US$1 billion cruise ship with a racetrack aims to dethrone Carnival and Royal Caribbean
The Norwegian Bliss is the latest ship to join the Norwegian Cruise Line’s fleet.
It is not just carrying guests across the seas, it is also bringing along a racetrack – for electric go-karts.
The Bliss, which will sail to Alaska and the Caribbean from this month, is loaded with a wide range of features to keep guests busy while cruising to their next destination.
The Bliss cost about US$1 billion to build and is setting its sights on dethroning cruise line companies Carnival and Royal Caribbean.
“The cruise industry is growing like a weed and every ship is full to the hilt,” Frank Del Rio, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, says.
“Every cruise line company is reporting record profits.”
According to the Cruise Line International Association, more than 25 million people boarded cruise liners in 2017.
That number is expected to exceed 27 million in 2018.
To accommodate the influx of new and returning customers, cruise lines are building bigger ships, and building more of them.
There are more than 80 new ships in development, with 27 expected to start operating at sea this year.
Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian control close to 80 per cent of the cruise market space.
The booming industry accounts for staff salaries of close to US$41.1 billion.
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Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest luxury ship will sail to Alaska and Caribbean and target booming industry set to attract over 27 million travellers this year