SOUTHWARD
July 30–August 2, 1993 | Baja Cruise — Los Angeles, Catalina Island, and Ensenada, Mexico
Our three-night Baja cruise aboard Southward began in Los Angeles on July 30, 1993, with visits to Catalina Island and Ensenada before returning on August 2. One of Norwegian Cruise Line’s early ships, she brought the smaller scale of 1970s cruising to Southern California’s popular short-cruise market.
Southward belonged to the generation of smaller ships that helped establish Norwegian as a major name in cruising. Built in 1971 for Norwegian Caribbean Line, she spent her early career in the Caribbean before becoming a familiar presence in Los Angeles. By the time of our 1993 cruise, her short coastal voyages offered a different experience from the much larger ships entering service during the same period.
Information List
Name During Our Cruise: Southward
Operator During Our Cruise: Norwegian Cruise Line
Year Entered Service: 1971
Shipyard: Cantieri Navali del Tirreno e Riuniti, Riva Trigoso, Italy
Gross Register Tonnage: Approximately 16,607 GRT
Passenger Capacity: Approximately 750 during her late Norwegian service
Port of Registry During Norwegian’s West Coast Service: Nassau, Bahamas
IMO Number: 7111078
Voyage Dates: July 30–August 2, 1993
Voyage Length: Three nights
Departure and Return Port: Los Angeles, California
Later Names: Seawing, Perla, Aegean Pearl, Rio, and Venus
Final Fate: Scrapped at Aliağa, Turkey, in 2013
History and Features
Construction and Entry Into Service
Southward was built in Italy and entered service in 1971.
She joined Sunward, Starward, and Skyward as part of Norwegian Caribbean Line’s early fleet.
Her intended fleetmate, Seaward, followed a different path and was completed for P&O as Spirit of London.
Unlike an ocean liner converted for cruising, Southward was built for the developing cruise market.
Design and Features
Her comparatively compact size placed passenger accommodation, dining, entertainment, and outdoor spaces within a smaller shipboard setting.
Facilities included dining rooms, lounges, a show lounge, a swimming pool, and a casino.
Her white hull associated her with Norwegian’s early “white ships,” a visual contrast to the larger, dark-hulled Norway.
She represented an earlier approach to cruising, before the extensive balcony accommodation and large resort-style attractions of later ships.
Service
Southward initially operated Caribbean cruises from Miami.
Norwegian later expanded to the U.S. West Coast, where she operated short cruises from Los Angeles.
By the early 1990s, her three- and four-night sailings were an established part of Southern California’s cruise offerings.
Her 1993 service preceded Norwegian’s introduction of Freestyle Cruising in 2000.
Our Baja Cruise — July 30–August 2, 1993
We sailed from Los Angeles on July 30 for a three-night cruise, returning on August 2.
Our voyage included Catalina Island and Ensenada, combining a Southern California island visit with a call in Baja California.
The short itinerary offered time aboard one of Norwegian’s original ships without requiring a longer voyage.
These photographs document our cruise during the final years of Southward’s Norwegian career.
Later Career
Norwegian announced the ship’s sale to Airtours in 1994, with delivery planned for January 1995.
Renamed Seawing, she continued cruising for Airtours’ Sun Cruises operation.
Subsequent service brought further names and operators, including periods as Perla and Aegean Pearl.
Her career ended in 2013, when she was scrapped in Turkey as Venus.
Legacy
Southward helped connect Norwegian’s early Caribbean fleet with its expansion into West Coast cruising. Her Los Angeles service remains part of the history of Southern California’s short-cruise market, when smaller ships provided accessible voyages to nearby coastal destinations.
OLP Social: Our three-night Baja cruise included Catalina Island and Ensenada aboard a ship dating from the early 1970s, offering a very different experience from today's much larger vessels sailing from Southern California.
