One of the world's largest cruise ships will visit Vancouver this weekend

The Norwegian Bliss docked at Ogden Point in Victoria, BC. (Norwegian Cruise Line)

The Norwegian Bliss will be making its first and only visit this season at the Canada Place cruise ship terminal in downtown Vancouver this weekend.

This brand new vessel, part of the fleet of the Norwegian Cruise Line, spans a length of 1,094 ft and has a gross tonnage of 168,028 tons, 20 passenger decks, and a capacity for 4,000 passengers and 2,100 crew. It is the ninth largest cruise ship in the world and the largest ever to visit BC.

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However, the vessel’s arrival and departure in Vancouver is unlikely to draw many onlookers as it will arrive at Canada Place at 3:30 am on Sunday, September 30 and depart at 4 am on Monday, October 1.

In order to pass through the Lions Gate Bridge’s low 200-ft clearance, the Norwegian Bliss must wait at port for over 24 hours – an unusually long period – in order to be able to leave during the next low tide cycle.

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Since early-June, the Norwegian Bliss has been visiting Victoria every Friday as part of its weekly round-trip itineraries to Alaska starting from its homeport of Seattle. The vessel had its christening and maiden voyage on May 21, 2018.

The upcoming stop in Vancouver signals the end of the vessel’s Alaskan cruise season, as it will be sailing further south to start a new weekly itinerary between Los Angeles and Mexico throughout October, before travelling to the Caribbean waters for the winter months. It will return to the Pacific Northwest in May 2019 for the start of the Alaskan cruise season.

Built at a cost of USD $1 billion in Germany, some of Norwegian Bliss’ passenger amenities even rival Royal Caribbean’s renowned offerings.

It has a 1,000-ft-long, two-deck, Ferrari-themed electric go-kart race track on an outdoor deck, a large outdoor laser tag course, a massive water park with multi-storey, 360-ft-long, see-through slides that hover over the side the ship, and a new concept communal space – an oceanfront boardwalk lined with shops, restaurants, and bars.

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