Norwegian Cruise Line History (Including Interesting Brochures from the 1960s)

Norwegian Cruise Line Was Founded in 1966

When Norwegian Cruise Line reached 50 years of age, they launched a #NorwegiansFirst50 campaign which saw people from all over the world sharing their NCL cruising memories.

It’s honestly hard for me to imagine 50 years, strange to think that the company is over double my age!

Despite that, I do have some amazing NCL memories of my own. I first cruised with NCL when I was just 11 years old.

Since then, I have been lucky enough to go on many more Norwegian Cruises and try many different ships.

My dreams came true when, in 2023, I was invited onboard Norwegian Prima to make some videos for Norwegian Cruise Line! That would have blown the mind of eleven year old me!

A Brief History of Norwegian Cruise Line

• In 1966 they began as Norwegian Caribbean Line
  • They offered weekly trips to the Caribbean
• In the 1970’s they expanded the fleet with purpose-built ships
  • They bought the Private Island, Great Stirrup Cay – the first cruise line to have a private island
• In 1984 it expanded by buying out Royal Viking Line
• The company name was changed to Norwegian Cruise Line in 1987
  • This was to reflect the new routes all over the world.
• In the 1990s the company continued to expand, retiring old ships and welcoming new ones into the fleet
  • Most ships were given the “Norwegian” prefix to strengthen the brand identity
• In February 2000, Norwegian was acquired by Genting Hong Kong Limited ( formally known as Star Cruises.) This made them part of the third largest cruise company in the world.
  • They introduced the concept of “Freestyle cruising” to the world
  • in 2007 a 50% share of Norwegian Cruise Line was sold to private equity groups
• In 2014 Norwegian acquired Prestige Cruises International
  • This is the parent company of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Today Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas have 32 ships, carrying millions of guests to over 700 countries worldwide. They have five new ships on order across the three brands, these will be sailing by 2028.

Norwegian Cruise Line Brochures

I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on some of NCL’s earliest brochures and publications.

I like to think that these are like the embarrassing baby photos of the cruise ship world!

Scroll down for a journey through time…

The 1960s

The Sunward was originally built as a ferry to transport people and cars from the UK, around the Bay of Biscay and on to Gibraltar.

She began sailing for the newly formed Norwegian Cruise Line ( or Norwegian Caribbean Line as it was then known) in 1966.

She was a great success, along with her sister ships Starward and Southward. By the 1970s Norwegian began to add newer, larger ships to the fleet.

The 1970s!

Skyward was delivered to Norwegian Caribbean Line in December1969, along with her sister, Starward, They were the first purpose-built ships of Norwegian Cruise Line. Southward joined the fleet in 1971.

Skyward sailed for Norwegian until 1991, Starward continued until 1995. Southward left the fleet in 1994.

The 1980s!

The SS Norway was originally a Transatlantic Ocean Liner called the SS France. She was bought by Norwegian Cruise Line in 1979.

She was at that time the biggest cruise ship sailing, and underwent a significant refurbishment to change her from a transatlantic cruise liner to a holiday cruise ship.

The 1990s!

By the late 1990s Norwegian Majesty and Norwegian Dynasty had joined the fleet along with the SS Leeward. SS Norway was still sailing , and Skyward, Sunward and Southward were sold on in the early 90s.

All I can say is that I’m glad I’m cruising now instead of the 1960s.

NCL’s first ship, the Sunward, looks more like a ferry – but then, she was originally designed to be a ferry!

I love looking at things like this, it makes me wonder what cruising will be like in another 50 years.

Hopefully, I’ll still be cruising when I’m 72…

Before You Go

Find out about the bizarre things that used to be allowed on cruise ships that are now banned here:

6 Things Once Allowed on Cruise Ships But Are Now Banned (For Good Reason!)

Find out why cruise ships are called “she” in the article below:

The Real Reason Ships Are Called ‘She’ – Language, History, and Myth