Norwegian Bliss Delivered in Germany
Norwegian Cruise Line has taken delivery of the 168,028-gross-ton cruise ship Norwegian Bliss from shipbuilder Meyer Werft during a ceremony in Bremerhaven, Germany, marking the conclusion of an 18-month building period.
Norwegian Bliss is the third vessel in the line’s Breakaway Plus class and the first cruise ship specifically designed for Alaska cruising.
The ship features a two-level competitive electric-car racetrack that sits at the top of deck 19; it is the largest at sea and a first for any North America-based cruise ship. Other notable features include an open-air laser tag course and an aqua park with two multi-story waterslides, one of which extends over the edge of the ship and loops down to the deck below.
Before cruising to Southampton, England to begin her transatlantic journey on April 21, Norwegian Bliss will embark on a two-day European inaugural preview cruise hosted by Norwegian Cruise president and chief executive officer Andy Stuart and executive vice president of international business development Harry Sommer.
Upon her arrival to the U.S. on May 3, further two-night preview events will be held in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles, followed by a christening ceremony and sailing from her first homeport at Pier 66 in Seattle on May 30. Then, after a three-day inaugural voyage with a call into the port of Victoria, B.C., the cruise ship will return on June 2 and embark on her first seven-day voyage to Alaska.
Beginning June 2018, Norwegian Bliss will spend her summer cruising seven-day voyages to Alaska, and fall season cruising to the Mexican Riviera from Los Angeles. In winter of 2018, she will sail the Caribbean from Miami, and in the 2019 fall/winter season she will cruise from New York City to Florida, the Bahamas and Caribbean.