The Norwegian Sky celebrates its 25th anniversary in service.

The 77,000-ton ship was the company’s first new build in six years and was delivered to Norwegian Cruise Line on July 28, 1999.

The ship, completed at the Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, was originally ordered as Costa Olympia for Costa Cruises.

As a sister ship of the Costa Victoria, built in 1996, the ship was about 35 percent completed when the original shipyard, Bremer Vulkan, filed for bankruptcy in 1996.

When Costa Crociere decided not to continue construction, the ship’s unfinished hull was put up for sale.

As part of an extensive fleet expansion program, Norwegian Cruise Line stepped in and purchased the building in 1997 for around 30 million US dollars.

Renamed Norwegian Sky, the ship was completed at Lloyd Werft after a comprehensive redesign that included the addition of two new cabin decks and several new features.

The 2,000-guest ship entered service in August 1999 and offered itineraries in Europe before moving on to Canada and New England and finally the Caribbean.

Norwegian Cruise Line later ordered a sister ship to the Norwegian Sky, which became the Norwegian Sun in 2001.

At that time, the company planned to build two to six more ships of the same platform at the Lloyd Werft.

However, this plan was later abandoned and the contractual options for three sister ships were not pursued further.

In 2004, Norwegian Sky was renamed Pride of Aloha for cruises between the Hawaiian islands. Due to a legal exception, the 2,100-guest ship was given the US flag and transferred to Norwegian’s new brand, NCL America.

However, the operation did not last long, as the ship was returned to the company’s main fleet in 2008 and regained its previous name.

After offering short cruises to the Bahamas for several years, Norwegian Sky will begin longer cruises to the Caribbean in 2024, departing from Miami and the Dominican Republic.

The ship is scheduled to cruise the fall and foliage seasons in Canada and New England later this year before setting off on a series of itineraries to exotic destinations.

The program includes cruises to the Mediterranean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and the Far East.

Norwegian Sky will return to the Caribbean at the end of 2025 after a full summer program in Europe.