''Norwegian Jewel'' is a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...

operated by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). She is the lead vessel of NCL's cruise ships and entered service in 2005. The vessel sails primarily in the western Pacific Ocean.

Design and description

''Norwegian Jewel'' is NCL's first of four ships. The vessel has a gross tonnage (GT) of 93,502 and measures . The cruise ship is long overall and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

with a beam of and a draught of . ''Norwegian Jewel'' is powered by a diesel-electric propulsion system comprising five

MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

- B&W 12V48/60B

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s providing power to two

Azipod Azipod is a trademark azimuth thruster pod design, a marine propulsion unit consisting of a fixed pitch propeller mounted on a steerable gondola ("pod") containing the electric motor driving the propeller, allowing ships to be more maneuverabl ...

thrusters. The system is variably rated at , and . This gives the cruise ship a maximum speed of . The ship had a capacity for 2,376 passengers as built with a crew of 1,100. This later grew to 2,394 passengers with a crew of 1,072. There are 1,197 cabins aboard, ranging in size from of which 540 have a balcony. The vessel has 13 bars and lounges, 10 restaurants and a 1,037-seat theatre.

Construction and career

The cruise ship was ordered by NCL on 15 September 2003 constructed at the

Meyer Werft Meyer Werft is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types have be ...

Shipyard in Papenburg,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with the

yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

667. The keel laying ceremony took place on 28 October 2003. The vessel was launched on 12 June 2005 and completed on 4 August 2005. The ship was formally named ''Norwegian Jewel'' on 3 November 2005 in a ceremony at the

Port of Miami The Port of Miami, styled as "PortMiami" but formally the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, is a major seaport located in Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River in Miami, Florida. It is the largest passenger port in the world, and one of the ...

, United States. Her godmother is

Melania Trump Melania Trump ( ; born Melanija Knavs , Germanized as Melania Knauss ; born April 26, 1970) is a Slovene-American former model and businesswoman who served as First Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of 45th president Do ...

, wife of business magnate

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

and later the First Lady of the United States from 2017 through 2021. ''Norwegian Jewel'' was registered in

the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

on 1 August 2005 and entered service in December of that year. In an episode of ''

The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with various professional backg ...

'',

required his contestants to create a 30-second commercial of the ship, featuring both exterior and interior shots. ''Norwegian Jewel'' underwent a dry dock refurbishment at Sembawang Shipyard in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

from 22 October to 5 November 2018. ''Norwegian Jewel'' was scheduled to spend the southern summer 2019–2020 undertaking cruises in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the South Pacific.

Coronavirus quarantine

The cruise ship was stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in 2020, after being denied entry into Papeete, French Polynesia and Lautoka, Fiji, due to fears of possible infection. On 19 March the 1,700 passengers were prevented from disembarking in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii. On 23 March, the passengers were allowed to disembark in Honolulu because the ship was experiencing mechanical problems. Passengers were able to catch chartered flights to return to their home locations. There were no confirmed cases of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

aboard the ship. The approximately 1,000 crew members were remaining on the ship as of 27 March. On 10 April, 42 Filipino crew members arrived in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * *
Picture of the ship passing the
Friesebrücke (Weener)

External links

NCL ''Norwegian Jewel''

Meyer Werft page on Norwegian Jewel

Picture of the ship leaving the shipyard
{{Norwegian Cruise Line 2005 ships Passenger ships of Norway Ships of Norwegian Cruise Line Ships built in Papenburg