Norwegian Bliss, the third of Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway Plus class, emerged from the Meyer Werft building dock in Papenburg, Germany, earlier, representing a major milestone in the vessel’s construction.
The ship will remain in the shipyard port for the final phase of construction, until its conveyance down the River Ems towards the North Sea, scheduled for mid-March.
During this time, the first crewmembers will move into their staterooms on board, begin their training, and familiarise themselves with the ship – readying her for the first guests to arrive after delivery in 60 days, on April 19th.
The construction of the ship began in October 2016 with the traditional steel cutting ceremony launching the 12th Norwegian Cruise Line ship to be built at the Meyer Werft shipyard.
It is the third ship in the Breakaway Plus class, measuring 1,082 feet in length by 136 feet wide, with gross tonnage of 167,800 and accommodating approximately 4,000 guests.
“Our partners at Meyer Werft have done an excellent job realizing our vision for a ship designed to experience Alaska and the Caribbean like never before,” said Andy Stuart, Norwegian Cruise Line president and chief executive officer.
“We are counting down the days until her official debut in Seattle this summer, where guests will be able to race around the world’s largest two-level race track at sea against the backdrop of Alaska’s wild frontier and enjoy other first-at-sea experiences.”
Following preview events in New York City, Miami and Los Angeles, Norwegian Bliss will sail into Seattle for her official christening on May 30th, with summer cruises to Alaska beginning June 2nd.
Andreotti
Norwegian Cruise Line has also announced the appointment of Silvia Andreotti as marketing manager UK & Ireland.
Silvia joins the growing UK & Ireland team based in Southampton, reporting to marketing director, Karen Sequeira, who took on the role last November.
The appointment of Andreotti further strengthens the UK & Ireland marketing team, which after the company’s European restructure, has seen Nick Wilkinson take the lead as vice president and managing director UK & Ireland, the Middle East and Africa.
With over 15 years of experience in the travel and leisure industry, Andreotti joins NCL from AmaWaterways where she spent the past year as head of marketing managing activities for the UK across both trade and consumer channels.
Prior to that she spent three years working for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings as marketing manager in Brazil, looking after marketing activities across the Norwegian, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas brands.
Image courtesy Meyer Werf