NCL Trivia Question

[gofrancinego]

What was (is) the name of the small NCL ship that cruised from Miami to Bahamas in the late 80's (1988 or 1989)? It was a small (relatively speaking!), old ship & it was the first vacation my sister & I took together... we had a blast, but can't remember the name of the ship. ...too many bahama mama's perhaps? :rolleyes:

[Joanniebop]

Could be the same first trip for me as well Sunward II.

I was on the ship in May 1989.

[shoreguy]

What was (is) the name of the small NCL ship that cruised from Miami to Bahamas in the late 80's (1988 or 1989)? It was a small (relatively speaking!), old ship & it was the first vacation my sister & I took together... we had a blast, but can't remember the name of the ship. ...too many bahama mama's perhaps? :rolleyes:

 

Could have been the Sunward II.

 

[gofrancinego]

That's it! THANKS! I think we cruised in the Sept. timeframe - what a great memory.

[derf5585]

Could have been the Sunward II.

 

Following the success of Norwegian Caribbean's Starward and Skyward, a second pair of sisters were ordered from Italian builders, to be named Southward and Seaward. The cost of the second ship increased following the nationalisation of the builders, and the order was cancelled. She eventually appeared as P&O's Spirit of London. Norwegian Caribbean waited until 1977 before acquiring more tonnage, when they bought Cunard Line's Cunard Adventurer, which was renamed Sunward II. Sunward (I) had been their pioneer cruise ship, originally built in 1966 for a UK-Spain-Portugal service, which was sold in 1972.

from

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/NCL_Sunward_II_PCs.html#anchor30925

[electricron]

If it was the Sunward II, here's its history:

 

Built as the Cunard Adventurer in 1971

Sold to Norwegian Caribbean Line (NCL) in 1977, becoming the Sunward II.

Sold to Epirotiki Line in 1991, becoming the Triton.

Epirotiki combined with Sun Line to form Royal Olympic Cruises in 1995. The Triton was subsequently taken over by Cyprus-based Louis Cruises Lines in 2004 at auction. Louis Cruise Lines renamed her the Coral in 2004.

 

You can still book a cruise aboard the Coral. Here's Louis Cruise Lines web site > http://www.louiscruises.com/cruise_ships_genoa.html

 

Coral stats:

Tonnage: 14,000 gross tons

Length: 486 ft. - 148 m

Beam: 71 ft. - 22 m

Draft: 21 ft - 6 m

Cruising Speed: 22 Knots, With stabilizers

Double Occupancy: 680

Swimming pool: 1

Lounge: 380 Seats

Dinning Room: 380 Seats

Cafe Brazil: 100 Seats

Cinema-Theatre: 100 Seats

 

Let's compare those stats with NCL's newest ship, the Pride of Hawaii

Pride of Hawaii stats:

Tonnage: 93,500 gross tons

Length: 920 ft. 294 m

Beam: 105 ft. 32.2 m

Draft: 27 ft. 8.2 m

Cruising Speed: 25 Knots, With 2 sets of stabilizers

Double Occupancy: 2376 passengers

Swimming pool: 4

Lounge: Spinnaker Lounge 372 seats, Medusa Cabaret Lounge & Nightclub 161 seats, Aloha Bar 70 seats, Mixer's Martini & Cocktail Bar 48 seats, Tankards Beer & Whiskey Bar 40 seats, Total 691 seats (of those listed)

Main Dinning Room: Alizar 300 seats, Grand Pacific 550 seats, Total 850 seats (haven't included the speciality restaurants)

Cafe: Aloha Nui Café seats 380 plus 52 (kids)(inside), Aloha Lanai 259 seats(outdoors), Total 691 seats

Theatre: 1042 Seats

 

And some wonder why mass marketed cruise lines get rid of older ships?

If you think the Pride of Hawaii makes the ex Sunward II look small, it's small when compared to the Freedom of the Seas and Queen Mary 2, much less the new 220,000 gross tons Genesis class Royal Caribbean is building for 2010 delivery.

[newmexicoNita]

I was going to say the Sunward or the Leeward. There were about 4 or 5 at the time. My how things change. Someone mentioned the Seaward: it eventually became the Sea and was actually quite a bit bigger than the others we are talking about I think. At one time she was voted the ship of the year.

 

NMnita