Shevys

We were on the Bliss a few weeks ago and encountered exactly zero rudeness while on the ship, with the exception of one time a woman refused to let us share a seating area on the observation deck. I couldn’t believe how nice and attentive the staff was! For the hours they worked, they sure had a good attitude. I found our specialty dining experiences excellent, and Taste/Savor (never made it to the Manhattan room) and the Garden Cafe much better than expected. For us it was a great experience and highly recommended.

Cabin 11830 definitely had the bed near the balcony. I was very happy because the other configuration looks awkward.

Thanks everyone! Really appreciate it.

This is my first cruise and we set sail Saturday for Alaska. I have made some dining and entertainment reservations, but want to book go karts and adjust a few other things as well. I am not sure what time I'll actually get on board, seeing how this is my first cruise and have no status, guessing we'll be among the last to board? Is it faster to book/adjust at one of the screens or with someone on board, and if so, who/where? Any pro tips out there? I don't want to miss the opportunity to see or do something if I can avoid it. Thanks!

Thanks for the reply. If I ran NCL I would be sure to have someone monitor this Forum... Not looking to re-code their page, just try to get a problem fixed.

 

 

 

 

After several instances of this problem 2 weeks ago, I resorted to taking written notes of what reservations we wanted, then trying to speed through booking them all, only to have the offending message appear just as I was about to submit my payment info. Another 10 minutes of my life that I will not get back... I then had to book and submit 1 reservation at a time to appease the angry website timer gods... A truly frustrating experience. Never had to work so hard to try spending my hard earned money.

 

 

I am hoping to see if others are having similar problems, or if I am just the lucky one. Could be my browser, who knows.

 

But a "Cart" is somewhere you should store proposed purchases, not be enslaved to a timer that disrupts your work flow. And again, the timer is not the problem. There is a real need to keep people from tying up reservations in an inactive cart. If the message had a 'Keep-Alive' function allowing an extension of the timer while the user was actively working, that would be normal. Many websites that sell time sensitive bookings have handled this same issue in various satisfactory ways.

 

 

The fact that this timer message resets the user's page is the problem.

Nope, you're not the only one. I've experienced that on my iPad as well as my browser. It's quite annoying.

I also agree that NCL should have someone monitoring these forums, if they don't already. Fix this, NCL.

Agreed, super cool! Looking forward to more.

Why would you need a curtain? The person on the sofa still has to cross to get to/from the hall door and bathroom.

 

 

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Is every room the same configuration? Aren’t some reversed?

I can send a picture of you want to try the magnets and curtains.

 

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That would be nice, thank you. It’s unfortunate that I need to bring curtains on a cruise, but what can you do? My real gripe is the wrong information being provided. This is my first cruise and having a divider was one of the factors that tipped the scales a bit to NCL. Oh well, live and learn.

We sail on the 7th and this review has been really, really helpful. Thank you!

What they don’t have (despite being assured they did, multiple times by NCL during my booking, and one reason I booked a mini-suite) is a room divider of some sort. Suite of any sort seems misleading.

As it turns out, the helicopter tours seem to be unavailable, unfortunately. I had a feeling we were too late, so Tracy Arm Fjord it is!

We decided that we can take a boat most places, but can only dogsled on a glacier in Alaska. I have canceled the boat excursion and opted for the helicopter ride/dog sled tour. Thanks to everyone for helping me sort through this, your perspectives were very helpful!

Wow, you have all given me plenty of food for thought. I appreciate all the time that you have taken to help me make a decision, which I still haven’t made yet. Ha ha. I don’t think splitting up is an option for this cruise since it’s our first time, so hopefully we’ll be back...

You can probably go dog sledding in Skagway also.

 

Both tours get great reviews and people rave about both.

Thanks, don't think I saw that initially. If that's the case then we may need to decide between that and the White Pass Scenic Railway, which I read and hear is a do-not-miss type of excursion. Yikes.

Tough decision. Pretty sure that the dog sled excursion will leave before you get back to Juneau. I'm booked on the Tracy Arm excursion through HAL. It takes 6 hours. If the ship you were on did go up the fjord, it may not get very far in July due to ice.

 

Is she wanting the dog sled part, glacier or helicopter the most? Being a skier, standing on a glacier is not that exciting for me. Pretty yes. You could do a plane ride on Ketchikan. Maybe the dog sled in Skagway as mentioned. I don't know about going solo. More fun with a friend/partner. Good luck and have fun.

I think the dog sledding is the most intriguing part to her. It would be fun I'm sure, but for me, it's not something I feel that strongly about. The helicopter ride is another story though! I imagine the view from above is rather breathtaking. And yeah, I don't think we want to go all the way to Alaska to do separate excursions (but thanks for the suggestion anyway, DON). :rolleyes:

Check the times on both excursions. You may be able to do both. From what I understand the Fjord excursion boat leaves just before Bliss leaves port and the two link back up some hours later. I am told that the Fjord excursion is basically an up close experience of what the ship does. There are posts on CC about it.

Thanks, that's something I considered too, as it seems like it may be doable. Would be a long day but definitely something to consider.

One thing to consider is that many of the flight excursions get canceled due to weather. If you choose the flight / dog sled tour, have a back up plan in case it is canceled.

Definitely did not consider this. Any suggestions for back up plans in case of bad weather?

We did the Tracy Arm Fjord tour with Adventure Bound last May and loved it. The experience from a small boat is completely different than from a ship. We got very close to both North and South Sawyer glaciers and also saw bears, whales, sea lions, eagles and puffins.

 

 

 

Wow, great pictures! Thanks for sharing. Just out of curiosity, when you say "got very close to both" how close would you say that is?

Hi. We are going on our first cruise in July on the NCL Bliss, and have a Juneau port excursion dilemma. I have booked the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier excursion, which looks like it’s sold out now. Turns out my wife wants to take a helicopter ride to go dog sledding on a glacier. The tour says it flies over the Juneau Icefield and lands on a glacier to take the dog sled ride.

I’m pretty stoked for the Fjord excursion, but she feels like dog sledding is something you can only do in Alaska. Anyone do both, or have any suggestions either way on which to do? The helicopter/dog sled is about twice the price, but is it worth twice as much? That’s the question.

Thanks!

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Looks awesome! Can you tell us what time Jersey Boys started, and how much time before then would you recommend dinner reservations? Thank you.

Sorry! Didnt see the Freestyle. Hope you are feeling better.

Question for the masses: on a typical cruise, what time does the headline entertainment run, and how often per cruise? I’m on the Bliss in July and am a planner, particularly on vacation. The NCL website is less than helpful, which is slightly irritating. Never cruised before, so it’s all new to me.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Looks awesome! Can you tell us what time Jersey Boys started, and how much time before then would you recommend dinner reservations? Thank you.

Is Jersey Boys going to play at all? Doesn’t look like it has yet from what I can tell.

I'm following CoffeeGoddess' live review as well as this one. Someone mentioned a third one also? Can anybody tell me who that is?

There are some other folks who have a blog going with a live review from Bliss: https://britsonaship.com/

Really good stuff there, lots of pictures of food, ship, dailies, etc.

Thanks to everyone who has been posting from the ship, it's been very helpful to this newbie.

I'm so sorry if (when) I missed the post if you did them (yet) Did you take photos of the cabin crawl? I thought I was up to reading on this thread, I went back to see if I could see them but I could not find them. I'm wondering if you got to see any of the balconies on deck 8, specifically 8738 - I just thought I would ask.

 

Thank you so much for ALL that you are posting. I think I have gained 10 lbs just from your photos of the food....

Please, for the love of god, someone take a picture of 8738 so this person can stop repeating herself. Enough already.

Doug quick question since you are in a mini suite.... is there a privacy curtain that separates main sleeping area from sofa area for 3rd and 4th passengers??

Nope.

That’s unfortunate. I spoke to a rep just the other day who assured me there was. Not surprising, as it seems like nobody from NCL really has a clue about the ship.

Cool pics!

I'll have to double check on those. My room also doesn't have the little stool so I'll have to ask my steward about that. I use it for a little table by the bed

 

 

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Thanks a bunch! Hope you have a fantastic voyage.

Great photos, thanks for sharing! Could you let me know if there are any actual electrical outlets near the nightstand? Also, I’m curious about the shows on board. Do they have a schedule with start times? I’m going on my first cruise on the Bliss in July, and trying to make dinner reservations is a pain not knowing when they start. Thanks!

I think it’s good to offer new entertainment options on NCL’s newest ship. However, I think it is very short-sided to eliminate the signature Glow Party from the Bliss. I’m very disappointed.

My first cruise and first time on the Bliss in July, so I personally won’t miss the Glow Party. What makes it a signature party? Is the Glow Party on all the other NCL ships?