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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd

For the period ended Dec 31, 2023. Filed Feb 28, 2024.

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About this filing

A company's yearly report to the SEC, with audited financial statements. It is the fullest account a company gives of its business, its finances and the risks it sees.

FY2023 · Filed Feb 28, 2024

NCLH$18.43+2.8%Stored close · as of Nov 9, 2026

Extracted filing text, with the paragraph anchors used by the comparison.

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Contents

Table of Contents

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PART I​​
Item 1.Business9
Item 1A.Risk Factors34
Item 1B.Unresolved Staff Comments48
Item 1C.Cybersecurity48
Item 2.Properties49
Item 3.Legal Proceedings49
Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures49
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PART II​​
Item 5.Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities50
Item 6.[Reserved]51
Item 7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations52
Item 7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk66
Item 8.Financial Statements and Supplementary Data67
Item 9.Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure67
Item 9A.Controls and Procedures67
Item 9B.Other Information68
Item 9C.Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections68
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PART III​​
Item 10.Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance69
Item 11.Executive Compensation69
Item 12.Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters69
Item 13.Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence69
Item 14.Principal Accounting Fees and Services69
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PART IV​​
Item 15.Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules70
Signatures83

Terms Used in this Annual Report

Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”) to (i) the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to NCLH (as defined below) and its subsidiaries, (ii) “NCLC” refers to NCL Corporation Ltd., (iii) “NCLH” refers to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., (iv) “Norwegian Cruise Line” or “Norwegian” refers to the Norwegian Cruise Line brand and its predecessors, and (v) “Prestige” refers to Prestige Cruises International S. de R.L. (formerly Prestige Cruises International, Inc.), together with its consolidated subsidiaries, including Oceania Cruises Ltd. (formerly Oceania Cruises S. de R.L.) (“Oceania Cruises”) and Seven Seas Cruises Ltd. (formerly Seven Seas Cruises S. de R.L.) (“Regent”) (Oceania Cruises also refers to the brand by the same name and Regent also refers to the brand Regent Seven Seas Cruises).

References to the “U.S.” are to the United States of America, and “dollars” or “$” are to U.S. dollars, the “U.K.” are to the United Kingdom, “British Pound Sterling” or “£” are to the official currency of the U.K. and “euros” or “€” are to the official currency of the Eurozone.

This Annual Report includes certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as Adjusted Gross Margin, Net Cruise Cost, Adjusted Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EPS. Definitions of these non-GAAP financial measures are included below. For further information about our non-GAAP financial measures including detailed adjustments made in calculating our non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, we refer you to “Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Unless otherwise indicated in this Annual Report, the following terms have the meanings set forth below:

●Acquisition of Prestige. In November 2014, we acquired Prestige in a cash and stock transaction for total consideration of $3.025 billion, including the assumption of debt.
●Adjusted EBITDA. EBITDA adjusted for other income (expense), net and other supplemental adjustments.
●Adjusted EPS. Adjusted Net Income (Loss) divided by the number of diluted weighted-average shares outstanding.
●Adjusted Gross Margin. Gross margin adjusted for payroll and related, fuel, food, other and ship depreciation. Gross margin is calculated pursuant to GAAP as total revenue less total cruise operating expense and ship depreciation.
●Adjusted Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel. Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel adjusted for supplemental adjustments.
●Adjusted Net Income (Loss). Net income (loss) adjusted for the effect of dilutive securities and other supplemental adjustments.
●Allura Class Ships. Oceania Cruises’ Vista and Oceania Cruises’ Allura.
●Berths. Double occupancy capacity per cabin (single occupancy per studio cabin) even though many cabins can accommodate three or more passengers.
●Breakaway Class Ships. Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway.
●Breakaway Plus Class Ships. Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Joy, Norwegian Bliss and Norwegian Encore.
●Capacity Days. Berths available for sale multiplied by the number of cruise days for the period for ships in service.
●CDC. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
●Dry-dock. A process whereby a ship is positioned in a large basin where all of the fresh/sea water is pumped out in order to carry out cleaning and repairs of those parts of a ship which are below the water line.
●EBITDA. Earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization.
●EPS. Earnings (loss) per share.
●GAAP. Generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S.
●Gross Cruise Cost. The sum of total cruise operating expense and marketing, general and administrative expense.
●Gross Tons. A unit of enclosed passenger space on a cruise ship, such that one gross ton equals 100 cubic feet or 2.831 cubic meters.
●IMO. International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency that sets international standards for shipping.
●IPO. The initial public offering of 27,058,824 ordinary shares, par value $0.001 per share, of NCLH, which was consummated on January 24, 2013.
●Jewel Class Ships. Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Jade and Norwegian Gem.
●Net Cruise Cost. Gross Cruise Cost less commissions, transportation and other expense and onboard and other expense.
●Net Cruise Cost Excluding Fuel. Net Cruise Cost less fuel expense.
●Occupancy or Occupancy Percentage. The ratio of Passenger Cruise Days to Capacity Days. A percentage greater than 100% indicates that three or more passengers occupied some cabins.
●Passenger Cruise Days. The number of passengers carried for the period, multiplied by the number of days in their respective cruises.
●Prima Class Ships. Norwegian Prima, Norwegian Viva, Norwegian Aqua and three additional ships on order.
●Private Exchangeable Notes. On May 28, 2020, pursuant to an indenture among NCLC, as issuer, NCLH, as guarantor, and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee, NCLC issued $400.0 million aggregate principal amount of exchangeable senior notes due 2026. The Private Exchangeable Notes were repurchased in March 2021.
●Revolving Loan Facility. The senior secured revolving credit facility, which was increased from $875 million to $1.2 billion in October 2023.
●SEC. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
●Senior Secured Credit Facility. The Credit Agreement, originally dated as of May 24, 2013, as amended and restated on October 31, 2014, June 6, 2016, October 10, 2017, January 2, 2019 and May 8, 2020, and as further amended on January 29, 2021, March 25, 2021, November 12, 2021 and December 6, 2022, by and among NCLC and Voyager Vessel Company, LLC, as co-borrowers, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative

agent and as collateral agent, and various lenders and agents, providing for a senior secured credit facility consisting of (i) the Revolving Loan Facility and (ii) the Term Loan A Facility.

●Shipboard Retirement Plan. An unfunded defined benefit pension plan for certain crew members which computes benefits based on years of service, subject to certain requirements.
●Term Loan A Facility. The senior secured term loan A facility which was fully repaid in October 2023.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements, estimates or projections contained in this report are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained, or incorporated by reference, in this report, including, without limitation, those regarding our business strategy, financial position, results of operations, plans, prospects, actions taken or strategies being considered with respect to our liquidity position, valuation and appraisals of our assets and objectives of management for future operations (including those regarding expected fleet additions, our expectations regarding the impact of macroeconomic conditions and recent global events, our expectations regarding cruise voyage occupancy, operational position, demand for voyages, plans or goals for our sustainability program and decarbonization efforts, our expectations for future cash flows and profitability, financing opportunities and extensions, and efforts to reduce operating expenses and capital expenditures) are forward-looking statements. Many, but not all, of these statements can be found by looking for words like “expect,” “anticipate,” “goal,” “project,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “will,” “may,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “intend,” “future” and similar words. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance and may involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Examples of these risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to the impact of:

adverse general economic factors, such as fluctuating or increasing levels of interest rates, inflation, unemployment, underemployment and the volatility of fuel prices, declines in the securities and real estate markets, and perceptions of these conditions that decrease the level of disposable income of consumers or consumer confidence;

implementing precautions in coordination with regulators and global public health authorities to protect the health, safety and security of guests, crew and the communities we visit and to comply with related regulatory restrictions;

our indebtedness and restrictions in the agreements governing our indebtedness that require us to maintain minimum levels of liquidity and be in compliance with maintenance covenants and otherwise limit our flexibility in operating our business, including the significant portion of assets that are collateral under these agreements;

our ability to work with lenders and others or otherwise pursue options to defer, renegotiate, refinance or restructure our existing debt profile, near-term debt amortization, newbuild related payments and other obligations and to work with credit card processors to satisfy current or potential future demands for collateral on cash advanced from customers relating to future cruises;

our need for additional financing or financing to optimize our balance sheet, which may not be available on favorable terms, or at all, and our outstanding exchangeable notes and any future financing which may be dilutive to existing shareholders;

the unavailability of ports of call;

future increases in the price of, or major changes, disruptions or reduction in, commercial airline services;

changes involving the tax and environmental regulatory regimes in which we operate, including new regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions;

the accuracy of any appraisals of our assets;

our success in controlling operating expenses and capital expenditures;

trends in, or changes to, future bookings and our ability to take future reservations and receive deposits related thereto;

adverse events impacting the security of travel, or customer perceptions of the security of travel, such as terrorist acts, armed conflict, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or the Israel-Hamas war, or threats thereof, acts of piracy, and other international events;

public health crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and their effect on the ability or desire of people to travel (including on cruises);

adverse incidents involving cruise ships;

our ability to maintain and strengthen our brand;

breaches in data security or other disturbances to our information technology systems and other networks or our actual or perceived failure to comply with requirements regarding data privacy and protection;

changes in fuel prices and the type of fuel we are permitted to use and/or other cruise operating costs;

mechanical malfunctions and repairs, delays in our shipbuilding program, maintenance and refurbishments and the consolidation of qualified shipyard facilities;

the risks and increased costs associated with operating internationally;

our inability to recruit or retain qualified personnel or the loss of key personnel or employee relations issues;

impacts related to climate change and our ability to achieve our climate-related or other sustainability goals;

our inability to obtain adequate insurance coverage;

pending or threatened litigation, investigations and enforcement actions;

volatility and disruptions in the global credit and financial markets, which may adversely affect our ability to borrow and could increase our counterparty credit risks, including those under our credit facilities, derivatives, contingent obligations, insurance contracts and new ship progress payment guarantees;

any further impairment of our trademarks, trade names or goodwill;

our reliance on third parties to provide hotel management services for certain ships and certain other services;

fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;

our expansion into new markets and investments in new markets and land-based destination projects;

overcapacity in key markets or globally; and

other factors set forth under “Risk Factors” herein.

The above examples are not exhaustive and new risks emerge from time to time. There may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections regarding our present and future business strategies and the environment in which we expect to operate in the future. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any

forward-looking statement to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change of events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement was based, except as required by law.

WEBSITE REFERENCES

In this Annual Report, we make references to our website at https://www.nclhltd.com. References to our website through this Annual Report are provided for convenience only and the content on our website does not constitute a part of, and shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report.

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The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.