Norwegian Bliss Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Was one of my favorite cruises Alaska and the Norwegian Bliss was very Beautiful

Overall a fantastic first cruise! Loved the scenery and the peaceful times on our balcony. NCL needs to increase port times and not always dock outside of town requiring taking a bus to town...felt a bit rushed in most ports. The Dawes glacier excursion on the small-boat is a must-do! I'll cruise again and will return to Alaska. Might try a different cruise line to compare...

The first night and second day were on the open sea and there were 14ft swells. We could hardly stand and spent much of the time holding onto the bed. We were told that this was unusual. There were 6700 people on this ship so for these 2 introverts we were thankful that our room offered sanctuary from the masses when it became too much. We met nice people, had fun on excursions and seeing quality entertainment. Disembarking left a bad taste.

This was not only my first cruise, but it was a bucket list trip. I have found my new way to vacation, I'm hooked!

Overall, I would break this cruise a seven out of 10 We would’ve loved to go deeper into Dawes Glacier but there was ice… I wish the last 2 ports were better & yes, I’d go back to Alaska again but take a diff cruise into more areas like Denali. I am happy with this cruise.

Some people become enthralled with the Alaskan Cruises. Based on this one, I have no desire to go back. Lots of pretty snow capped peaks, but not enough time in the ports.

Smooth sailing. Excellent weather and no rain. Temperatures ranged from the low 50s to mid 60s. Not typical but awesome

We loved the cruise, the people, the staff, the design, the food, and the excursions. The time allowance on the excursions was extremely limited and causes pressure to ensure we got back in time. I didn’t like the constant nickel and dimming every time we went to a restaurant, bought a drink either from the bar or Starbucks.

We enjoyed the cruise. Everything was great. Just wish we'd had even more time :)

We enjoyed our cruise to Alaska's inside passage very much. The ship was beautiful, the service excellent, the weather superb (very fortunate), and loved seeing the sights and the wildlife.

The views are absolutely beautiful. Going through the Fords is stunning. We did not make it through Edicott Arms due to ice.

There have been noticeable changes since the restart of cruising at full capacity. I'm an avid cruiser and have about 30 cruises under my belt since starting around 2005. Our family generally cruises with NCL with a sprinkle of other cruiselines here and there. The "free style" or "cruise your way" marketing that I associate with the NCL brand was a *miss* on this trip. Trip highlight for me was hot tubbing as we took in the beauty and landscape of Alaska 🤩 This was our first cruise on Alaska itinerary and since return to 100% capacity. This time our group was two adult couples, as we introduced our cousins to cruising on this trip. We were on the Bliss in Dec-2021 out of San Pedro/Port of Los Angeles for a Mexican Riviera Christmas cruise at about 75% capacity. Last big NCL ship we were.on before this was the Getaway in 2019 (full capacity), and there are stark differences from both of those sailings compared to this one. All in all, it's nothing that'll deter me from cruising again. I know food portion sizes are smaller and other offerings are limited based on staffing... and staffing impacts all areas of service. I think I'll continue to be a sun chasing cruiser, and might only do an AK cruise again with my Mom as this seemed much more her pace. SHIP/ITINERARY: Alaska cruise itinerary seems to be more relaxed. Wish there was more time in some of the ports and some of the port staff (Skagway, Juneau and Victoria) seemed just straight up unhelpful or disinterested in providing customer service. When asked for directions or info, some just gave incomplete info or were just snarky. Glad these were not tender ports or it could have gotten outright ugly. And whoever thought arriving in Victoria BC after most shops were closed was ok was WRONG! Fan Tan Alley was locked up and couldn't even walk through it. Luckily it was a clear and dry night so made for good pics, but that's all it had going for it. And I've been to that port before so was really looking forward to it again. Glacier Bay was magnificent and such a beautiful day for it. It was crisp and dry so easy to make it to the decks for viewing. Glad to have seen the glaciers up close and personal even without the dramatic calving. Then also so much wildlife- badgers, eagles, porpoises, whales and a ton of frolicking otters. Did see a polar bear, though it was in a glass box and a relic from 1964 that was caught by an Inuit or Yupik hunter. Still cool though, at 9 feet tall and about 1400 pounds. It was quite a specimen. FOOD/DRINK: The food, while plentiful, seems to have dropped slightly in quality. We had Savor, Taste, Teppanyaki, The Local, Manhattan Room, and Garden Cafe. Normally, O'Sheehan's/The Local is a favorite for a quick bite like hot wings and an adult bevvy, but this time our orders were mostly incomplete and the service mostly seemed hurried and disjointed. Teppanyaki and Cagney's are also other faves but after Teppanyaki not hitting it out the park per usual we opted out of the steakhouse dining. The quantity is still as generous as we remember. Usually the beef filets are great quality and melt in your mouth but the time the beef was tough and chewy. Didn't finish our food. And our poor Teppanyaki chef seemed pretty tired and kinda low energy, but was trying on earnest. For Garden Cafe, it's still all the things I remember and I loved having scooped ice cream there. My favorites were Macadamia Brittle and Butter Pecan. Nice variety of food for the the pickiest of eaters to those willing to be adventurous and try something new. Staff were always pleasant and accommodating. Washy washy folks were always so welcoming and great energy with their greeting! Sit down dining in Savor, Taste, and Manhattan seemed to take longer than usual, and unlike in the past, only had one server assigned. It was fine, but sometimes required adjusting plans around that. Bartenders and beverage servers all throughout the ship were great! Did a good job of keeping track of people and orders. Kept the flow of drinks nice and steady. Had a tasty variety of wine, cocktails, straight spirits and non-alcoholic beverages... all served with a smile or joke! ENTERTAINMENT: There seemed to be less variety than what I remember, but what we did/saw was good, and maybe since it's a cold weather itinerary the use of the outside/lido deck contributed to the feeling of less. Was glad to have caught SIX and Jersey Boys. I thought those productions were well done. Was really loooking forward to SIX because I saw it had a run in Vegas and it piqued my interest. We also saw Siglo and Heartbreakers bands, game shows, and comedy by Jeff Harms which were good. Watched Karaoke Superstar in the Cavern but acoustics in there is meh, but it was a good crowd so still fun. Went to Latin dance sessions for cha cha, merengue, and bacahata which were a fun way to burn some of the extra calories consumed. Kinda wished there was a morning and afternoon session of dance since it was so good. Then got to practice those steps to the music of Duo Estrella in Sugarcane bar then rehydrate with excellent drinks made by Marcial and Alejandro! DanDan and his entertainment crew were a blast at their themed "parties" and I enjoy their energy. Usually came for their party then stayed to dance the night away. Casino layout is a bit weird for me, and I appreciate that they have an enclosed room for gamers who smoke. Payouts don't seem to be as generous or often as other lines and I definitely don't get the same type or frequency of offers from NCL Casinos at Sea like other lines. But again, I make adjustments as needed. Really hoping that this was just an outlier/exception to our cruising experience rather than an indication of things to come.

In conclusion, we are not docked long enough at most of the ports to truly enjoy the cities. Glacier Bay was nice, but it would have been more impressive at a different location where you could see other animals (i.e. bears, moose, etc.) besides seals. Canada was a complete failure because nothing was open and the walk to town was 40 minutes. The things we purchased in Canada were from a small shop just outside of the docking area, which in itself does not depict Canada at all. I would strongly recommend that for your Alaska cruise that you choose a different cruise line that would give you a longer stay at each of the ports. Though Norwegian is a great cruise line, their port calls in Alaska are extremely short, which does not allow you to fully enjoy the essence of Alaska.

Alaska is absolutely stunning. Definitely want to wait till late may if wildlife is more of what you are after though.

I absolutely loved that ship. I’ve booked a return on it for June 2024. April is a good time to go if you’re looking to save money and cross Alaska off the bucket list. Just keep in mind tours get cancelled and wildlife isn’t very prevalent yet.

My favorite area on our Alaskan cruise was the observation lounge very relaxing and awesome views

Fabulous, Fun,Entertaining, Educational,Meeting new people, warm and welcoming staff, crew members, housekeeping, food and restaurants. Thank you one and all for a great cruise vacation

In conclusion, we are not docked long enough at most of the ports to truly enjoy the cities. Glacier Bay was nice, but it would have been more impressive at a different location where you could see other animals (i.e. bears, moose, etc.) besides seals. Canada was a complete failure because nothing was open and the walk to town was 40 minutes. The things we purchased in Canada were from a small shop just outside of the docking area, which in itself does not depict Canada at all.

The cruise line had me wait 90 minutes past my scheduled departure to the port, so not a good start. Tried to keep an opened mind, but their "freestyle dining" does not allow you to have a personal server that you come to know during your cruise. Also they have a reservation system for their shows that is very flawed. People make reservations that do not show up, so basically making you wait until 10 minutes before the show starts to file in to get a seat in a mostly empty room. So weird. I had Norwegian schedule my flight home. I was waiting on the deck for debarkation to be called to get in line. After being allowed to get in line it took 1 hr. 45 minutes to get off the ship. I've been on 8 other cruises and never experienced a cruise line being so slow and disorgsnized with a debarkation process. The bus got me to the airport quickly, but not despite the efforts of the them and the airport staff my family missed the flight. This caused me to have to spend the night at an airport and take nearly 22 hours to get home. Mistakes happen, but you can judge a company by how they handle mistakes. I am shocked that Norwegian would not give anything to compensate for another day of parking I had to pay for, not to mention the expenses incurred while waiting at the airport or major inconvenience of it all. Norwegian had a very non chalant attitude about it. Oh well. At least I will never have to experience this cruise line again. I just feel bad for others who sail with them. I forgot to mention earlier that when I went to pay for the cruise they raised the price $9 higher than they said a week earlier. Talked with management and the refused to correct the price to what they originally quoted. I own a company and would have taken off a measly $9 just to make my customer happy. But then again I care about making my customers happy and apprently Norwegian does not.

My second time sailing this delightful 5-night, one-way LA to Vancouver itinerary. My boyfriend's first cruise ever, and he loved it. Victoria is a beautiful place to visit, and having an overnight port the last night in Vancouver is a cool way to end the trip! The ship was pretty full, which caused a lot of folks to not have a good time, but we had a great time -- your trip is what you make of it!!