Just got off the Bliss on Saturday.
The Good
Beatles Experience
Art Auction Team
ADA Assistance
Cabin and Steward
The Bad
Constant food repetition
Embarkation and Disembarking were nightmares, sort of.
Very Crowded due to cold weather and everyone inside
Short Port times in Ketchikan and Victoria
Specialty Dining was overbooked and super pricey compared to ...
I've sailed NCL many times, but this was my first time on the Bliss. It is a very large ship and can get crowded in certain places. We were able to work our way around this and never really felt the burden of the large ship and almost 100% capacity, but it takes some planning. The ship is lovely. The crew is great and the food is amazing. Alaska never fails to impress and delight. A couple ...
We are longtime NCL cruiser and are loyal to them. This was our first Alaska cruise and the first time on the Bliss (we have sailed Encore twice, once in the Haven and once in a balcony). For this cruise we sailed in a balcony cabin and being our first time on an Alaskan cruise, we wanted to not go crazy on upgrades and just experience the cruise as most people would.
We really enjoyed the ...
I love my Starbucks lattes and was excited my husband bought me the unlimited package for $109 for a week.
Problem is most times I went to get a drink there was a line that took an hour to get through.
I ended up having 6 drinks in 7 days. Not the end of the world, but it would have been better to simply pay when I wanted one and save a good $50.
The Starbucks drink package is ...
Ship: Beautiful and big ship, one of few NCL ship with huge observation lounge in the front (other than Haven Lounges), where light meal/snack and a bar was open most of the time. This is where the Glacier Bay NP rangers hosted presentation overlooking the Glaciers from 8-noon. ship layout with one central point with two elevator banks on forward and rear. As typical there is no indoor ...
Dining was a challenge. Apparently it is not possible to serve warm food either at the Garden Cafe buffet or in the Main dining room. We had to send back breakfast meals 4 times out of 6 times while dining in Savor because they got the order wrong.
Disembarkation at ports was a nightmare. It took 90 minutes to get off the ship at Skagway. Someone said they underestimated the amount of ...
We had last cruised NCL in Fall 2022 on back-to-back cruises on Prima and Breakaway. So when we felt like another cruise, kept it simple and cheap with this respositioning cruise. Our first time on this class of ship. In general, this is a good ship with many things to do and good specialty and general dining.
There are typical challenges with over-crowded elevators; limited seating in public ...
The Norwegian Bliss is seemingly a fun ship, especially with young children in mind. Lots of outdoor playing opportunities like the Speedway, Water slides etc. Plenty of eating venues, both specialty dining and casual dining. Foods are good and have good varieties. The casinos were well run. And the entertainment was good too! And we feel pretty safe to travel with NCL!
What bothers us the most ...
Why chose this cruise because the repositioning option was very reasonable and gave us a chance to see Victoria and Vancouver. The food on the cruise was amazing. We are in the complimentary restaurants only. The Manhattan Room had great food and a beautiful view. If you arrive before opening and get in line you can get a table along the big windows with a great view. The food in the buffet was ...
I chose this cruise for a couple reasons. One - I was on this ship right before Covid hit, I had a couple issues (I fell on the tender and no one from NCL helped me, the passengers did) and I remember overall it was okay and I was cruising with my mom and wanted to show her the larger ships. Two - the dates and times worked for us, so I booked it for the yearly mother- daughter vacation. Where do ...