Overcrowded but fun

Item: Norwegian Bliss
Rating: 4.7
Author: savocoll

Norwegian Bliss Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

savocoll

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 19

Overall rating:

4.7 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Alaska Highlights (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 09, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Bliss

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10250

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

The ship sailed at 120% of capacity with 4700 guests - too many! Very difficult to find a table for breakfast (we ate in specialty restaurants every night and those were excellent). We booked one race track session and one laser tag session when we first boarded, intending to see if we liked it before booking more sessions (you pay $5 for laser tag and $10 for go carts), but that was a mistake because they were both fully booked after day one and we were out of luck. The Alaskan ports were fabulous. Seaplane (magnificent scenery and beautiful peaceful landing spot in the middle of nowhere) in Ketchikan. Whale watching in Juneau (we saw humpbacks and orca!) and helicopter to walk on glacier and old-time streetcar ride in Skagway. Victoria lovely too. We took a horse and carriage ride which was a great way to see the sights.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Book Everything as early as you can

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

5 out of 5

Ketchikan, Alaska

5 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5

Victoria, British Columbia

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

11 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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dcregar 6 years ago

Thanks for the tip.

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pearsallc 6 years ago

I’m sailing in August on Bliss. Thankfully booked an aft facing haven penthouse so we won’t have to deal with issues in the garden cafe. It sounds like from all of the reviews I read, that they didn’t take into account the fact that people aren’t hanging out on the Sun deck like the Caribbean so they are looking for other things to do.

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mdenker 6 years ago

Hi. Victoria excursion booked thru NCL or on your own? Thanks!

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lylerrr 6 years ago

We were on at the same time and I totally agree they couldn't handle the number of guests. It was stressful trying to get seats for shows, dining, racing etc.

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1960cruiser 6 years ago

A ship will never, never sail beyond the lifeboat capacity. Just because a cabin will accommodate 4, doesn't mean it will sail with four in there. It is all based on lifeboat capacity. A person can thank the Titanic tragedy for that reason, and also for muster station drills. So a ship will never sail with 120% capacity, so I would think it just felt that way due to size of ship.

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Boardbender 6 years ago

Most rooms can sleep 4 people and some can have up 6 people

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cruising340 6 years ago

Double Occupancy: 4004 (guests) Maximum Occupancy: 4992 (guests) Crew Maximum Occpancy: 1716

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tvjones1022 6 years ago

Impossible to sail like that. Safety issues with too many. Maybe it just felt like that.

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cathyd696 6 years ago

Thought it was 4004 passenger ship ? Jeeze where did put the other passengers lol

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renaedave 6 years ago

bummer

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