NCL Cuts Steel for New Ships

NCL took delivery of its new “It” Girl, Norwegian Gem yesterday in Eemshaven, Netherlands, just one day before officials gathered in in Saint Nazaire, France to celebrate the steel cutting for the first of NCL’s third generation of new Freestyle Cruising ships, project name “F3.”

Norwegian Gem is the fourth and final ship in the company's Jewel-class series and solidifies NCL's status as the youngest, most modern fleet in the cruise industry. Cruise Diva is Norwegian Gem's latest BFF--check it out on Norwegian Gem’s “HerSpace” page at www.gemitgirl.com. I'm looking forward to our first face-2-face on Dec 12th when she makes her U.S. debut in Boston. Will we have tea together, or maybe bowl a few frames? Watch for it here!

But back to the latest... NCL has always been a forward-looking cruise line and the upcoming “F3” ships are the next phase in their unique Freestyle Cruising experience, which is characterized by no fixed dining times and no formal dress codes. Think of it as a less structured, more relaxed, more resort-style vacation-at-sea than traditional cruising. The 150,000-ton “F3” ships will each feature 4,200 passenger berths--the largest ships in NCL’s fleet. The ships’ cabin mix will be extra special, with 100 percent of outside staterooms featuring private balconies. Each ship will have 1,415 balcony staterooms!

NCL plans to build up to three new third generation Freestyle Cruising ships--the first is scheduled for delivery in January 2010, followed by the other two between 2010 and 2011.