MIAMI, FL, January 21, 2004- Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) announced today that the Star Cruises’ ship SuperStar Leo will spend this summer in Alaska as part of NCL’s popular Alaska Inside Passage program and enter the NCL fleet for the 2004 Alaska season. The 77,000-ton ship will take over Norwegian Sky’s previously published seven-day itinerary from Seattle.

The move comes in response to Norwegian Sky’s early transfer to Hawai`i as Pride of Aloha. After a multi-million dollar remodeling in May, Pride of Aloha will be reflagged into the U.S. registry to assume Pride of America’s seven-day inter-island itinerary.

"We have acted quickly to support NCL at a difficult time when they have had the delivery of their newest ship seriously delayed and their plans to develop the important new Hawai`i market disrupted,” Star Cruises’ Chairman and CEO, Tan Sri K T Lim said. “From a Star Cruises Group perspective, we have decided that it is an immediate our top priority is to support NCL's leading position in Alaska and to facilitate the early transfer of Norwegian Sky to our exciting new trade, Hawai`i.” SuperStar Leo, first introduced in Singapore in 1999, was the very first purpose-built Freestyle Cruising ship and is one of Star’s two most modern best ships outside North America.

According to NCL’s President and CEO Colin Veitch: “SuperStar Leo is an exciting, high-quality modern ship with vibrant colors, exceptional public areas and well-appointed cabins. She is the ideal way to ensure that we have the Alaska program that our guests have planned and are expecting. She is the first sister in the family of ships that culminated just a year ago in the spectacular Norwegian Dawn, and passengers who sail on Leo will immediately see the close resemblance between these two big new ships.“

The 2,000-passenger SuperStar Leo was built by Meyer Werft, Germany and was Star Cruises’ first newbuild and largest vessel. SuperStar Leo features Freestyle Dining with seven restaurants including two main restaurants, three alternative restaurants -- Maxim’s (a French restaurant), Shogun (a Japanese restaurant) and Tai Pan (a Chinese restaurant), -- the Raffles Lido Cafe and the popular 24-hour Blue Lagoon.

Like her big sister Norwegian Star, which begins her first Alaska season in May, SuperStar Leo is a family-friendly ship with a wide choice of interconnecting cabins perfect for multi-generational families of all sizes. All staterooms are richly appointed with each containing a much larger bathroom unit than other ships, with separate WC, shower, and washstand compartments separated by sliding doors.

The ship also boasts an expansive children and teen facility, and together with Norwegian Star, they have the largest dedicated children’s areas in Alaska cruising.

SuperStar Leo has an impressive array of entertainment venues including a 1,000-seat theater, a disco, a cinema, several bars and lounges and a world-class casino. The ship also features meeting rooms, a sports deck and a Roman Spa & Fitness Center. SuperStar Leo is a triple winner of the 1999 ShipPax Awards for her outstanding sun decks, bars and lounges, and cabins.

SuperStar Leo will be operated by NCL be operated in Alaska with a fully specified NCL product and offer the full Freestyle Cruising program found on all other NCL ships. She will begin sailing from Seattle on May 15th, the scheduled start of Norwegian Sky’s Alaska season, with seven-day cruises to the Inside Passage with calls in Ketchikan, Juneau, cruising Sawyer Glacier, Skagway and Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

On Thursday, January 22nd, NCL will begin contacting travel agents who have passengers booked on Norwegian Sky to advise them that their passengers have been rebooked aboard SuperStar Leo.

SuperStar Leo features a multitude of outside cabins with 65 percent of those having private balconies, a larger percentage than Norwegian Sky, ensuring that all passengers booked on Norwegian Sky will move to an equivalent or superior cabin on their chosen sailing date. In addition, all passengers currently booked on Norwegian Sky will receive a $25 per person onboard credit when they sail on SuperStar Leo.

NCL will continue to take bookings on Norwegian Sky’s Alaska sailings this week while advising travel agents of the ship change. SuperStar Leo’s voyages will be open for sale for new bookings on Monday with prices beginning at $649.