Could not have been more disappointed...

Item: Norwegian Bliss
Rating: 2.4
Author: kking315

Norwegian Bliss Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

kking315

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 18

Overall rating:

2.4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Alaska Highlights (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 02, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Bliss

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 12196

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

I have never been more disappointed with a cruise. The description about the stateroom was very misleading. The entire cruise had several let downs, NCL has a lot of work to do. This ship in Alaska this early in the season forced the guests to remain indoors, crowded everywhere!

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Food was good but service "FreeStyle" was not good. By the time we found a seat our Breakfast was cold...

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

All of our activities were so overbooked we could get into anything!!!

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

2 out of 5

Main Dining service was bad. Waited 30 minutes for water at one meal... Freestyle encourages the staff to just ignore guests..

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

This was the first Alaskan visit and the ship is new. It does not have good plans to seat guests on deck 16.

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

Ship tip

The Mini Suite is a waste of your money. Small in every way..

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

4 out of 5

Ketchikan, Alaska

4 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

4 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

4 out of 5

Victoria, British Columbia

2 out of 5

Only had 2 buses to service moving 4700 guests...

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

11 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

angelaemersonmsncom 6 years ago

1957cruiser... I would say yes it was tough to find a seat in the observation lounge if you did not get there early and there were groups of all sizes that seemed to plant them selves and stay for hours on end however if that’s how they chose to spend their cruise I feel like that is their prerogative. It really didn’t fluster me. If I wanted a good spot I simply got there early myself. There is so much to see and do on the ship that I really can recall nothing that was an overall disappointment in the long run. We ate in none of the specialty dining restaurants because the food in the main dining room’s was really quite delicious and improvement by far over past NCL cruises. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in this ship or its amenities. Have a wonderful trip!

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

seas2day 6 years ago

I'm sorry your first experience with Alaska cruise didn't turn positive. Normally, middle of May is the start of our warm, sunny days, but this year was an exception. I actually turned on my heat last week! Have never, in over 40 years, have I done this in June. We have sailed Alaska twice, May & Sept, both being good weather...enough for my husband to take a dip in the pool on deck. As for Victoria,...they are not yet equipped for the extra-large ships. This is the 1st one, ever. They do have other ways of commute to downtown...pedi-cab, horse carriage, taxi (which they encourage share-ride for less expense), private-hire vehicles, or walk the sea-wall (which you can stop at fisherman wharf for a water taxi to inner harbour).

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

surfandsnorkel 6 years ago

We cruised the Ncl Bliss from Miami to LosAngeles in May. I give it 5 stars. Nothing is perfect. It’s a beautiful ship. Don’t let the negative reviews discourage you. I didn’t want to get off after 15 days.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

zhenlee 6 years ago

It’s never a good idea to go on a cruise on a new ship. Better to wait 6-8 months for ship routines and personnel have fully situated

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

jltanner56 6 years ago

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

1957cruiser 6 years ago

Thank you tucsonjim1, was just reading your review of your time on The Bliss which was excellent BTW, thanks for sharing! I actually had to call NCL today with a couple questions and asked them about this issue of commandeering the loungers and people staking out their territory and suggested exactly what you mentioned; they need to set a maximum time limit and not allow people to use items to reserve a lounger while they leave for extended periods of time (I've also read the same issue's happening around pools as you said). NCL's response was "they didn't feel the staff could enforce such things" but would bring it to the attention of "someone" (not sure who that person would be). But, with that being said, I'm certainly looking forward to doing our first cruise and will just have to roll with whatever happens good or bad, I'm not going to let rude people ruin my experience. Oh and we did book a mini-suite midship so that balcony will be more than utilized. Again, thanks for your nice reply and review!

Thumbs Up 2

Flag

tucsonjim1 6 years ago

1957cruiser I experienced the reported problem in the Observation lounge. One person would lie down on a 3 person sofa for hours on end while people keep cruising around waiting for a seat. NCL needs to set a maximum time limit and not allow people to use items to reserve a seat while they leave for extended periods of time. It is my understanding the same problem occurs around the pool. I didn't experience that around the pools because of the cool weather. I suggest a balcony room for your own observation lounge. I had a aft balcony room where the wind was minimal. It was especially nice on the fjord cruise to the glacier. I like to eat early and did not have any seating problem in the smaller Taste and Savor dining rooms. I can be blamed for the cool weather because I wanted to have low temperatures and rain on my cruise. It was over 100 degrees every day at my home in Tucson and I hadn't seen a drop of rain since February.

Thumbs Up 2

Flag

1957cruiser 6 years ago

I'm actually looking so forward to this cruise, I've never even been on a cruise ship and can't wait! As for rain and weather conditions, can't control that and besides I live in the PNW and rain has never been a deterrent. I will admit I have trepidation about the reviews I'm reading (on many social media sights) about the Observation Lounge, but that's not something I'm going to let ruin a once in a lifetime experience!

Thumbs Up 3

Flag

tucsonjim1 6 years ago

So you blame NCL for typical June Alaska weather? One can choose to sail later in the summer, but the Alaska weather can change from day to day. I ate at the Savor and Taste Dining Rooms and had just the opposite experience. Same food and terrific service.

Thumbs Up 2

Flag

1957cruiser 6 years ago

I continuously read poor reviews on the seating especially in dining rooms and the Observation deck. What I’m seeing mainly is problems with passengers “loitering/sleeping” and commandeering the loungers all day. Did you encounter that?

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

The bliss of Alaskka

Beautiful mountains and glaciers.

Alaska is beautiful and the staff on the cruise excellent