Stuart, who will step down from his current role on 31 December, said the delivery of NCL’s final Breakaway Plus-class ship, Norwegian Encore, this week “felt like the right time to step aside”.
He will leave the line on 31 March after working in an advisory role.
Speaking to media onboard Encore, Stuart said he planned to “take a break”, joking how he had never taken “more than two weeks off” during his three-decade tenure with NCL, quipping: “that was for my honeymoon".
“[NCL] is a 24-hour business and there’s always something going on so I’m going to take a break - enjoy time with my family, feel sand between my toes and then we’ll see what’s next.”
Stuart will be replaced by Harry Sommer, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings president, international, who took the time to praise his predecessor’s work for NCL.
Sommer said he believed Stuart’s two greatest achievements were the senior team he had built and the completion of the line’s Norwegian Edge ship refurbishment programme.
