Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) floated out the Norwegian Aura during a ceremony held on April 16 at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy.
Now that the external hull construction is complete and the ship has touched water for the first time, work will continue on the ship’s interior development, according to a statement.
“Norwegian Aura’s float out is a proud and meaningful moment for our entire team. She builds on the legacy of our award-winning Prima Class while taking our commitment to thoughtfully designed guest‑first experiences even further,” said NCL President Marc Kazlauskas.
“Created in close partnership with Fincantieri, the ship is purposefully constructed to deliver an elevated, multi‑generational vacation experience, with expansive outdoor spaces like Ocean Heights, that bring families and friends together for fun-filled days.”
Nearly 1,130 feet long and weighing approximately 170,000 tons, the ship will feature over 1,970 staterooms accommodating around 3,880 guests at double occupancy.
“Norwegian Aura’s float out marks a highly symbolic and operationally significant milestone in our shared journey with Norwegian Cruise Line,” noted Luigi Matarazzo, general manager of Fincantieri’s Merchant Ships Division.
“This vessel reflects the strength of a long-standing partnership and our ability to turn design vision and innovation into tangible solutions, helping to redefine onboard experience for future generations of guests.”
The Norwegian Aura will set sail on her maiden voyage on May 21, 2027, with a seven-day Mediterranean voyage departing from Trieste, Italy and calling to ports in Italy and Malta.
After that, she will embark on a 14-day transatlantic crossing to the United States.
Starting June 10, 2027, she will homeport in Miami and offer seven-day voyages to the Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean during her inaugural season.
New NCLH CEO: $1.7 Million Salary, Potentially $48+ Million in Stock
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings announced that it has entered into an employment agreement and restricted share unit award agreement with John W. Chidsey, its new president and CEO.
“His compensation structure is designed to immediately align his incentives with long-term shareholder value creation, with the majority of his long-term compensation delivered in performance-based equity,” the company said in a press release issued on Friday morning.
Under the employment agreement, Chidsey is entitled to an annual base salary of $1,715,000.
Beginning with the company’s 2027 fiscal year, he will participate in the annual bonus plan with a target annual bonus opportunity equal to 175% of his base salary.
For fiscal 2026, his annual bonus is fixed at $2.9 million, which is below his target annual bonus amount, with no opportunity to earn a higher payout regardless of performance results achieved.
The company said in an effort to encourage Chidsey to accept the job, he was granted a one-time target award of 2,139,892 restricted share units with an intended value of approximately $48 million.
The award was structured as a “front-loaded” grant covering four years of annual equity incentives and designed to provide him with a meaningful at-risk equity interest in the company that may be earned over the initial four-year term of his employment, the company said, in a press release.
When determining the value of Chidsey’s four-year “front-loaded” grant, the Compensation Committee reviewed annual equity grant benchmarks among the company’s peers to help establish a grant value intended to appropriately incentivize sustained shareholder value creation while maintaining a competitive compensation level, NCLH said in a press release.
Based on these considerations, the Compensation Committee determined that the annualized intended grant value of approximately $12 million was market-aligned and within the competitive range for similarly situated peers based on size and industry profile, appropriately encouraging Chidsey’s contributions over the next four-year period.
Consistent with the front-loaded structure, the Compensation Committee does not intend to grant Chidsey additional equity awards until 2030. Unlike other similarly situated executives, Chidsey’s employment agreement does not entitle him to participate in the company’s Amended and Restated 2013 Performance Incentive Plan or any successor equity incentive plan.
Additional information:
The approved award was delivered in a mix of a target number of 1,172,638 performance share units with an intended approximate grant date value of $28.8 million, which represent 60% of the total intended value of restricted share units and 967,254 restricted share units with an intended grant date value of $19.2 million, which represent 40% of the total intended value of restricted share units (the “RSUs”).
The RSUs will vest in four substantially equal annual installments on each of the first four annual anniversaries of March 1, 2026. The PSUs will be eligible to “cliff vest” at the end of a four-year performance period, but only if applicable absolute total shareholder return compounded annual growth rate (“TSR CAGR”) targets are achieved. If our TSR CAGR achieved for the performance period is: (i) less than 5%, none of the PSUs will vest, (ii) 5%, 50% of the target number of PSUs will vest, (iii) 10%, 100% of the target number of PSUs will vest, or (iv) 20% or more, 200% of the target number of PSUs will vest. For performance that falls between these milestones, the PSU vesting will be determined based on linear interpolation.
Chidsey must generally remain continuously employed through the date the performance targets are achieved in order to vest in any PSUs becoming earned based on performance, although the award agreement does provide for accelerated RSU and PSU vesting for certain qualifying terminations of his employment.
The company said the new employment agreement was approved by the Compensation Committee of the Board, in consultation with its independent compensation consultant, and is based on the same form of employment agreement that applies to other senior executive officers.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ Chief Financial Officer Mark Kempa offered commentary on the company’s Caribbean capacity strategy, acknowledging that a 40 percent capacity increase into the region was pushed forward prematurely.
“In hindsight, it is clear that this shift was executed without the necessary enterprise-wide coordination,” Kempa told investors on the company’s fourth quarter and year-end earnings call.
“The capacity increase was premature.”
At the center of that was Great Stirrup Cay, the company’s private Bahamian island, which is undergoing a significant enhancement program.
The capacity shift happened before the opening of Great Tides water park on the island, which expected to open later this summer.
Kempa said the commercial infrastructure needed to absorb the additional capacity simply wasn’t ready.
Revenue management, sales, marketing, itinerary planning, and on-island monetization strategies were not aligned or integrated under a single cohesive operating plan.
“The individual components were moving forward, but they were not integrated under a single cohesive operating plan designed to absorb the capacity at the right yield,” he said.
Kempa said the headwinds are more pronounced than the company anticipated.
Kempa did express confidence in the long-term Caribbean strategy, pointing to strong early guest satisfaction scores at Great Stirrup Cay following the opening of a new pier, expanded pool facilities, and enhanced amenities.
“The early feedback reinforces our confidence that our investments are improving the guest experience and will drive strong returns,” he said.
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