Pride of Hawaii
Encyclopedia
Norwegian Jade is a cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
for Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line is a company operating cruise ships, headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. It began operations in 1966 under the name Norwegian Caribbean Line. The company is best known for its Freestyle Cruising concept, which means that there are no set times or...
, originally built as the Pride of Hawaii for their NCL America division. She was christened
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
in a ceremony at the San Pedro Pier in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on May 22, 2006. This Panamax
Panamax
Panamax and New Panamax are popular terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. Formally, the limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority titled "Vessel Requirements"...
form-factor ship was built at Meyer Werft
Meyer Werft
The Meyer Werft is one of the remaining large German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg. Since 1997, it has been part of the Meyer Neptun Group together with Neptun Werft in Rostock.-History:...
Shipyard, in Papenburg
Papenburg
Papenburg is a city in the district of Emsland in Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners.-Districts:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and registers at just over 93,500 gross tons.
Vessel class
Norwegian Jade is the second of NCL's four Jewel-classJewel class cruise ship
The Jewel class is a class of cruise ships operated by the Norwegian Cruise Line and was built by Meyer Werft of Germany. The Jewel class became NCL's largest ships, until the construction of Norwegian Epic, at 153,000-GT, in 2009 at STX Europe in St. Nazaire, which is also owned by NCL...
ships. She was preceded in 2005 by Norwegian Jewel
Norwegian Jewel
Norwegian Jewel is a cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She is the lead vessel of NCL's Jewel class cruise ships and entered service in 2005.-History:...
, then followed in 2006 by Norwegian Pearl
Norwegian Pearl
Norwegian Pearl is a Jewel class cruise ship of Norwegian Cruise Line, launched in 2006, sailing itineraries primarily around Alaska and the Caribbean.-History:...
, and in 2007 by Norwegian Gem
Norwegian Gem
Norwegian Gem is a Jewel class cruise ship of Norwegian Cruise Line. She is the last vessel of the Jewel class and was built by the German shipyard, Meyer Werft.-History:...
. Each ship has unique amenities, but has a similar exterior and interior design.
Norwegian Jade has a similar exterior appearance to NCL's shps, the Norwegian Star
Norwegian Star
Norwegian Star is a Libra-class cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She was built in 2001 by Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany.-History:The Norwegian Star entered service at the end of 2001...
, which entered service in 2001, and the Norwegian Dawn
Norwegian Dawn
Norwegian Dawn is a cruise ship that entered service in 2002 and is in operation with Norwegian Cruise Line.-History:The ship entered service at the end of 2002. She was intended to operate with Star Cruises under the name SuperStar Scorpio, but it was decided that she would be delivered to Star's...
, which entered service in 2002. The interior design and amenities, however, are significantly different and merit Norwegian Jade having a Jewel Class designation.
History
When built, the ship comprised the third in a series of U.S. flagged ships operated by NCL America for the HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
market. At a cost of over half a billion U.S. dollars
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
, the Pride of Hawaii was the largest and most expensive U.S. flagged passenger ship ever built. Her design was originally planned to be a sister ship to the Pride of America
Pride of America
MS Pride of America is a cruise ship partly built in the United States, now a member of the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet. Inaugurated during the 2005-2006 cruise season, she is the first new U.S...
, utilizing parts from the Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
Shipyard and the failed Project America
Project America
Project America was the designation for a contract between American Classic Voyages and the Litton Ingalls Shipyard of Pascagoula, Mississippi. The contract was to build two cruise ships, with a each, with an option for a third vessel. The contract had the initial potential value of $1.4...
series of ships. Later NCL America decided that it would be better to enlarge the Pride of Hawaii and make her a sister ship to the Norwegian Jewel. After delivery to NCL, she joined the Pride of America and Pride of Aloha
Pride of Aloha
Norwegian Sky is a Sky class cruise ship owned and operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She was originally ordered by Costa Cruises as Costa Olympia from the Bremer Vulkan shipyard in Germany, but she was completed in 1999 by the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany for the Norwegian Cruise...
as the final ship in the NCL America fleet.
On February 4th, 2008, "Pride of Hawaii" departed from Pier 2 in Honolulu for the last time. After several repositioning cruises, name change, new livery, and an added onboard casino, she made her debut in Europe. Despite the changes, "Norwegian Jade" maintains much of her original Hawaiian themed decor. Tropical flowers, Hawaiian landscapes, and Hawaiian names are throughout the ship's public spaces. Additionally, Matson menu inspired artwork and a large statue of King Kamehameha grace the main dining room. "Norwegian Jade" is currently based in Europe year-round. There is little chance that she will ever return to Hawaii, as it would be difficult to regain her former US registration.
November 2011:
The ship will undergo a dry dock in Marseille in France for 2 weeks. The ship will receive new carpets and tiling throughout and the hull will be repainted plus the usual annual maintenance will take place. During this time many of the above mentioned Hawaiian features will be removed and replaced with more inkeeping items.