The cruise ship Pride of Aloha, which in February appeared headed out of the NCL fleet and bound for Asia to become part of Star Cruises, will instead again become the Norwegian Sky and sail short Bahamas cruises out of Miami starting July 14.

The new NCL life for the nine-year-old cruise ship, which for most of the past four years has sailed Hawaiian island cruises as Pride of Aloha, will mark the return of NCL to the three and four-day Miami cruise market after a five-year absence.

In an effort to lure passengers to the Norwegian Sky on short notice, NCL is offering fares from $229 per person for an inside cabin and from $329 per person for a balcony,m as well as a ''kids sail free'' promotion for families sailings through Sept. 26.

Originally launched in 1999 as Norwegian Sky, the ship has more than 240 balcony staterooms, six different restaurants, 10 bars and lounges, and multiple entertainment venues. The ship was reflagged and renamed Pride of Aloha in 2004 to sail Hawaiian cruises.

To once again become the Norwegian Sky, the 2,002-passenger ship will again be reflagged and go into wet dock in Miami to have a casino restored to the ship. It will also be upgraded to accommodate NCL's Freestyle focus on flexibility in dining and other options.

NCL originally had intended to return Pride of Aloha to Hong Kong-based Star Cruises, which currently owns a 50-percent stake in NCL after recently selling a 50-percent interest to private-equity firm Apollo Management.

''Star was in the process of looking to sell the ship to third parties, so we stepped in and said if you're not going to use it in your fleet, we'll plan to use it for NCL,'' said NCL CEO Colin Veitch.

Veitch said Bahamian cruises are ''fuel efficient and fairly low cost,'' and said the Norwegian Sky should offer "guests seeking a quick getaway an unmatched cruise experience."