Norwegian Bliss - growlers and a Red Carpet?

[dmwnc1959]

Watched the Norwegian Bliss bridge cam as she neared the turnaround point of Endicott Arm, looks amazing! What's the Red Carpet for? 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 1 by dmwnc1959

[gknep]

I'm going to guess that it was used for people to pose for the ship photographers.

[BirdTravels]

53 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Watched the Norwegian Bliss bridge cam as she neared the turnaround point of Endicott Arm, looks amazing! What's the Red Carpet for? 

Likely for those who paid the Perspective Studio for a glacier portrait. 

 

Last year on the Encore, the random ship's photographers had a patch in the middle of the medivac dot to take photos with you and the ship in the background. They were very protective of their "turf" which we kinda ignored while taking pictures. On this cruise, our stateroom, was a forward facing Haven suite (one of the windows along the starboard side). 

Edited May 1 by BirdTravels

[dmwnc1959]

5 hours ago, gknep said:

I'm going to guess that it was used for people to pose for the ship photographers.

Nice! 👍🏻

[dmwnc1959]

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Likely for those who paid the Perspective Studio for a glacier portrait. 

 

Last year on the Encore, the random ship's photographers had a patch in the middle of the medivac dot to take photos with you and the ship in the background. They were very protective of their "turf" which we kinda ignored while taking pictures. On this cruise, our stateroom, was a forward facing Haven suite (one of the windows along the starboard side). 

I'm sure that Perspective Studio portrait isn't cheap! Looking at those screen grabs In my post I now see some sort of traffic cone looking thing in the middle of the medivac dot, so that explains that. 👍

 

 

Edited May 1 by dmwnc1959

[JamesIowa]

1 hour ago, dmwnc1959 said:

I'm sure that Perspective Studio portrait isn't cheap! Looking at those screen grabs In my post I now see some sort of traffic cone looking thing in the middle of the medivac dot, so that explains that. 👍

 

 

Having sat through my fair share of photo (up)sales I can only imagine what a perspectives session cost. If they’re anything like their land based counter-parts it’s probably a lot of:

“most people go with the $12,000 platinum package that includes…”

”these are once in a lifetime memories, can’t put a price on that!”

”it may seem like a lot of money but it’s really only the price of a cup of coffee every 30 minutes”

”of course if you can’t afford the platinum package we have the popular gold package for only $8,000”

”don’t think of the cost, remember the value”

 

The whole business model seems so outdated. Everybody has access to pretty good cameras. If you really wanted formal family photos you could easily do it on your own, worse case scenario you watch a few yt videos on posing and framing. 
Obviously there will be differences in quality, but for the price? Given the other option is free?

 

 

[DominicAUS]

It’s definitely for photos. They had the same on the Panama Canal. They were asking everyone if they wanted their photo taken going through certain parts canal that were nice for a keepsake, also without any other people in the photo

[SomewhereGirl]

They roll out the red carpet in prime location, and then get mad when passengers step on it to take their own pictures.  The look on the photographer's face last year near Hubbard Glacier (on Jewel) was scary.  What kind of picture could you even get if they're taking your picture on a narrow red carpet with crowds of people on the sides?

 

Also, much less crowded on lower decks.  On the Jewel I had the promenade deck practically all to myself.  So much less stressful.

Edited May 1 by SomewhereGirl

[JamesIowa]

33 minutes ago, DominicAUS said:

It’s definitely for photos. They had the same on the Panama Canal. They were asking everyone if they wanted their photo taken going through certain parts canal that were nice for a keepsake, also without any other people in the photo

It was so hot out there I believe that’s about the last thing I’d want to do. I’m so lazy I  grabbed that screen cap off the bliss live feed while sitting in the observation lounge.

 

Edited May 1 by JamesIowa

[schmoopie17]

Saw "growlers" in the title and I got all excited thinking they were filling growlers in the District Brewhouse. But since you never included anything growler-related in the body of your post, maybe they are and you forgot to mention it. Fingers crossed...

[dmwnc1959]

11 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Saw "growlers" in the title and I got all excited thinking they were filling growlers in the District Brewhouse. But since you never included anything growler-related in the body of your post, maybe they are and you forgot to mention it. Fingers crossed...

Oops, my bad. The growlers are in the water. Not a lot of them, but they are there.  
 

"There are smaller pieces of ice known as “bergy bits” and “growlers.” Bergy bits and growlers can originate from glaciers or shelf ice, and may also be the result of a large iceberg that has broken up. A bergy bit is a medium to large fragment of ice. Its height is generally greater than three feetbut less than 16 feet above sea level and its area is normally about 1,076-3,229 square feet. Growlers are smaller fragments of ice and are roughly the size of a truck or grand piano. They extend less than three feet above the sea surface and occupy an area of about 215 square feet." - NOAA 

[DominicAUS]

13 hours ago, JamesIowa said:

It was so hot out there I believe that’s about the last thing I’d want to do. I’m so lazy I  grabbed that screen cap off the bliss live feed while sitting in the observation lounge.

 

Was so so hot! I got a little sunburnt, not realising the reflection of the white ship! But was great to be there and see the croc. We retired to the district and had a few cold drinks. 

[JamesIowa]

11 hours ago, DominicAUS said:

But was great to be there and see the croc.

Were you on the Dec bliss cruise as well or is this a more common occurrence?  We took the dome rail car tour in Panama City  and our guide (think his name was Miguel, he did the broadcast narrative on the ship as we transited, very smart and interesting dude) said the poor critter got caught in the basin. I dubbed him the Lock-o-dile. 

[PATRLR]

On 4/30/2024 at 11:11 PM, dmwnc1959 said:

 

 

The picture above seems to be about as close as Bliss got.  If ever there was a testimonial for getting onto the Allen Marine excursion (called "TRACY ARM FJORD & GLACIER EXPLORER" in 2018) it's that picture.  This is how close we got to the glacier in 2018:

 

 

 

[dmwnc1959]

1 minute ago, PATRLR said:

The picture above seems to be about as close as Bliss got.  If ever there was a testimonial for getting onto the Allen Marine excursion (called "TRACY ARM FJORD & GLACIER EXPLORER" in 2018) it's that picture.  This is how close we got to the glacier in 2018:

 

 

 

Is that one that you booked through NCL? I think they also offer one of these for Hubbard Glacier, and I've been eye-balling it as well. 

[PATRLR]

22 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Is that one that you booked through NCL? I think they also offer one of these for Hubbard Glacier, and I've been eye-balling it as well. 

Yes, it was booked through NCL.  Bliss was in Juneau in the morning with early afternoon departure to head up the Arm.  Just before Bliss left the pier, we boarded the Allen Marine vessel and took off ahead of Bliss up the Arm.  We made a few stops and slow downs along the way for various sites and wildlife (bears, whales, etc)  and eventually got up close to the glacier.  At some point we looked back and there was Bliss, doing it's pirouette.  It was waaayyy back there (I'd guess 3/4 or mile or more back). We then headed back down the Arm and met the Bliss where it was pirouetting and transferred onto her there (end of excursion).

Edited May 2 by PATRLR

[dmwnc1959]

17 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

Yes, it was booked through NCL.  Bliss was in Juneau in the morning with early afternoon departure to head up the Arm.  Just before Bliss left the pier, we boarded the Allen Marine vessel and took off ahead of Bliss up the Arm.  We made a few stops and slow downs along the way for various sites and wildlife (bears, whales, etc)  and eventually got up close to the glacier.  At some point we looked back and there was Bliss, doing it's pirouette.  It was waaayyy back there (I'd guess 3/4 or mile or more back). We then headed back down the Arm and met the Bliss where it was pirouetting and transferred onto her there (end of excursion).

Sounds really amazing, and your pictures are fantastic! The one for Hubbard Glacier is running $350 even with the discount, and appears to be run by the same company. Definitely going to have to do some thinking on that one, but on the B2B I hit Hubbard Glacier twice. 

[PATRLR]

I agree it's getting pricey at $350 (as is everything these days).  But, I believe it was so worth it.  I was really shocked when I saw just how much closer we were than the Bliss was.  And the captain stopping and literally turning the boat to point out bears along the sides, whales, etc.  Just so much better than the Bliss could possibly do.

[vacation44]

1 hour ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Sounds really amazing, and your pictures are fantastic! The one for Hubbard Glacier is running $350 even with the discount, and appears to be run by the same company. Definitely going to have to do some thinking on that one, but on the B2B I hit Hubbard Glacier twice. 

Agree with @PATRLR, for us, it was worth it.   

 

When I first booked this excursion, I did not tell my husband as I knew he would say that I was crazy.   I finally told him the day before when he was in vacation mode.    He agreed, it was worth it.   The day we went, it was too icy (or foggy, I do not remember) for the Jewel to get anywhere near the glacier and we were able to get up close.     Those behind on the Jewel did not get to see it.

[dmwnc1959]

@PATRLR  @vacation44 

 

I wonder what makes this particular NCL Shore Excursion experience different from the one conducted at Hubbard Glacier, whereas yours is rated as an Activity Level 1 (easiest) and the latter is rated as Activity Level 3 (most strenuous). I did try and call the NCL Shore Excursions Desk but after waiting on the phone for 30 minutes gave up. 

[Sailing12Away]

On 5/1/2024 at 10:51 AM, schmoopie17 said:

Saw "growlers" in the title and I got all excited thinking they were filling growlers in the District Brewhouse. But since you never included anything growler-related in the body of your post, maybe they are and you forgot to mention it. Fingers crossed...

I too was grossly disappointed in the misleading title. Was hoping you could now get a growler to go, or order beer by the growler similar to wine by the bottle.

 

As for the Tracy Arms excursion, I too put my vote in that it's worth the price. Super close up, and on our journey we saw so much wildlife on the way there that I have over 1K pictures of seals, whales, eagles, and everything else Alaska has to offer. When we were near the glacier, the crew pulled up a smallish iceberg on board for folks to hold and take photos with, then a separate smaller one that they put into a blender and made margaritas with. Nothing colder or fresher than that.

[dmwnc1959]

17 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

I too was grossly disappointed in the misleading title. Was hoping you could now get a growler to go, or order beer by the growler similar to wine by the bottle.

 

As for the Tracy Arms excursion, I too put my vote in that it's worth the price. Super close up, and on our journey we saw so much wildlife on the way there that I have over 1K pictures of seals, whales, eagles, and everything else Alaska has to offer. When we were near the glacier, the crew pulled up a smallish iceberg on board for folks to hold and take photos with, then a separate smaller one that they put into a blender and made margaritas with. Nothing colder or fresher than that.

Sorry! ☹️ Seriously did not know there was an alcohol-related definition, I've only ever been aware of the baby icebergs. 
 

As for taking tons of pictures, pre-digital photography I'd often take +50 rolls of film on an Alaska cruise and then spends days putting them all in photo albums, which all now sit on shelves collecting dust. I seriously need to find a way to get through this cruise with as few pictures as possible. I tend to live the cruise through the viewfinder. 

[PATRLR]

4 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

@PATRLR  @vacation44 

 

I wonder what makes this particular NCL Shore Excursion experience different from the one conducted at Hubbard Glacier, whereas yours is rated as an Activity Level 1 (easiest) and the latter is rated as Activity Level 3 (most strenuous). I did try and call the NCL Shore Excursions Desk but after waiting on the phone for 30 minutes gave up. 

Sorry, I know nothing of the Hubbard Glacier excursion.

[dmwnc1959]

21 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

Sorry, I know nothing of the Hubbard Glacier excursion.

About the biggest difference (according to the description) is you board the small boat alongside directly from the cruise ship as it enters Disenchantment Bay, stay on the small excursion boat the entire time, and when the tour is done you re-embark the cruise ship when the small boat pulls alongside. Other than maybe the transfer process there should not be anything strenuous about it at all. I'll have to give the Shore Excursions Desk a call first thing in the morning and try to get through. 
 

 

Edited May 2 by dmwnc1959

[DominicAUS]

11 hours ago, JamesIowa said:

Were you on the Dec bliss cruise as well or is this a more common occurrence?  We took the dome rail car tour in Panama City  and our guide (think his name was Miguel, he did the broadcast narrative on the ship as we transited, very smart and interesting dude) said the poor critter got caught in the basin. I dubbed him the Lock-o-dile. 

Hahah love that. Lock-o-dile……No I was on the Jan 24 sailing. I heard the croc lives in the lock, but that could have just been cruise gossip! Lol. Yes we had Miguel and was great with the information through the transit. Loved that cruise, so different to my other cruises