Seattle cruises

Thanks for the article, Allen.

They focus on the Serenity of the Seas because she will be the first cruise to depart, next Monday.

But the ship getting all the attention here, docked at the downtown pier right on the waterfront, near Pike Place Market, is this behemoth:

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/encore

Only 130' longer than Serenity, but with three more passenger decks she carries 3998 passengers instead of 2476. Amenities include a top deck water park, laser tag, and bumper cars. With all that entertainment going on, how much time will the passengers have for the stunning Alaska scenery?

I just hope this brand new ship was built with state-of-the-art energy efficiency and pollution control equipment.

With all that entertainment going on, how much time will the passengers have for the stunning Alaska scenery?

A bit off topic but I agree with you. When I see all that entertainment on a ship it seems kind of silly for it to even be stopping at ports or focusing on scenery, aka Alaska, Norway, etc. Those ships seem more suited for cruises with 4 or more days at sea without a port call or even sight of land. And leave the port calls, especially those fragile ports such as Venice, to the smaller ships.

Different strokes for different folks but I've never understood why passengers would be influenced by these types of bells and whistles on a ship. I understand the revenue generating point of view for the ship, but for me it begins and ends with the ports.