The vessel was constructed by Meyer Werft in Germany. Named SuperStar Leo in 1998, the vessel was the first of Star Cruises Leo class. She was then homeported in Singapore in 1998 and operated 2–5 night cruises to Malaysia and Thailand. One year later, SuperStar Virgo arrived in Singapore. She was then based in Hong Kong in 10 September 1999 and offered 1–5 night cruises to China, Hainan, Vietnam and the South China Sea. In 2003, SuperStar Leo was transferred to Australia due to SARS in Asia and she returned to Hong Kong afterwards. In 2004, Norwegian Cruise Line was planning to launch. However, just prior to completion, the vessel partially sank when a storm hit the Lloyd Werft shipyards. To meet the already booked cruises for Pride of America, was immediately rushed into service as. To compensate for the unexpected events, SuperStar Leo was immediately transferred to the NCL fleet, her planned cruises cancelled, and after only two weeks of refits, the vessel emerged as Norwegian Spirit, ready to assume the planned cruises of Norwegian Sky.
Vessel class
Norwegian Spirit is the first ship of this design. She was followed by, her sister ship which is with Star Cruises. No other ships of this particular design were constructed.
Norwegian Spirit currently offers two different itineraries, based year-round in Europe; 12-night Grand Mediterranean cruises in the summer and autumn, and nine-night cruises to the Canary Islands in the winter and spring. Norwegian Spirit will be deployed seasonally to China beginning in summer 2020. Before this, the ship will undergo an extensive renovation.
Incidents
In 2005, Norwegian Spirit hit a pier in Juneau, Alaska, causing minor damage. In 2007, Norwegian Spirit again struck a pier, this time in New York Harbor. In both cases, repairs were made to the ship. On 25 May 2008, at approximately 9:00 am, Norwegian Spirit contacted Pier 90 in New York City at the end of an eight-day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. She damaged the parking garage support columns and the bow of the ship. In January 2006, a rogue wave was encountered off the coast of Tortola. In March 2011, Norwegian Spirit was over 12 hours late due to a death on the ship and a collision into the pier in Mexico. In October 2019, passengers held protests on a two-week cruise of Europe after planned stops were cancelled, toilets became blocked, and the cruise line offered as compensation a 25 percent discount off future cruises. In March 2020, passengers of Norwegian Spirit where banned from disembarking in Port Victoria, Seychelles amid fears over the coronavirus and the announcement of a temporary closing for cruise ships.
Media
In 2003, Japanese TV drama Netsuretsu teki chuuka hanten took place on SuperStar Leo.
