Norwegian Cruise Line

The cruise line was founded in 1966 by Norwegian Knut Kloster and Israeli Ted Arison, with the 8,666-ton, 140-m long cruise ship/car ferry, Sunward, which in 1966 operated as a car ferry between Southampton UK and Gibraltar, for that one short season only. The Sunward was first managed under the Arison Shipping Company, and marketed as Ensign Cruises. Arison soon left to form Carnival Cruise Lines, while Kloster acquired additional ships for Caribbean service, with the line renamed and marketed as Norwegian Caribbean Line.

Norwegian Caribbean Line

Norwegian pioneered many firsts in the cruise industry, such as the first out island, Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, the first combined air-sea program , which combined low-cost air fares with the cruise, and first shipline to develop new ports in the Caribbean, such as Ocho Rios in Jamaica.

First Newbuilds

Norwegians's second and third ship, the Starward and Skyward, were the first newly built ships designed for the cruise line. Like the original Sunward of 1966, they had the capability to carry automobiles through a well-concealed stern door. Later, this area was turned into cabins and a two-deck movie theater, later to be used as a casino. Norwegian was responsible for many of the cruise innovations that have now become standard throughout the industry.

Norwegian would order two additional ships, that would be their first true cruise ships without any car carrying capacity. This would be the Southward in 1971, and an intended identical sister the Seaward, that would never be delivered to the line, and would be completed for P&O Cruises instead. The line would sell its original ship the Sunward in 1973, being too small in inadequate for the modern cruise market. They would purchase the former Cunard Adventurer in 1977, refitting her with the trademark NCL funnels, and renamed Sunward II.

The SS Norway

Norwegian made headlines with the acquisition of the liner SS France in 1979, rebuilding the liner as a cruise ship and renaming her ''Norway'' The conversion cost more than US$100million. At 1,000 ft long and displacing 52,000 tons, the Norway was at the time significantly larger than any existing cruise ship, and exploited the extra space available by adding a greater-than-usual variety of onboard entertainment. Her success paved the way for a new era of giant cruise ships.