Norwegian Cruise Line shared a number of new details with Travel Agent and other media on the upcoming Norwegian Bliss at a reveal event for the ship’s godfather, radio personality Elvis Duran.
At the event Andy Stuart, president and COO of Norwegian Cruise Line, shared that the ship would sail with a number of new amenities, such as a top-level race track and laser tag course.
“It’s a ship of firsts and favorites,” Stuart said, noting that with the new ship’s design, the line attempting to balance amenities that guests expect with new features.
Similar to the racetrack that debuted on Norwegian’s Asia-focused ship, the Norwegian Joy, the electric go kart race track – at 1,000 feet long, billed as the largest of its kind at sea – winds across the top deck of the ship. The top deck also includes a futuristic-themed laser tag course, as well as an Aqua Park with new slides that have been designed to extend farther out over the ocean than on previous Norwegian ships, offering a view of the sea below through transparent sections.
Open space is another major theme of the new ship’s design, Stuart said, with the 10,000 square foot Observation Lounge designed to give sweeping views of the surrounding area, which Stuart says will be a good fit for its Alaska itineraries. The ship will also incorporate a quarter-mile wraparound oceanfront promenade.
In terms of entertainment, the ship will sail with a production of the Tony Award-winning Jersey Boys, as well as a new show that Stuart said is being designed in partnership with “some of Broadway’s top talent” associated with Hello, Dolly!, which won the 2017 Tony for Best Musical revival.
Dining will also seek to balance returning favorites with new ideas, Stuart said. The Bliss will sail with Norwegian Cruise Line staple Cagney’s Steakhouse, as well as a new barbeque restaurant, Q; a new chocolate-themed eatery, Coco’s; and a Starbucks, a nod to the ship’s Seattle homeport.
Duran, the host of iHeartMedia’s nationally syndicated “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show,” will help christen the ship May 30, 2018, at Pier 66 in Seattle. He has hosted his daily morning show on New York’s Z100 since 1996, and today the show is syndicated nationally on nearly 80 radio stations and available digitally on iHeartRadio, reaching more than 10 million monthly listeners.
After the christening ceremony the ship will sail weekly seven-day Alaska cruises before heading to PortMiami in November 2018 for a winter season of seven-day eastern Caribbean cruises, departing each Saturday.
Visit www.ncl.com
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