Norwegian Bliss (6/30/2019-7/7/2019)

Item: Norwegian Bliss
Rating: 4.3
Author: WJH2

Norwegian Bliss Cruise Review

WJH2

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 48

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

7 Night Alaska Glacier Bay (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 30, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Bliss

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

I had a wonderful time and the weather was perfect.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

I felt the embarkation was fairly easy and did not take long to get checked in. The waiting area could get noisy, but the line flowed pretty good. I was in Group 1.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Overall, I thought the dining was sufficient. I tried Savor, Garden Cafe, Q, Los Lobos, and Cagney’s I had a 3 meal specialty dining package. Cagney’s was my favorite. The whole meal was very good and well prepared. The Garden Cafe could get hectic at times, but it did not deter my experience.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

I had a good time watching the pool side 4th of July concert.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

I attended the comedy show and had a good time. I did not see Jersey Boys or Havana.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

I felt the staff were overall attentive and very professional.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

This is my first cruise so I can’t compare the Norwegian Bliss to other ships. I felt the ship was clean and easy to navigate. I felt the elevators could get congested at times. I found the public areas were clean and everything seemed maintained.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

I traveled solo and had a studio stateroom and I was pleasantly surprised how nice the room was. The room was only 99 square feet and it met my needs. I didn’t feel claustrophobic and felt comfortable being in there.

Ship tip

Book excursions early. When cruising Glacier Bay National Park, dress for the weather and have camera/phone ready. The glaciers can and will calve or break away at anytime.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ketchikan, Alaska

4 out of 5

My shore excursion was canceled due to the ship was late getting there. There was two medical emergencies at different times and locations and the patients had to be taken off the ship. The first person was taken off via Coast Guard helicopter while the second person was taken off by small boat. I explored Ketchikan on my own and did some shopping. I walked to Creek Street.

Thumbs Up 1

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5

I took a bus up to Carcross, Yukon Territory and the White Pass and Yukon Route train back to Skagway the views were stunning. I got my Passport stamped at Carcross.

Thumbs Up 3

Seattle, Washington

5 out of 5

I flew in on Friday morning (6/28) and visited the Museum of Flight and thoroughly enjoyed it. On Saturday (6/29), I took a bus tour of Seattle in the morning with lunch in Pike’s Place Market. That afternoon the bus went up to Everett, Washington to tour the Boeing Factory which was amazing in just the sheer size of the factory. When the ship arrived back into Seattle, I took a shore excursion to the Space Needle which was breathtaking.

Thumbs Up 4

Victoria, British Columbia

3 out of 5

The boat was late because of Canadian Customs and my shore excursion was late. Victoria is not bad at night but wished I could see it with more daylight.

Thumbs Up 1

Juneau, Alaska

4 out of 5

The ship was late getting cleared by customs at the port and I ended up being late to my shore excursion. I was able to re-book for the next tour and went whale watching. I saw two humpback whales.

Thumbs Up 4

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

Disembarkation was hectic, but I blame the passengers, not the ship’s staff. People were in a hurry to get off. I had a shore excursion booked through the cruise line. My group got to get off later and it was a breeze getting off the boat, clearing customs and boarding the excursion bus. I used Port Valet and it was worth it.