Semi-live from the Bliss | June 17-24, 2023 | Alaska ho!

[OrcaGirl]

After an hour and a half of sitting on our balcony, repeatedly exclaiming “#%*€ this is gorgeous” and watching a chonky seal (or sea lion? It was hard to tell…) chow down on a fish, the Fox went to pick up the Cub while I headed to the Atrium.

 

Watched the tail end of the Thriller dance class, mostly so I could send the video to my husband (a frequent zombie-cosplaying Thrill the World participant) for his judgement. (He felt they could have used his expertise…)

 

We tried to pop to the Garden Cafe for an early lunch, but it was closed for changeover, so back up to the Observation Lounge for a DIY ham and cheese bun.

 

After some elevator shenanigans, we finally got off the ship. The line up for the free shuttle was long, but not insane, so we popped into one of the shops first. Big mistake. Big. Huge. The line doubled in length while we were browsing…. 😬

 

So into the very long line I go while the Fox and Cub keep browsing (since I’d been in these shops just a couple weeks ago). It took about 30 min from getting in line to getting on the bus.

 

The shuttle itself took about 15 min and we were dropped off at Centennial Hall.

 

We popped into the church for just a few minutes, and then a few local shops along Lincoln Street. We walked down the harbourfront walk to the playground next to the Sitka Sound Science Center so the Cub could get some running around time.

 

We wandered back towards the downtown, with the intention of stopping for fish and chips at a local food truck. It looked amazing, but alas the line was too long without much shade, so we decided to head back to the ship for lunch at the Local instead.

 

Random observations:

 

The Silversea Silver Whisper is in Sitka with us today, tendering from off of downtown. Gorgeous ship.

 

The Atrium is not a great venue for dance classes; it was much more fun to watch on the Discovery Princess, and more space so a lot more people could participate.

 

A better queue system is needed for the Sitka shuttle; when it wraps around so far, it completely blocks off access to many of the local shops at the port.

 

Don’t forget sunscreen!

[OrcaGirl]

Attempting to post missing pictures…

 

Scenic sail into Sitka

 

 

 

It’s close to midnight…

 

 

Lines, lines, lines

 

 

Sitka stuff

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Silver Whisper

 

 

Late lunch at the Local

 

 

[The Traveling Man]

On 6/18/2023 at 4:25 PM, OrcaGirl said:

I miss Captain Tasos from the Edge.

 

Is a Greek word...

[Seas2mountains]

Thank you for doing a live review! We will sail away on the Spirit to Alaska in a few days. 
 

As we have cruised with our granddaughter and used Splash Academy, has it filled at any time when Fox tried to drop off the cub? 
 

When we were on the Escape and tried to drop her off at 9pm one night, it was full. They asked us to send a message on the app and they would let us know when there was availability.  We got a message at about 9:10pm to let us know there was availability.

 

Has the fox had any issues with the cub when trying to drop off at Splash Academy? 

 

[The Traveling Man]

On 6/18/2023 at 6:23 PM, OrcaGirl said:

Day 2 (sea day) dailies

 

Day 2.pdf 1.52 MB · 34 downloads

I see that you're fortunate to have Djamel as your GM.  We have sailed with him several times and count him as a dear friend.  Our most recent cruise with him was on the Joy in Alaska a couple of years ago.  My wife and I had dinner in Le Bistro with him and Cruise Next Director Tauran.  It was a truly wonderful evening.  If you have a chance to speak with him, please say "Hi" from James and Barbara from Dallas.

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Watched the tail end of the Thriller dance class, mostly so I could send the video to my husband (a frequent zombie-cosplaying Thrill the World participant) for his judgement. (He felt they could have used his expertise…)

🤣The thriller dance class was one of those hidden gems.  Something you see no value in but actually have fun watching!  It may have been the booze....  Still fun!!!😎

[OrcaGirl]

Will post more later, but we just got an announcement from the captain with we have a man overboard situation. We’re turning around for rescue ops.

[OrcaGirl]

13 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

Will post more later, but we just got an announcement from the captain with we have a man overboard situation. We’re turning around for rescue ops.

Oh FFS… captain just announced it was a false alarm and the person who had been thought to have gone overboard was found on board.

[OrcaGirl]

After lunch, we thought ‘hey, everyone will still be off the ship; let’s go to the aqua park and hot tubs while it’s quiet…’ 🤣 I should have known better.

 

Still couldn’t make it into the hot tubs but the Cub and Fox had fun in the aqua park and I floated in the adult pool. But boy the kids pool was packed, and the poor lifeguard was blowing his whistle at someone very minute. 
 

 

Since we’d had a big, late lunch, we decided to skip dinner in favour of chilling in the cabin for sailaway. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Wish you were here.

 

 

Around 6:30pm we headed out for our evening plans. The Fox to the Splash Academy to drop off the Cub, me to the theatre (with a side quest to Maltings for a couple of Eastern Legacies). I snagged two seats for Six. Again. Some more.

 

 

I cannot and will not shut up about how much I enjoy this show and how sad I will continue to be that NCL is taking it away. And just as I slide over to Platinum too. 😢

 

We picked up the Cub post-show and headed up to the buffet for a light snack that turned into a meal and many desserts.

 

 

 

And then — whale spout off the starboard! We watched a lone humpback whale surface a couple of times (but got no good pictures).

 

We headed back to the cabin, marvelling at how light out it still was and the super weird sensation of cruising the edge of the fog bank.

 

 

 

 

And then more whales! I spotted three distinct spouts from the balcony, saw some humpback backs, and one good fluke. I love whales.

 

But it was cooling down so to bed to post photos:videos and start writing up the day’s adventures.

 

And then — the PA bings out in the hallway and we hear a muffled announcement with a code number. The Fox looks at me and is like “that’s not normal, is it?” No, it’s not. 

 

And then — the PA comes on in the cabin. The captain makes the announcement that there’s a man overboard and rescue operations have started. 

 

At this point, we jump up and run to the balcony (as does literally everyone else) to discover that the ship has done a 180-degree turn without us realizing it. We don’t see anything.

 

 

So for the next 30 minutes we’re anxiously awaiting news, fruitlessly speculating about what might have happened and (morbidly) how likely a successful rescue could be given the frigid water temperatures.

 

And then — the PA bings again, and the captain comes on. False alarm, the person who was thought to be overboard was found safe and sound on board. I mean, that’s good, but damn ya’ll, how did that happen?!?! So curious what actually went down. 

 

So that was a terrifying and anxiety-inducing 30 minutes.

[OrcaGirl]

Good morning from Juneau!

 

 

Sunny and gorgeous. Makes up for my last two incredibly rainy visits (granted, they were in early May and mid October).

 

 

Went for my usual Starbucks run, then to the buffet for breakfast. 

 

 

One of the Princess ships was already docked, and a second Princess ship was on its way in (but tendered instead of docking).

 

Apres breakfast, the Fox and Cub decided to stay on the ship while I ventured into town on a mission: find huckleberry truffles for my mom at Alaska Fudge Company.

 

The Bliss was docked at AJ, so I took the free shuttle instead of walking the mile. Got dropped off, and moseyed over to the shopping street.

 

Browsed for a few minutes in Trove, where I easily could have dropped a grand in 10 minutes on all the cool s***, but limited myself to one small gift for the Fox.

 

 

Then I followed my nose to the Alaska Fudge Company, where alas the selection of truffles was severely limited. No huckleberry truffles for my mom. 😢

 

 

I did buy some fudge and fox paws as a snack for our afternoon excursion.

 

Then I meandered along the dock back to the shuttle depot.

 

 

 

 

 

Was back on the ship by 10am, now with two hours to sit back and chill before our excursion.

 

We popped up to the pool deck for some delicious beverages (two BBCs and a virgin pina colada). Yum.

 

Played a quick round of mini golf, then grabbed an early lunch before we get ready for our excursion.

 

 

 

 

Random observations:

 

You’re not allowed to bring Starbucks off the ship. The baristas are reminding everyone before they order. 
 

Part of the Observation Lounge was blocked off and a short red carpet was set up; not sure why.

 

A six-ship day in Juneau, albeit not all at exactly same time… the Westerdam, the Ovation of the Seas, and two Princess ships (Grand and Ruby), one docked and one tendering. And the very small but cool National Geographic Sea Lion.

 

 

 

Wifi continues to be horrible, dropping randomly and taking forever to reconnect.

 

Much prefer the current style of straws versus the paper straws of the past few years. Two thumbs up!

 

[OrcaGirl]

Day 4 (Juneau) dailies

Day 4 Juneau.pdf

[OrcaGirl]

On 6/19/2023 at 7:40 PM, Seas2mountains said:

As we have cruised with our granddaughter and used Splash Academy, has it filled at any time when Fox tried to drop off the cub? 

 

Has the fox had any issues with the cub when trying to drop off at Splash Academy? 

 

The Fox has been able to drop off the Cub at the Splash Academy without issue, but she’s also early to everything without fail. If Splash Academy opens at 7pm, she’s in line at 6:45pm.

 

She reports that on a couple of occasions so far, when she’s gone to pick up the Cub, Splash has been at capacity and other families in the virtual queue.

[OrcaGirl]

(Catching up on yesterday…)

 

For our one and only excursion of this trip, we booked the Endicott Arm and Glacier Explorer tour.

 

We showed up at 12:15pm in the Manhattan Room as directed, and after a few minutes wait were guided down to the deck 4 tender area. From there we boarded the tour boat from Allen Marine. 

 

(Note that when we booked it, the tour had a departure time of 1:15pm, but we were on the tour boat by 12:35pm and pulling out by 12:40pm.)

 

The boat was the same style as their whale watching boats, with enclosed seating and a bar on the lower deck and a smaller enclosed seating area and an open deck (sans seating) on the upper level. There was also a third open level that was blocked off.

 

The plan was for a two-hour boat ride up to the mouth of Endicott Arm, then scenic cruising up the Arm to Dawes Glacier, before rejoining the Bliss at the mouth of the Arm.

 

So freaking scenic, words cannot express it, photos cannot do it justice. I’ll post a couple below, but my Instagram Stories / Highlights have more. (erin_braincandy)

 

 

 

 

We saw a couple of humpback whales, including one doing a nice spyhop. Many seals, including a few perched on icebergs. Many eagles.

 

The crew offered complimentary donut holes and salmon dip on crackers — both delicious. Other snacks were available to purchase.

 

The Fox and I purchased some cocktails made with local gin (Juneauper Gin, get it? 🤣) and the Cub partook of the complimentary hot chocolate.

 

 

Once we reached the glacier face itself, everyone stormed upstairs to the outside deck and crowded the side facing the glacier. But the boat spent a lot of time there and turned a few times, so after ten minutes a lot of people got cold/bored and the upper deck cleared out and there was tons of space.

 

 

 

The crew fished a small iceberg out of the water for the guests to check out, and then glacier margaritas were made available for purchase.

 

 

We eventually left the glacier and started making our way back down the Arm. After about 30 minutes or so, we spotted the Bliss.

 

 

We re-boarded the Bliss, just to hear the announcement that this was as far as the cruise ship could make it due to ice conditions. So if we’d stayed on the ship, we wouldn’t have seen the glacier at all. Sorry not sorry?

 

 

 

Random observations:

 

We passed the NCL Encore on its way into Juneau. Didn’t have it on my list so I guess it was a seven ship day? 😬

 

 

A few people clearly did not expect the two hour cruise to even get to Endicott Arm. Don’t spend all that money on an excursion without reading the description! 
 

The *only* complaint I had was that no matter whether I was inside or out on the deck, I could barely hear what the captain or naturalist was saying.

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by OrcaGirl

[OrcaGirl]

It was 6:30pm by the time we made it back onto the ship, so we dropped all our gear off in our cabin and headed to the buffet.

 

 

 

 

 

The Fox and Cub were tired and headed back to the room to chill. I headed up to the Observation Lounge for a delicious espresso martini (made by a bartender who possibly remembered me from past sailings) and to watch a bit more of the gorgeous scenery go by.

 

 

 

And then to bed.

 

Random observations:

 

The NCL buffet remains my favourite cruise ship buffet, hands down.

 

Noticeably less washy-washy happy-happy since the early days of the restart, even less than pre-pandemic. And so many people coughing either directly into their hands or not covering their mouth at all. I’d hoped we had all learned better but I guess not? 🤷‍♀️ 

[OrcaGirl]

Good morning from Icy Strait Point. 

 

 

Grey and drizzly this morning — guess we used up all our nice weather for this trip in Sitka and Juneau… and that’s just fine with us.

 

We had a leisurely breakfast while the first wave headed off the ship, before we braved the lines ourselves.

 

 

We didn’t have any activities booked, but last time I was here in ISP we went straight onto the whale watching boat, and it was so cold and rainy that we returned directly to the cruise ship without exploring the port area. So today, we’re just planning to walk around and see what’s what.

 

We took the free green gondola, and spotted a deer underneath us.

 

 

 

We played on the beach a bit, wandered around the shops and waterfront area, watched some zipliners zip by, etc. The grey eventually lifted and we doffed our jackets.

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped by the Crab House just before it opened (not listed on the door or Google Maps or the ISP website, but food starts being served at 10am) and decided, hey, we’re on vacation, let’s order cocktails. The Whale Surf was very yummy. And if you’re drinking at 10am, it would be uncouth not ordering some food too, right? The reindeer chili was very good, couldn’t really taste the Blitzen. (The Cub was *horrified* that we were eating Santa’s buddies and would not partake.) 

 

 

 

 

The Cub was interested in doing the ropes course based on how cool it looks from the gondola, but alas it wasn’t open. Is it even complete?

 

 

We headed back to the ship (spotting another, but different, deer on the way) and were back on board shortly after 11am.

 

 

Random observations:

 

Still no hash browns in the buffet at breakfast. (Breakfast potatoes ≠ hash browns.)

 

The Norwegian Jewel is docked at the Adventure Landing dock today.

 

 

 

I’ve ordered the exact same thing at Starbucks every morning this trip, and the price has been slightly different each day. Taxes? Exchange rate? Mid-cruise inflation? ☕️

 

[OrcaGirl]

Day 5 (Icy Strait Point) dailies

 

Day 5 ISP.pdf

[OrcaGirl]

After some downtime in the room, I was hungry but the Fox and Cub were mostly tired so I headed up to the buffet solo for lunch. The mushroom pakora was particularly tasty, as was the key lime cream cake. And the views from the buffet were pretty darn good too.

 

 

 

 

Once we met up again, we explored a bit more of the upper decks, found the schedule for the double-karts on the Bliss Speedway, and booked the very last available spot on the last cruise day. 

 

 

The Cub was excited to compete in a Super Smash Brothers tournament so off to Splash Academy he went. 

 

I suggested that I give the Fox a quick tour of the thermal spa… you know, for next cruise… and wouldn’t you know it, the spa had a half-week special. $179USD for the remainder of the cruise. After some intense deliberation, we each slammed down our cruise cards and signed up. 🤣

 

 

And so the next two hours were spent spaaaaaaahing. Excellent decision. Also excellent views for sailaway from Icy Strait Point.

 

 

Random observations:

 

I love the NCL thermal spas, and think they’re waaaaay better than Princess (small) or Celebrity (no pool or hot tub so what’s the point?!?!)

 

That said, the thermal spa on the Bliss is showing its age and could use some TLC. Nothing that will prevent me from enjoying every second though.

 

Note that the speedway has very limited hours for the double karts, so if your kid is interested, sign up ASAP.

 

[OrcaGirl]

After the Fox had to leave to pick up the Cub from Splash, I lingered in the spa for a bit, then eventually dried off and joined them in the Observation Lounge for a light snack and a heavy-pour drink.

 

 

 

We lounged around until it was time for dinner.

 

 

 

Once the Cub headed off to Splash, we settled down in the Atrium for a speed trivia completion followed by bandaoke (karaoke with live backing band) with Siglo. We stuck around for three songs before deciding to bail for the thermal spa.

 

 

 

 

It was deadsville in the spa which is just how I like it. I stuck around until well after the Fox and Cub retired to bed. At one point, the Norwegian Jewel was following us, just peeking out of a low fog bank. Very eerie.

 

 

 

 

After that it was straight to bed.

 

Random observations:

 

I absolutely love Siglo but one downside of having an all-dude band play for bandaoke is there were almost no songs by women on the list of available songs. [insert scene from Pitch Perfect about women not being able to hit the low notes here…]

 

 

Someone was asking on another thread about the access procedures on the thermal spas. It’s changed since last time I was onboard; it’s now a generic orange wristband and a dishonest person could absolutely cheat the system.

[LloydJr]

Thanks for posting the Siglo song list.  Was there a page 2 (or back side)?  If so, could you post that as well if you still have it?  Thanks.

[OrcaGirl]

Good morning from — gasp — not rainy Ketchikan.

 

 

We docked in Ward Cove around 6:30am, and I made the bold decision to skip Starbucks and breakfast and head ashore first thing. The Fox and Cub stayed aboard for a nice sleep-in day.

 

 

This was my second time docking at Ward Cove but first time actually getting off the ship. (Last time, it was rainy and miserable so we stayed on board and spent the entire day in the thermal spa.)

 

It’s actually not bad as far as built-for-cruiseships ports go. Yeah, it’s got exit through the gift shop vibes but what modern port building doesn’t? And this one has retro chainsaws.

 

 

 

Browsed for a couple of minutes and then walked right on to a waiting shuttle bus to head downtown. 

 

Got dropped off at berth 4, and wandered down the boardwalk to the Ketchikan sign (which I missed getting a photo of on my bus tour last month.)

 

 

 

 

Meandered back, sadly skipping Jellyfish Donuts ‘cause the line was waaaay too long.

 

Popped in to the Tongass Trading Outlet to pick up a three-T-shirt bundle that my mom regretted not buying last month on our Princess cruise.

 

Then boarding the same double decker bus back to Ward Cove. A deer darted in front of the bus at one point, but fortunately our bus and a pickup truck both avoided it. 

 

Did a bit more shopping — being that annoying person paying for their purchase entirely using leftover $1 bills.

 

 

Random observations:

 

Another six-ship day in Ketchikan.

 

I rode in a shiny new double decker bus; the driver mentioned that they just got three of them, with a couple more arriving later in the season. That should help with the lines vs the school buses.

 

But wow, the driver… when transporting a bunch of tour bus passengers in Alaska, maybe don’t talk extensively about how many float plane crashes happen and how many people get killed by bears. Just, no. 

 

I admit that I’ve never paid attention to the toilet paper quality on board ships, until this cruise. It’s what I would expect to get at a BC Parks campground outhouse. I get that Norwegian is exploring cost-cutting measures, but this is not the way.

[OrcaGirl]

42 minutes ago, LloydJr said:

Thanks for posting the Siglo song list.  Was there a page 2 (or back side)?  If so, could you post that as well if you still have it?  Thanks.

There were several individual pages of the song list floating around but only two came my way.

 

 

 

One thing I really liked on Princess was they had the karaoke list available via QR code so you could browse it at your convenience.

[LloydJr]

12 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

There were several individual pages of the song list floating around but only two came my way.

 

 

 

One thing I really liked on Princess was they had the karaoke list available via QR code so you could browse it at your convenience.

Thanks!  It looks like I'm just missing one (they are clearly alphabetical).

[OrcaGirl]

Day 6 (Ketchikan) dailies

 

Day 6 Ketchikan.pdf

[YVRteacher]

Enjoying the Bliss through your eyes again! Weren’t you and @ceilidh1 on the Bliss at the same time last year? (Vancouver people unite!!)

 

How does your experience this time compare with that cruise? This time your GM is Djamel (who is wonderful) and I’m wondering if there’s a better feeling on board with a different GM? I had some challenges on the Bliss in March but love the ship so much and hope to cruise on her again.

[OrcaGirl]

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

Enjoying the Bliss through your eyes again! Weren’t you and @ceilidh1 on the Bliss at the same time last year? (Vancouver people unite!!)

 

How does your experience this time compare with that cruise? This time your GM is Djamel (who is wonderful) and I’m wondering if there’s a better feeling on board with a different GM? I had some challenges on the Bliss in March but love the ship so much and hope to cruise on her again.

Yes, that was the Pacific Coastal repositioning cruise last year. I had a great time, but didn’t do a live from thread since I was technically working remotely while cruising and didn’t know how much time I’d have… (But having Teams meetings with a mojito in hand at Sugarcane was really cool and made my colleagues jealous…) 😎 

 

This is my third sailing on the Bliss, sixth Norwegian cruise, and probably 20th cruise overall, and to be honest I’ve never given a thought to who the GM is on any cruise. Usually any bad vibes on board I attribute to my fellow passengers rather than senior onboard staff. 🤣