Overall, I enjoyed going to Alaska and doing some excursion. I was disappointment that I saw no galcier that I thought would be part of the sailing experience. Unfortunately I would not recommend Norwegian for future sailors or for that of myself. There were many people both new to NCL and previous NCL cruisers who have echoed the same sentiment. In fact one person who has previously cruised with NCL 10 times told me that this was the worst experience they had with NCL.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
We had an 11:30 check-in, embarked and were immediately told that are staterooms would not be available until after 3pm and should go to the Garden Cafe to have lunch. The cafe was crowded and hard to find seating due to 4000+ people being instructed to go to the cafe to have lunch since rooms were not available. In addition the cafe was HOT, we were sweaty because it did not feel as if Air Conditioning was turned on to accommodate all the people in one area. Furthermore, we had a 5:30 reservation in Main Dining Room and did not receive our luggage in our room until 5pm.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Food was disappointing as was having to book reservations to dine at the specialty restaurants. I went online to 21 days prior as suggested to book reservations and the Seafood Restaurant was all booked. Furthermore you would think that on an Alaskan Cruise there would be an abundance of seafood such as crab, Alaskan king crab legs, snow crabs etc. There was NOTHING! The Buffet was mediocre in selection taste and food was Lukewarm or cold.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Activities appeared to be more team building exercises that I do at work, such as trivia games etc. Did not use the pool due to weather conditions. I did enjoy the speedway race cars that were onboard.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Attended Jersey Boys which was great. Attended a Beatles the Experience which was good. Don't recall any DJs or clubs that you could go dancing.
Children's Programs
Did not have young children traveling with me.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Overall service was okay. Wait times to receive food in the dining areas seemed to take long such as receiving the entre, receiving beverages. Also when ordering dessert with coffee, they would bring the dessert and then you would have to wait for coffee.
On Sunday August 13th, while at Sea, we experienced some rough seas, causing my wife to become sea sick (not the fault of the Cruise line or staff). This started at around 12pm PT and I took my wife back to the cabin where we stayed. Around 2pm I tried calling the ships Medical Center which automatically transferred me to Guest Services that did not answer. I had to go down to Guest Services (which involved waiting for packed elevators), then stand in long line to ask about Medical assistance. They put me through via telelphone to the Medical Center, where I was told that they were currently closed and would reopen at 6pm to 7:30pm, however if I wanted my wife to see the doctor now there would be an additional charge above and beyond the normal charge. OUTRAGEOUS, that with many people on board getting sick from the rocking of the ship (as evidenced by Barf bags and other passengers saying they were sick), that the Medical Center would not be open. We had to wait until 6pm before being seen by the ships doctor. Definitely not what DOC on the Love Boat would have done! LOL
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Layout of ship was good. Only complaint would be elevators. While there were plenty of elevators they were always crowded and took long. I think for each set of elevators (there were about 8 or 10 in each section (beginning of Mid and Beginning of AFT), the ship should have had one side of each section designated with DOWN only elevators and the other side of each section as UP Only elevators.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Overall happy with the comfort and size of the cabin. However our cabin was only cleaned 3 out of the 7 days we were on board. I had to get towels from the cart in the hall because the stewart was still cleaning rooms at 6pm at night. There was no nightime turn down service, no little touches such as chocolate on pillow or towels made into designs etc.
Quick and easy, however we choose an 8:45am disembarkation time and stood in line for way too long, again, in an un airconditioned hallway with many people.
We absolutely loved Bliss. Garden Cafe is a buffet, so our expectations were based on knowing that. We did the buffet once and a couple upgraded dinners as well. We stayed in the Haven, and the food was amazing. We liked it so much that we canceled our reservations for the remaining fine dining and ate in Haven Dining only. Never disappointed. We loved the casino and actually won a few bucks, so that was a plus. Our room was first class and we received perfect service. Never wanted for anything. They were quick to get our drinks refilled and kept us loaded up on snacks all the time.
The ports were all beautiful and our excursions went off without any problems other than one ran late and the group didn’t get back to the ship until 10 minutes after it was supposed to leave. But Norwegian, true to their word, didn’t leave without us.
The port stops may have seemed short, but are they every really long enough? We could have stayed for hours longer, but we were excited about the next stop.
We have booked our next cruise for the spring and doing the 10 day Med. Port stops there are indeed much longer (10-12 hours).
Two things I learned on this trip: don’t pay for the fine dining, as there are lots of restaurants that are very good. If you want fine dining, pay the extra money and get a Haven Room. Absolutely money we’ll spent.
The second thing I learned is book your excursions with the ship. You may find a better deal, but if you’re excursion is late, you may be taking a chance on missing ships movement. We will absolutely continue to cruise with Norwegian. Top notch all the way around.
That is so surprising to me and my husband. We absolutely loved the Bliss. The number of people on board did not surprise me since it, the ship, was designed to carry that many passengers. We boarded at 9:30am. for a 3pm departure and lounged on the deck, were served snacks and drinks in the buffet, and actually really enjoyed ourselves. Rooms not being available until 5 is completely normal since people have disembarked the same ship and rooms need to be cleaned and sanitized, and that is a LOT of cabins. I never have gotten motion sick, but as a precautions, I went to the Dr prior for meds just in case. I'm sorry your cruise was unsatisfactory. I guess maybe my husband and I set our expectations a bit lower because we had a blast and made the best of every moment including the day of torrential rains and wind when we stayed in our cabin and played yahtzee. I hope you have the chance to experience that kind of cruise.
I understand your point about the elevators but your suggested way to improve things would not work. If certain banks of elevators were designated as only up or down they would never return. They have to go up and down.
FYI, when boarding you can eat in the MDR, buffet or the local.
Interesting I just read another review of this same cruise that raves about how great it was. It seems many of your issues were a lack of research beforehand. You can book dining starting 120 days prior to sailing. You’ll easily get your desired times and restaurants. Cabins are never ready as soon as you board. Go have lunch in the main dining room, it’s open. When the schedule says cruise glaciers as a “port” that’s not a stop, you see them while sailing around. Getting sick definitely stinks, but you should always bring medications with you in case. I’ve also heard that guest services often can provide them if needed, though I’ve never needed to ask.
Thank you for such a detailed description of your cruise experience. I was on the bliss in June and agree that it was way too crowded, especially in the buffet. The buffet set up itself was not conducive for good traffic flow. I found the food a little bit better overall than you did, and the service was actually very good. That was my first NCL experience and plan another experience on the prima which I understand has less passengers per ratio of space on board.
You can book dining from 120 days out, not 21 days, 21 days is when you can check in. Sorry your wife was seasick, you should always take your own sickness meds with you just in case this happens. And I have never had chocolates on the pillow on a cruise but was maybe before my time!
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
