New Cruise Ship In Mobile

There's a new cruise ship in Mobile. The Norwegian Spirit arrived in the Port City on Sunday. But she's only here for a short stay.

As News 5 first reported in July, the New Orleans based cruise ship will be dry docked in Mobile for multi-million dollar enhancements including outfitting the entire ship for WiFi; laying new carpet; installing flat screen televisions; and upgrading the Stardust Theater and the ship's action station restaurant Raffles.

The 2,018-passenger ship will return to New Orleans on October 9 before moving to her new home port in Barcelona, Spain on April 15.

"While we have the youngest fleet in the industry, we still want to continuously enhance our ships," said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line's chief executive officer. "With the dry dock of Norwegian Spirit, we will have completed enhancements on four ships this year, a major investment for the company."

Mobile is looking for a cruise ship to replace the 2,052 passenger Carnival Elation when it leaves next month. The city still owes $26 million on the cruise terminal. The Norwegian Spirit would be a perfect fit for the Alabama Cruise Terminal, but Norwegian insists Mobile is not in the company's immediate plans.