Norwegian Cruise Line will not sail the Norwegian Sun in Alaska in 2010, making NCL the fourth cruise line to reduce capacity in the state next summer.
The line said that the rising costs of deploying three ships in Alaska, coupled with the challenging economic climate, prompted the decision.
The Norwegian Sun, the Norwegian Star and the Norwegian Pearl are operating NCL's Alaska itineraries this summer.
"After carefully weighing the rising costs of deploying three ships in Alaska and taking into account the recently enacted legislation, in particular the $50 head tax, we felt it was necessary to redeploy Norwegian Sun," NCL CEO Kevin Sheehan said in a statement. "Alaska is an incredible destination, but we are clearly seeing the impact of these changes in 2009, emphasized even more by this challenging economic environment."
The Norwegian Sun will be moved to Europe in May 2010, replacing the Norwegian Jewel on a 12-day northern Europe cruise from Dover, England.
The Norwegian Jewel will redeploy to New York and sail a combination of seven-day Bahamas/Florida, 10-day Canada/New England and 10-day Caribbean itineraries, starting in April 2010.
NCL's decision to remove the Norwegian Sun from Alaska follows similar moves from Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Royal Caribbean International. The lines' parent companies, Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., both said that the state's taxes and fees and the current economic situation were factors in their decisions to withdraw capacity.