Norwegian Bliss going big with go-cart track, other features

Norwegian Bliss Go-Cart track

The thrill of electric go-cart racing at sea is coming to North America next year on the Norwegian Bliss, which will take the concept that debuted on the Norwegian Joy in Shanghai to another level.

The widely anticipated adoption of the amusement-park staple on a ship sailing in the U.S. should give the Bliss something to brag about when it sails from the Port of Seattle on its first Alaska voyage next June.

Andy Stuart, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, said the Bliss' track will be 40% larger than its predecessor.

"We think it's going to be even a little better than what we've delivered so far on Joy," Stuart said.

At nearly 1,000 feet, the track will be the longest at sea and will occupy the space that is claimed by a ropes course and the Plank on the Norwegian Escape, the most recent delivery to the North American market.

The cars can be geared to advanced, intermediate or beginning-level drivers. Stuart said that because the cars are electric, they are also noiseless, but that a pair of speakers with racing sounds inside the headrest provides audio for the driver.

An outdoor laser tag course will be themed as an abandoned space station.

The new ship will also have an outdoor laser tag course, first offered on the Joy as well, that will be themed as an abandoned space station, and a free-fall slide with a translucent loop that extends 11 feet over the side of the ship.

Norwegian executives revealed many of the public areas of the Bliss at a news conference at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, where Virtuoso is holding its annual Travel Week conference.

Virtuoso members heard firsthand not only about the track, but about the dining and beverage options that will be installed on the Bliss, several of them for the first time on any Norwegian ship.

The Bliss will get Norwegian's first try at a Texas smokehouse-style venue, to be called Q, which will serve brisket, ribs, chicken, sausage and more, freshly smoked over hickory, oak and pecan woods.

Texas smokehouse-style venue

Q won't be decked out with stereotypical country-and-western decor, but rather will sport an edgier, urban design along the lines of the District Brewhouse on the Escape. Q will offer sides such as fresh-cheddar and breadcrumb-crusted mac and cheese and baked sweet potatoes smothered in pecan honey butter and cinnamon.

The restaurant will take the large space occupied by the Supper Club on the Norwegian Escape. Pricing will be a la carte.

Another new flavor on the Bliss will be chocolate, the theme of a Deck 6 a la carte sweets emporium that will feature an entry with an enclosed oversized chocolate fountain gushing with liquid chocolate.

A water thrill ride loops over the side of the ship.

Called Coco's, it will sell handmade pralines, truffles, crepes and other desserts paired with select teas and coffees.

Also in the coffee category, the Norwegian Bliss will also have the brand's first full-service Starbucks as it sails weekly from Seattle during the summer.

The upscale Mexican concept that was installed in drydock on the Norwegian Dawn last summer as Los Lobos Cantina will be featured on the Bliss, the first Breakaway-class ship to have one. It will be located on Deck 8 next to Cagney's, and feature indoor/outdoor seating.

In a tip to the changing of the guard in Norwegian's corporate suites, the 24-hour casual pub named for former Norwegian CEO Kevin Sheehan, who departed in 2015, will be called the Local on the Bliss, instead of O'Sheehan's.

At the same time, the circular Prime Meridian bar that sits on Deck 8 between two complimentary dining rooms will be restyled as the A-List Bar in tribute to Stuart, who has worked for the company since 1988.

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The Aqua Park will feature a splash area and water slides.