Sailing on the Bliss 9/2 to 9/9 anywhere to catch first NFL game of the season?

[ZachIsHere]

Hey folks I am excited to get away on the Bliss to Alaska from September 2nd to September 9th it just so happens that during this cruise my beloved Kansas City Chiefs play the Lions for the first game of the NFL season on the evening of September 7th.

 

This is the only football game happening at the time what are the odds of it being on somewhere and if so where do we think it would be?

 

Thanks in advance to anyone around here who can help me out I appreciate it and go Chiefs. 😎

[tomk3212]

We've sailed in the fall on many NCL ships &. our experience has been as follows:

 

1) 'Special' times games, like the Sunday, Monday & Thursday night games will be shown in all the venues/bars that have TVs. 

 

2) For the regular Sunday games you'll see one early game (the 1PM EST game) and one late game (430PM EST) plus the aforementioned Sunday night game.  I have no idea how NCL chooses which particular 1PM/430PM game is shown.  That probably depends on which ship you're on.

 

This is my experience based on sailings on NCL pre-COVID.  I'd say it's probably a safe bet that you'll be able to see your 'beloved KC Chiefs' somewhere on the Bliss that night.

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

 

PS - DW is a HUGE Patrick Mahomes fan!!!

[Mike A]

NCL ships obtain their Sports TV from a service called Sports 24. They have a separate service for International Air Flights and a different one for Cruise Ships. According to the schedule on their website, sport24live.com, the Lions vs Chiefs game is only on the Flight version. On the Ship version they are showing the Semifinals of the US Open. Bear in mind this is 3 weeks from now and is subject to change. NCL may also make arrangements to obtain from a different source. I would continue to check the website for updates.

[debenson0723]

Have been on the Bliss to Alaska during football season and the games were shown as @tomk3212 stated (post-covid). They were also on the TV in our cabin. Last year did the Prima TA from Southampton to NYC and the games were on in the middle of the night as we crossed the Atlantic. You won't have any problem finding your game.

Enjoy your cruise!

[ZachIsHere]

Would be awesome if they had it on the big screen I have seen on the Bliss.

 

Thanks for the good info everyone.

[phillygwm]

8 hours ago, Mike A said:

NCL ships obtain their Sports TV from a service called Sports 24. They have a separate service for International Air Flights and a different one for Cruise Ships. According to the schedule on their website, sport24live.com, the Lions vs Chiefs game is only on the Flight version. On the Ship version they are showing the Semifinals of the US Open. Bear in mind this is 3 weeks from now and is subject to change. NCL may also make arrangements to obtain from a different source. I would continue to check the website for updates.

They do carry Sports24 but they also show the NFL games via satellite whenever one is on.  I can't recall whether they preempt Sports 24 or whether the games are on a different channel.  I seem to recall the channel was in the 30s on the Joy (33 or 34 maybe?)  It's also shown at various location on the ship.  Definitely in O'Sheehan's/Local but possibly on the big outdoor screen as well.

 

This differs from baseball, BTW.  The Phillies were in the NLCS when I last cruised and it was nowhere to be found.  I was constantly refreshing my phone to get an updated score.

[Mike A]

If Football is showing in the channel 30+ range then NCL is as stated above, getting the game from a different satellite.  When I was on the Joy last year Sport 24 was on channel 28. Sport 24 had NHL and NBA playoffs, In fact we watched the NY Rangers playoff games with a large group of fans in the Local as we sailed from NYC.
There was no Baseball to be found. FWIW, ESPN International has the Baseball but NCL does not subscribe. However, Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean does. 
As a huge football fan, I hope the games are shown.

Edited August 18, 2023 by Mike A

[mugtech]

           After watching the World Series in 2015 on the Gem out of NYC, in 2016 the Gem sailing out of San Juan did not have the World Series, the only time in my lifetime the Cubs were world champs.

[dbrown84]

my experience has been as described by @tomk3212.  I'm usually doing a Caribbean cruise, so it's been warm enough to sit outside at Spice H2O and watch the games.  Don't know if it will be too chilly on your cruise or not, but maybe they will have the game on the big screen.  Or maybe in the atrium