Norwegian Cruise Line this week announced that it will send a third ship to Alaska, which has been a bright spot for the industry, in the summer of 2013.

Norwegian Sun will join Norwegian Jewel and Norwegian Pearl for Alaskan cruises. It will be the first time the cruise operator has three ships in Alaska since 2009.

“Alaska, with its extraordinary beauty and wildlife, continues to be an extremely popular summer destination for cruisers and therefore there is a lot of demand for increased capacity and more varied and unique cruises,” said Norwegian CEO Kevin Sheehan in a statement. “With the strides made by the state government, we felt the time was right to add a third ship in Alaska, and give our guests the once in a lifetime opportunity to see more of this incredible destination.”

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell released a statement Tuesday welcoming the additional ship and drawing attention to legislation he sponsored to reduce the cruise passenger head tax.

The summer of 2013 will also see four ships in Europe, two ships sailing to Bermuda, one in Hawaii and one based in Miami for short Bahamas trips.