Norwegian Cruise Line sought to restate its commitment to environmental protection this month with the announcement that it will be bringing scrubbers to six more of its ships.
The cruise line’s newest ships, Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway, have already been fitted with innovative environmental systems, including ballast water treatment and waste fuel oil recycling.
However, it has also committed to bringing green technologies to the rest of its fleet, in order to meet the demanding emissions targets that are coming into effect for the North American cruise industry in the near future.
To this end, it will fit 28 scrubbers, which help to remove sulfur from the ship’s emissions, on the Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Sun.
In addition to these efforts, Norwegian Cruise Line is also looking at ways to improve the protection of the ocean through more sustainable environmental practices as part of its Eco-Smart Cruising programme.
This extends to rubbish and waste recycling, and any other way that can be identified to minimise the operational impact of its ships on the environment. Last year, the programme reached the following recycling milestones:
– 1,245 tons of cardboard, saving 23,500 trees and enough for 292 million newspapers
– 2,517 tons of scrap metal
– 2,988 tons of glass
– 669 tons of glass
Tag Archives: Norwegian Cruise
MSC Cruises changes course for Divina
MSC Cruises said the MSC Divina, a ship that was scheduled to sail year-round from Miami, will be moved to the Mediterranean for summer 2015 before returning for the winter of 2015-16 in the Caribbean.
The ship began sailing from Miami in November and was the centerpiece of an MSC marketing campaign in North America. It will continue on current Caribbean itineraries for the rest of 2014 and the first four months of 2015.
In a statement, MSC Cruises USA President Rick Sasso said “customer surveys are showing an increased desire for North Americans to sail onboard MSC Divina in the Mediterranean.”
Industry-wide, Caribbean pricing has suffered from a glut of capacity this year, while demand for European cruises has been surprisingly strong, especially from North America. The weak economies in several European countries and high airfares led some cruise lines to reduce capacity in Europe this year.
MSC said the changes to Divina designed to bring it more in line with American tastes will remain in place for its summer in Europe. Upon returning in the fall of 2015 to the U.S., Divina will get some “surprise enhancements” for the North American market.
In a conference call with analysts earlier Tuesday, Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Kevin Sheehan mentioned the Divina move, saying its arrival in Miami was a significant addition to capacity in the Caribbean that would be removed next summer.
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Fleet expansion helps Norwegian Cruise Line boost revenue
Norwegian Cruise Line reported a net profit of $51.7 million in the first quarter, up from a $97.5 million loss a year ago.
Revenue rose 25.8%, to $664 million.
Results were helped by the addition of Norwegian Breakaway to the fleet in May 2013 and the Norwegian Getaway in January 2014.
After various special items are excluded, Norwegian said its adjusted first-quarter profit was $49.6 million, up from $12.9 million a year earlier.
Norwegian said it has authorized the buyback of up to $500 million of its stock. CEO Kevin Sheehan said the program allows Norwegian to be “flexible and opportunistic” in repurchasing shares at attractive levels.
The company completed a public offering in January 2013.

