CruiseStar
She has a name. Norwegian Cruise Line pulled the curtain back on the sixth and final ship in its Prima class yesterday, and she will sail as Norwegian Bella.
Bella is Italian for beautiful, and it fits a class that has always leaned Italian. Yesterday the trade press was guessing names. Today the facts are confirmed, bookings are open, and the grand finale has a debut date.
At a glance
- Name: Norwegian Bella
- Class: Prima class, sixth and final ship
- Size: about 170,000 gross tons, 1,129 feet long
- Guests: 3,921 at double occupancy
- Debut: May 2028, seven-night roundtrips from Barcelona
- Bookings: open now
Norwegian
Norwegian Prima
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The name NCL picked
NCL announced the name on Tuesday, October 20, with reservations opening the same day. There is a fun backstory to the choice. Back in 2022 the line registered a batch of names as trademarks: Prima, Viva, Aqua, Luna, Bella, Ombra, Vela, and Ultima. The trade press had Ultima, the Italian word for last, down as the obvious pick for the final ship. NCL went with beautiful instead.
"Norwegian Bella marks a milestone moment in our fleet as the culmination of our award-winning Prima Class," said Marc Kazlauskas, president of Norwegian Cruise Line. He added that the ship brings together the line's most sought-after experiences, shaped by guest feedback gathered across the class from the very beginning.
The biggest ship NCL has built
At roughly 170,000 gross tons and 1,129 feet, Bella will be the largest ship in the NCL fleet, alongside her twin sister Norwegian Aura, which arrives in May 2027. Both are under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, fitting since these are the line's first ships built in Italy.
The numbers: nearly 2,000 cabins, including 159 suites in The Haven, the line's ship-within-a-ship complex. The pool deck is more than 15 percent larger than the ones on Norwegian Aqua and Norwegian Luna. And in the line's tradition of artist hull designs, Bella will wear an original botanical-inspired design by Australian muralist George Rose.
Where she sails first
Bella spends her whole inaugural season in the Mediterranean. From May 2028 she sails seven-night roundtrips from Barcelona, calling at Rome (Civitavecchia), Florence (Livorno), Salerno, Marseille, and Palma de Mallorca, with La Spezia on some departures.
There is also a 5-night sailing from Malta to Barcelona departing May 2, 2028, which stays overnight in Malta before setting course for Salerno, Civitavecchia, and Spain. NCL has not yet said which sailing gets the official maiden voyage label, and lines often spread inaugural celebrations across several early sailings.
Ocean Heights and the Boulevard
Bella shares most of her feature list with her sister Aura, since the two are near twins. The headline new space is Ocean Heights, a multi-level open-air complex spanning decks 18 through 21: waterslides, a ropes course, a nine-hole mini golf course, carnival-style games, and LED projections that turn it into an evening entertainment hub.
Ocean Boulevard returns on deck eight, wrapping the whole ship, with Infinity Beach serving up infinity pools, upscale daybeds, hot tubs, and a full-service outdoor bar. Expect extra seating compared with earlier Prima-class ships.
The Prima class, complete
Six ships, six years: Norwegian Prima in 2022, Norwegian Viva in 2023, Norwegian Aqua in 2025, Norwegian Luna in 2026, Norwegian Aura in 2027, and now Norwegian Bella in 2028. The class grew in pairs, each pair about ten percent larger than the last, and the final pair is the biggest of all.
NCL is already looking past the class: the line has ordered a new, larger ship class with deliveries expected from 2030.
Who should be watching
Barcelona in May, seven nights, and the Med's greatest-hits ports make Bella a first-timer-friendly debut. Families get Ocean Heights and the bigger pool deck. Suite sailors get an expanded Haven. And anyone who has been waiting to see how the Prima class ends gets the answer: bigger, brighter, and booked from Barcelona.
Too new to rate
Bella has not sailed yet, so there is nothing to rate. The live rating below is for her class flagship, the ship most sailors know best. When Bella's page goes live, she gets her own scorecard: mark her sailed, heart her for the bucket list, and rate her so the next sailor is not guessing.
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Norwegian Prima
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