Norwegian Cruise Line shares rose 9% on Tuesday after a report an activist investor has taken a stake and plans to shake up the struggling company.

Activist Elliott Investment Management has built a more than 10% stake in Norwegian Cruise Line and plans to push for changes to turn the struggling cruise-ship operator around, according to people familiar with the matter.

The details

Elliott, now one of Norwegian’s top investors, is planning to engage with the company to try to help fix its underperformance, the people said. 

Norwegian is the fourth-largest cruise operator in the world by number of passengers, with a market value of roughly $10 billion. Its brands include the more premium Oceania Cruises and the luxury Regent Seven Seas Cruises. 

Norwegian’s stock is down around 4% year to date as of Friday, after falling roughly 13% in 2025. 

The Miami-based company has lagged behind competitors including Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Norwegian shares are among the worst-performing in the S&P 500 over the past five years, with the stock remaining near Covid-era levels, despite consumer demand recovering since the pandemic.

Elliott believes Norwegian could make changes to catch up to its rivals, the people familiar with the matter said. 

For example, Norwegian’s peers have had success bringing in new customers to cruises through their private islands. Norwegian owns Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, one of the biggest private islands in the industry, but industry-watchers say its development plans have been slow-going. 

Elliott has been privately working with Adam Goldstein, the former president and chief operating officer of Royal Caribbean, as one potential board nominee at Norwegian, the people familiar with the matter said.

A deadline for shareholders to nominate director candidates ahead of Norwegian’s annual meeting closes next month. 

A spokesperson for Norwegian said in a statement: “Our board of directors and management team regularly engage with our shareholders to hear their views on our strategy and progress, and we appreciate their perspectives. Of note, this is the first we are hearing from Elliott Investment Management.”

The context

Elliott’s focus is on simultaneously improving Norwegian’s financial performance and the guest experience, the people familiar with the matter said. The investment firm believes Royal Caribbean has been successful at addressing both, and that Norwegian has achieved a successful turnaround in the past as well, the people added. 

Late last Thursday, Norwegian announced that its Chief Executive Officer Harry Sommer was stepping down, effective immediately. He was succeeded by John Chidsey, the former CEO of Subway Restaurants. (Chidsey served on Norwegian’s board from 2013 to 2022, and rejoined a year ago.)

Norwegian shares tumbled more than 7% Friday after the news. “What might confuse investors is Norwegian is being run by someone with zero ties to the cruise industry,” analysts at Stifel wrote in a note to clients. 

Norwegian said Chidsey has a record of “leading large global consumer-facing companies through strategic and operational transformation.” The company also has said it is focused on growing its fleet of ships and keeping spending in check.

Elliott has over $79 billion in assets under management, and has been behind many of the biggest and most high-profile activist campaigns. In 2024, the firm built a significant stake in Southwest Airlines and pushed for changes, with shares up around 90% since it first showed up. Last year, Elliott also won board seats after a fight at oil refiner Phillips 66.