NEW BRAND IDENTITY FOR NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE

The following is a press release issued directly from Norwegian Cruise Line on September 19, 2006:

For the first time in 10 years, NCL Corporation Ltd, (“NCL”) today unveiled a new, all­encompassing brand identity created expressly to capture and articulate the company’s unique Freestyle Cruising—an approach to cruising unlike any other offered in the industry.
NCL’s Freestyle Cruising turns traditional cruising on its head and is characterized, in particular, by having no fixed dining times, no formal dress codes, relaxed disembarkation, up to 10 different restaurants and even more lounges, bars, theatres and other entertainment and activity options.

Spanning all consumer, travel agent and guest touch points, the comprehensive new brand identity captures the non­traditional, free­spirited attitude that is reflected throughout the NCL onboard experience. NCL’s innovative onboard experience offers vacationers freedom from the stress and demands of everyday life and freedom to enjoy a less structured, more relaxed, resort style experience than traditional cruising.

The marketing plan features national television, radio, print, newspaper, out­of­home and online advertising, along with a completely new Web site. NCL’s guests and travel agents will also see all new materials encompassing all cruise line correspondence, onboard and in­ cabin elements and even port signage and terminal décor.

Consumers and travel agents will get their first look at the new brand identity when it debuts on Oct. 2, 2006 in a variety of media and online at the company’s Web site, www.ncl.com.

The new brand identity breaks the mold of traditional cruise industry marketing with its light­hearted, experiential tone. One way the brand is characterized is with a graphic treatment
­­featuring a white fish swimming against the direction of a school of blue fish, depicting NCL’s innovative spirit in the cruise industry, as well as the type of guest that NCL is looking to attract, one who is a “non­conformist”. NCL’s research shows that the types of people who are attracted to Freestyle Cruising see themselves as individualists in a world in which increasingly
everyone else is doing what they are told and accepting what is offered. NCL guests want to enjoy their cruise on their terms without the structure and regimentation that is still the central feature of traditional cruises.

“With NCL set to have by far the youngest fleet in the industry by 2010, with all of our new ships purpose­built for Freestyle Cruising and deployed in all major cruise destinations and our NCL America fleet now fully in place, the time is right to build large scale consumer
awareness through a major brand identity initiative,” said Andy Stuart, NCL Corporation’s
executive vice president of sales, marketing and passenger services.

“We believe bringing the brand to life in one unified voice across everything we do will help NCL and our travel partners expand the cruising population,” said Scott Rogers, NCL Corporation’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. “Our travel partners have done a great job helping educate their clients on the benefits of Freestyle Cruising and selling NCL cruises, and now we are ready to bring the story to everyone, driving more guests into their offices.

“Our research shows that non­cruisers and even those who have cruised but were not ‘in­love’ with cruising, readily identified with the traditional, staid norms of cruising such as dining and dress code as key barriers to try cruising or repeat,” Rogers continued. “This all­ encompassing brand identity truly illustrates how we are different from other cruise lines and seeks to create demand not only among those who have cruised before, but also with non­
cruisers who are accustomed to more conventional, land­based vacations.”

Branding agency GSD&M of Austin, Texas, created the new brand identity and is handling the media planning and buying.

“Our challenge was to bring to life the feeling of complete freedom a guest feels on an NCL cruise in every aspect of the brand experience. We created one unified look and feel that extends beyond advertising and surrounds consumers before, during and after their cruise,”
said Roy Spence, president and founder of GSD&M.