soon became popular and provided those eager to experience the Caribbean with an affordable alternative to a land-based stay.

In 1968 the cruise line decided to build on its success with the introduction of the M/S Starward and the M/S Skyward two years later.

NCL continued to expand throughout the 70s, with the launch of the Southward and Sunward II.

It was also in this decade that the company bought Great Stirrup Cay, a private island for its guests to enjoy, making NCL the first cruise line to introduce this concept.

In 1979 the M/S France was purchased and NCL spent more than $100 million to prepare the vessel for Caribbean cruising. For a while the France was the largest passenger ship at sea and NCL continued its evolution by expanding the entertainment programmes on offer to its passengers.

NCL continued its expansion throughout the 80s, with the introduction of S/S Norway and M/S Seaward. It also began to offer cruises to the west coast destinations, including Los Angeles and San Diego.

It was during the 1990s that NCL really began to evolve into the cruise line we know today, by increasing its capacity, renaming its ships and introducing new and improved passenger programmes.

In 1992 the M/S Dreamward was launched. Christened by Diana Ross, the Dreamward became the first NCL ship to operate from Fort Lauderdale.

NCL became the first cruise line to have a website in 1995, with the launch of a new home page and travel agent tool.

In February 1998 engineers worked around the clock for five days to stretch the M/S Winward and insert a new 130-feet midsection. This multi-million dollar expansion saw the creation of several new public areas and the ship was renamed as the Norwegian Wind. The M/S Dreamward was also stretched and rename as the Norwegian Dream.

One year later NCL became the first cruise line to offer a children's programme at sea, with the introduction of the Kid's Crew, for passengers aged two to 17.

It was in 2000 that NCL introduced its revolutionary Freestyle Cruising concept, doing away with dress codes and heralding a new era of freedom and flexibility.

That same year the cruise line launched the first internet cafe at sea and the following year it introduced its first purpose-built Freestyle Cruising ships, with the Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Star.

In 2005 NCL made history by launching the largest-ever newly built American-flagged ship in over half a century with the Pride of America.

The following year NCL celebrated its 40th anniversary with the launch of the Norwegian Pearl, the first cruise ship to house a bowling alley.

Cruising into the future

Today NCL operates one of the youngest and most successful fleets in the world, serving destinations such as Alaska, the Bahamas, South America and the Panama Canal.

NCL continues to go from strength to strength. Just last week it was named as the Cruise Line of the Year by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, which commented NCL for the positive impact it has had on the islands.

It also shows no signs of slowing down and still looks for ways in which the passenger experience can be improved. Earlier this month it announced plans to present each of its guests with a personalised cruise guide, featuring the passenger's name, date of sailing, stateroom number and ship details.