We've never been to Alaska and the opportunity to do so on a brand new mega-ship fell into our laps when chance had us attending a conference in Seattle the week before our cruise. It was a "no-brainer" and we booked a full 11 months prior to sailing. We knew that a balcony was a must and choose a midship mini-suite cabin (13-196). Well located, quiet and plenty of room for a couple. Not sure I could say that if we'd have had a 3rd or 4th traveling with us.

The trip didn't disappoint, from the relatively smooth embarkation, the beautiful departure weather and the timely lunch, reservations and cabin availability. The ship is massive, but with our cabin location and the fact that we don't mind walking a few steps up and down, some of the elevator crowding is easily avoided. By the way, the aft elevators are often less crowded. The overall weather was good, little rain on excursion days, and generally gentle seas always helps! We never lacked for things to do, from shows to the casino, taking in the sights ashore or from the many vistas inside and out on the Bliss, the Thermal Suite in the Spa or simply lounging in our cabin or on our balcony.

One minor annoyance and this is just me, a detail oriented retired military aviator. The ships channel on the in-cabin TV was poor. From the constant repetition of irrelevant info (international clock times/world view) getting the same amount of screen time as the ships present position and planned course against only semi-detailed maps not to mention that tomorrow's weather was always N/A. Come on NCL, you can certainly do better. Sorry, but this is stuff I do for a living, call me, I'll help you improve your info flow gratis. Read more