American cruise liner Norwegian Jewel of the Norwegian Cruise Line made her maiden voyage to Fiji last week, arriving at the Lautoka Port on November 2 and Suva on November 3.

The 294m beauty, whose godmother is Melanie Trump, spouse of US President, Donald Trump brought with her a total of 2308 tourists and 1075 crew members.

As part of the tradition for any cruise liner visiting our shore for the first time, an exchange of commemorative plaques was done on board between the cruise liner and the local port owner.

It was a momentous day for Fiji Ports Corporation Limited as chief financial officer; Roshan Abeyesundere officiated in the event with Captain Kenneth Harstrom. It was witnessed by relevant stakeholders that included representatives from FIRCA, Bio Security of Fiji, Fiji Ports Terminal Limited, Fiji Police Force and cruise liner agent, Swire Shipping before they were taken on a tour of the vessel.

Captain Harstrom thanked Fiji Ports for allowing them to visit the country and Mr Abeyesundere also thanked them for choosing Fiji as one of its destinations.

Operation Supervisor for Swire Shipping, Taina Cokilawa said they (Norwegian Jewel) were happy about their maiden voyage and were looking forward to returning to our shore in the near future.

Meanwhile, Norwegian Jewel is the lead vessel of NCL’s Jewel class cruise ships according to Wikipedia. The other ships are Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Star, Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Sun.

She entered service in 2005 after being constructed at Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and was christened on November 3, 2005 at an official ceremony at the Port of Miami.

In an episode of The Apprentice, Donald Trump required the contestants to create a 30-second commercial of the ship, featuring both exterior and interior shots.

The final episode of the third season of American TV Series Transparent takes place entirely aboard the ship.