Norwegian Cruise Line announces largest European deployment

Norwegian Cruise Line has announced that 2019 will see the largest European deployment in its history, with six ships based on the continent.

The Norwegian Pearl will relocate from Alaska to homeport in Amsterdam in May 2019 offering Baltic cruises. The ship will later transfer to the Mediterranean, operating out of Barcelona, Rome and Venice.

The other ships operating in Europe will be Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Spirit, Norwegian Getaway, pictured, Norwegian Star and Norwegian Jade. Norwegian currently operates five ships in Europe.

We are listening to our customers, to our travel partners and responding to the demand we have for our European itineraries

Speaking to Cruise Adviser, Nick Wilkinson, NCL’s vice president and managing director of UK & Ireland, said: “We are delighted that we will have the largest deployment in Europe in our history.

“The reason we’ve done this is that we are listening. We are listening to our customers, to our travel partners and responding to the demand we have for our European itineraries both within Europe and globally.”

Wilkinson added that on the back of Bliss – which the company says is its best-selling ship to date – demand had been robust for further growth. Sailings on Norwegian Pearl go on sale on July 31.

Wilkinson said that there would be a separate announcement on ex-UK deployment.

Norwegian Joy will join Norwegian Bliss with Alaska cruises.

“The booming demand environment in our core markets around the world, coupled with Norwegian Bliss’ record-breaking performance, continue to exceed our expectations,” said Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

“As a result, we are leveraging the strategic benefits of our growing fleet to quickly seize sizable opportunities in over performing, unserved and underserved markets to meet the demands of our global customer base and drive higher returns for our shareholders.”