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Thousands headed to Vancouver on largest cruise ship to ever visit city

The Norwegian Bliss is about the length of three football fields at 333 metres and is capable of carrying nearly 6,000 guests.

The Norwegian Bliss will dock at Canada Place on Sunday for the first time

The Canadian Press ·
The Norwegian Bliss, shown here in Panama earlier this year, can carry close to 6,000 people. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

The largest cruise ship ever to visit Vancouver will arrive this weekend.

The Norwegian Bliss is about the length of three football fields at 333 metres and is capable of carrying nearly 6,000 people.

The new ship will dock at Canada Place in Vancouver on Sunday for the first time and has several more scheduled stops in Vancouver for the 2019 cruise season.

The Norwegian Bliss ship makes its way through the locks of the Panama Canal in Agua Clara, Panama, Monday, May 14, 2018. Norwegian Bliss, one of the largest ships to ever navigate the Panama Canal, is the largest ship in Norwegian's fleet, with 20 decks and a capacity of about 6,000 passengers. (AP Photo/) ((Arnulfo Franco/The Associated Press))

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority says in a news release that the Bliss will pick up 4,000 passengers for the final leg of a cruise that began and ends in Seattle and includes stops in Victoria and Alaska.

In the summer, Victoria swarms with tourists who stop in the city that is on a cruise ship line that extends from Seattle to Alaska. (The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito)

Three other cruise ships will also visit Vancouver this weekend, and officials warn congestion is expected around Canada Place as thousands of passengers move through the port.

Norwegian Bliss stopped in New York shortly after its launch in April, 2018. (Charles Sykes/Invision for Norwegian Cruise Line/AP Images)

By the time Vancouver's 2018 cruise season ends in October, 27 vessels will have visited, many of them numerous times, and the port authority estimates that each ship generates nearly $3 million in direct economic activity per visit.

The largest race track at sea is one of the activities aboard Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Bliss. (Charles Sykes/Invision for Norwegian Cruise Line/AP Images)

Corrections

  • An earlier version of this story said the Norwegian Bliss was the largest cruise ship in the world. In fact, it is the largest cruise ship to ever visit Vancouver.
    Sep 27, 2018 3:00 PM PT
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