Fantastic Alaska Cruise, on an Amazing Ship, with Great Crew
Norwegian Bliss Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage
Contributor Level:
First Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 15
Helpful Votes: 573
7 Night Alaska With Dawes Glacier (Seattle Roundtrip)
Sail date: August 13, 2022
Ship: Norwegian Bliss
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 10150
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
This was an amazing trip. The Norwegian Bliss is a great ship with fantastic crew. The itinerary was good and Alaska is spectacular.Embarkation
Embarkation was very easy and efficient, all our documents were checked quickly and seamlessly and we were soon through to the waiting area. In total we had to wait around an hour to get onboard as we had an earlier arrival time (10:30am), but as soon as the ship was ready we were straight onboard!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
There is no shortage of excellent food on the ship - from the buffet to the main dining rooms and specialty restaurants. The buffet had a good selection everyday, and we appreciated its position at the front of the ship for the views. It was also great to have the small buffet for snacks and limited breakfast within the observation lounge. The main dining rooms always had very nice food and a good menu, we particularly liked Taste and Savor as smaller, quieter venues compared to the Manhattan Room. Finally, we also went to Cagney's Steakhouse which as good, and Le Bistro, which was particularly outstanding.
Onboard Activities
The Norwegian Bliss is packed full of amazing onboard activities! We enjoyed the laser tag and go-karts, for which the charge was reasonable and kept crowds limited. The little mini-golf course was also nice to have. Both waterslides were great fun, especially the ocean loops slide (where the floor drops from underneath you and with two loops over the edge of the ship) - assuming it was open and you didn't get stuck! There was also a multitude of hosted onboard activities, such as trivia, Q&As, port presentations and dance classes. Finally, the spa was expansive (albeit expensive) and the fitness centre well-equipped with great views.
Entertainment
Both Jersey Boys and Six were excellent and we enjoyed the main stage shows. Particularly fantastic was The Beatles Experience, who performed in the Cavern Club and main theatre - they were amazing. There were also plenty of musicians around the ship and good DJs. Our cruise director, Jack, was great, along with the entire entertainment team.
Service and Staff
The crew onboard were amazing - so friendly, attentive and happy. The service was excellent and all the crew fantastic. Particular mention must go to Mary Grace (waitress), Jocelyn Jaime (coco's) and Neil (cabin steward) for going above and beyond.
Ship Quality
This is a great ship. The layout is easy to understand and all the public spaces are beautifully and sophisticatedly designed. It was particularly good that the smoking section of the casino was separated, so you didn't have to walk through it to get from one end of the ship to the other on deck 7. The focus on the ocean and views from the ship was great, especially the waterfront and observation lounge. The ship was perfectly maintained and kept meticulously clean throughout the cruise.
Cabin / Stateroom
This is an excellent balcony cabin - it is spacious, with the room area (particularly around the sofa), balcony and bathroom especially all being a good size. There is sufficient storage space, and it's a lovely, modern, well-equipped room. It was kept incredibly clean and tidy by our amazing cabin steward, Neil, who also kindly fitted the bed with a foam mattress topper to make it softer/more comfortable.
Ports of call
Seattle is a cool city with nice restaurants and easy to get around, we enjoyed exploring it before and after the cruise. We visited the Space Needle, Pike's Market and the museum of flight, all of which were great experiences. The Edgewater is a particularly fantastic pre or post cruise hotel, right next to the pier 66 (NCL) terminal and waterfront views with the cruise ship towering over you!
Thumbs Up
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We had a great experience in Sitka. Our excursion began with a marine mammals cruise, in which we saw orca whales, stellar sea lions and a bald eagle. We then visited the bear sanctuary, where we saw brown and black bears. Finally, we visited the raptor centre, which was an interesting experience and we got to see many spectacular birds.
In Juneau we took a sea plane excursion over 5 glaciers to Taku Lodge. This was by far the best shore excursion we have ever taken. It was fun flying in the sea plane, with truly spectacular views. The Taku lodge had nice walks, great staff and delicious grilled wild salmon. It was a fantastic experience.
CRUISE ENDICOTT ARM & DAWES GLACIER
It was nice to cruise to this glacier on the ship, and we appreciated them opening the forward bow deck (usually crew only) for guests to view the glacier and surrounding fjord. The views were great, however unfortunately the ship could not get very close to the glacier.
Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), Alaska
Icy Strait Point is a nice little town, with things such as a gondola and zip-line to do. However, it is largely just a cruise ship stop, rather than a particularly notable town/city as our other ports of call were. Nevertheless, we took a good whale watching boat trip, where we saw humpback whales, despite very poor weather.
In Ketchikan we took a great excursion to the bear sanctuary. We saw many wild bears up close, catching and eating salmon - it was amazing. We were also driven through and told about the town which was nice. Where our ship docked, in Ward Cove, whilst this is slightly out of the centre of Ketchikan, it had a large shopping warehouse, with good free wifi and an excellent opportunity to buy souvenirs!
Victoria is a really nice city, and we enjoyed our limited time there. However, unfortunately, through no fault of Victoria, our ship only docked there in the evening, from 8pm-midnight. We took an excursion to Butchart gardens, which was interesting, but not the same as it would have been seeing the flowers in daylight. We were also driven/shown around the city which looked beautiful, but again not quite the same experience as it might have been during the day. It was strange and a little inconvenient to get back to the ship at 11:45pm, especially on the last night of the cruise. However, this isn't Victoria's fault - it's a great place - just make sure your cruise line scheduling gives you appropriate time to enjoy the city.
Disembarkation
Disembarkation was quick and easy. We were in no rush to get off the ship, so enjoyed breakfast in the buffet and left when the last guests were called to do so (about 9.30am). The process took around 15 minutes.