With the announcement that it’s set to leave the Regent Seven Seas Cruises fleet in late 2026, the Seven Seas Navigator will become the first ship to depart Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ fleet since 2010.
According to data from Cruise Industry News’ Cruise Ship Secondhand Market Report, the last ship retired from the fleet of the company’s three brands was the Tahiti-based Paul Gauguin, which was withdrawn from service in early 2010.
Then operating for Regent Seven Seas under a management agreement, the 332-guest ship moved elsewhere after the completion of the deal.
A few months before that, Norwegian Cruise Line retired the Norwegian Majesty, which was handed over to Louis Cruise Lines in December 2009.
At the time, the 1992-built ship was the fourth retired by Norwegian in a timeframe of just two years.
Then undergoing a major fleet modernization program, the brand also parted ways with the Norwegian Wind, the Norwegian Dream and the Norwegian Crown.
Set to join Crescent Seas, a startup that aims to build a luxury residential cruising project, the Seven Seas Navigator will leave Regent’s fleet in October 2026.
Built using the hull of a Russian research vessel, the 490-guest ship originally entered service for the company in 1999, making it one of the oldest in NCLH’s fleet.
Speaking on the company’s 2024 year-end earnings call, the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ President and CEO Harry Sommer said that the company is eyeing a 35-year service life for its cruise fleet.
“I would like to point out that the oldest ships in our fleet are from ’98 and ’99, so none of them have reached yet 30 years; and we believe our ships can get to 35 years or beyond,” he said.
“So, there is a little bit of room there to go before we have to be aggressively considering ship retirements,” he added, noting that all vessels in the fleet are well maintained.
After signing a record-breaking deal with the Fincantieri shipyard in 2024, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is set to take delivery of over ten newbuilds between 2026 and 2036.
The lineup features two new ships for Regent Seven Seas Cruises, including the Seven Seas Prestige, which debuts for the brand in 2026.
