BLISS Alaska Maiden Voyage Travelogue

[Motegi]

This morning we walked to Pike Place Market (10 minute walk from the ArtHouse apartment) and picked up some coffee at the original Starbucks. The line was suprisingly short at 8:30AM and our Barista/Coffee Master was very cheerful and friendly. We found out that we both grew up in Iowa! Go Hawks! Of course we had to grab a few souvenirs there for our caffeine addict friends and family back home.

 

[Motegi]

From there we headed off to the Sheraton to meet our tour guide, Cory, for a winery tour and visit to Snoqualmie falls. The Sheraton is just another 10 minute walk from the Pike Place Market and very close to the original Nordstrom’s department store. We must’ve passed 2 or 3 more Starbucks on our walk. It seems like there is one on every block!

 

[Motegi]

The bus made a few stops in town to pick up the rest of the tourists before we made our way northward out of Seattle. We proceeded through Bellevue and Kirkland (the namesake of Costco’s store products) on our way to the first stop at Goose Ridge Estate Winery. They operate the largest vineyard in the state and apparently supply some of their grapes to other regional wineries. We enjoyed a sampling of a selection of their Goose Ridge wines.

 

 

Sounds good to me:

 

Edited June 2, 2018 by Motegi

[Motegi]

From there we headed to one of the oldest and largest wineries in the state, Chateau Ste Michele. Pam and I signed up for the free tour of the winery and had another wine sampling. The buildings and grounds around the winery were gorgeous and we could easily have spent half the day there.

 

 

Edited June 2, 2018 by Motegi

[Motegi]

 

Now THATS a bottle!

 

Edited June 2, 2018 by Motegi

[Motegi]

Back on the road we spotted an extremely rare herd of wild marshmallows.

 

 

This herd seems to be lining up for a migration:

 

 

And in a town called Carnation we were honored to behold a monument to one of their famous bovine citizens:

 

 

Further along the way our guide spotted one of the first cherry stands for the season so we decided to make a pit stop and grab a few baskets for the road.

 

Edited June 2, 2018 by Motegi

[Motegi]

The next stop on the tour was the Snoqualmie Falls with the picturesque 270 foot waterfall and historic Salish Lodge perched at the edge. As a National Historic Registered site we could see why it is one of the most famous attractions for visitors to Seattle. The weather was ideal yet the crowds were minimal during our short visit and I was able to take a few photos with my variable neutral density filter.

 

Edited June 2, 2018 by Motegi

[Motegi]

The final stop on the tour was the Boehm’s Chocolate Factory. According to the tour guide, the Edelweiss Chalet was the first Swiss Chalet built in the state. We all donned some snazzy paper caps for a tour of the factory and a sampling of their sweet confections.

To be honest after all the wine and chocolate the tour bus ride home turned into a much needed nap for me. Before I knew it we were back in Seattle.

[Motegi]

So that pretty much wraps up our last full day in Seattle. We are both so excited to finally be able to board the Bliss tomorrow after all of our anticipation and planning. We look forward to meeting many of you onboard!

 

[Mellylucy]

Very interested tour info and pictures.

Thanks for posting.

Have a wonderful cruise!

[bren9311]

Following

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[senior lady]

Great threat!! What tour company did you use in Seattle? Looks like a great one.

Also what was the cost?

[jgonderman]

Thank you for the travelogue. Enjoyed every bit of it. We are sailing 7/7 and can't wait.

[Blissful Cruiser]

Following - Me and family will be on this ship exactly 1 year from today - Will you please post the dailey's for each day to give us all an idea? Sounds like the itinerary is a bit different 1 year from now. Ours will be cruising Glacier Bay (unless they change it on us). I enjoyed your trip in Seattle - we are flying in 3 nights prior to the cruise to site see! I'm so excited for you! Have a great trip!!!

[Motegi]

Following - Me and family will be on this ship exactly 1 year from today - Will you please post the dailey's for each day to give us all an idea? Sounds like the itinerary is a bit different 1 year from now. Ours will be cruising Glacier Bay (unless they change it on us). I enjoyed your trip in Seattle - we are flying in 3 nights prior to the cruise to site see! I'm so excited for you! Have a great trip!!!

 

I’ve started a separate thread for the Freestyle Dailies for you!!

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=56213213&posted=1#post56213213

[suitequeen]

following

[Motegi]

Finally it is boarding day!!!

In the morning we woke up early and walked to the post office to send off some of the gifts we had bought in Seattle. Pam figured there was no need to lug them all out to Alaska when we could just send them back home in a USPS Flat Rate box!

Next at around 10:30 we walked our luggage from the ArtHouse apartment to the Bliss at Pier 66. It was literally a 5 minute walk with an elevator bringing us down to dockside.

They had large BLISS lettering outside and a banner celebrating the Inaugural Alaskan cruise!

Check in was the smoothest we’ve ever experienced in all of our cruises this far. From walking up to the entrance to getting onboard took all of 10 minutes! The security guys were super friendly and we had a nice chat about our mutual addiction to wristwatches. We even recommended that he looks into the Invicta Cruise scheduled for Feb 2019! I think he is going to go!

The Cabins were not ready yet so we went to the Social on deck 6 to make specialty dinner reservation adjustments.

Then we made our way up to deck 7 and the box office to make reservations for the shows and the activities (go kart, laser tag).

 

One thing to note is that they no longer punch the keycards because they say that there is an embedded chip that will be damaged. So I guess cardholder lanyards would be the way to go.

[Motegi]

Next we made our way up to the Garden Cafe buffet on deck 16 for some lunch. WOW! What a selection. And they were serving prime rib for lunch. Although our favorite was the baked salmon. The Asian made to order noodle And they had a special celebratory vanilla cake with blueberry that was delicious!

 

The buffet:

 

[Motegi]

———-

 

[skynyrd]

Following. Great start!

[david_sobe]

Excited for everyone. Its going to be a great cruise. Happy to follow along!

[Motegi]

Great threat!! What tour company did you use in Seattle? Looks like a great one.

Also what was the cost?

 

Pam got it through her credit card rewards benefit so it was “free”. But you can book it through toursofseattle.com. The tour is called the “Snoqualmie Falls and Winery Tour”. The cost is just under $100 per person. Ask for Cory. The wine tastings and lunch is extra. There are a variety of tasting options available. At the Chateau there is a free tasting included with the tour.

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

 

Motegi ~ enjoying your travelogue so far & look forward to seeing the ports through your eyes.

I'll be on the PC cruise in Nov. so am excited to see pictures around the ship too.

Have a great cruise & thanks for taking us along.

 

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[Motegi]

The Cabin - Deck 13 Midship Balcony

Hallway View

Each cabin door along this section is recessed in pairs from the hall. Each door opens outward into the hall. The room number plaque incorporates a signal system activated by switches inside the room that notify your steward if you want the room cleaned or don’t wish to be disturbed.

The room electrical system requires the insertion of your cruise card into a slot immediately inside the cabin. We were not sure if “any” card would work or whether only the cruise card would activate the system. I am happy to report that we also used a regular business card in the slot and it worked.

There is a small thermostat also on the wall beside the bathroom door.

The view of the cabin from the foot of the bed:

 

[Motegi]

The Bathroom

The bathroom includes a glass enclosed shower with shampoo and body wash dispensers as well as some trays for holding other personal products.

There is a single sink with a cabinet underneath for storage as well as shelving under the counter for additional items. NCL includes a bar of soap as well as a small lemongrass body lotion.

There is a liquid hand soap dispenser beside the sink. There are four cup holders beside the sink as well.

There are two towel hooks on inside of the door and a clothes drying line inside the shower.