At Sea with Doug Newman

Lloyd’s List reports that three of NCL’s ships, Norwegian Dream, Norwegian Majesty and Pride of Aloha are about to be sold. According to the report, Norwegian Dream and Norwegian Majesty will be purchased by Louis Cruise Lines, while Pride of Aloha will be sold to Pullmantur Cruises, the Spanish subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. All three ships are owned by Star Cruises, the former parent of NCL, which currently holds 50% of the company’s stock. The other 50% is controlled by private-equity firm Apollo Management.

The article put the sale price for Norwegian Dream and Norwegian Majesty en bloc at $378 million, and that for Pride of America at $300-$310 million.

Norwegian Dream (main image) and Norwegian Majesty (above) are the two oldest ships in the NCL fleet. The 50,764 GT, 1,742-berth Norwegian Dream was built in 1992 as Dreamward and renamed after being lengthened in 1998. The 40,876 GT, 1,462-berth Norwegian Majesty was originally ordered by Birka Line but completed in 1992 as Royal Majesty for Majesty Cruise Line. She joined the NCL fleet under her current name when NCL bought Majesty Cruise Line in 1997 and in 1992, she too was lengthened.

Along with the other older ships then in the NCL fleet ­— Norwegian Crown (sold and now Fred. Olsen Cruise Line’s Balmoral), Norwegian Sea (now SuperStar Libra) and Norwegian Wind (now SuperStar Aquarius) — and now-defunct NCL subsidiary Orient Lines’ Marco Polo (sold and soon to begin a new career under the same name with Transocean Tours), these ships were transferred to the ownership of Star Cruises in 2004. This was done in anticipation of the ships being either transferred to the Star Cruises fleet or sold, and also of a potential sale or initial public offering of NCL.

Pride of Aloha (above), at 77,104 GT and 2,002 berths, is far larger and more modern than the other two ships reportedly sold. She was ordered by Costa as Costa Olympia, a sister to the 1996-built Costa Victoria, but completed in 1999 for NCL as Norwegian Sky. In 2004 she became NCL America’s first ship, Pride of Hawaii Her transfer to Star Cruises effective May 2008 was announced this past February as part of the agreement reached between NCL and Star about NCL’s financially-disappointing NCL America subsidiary. Although NCL and Star initially said she would be used on Asian itineraries following the transfer, nothing further has been announced.

Click here for the full article from Lloyd’s List.