Europe All Year Long

Looks like NCL has found a place for their recently homeless Pride of Hawaii. In a press release they have anncounced the following:

NCL Corp. will, for the first time in the company's 41-year history, deploy a ship year-round in Europe. The 2,400-passenger Norwegian Jade (formerly the Pride of Hawaii) will sail a variety of itineraries in Europe year-round, extending its inaugural season in Europe that begins on March 30. The ship will now remain in Europe full time through to the spring of 2010 instead of the current seasonal deployment that was to end in November. As part of this year-round deployment, NCL is introducing three new itineraries all roundtrip from Barcelona -- 12-day Eastern Mediterranean sailings, nine-day Canary Islands and Morocco sailings, and a 14-day Eastern Mediterranean holiday cruise. "We've seen strong growth in Europe and Freestyle Cruising has been a big success with our European guests," said Colin Veitch, NCL's president and CEO. "Norwegian Jade has been very well received in her first season, and our full three-ship fleet in Europe is doing so well that we are now confident in committing a ship year-round to this strongly growing market."Norwegian Jade's new European sailings from November through April 2009 go on sale March 3. The balance of the new deployment through to spring 2010 will be opened for sale shortly thereafter. Norwegian Jade's new 12-day Eastern Mediterranean cruise includes stops in Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy; Athens (Piraeus), Greece; Ephesus (Izmir), Turkey; an overnight in Alexandria, Egypt; and Valletta, Malta. Highlights of the nine-day Canary Islands and Morocco itinerary include five ports of call: Casablanca and Agadir, Morocco; Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands; Funchal, Madeira; and Granada (Málaga), Spain.

Looks like they have a solid plan going. And it might be nice to travel to europe in the off-season and miss all the crowds that europe's summer is known for.