The brand new cruise ship Norwegian Bliss arrived on the Seattle waterfront this week to much civic fanfare. It carries 4,000 passengers, many of whom will drop a few bucks at the Pike Place Market and Space Needle.
Bliss will cruise to Alaska for the first time on June 2, the largest cruise ship ever to sail in the state. The entire community of Ketchikan would fit inside-- the locals must run for the hills when these behemoths cruise in for trinket shopping and shore excursions.
Just in time, the Space Needle has completed an extensive renovation featuring a new glass observation deck and a glass floor on the revolving restaurant. (Don't drop your fork!)
The construction wraps are finally coming off and for better or worse, the iconic exterior shape is forever changed. The price to ride the elevator is still $30, but that's expected to go up significantly for the summer tourists.
Finally, in other news, the 3.4 billion? (no one really know the final cost) tunnel through downtown Seattle is expected to open to traffic this fall. Tolls yet to be determined. As you remember, this turned out to be a daunting task when Bertha the drill broke down early in the process. A two-and-a-half year rescue mission raised Bertha to the surface, where she was repaired and eventually put back to work. Progress marches on.
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