Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has announced its deployment for 2005 into 2006. NCL will have three ships in Hawaii sailing seven-, 10- and 11-day cruises from Honolulu; four ships in Alaska, compared to three this year, with three ships out of Seattle and one from Vancouver; more cruises to Bermuda; Caribbean cruises from five mainland homeports – Charleston, Houston, Miami, New Orleans and New York; Mexican Riviera cruises from Los Angeles, and returning for another season of winter cruises in South America. But NCL is dropping Europe altogether in 2005. In 2004, European cruises represent an estimated 3.8 percent of NCL’s passenger capacity.

According to Cruise Industry News estimates, NCL’s capacity will be about 755,000 passengers in 2004, down 5.6 percent from 2004, when the line’s capacity was approximately 800,000. The reduction is partially due to the withdrawal of the Norway and deployment changes.