Longing for a 2nd Bliss trip
Norwegian Bliss Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 44
7 Night Alaska Highlights (Seattle Roundtrip)
Sail date: August 11, 2018
Ship: Norwegian Bliss
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 10190
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
This was our first experience on a different cruise line besides Disney. Overall, I was impressed and would cruise with Norwegian again. However, the one thing I didn't like was how I felt I was getting hit for extra fees for everything. On Disney, EVERYTHING is included. When I had to pay extra for go-carts, and laser tag, that irritated me. The shows were horrible on the Norwegian with the exception of The Jersey Boys. The biggest questions I always ask myself is would I go again and yes, I would. I'm thinking of checking out the Bliss' dates for the Caribbean.Embarkation
Pier 66 was easy to navigate and the boarding process was very quick and smooth. I was shocked how quickly were able to get on the ship compared to the boarding process of our Disney cruises.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
My family has been a strictly Disney Cruise family. My reviews are a comparison with our experiences on all 4 Disney ships. On the Bliss, we ate at all the included dining rooms and they were wonderful! I didn't think I would like the Freestyle dining, but I feel in love with the flexibility and not have to rush to our seating time. My teenagers also loved the dining flexibility. I often found my husband and myself eating dinner alone because they loved eating at The Local Bar and Grill with their friends. This is a 24 hour restuarant style dining room that is also included in the complimentary dining selections. You sit down and order food instead of eating from a The Garden Cafe buffet...aka the trough where the pizza is HORRIBLE. The Garden Cafe was good, but I'm not a buffet person. We ate breakfast there everyday and it was breakfast, nothing spectacular. Finding a seat is hard, but I quickly figured out if we ate outside, there was no problems. FYI...the seating outside is heated :) All of the dining rooms have wonderful views. We also ate at two a la carte restaurants. First we at at Teppanyaki, the Japanese steak house. The food was amazing, as was our cook. I found myself craving leftovers the next day. We also ate at La Cucina the Italian restaurant. The food was good (beef tenderloin was my order and suggested by the server), but I was disappointed as was my family because they didn't offer lasagna or chicken parmesan. My husband and I also had the unlimited drink packages. Every drink I ordered was perfect. The one thing we really liked was how we didn't have to tip or sign a receipt for every drink we ordered. On the Disney ships, you tip for EVERY drink or order. It's a pain! The other thing I was disappointed with was the room service charge. On the Disney ships, it's included. On the Bliss, there was a service fee of $7.95 I believe. Otherwise, comparing our Disney cruises to Norwegian Bliss, the Bliss' food and drink wins!
Onboard Activities
The main reason we picked the Bliss was because of the activities available for our teenagers. Up to this cruise, they have only cruised on Disney which has so much to offer. When we boarded the Bliss, we honestly felt like we had boarded a Disney ship. We said it was like they used the Disney blueprint and called the ship the Bliss. The pools, restaurants, fitness center, were all laid out similar to the Disney ships. We all rode the go-carts and said we wouldn't do it again. They were slow because they control your speed, we waited for 40 minutes after our scheduled time to finally go. This wasn't because of overbooking, it was clearly too many people trying to control what was going on. It was an unorganized mess. They said it was 8 laps, but I think I only did 6. The biggest problem and the main reason we decided not to go back was because the track was getting sprayed with the mist from the cooling stacks. When we left the track, we were covered in black diesel fuel mist from the ship. It was gross and the attendant said to make sure we wash our clothes...really?? There's no washing machines on the ship! This is a major design flaw on the Bliss. It's cool, but nobody wants to get a shower from the cooling stacks. We also did laser tag, which was a much better experience. This was very organized and the process to get into the laser tag area was quick. My biggest complaint about these two activities is we had to pay EXTRA to do them! On our Disney cruises, EVERYTHING was included. My husband and I both said, we would rather pay more upfront then get nickeled and dimed on the ship. The pools were great, the waterslide was cool with the lighted features inside, but the tube was a little scary. It was shut down a few times because kids kept getting stuck. They would have to crawl down, or go back up. My husband visited the fitness center and said it was okay, but we both said the running track around the top deck was a poor location choice. Too many people to dodge when running. Both my teenagers said the putt-putt was disappointing. If I had to pick, Disney wins in this department.
Entertainment
The only show worth seeing is The Jersey Boys. The Havana show was horrible! So many people walked out during the show and I'm surprised they didn't pull the curtain during it. The other show on Prohibition, I wasn't going to pay for. The comedians were okay, and the country band was good. There is a lot of room for improvement in this area. Comparing to our Disney cruises, I was more entertained and it kept my attention. I wasn't looking at my watching wanting to leave or asking my husband if he wanted to go. The Beattle's were great also. Again, Disney wins in this department.
Children's Programs
My teenagers both like their clubs, but were disappointed they didn't have a teen only pool or hot tub like Disney. They both said the did like the Bliss because they were more involved. The one thing they did miss was the lack of movies available. Disney was a movie theater and that wasn't available on the Bliss. Overall, they said the staff was great and would prefer the Bliss to Disney.
Service and Staff
Again, using our Disney cruise experience, the staff is no where as friendly as the Disney staff. The waiters were good, but you don't get to build relationships with them because of the free style dining. Our room steward was okay. He left some cute towel animals, the standard on cruises, but he never folded the bed back into a couch. On the Disney ship, they would fold the beds up, straighten your shoes, fold up clothes if they were left on the bed, and the wipe everything down. The people greeting you at the restaurants were friendly, but again you couldn't get to know them because of the free style dining. Again, area goes to Disney.
Ship Quality
This ship was very clean and the design felt familiar because it was very similar to the Disney ships. The only difference was the casino in the middle. The biggest complaint I have is the smoke smell coming from all the one lounge. It was very overwhelming and I could also smell it on my balcony on deck 10. I also wanted to do a wine tasting, but decided against it because the smoking area was directly across from it and I didn't want to smell the smoke. The location wasn't thought out very well and should be moved to a location that doesn't have people coming and going. As far as cleanliness, I never felt it was dirty or needed to be cleaned. The public bathrooms were clean and cafe never had dirty dishes sitting around. However, because of the smoke smell in public areas, I'm going to say that Disney does this better...sorry Bliss.
Cabin / Stateroom
Our cabin was exactly as pictured on Norwegian's website. The only thing I would change is the side of the ship our cabin was on. We were on the port side and I wish I was on the starboard side. However, I like how Disney split the bathroom into two areas. It makes it a lot more efficient when multiple people are trying to get ready. I also like how the Bliss has the hairdryer outside the bathroom and the shower was amazing! It had little body jets that you could use and the shower head had lots of pressure. There was no bathtub which could be an issue if you have little kids. I was disappointed with the lack of power outlets and was happy I brought a power strip. There are a few USB ports which was nice. Also, bring a night light if you have little kids. The cabins gets really dark. The bed is high enough to fit 4 large suitcases under and the closet has plenty of shelves. We didn't discover the drawers under the couch until the last day. The bed was comfy, but I loved the Disney beds better. The balcony was nice too. This is an area I can't decide who did better. It's a tie between Disney and the Bliss.
Ship tip
Bring an extra power strip!
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
We were in Seattle for 4 days before we cruised and the only bad I can say is the police do not know how to direct traffic after a sporting event. I live in Detroit and with there has been times when there were 2 sporting events and a concert going on and the traffic was NEVER as bad as it was at the preseason football game. Yes, I know the Lions suck, but seriously three events going on and we fly out of downtown. Anyways, we rented a car and stayed in Bellevue. Bellevue was such a nice area. We walked to dinner or lunch every day. In Seattle we did all the tourist things, Space Needle, Freemont troll, Pike's Market, all the museums, Ferris wheel, and a cruise in Puget Sound. I would suggest buying the City Pass, it saved a lot of money.
We did a Jeep and Canoe with clam chowder bake. I didn't have great expectations for this excursion, but it was great. You take the Jeeps down some old logging roads and up the hills to some great look out points. My teenagers loved this excursion even though they couldn't drive. As a bonus, the clam chowder was amazing!
This was my favorite port of call. We went to Mendenhall Glacier, Mendenhall Gardens, and a salmon hatchery. The only part I would do again is the Glacier. The Gardens were pretty, but not worth the time spent there and Steve who developed the Gardens must be some kind of god because they couldn't stop talking about him. The hatchery was kinda boring. Back to the glacier, YOU NEED TO TAKE A TOWEL TO DRY YOUR FEET OFF or wear tall rain boots. You can walk over to the waterfall and along the sandy area. I really recommend doing this. Especially if you're like me and didn't want to pay $300 a person to fly and land on the glacier. You will get some amazing pictures!
Instead of taking the train ride, we took a bus and went to a suspension bridge in Canada. We had the same views as the train, but had a few stops we made to take pictures. Something the train doesn't do. The suspension bridge was okay. Not my favorite excursion, but not the worst either. The town of Skagway is very cute and I would recommend walking around.
Wish it was Vancouver and not Victoria. There wasn't a lot to do as fas excursions, mostly garden tours, and whale watching. Garden tours don't interest my family and since we saw whales off the side of the ship, we opted not to do that. Instead, we walked around the downtown area and took pictures and did some shopping. We ended up walking, which was an easy 15 minute walk because the shuttle would have been $62 round trip for 4 people. That was ridiculous to me and is the main reason I gave it 3 stars. Every other port, it was $5 round trip. It is easily walkable and I would encourage you to do that instead of the shuttle.
Disembarkation
Traveler Photos
4 Comments
PJRiske 6 years ago
We did keep track and the price ended being just a few hundred difference. Which, to me when you're spending thousands, what's a few hundred. Honestly, we've met people on the Disney ships who didn't have kids, but love the experience Disney provides. We picked the Bliss because it was a new ship and it was about $2000 cheaper up front for 4 of us to go to Alaska. After we paid for the drink packages (4 people), go-carts (1x for 4 people), laser tag (multiple times), and speciality dining, it was about the same. While the cost wasn't hidden, I would rather pay an all-inclusive price especially with teenagers and not have to worry about extras. The other thing I didn't include was how we loved the adult only area on the Disney ships. The area on the Bliss was beautiful, but included a smoking area which turned me away. Would I sail again on the Bliss, absolutely!
nick684 6 years ago
Wow, that's some review. I've never neen on a Disney cruise and at this time of life I don't care to. Maybe when the grandchildren come. I'm curious though, you said you'd rather pay up front. I feel the same way. Did you happen to do the math and see which one is more expensive? I have no clue as I've never priced one but I have a hunch you might have figured it out already.