Whats the next ship to be retired?

With the addition of the Escape this year and Bliss next year, NCL will have 15(?) ships.

just curious if ncl plans to retire any of the older ships?

if so, which? (spirit? dawn class? sun class?)

and what happens to those ships?

sold to another cruise line? scrap yard? sold to the military for target practice?

With the addition of the Escape this year and Bliss next year, NCL will have 15(?) ships.

 

just curious if ncl plans to retire any of the older ships?

if so, which? (spirit? dawn class? sun class?)

 

and what happens to those ships?

sold to another cruise line? scrap yard? sold to the military for target practice?

Yes...NCL will have 15 ships, but I don't see how that means ships have to be sold.

Both Carnival and Royal Caribbean have more ships in their fleets, so it would only be logical that NCL grows as opposed to remaining stagnant by selling off ships as new ships are purchased.

It also certainly can't be age...between the two of them Royal Caribbean and Carnival are sailing 12-15(?) ships that are older than anything in NCL's fleet.

People here also constantly complain about the places that NCL doesn't sail...to cover additional markets requires additional ships.

I see no business reason why they would sell anything in their fleet, much less offer it up as target practice.

NCL used to have Spirit, Sky, and Star for sale, but with the new management I'm not sure what they intend to do. They just spent quite a bit to bring Star's offerings in line with the newer ships.

My bet is Sky since she's always been a misfit with NCL. I can't imagine Spirit will be around for much longer either.

I can tell you the former NCL Majesty and NCL Crown were sold to Fred Olsen Cruise Line a few years ago. So usually they do find buyers. Last I heard the NCL Dream was still docked somewhere around the Bahamas as that sale fell through. In answer to your question, IMO the Sky or the Spirit will probably be the next ships leaving NCL's Fleet in the next few years.

I'm not sure they will sell any in the near future, to compete with Royal and Carnival's large fleets. My gut feeling is that when they do decide to sell one, it will be the Spirit. That ship was not built by NCL so it is older than NCL-built ships. They bought it from an Asian company...the ship was originally built for the Asian market and did cruises in Asia before NCL added it to their fleet. I cruised on the Spirit in 2006, not long after NCL purchased it. Loved that cruise, but that was before the wiring was converted to 110 and we had to bring converters to plug in any of our stuff, as outlets were 220.

I can tell you the former NCL Majesty and NCL Crown were sold to Fred Olsen Cruise Line a few years ago. So usually they do find buyers. Last I heard the NCL Dream was still docked somewhere around the Bahamas as that sale fell through. In answer to your question, IMO the Sky or the Spirit will probably be the next ships leaving NCL's Fleet in the next few years.

The Dream is sailing with Star Cruises. She is now the SuperStar Gemini.

NCL used to have Spirit, Sky, and Star for sale, but with the new management I'm not sure what they intend to do. They just spent quite a bit to bring Star's offerings in line with the newer ships.

 

My bet is Sky since she's always been a misfit with NCL. I can't imagine Spirit will be around for much longer either.

Sky has been re-purposed to 24/7/365 booze cruise out of Miami. That's a fairly profitable market segment. They might do something similar but sailing out of different ports.

I'm not sure they will sell any in the near future, to compete with Royal and Carnival's large fleets. My gut feeling is that when they do decide to sell one, it will be the Spirit. That ship was not built by NCL so it is older than NCL-built ships. They bought it from an Asian company...the ship was originally built for the Asian market and did cruises in Asia before NCL added it to their fleet. I cruised on the Spirit in 2006, not long after NCL purchased it. Loved that cruise, but that was before the wiring was converted to 110 and we had to bring converters to plug in any of our stuff, as outlets were 220.

Spirit used to sail as SuperStar Leo for Star Cruises, which was the sole owner of NCL at the time of the transfer in 2004. Star Cruises is so deeply embedded into what NCL was as a company throughout the 2000s that it's misleading to suggest that Spirit is somehow different because she was "built for the Asian market." Spirit really is a great fit for NCL.

After Star Cruises purchased NCL in 2000, they've more or less infused their DNA with the product. Freestyle Dining was developed first in Asia by Star Cruises to appeal to gamblers and tourists who did not want set meal times. Spirit was built from the beginning with the same wide variety of dining venues that have become a hallmark of the NCL brand. Norwegian Star, the "first ship built for Freestyle," was initially intended to be SuperStar Libra. She was transferred to NCL late in the build process, so what you see on Star is more or less what was intended for her career as an Asian based cruise ship.

Sky has been re-purposed to 24/7/365 booze cruise out of Miami. That's a fairly profitable market segment. They might do something similar but sailing out of different ports.

Sky's been relegated to the 3/4 day booze cruises because she doesn't really fit it anywhere else. Originally ordered by Costa Cruises as a sister to Costa Victoria, Sky spent several years (1996-1998) laid up at Bremer Vulcan before her unfinished hull was purchased by NCL. She's been more of a misfit than any other. Sky was designed for Costa and finished by a pre-Freestyle NCL. After her time as Pride of Aloha, Star Cruises tried selling her, but could not get a buyer to commit. She's been doing the 3/4 day booze cruises ever since, a job that is usually reserved for the oldest/most-worn ships at RCI and Carnival.

Actually, the Norwegian Sun was the first ship built for freestyle...not the Norwegian Star.

Actually, the Norwegian Sun was the first ship built for freestyle...not the Norwegian Star.

No, Star and Sun entered service around the same time in late 2001. They shared a joint christening ceremony in Miami and were both branded as the first ships built for Freestyle. Besides that, Sun was already in development before Star Cruises purchased the line in 2000 and brought over the Freestyle Concept.

NCL used to have Spirit, Sky, and Star for sale, but with the new management I'm not sure what they intend to do. They just spent quite a bit to bring Star's offerings in line with the newer ships.

 

My bet is Sky since she's always been a misfit with NCL. I can't imagine Spirit will be around for much longer either.

why sky? it's part of the dawn/sun class (forget which), right?

spirit is the red headed step child. the only one of her class in ncl's fleet.

it was originally meant for Hawaii then pride of America took over that role.

No, Star and Sun entered service around the same time in late 2001. They shared a joint christening ceremony in Miami and were both branded as the first ships built for Freestyle. Besides that, Sun was already in development before Star Cruises purchased the line in 2000 and brought over the Freestyle Concept.

That may be, but your application of that label to the Star is inaccurate. NCL has ALWAYS recognized the Sun as the first built for freestyle....unless you have some documentation to the contrary...

why sky? it's part of the dawn/sun class (forget which)?

 

spirit is the red headed step child. the only one of her class in ncl's fleet.

it was originally meant for Hawaii then pride of America took over that role.

Sky is part of the Sun Class.

Spirit was transferred from Star Cruises to fill in the gap created by Pride of America's sinking in Bremerhaven in 2004. Sky was pushed into service as Pride of Aloha in July 2004 as a replacement for Pride of America, and Spirit replaced Sky.

Sky is part of the Sun Class.

 

Spirit was transferred from Star Cruises to fill in the gap created by Pride of America's sinking in Bremerhaven in 2004. Sky was pushed into service as Pride of Aloha in July 2004 as a replacement for Pride of America, and Spirit replaced Sky.

ahh.. thx.

so if ncl wants to retire 2 ships, then it makes sense to retire the entire class (either sky/sun or dawn/star).

and if they only want to retire 1, then I guess spirit?

but yeah, keeping them all and creating new ports is also an option.

No, Star and Sun entered service around the same time in late 2001. They shared a joint christening ceremony in Miami and were both branded as the first ships built for Freestyle. Besides that, Sun was already in development before Star Cruises purchased the line in 2000 and brought over the Freestyle Concept.

Interesting, a side question. If the Sun and Star were built about the same time, why does the Star not have the bar with buffet seating aft of the Garden Cafe, while the Sun, like most good cruise ships has that?

Interesting, a side question. If the Sun and Star were built about the same time, why does the Star not have the bar with buffet seating aft of the Garden Cafe, while the Sun, like most good cruise ships has that?

The two ships come from completely different backgrounds. Star is a larger evolution of Star Cruises' SuperStar Leo. Sun is a sister to Sky, which was originally intended for Costa Cruises. Most of NCL's fleet throughout the 1990s and early 2000s was a confused hodgepodge of ships from a variety of different backgrounds, so this was the norm for the company at the time.

That may be, but your application of that label to the Star is inaccurate. NCL has ALWAYS recognized the Sun as the first built for freestyle....unless you have some documentation to the contrary...

I usually have some documentation to the contrary :D

These are scans taken from an NCL brochure published in 2001 for 2002-2003 itineraries. It collectively refers to Sun and Star as "new ships built specifically for Freestyle Cruising."

First doesn't show up anywhere in reference to Sun on the page about her. "Newest realization of the Freestyle cruising experience" is as about as close as they get to saying something similar to that.

For Star, we get "built expressly with Freestyle Cruising in mind." Of course, we know that she was more or less completed as she would have been for Star Cruises.

The lesson from all of this is that you can't really trust NCL's version of their own history. Like most companies, it's been confused by different branding objectives and numerous buyouts. For the behind the scenes tours on several of their ships, I've seen the cruise staff give a historical overview of NCL's history. It can be quite amusing to those who actually know something about the company's actual trials and tribulations over the years. Apparently Jade and Sky were pulled from Hawaii due to NCL "wanting to expand their international footprint." No mention of the hundreds of millions of dollars NCL America was losing in Hawaii :rolleyes:

I do not see any ships being sold in the next 5 years. NCL has done a nice job on the 3-4 older ships putting them in nitch areas.

Interesting to hear the history on these ships.

Didn't I just read someone post that the Sky is going to dry dock soon? Would they be doing that if they planned on getting rid of her?

We were just on the Sky in November and there's still places on it that shows she was a Hawaii cruise once.

I really love the Spirit and she is actually my favorite smaller ship of the fleet. I would hate to see her go. :( She's just so unique.

Interesting to hear the history on these ships.

 

Didn't I just read someone post that the Sky is going to dry dock soon? Would they be doing that if they planned on getting rid of her?

 

We were just on the Sky in November and there's still places on it that shows she was a Hawaii cruise once.

 

I really love the Spirit and she is actually my favorite smaller ship of the fleet. I would hate to see her go. :( She's just so unique.

Since Sky is over 15 years old, she needs to have an out of water hull inspection twice every 5 years. Even if NCL would prefer to sell the ship, they need to dry dock her within that timeframe to continue operating her.

As you saw, the interiors of most ships reflect their history. I think the tikis and tropical flower carpets in Sky's atrium were finally removed in the last dry dock. Jade (ex-Pride of Hawaii) retained much of her Hawaiian themed decor and artwork, but it also seems that more and more of it disappears as the years pass.

All of the ships sailing today will leave at some point. My bet is still that Sky will be the first to go, but who knows when that'll happen?

Since Sky is over 15 years old, she needs to have an out of water hull inspection twice every 5 years. Even if NCL would prefer to sell the ship, they need to dry dock her within that timeframe to continue operating her.

 

As you saw, the interiors of most ships reflect their history. I think the tikis and tropical flower carpets in Sky's atrium were finally removed in the last dry dock. Jade (ex-Pride of Hawaii) retained much of her Hawaiian themed decor and artwork, but it also seems that more and more of it disappears as the years pass.

 

All of the ships sailing today will leave at some point. My bet is still that Sky will be the first to go, but who knows when that'll happen?

So interesting. Thanks for the history lesson. I love hearing about things like this. :)

Yep, atrium has blue carpet now.

So interesting. Thanks for the history lesson. I love hearing about things like this. :)

You're welcome! :) It all becomes history at some point. The secret is to never assume that a ship will sail forever. If you want to sail on Spirit again while she's with NCL, I'd do it sooner than later. You never know what can happen.

With Cuba opening up for cruising in the near future, I would assume NCL will retain its smaller trio, the Sky, Spirit and Sun until Cuba upgrades its infrastructure to handle the larger ships.

Since Sky is over 15 years old, she needs to have an out of water hull inspection twice every 5 years. Even if NCL would prefer to sell the ship, they need to dry dock her within that timeframe to continue operating her.

 

As you saw, the interiors of most ships reflect their history. I think the tikis and tropical flower carpets in Sky's atrium were finally removed in the last dry dock. Jade (ex-Pride of Hawaii) retained much of her Hawaiian themed decor and artwork, but it also seems that more and more of it disappears as the years pass.

 

All of the ships sailing today will leave at some point. My bet is still that Sky will be the first to go, but who knows when that'll happen?

As part of the refurbishment of the Sky into the Aloha, the hotel refurbishment team wanted to remove the Poseidon statue in the atrium of the Crossings restaurant and replace it with the glass sailboat that is currently there. Unfortunately, they had no idea how to get the 3000 lb statue out of a two story atrium, up to deck 6, and out to the promenade so the shipyard's crane could pick it up. So, in the middle of all the other work the engineering department had to accomplish (including training an entire new US engine department in cruise ship operations), they quietly brought up in one morning meeting that they would appreciate the engineers rigging the statue out for them. God, I hated that statue. Then they realized that the steel base for the glass sailboat wouldn't fit through the doors, and actually weighed more than Poseidon, so the base had to be cut into pieces to get it into the ship, and welded back together in place (of course after the carpet had been renewed already), and we had to have the naval architects look real quick to see if the existing deck structure would take the weight. Just like most corporations, technical and refurbishment departments frequently don't tell each other their plans.

One problem the Sky has suffered with since the lay-up period between Bremer Vulkan going bankrupt and Lloydwerft taking over construction is the lack of preservation that was done to an incomplete ship. Many areas of the engine room bilges that have piping located close above suffer from rust from poor coatings at the time. While it may still be a few years away, yes, I think the Sky would be the first ship to be sold.

However, those adds in "yacht brokers" websites for cruise ships for sale have come and gone, particularly for the Sky, for the last 10 years or so.

With Cuba opening up for cruising in the near future, I would assume NCL will retain its smaller trio, the Sky, Spirit and Sun until Cuba upgrades its infrastructure to handle the larger ships.

Cuba is not opening for cruising in the near future. Carnival's fathom subsidiary has to comply with a variety of educational and "people-to-people" requirements and passenger cannot specifically engage in tourist activities. Although it's possible NCL might send a smaller ship to comply with these federal regulations, it's unlikely.

Only Congress can end the embargo and open Cuba up to regular cruise traffic. There's enough resistance that the issue will remain in congressional gridlock for many more years to come. Likely long after Sky and Spirit's sailing days are over.

As part of the refurbishment of the Sky into the Aloha, the hotel refurbishment team wanted to remove the Poseidon statue in the atrium of the Crossings restaurant and replace it with the glass sailboat that is currently there. Unfortunately, they had no idea how to get the 3000 lb statue out of a two story atrium, up to deck 6, and out to the promenade so the shipyard's crane could pick it up. So, in the middle of all the other work the engineering department had to accomplish (including training an entire new US engine department in cruise ship operations), they quietly brought up in one morning meeting that they would appreciate the engineers rigging the statue out for them. God, I hated that statue. Then they realized that the steel base for the glass sailboat wouldn't fit through the doors, and actually weighed more than Poseidon, so the base had to be cut into pieces to get it into the ship, and welded back together in place (of course after the carpet had been renewed already), and we had to have the naval architects look real quick to see if the existing deck structure would take the weight. Just like most corporations, technical and refurbishment departments frequently don't tell each other their plans.

 

 

 

One problem the Sky has suffered with since the lay-up period between Bremer Vulkan going bankrupt and Lloydwerft taking over construction is the lack of preservation that was done to an incomplete ship. Many areas of the engine room bilges that have piping located close above suffer from rust from poor coatings at the time. While it may still be a few years away, yes, I think the Sky would be the first ship to be sold.

 

 

 

However, those adds in "yacht brokers" websites for cruise ships for sale have come and gone, particularly for the Sky, for the last 10 years or so.

Thanks for telling that great story about the removal of the Poseidon statue! A sadly accurate view into the dysfunctional nature of most large projects. I'd love to hear other stories about her Sky/Aloha/Sky conversions if you're willing to tell.

I had heard that Sky's hull had suffered premature rusting and aging as a result of being laid up for several years at Bremer Vulkan, but hearing it from one of her ex-Chiefs adds much more credibility!