lhager228 Cruise Review on Norwegian Bliss on Jun 09, 2018

Norwegian Bliss Cruise Review

lhager228

Contributor Level: Purser

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 21

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Sail date: June 09, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Bliss

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

I don’t usually write reviews; however, being this is a new ship information is hard to find without prior cruiser postings. Overall: the Bliss is a beautiful clean ship with lots of eateries and watering holes. Sea days are a little slow around the ship if you aren’t into games, tutorial workshops or shopping. Although traveling to Alaska is a cooler weather cruise, plenty of people headed to the pool and hot tubs on board during these days. I can only assume the pool was heated as it seemed to be pretty packed. Note I did just say pool, not plural. There seemed to be an ample amount of hot tubs spaced nicely apart and on different decks which is different than most cruise ships I’ve been on. The common areas are well thought out and the observation lounge is beautiful with quite a bit of eating along both sides and forward. *Tip- Be prepared to feel the boat moving. It’s a big ship which would make one think you can’t really feel it moving but OH YES YOU CAN. Cabin: Aft 13310- having sailed several times with other Lines I felt my cabin to be a generous size and well thought out. My hard shell luggage did fit under the bed with ease. There were about 12-15 clothes hangers in the closet with several shelves as well as a small safe. For cruise ship standards I felt it was large enough. There were also a couple of storage doors under the wall hung TV that came in handy. The bed was so-so but the pillows were quite comfy. There is a small sofa that provides a nice place to sit while not in bed. There are 2 small hooks on the wall as you enter the cabin which came in handy for coats or things you might want to grab daily as you leave. * I purchased a 4pk of magnetic hooks from Amazon and used them as well on the walls to hang additional items. The bathroom was actually larger than I expected having experienced some REALLY small ones on other ships. The sink is small as with most ships; however, there is quite a bit of storage shelving that is above and below the vanity top as well as a cabinet directly under the offset sink. The shower is a nice size with a handshower mounted on a bar. There are actually 2 hooks mounted to the back of the bathroom door that are handy. Air- you must have your keycard in the slot in order for your cabin to have power... this means air too. If you open your balcony door the air also turns off so you have to reset the “snowflake” button on the keypad. We also realized our air would turn off randomly thru the night so we found ourselves waking up and turning it back on. Balcony- generous size with 2 chairs and a little table. On the Aft, the balconies are partially covered so if it rains, you really don’t get the luxury of sitting on your balcony. On the positive side of only having a partial covering...the sun sure felt good! Aft is a wonderful place to be because you can truly see both sides of the beauty!! Splurge if your budget allows as you won’t regret it when traveling to Alaska. Don’t expect a lot of privacy on the aft balconies as you can pretty much see the entire aft guests when they are standing against the rail. *Biggest tip- don’t overpack for Alaska.... you might be surprised how little you need and how beautiful the weather can be. They called for rain nearly every day and if you look at my pictures you can see how lucky we were! Food- pretty standard cruise ship food; honestly. The specialty restaurants are well worth any expense you might incur, especially if you are not keen on large, crowded buffets. The main buffet on deck 16 is pretty much a staple for a lot of guests, probably because it is easy. Breakfast was probably my favorite to hit up the buffet; though we found ourselves going there for a late lunch too bc it was pretty much the only venue open. * Tip- If you don’t want the buffet for dinner, I HIGHLY recommend you book the specialty restaurants as soon as you can log in to NCL’s website and create an account. All the specialties are worth it! Drinks- we had the unlimited beverage package which we felt was a wise choice. Note, you do pay taxes on alcohol drinks while docked in port so plan for those charges. We found the drinks to be “heavy pours” and not watered down. Spa- beautiful, busy and a budget buster!! I booked 3 services though I wished I had only done 1- the Bamboo Massage. It was amazing and worth every penny. I spoke to our cabin neighbor and they received the seaweed massage and said it was also fantastic. * Tip- be prepared for pushy upgrades/products after your service. This was probably the worst part about using the spa services. I am in sales and understand their strategy; though when on vacation you don’t want to feel obligated or pressured to spend more than what you agreed to for the initial service. Elevators- usually not a problem but on port days a nightmare. *Tip- Use forward or aft elevators as they seemed to be not as hectic. We also got on the elevator if it was going down... just to go back up. It assured us a spot on the elevator to get back up to our floor. Casino- Seemed to be a well appointed for a cruise ship casino. Only 1 roulette wheel though. Water slide- I didn’t partake in the fun but the ones who did seemed to have had a fun time. I heard that you must follow some rules in order to make it thru the loops and not get stuck. I think it’s all about keeping your legs and arms together. Laser tag- We didn’t get to do this as it was completely booked the entire cruise. There is an additional fee for this. *Tip- book as soon as you get onboard. Racetrack- so fun! I was shocked at the track and speed being that it is on the very top of the ship. Great way to kill time on sea days. There is an additional fee for this. *Tip- book as soon as you get onboard as it was booked the entire week. Shows- part of our family went to see several of the shows and said they were all quite good. *Tip- if you want to see any shows book as soon as you can or be prepared to stand in the standby line- which usually gets you in. Shopping- yes, there are always shopping “deals” onboard. Things seem to be moderately priced but with no tax. I divulged a little on sea days bc there wasn’t a lot more to do unless you are interested in games, seminars or getting totally wasted. My negative comments would be.... The halls are really narrow. The food is just ok unless you book specialty restaurants. There isn’t a lot to do on sea days if you aren’t into games, etc. The air system in the cabin is not consistent during the night (at least ours wasn’t). Happy sailing!!

21 Comments

dizzzydr 6 years ago

Thanks for the review 👍

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jjlen11 6 years ago

I appreciate the reviews... I’m now debating if this will be as unpredictable as going to Vegas... think you have to make the best of it and just enjoy

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brittryan08 6 years ago

Thank you for such a long good review!! We go in this ship in September and we've heard several bad things :(

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lhager228 6 years ago

Pearsallc, I do not recall being able to prebook prohibition. If my memory serves me, in the 1st day of the cruise on the touch screens that are available around the stair areas that show had availability as it was the highest priced one.

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lhager228 6 years ago

I do not think there were dueling pianos Cindy

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pearsallc 6 years ago

I’m sailing in August. Can you pre-book the Prohibition show? I’ve booked everything that was available except for prohibition and the race cars.

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jjlen11 6 years ago

Thanks for the review

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CindyLouWhooo 6 years ago

Do you remember if there was Dueling Pianos on the cruise?

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lhager228 6 years ago

Honestly Blissfull77, I can’t remember what night the seafood buffet was. I would recommend keeping your reservation as I am SURE the seafood at Ocean Blue would be much better and a lot quieter.

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Blissfull77 6 years ago

Thank you for this very thorough review. Sailing in a couples weeks. You clarified questions I had in mind. Sea-sickness for me is unpredictable but I will definitely bring something in light of your comment! Heard seafood buffet was on Sunday. Scheduled to eat at Ocean Blue that night but might reschedule if that's true AND worth the change. Recommendations appreciated. Thank you so much for the information and your time!

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Betty1941 6 years ago

Thank you for your review was very helpful. I am sailing in August and I am looking forward to being on the new bliss

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CindyLouWhooo 6 years ago

Thank you so much! I really would like to see if they still have the Glow Party.

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lhager228 6 years ago

To answer the question about the Glow Party. If I would have kept my daily information sheets I could answer this question. I have a family member who did, I’ll see if it’s on there and repost.

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lhager228 6 years ago

To answer the question of my favorite restaurant- Cagney’s Steahouse Just a note, I did hear the French restaurant was slightly disappointing.

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sharawade 6 years ago

Awesome review!

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nick684 6 years ago

Nice review. Thank you. I just got off myself last week. Agree pretty much with everything you said. A tip for the AC. As I was told, don't touch the snowflake. I was making the same mistake and when my wife asked, was told just set the temp. The button puts it into some kind of timed mode. Once we learned that, we could hang meat in it the rest of the week without worrying about it.

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Viclyns 6 years ago

So excited my first cruise will be in September, you provided a lot of great information!! This was the best review I have seen so far. Thank you!

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CindyLouWhooo 6 years ago

Did they have the White Hot/Glow Party at Spice H2O?

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harleychick421 6 years ago

Thank you for your review!

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IkeDeb 6 years ago

Great

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sklees 6 years ago

Favorite speciality restaurant?

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