Alaska-Encore or Bliss?

[Jaworskym]

I've been on both in the past 18 months and had a more enjoyable experience on the Encore, mostly due to the itinerary that included Glacier Bay. Bigger ships rarely make it to the Dawes Glacier. Positive for the Bliss; Spice H2O was much better use of space vs Galaxy Pavilion on Encore in my opinion. Other than those factors, the ships mirror each other. Expect the Observation Lounge and Garden Cafe areas to be very crowded at peak or near peak times. The sailing days are different and may impact your decision. Be prepared for Ward Cove. Good luck.    

[BirdTravels]

On 5/28/2024 at 4:35 PM, zqvol said:

Port times are so short, and at a couple of places docking is so far from town I would not cruise NCL to Alaska. 

The grass isn't always greener....

 

This is our Royal Caribbean itinerary. The late port calls are of little value to us because being at Icy Strait Point at 9:00 pm is pretty useless. Same with showing up in Juneau at 1 pm (like the Encore). And, while showing up in Victoria at 4:00 pm may provide a few more opportunities, it just means that shops and casino close much earlier and Washington state taxes on drinks kicks in sooner on the last day of the cruise. 

 

[dmwnc1959]

30 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

The grass isn't always greener....The late port calls are of little value to us because being at Icy Strait Point at 9:00 pm is pretty useless...

Not sure what time of year you are going up for this itinerary, but, for example, sunset tonight up there is after 10pm. 😳

[scorpioncrawl]

The Bliss is the sister ship to the Encore.  They are pretty much the same,