<div align="justify">At a ceremony at Akers Yard in St. Nazair, France, the keel for the first of Norwegian Cruise Line&rsquo;s F3 ships with laid. </div><div align="justify"><br />F3 is the cruise lines third generation and the next evolution of the company&rsquo;s innovative Freestyle Cruising ships. The first block of the keel with a double bottom block, number 5006, weighing in at 322 tons and was put in place marking the start of the overall construction of the ship.</div><div align="justify"><br />Executives from Star Cruises, Apollo Management, NCL and Aker Yards attended the landmark ceremony. In a maritime tradition each attendee was invited to place a specially designed coin in a tube which was then welded shut and positioned in the keel for good luck.</div><div align="justify"><br />The two F3 ships will weigh 150,000 tonnes and will each have a total of 4,200 passenger berths, consequently being the largest ships in NCL&rsquo;s fleet.</div><div align="justify"><br />&quot;The F3 ships are our most innovative project in the company's 41-year history and will provide a totally unique vacation experience,&quot; said Colin Veitch, NCL's president and CEO. &quot;Today as we lay the keel for this groundbreaking new ship, we are one step closer to revolutionizing cruising as we know it.&quot;</div><div align="justify"><br />Chairman of Star Cruises Tan Sri KT Lim added, &quot;History is in the making today as NCL's first F3 ship begins to take shape. We are proud to be a part of bringing this new innovative ship to fruition, one unlike any the world has seen before.&quot; Steve Martinez, partner at Apollo Management, noted, &quot;NCL already has the youngest fleet in the industry. We are excited to launch the construction of this next generation of Freestyle Cruising ship.&quot;</div><div align="justify"><br />The new F3 ships will have the highest proportion of cabin mix, with 100 per cent of outside staterooms featuring private balconies and in total each ship will have 1,415 balcony staterooms. The new ship design will offer 60 per cent more guest space than any other NCL ship and will provide guests with an even wider range of onboard activities, amenities and stateroom options.</div><div align="justify"><br />&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">There will be more details of the F3 ships innovative accommodations, public spaces, dining, entertainment, cutting edge technology and casino released on the lead up to the launch of the first F3 ship in 2010.</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/JetlineCruiseNews/~4/282699702" border="0" width="1" height="1" />