New Cruise Ship Custom Built for Alaska

Norwegian Cruise Line has announced today that its next new vessel, named Norwegian Bliss, will be the first cruise ship custom built for Alaskan cruising. 

The third ship in the line’s Breakaway-Plus class, Norwegian Bliss is approximately 167,800 gross tons and accommodates 4,000 guests. It will be built at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, and is scheduled for delivery in Spring 2018. 

After a transatlantic cruise and a Panama Canal transit through the new locks, the ship will sail north along the West Coast, reaching Seattle for the start of the summer cruising season.  It will cruise from Seattle and will be the first Norwegian Cruise Line ship to make its debut there. 

Norwegian Bliss will sail weekly seven-day Alaska cruises each Saturday from Pier 66 in Seattle. The ship’s itinerary will feature calls in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Victoria, British Columbia, along with scenic glacier cruising.

Norwegian’s parent company, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, has entered into a 15-year agreement with the Port of Seattle to collectively invest $30 million to upgrade the Pier 66 facilities. This will include expanding the guest check-in space by 300 percent to more than 150,000 square feet, a new VIP lounge with expansive views of Elliott Bay and the addition of two new elevated passenger boarding bridges to provide easy and comfortable passenger boarding.

Continuing Norwegian’s tradition of decorating each ship’s hull with signature art, Norwegian has also announced that the world’s premier marine life artist, Wyland, has been commissioned to design the hull artwork for Norwegian Bliss. Wyland is known for his iconic whale murals, marine life paintings and sculptures. The enormous extent of Wyland’s public artworks, his award-winning art galleries and his non-profit foundation’s community service projects have made him one of the world’s most recognized and beloved artists. His design for Norwegian Bliss’ hull art will be revealed later this month.