Viking Sky, a Viking Ocean Cruises' vessel, suffered engine failure in the stormy conditions off the coast of Hustadvika, west Norway.
Some 1,300 passengers are being airlifted to safety one by one in a huge rescue operation, police say.
It's expected to last several hours tonight.
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| Viking Sky drifts towards land off the coast of Norway |
By around 3.30pm GMT, it is believed 100 passengers were safely taken off the ship.
The maritime rescue service said the ship sent out a mayday signal, after it began started heading dangerously to rocky headlands.
Footage shared on Twitter shows huge waves crash onto rocks in the Norwegian Sea.
The large cruise ship can be seen come to a halt in the background as the winds batter the coastline.
Local media reports the wind speeds have reached around 38 knots (40 mph approx) today.
The ship belongs to Viking Ocean Cruises, part of the Viking Cruises group founded by Norwegian billionaire Torstein Hagen.
Facilities to receive passengers are quickly being prepared on land, the rescue service added.
Since the initial difficulty, the ships has restored one engine and is no longer adrift.
But a source said: "If we need to evacuate everyone, it will take a long time."
The Viking Sky was built in 2017.
Viking Ocean Cruises, which has headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, has been contacted for comment.
It follows the dramatic moment two cruise ships collided outside a busy port .
The MSC Orchestra, a 92,000-tonne ship, smashed into MSC Poesia as it tried to leave Buenos Aires, Argentina.
One onlooker can be heard shouting "No, no, no" in shocking footage which captured the prang in February.
Somehow no one suffered serious injuries.
