– from KOMO News

The biggest cruise ship ever to be homeported on the West Coast has docked in downtown Seattle.

The Norwegian Bliss – more than 20 stories high – will be christened Wednesday in the Emerald City, just days before it kicks off a season of cruises to Alaska.

The massive vessel is Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest and largest ship, with a capacity of about 4,000 passengers. The ship’s seven-day cruises to Alaska begin next month and will include port calls in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria, British Columbia.

The ship’s features include a race course for electric go-karts, laser tag, a waterslide with a tube that swooshes you along the side of the ship and an observation lounge for enjoying Alaskan scenery.

It’s also got a mojito bar, cigar lounge, brew house, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville At Sea and Q Smokehouse, a Texas barbecue restaurant.

Because it was built to run out of Seattle, there is also an on-board Starbucks – and a brewery and wine bar with local booze. Each time the mammoth ship pulls into Seattle, it will inject an estimated $3 million into the local economy, port officials say.

But the Norwegian Bliss isn’t the only mega-ship to make port calls in Seattle

Royal Caribbean is bringing an even bigger ship to town. The Ovation of the Seas is complete with a built-in crane for sightseeing , iFly skydiving and countless other features onboard.

If you would stand the Ovation up, it’s twice as tall as the Space Needle and carries nearly 5,000 people.

Read More: komonews.com/news/local/norwegian-cruise-lines-biggest-ship-arrives-in-seattle

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