Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings 10-K 2022-12-31

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

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For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022

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For the transition period from to

Commission file number: 001-35784

NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE HOLDINGS LTD.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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7665 Corporate Center Drive**,** Miami**,** Florida 33126

(Address of principal executive offices) (zip code)

(305) 436-4000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ⌧ No ◻

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ◻ No ⌧

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ⌧ No ◻

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ⌧ No ◻

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ◻

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ◻

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ◻

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

As of June 30, 2022, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant based upon the closing sales price for the registrant’s ordinary shares as reported on The New York Stock Exchange was $4.6 billion.

There were 421,929,861 ordinary shares outstanding as of February 16, 2023.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of the Proxy Statement for the registrant’s 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after December 31, 2022, are incorporated by reference in Part III herein.

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NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE HOLDINGS LTD.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Terms Used in this Annual Report

Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references in this 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 S. de R.L. (formerly Oceania Cruises, Inc.) (“Oceania Cruises”) and 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 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:

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 impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and general macroeconomic conditions, our expectations regarding cruise voyage occupancy, the implementation of and effectiveness of our health and safety protocols, 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 future cost mitigation and cash conservation efforts 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;

●the spread of epidemics, pandemics and viral outbreaks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and their effect on the ability or desire of people to travel (including on cruises), which is expected to continue to adversely impact our results, operations, outlook, plans, goals, growth, reputation, cash flows, liquidity, demand for voyages and share price;

●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 regulatory restrictions related to the pandemic;

●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 as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise;

●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, and threats thereof, acts of piracy, and other international events;

●adverse incidents involving cruise ships;

●breaches in data security or other disturbances to our information technology 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;

●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.

Additionally, many of these risks and uncertainties are currently amplified by and will continue to be amplified by, or in the future may be amplified by, the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the impact of general macroeconomic conditions. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. There may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown.

The above examples are not exhaustive and new risks emerge from time to time. 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 on Form 10-K, we make references to our website at http://www.nclhltd.com. References to our website through this Form 10-K 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 on Form 10-K

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PART I

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History and Development of the Company

Norwegian commenced operations from Miami in 1966, launching the modern cruise industry by offering weekly departures from Miami to the Caribbean. In February 2011, NCLH, a Bermuda limited company, was formed. In January 2013, NCLH completed its IPO and the ordinary shares of NCLC were exchanged for the ordinary shares of NCLH, and NCLH became the owner of 100% of the ordinary shares and parent company of NCLC (the “Corporate Reorganization”). In November 2014, we completed the Acquisition of Prestige.

Our Company

Business Overview

We are a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. Due to COVID-19, we temporarily suspended all global cruise voyages from March 2020 until July 2021, when we resumed cruise voyages on a limited basis. In early May 2022, we completed the phased relaunch of our entire fleet with all ships now in operation with guests on board. We refer you to “—Impact of COVID-19” for further information.

As of December 31, 2022, we had 29 ships with approximately 62,000 Berths and had orders for eight additional ships to be delivered. We have converted some double occupancy cabins to studio cabins and we expect to convert approximately 900 additional cabins in early 2023. Additionally, in February 2023, we amended the delivery dates of the last two Prima Class Ships to 2027 and 2028. These ships will be lengthened and re-configured to accommodate the use of methanol as an alternative fuel source in the future. While additional modifications will be needed in the future to fully enable the use of methanol in addition to traditional marine fuel, this reinforces our commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Our brands offer itineraries to worldwide destinations including Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Africa, Canada, Bermuda, Caribbean, Alaska and Hawaii. Norwegian’s U.S.-flagged ship, Pride of America, provides the industry’s only entirely inter-island itinerary in Hawaii.

All of our brands offer an assortment of features, amenities and activities, including a variety of accommodations, multiple dining venues, bars and lounges, spa, casino and retail shopping areas and numerous entertainment choices. All brands also offer a selection of shore excursions at each port of call as well as hotel packages for stays before or after a voyage.

We have eight ships on order across our portfolio of brands. For the Norwegian brand, we have five Prima Class Ships on order, with currently scheduled delivery dates from 2023 through 2028. For Regent Seven Seas Cruises, we have one Explorer Class Ship on order for delivery in 2023. For Oceania Cruises, we have two Allura Class Ships on order for delivery in 2023 and 2025. These additions to our fleet will increase our total Berths to approximately 82,000.

Corporate Information

Our registered offices are located at Walkers Corporate (Bermuda) Limited, Park Place, 3rd Floor, 55 Par-la-Ville Road, Hamilton HM 11, Bermuda. Our principal executive offices are located at 7665 Corporate Center Drive, Miami, Florida 33126. Daniel S. Farkas, the Company’s Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, is our agent for service of process at our principal executive offices.

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Impact of COVID-19

Safe Resumption of Operations

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Due to the impact of COVID-19, travel restrictions and limited access to ports around the world, in March 2020, we implemented a voluntary suspension of all cruise voyages across our three brands. In the third quarter of 2021, we began a phased relaunch of certain cruise voyages with ships initially operating at reduced occupancy levels. In early May 2022, we completed the phased relaunch of our entire fleet with all ships now in operation with guests on board. Occupancy levels have sequentially increased in recent quarters, most recently averaging 87% in the fourth quarter 2022, with the Company expecting to return to historical Occupancy levels for the second quarter of 2023.

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During 2022, we benefitted from significant improvements in the public health environment which allowed for the removal of most COVID-19 related health and safety protocols by year-end, unless required by local jurisdictions. For example, in July 2022, the CDC announced that its voluntary COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships Operating in U.S. Waters was no longer in effect. We will continue to modify and evolve our health and safety protocols as needed along with the broader public health and regulatory environments. We continue to prioritize the health and safety of our guests, crew and communities we visit and follow applicable travel guidelines and local protocols as required by the ports and destinations we visit.

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The relaxation of protocols, continued easing of travel restrictions and reopening of most ports around the globe to cruise ships has improved travel experiences, expanded the addressable cruise market, allowed us to expand the variety of our itineraries and provided additional catalysts on the road to recovery.

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The level of occupancy on our ships will depend on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the duration and extent of the COVID-19 pandemic, further resurgences of COVID-19 or the emergence of other public health crises, our ability to comply with governmental regulations and implement new health and safety protocols, port availability, travel restrictions, bans and advisories, our ability to staff certain ships and additionally the impact of other events impacting travel or consumer discretionary spending, such as Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and general macroeconomic conditions discussed below under “Macroeconomic Trends and Uncertainties.”

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Execution of Financial Action Plan

In 2022 and 2023, we continued to take actions to bolster our financial condition as part of our long-term post-pandemic financial recovery strategy. In February 2022, we received additional financing through various debt financings, collectively totaling $2.1 billion in gross proceeds, which was used to redeem all of the outstanding 2024 Senior Secured Notes and 2026 Senior Secured Notes and to make scheduled principal payments on debt maturing in 2022, including, in each case, to pay any accrued and unpaid interest thereon, as well as related premiums, fees and expenses.

In December 2022, we amended the Senior Secured Credit Facility to extend approximately $1.4 billion of maturities by one year to January 2025. The amendment also updated certain financial covenants and increased our ability to incur additional debt. Each of our export-credit backed facilities were also amended to conform the financial covenants with the Senior Secured Credit Facility. In February 2023, a commitment of $82.5 million in aggregate principal amount of the Revolving Loan Facility that was not previously extended was obtained to assign the commitment to a new lender under the same terms as the extending lenders.

In February 2023, NCLC issued $600 million aggregate principal amount of 8.375% senior secured notes due 2028. The proceeds from the notes were used to repay the loans outstanding under our Term Loan A Facility that otherwise would have become due in January 2024, including to pay any accrued and unpaid interest thereon, as well as related premiums, fees and expenses.

In July 2022, we amended our $1 billion commitment, which provided additional liquidity to the Company through March 31, 2023. In February 2023, the commitment was further extended through February 2024, with an option for NCLC to further extend the commitments through February 2025 at its election. Simultaneously, the amount of the commitment was reduced to $650 million, which may be drawn in up to two draws, and in connection with the execution

of the amended commitment letter, NCLC issued $250 million aggregate princi

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In addition to the other information contained in this annual report, you should carefully consider the following risk factors in evaluating our business. If any of the risks discussed or additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated debt we incurred related to the COVID-19 pandemic have also had the effect of heightening many of the risks described below. The ordering of the risk factors below is not intended to reflect an indication of priority or likelihood. In connection with the forward-looking statements that appear in this annual report, you should also carefully review the cautionary statement referred to under “Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward–Looking Statements.”

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COVID-19 and Debt/Liquidity Related Risk Factors

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Public health crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have had, and may in the future have, a significant impact on our financial condition, results, operations, outlook, plans, goals, growth, reputation, cash flows, liquidity, demand for voyages and share price.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and may continue to have, significant negative impacts on all aspects of our business, and a future pandemic or other public health crisis could have a similar effect. In March 2020, we implemented a voluntary suspension of all cruise voyages across our three brands. We began resuming cruise voyages in July 2021 in a phased manner and completed the phased relaunch of our entire fleet in early May 2022. It may take us longer than expected to return to historical occupancy levels and our occupancy levels may be negatively impacted by concerns that cruises are susceptible to the spread of infectious diseases, disruptions to travel due to travel restrictions, health concerns, or other factors, as well as adverse changes in the perceived or actual economic climate due to the impact of COVID-19 or other future pandemics or other public health crises.

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To date, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant costs and lost revenue as a result of, among other things, the suspension of cruise voyages, implementation of additional health and safety measures, reduced demand for cruise vacations, guest compensation, itinerary modifications, redeployments and cancellations, travel restrictions and advisories, the unavailability of ports and/or destinations and protected commissions. We have also been, and may continue to be, negatively impacted by adverse impacts to our travel agencies and suppliers due to COVID-19, and we may experience similar impacts in the event of a future pandemic or other public health crises.

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We have been, and may in the future be, subject to heightened governmental regulations, travel advisories, travel bans and restrictions that have and could significantly impact our global guest sourcing and our access to various ports of call around the globe. We have had instances of COVID-19 on our ships and there is no guarantee that the health and safety protocols we implement will be successful in preventing the spread of pandemics onboard our ships and among our passengers and crew.

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We have been and may continue to be the subject of lawsuits and investigations stemming from COVID-19. We cannot predict the number or outcome of any such proceedings and the impact that they will have on our financial results, but any such impact may be material.

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As a result of the impacts of COVID-19, provisions in our credit card processing and other commercial agreements have and may continue to adversely affect our liquidity. We have agreements with several credit card companies to process the sale of tickets and provide other services. Under these agreements, the credit card companies could, under certain circumstances and upon written notice, require us to maintain a reserve, which reserve would be funded by the credit card companies withholding or offsetting our credit card receivables, or our posting of cash or other collateral. As a result of the impacts of COVID-19, certain of our credit card processors currently hold cash collateral reserves. We may be required to pledge additional collateral and/or post additional cash reserves or take other actions that may further reduce our liquidity.

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COVID-19 has also had the effect of heightening many of the other risks described herein, such as those relating to our need to generate sufficient cash flows to service our indebtedness, our ability to comply with the covenants contained in

the agreements that govern our indebtedness and our access to raise additional capital in the future. Accordingly, as a result of these unprecedented circumstances, we cannot predict the full impact of COVID-19 on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Epidemics, pandemics and viral outbreaks or other wide-ranging public health crises in the future would likely also adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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If our results of operations and financial performance do not recover as planned, we may not be in compliance with maintenance covenants in certain of our debt facilities.

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Certain of our debt facilities include maintenance and financial covenants. For example, under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, we are required to maintain a loan to value ratio of no less than 0.70 to 1.00. Financial covenants include free liquidity of no less than $250,000,000 at all times, a total net funded debt to total capitalization ratio of less than 0.93 to 1.00 for the quarter ending March 31, 2023, 0.92 to 1.00 for the quarter ending June 30, 2023, 0.91 to 1.00 for the quarters ending September 30, 2023, December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, 0.90 to 1.00 for the quarter ending June 30, 2024, 0.88 to 1.00 for the quarter ending September 30, 2024 and 0.87 to 1.00 for the quarter ending December 31, 2024 and an EBITDA to consolidated debt service ratio of at least 1.25 to 1.00 at the end of each fiscal quarter unless free liquidity is greater than or equal to $300,000,000 at that time. The testing of the covenants under the Senior Secured Credit Facility was suspended to and including December 31, 2022, with the exception of the free liquidity test. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we paused our global fleet cruise operations from March 2020 until July 2021. Although we resumed our cruise voyages on a limited basis in July 2021 and completed the re-launch of our full fleet in May 2022, if we must again pause our voyages or if our results of operations and financial performance do not recover as planned, we may be out of compliance with some or all of the maintenance and financial covenants in certain of our debt facilities. If we expect to not be in compliance, we would expect to seek waivers from the lenders under these facilities or renegotiate these facilities prior to any covenant violation.

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Any covenant waiver or renegotiation of any of our debt facilities has led, and may in the future lead, to increased costs, increased interest rates, additional restrictive covenants and other available lender protections that would be applicable to us under these debt facilities, and such increased costs, restrictions and modifications may vary among debt facilities. Our ability to provide additional lender protections under these facilities will be limited by the restrictions in our indebtedness. There can be no assurance that we would be able to obtain waivers or renegotiate these facilities in a timely manner, on acceptable terms or at all. If we were not able to obtain a covenant waiver under any one or more of these debt facilities or renegotiate such facilities, we would be in default of such agreements, which could result in cross defaults to our other debt agreements. As a consequence, w

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Information about our cruise ships may be found under “Item 1. Business—Our Fleet” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

NCLH’s principal executive offices are located in Miami, Florida where we lease approximately 386,224 square feet of facilities.

We lease a number of domestic and international offices throughout Europe, Asia, South America and Australia to administer our brand operations globally. Norwegian owns a private island in the Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay, which we utilize as a port-of-call on some of our itineraries. We operate a private cruise destination in Belize, Harvest Caye.

We believe that our facilities are adequate for our current needs, and that we are capable of obtaining additional facilities as necessary.

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Our threshold for disclosing material environmental legal proceedings involving a governmental authority where potential monetary sanctions are involved is $1 million.

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See “Item 8—Financial Statements and Supplementary Data—Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—Note 13 Commitments and Contingencies” in Part II of this annual report for information about material legal proceedings.

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PART II

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Market Information

NCLH’s ordinary shares are listed on the NYSE under the symbol “NCLH.”

Holders

As of February 16, 2023, there were 274 record holders of NCLH’s ordinary shares. Since certain of NCLH’s ordinary shares are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of shareholders, the foregoing number is not representative of the number of beneficial owners.

Dividends

NCLH does not currently pay dividends to its shareholders. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon our results of operations, financial condition, restrictions imposed by applicable law and our financing agreements and other factors that our Board of Directors deems relevant.

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Stock Performance Graph

This performance graph shall not be deemed “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that Section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of NCLH under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

The following graph shows a comparison of the cumulative total return for our ordinary shares, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Stock Index and the Dow Jones United States Travel and Leisure index. The Stock Performance Graph assumes that $100 was invested at the closing price of our ordinary shares on the NYSE and in each index on the last trading day of fiscal 2017. Past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future results. The stock prices used were as of the close of business on the respective dates.

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Financial Presentation

The following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, and should be read in conjunction with the disclosures we make concerning risks and other factors that may affect our business and operating results. You should read this information in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in this annual report. See also “Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” immediately prior to Part I, Item 1 in this annual report.

We categorize revenue from our cruise and cruise-related activities as either “passenger ticket” revenue or “onboard and other” revenue. Passenger ticket revenue and onboard and other revenue vary according to product offering, the size of the ship in operation, the length of cruises operated and the markets in which the ship operates. Our revenue is seasonal based on demand for cruises, which has historically been strongest during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer months; however, our cruise voyages were completely suspended from March 2020 until July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and our resumption of cruise voyages was phased in gradually, with full operation of our fleet resumed in May 2022 as described under “—Update Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic” below. Passenger ticket revenue primarily consists of revenue for accommodations, meals in certain restaurants on the ship, certain onboard entertainment, port fees and taxes and includes revenue for service charges and air and land transportation to and from the ship to the extent guests purchase these items from us. Onboard and other revenue primarily consists of revenue from casino, beverage sales, shore excursions, specialty dining, retail sales, spa services and Wi-Fi services. Our onboard revenue is derived from onboard activities we perform directly or that are performed by independent concessionaires, from which we receive a share of their revenue.

Our cruise operating expense is classified as follows:

Critical Accounting Policies

Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the periods presented. We rely on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances to make these estimates and judgments. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates. We believe that the following

critical accounting policies reflect the significant estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. These critical accounting policies, which are presented in detail in our notes to our audited consolidated financial statements, relate to liquidity, ship accounting and asset impairment.

Liquidity

We make several critical accounting estimates with respect to our liquidity.

Significant events affecting travel typically have an impact on demand for cruise vacations, with the full extent of the impact determined by the length of time the event influences travel decisions. The level of occupancy on our ships will depend on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the conditions discussed below under “Macroeconomic Trends and Uncertainties”, further resurgences of COVID-19 or the emergence of other public health crises and any related governmental regulations and new health and safety protocols, port availability, travel restrictions, bans and advisories, and our ability to staff our ships. In addition, as a result of conditions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and other global events, such as Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and actions taken by the United States and other governments in response to the invasion, the global economy, including the financial and credit markets, has experienced significant volatility and disruptions, including increases in inflation rates, fuel prices, and interest rates. These conditions have resulted, and may continue to result, in increased expenses and also have impacted travel and consumer discretionary spending. We believe the ongoing effects of the foregoing factors and events on our operations and global bookings have had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on our financial results and liquidity.

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The estimation of our future cash flow projections includes numerous assumptions that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Our principal assumptions for future cash flow projections include:

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Our projected liquidity requirements also reflect our principal assumptions surrounding ongoing operating costs, as well as liquidity requirements for financing costs and necessary capital expenditures. We cannot make assurances that our assumptions used to estimate our liquidity requirements will not change materially due to the dynamic nature of the current economic landscape. Accordingly, the full effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global events impacting macroeconomic conditions and travel and consumer discretionary spending, including Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, on our financial performance and financial condition cannot be quantified at this time. We have made reasonable estimates and judgments of the impact of these events within our financial statements; however, there may be material changes to those estimates in future periods. We have taken actions to improve our liquidity, including completing various capital market and financing transactions and making capital expenditure and operating expense reductions, and we expect to continue to pursue further opportunities to improve our liquidity.

Ship Accounting

Ships represent our most significant assets, and we record them at cost less accumulated depreciat

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General

We are exposed to market risk attributable to changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates and fuel prices. We attempt to minimize these risks through a combination of our normal operating and financing activities and through the use of derivatives. The financial impacts of these derivative instruments are primarily offset by corresponding changes in the underlying exposures being hedged. We achieve this by closely matching the notional, term and conditions of the derivatives with the underlying risk being hedged. We do not hold or issue derivatives for trading or other speculative purposes. Derivative positions are monitored using techniques including market valuations and sensitivity analyses.

Interest Rate Risk

As of December 31, 2022, 75% of our debt was fixed and 25% was variable. As of December 31, 2021, 72% of our debt was fixed and 28% was variable, which includes the effects of an interest rate swap that matured during the year ended December 31, 2022. The notional amount of our outstanding debt associated with the interest rate swap was $0.2 billion as of December 31, 2021. The change in our fixed rate percentage from December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2022 was primarily due to the addition of fixed rate debt. Based on our December 31, 2022 outstanding variable rate debt balance, a one percentage point increase in annual LIBOR interest rates would increase our annual interest expense by approximately $34.1 million excluding the effects of capitalization of interest.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk

As of December 31, 2022, we had foreign currency derivatives to hedge the exposure to volatility in foreign currency exchange rates related to our ship construction contracts denominated in euros. These derivatives hedge the foreign currency exchange rate risk on a portion of the payments on our ship construction contracts. The payments not hedged aggregate €4.5 billion, or $4.8 billion based on the euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate as of December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2021, the payments not hedged aggregated €5.0 billion, or $5.7 billion, based on the euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate as of December 31, 2021. The change from December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2022 was due to the addition of foreign currency forwards and the delivery of Norwegian Prima. We estimate that a 10% change in the euro as of December 31, 2022 would result in a $0.5 billion change in the U.S. dollar value of the foreign currency denominated remaining payments.

Fuel Price Risk

Our exposure to market risk for changes in fuel prices relates to the forecasted purchases of fuel on our ships. Fuel expense, as a percentage of our total cruise operating expense, was 16.1% for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 18.8% for the year ended December 31, 2021. We use fuel derivative agreements to mitigate the financial impact of fluctuations in fuel prices and as of December 31, 2022, we had hedged approximately 50% of our 2023 projected metric tons of fuel purchases. As of December 31, 2021, we had hedged approximately 24% of our 2023 projected metric tons of fuel purchases. Additional fuel swaps were executed between December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2022 to lower our fuel price risk.

We estimate that a 10% increase in our weighted-average fuel price would increase our anticipated 2023 fuel expense by $67.7 million. This increase would be partially offset by an increase in the fair value of our fuel swap agreements of $38.2 million. Fair value of our derivative contracts is derived using valuation models that utilize the income valuation approach. These valuation models take into account the contract terms such as maturity, as well as other inputs such as fuel types, fuel curves, creditworthiness of the counterparty and the Company, as well as other data points.

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Our Consolidated Financial Statements are included beginning on page F-1 of this report.

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None.

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Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management has evaluated, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e), as of December 31, 2022. There are inherent limitations to the effectiveness of any system of disclosure controls and procedures, including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of the controls and procedures. Accordingly, even effective disclosure controls and procedures can only provide reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives. Based upon management’s evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2022, to provide reasonable assurance that the information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC, and that it is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the 2013 Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO Framework”). Based on this evaluation under the COSO Framework, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2022.

The effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, as stated in their report, which is included on page F-1.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2022 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Limitations on the Effectiveness of Controls

It should be noted that any system of controls, however well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, and not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the system will be met. In addition, the design of any control system is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events. Because of these and other inherent limitations of control systems, there is only the reasonable assurance that our controls will succeed in achieving their goals under all potential future conditions.

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None.

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Not applicable.

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PART III

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Except for information concerning executive officers (called for by Item 401(b) of Regulation S-K), which is included in Part I of this Annual Report and except as disclosed below with respect to our Code of Ethical Business Conduct, the information required under Item 10 is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 in connection with our 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

Code of Ethical Business Conduct

We have adopted a Code of Ethical Business Conduct that applies to all of our employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller and persons performing similar functions, and our directors. This document is posted on our website at www.nclhltdinvestor.com. We intend to disclose waivers from, and amendments to, our Code of Ethical Business Conduct that apply to our directors and executive officers, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officers or controller and persons performing similar functions, by posting such information on our website www.nclhltdinvestor.com to the extent required by applicable rules of the SEC and the NYSE. None of the websites referenced in this Annual Report or the information contained therein is incorporated herein by reference.

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The information required under Item 11 is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 in connection with our 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

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The information required under Item 12 is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 in connection with our 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

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The information required under Item 13 is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 in connection with our 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

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The information required under Item 14 is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 in connection with our 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

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PART IV

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(1) Financial Statements

Our Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data and are included beginning on page F-1 of this report.

(2) Financial Statement Schedules

Schedule II: Valuation and Qualifying Accounts for the three years ended December 31, 2022 are included on page 84.

(3) Exhibits

The exhibits listed below are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this annual report on Form 10-K.

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

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None.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this annual report on Form 10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Miami, Florida, on February 28, 2023.

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POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Frank J. Del Rio, Mark A. Kempa, Daniel S. Farkas and Faye L. Ashby, and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, each with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this annual report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said attorneys-in-fact and agents or their substitute or substitutes may lawfully so or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, this annual report on Form 10-K has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.

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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

Schedule II Valuation and Qualifying Accounts (in thousands)

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Index to Consolidated Financial Statements

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

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Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting

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We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the related consolidated statements of operations, of comprehensive loss, of changes in shareholders’ equity and of cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2022, including the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the index appearing under Item 15(2) (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). We also have audited the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022, based on criteria established in _Internal Control - Integr

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