NORWEGIAN SPIRIT
May 4, 2023 | Day 11 — Icy Strait Point, Alaska
Norwegian Spirit was at Icy Strait Point, Alaska, on May 4, 2023, during Day 11 of our 16-night Fire and Ice cruise from Honolulu to Vancouver. After five consecutive days crossing the Pacific from Hawaii, this was our first Alaska port. The call introduced the northern portion of our cruise before Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan.
Norwegian Spirit was photographed at Icy Strait Point, Alaska, on May 4, 2023, during Day 11 of our 16-night Fire and Ice cruise from Honolulu to Vancouver. Following the Hawaiian portion of the cruise, five consecutive days at sea carried us across the Pacific toward Southeast Alaska. Icy Strait Point was our first Alaska port, marking the transition between the two regions that gave the cruise its Fire and Ice name. Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan followed before our arrival in Vancouver on May 10.
Located near Hoonah on Chichagof Island, Icy Strait Point combines a cruise destination with the history of a former salmon cannery and the continuing cultural life of the Huna Tlingit community. Huna Totem Corporation developed the site around buildings dating to the early twentieth century, welcoming its first cruise ship in 2004. Our call brought Norwegian Spirit to a destination where fishing, local ownership and maritime tourism are closely connected.
The ship had a history spanning a different part of the Pacific. Built by Meyer Werft in Germany and delivered to Star Cruises in September 1998 as SuperStar Leo, she was originally designed for the Asian cruise market. Renamed Norwegian Spirit in 2004, she later underwent a major modernization in 2020. By the time of our cruise, her career had extended across nearly 25 years, linking her original Asian service with voyages such as our passage from Hawaii to Alaska.
Information List
Ship: Norwegian Spirit
Original Name: SuperStar Leo
Operator: Norwegian Cruise Line
Original Operator: Star Cruises
Class: Leo class
Builder: Meyer Werft, Germany
Delivered: September 1998
Joined Norwegian Cruise Line: 2004
Gross Tonnage: 75,904 GT
Length Overall: 880 feet / 268 meters
Passenger Capacity: 2,032 at double occupancy
Major Modernization: More than US$100 million, completed in February 2020
Our Cruise: 16-night Fire and Ice cruise from Honolulu to Vancouver
Cruise Dates: April 24–May 10, 2023
Cruise Day: Day 11
Date Photographed: May 4, 2023
Location: Icy Strait Point, near Hoonah, Alaska
Cruise Context: First Alaska port after five consecutive sea days
Next Scheduled Destination: Glacier Bay on May 5
History and Features
Construction as SuperStar Leo:
Meyer Werft delivered the ship to Star Cruises in September 1998 under the name SuperStar Leo.
She was the first ship in the Leo class, with SuperStar Virgo completing the pair.
Both vessels were designed for the Asian cruise market, with substantial interior gathering spaces and a broad selection of dining venues.
Her original identity provides an important starting point for understanding a ship later associated with Norwegian Cruise Line.
Design and Scale:
The original design placed a seven-deck atrium at the center of the passenger experience.
Restaurants, bars and shops formed part of the arrangement around this large interior space.
A substantial theater added another major public room to the ship’s layout.
At 880 feet long and just over 2,000 guests at double occupancy, Norwegian Spirit provided a smaller setting than many later cruise-ship designs.
Service with Norwegian Cruise Line:
The ship began sailing as Norwegian Spirit in 2004 after her years with Star Cruises.
The change brought a vessel developed for Asian cruising into Norwegian’s international fleet.
Her career under the Norwegian name continued through changing deployments and successive updates to the passenger spaces.
Our May 2023 cruise took place nineteen years after the name change, during a voyage connecting Hawaii with Alaska and Canada.
The 2020 Modernization:
Norwegian Cruise Line invested more than US$100 million in a substantial transformation completed in February 2020.
The ship spent 43 days in dry dock at Marseille, France, for the work.
Fourteen new venues, additional and updated staterooms, refreshed public areas and new hull artwork formed part of the project.
The modernization adapted an established ship for a new stage of service while retaining her original hull and overall scale.
From Hawaii Across the Pacific:
Our Fire and Ice cruise began in Honolulu on April 24, 2023, with calls in the Hawaiian islands.
After Hilo on April 28, the itinerary included five consecutive sea days from April 29 through May 3.
Icy Strait Point on May 4 began the Alaska portion of the cruise.
The itinerary then combined Glacier Bay scenic cruising with calls at Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan before Vancouver.
The Historic Cannery:
The Hoonah Packing Company built the original salmon cannery at the site in 1912.
Fishing and cannery operations made the property part of Hoonah’s working maritime economy.
Huna Totem Corporation purchased the cannery in 1996 and began developing a new use for the buildings and surrounding land.
Preservation and redevelopment allowed the site’s industrial history to remain part of the experience offered to cruise passengers.
Huna Totem and Icy Strait Point:
Icy Strait Point is owned and operated by Huna Totem Corporation, an Alaska Native village corporation.
The destination welcomed its first cruise ship on May 23, 2004.
Its development was intended to create local economic opportunities while sharing the heritage of the Huna Tlingit community.
The historic cannery and the nearby community of Hoonah give the destination a history extending well beyond its role as a cruise port.
May 4, 2023 — Day 11 in Alaska:
These photographs form part of our own cruise aboard Norwegian Spirit.
The archived itinerary scheduled Icy Strait Point from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
After the long Pacific crossing, the call began a sequence of Alaska destinations on consecutive days.
Glacier Bay was scheduled for May 5, continuing the northern chapter of our Fire and Ice cruise.
OLP Social: Icy Strait Point was our first Alaska port after five days crossing the Pacific from Hawaii, beginning the northern chapter of our Fire and Ice cruise.
OLP Social 2: Built by Meyer Werft in Germany in 1998, she began her career with Star Cruises before joining Norwegian Cruise Line in 2004, nineteen years before our cruise.
OLP Social 3: A 2020 transformation costing over $100 million refreshed cabins and public spaces, giving this 1998 ship a new look before our Hawaii and Alaska cruise.
OLP Social 4: Owned by Huna Totem Corporation, Icy Strait Point welcomed our cruise beside a restored salmon cannery, connecting the port with Hoonah’s Tlingit heritage.
