Below you’ll find all Norwegian Ships by Size, from the smallest that they offer to NCL’s biggest ship.
Here at Ship Mate, we see cruise-goers ranging from one end of the spectrum to the other. Many of you like an intimate feel to their ships. You prefer to see the same people throughout the week. You’re content going to the same ship venues on a daily basis. You cruisers typically prefer the smallest ships. Those also tend to be Norwegian’s older ships.
On the opposite end, we have cruise goers who want the newest, biggest cruise ship out there. Norwegian seems to be catering to this crowd recently with the development of their most recent, largest cruise ships yet. These newest ships are over twice the size as their first couple vessels.
In the infographic below, we’ve analyzed all Norwegian ships by size. From biggest to smallest, you’ll see a visual representation of the following for each.
Gross Tonnage: the internal volume of permanently enclosed spaces in cubic feet of the ship minus certain spaces above the main or tonnage deck, which are called “exemptions.” This sounds incredibly confusing. But, just know that it’s a standard unit of measurement used across all cruise ships. While it’s meaning might be annoyingly complex, it can be helpful to compare ships of different sizes.
Passenger Capacity: this can also be a good proxy for “cruise ship size.” The amount of passengers is relevant because it could determine the size of the line to get to the Lido Bar. It’s also interesting to compare the passenger capacity to the gross tonnage to see which Norwegian ships have more passengers stuffed into a smaller space.
Norwegian Ships by Size [Infographic]
We hope that the infographic above gives you a great visualization of Norwegian ships by size. We consider “size” to be one of the most important factors in deciding a cruise vacation and want to make it as easy as possible for you to understand the differences!
You can see there’s quite a range there. Norwegian’s biggest ship, the Escape, is a whopping 165k gross tons and holds over 4,200 passengers. The smallest in the fleet, the Spirit, is less than half that size at 75k gross tons and a capacity of 1,996 passengers.
Norwegian Escape – Biggest Cruise Ship
In addition to being NCL’s largest ship, the Escape is also the newest and most expensive. It boasts 25 dining experiences, 21 bars, and Broadway Entertainment. It cost NCL $950 million when purchased in 2015!
If you’d like to sail Norwegian’s biggest ship, check out the options below. Use the toggle on the left to choose between the various itineraries offered. The dropdown on the right will let you select the dates that best suit you.
Here’s more detail on each Norwegian Ship by Size:
Norwegian Escape
Year Built: 2015
Cost: $950 million
Passengers: 4.238
Crew: 1,731
Tonnage: 165k
Length: 326 meters (1,069 feet)
Speed: 22 knots (25 mph)
Norwegian Epic
Year Built: 2010
Cost: $700 million
Passengers: 4,100
Crew: 1,708
Tonnage: 156k
Length: 329 meters (1,081 feet)
Speed: 22 knots (25 mph)
Norwegian Getaway
Year Built: 2014
Cost: $900 million
Passengers: 4.000
Crew: 1,595
Tonnage: 147k
Length: 326 meters (1,069 feet)
Speed: 22 knots (25 mph)
Norwegian Breakaway
Year Built: 2013
Cost: $840 million
Passengers: 4.000
Crew: 1,595
Tonnage: 147k
Length: 326 meters (1,069 feet)
Speed: 22 knots (25 mph)
Norwegian Gem
Year Built: 2007
Cost: $700 million
Passengers: 2,394
Crew: 1,154
Tonnage: 94k
Length: 294 meters (965 feet)
Speed: 25 knots (29 mph)
Norwegian Jade
Year Built: 2006
Cost: $390 million
Passengers: 2,402
Crew: 1,100
Tonnage: 94k
Length: 294 meters (965 feet)
Speed: 23 knots (26 mph)
Norwegian Pearl
Year Built: 2006
Cost: $390 million
Passengers: 2,394
Crew: 1,154
Tonnage: 94k
Length: 294 meters (965 feet)
Speed: 25 knots (29 mph)
Norwegian Jewel
Year Built: 2005
Cost: $390 million
Passengers: 2,376
Crew: 1,150
Tonnage: 94k
Length: 294 meters (965 feet)
Speed: 25 knots (29 mph)
Norwegian Dawn
Year Built: 2002
Cost: $400 million
Passengers: 2,340
Crew: 1,126
Tonnage: 92k
Length: 292 meters (958 feet)
Speed: 25 knots (29 mph)
Norwegian Star
Year Built: 2001
Cost: $400 million
Passengers: 2,348
Crew: 1,100
Tonnage: 92k
Length: 294 meters (965 feet)
Speed: 25 knots (29 mph)
Pride of America
Year Built: 2002
Cost: $450 million
Passengers: 2,500
Crew: 935
Tonnage: 80k
Length: 260 meters (853 feet)
Speed: 22 knots (26 mph)
Norwegian Sun
Year Built: 2001
Cost: $330 million
Passengers: 2,400
Crew: 968
Tonnage: 78k
Length: 258 meters (846 feet)
Speed: 23 knots (26 mph)
Norwegian Sky
Year Built: 1999
Cost: $330 million
Passengers: 2,002
Crew: 800
Tonnage: 77k
Length: 260 meters (853 feet)
Speed: 23 knots (26 mph)
Norwegian Spirit
Year Built: 1998
Cost: $350 million
Passengers: 1,996
Crew: 965
Tonnage: 75k
Length: 260 meters (853 feet)
Speed: 21 knots (24 mph)
To see just how big of a difference NCL’s biggest ship is versus the smallest, check out this mini infographic below.
If you’re interested in pricing information, check out all of Norwegian’s ships below. You can use the toggle on the left to switch destinations. The middle option will show you the specific itineraries available for that destination. And the far right dropdown will show you cruise date options. From those criteria, you’ll see the NCL Ship that matches those criteria below along with the associated prices.
If you liked this post, feel free to check out our size infographics for RCCL and Carnival as well. You can find those using the links below.
Please leave your comments below.
Tell us – does size matter to you? Would you rather Norwegian’s biggest ship, smallest ship, or one in the middle?
And please “Share” this with any of your fellow Royal Caribbean fans!
You are making the ships too too big. The Dawn,Jewel and Gem are the right size.
We went on Norwegian epic last july our very first on Norwegian loved it going on breakaway next july cant wait .
First started cruising in the “70’s. Our 2nd cruise was NCL and has remained my favorite until lately all seem too too BIG. Still worthwhile and exciting but then everyone felt very special. It was a privilege to have us on board and we felt so too. I still like to cruise and after a dozen (mostly NCL) I still recommend them. But that personal feeling is gone. Still the finest employees of any though. But my nest will probably be a river cruise.
The bigger the better. there is more room for people and they can make more money. I’ve been on the NCL Breakaway and the NCL Getaway. they where a lot of fun
Have cruised on a big and small ship. Never again on a big ship. The smaller the better. Cruised on Norwegian breakaway last year, ship so big we could not get into a port where we had booked a tour, tour cancelled then to add insult to injury had to cancel the stop in Tallin because they were running behind schedule. We chose this because of those two ports, bitterly disappointed. Never again!!
My 1st cruise was with NCL was on the Skyward or Seaward, I know I’m telling my age now.
We don’t like mega ships. Too hard for sr citizens to navigate. We have a group of 24 people and won’t go on mega ships I don’t need bumper cars etc
I went on a cruise on the Escape. The ship was just too big. I preferred the small ships. I like to know who the people are and not be making reservations for everything. I wanted a stress free 7 days but I had so much stress in the escape. Next time I will ask how many passengers on the ship before buying.
cruised on the epic in 2017 and that ship is 2 too big I hated it… We even had to make reservations to get a tender to get off the ship… And the internet guy was only available for 4 hours a day for 4500 passenger’s… Never again I like the jewel
I do not care for the bigger ships. I’ve sailed the Getaway, Star, Jewel and most recently Dawn. The Getaway balcony was so uncomfortable and half the size of Dawn. I do wish NCL would provide the same top notch entertainment on the smaller class ships. I just did 10 day S. Carib and the entertainment in the Stardust was not very good. A ventriloquist from Branson, a magician, less than 2 dozen people in Bliss most evenings, made for long evenings.
We went on the spirit last year and loved it, prefer a smaller ship. Friendly staff, entertainment was excellent.
We have been on the Escape, Breakaway, Getaway and Dawn. We enjoy them all, we tend to go by the port of departure, itinerary, cost and dates more than the ship. Can’t wait for the next cruise.