Leaving Seattle on board the Norwegian "Pearl"

The caption says it all.  This ship has 15 decks.  Earlier this year Norwegian launched the "Bliss", which is over 20 decks and can carry over 4,000 passengers, with plans to build 4 more similar sized ships.  The Bliss is already touring Alaska and is the largest cruise ship to visit there.  The Pearl was large enough.  When 4 or 5 large cruise ships dock at an Alaskan port in one day, the tourist population dwarfs the local population - and these towns become purely tourist traps.  Still, we had a great time both on and off the ship.