Perfection!!!

We had a wonderful cruise on the Bliss. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about our experience. I had read numerous negative comments about the Bliss prior to our trip that had us a little concerned. We found none of the negative comments to be true in our case. In my opinion, the ship is like a 5-star Las Vegas resort (i.e. Wynn/Encore, Venetian/Palazzo). We had perfect weather...it didn't rain at all other than a few sprinkles as we cruised the Inside Passage one evening.

We arrived at the port at noon and were able to board the ship immediately. By 1:00 pm, we had checked in, booked our dinner reservations, go kart, and show reservations. By 1:30 pm, we were in our room. We received our lugguage by 4:00 pm. Outstanding! Everything about the process was a breeze.

We stayed in a mini-suite w/balcony. There were two of us so there was just enough room. The bed was firm and very comfortable. The a/c worked great (I'm always HOT!) I wouldn't recommend a mini-suite for more than two people. There was plenty of storage in the cabinets and closet. The bathroom is huge by cruise ship standards. We had a double sink, fabulous shower, and plenty of storage. We loved the balcony. I can't imagine cruising the Inside Passage without a balcony. It is a MUST!!!

We purchased the WIFI package. We had excellent coverage throughout the 7 days. We lost the connection briefly on one day for about an hour.

We dined mainly at Taste, The Manhattan Room, Savor, Margaritaville, Teppanyaki. We ate at the buffet twice. The food was good but the buffet was too crowded and there were too many people that had not the slightest idea what a manner is (i.e. people coughing and sneezing without covering their mouth/nose then handling the serving spoons, people eating off their plate while in line, etc.). Overall, I would rate the food on the Bliss with 4-4.5 stars and service 5 stars. We appreciated all the hand-sanitizing stations all over the ship!!!

We ordered coffee via room service each morning at 6:30 am. (We didn't use the in-room coffee maker) It was always on time.

Our favorite places on the ship: District Brew House has great atmosphere and views (and beer), Spice H20, the Observation Lounge, any lounge chair on any deck. The Observation Lounge is fabulous!!!

We reserved our shore excursions prior to the cruise. We booked all excursions through NCL. We loved every single minute of our shore trips. There are so many activities on the ship each day. We could have filled up the day with fun activities if we had not chosen to book the shore excursions. There is always something going on for all ages.

We had reservations for Havana the second night but canceled after talking to several people who had seen it the previous night and said they didn't enjoy it. Besides, we stayed up until 2 am and really weren't up to a show that evening. We saw Jersey Boys and 'The Beatles' at the Cavern Club. I've seen Jersey Boys in NYC and twice in Las Vegas. The production and cast on the ship was excellent. We had a blast at the Cavern Club. The Beatle group are fabulous! We also went to see Prohibition The Musical. It was good...not as good as Jersey Boys and The Beatles but still worth your time.

We liked the casino and we actually had some great luck there. There is an enclosed smoking casino for those who smoke. We don't smoke and couldn't smell any smoke coming from the smoking area.

The crew was fantastic! Every single crew member we encountered was friendly, helpful and professional.

We used Port Valet. We left our bags outside our cabin at 9 pm and they picked them up and checked them at the airport in Seattle the following day. We disembarked at 7:30 am...the entire process took about 20 minutes. We were very pleased with the Port Valet service because it made sightseeing in Seattle very easy. We got to visit the space needle, the downtown market and the Chihuly museum before our 2 pm flight.

We loved the Bliss and Alaska so much that we booked the same trip next year. We had a perfect trip!