Norwegian Cruise Lines – A History
Norwegian cruise lines is an enduringly popular choice for people who wish to go on a cruise holiday without having to conform to the excessively straight-laced standards applied by many companies offering much the same service. The company is famous in no small part for its “Freestyle Cruising” concept, but that really is scratching the surface of a company with a history that, although still relatively young in comparison to much of the market, is rather an interesting story, and a sight more complicated than one might at first imagine.
Founded in 1966 by Norwegian-American Knut Kloster and Israeli-American Ted Arison, Norwegian Caribbean Lines (the name change to Norwegian Cruise Lines happened in 1987 after an expansion of its services), the company was then to follow a fairly chequered path, with Arison leaving after a short while to found Carnival Cruise Lines. Kloster raised the ante, upping the number of ships in his fleet – although in honesty, the company up until that point ran a single ship – to provide a wider Caribbean service.
Kloster was a man of many ideas – not least Cloud 9 Cruises, an offshoot of NCL which combined low cost air fares with cruises, allowing the journey to cover greater distances in shorter times. He also was responsible for the development of new ports in the Caribbean that are still used today – leaving a deeper mark on the world of cruise ships and of commercial sailing than one would think based on the simple name NCL.
Early innovations in the sphere of car ferries (both the Sunward and the Starward – NCL’s first and second ships – were able to carry cars) were followed by something altogether more interesting. Having decided that the idea of a cruise was to travel in style, Kloster turned the area covered by parking spaces into a range of cabins and a two-deck movie theater. From car ferry to luxury cruiser, thanks to one man’s inquiring, innovative mind. Later on this area was again modified, turning it into a casino. All of these ideas were revolutionary when Kloster conceptualized them. All now come as standard on a cruise ship.
In 1979, NCL acquired the French passenger liner the France and set about one of its most ambitious projects yet. Having first changed the name to the Norway, they exploited the size of the ship – at the time of building, it was the longest passenger liner ever built – to add more and more amenities to the ship, making it the most opulent cruise liner in the world. This led other, larger companies to attempt to emulate and better what NCL were doing. But Kloster’s inventive brain kept coming up with ideas to improve the service.
The story of the Norway sadly does not end well. In 2003 a boiler explosion on board killed eight crew members and injured seventeen. As a replacement boiler could not be constructed, it was the beginning of the end for the ship, and it never sailed commercially again. The Norway was broken up in 2008, leaving behind a history of innovation and a controversial final few years as the asbestos on board made it difficult to land. Without the ideas and ambition of Knut Kloster, who knows where the cruise ship industry would be today?
Author: Caterina Christakos
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Duty on LCD/Plasma TV
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