When the Norwegian Spirit emerges from a 40-day dry dock next February, she’ll essentially rejoin the fleet as a new ship. Thanks to a $100 million renovation, Spirit will be outfitted with a slew of new features, including a restaurant so new to the fleet that it is currently only found on one other ship!
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The Norwegian Spirit has an extensive history, having been original built in 1998 for Star Cruises, where she was known as SuperStar Leo. But an interesting series of events unfolded in 2004 which would change everything. The under-construction Pride Of America partially sunk after a storm hit the shipyard where it was being constructed. In order to not disappoint those who’d been booked on Pride, the Norwegian Sky began sailing as Pride of Aloha. SuperStar Leo joined the Norwegian fleet and, as Norwegian Spirit, took over the Norwegian Sky’s sailings!
In January of 2020, Norwegian Spirit will head to Marseille, France to undergo her transformation. When the ship returns to service in February, it will finally receive many of the updates which other NCL vessels have had for years, while also getting some of the line’s newest and best features!
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Among the already-popular-on-other-ships venues which will be added are The Local Bar & Grill (known on many NCL ships as O’Sheehans), the Garden Cafe outdoor eatery, Cagney’s Steakhouse, the Great Outdoors bar and an additional main dining room. Elsewhere, the Bliss Ultra Lounge will become one of the nighttime hotspots, while the Spinnaker Lounge will be ready to host a variety of events when not serving as the perfect place to relax and take in the views.
An Unexpected Addition
Perhaps the biggest change to the Norwegian Spirit will be the addition of the adults-only Spice H20. This is unusual, given that until now, the area — which serves as a relaxing oasis during the day and a party spot after dark — has only been found on ships far larger than the Norwegian Spirit. (The ship’s occupancy will increase slightly with the addition of new staterooms, but Spirit will still be far smaller than ships like the Breakaway, Bliss and Getaway, all of which feature Spice H20).
Another surprise comes with the addition of Onda by Scarpetta. The popular high-end eatery, which will make its seaside debut on the Norwegian Encore in November, has land-based outlets in such locales as the Hamptons, Miami, Las Vegas and London. The restaurant will offer modern Italian cuisine as well as fresh seafood.
Upon leaving Marseille, Spirit will offer an intriguing series of sailings which will take adventure-seekers around the world. With itineraries of 8- to 24-days, the ship will be the first in Norwegian’s fleet to visit such ports as Bali and Jakarta. She’ll also offer a series of voyages to Southeast Asia, China and Japan from Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Yokohama throughout 2020.
