<i>Norwegian Dawn</i> to premiere in December

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is proud to announce that its new up and coming star, Norwegian Dawn, the sister-ship to Norwegian Star and the third ship purpose-built for Freestyle Cruising, is on schedule to be delivered to NCL on December 5.

The 91,740-ton Norwegian Dawn, now under construction at the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Germany, will sail from Southampton on December 7 arriving in New York City on December 14. From there, NCL will roll out the red carpet for its inaugural festivities in New York and Miami before the ship begins her regularly scheduled sailings to the eastern and western Caribbean from Miami on December 21.

"Norwegian Star has generated a lot of buzz in the industry with its revolutionary ten restaurants, largest suites afloat, vibrant public rooms and groundbreaking itinerary in Hawaii," said Colin Veitch, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line.

"Norwegian Dawn will feature all of those great attributes and more except she will be home ported in the East Coast, where it will be a quick drive or flight to enjoy and experience. Like her sister-ship, Norwegian Dawn will offer a revolutionary itinerary, using her great speed to offer seven-day roundtrip cruises out of New York calling on four ports in the Bahamas and Florida: Nassau, NCL's private island Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, Miami and Port Canaveral, Florida."

From Miami, Norwegian Dawn will rotate an eastern and western Caribbean itinerary until May 3, 2003, when she repositions to New York on a 14-day cruise from Miami to Manhattan.

The ship begins her innovative summer season from New York on May 18, 2003 to begin a series of seven-day sailings to the Bahamas and Florida.

Norwegian Dawn will be NCL's largest ship, accommodating 2,224 passengers and 1,112 crew, and is being built at the maximum size to fit through the Panama Canal. The ship will be fitted with pod drives, which substantially improve maneuverability, and like Norwegian Star, will cruise at a maximum speed of 25 knots.

Norwegian Dawn will also feature NCL's new standards in cabins, with rich cherry wood finishing, refrigerators, tea and coffee makers in every room, and a much larger bathroom unit than other ships. Seventy per cent of cabins are outside staterooms and over 70 per cent of these have balconies.

Thirty-four suites, 366 standard staterooms with balconies, and an entire deck of 107 mini-suites with balconies are among the spacious and well-appointed accommodations located on the 15-deck ship. There also will be 20 cabins of various categories designed for passengers with disabilities.

Most cabins will include a sofa-bed or pop-up trundle bed giving a third lower bed and many will have a fourth, pull-down berth. The ship will also offer a large number of cabins (including suites and mini-suites) that can interconnect to create a two, three, four or five bedroom area suitable for small or large families.

Norwegian Dawn offers the ultimate opportunity to cruise in style with the spectacular Garden Villa suites.

At a cost of $26,000 per week, each of Norwegian Dawn's two Garden Villa suites offer an unprecedented 5,350 square feet of living space at sea. Positioned high atop the vessel in a private area aft of the main sundeck, each Garden Villa features sweeping views of the ocean and five-star class amenities. The villas offer a large dining room, living room with a state-of-the-art Bang & Olufsen entertainment centre, three bedrooms each featuring floor to ceiling windows and luxurious baths with a whirlpool tub and a separate shower. Outside, the suites feature private rooftop terraces, Jacuzzis, outdoor dining, gardens and secluded relaxation areas.

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