Norwegian Sky

The Norwegian Sky in Cozumel, Mexico
Career
Name:	1999—2004: Norwegian Sky 2004—2008: Pride of Aloha 2008—present: Norwegian Sky
Operator:	1999—2004: Norwegian Cruise Line 2004—2008: NCL America 2008—present: Norwegian Cruise Line
Port of registry:	1999—2004: Bahamas 2004—2008: United States 2008—present: Bahamas
Ordered:	December 1993
Builder:	Bremer Vulkan, Bremen, Germany (hull) Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven, Germany
Yard number:	108
Launched:	October 6, 1996
Acquired:	July 29, 1999
Maiden voyage:	August 9, 1999
In service:	August 1999
Status:	In Active Service as of 2012
General characteristics (Originally as Costa Olympia, Partially constructed at the Bremer Vulkan shipyard)
Tonnage:	77,104 GRT
Length:	828 ft (252.4 m)
Beam:	105.5 ft (32.2 m)
Decks:	12
Speed:	23 kts
Capacity:	1,928 Passengers
Crew:	766
Notes:	The construction was halted after Bremer Vulkan went bankrupt.
General characteristics (As Norwegian Sky, Completed At Lloyd Werft Shipyard)
Tonnage:	77,104 GT (gross tonnage)
Length:	853 ft (260.0 m)
Beam:	108 ft (32.9 m)
Draught:	26 ft (7.9 m)
Decks:	13
Capacity:	2,002 passengers (2,450 Max)
Crew:	800

Norwegian Sky is a Sky class cruise ship owned and operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She was originally ordered by Costa Cruises as Costa Olympia from the Bremer Vulkan shipyard in Germany, but she was completed in 1999 by the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany for the Norwegian Cruise Line under the name Norwegian Sky. Between 2004 and 2008 she sailed as Pride of Aloha for NCL America.

Concept and construction

The ship that eventually became known as Norwegian Sky was originally ordered in December 1993 by Costa Cruises from the Bremer Vulkan shipyard in Bremen, Germany as the second in a pair of sister ships. The first sister, Costa Victoria, was delivered in July 1996. Construction of the second sister, Costa Olympia, had started several months before, but by July 1996 Bremer Vulkan was experiencing severe financial difficulties, and work on the Costa Olympia was suspended when only 35% of the ship was completed. On 1996-10-06 the incomplete hull was floated out of drydock and subsequently laid up.

Costa Cruises decided not to purchase the unfinished ship, and the Costa Olympia remained laid up at Bremer Vulkan until December 1997, when Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) purchased her. The Costa Olympia was redesigned as the Norwegian Sky by Tillberg Design (who had also been responsible for her original planned design as Costa Olympia). On 1998-03-08 the ship was towed to Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany where her construction was completed. In 1998 NCL ordered two additional ships of the Norwegian Sky design. The first of these was delivered in 2001 as the Norwegian Sun while the order for the second one was cancelled. The Norwegian Sky underwent her sea trials on 1999-06-17, and was delivered to NCL on 1999-06-28.

Service history

The Norwegian Sky entered service for Norwegian Cruise Line on August 9, 1999, with a cruise from Dover, United Kingdom to Norway. The ship's crew acted as her godparents at her christening.^{[citation needed]} After a period of financial difficulties, she was the first new ship to enter service with NCL in six years. While doing her inaugural cruise along the Eastern coast of USA and Canada up to Québec City, the Norwegian Sky got into trouble. The vessel left Québec, on September 24th 1999 to Halifax, Nova Scotia with 2712 persons on board, including 1923 passengers, and two pilots. Norwegian Cruise Line estimates that there were some 50 different nationalities aboard and that the average age of the passengers was 63 years.

The trip included a cruise of the Saguenay River. On its return to the mouth of the Saguenay, at about 1130 local time, whales were observed in the St. Lawrence River. To prolong the whale-watching activity, the vessel was turned around but ran aground on the Bancs de l'île Rouge (Rouge Island Banks) before completing its maneuver. The vessel's stern made bottom contact with the shoal. The vessel slowed and the stern came to rest on the Bancs de l'île Rouge. At 1206, the vessel was aground, listing 5.2º to port.

As the vessel was unstable on the reef, the master requested assistance from the Canadian Coast Guard for a preventive evacuation of all passengers plus some crew members. The Marine Rescue Centre of Québec (MRSC Québec) tasked different resources including whale watching tour boats and the two provincial ferries normally crossing the Saguenay River. But at the very last moment, with the assistance of a small Search and Rescue cutter and the high tide, the Norwegian Sky was able to free herself from the reef and proceeded to deeper waters. The vessel sustained substantial damage, but pollution was deemed minor. No injuries resulted from this occurrence. The vessel returned to Québec City for major repairs in a local dry-dock taking over a month As a result three cruises had to be cancelled.

After four years of service NCL announced she would be moved to its new NCL America division as Pride of Aloha in October 2004. Originally she was planned to be preceded by the purpose-built Pride of America in NCL America service, but a rogue storm damaged Pride of America during construction at Lloyd Werft and Pride of Aloha had to be rushed into service instead. In May 2004 the Norwegian Sky entered drydock in San Francisco, re-emerging as the Pride of Aloha on July 4, 2004. The Pride of Aloha was re-christened by Mrs. Margaret Awamura Inouye (wife of Hawaiian senator Daniel K. Inouye).

The Pride of Aloha in Hawaiian waters

Being a U.S.-flagged vessel, Pride of Aloha required a crew of U.S. citizens. This made for a difficult launch as there was no established labor market to tap into. The first few months of sailings were plagued by poor service, crewmembers quitting and walking off the ship while in port, and an enormous number of customer complaints. NCL initiated a new and aggressive training program to better prepare newly hired employees for life aboard a cruise vessel. Subsequently the training for all employees took place at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, a Maritime School in Piney Point, Maryland. Passenger satisfaction improved substantially since the introduction of the new training program.

On February 11, 2008, NCL announced that the Pride of Aloha would be withdrawn from the Hawaiian market as of May 5, 2008. Initially it was reported that she would be transferred to the fleet of Star Cruises. During April 2008 Lloyd's List reported that NCL was looking to sell her to the Spain-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. subsidiary Pullmantur Cruises instead, but Pullmantur Cruises later withdrew their offer. In May 2008 NCL reported that instead of transferring to Star Cruises, the ship would return to Norwegian Cruise Line and be re-flagged to the Bahamas while reverting to her original name Norwegian Sky with the first sailing July 14, 2008.

On Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 3:30 AM, a 39-year-old man went overboard in the Bahamas. A search party consisting of three cruise ships and two U.S. Coast Guard helicopters searched for the man for twelve hours before calling off the search. It is unclear whether the man committed suicide.

Design

As originally planned, the Costa Olympia would have had an exterior and interior design identical to the Costa Victoria. Following the acquisition by Norwegian Cruise Line she was radically redesigned. Design changes included two decks of balcony cabins (opposed to no balcony cabins in the original plans), three additional restaurants, entirely altered decor and moving the bridge down by one deck to accommodate an observation lounge/spa complex on the topmost deck. Both the original and revised plans were the work of Tillberg Design.

Initially the Norwegian Sky utilized a standard dining program with set meal seating times for passengers. One year after she entered service, NCL introduced their "Freestyle Cruising" (a 'dine where you want, when you want') program. As a result, the ship had to be retrofitted with additional restaurants.^{[citation needed]}

When the ship was refitted for service as Pride of Aloha, a Hawaiian theme was adapted for the decorations of all public areas and cabins.^{[citation needed]} At the same time she received hull art consisting of colorful Hawaiian leis.

Prior to being rechristened, the Pride of Aloha was not allowed to have a casino given the fact that it was mainly in US waters. Instead of a casino, the ship had the Kumu Cultural Center. This focused on three main themes - Everyday life in Ancient Hawai`i, the Hawaiian Kingdom and Contemporary Hawai'i.

Current/Future Cruises

The Norwegian Sky is currently sailing 4/3-night cruises sailing to the Bahamas.

External links

• NCL Norwegian Sky
• Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven GmbH
• Hawaii Cruise Reviews
• The Beautiful Norwegian Sky Cruise Ship Docked in Key West, Florida