[5] The line would sell its original ship the Sunward in 1973, being too small and inadequate for the modern cruise market.

[8] At 1,000 ft (305 m) long and displacing 52,000 tons, the Norway was at the time significantly larger than any existing cruise ship, and exploited the extra space available by adding a greater-than-usual variety of onboard entertainment.

[15] Under the new ownership a new concept was introduced with the newly completed ship, Norwegian Sky, freestyle cruising.

This concept freed passengers from fixed formal dining times, instead there was relaxed attire, several distinct dining options, relaxed disembarkation and more lounges, bars, theatres and other entertainment and activity options, a change that would have a ripple effect across the cruise industry.

[17] In 2002, Norwegian purchased the half-complete hull of the first Project America ship, at the time under construction at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, US, which was towed to Germany to be completed at the Lloyd Werft shipyard.

[16] Subsequently, Norwegian acquired the rights to move two ships built entirely outside the United States under the US flag, making it possible to start a US-flagged operation under the brand name NCL America.

In their July 2007 fiscal report, Norwegian noted the sale of Independence, renamed SS Oceanic some time before.

Instead, she was sold for scrap and renamed the Blue Lady[22] and later beached at Alang, Gujarat, India, in August 2006 with claims that she had not been cleaned of toxic materials.

[23] On September 11, 2007, the India Supreme Court issued an order permitting her to be broken up at Alang, despite the presence of large amounts of hazardous asbestos remaining on board.

[31] Norwegian reported in February 2008 that the Pride of Aloha, one of the two remaining NCL America ships, would be withdrawn from service in May of the same year.

The project was under the code name "Breakaway Plus Class", with the vessels expected to be 163,000 gross tons and hold 4,200 passengers.

[48] In March 2020, the Miami New Times reported that managers at Norwegian had prepared a set of responses intended to convince customers wary of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to book cruises, including "blatantly false" claims that the coronavirus "can only survive in cold temperatures, so the Caribbean is a fantastic choice for your next cruise", that "scientists and medical professionals have confirmed that the warm weather of the spring will be the end of the coronavirus", and that the virus "cannot live in the amazingly warm and tropical temperatures that your cruise will be sailing to.

"[49][50][51][52][53] On March 14, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a No Sail Order for cruise ships.

[54]: S-1 On May 5, 2020, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) said there is “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a “going concern” as it faces a liquidity crisis over the next twelve months.

[55][56] On May 7, 2020, NCLH CEO declared that the company has secured enough liquidity to get through potentially 18 months of zero revenues and may resume cruising later in 2020.

[57][58] In anticipation of sailing again, Norwegian is implementing new health and safety measures, including installing H13 HEPA air filters.

[59] The company is also working with the CDC and the new color-coding system to indicate each ship's COVID-19 status, and to repatriate Norwegian crews still stuck aboard their vessel.

[60] Even though the company lost $4 billion and furloughed 20 percent of its staff, it doubled the salary of its chief executive, Frank Del Rio, to $36.4 million.