August Alaskan Bliss(with photos)

[jaxw17]

Loving the review. Alaska is on my list of things to do.

[KurtMo]

On 8/19/2019 at 4:04 PM, Joeghartman said:

We took a tour of the thermal spa(which we did pre-purchase passes for).

How much per person for a week's access to the thermal spa?

[PhillyTravelBug]

25 minutes ago, KurtMo said:

How much per person for a week's access to the thermal spa?

 I prepaid to get the $20 off and it was $249.

[SeahawkSiren]

Great review, thanks for sharing!  Brings back memories from my Bliss Alaska cruise last year. 

 

So glad you enjoyed Seattle too.  Love seeing photos from my hometown.  I have not been up in the Space Needle yet since they did all that remodeling and added all that glass.  I may have to pass on that.  I was getting sweaty palms just looking at your photos from up there. 😅

[PhillyTravelBug]

3 minutes ago, SeahawkSiren said:

Great review, thanks for sharing!  Brings back memories from my Bliss Alaska cruise last year. 

 

So glad you enjoyed Seattle too.  Love seeing photos from my hometown.  I have not been up in the Space Needle yet since they did all that remodeling and added all that glass.  I may have to pass on that.  I was getting sweaty palms just looking at your photos from up there. 😅

 

The glass floor was the part I enjoyed. Haha. Outside freaked me out with the way the glass leans outward. More of Seattle will be posted.

[masterdrago]

Looks like a nice time had by all on a very picturesque ship. Thanks for sharing. Following.

[PhillyTravelBug]

Glacier Bay -sailing

 

i believe the sunlight started to wake me up around 6... I could have went back to sleep, but knew I did not want to miss this day. I grabbed a quick breakfast and met my partner for the 7:30 abs class. I did that followed by a quick workout.  The scenery all around us is breathtaking.  I grabbed a larger breakfast and headed to the balcony while my partner did a spin class.

 

The one thing I wish is that the park ranger speaking over the loudspeaker went into the room. I had no clue when we were approaching the glacier or even when we arrived in Glacier Bay. The temperature sure does drop. My rain jacket was enough to keep me warm. Once we reached the glacier, the decks became crowded, but everyone was kind enough to let you get that photo shot. We were there for a little over an hour. It gave us plenty of time to spend on deck and then on our balcony. I enjoyed the silence and beauty of nature. Amazing!

 

[PhillyTravelBug]

 Later in the day we attended a presentation given by a park ranger in the Bliss theater. It was very informative. We returned to the thermal spa and I posted our view and us sailing away. What a sight!

 

In the evening we had dinner in taste as a group. Almost everyone at the table complained about the size of their appetizers. As a waiter, I would have been embarrassed to serve them. I played it safe and ordered the Caesar.  My partner ordered the scallops and there were two bite sized scallops. Others at the table learned their lesson from the other night and ordered two appetizers.  For dinner, I ordered the baked ziti and while it was good, I thought it was a rather small portion.   Several of the guys ordered drinks and all had the drink package. Unfortunately, all the drinks were billed to one of the rooms. This caused a lot of frustration for the one and the manager was called over and eventually it was all taken care of.  

 

We also were diverted to Icy Straight Point because someone needed to be taken to a hospital.  Rumor had it an elderly person had a heart attack. This cost us about 2

hours and was told we will most likely be arriving to Ketchikan late. Luckily, we had nothing planned.

[david_sobe]

Amazing photography.  This review is like an infomercial for an Alaskan cruise.

[PhillyTravelBug]

Ketchikan 9:30-12:30

 

It was announced very early in the morning we

would be about 2 1/2 hours late to this port. Fortunately, we had only planned to take a cab and do some hiking prior to this trip. We scrapped that idea and decided to do a walk around town  and ended up getting a very short hike in on one of the trails off of creek street.

 

This was probably my least favorite port. I liked the set up of the town, but all the stores are so touristy.  The salmon along creek street wasn’t as exciting as I thought and even creek street was a little less than what I had pictured. But I’ll still take it over work any day of the week.

 

Got to see some totem poles and worship the totem pole gods. Whoever that may be.  We boarded and at that point I decided we are not eating another dinner in the dining room. The only options available were Q and Los Lobos. We decided to go with Q and so glad we did. I wish we would have eaten more meals in the pay for restaurants.

[PhillyTravelBug]

I completely forgot to add after our dinner at Q, we noticed a Jersey Boys show was about to start and we were only able to get tickets for the final show at 10:30 while in port in Canada. We decided to do the stand by and it worked. We also managed to sit in the front row. My partner had seen it twice before (once in NYC) and said this was the best production. It was amazing!!!

 

 

Victoria, Canada 9-11:30

 

Today was our last full day on the Bliss, and it was mostly a sea day. We all spent a lot of it the Thermal spa getting that last bit of relaxation. I spent the afternoon packing. 

 

We we had a delay of about an hour when we arrived for another medical emergency.  Our social group we met in the beginning all hung out together and toured the city.  I really wish we had more time in this port. It is a beautiful city.

 

[PhillyTravelBug]

Disembarkation and Seattle for 2 days

 

 

We showered and grabbed breakfast before disembarking. Only self walk offs with luggage was going on around the atrium, down the halfway, around the blackjack tables. Back down through the local and through one side of the theater and out the other. I was a little surprised by the length of time it took. Seems like everyone was ready to go.

 

The Bliss is such a wonderful ship. There are so many touches all over that you can tell were specifically for an Alaskan sailing. Vibe is completely useless for a sailing in alaska, never saw anyone in there while walking down the steps. By the end of the cruise, I was tired of the food. Unless you have a dining package, you really get sick of the same foods all week. Stupid, but almost impossible to find bananas... even at the beginning of the cruise.   But the quality of food did not ruin my trip one bit, just noticeably not as a stand out for this cruise. I remember when the food was the highlight of a cruise.

 

This is my third straight cruise with NCL and while I love the Bliss, I am dying to try celebrity next. Either Edge or the upcoming Apex.  Below are the rest of our photos from Seattle. We visited an arboretum and went to the top of the tallest building.

 

thanks for following along!

 

[nwcruiselover]

Thank you so much for your review and especially the excellent pictures.  I have been on 6 Alaska cruises, and it was wonderful to see Alaska through the eyes of a first-time Alaska cruiser.  It’s an amazing place to cruise, as your pictures and commentary clearly show.  Nancy

[mopedmom1]

Very nice review. Thanks for sharing! 

[PhillyTravelBug]

Absolutely! Glad some people enjoyed my journey. Definitely the best vacation I’ve been on so far.

[NSPHILLIPS]

Great summary of your trip - we set sail on Bliss next Sunday so really useful 

[PhillyTravelBug]

On 8/24/2019 at 6:29 AM, NSPHILLIPS said:

Great summary of your trip - we set sail on Bliss next Sunday so really useful 

 

 

Enjoy your trip! Bliss is amazing and perfect for this itinerary.

[Beachiekeen]

I thoroughly enjoyed this even though I sailed on Princess to Alaska 2 years ago. Your pictures were wonderful and I felt like I was there again. We will cruise to Alaska again eventually and will keep the Bliss in mind.

[ollienbertsmum]

On 8/21/2019 at 10:01 PM, Joeghartman said:

 

The glass floor was the part I enjoyed. Haha. Outside freaked me out with the way the glass leans outward. More of Seattle will be posted.

 

I have a fear of heights.  Your photos gave me stomach churns. The photos of the cruise have made up for it.  Brings back memories of my family cruise on Coral Princess last year.  

[cygnets]

Wonderful review. Thank you.

[nhtravels]

Great review!  Thanks for sharing the highlights of your Blissful Alaskan cruise!  We are going in May for my husband's 50th (and have 5 cabins booked with surprise family and friends!!) 

 

[PhillyTravelBug]

14 hours ago, nhtravels said:

Great review!  Thanks for sharing the highlights of your Blissful Alaskan cruise!  We are going in May for my husband's 50th (and have 5 cabins booked with surprise family and friends!!) 

 

 

 

Enjoy. Now looking into a Mediterranean cruise for next year.

[ProfCruise]

On 8/21/2019 at 9:39 AM, Joeghartman said:

The beauty and scenery just explodes and doesn’t stop. It truly is amazing.

 

 

We've been to Alaska many times, but the white pass train remains my favorite excursion.  Glad you enjoyed it as much as we did.  Your photos are gorgeous! 

[ProfCruise]

Okay, made it to the end of the review finally.  One of the best I've read.  It was especially fun for someone who lives in Seattle and who sailed on the Bliss to Alaska just a few weeks before you did.  It looks like you made the most of this experience.  You mentioned that you were interested in maybe trying Celebrity.  I just returned from my first Celebrity sailing.  I would definitely recommend giving it a try (especially if you're sick of the food on NCL, which I generally like, but change is good).  Here are some of my initial impressions of Celebrity you might find helpful in deciding.  Thanks again for the fantastic review!  https://profcruise.com/prof-cruises-first-impressions-of-celebrity/ 

[PhillyTravelBug]

Thank you so much for the kind words, the white pass train will forever be something to remember and the highlight of my trip.  Your Celebrity review was such an enjoyable read. Love the light sense of humor. I am ready to give Celebrity a try. After 3 straight cruises with NCL, it’s time to see what else is out there. The reward levels really aren’t enough of an incentive to be a loyalist.

 

thanks again!