alisonslp

We were on the Bliss (breakaway class) for an Alaska cruise this past May and enjoyed it. We were not able to experience everything the ship had due to the colder climate (and frankly, I don't think NCL made the right call putting this ship in Alaska) but I would certainly sail that class again in a warmer climate. Food is comparable to RCCI (we haven't been on Celebrity yet, so I can't compare). We did 4 specialty dining, once MDR and then the buffet. Not impressed with the Specialty. Save your money, or do just one (we preferred Italian). Our best meal was in the MDR and we wished we had opted to just eat there most nights.  Entertainment was a nice change, though I wish they had more comedy nights. The room size was similar to RCCI, slightly bigger bath. Staff was quiet but attentive. We plan to cruise with them again in the next year. Probably Hawaii and maybe a shorter caribbean cruise.

Oh - and while it is true that they tend to "nickel and dime" you, we didn't see this as a problem. we knew going into NCL that they are more of an al a-carte cruise line. We got a really good deal on the cruise, booking just 50 days out, so we were completely fine paying for extras that we wanted.

We booked an inside cabin  through a casino reward voucher. Being our first time, we thought we would be able to upgrade by just paying the difference in the 2 categories but unfortunately, that's not how it works. Will we receive a move up offer or are the casino booked cabins excluded from these? We are OK with staying in the inside room but would like to know if it's a possibility.

I would get confirmation on this because I believe the luggage is held until you sign out of the ship. That is one of the reasons why you have to have a flight past 11a in order to participate in the program. Otherwise, it really wouldn't matter and they would have you sign up for whatever time you wanted to depart off the ship

2 hours ago, bones774 said:

Some years ago, wasn't one of the lines offering drinks as your came aboard and everyone would think they were complimentary and after you took the drink they would ask for your card?

BTDT - just once and we learned our lesson. It was fresh squeezed orange in the buffet either on Carnival or RCCL (mom brain - they all run together). It was our second time cruising and we never ran something like this on our first, which was Disney, so how were we to know? Thankfully it was only 2 of us who went for them, not the whole family.

Thanks everyone. I will keep an eye out for deals. May/early june work best for our situation and thankfully that is usually two of the cheapest months to sail. I also just realized that I have it in my head that I have to pay for the whole cruise up front - this comes from booking our previous ones so late but in reality, I could book a year out and do payments, which I am not used to. Still, I think I will continue to look for last minute deals, especially on the extended weekend cruises in our area, which will cut the cost

for sure! We were fine in our cabin but it made me second guess not getting a mini suite for just a couple hundred more. At the time, looking at square footage, I didn't think it was worth it but those few feet would have made a difference between the beds. And bigger bath (on the Bliss).

The rooms are definitely smaller, but so is the couch. On the bliss, it is almost double that size. I think my estimations would still be correct - can be done but literally a leg width between the bed, like we had. Now, you can access the first bed from the sofa side and the second bed from the balcony side, which has slightly more space due to the way the opening is. I wish I would have taken a pic once the beds were split.

Basically, if you look in the pic, they will move the bed closest to the couch against it and move the narrow nightstand between the beds.

We lucked out on our first NCL cruise to Alaska (Bliss) earlier this month. Booked a gty balcony 50 days out for just under $2000 for 3 people, with free 3rd person and free dining. Totaled $4000 with excursions, flights, etc.  But I guess I had that 2k figure in my head because when offered the chance to buy the cruise next deposits, I jumped at it!  We didn't need much on-board credit so I opted to double my CN credit - getting four $250 deposits for $500. Great!Of course, I hadn't yet processed that I needed to use them on 6+ night cruises booked 6+months in advance. I got home, settled in after the cruise and am now looking for the next cruise - bam.... They are expensive!!!  I was looking to sail on POA around Hawaii with the whole family (5) but that will be $10k just for the cruise itself. Another $5+ for tours, flights, on-board stuff, etc. I looked at the Caribbean cruises, though we have done several of these on other lines. They are more affordable especially since we can drive to port, but the 7 day ones (needed for the CN deposits) are still going to be high. We have 3 in college courses so we are limited in time of the year - basically May/June works best.

I guess my questions are 

1. Did I just luck out with this year's Alaska cruise being the first of the season and so cheap, booked so close to sail?

2. What is my best timing for booking a May/June cruise to Caribbean and/or Hawaii?

3. Does NCL run these deals frequently where you can use the CN deposits on cruises less than 6 days and/or when booking less than 6 months in advance, like they recently did?

We tend not to plan way in advance. So our previous cruises (except Disney 10 yrs ago) have been planned within 3mths of sail. Maybe we have just always been lucky with pricing...

We had the unlimited plan on the bliss for May 5 cruise and found it variable. It was totally down the whole day in glacier bay and the next day traveling to Ketchikan, but other times it ran fine. Son used it for some kind of video chat, though I don't know which app he used. We did not use it for streaming video so I don't know how good that would be. Email and checking simple websites was fine. If you are taking the round trip from Seattle, you are in port at least part of the day for 5 of the 7 days. We had t-mobile as were able to roam for free without a problem, getting LTE in Juneau Skagway Victoria while 4g in Ketchikan. I don't know about the one way cruises though.

There is also flavored water in the buffet and observation lounge throughout the day that is free and tastes like diluted 50/50 juice.

There are usually around 10 teams of 10 people doing the same game so you are not just playing against the clock but also against other teams, trying to finish first. We played it and thought it was a fun hour's worth. We have played several escape rooms and frankly, I found us to be at a disadvantage compared to others who have never played. Our thinking was different than what we needed for this type of game... Still had a lot of fun and met some cool people.

5 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

For the BA/BA Plus ships, if a standard balcony or mini-suite sleeps 4, the configuration will be as the photo above shows. If it sleeps 3, it can be either as above (but no pull-man) or bed near the closet 

Is there confirmation on this? We were trying to figure out the same information for the Bliss before our cruise. We had a 4 person cabin and it was configured like your photo but I had also heard that the room configurations alternate, one being bed near the closet, the next with the bed by the balcony. If you look at the deck plan, that does not always follow with the 3/4 person indicators.

Is the scooter a narrow one? Are you renting it from the ship? As you can see in the pics, the doors are very narrow. However, the doors do open toward the outside so that's a plus because you could store a narrow scooter int he entryway opposite the bathroom. That's where we stored our 3 huge bags the first night, with plenty of space to walk by. 

Just back from the Bliss but the room sizes are generally similar on the ships - The space between the two beds will be just enough to walk sideways between. If the beds are set up near the closet, it will be tough getting into the closet but it is doable.

I just came back from the Bliss in a balcony and no towel animals unless we asked, which we did for my daughter, though we tipped well on first and last day for his efforts and had the "do not disturb" sign on through most of the trip, having him come in roughly every other day. As for the coffee maker and ice bucket - Heck, I would have been glad to get rid of them so we had more counter space. Never used either of them. Hmmm next time, I think I will request that they be stored away...

6 hours ago, finest14 said:

I live in Hawaii and you can get to many beautiful places with very little effort, and beautiful out-of-the-way places with lots of effort.  If you give me some examples of what your looking at I'd be happy to give you my opinion.  I'm "healthy" and up for anything.  My wife has two really, really bad knees and our son has a disability and has a tough time on uneven terrain.  So, I've done everything from wild to mild.  We've also done the POA cruise and had a great time.

Thanks! I am at the beginning stages of looking. I know I would like so see a variety of waterfalls, volcanoes, get to the high points for view down below but I don't know specifically what or where. I just had a little time to quickly look through the ncl excursions and it does seem that there are quite a few level 1s for what I am looking for so I am thinking that much of the tours are through van.

4 minutes ago, cruisencrazy said:

Hawaii is wild..  Most paths to anything beautiful are dirt, steep, muddy....  The road to Hana could mostly be seen from a car (Maui).  Nearly all waterfalls are remote and require a hike.  I personally think Kaui is most beautiful from the water.  Hawaii is stunning.  NCL rates their tours according to physical ability.  Hawaii is stunning.  We have done the cruise and gone to the islands on our own.  Maybe get a spa pass to soak whatever hurts after you see the beauty?

The spa pass is a really good idea. We thought about that for Alaska and decided last minute not to get them thinking we wouldn't have as much time to use it but it really would have helped.  And thanks for the input. I was thinking this would be the case but hoping not.  Decisions, decisions... 

Hi all. After reading a wonderful review here from last year, we are now looking into a POA Hawaii cruise. I tried messaging the poster but CC wouldn't let me? For those who have been on POA excursions - how difficult are they physically? Not really cardio wise but more knee/ankle wise. I am thinking of the tours involving waterfalls, volcanoes, Diamond head, etc. How sure footed do you need to be? Are they "twisted ankle" potential or just mildly rough terrain?  Were there older folks on the tour who managed fine or had trouble? I know this is a strange question but it's info I need before deciding if this cruise would be worth it for us to take the cruise because if I am going to take on the cost, I want to get the most out of the trip. I have rheumatoid arthritis. I am generally fine on flat land and mild terrain but a lot of hiking on inclines or severe uneven ground can cause my joints to flair and obviously terrain that has high fall potential would not be good.  I know the excursions have different warnings but I find they don't give a good idea of what exactly makes a tour "strenuous". I am fine cardio wise. It's the terrain that's an issue. And going along with that, did you find having hiking boots/sneakers would have helped or were not needed?

Any input is appreciated.

I wouldn't alert the airline unless it is transferable to a different flight (likely for a cost). Presumably, he is seated next to you? You may get lucky and have that seat stay empty but if you alert ahead of time, they will certainly sell it.

4 hours ago, misguy said:

Does anyone know if you can upgrade the number of days for the dining package on board?

If you mean the package you get from the "free at sea" perk, no. If you bought a package yourself, then yes, you can upgrade to a higher number. We did this for my daughter, going from 3 to 4.

9 hours ago, Birdie And Sue said:

 

I sincerely hope you only request an ADA cabin if you actually need one.  Booking such a cabin when not an ADA passenger is despicable.

Really?! The OP specifically wrote that they didn't know it was an ADA cabin until they got there. You even quoted it. How could you have missed that bit of info?

Ship - Bliss

Deck - 13

Stateroom # - 13878

Stateroom Category – midship balcony

Starboard or Port Side - starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – very quiet

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - no

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – no obstructions

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - normal

Was wind a problem? - no

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - not aft but toward the back. We saw smoke from the stacks float over us and smelled smoke on occasion when on the balcony, but nothing disturbing

Any specific problems with this cabin? - noisy lock on the door

Any other comments? - bed by the balcony door

6 hours ago, Iworktocruiseandtravel said:

Did you ask whomever is on your RollCall if anyone can help?  I believe on my last trip someone asked a similar question on our roll call, and a doctor, a nurse, and a paramedic all volunteered... some even had their own supplies... you may need to bring your own alcohol wipes and tweezers and cutters, but I'd rather (personally) have someone who does this routinely take them out than myself (or my husband). 

I like this idea. And the roll call has quite a few folks for this cruise.

Also, I just looked - Juneau has an urgent care center right in town. I didn't check Skagway but I am sure they do too. It is Alaska (in the US) so your insurance company should accept the billing for this (emergency care). I would get a note from the office who did the stitches as to when they should come out so the urgent care knows the timing is ok. Also, this way you will have the ability to get antibiotic cream or oral if needed.

5 minutes ago, JasonShen said:

May I ask how do people know how many cabins for a specific category/ship/cruise line/date are available? Thanks.

do a mock booking and it will show you the availability of cabins. They only list up to 15 at a time, though, so if there are 15 showing as available, you won't know exactly how many. In reality, even if it is showing just 10, there may be more in the inventory that they have not made available (or are being held by TAs)