Norwegian Bliss Reaches Construction Milestone

[Jason]

The construction of Norwegian Cruise Line's soon-to-debut Norwegian Bliss — one of the world's largest cruise ships — hit a milestone over the weekend.  

The 20-deck-high, 4,004-passenger vessel was floated out from the building dock at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany where it had been under construction for more than a year. 

Bliss will remain at the Meyer Werft shipyard for several weeks of final finishing work before it is moved down the Ems River towards the North Sea. It's scheduled to be delivered to Norwegian on April 19. 

Bliss's float out from the building dock at Meyer Werft marked the first time the public was able to see its signature hull art, designed by marine artist Wyland. Called Cruising with the Whales, the hull art features a giant image of a mother humpback whale and her calf. 

At 167,800 tons, Bliss will rank among the 10 largest cruise vessels in the world. Measuring 1,082 feet long and 136 feet wide, it'll be the third ship in Norwegian's Breakaway-Plus class. It follows Norwegian Escape, which debuted in 2015, and the recently unveiled, China-based Norwegian Joy.

Designed to have all the trappings of a major mega-resort, Bliss will feature such over-the-top amusements as a two-deck-high racing course where passengers compete against each other in electric go-carts — a first for a vessel based in North America. 

Like Joy and Escape, Bliss also will have a sprawling water park with multistory water slides; a restaurant-lined boardwalk; Tony Award-winning production shows, including Jersey Boys; and a giant spa. Dining options will include a modern Texas barbecue eatery called Q that will feature live pop country music — a new concept for the line. 

Bliss will spend its first summer sailing to Alaska out of Seattle. It's also scheduled to sail out of New York starting in late 2019. 

By Gene Sloan, USA Today
Re-posted on CruiseCrazies.com - Cruise News, Articles, Forums, Packing List, Ship Tracker, and more
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[WeCruiseToo]

Woohoo!  We’ll be cruising aboard Norwegian Bliss later this year!  Love that new ship smell! 

[Jan115]

I’ve come to like NCL over the last couple of years, but I’m not a fan of huge mega ships and especially not thrilled to see them in America’s last frontier. I wouldn’t want to be in Skagway or Ketchikan when Bliss or Ovation is in port.?