NCL Bliss Alaska Review

[LadyCruising]

I am at the Seattle airport waiting for my flight home so I figured I can start my review. I think I will do a overview by topic rather than day to day. This cruise was Sept 14-21 on the Bliss and it hit Sitka, Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Ketchikan, and Victoria Canada. I said in a solo category inside cabin on floor 5 (room 5163 to be specific).

 

This was my 7th cruise, the 5th one on NCL, 3rd one on the Bliss, and first cruise to Alaska and as a solo cruiser. (I've previously sailed one Carnival and one Royal Caribbean). I have silver status (which means nothing as other than a small discount on excursions so I didn't have any special treatment). I had one specialty dining package that I used at Le Bistro, and I upgraded to the premium drink package. I took advantage of the $50 shore excursion credit at one port (Sitka) and only use the include wifi minutes.

 

I arranged my own flight for the Friday evening before the cruise and stayed at a Hampton Inn near the airport since I got in late. I took an Uber from the hotel to the cruise port (pier 66) and it was about $50. The Uber driver was super knowledgeable about where I needed to go and didn't complain about my over packed suitcase.

 

Embarkation: I had a check in time of 930am. I dropped my bag with the porter and then walked right in to check in. Small line but it moved very quick. Easiest and quickest check in I've done. I ended up waiting for them to start boarding and was on the ship a little before 11am. Rooms were ready around 2 and I found my suitcase down the hall at around 330pm.

 

Solo cruise meetup: I went the first evening to the NCL planned solo cruiser meetup at 530. Although they didn't have planned dinner for the group that night, I ended up going to dinner with a couple other people. I attended another night and went to the saved table in the Manhattan for the group. Everyone I met was nice, but I didn't end up interacting with the group too much. I think this is one area that NCL could improve a little, maybe have a little structured activity or conversation to get get people talking. 

 

Food: Overall I don't have any complaints about the food. I went to the main dining rooms, buffet, the local, and Le Bistro and everything was either good or a few times, very tasty. I especially enjoyed the observation lounge light breakfast and lunch/snacks. I did not try room service. Prior to this cruise I had heard a lot of disappointing experiences in Le Bistro, but my food was delicious. The fillet mignon was cooked a perfect medium rare, the croquettes were flavorful with the right amount of chips and creamy textures. I had some kind of pistachio cake for dessert but I couldn't eat much as I was so full. It was good too though. And from what I experienced, Le Bistro is the only restaurant you can get Veuve by the glass and they kept my glass full through dinner and topped it off so I could take a glass to go.

 

Cookies: yes these get there own callout. I have read a lot about the missing cookies on NCL and I am happy to say I had them three times in the Observation lounge. They usually appeared later in the afternoon and they had double chocolate, chocolate chip, and macadamia nut ones on different days. All were very good. They might have had them in more days but I didn't check.

 

Up next: premium beverage package, stateroom, Observation lounge, service, ports, entertainment, guests, and disembarkation.

 

 

[chefchick]

I will be boarding the Bliss in Early November.  Although I’ve cruised on her many times, each sailing is different.  Would love to know if you thought upgrading to premium was worth it? (Last time I considered it, they were out of most of the premium spirits and wines I would have ordered).  With the “new” cut backs, how was entertainment overall?  Is Jersey Boys still playing?  Icons show?  Anyway, I hope you had a great time and I look forward to the rest of your report.

[New2cruise2022]

On 9/21/2024 at 3:40 PM, chefchick said:

I will be boarding the Bliss in Early November.  Although I’ve cruised on her many times, each sailing is different.  Would love to know if you thought upgrading to premium was worth it? (Last time I considered it, they were out of most of the premium spirits and wines I would have ordered).  With the “new” cut backs, how was entertainment overall?  Is Jersey Boys still playing?  Icons show?  Anyway, I hope you had a great time and I look forward to the rest of your report.

I’ll be on the Bliss at the end of October and hoping the experience with premium drink package was good. I get it for the water (Aqua Panna) as well as the Starbucks and energy drinks. Hopefully the premium whiskeys are well stocked as well. Last time I was on Bliss was shortly after the restart so I gave them a big pass on any shortages they had at the time. 

[QuattroRomeo]

Sounds like a good experience so far! Looking forward to the rest of your account!

[LadyCruising]

Sorry I have not gotten to add to this yet, work came back into my life with a vengeance.

 

But to answer about the premium drink package, I thought it was really worth it and they always had what I asked for and I didn't hear anyone complaining that they were out of things.

 

For entertainment, Jersey boys is great. I ended up skipping icons but other people I spoke with in the cruise enjoyed them.

[New2cruise2022]

12 minutes ago, LadyCruising said:

Sorry I have not gotten to add to this yet, work came back into my life with a vengeance.

 

But to answer about the premium drink package, I thought it was really worth it and they always had what I asked for and I didn't hear anyone complaining that they were out of things.

 

For entertainment, Jersey boys is great. I ended up skipping icons but other people I spoke with in the cruise enjoyed them.

[LadyCruising]

Ok sorry for the delay. Nothing like real life to interrupt enjoying post vacation bliss.

 

Next about the room. There were no more solo rooms available when I booked so I did single solo category with beverage package, 1 specialty dining credit, shore excursion credit, and 150 mins of wifi. Since we were traveling to a location that my phone had service while in port I didn't feel the need to upgrade my wifi package as I try to be offline as much as possible during my cruise. The room was plenty big enough for me and my overpacked suitcase. I had room to hang up and unpack all my clothes. Plenty of room in the bathroom too. I'm sure it would be okay to share with my husband although I am not sure if he would get any hangers....lol

I had played with the idea of upgrading to a balcony but I had also heard that sometimes the seas to Alaska can be rough and I didn't want to spend my vacation see sick so being low and in the middle of the ship was ideal. Also, I slept like a baby in my cold dark cave! I didn't see the Northern lights and I think I would have had a much greater chance if I'd had a balcony but I didn't feel any seasickness the entire trip so I don't regret my decision. (BTW, people on this trip did see the Northern light but most of them reported it from their balcony so if that it something you want to see you might want to get that balcony).

 

Observation lounge: This is hands down one of my favorite places in the boat. The only negative is other guests. They had both breakfast and lunch snacks/apps/desserts available most of the day and there is a bar there too. Traveling alone I could always find a place to sit, even up at the front, but I can see it would be challenging to find seating at times if you have several people in your party. The saving of space/chair hogs were in full force. My previous trips on the Bliss have been to Mexico so there is a better balance of people spread between pool and Observation lounge but on a colder weather cruise they were all in the lounge. The amount of people bothered me less than the actions of people. Lots of feet ..i mean I am amazed at the lack of social awareness when you take off your sneakers and put you nasty bare feet on the table that people are using for drinks and snacks...yuck. There was one woman near me who grabbed a pillow from a chair and used it to prop up her bare feet while on a lounger and then proceeded to talk loudly on her phone. I love to a different location but it just amazes me how people can just do that.

 

Service: I had excellent service the entire time. The crew was fantastic and each of the evenings I ate in the MDRs or Le Bistro, I had the restaurant manager come to check on my meal. I never had any complaints. I could tell that the staff was working hard and the room stewards seemed very overworked but mine always asked me daily how things were and if there was anything I needed. I had one morning that I came back to the room late morning and he immediately came and apologized for not getting to my room yet and asked if there was anything I needed immediately before he got to my room. I hadn't expected him to have done my room and assured him things were great.

My meals were all timed well and I think the longest I waited for a drink was 5 minutes at the atrium bar and this was when they were slammed. I've heard a lot of negative reviews about service recently and I didn't see any comparison here. Now granted I am a really easy person to please, especially when I am on vacation, but I was more than happy to give out extra tips for all the excellent service. And I want to give a shout out to the Starbucks employees who were always super cheerful and made all my coffee drinks perfectly and quickly. Even the long lines went quickly. I did overhear one woman berate the Starbucks employees who made her drink wrong and was unhappy after several redos of the drink. I expect she was someone who was never happy as the rest of us who were there waiting for her to get done yelling just looked at each other in disbelief.  Like I get you want to get what you ordered but I don't think the Starbucks employees are actively trying to to piss you off. In fact I think they were going out of their way to do anything to just get you to go away.

[QuattroRomeo]

it is so nice to hear about your experience! Aside from a few crass passengers, (there are always some), it sounds like a good cruise!

[New2cruise2022]

8 hours ago, LadyCruising said:

Ok sorry for the delay. Nothing like real life to interrupt enjoying post vacation bliss.

 

Next about the room. There were no more solo rooms available when I booked so I did single solo category with beverage package, 1 specialty dining credit, shore excursion credit, and 150 mins of wifi. Since we were traveling to a location that my phone had service while in port I didn't feel the need to upgrade my wifi package as I try to be offline as much as possible during my cruise. The room was plenty big enough for me and my overpacked suitcase. I had room to hang up and unpack all my clothes. Plenty of room in the bathroom too. I'm sure it would be okay to share with my husband although I am not sure if he would get any hangers....lol

I had played with the idea of upgrading to a balcony but I had also heard that sometimes the seas to Alaska can be rough and I didn't want to spend my vacation see sick so being low and in the middle of the ship was ideal. Also, I slept like a baby in my cold dark cave! I didn't see the Northern lights and I think I would have had a much greater chance if I'd had a balcony but I didn't feel any seasickness the entire trip so I don't regret my decision. (BTW, people on this trip did see the Northern light but most of them reported it from their balcony so if that it something you want to see you might want to get that balcony).

 

Observation lounge: This is hands down one of my favorite places in the boat. The only negative is other guests. They had both breakfast and lunch snacks/apps/desserts available most of the day and there is a bar there too. Traveling alone I could always find a place to sit, even up at the front, but I can see it would be challenging to find seating at times if you have several people in your party. The saving of space/chair hogs were in full force. My previous trips on the Bliss have been to Mexico so there is a better balance of people spread between pool and Observation lounge but on a colder weather cruise they were all in the lounge. The amount of people bothered me less than the actions of people. Lots of feet ..i mean I am amazed at the lack of social awareness when you take off your sneakers and put you nasty bare feet on the table that people are using for drinks and snacks...yuck. There was one woman near me who grabbed a pillow from a chair and used it to prop up her bare feet while on a lounger and then proceeded to talk loudly on her phone. I love to a different location but it just amazes me how people can just do that.

 

Service: I had excellent service the entire time. The crew was fantastic and each of the evenings I ate in the MDRs or Le Bistro, I had the restaurant manager come to check on my meal. I never had any complaints. I could tell that the staff was working hard and the room stewards seemed very overworked but mine always asked me daily how things were and if there was anything I needed. I had one morning that I came back to the room late morning and he immediately came and apologized for not getting to my room yet and asked if there was anything I needed immediately before he got to my room. I hadn't expected him to have done my room and assured him things were great.

My meals were all timed well and I think the longest I waited for a drink was 5 minutes at the atrium bar and this was when they were slammed. I've heard a lot of negative reviews about service recently and I didn't see any comparison here. Now granted I am a really easy person to please, especially when I am on vacation, but I was more than happy to give out extra tips for all the excellent service. And I want to give a shout out to the Starbucks employees who were always super cheerful and made all my coffee drinks perfectly and quickly. Even the long lines went quickly. I did overhear one woman berate the Starbucks employees who made her drink wrong and was unhappy after several redos of the drink. I expect she was someone who was never happy as the rest of us who were there waiting for her to get done yelling just looked at each other in disbelief.  Like I get you want to get what you ordered but I don't think the Starbucks employees are actively trying to to piss you off. In fact I think they were going out of their way to do anything to just get you to go away.

Great review and perspective. I appreciate when people try to find the good in the experience. I’m on the Bliss again in 30 days. I’m happy to hear about your crew and the great service you received. 

[DominicAUS]

Great review! I love the Bliss, would love to do an Alaskan on her. Counting down the days now for my TA post her dry dock.