Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line, the smallest of the three major North American cruise brands, has filed to become a public company – again.

The cruise line, far smaller than North America's two largest cruise companies, Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., has undergone major changes since Apollo purchased it in 2008.

It's time to christen a new seafaring IPO.

Norwegian Cruise Line is filing to go public this morning, hoping to raise as much as $250 million in joining rivals Carnival (NYSE: CCL ) and Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL ) as publicly traded cruise ship operators.

NCL isn't like its bigger peers. Royal Caribbean has its rock walls, appealing to active families. Carnival's namesake line is the value-priced mass-market behemoth. Disney's (NYSE: DIS ) three ships aim squarely at young families. NCL milks plenty out of its 11-ship fleet. Investors won't be snapping up Royal Caribbean and Carnival, speculating that industry valuations will rise after NCL's debut.