The ''Jewel'' class is a class of

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 Tourism, tours know ...

s operated by the

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), also known in short as Norwegian, is an American cruise line founded in 1966, incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Miami. It is the List of cruise lines, fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, ...

(NCL) and was built by

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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. The ''Jewel'' class became NCL's largest ships, until the construction of , at , in 2009 at

STX Europe STX Europe AS, formerly Aker Yards ASA, was until 2012 a subsidiary of the South Korean STX Offshore & Shipbuilding. With headquarters in Oslo, Norway, STX Europe operated 15 shipyards in Brazil, Finland, France, Norway, Romania and Vietnam. T ...

St. Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean ...

, which is also owned by NCL. The lead ship, was delivered in August 2005 and the last vessel, was delivered in October 2007; however, the second ship of the class (originally built as ''Pride of Hawaii'') was originally intended for

NCL America Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), also known in short as Norwegian, is an American cruise line founded in 1966, incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Miami. It is the fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling about 8.6 ...

. After sailing for the line in two years (2006–2008), ''Pride of Hawaii'' proved to be unsuccessful. In 2008, NCL decided to transfer ''Pride of Hawaii'' to their fleet. After receiving her current NCL livery, she was renamed ''Norwegian Jade'' and sailed for NCL in 2008.

Overview

The ''Jewel'' class are the fourth largest ships in the NCL fleet, being preceded by the near-identical ''Dawn'' class, and is surpassed by the 153,000 GT ''Norwegian Epic''. These ships have

Panamax Panamax and New Panamax (or Neopanamax) are terms for the size limits for ships travelling through the Panama Canal. The limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in a publication titled "Vessel Requirements". ...

dimensions, enabling them to transit through the original

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a Channel ( ...

locks. These ships are the second batch of ships to have hull art, reflecting the name of each ship.

History

''Norwegian Jewel'' and ''Pride of Hawaii'' were ordered initially and a further two ships, ''Norwegian Pearl'' and ''Norwegian Gem'' followed in 2004. ''Pride of Hawaii'', was the second of the four ''Jewel''-class ships ordered by NCL to become an additional ship for NCL America. As the ''Pride of Hawaii'' proved unsuccessful in NCL America's fleet, it was decided that she will be transferred to NCL in 2008 and was renamed ''Norwegian Jade''. The ships are long and wide, having 1,188 passenger cabins, with a capacity for 2,669 passengers.

Concept and construction

The ''Jewel'' class was ordered in September 2003, with an option for two vessels. Later, the option was extended to four vessels. ''Jewel''-class ships have Panamax dimensions,

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 maneuverab ...

propulsors and tonnage values of 93,500 GT. The

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in B ...

of the

lead vessel The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

, ''Norwegian Jewel'' was laid on 4 June 2004 and was delivered on 4 August 2005; the keel of second vessel, ''Norwegian Jade'' (former ''Pride of Hawaii'') was laid on 8 February 2005 and was delivered on 19 April 2006; the third vessel's keel, ''Norwegian Pearl'' was laid on 4 October 2005 and was delivered on 28 November 2006; the last vessel's keel, ''Norwegian Gem'' was laid on 17 June 2006 and was delivered on 1 October 2007.

Data

* Tonnage: 93,500-GT * Length: 294 meters * Width: 32.2 meters * Decks: 15 * Builder: Meyer Werft * Notes:

Overview

History

Concept and construction

Data

Ships

References

External links