Norwegian Cruise Line Expanding Global Reach

Norwegian Cruise Line will venture farther than it ever has before.

The Miami-based cruise line on Monday announced deployment plans for late 2016 and early 2017 that include itineraries in the Persian Gulf and India, where Norwegian ships have never sailed.

Norwegian Star, a 2,348-passenger ship that was built in 2001 and renovated earlier this year, will also visit Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Norwegian has not sailed from the region since 2002.

“We are truly excited to offer these incredible new itineraries to our guests, who now have the opportunity to explore areas of the globe that we haven’t called on in many years and some that we’ve never before visited,” Andy Stuart, Norwegian’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

The cruise line also said that the 4,100-passenger Norwegian Epic, which had previously been scheduled to sail in Europe through early 2017, would instead head to Port Canaveral in November of 2016.

Other plans call for Norwegian Sun to sail in South America in late 2016 and early 2017 and for the cruise operator to return to the Holy Land for the first time since 2013.

The cruise line has previously announced that its two newest ships, Norwegian Getaway and Norwegian Escape, would sail Caribbean itineraries from Miami through early 2017.

“Having our two newest ships based in Miami clearly demonstrates a huge commitment to the Miami market,” Stuart said in an interview.