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organic living wrote a review Aug 2024
1 contribution
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Personally, I will NOT use Norwegian in the future. Have taken several on Royal Caribbean which top to bottom is better. Everything about Norwegian was average. Food, Service, Customer Service. Getting a refund for a cancelled shore excursion was a pain in the ass. 3 trips to the desk and over 2 hours of wasted time when I would have preferred just crediting my credit card! Topper was their Thursday night show in the Atrium or rather sex show. 3 couples were selected to be on stage. One activity was for the man to hold a metal laddle then see how many times in 30 seconds he could bang it up against a metal frying pan being held by his wife while holding on to her. This was mimicking f___ing with many young kids in the crowd! Disgusting but enjoyed by the Social Director. Additionally, one of the men was repeated tonguing his wife that I could see from the back of the room. Again disgusting!!! This alone would be enough to never use Norwegian again. I have filed a complaint with Norwegian but it does not seem to be a big enough concern to expedite a follow up! I am a travel veteran even working in the hospitality business for 10 yrs in my early adulthood much of this with Marriott who would never tolerate these kind of activities. Again, if considering a Cruise look first at Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Viking or Holland before Norwegian.
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Sail Date: July 2024
Cabin Type:
Type of Trip:
Destination: Alaska
3.0 of 5 bubblesCabin
3.0 of 5 bubblesDining
3.0 of 5 bubblesService
3.0 of 5 bubblesPools & Sundecks
3.0 of 5 bubblesOnboard Activities
3.0 of 5 bubblesEntertainment
2.0 of 5 bubblesValue
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Norwegian Bliss

345 reviews
 All photos (4,144)4,144
Full view
Traveller (990)
Common Areas (1,882)
Dining and Bars (1,551)
Itineraries for this ship
Itinerary
7 Night Cruise to the Mexican Riviera
Departure date
Sunday, 17/11/24
Route
Los Angeles, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Los Angeles
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Overview

About
Passengers: 4,004   |   Crew: 1,716
Passengers to crew: 2.33:1
Passengers to space: 38.8:1
Launched: 2018   

Decks

Additional decks
Deck 5 layout
Cabins
  Family Inside Stateroom (I1)  
  Inside Stateroom (IX)  
  Inside Stateroom (IC)  
  Mid-ship Oceanview with Large Picture Window (OB)  
  Oceanview with Large Picture Window (OX)  
  Family Oceanview with Large Picture Window (O8)  
  Family Oceanview with Large Picture Window (O1)  
 

Cabins

Balcony
Cabin size: 175 - 495 sq. ft.
Connected rooms: 223
Accessible rooms: 16
Maximum passengers: 6
Number of cabins: 1088

Activities & entertainment

Activities (42)
  • Aqua Racer
  • Aqua Racer
  • Arts & Crafts classes
  • Barber Shop*
  • Beauty Salon*
  • Behind the Scenes Tour*
  • Dance Classes
  • Deck Parties
  • Fitness Center
  • Fitness Classes*
  • Game Shows
  • Gaming Lessons*
  • Horizon Lounge
  • Hot Tubs (9)
  • Hydrotherapy Pool*
  • Jogging Track
  • Karaoke
  • Laser Tag
  • Late Night Music and Dancing
  • Library & Card Room
  • Live Nightly Music
  • Mandara Spa*
  • Observation lounge
  • Ocean Loops
  • Ocean Loops
  • Pools (3)
  • Poolside Games
  • Race Track
  • Race Track
  • Sports Games Televised
  • Trivia
  • Vibe Beach Club
  • Vibe Beach Club Sun Deck
  • Video Arcade*
  • Waterslide (5)
  • Wine Tasting*
  • Spice H2O
  • Entourage
  • Guppies
  • Kids' Aqua Park
  • Splash Academy
  • The Haven Lounge
Entertainment (9)
  • Bliss Casino*
  • Bliss Theater
  • Bliss Theater
  • Box Office
  • Comedy Performances
  • Horizon Lounge
  • Onboard Movie Screenings
  • Social Comedy & Night Club
  • The Cavern Club
Dining (33)
  • Bar - Pool Bar*
  • Bar - Pool Bar*
  • Savor Restaurant - American
  • Taste Restaurant - American
  • The Manhattan Room - American
  • Food Republic - Asian Tapas*
  • Atrium Bar - Atrium Bar*
  • The District Brew House - Brewpub*
  • Garden Café - Casual
  • Open-Air Garden Café - Casual
  • The Humidor Cigar Lounge - Cigar Bar*
  • Skyline Bar - Clubby Bar*
  • A-List Bar - Cocktail Bar*
  • Mixx Bar - Cocktail Bar*
  • Sugarcane Mojito Bar - Cocktail Bar*
  • Starbucks - Coffee Bar*
  • Le Bistro French Restaurant - French*
  • Dolce Gelato - Gelato*
  • La Cucina Italian Restaurant - italian*
  • Teppanyaki - Japanese*
  • Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville At Sea - Margaritaville*
  • Los Lobos - Mexican*
  • The Bake Shop - pastries*
  • Waves Bar - Pool Bar*
  • The Local Bar & Grill - Pub
  • Ocean Blue - Seafood*
  • Q Texas Smokehouse - Southern BBQ*
  • Cagney's Steakhouse - Steakhouse*
  • The Haven Outdoor Restaurant - Suite Guests
  • The Haven Restaurant - Suite Guests
  • Coco's - Sweets*
  • The Cellars Wine Bar - Wine Bar*
  • Maltings Whiskey Bar - Wiskey Bar*
* May require additional fees

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cityboy_nz wrote a review Oct 2024
Springfield, Missouri736 contributions282 helpful votes
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Bucket list trip for most people - I'm a Travel Agent, so I'm blessed to travel frequently especially cruising. I love cruising and I'll put it out there that my favorite to date has been Disney, several of them in fact & also Princess - those are my benchmarks that I'm comparing everything to. I booked the Free at Sea deal, came with free 150 minute Wifi per person on 1 device each - Basic Beverage package - 2 Specialty dining - Shore excursion discount - BOGO Airfare which I booked with transfers. Side note - with the specialty Dining, you are automatically pre paying the gratuities for those 2 nights of specialty dining, as you are pre paying the beverage gratuities on the free basic plan. 45 Days to departure our airfare was revealed to us, currently living in Springfield, Missouri I knew that the return options would be limited as the flights are usually really late. Arrival into Seattle - The baggage claim area was extra congested due to construction, but we were able to grab our bags, attach our cruise tags to them & easily find a blue vested senior who directed us outside to check in for the transfer. Shuttled outside we stood in a line for around 20 mins, they verified our booking and made sure we had appropriate ID's and then we walked through 2 parking garages to line up for 2 NCL Ships sailing from Seattle on 19th October. This line again was slow, took around 20 mins to be given a transfer number card, we were number 38 and they were currently boarding 35 - there were not lots of busses lined up, just one bus. Next bus came in around 10 mins, and so on. Around 30 mins later our bus arrived, filled to capacity. Ride takes around 30 mins, then upon arrival we waited on the bus for 20 mins as they were too crowded at check in. I'd chosen between 1-2pm as my arrival window, it's now 240pm. Check in Process - We joined the line for check in that seemed to take forever to move, but quickened when we got inside the terminal. As my partner has a green card this check in process is a little lengthier but after a few minutes waiting we were on the final approach to boarding. Boarding - There is not a lot of communication as to what we needed to do once we stepped foot on the ship, the several couples ahead of us just wanted to go to the buffet as it was due to close now. We got inside the ship and are asked what number or letter our Muster station was, nobody knew as it was not communicated what the several letters, words and numbers mean on our key cards. We were directed to our muster station on deck 7 and they just scanned our ID and asked if we had watched the emergency video prior to boarding which we had then we were cleared. We rushed to our room, dropped the bags and bolted to the buffet, which was in the process of closing as we arrived, we grabbed a few things to eat and I overlooked the food was lukewarm as they were closing. Cabin - I'd selected a balcony cabin, mid ship deck 15 on Portside. Cabin was nicely laid out, It's the first time I'd seen the sitting area first and then the bed next to the balcony. There was ample storage, all suitcases fit under the bed (we had 3 bags, each arrived separately to our cabin several hours after each other) there wa sa tiny safe in the wardrobe, however you could not use the numbers 2 or 0 when programming your code as they did not work. I would have appreciated a few draws for underpants or socks, these ended up under the TV in a cupboard. The bathroom was well appointed and clean. Shower was nice and hot and had good pressure, plus shower head was nice and tall for me. I like the fact there was a hook on the back of the bathroom door. There is an exhaust fan in the shower, it's very subtle and on all the time, take a while to catch up to the steam. Now I know your not supposed to be watching TV while on a dream cruise, but sometimes I felt like a movie and since no movies under the stars like Princess or a theatre like Disney, I reverted to the TV, the selection was poor, very limited selection, maybe 20 free movies and a handful of pay per view ones. Personally I loved the bed and beddings, but my spouse hated the bed claiming it was uncomfortable. Cabin Attendant - Unlike other cruise lines where they introduce themselves, learn your names, check your preferences, etc our one did none of these things. He knocked on the door saying our bag was here, it was just my carry on and not the rest. On the cabin there is a do not disturb button and make up my room button, these display on the display outside the cabin. He knocked on our door several times when it was on do not disturb and ignored the make up my room. I'm not sure if it's an NCL thing, but I was expecting an evening turn down and clean like i'm used to, but this didn't happen. Also they do not do towel art unless asked to do so. I could not tell you his name and he did not know ours either. They seemed very rushed and no down time to get to know your customers. Buffet - For breakfast time if you want a seat you need to go when it first opens, cause every other time it's insanity with people everywhere circling looking for tables, does not help when a single person in sitting at a table for 4+ because it has a better view and not thinking of anyone else. The buffet staff were not present during peak times, they wander around picking up plates and drinkware, unless you're also a Filipino then they do not speak to you other than hello. There are supervisors everywhere on the walkie talkies micromanaging everything going on. I sat at a table with no cutlery, there was a supervisor standing there berating an employee who looked like she was about to cry, I interrupted and asked for more cutlery and she went to the Walkie and called for more roll up things in one of the sections, having no idea what section I was actually in. I just grabbed some from another table, FYI they never arrived with any roll up things. Breakfast was simple, multiple stations with bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, hash browns & baked beans, every second station was an omelette station with limited filling options, some days they had mushroom and spinach and some days not, and they would not offer to get some. They can cook 2 orders at once, however one lady could only do 1 pan or order at a time. They also had a few pastry and fruit stations, alsong with cereal and yoghurts. They also had Congee in the Indian section. I never saw any mushrooms or grilled tomatoes. Lunch & Dinner was again simple - they features a special dish of the day, first time I've seen meatloaf on the carvery station, you were sliced or hacked off a slice to enjoy - FYI tasted identical to the meatballs. I was a fan of their chicken tenders, they were Panko crusted and crunchy, but they were not served daily. Any pork or turkey dish was dry, no matter how they try to present it. One day there was minute steak which was nice. They have a burger bar, and Asian area and also an Indian area which was my favorite. My pet peeve is warm food, I just don't like barely warm food, experially fries or meat and I have to say that the majority of the food fell into this category. Only hot things were the omelettes and the indian food. The Bacon was gross as well, it was the cheapest bacon I've ever had, they also were too lazy to cook it layed out, it was cleary deep fried and all stuck together and was super greasy. The last 2 days of the cruise the bacon changed to real bacon, cooked as it should and tasted great. Observation lounge - Deck 15, downstairs from the buffet and down the hall from our room, very convenient. This was a breakfast ritual, finish the "hot" breakfast upstairs at the buffet, then come downstairs, grab a coffee and danish and enjoy the views. Coffee seemed to taste different every day which was disappointing, pastries were nice here, especially their little Croissants and you don't often see Passionfruit yoghurt so that was a treat. Now the seating in the observation area was plentiful, but to be honest, the majority of it was not overly comfortable, low backed chairs and couches made it difficult to lay back or relax. There were some lovely curved grey couches that felt soft and comfortable however they were stained and a bit tattered. They also had some loungers right by the windows, these looked nice, always in use whenever we visited. You barely saw any staff here, so if you wanted a drink you risk losing your seat if you walked to the bar. Pet Peeve of mine was people sleeping here, layed out with blankets and pillows taking up a whole sofa like its their own home, dirty shoes on the furniture or sofas or having their kids jumping with shoes on on the furniture, it's not a cruise line fault but not addressing it and turning a blind eye while people are needing a seat is not acceptable. Savor / Taste - 2 of the main dining rooms - Went to one for sit down breakfast, ordered an express breakfast, took about 20 mins to arrive, shock, it was lukewarm and looked like the same as the buffet. There was an elderly lady at a table next to us, she had been asking for a coffee refill since we arrived and never got one, her pancakes didn't come with the maple syrup she asked for, she waited several minutes, then gave up and started to eat her pancakes, still nobody came to her. We found the same, nobody came to check on you, no refills were offered. A Maitre d walked past as asked if everything was ok, i said that the breakfast was not hot and we need more coffee and juice and she just nodded and said that's great and just walked off. Also went to one of these for Dinner - A server came to the table and poured water, my spouse got a full glass, I got a dribble, he said he would be back, never saw him again. Another server came by to see if we wanted drinks, no bar menu available but we knew the Shiraz and ordered it. Another Server came back with the drinks and left, then another server came to take our order, this meal we had 7 different servers at our table, all not knowing what had been done prior. We wanted they had NY strip on the menu, it was just the steak and fries, I asked for broccoli as well as I noticed it on other meals. My steak is Med-well and my spouse was Med - the apps were ok, I had a french onion soup which was bland and had no depth to it. Steaks arrived and the steak was hot but as usual the fries were barely warm, there was a tomato and broccoli on the plate as well, both lukewarm too. They didn't wait for us to check the cook on the steak, it's just drop it off and goodbye, both steaks were not cooked as requested, and there was nobody around to complain to, plus none of the 7 servers bothered to check how the meals were. Lunch after an excursion we were exhausted, we were sat next to a couple of seasoned cruisers, both of us new to NCL, they had cruised with Celebrity and Royal before. We all chatted during lunch about the experience, all agreeing that the service in general was sub par, plus some language barriers they didn't understand you, just smile and leave. I ordered a Ginger Ale which was given when I asked for a refill I was told the bar was closed so I could not get a refill - we all looked at each other and were confused by that. What we did notice was there seemed to be a sense of urgency to turn the tables over, get people in and out as quickly as possible, a neighbour went to the bathroom and her table had been reset and new people sitting there when she returned. There were always staff around you pulling tablecloths and resetting cutlery,etc. It felt like you were there after hours not in the middle of service. Let's also be clear, there were no waiting people, the restaurants were less than half full. Teppanyaki Specialty - So I've been to dozens of these restaurants around the world, but none like this one. Usually the chefs entertain you while cooking, throwing eggs, doing tricks with the food, etc - then let you eat in peace while they clean up and then leave, but not at this place. There are 4 main areas, each area has 2 cooks, so there could be a maximum of 8 cooks at the same time. While we were waiting for the table to fill up we could not help noticing a female chef at another table singing Disney songs, very loud and clanging and banging her metal spatulas at the same time. Interesting at first, then annoying as it was then non stop. Then 2 more chefs came out and they are also singing their own collecting of songs and loudly clanging their equipment, the noise level was deafening, our chef finally appeared and was reading the orders back to us and you can not hear a word he's saying and vice versa, man next to us was celebrating an anniversary, so of course he sang his happy anniversary song while clanging his things right in front of me. My drinks were always full which was nice, the seaweed salad was slimy and gross, nobody really ate it, soup was nice. There was 8 people at our table and the amount of fried rice he made was just so wasteful, he asked if everyone liked garlic, the man next to me said no he's not a fan of it at all, the chef laughed thinking he was joking but then realized he was serious and seperated a section of rice to keep the garlic out, later in the cooking process he forgot and mixed everything together, plus added garlic in everything he served the poor man. Overall paying $59 pp for this meal, would have been ok if there was some downtime to the singing, everywhere around you and clanging was so loud - those with sensory issues would have lost their minds here. You can tell looking around that the customers were a mix of first timers to a Teppanyaki restaurant, to them this is normal, then there were those who were confused what was going on. I wish I was given a choice of Karaoke style vs regular Teppanyaki. Then the check arrived, it was $0 as I used a dining credit, but it was asking for additional tips for the server and the chef - as I mentioned earlier, if you take the free at sea package you are pre paying your specialty dining server gratuities, so it annoyed me to be presented with this, I felt obliged to give a further tip. La Cucina Specialty - Seated right away, service was on the slow side, but ok. We ordered Spaghetti Carbonara & Mozzarella Caprese for apps, the Caprese was ok and the Carbonara was delicious, very small portion as well, next we had the Osso Bucco and Filetto beef, the Osso looked and tasted nice, my beef was small and had 2 ravioli, I envisioned a call to the buffet after this meal. My steak should be Med-Well and I could instantly tell by the amount of blood coming out that it had not been well rested and it was undercooked, when I cut into it, it was closer to a Med-Rare. Getting someone's attention was difficult and took several minutes. My spouse had finished his meal before someone came over, I said it's supposed to be Med-Well and showed them the steak, they just looked at it and asked if I wanted it cooked more, yes please. The Maitre d came over and apologized and said they would have a new one cooked for me and out in 3 minutes, I said to her I hope it will take longer than that to get it cooked to Med-Well and rested, she just nodded and said your welcome and left. As expected it took about 15 minutes, they waited till I cut into in, it was cooked perfectly and it was delicious, everything was well balanced and i'd order it again. Dessert was nice, Tiramisu and Cannoli. Q Texas Smokehouse Specialty - Deviled eggs and chopped salad for apps, both nice. Then we had pitmaster platter, brisket was ok, spare rib was ok, smoked chicken was dry as hell, more like jerky, Jalapeno and cheese sausage was yummy. Surprise the meats were lukewarm, the coleslaw was actually not chilled and possibly hotter than my fries. Jalapeno cheese cornbread was tasty, just needed some butter as it was a tad dry. Finished with banana pudding and peach cobbler, um there was 2 peach slices in my cobbler and the rest was just cobbler, ice cream was nice. Server was attentive and offered refills. Overall food was sub par, you can see the amount of food being taken back to the kitchen. There was a table next to us, they were from the south and know their bbq, they looked impressed when it arrived, but it was downhill from there, only eating one or two things on the platter like us. Their bbq sauces were nice. There was a live band, but they were not playing country music which seemed out of place especially since they were dressed like they were cowboys, although they were from the UK. Cagney's Steakhouse Specialty - Now this was the saving grace from the other specialty restaurants. The service was slightly better, still slow and had to ask for refills of wine. We started with shrimp trio which Johan gobbled up saying it was delicious, I tried the french onion soup (I am a french onion soup snob), although it had far too much bread and Gruyere cheese on top, when you finally got to the soup it was rich and hearty and full of developed flavor, I was very impressed. For entree we both had the Ribeye, with bearnaise sauce, truffle fries and garlic mushrooms. Everything was piping hot, first and only meal I can say that to. Steaks were cooked to perfection and were delicious. Desserts we both nice as well. Overall very satisfied, would have liked to dine here every night. Manhattan Room - Main dining room, biggest of the 3 - this is where not having set dining times works against you. Freestyle dining whenever you want, wherever you want only works when not everyone wants to dine at the same restaurant at the same time. Wait times depending on group size were upto 40 minutes, no bar nearby to wait, outside area was crowded, blocking the stairs and elevator area. Eventually sat and server didn't even have a name tag on, didn't introduce himself, came straight over and wanted to take our order right away and was annoyed we were not ready, he came back around 20 minutes later, we ordered drinks and meals. Johan ordered the seared scallops as app, the table next to us got 2 of the scallops, they are micro sized little bites on the plate on some sauce, they cracked up laughing and took pictures of them, they actually only ate one or two and said they tasted fishy. Johan got his, we also laughed and took photos, then he also tasted something off with them and did not finish it. The server came and topped up out wine and said the bar was about to close, it was not late, it had something to do with entering canadian waters, We both had the steak with lukewarm fries and tomato. Dessert was a Nutella creme brulee that was under baked or not set and did not have a nice crunchy signature shell. The Local Bar & Grill - Cool location, varied bar menu, good wings, sausage sliders, average cheeseburger, fish and chips were ok, Carbonara was not even close to the one in the specialty restaurant. Carrot cake was yummy. Service here was so slow, meals delivered to wrong tables, drinks went missing. As the area is fully open to the deck below, you get all that noise of whatever entertainment is going on. Also came for an english breakfast, served with grilled tomato and Sauteed Mushrooms, literally 2 button mushrooms and a grilled tiny tomato half, tasty but very small, sausage, bacon and hash browns were the same as everywhere like the buffet. Nice that it's 24/7 though. Jersey Boys was fantastic. SPAM - My door was constantly filled with Jewellery & art sales & auctions and discounts and coupons, I'm taking 10 pages of crap every day + messages on the TV about sales and auctions - never seen so much attempts to lure you to spend in their mall. Overall - NCL is fine a good mainstream cruise option but just not for me, service is less than desirable, food quality & temperature not acceptable. I think I've been spoilt with DIsney and Princess.
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day8067 wrote a review Oct 2024
Cary, North Carolina2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
We just completed on Oct 19 a week long Alaska tour on the Norwegian Bliss and I wanted to post a review. As Alaska is maybe a bit of mysterious vacation destination to many I thought it may be useful. First let me say overall the cruise was great. I'm not an avid cruiser so I don't have much to compare it to but I'll give it stellar reviews for almost all aspects. 1) The ship. The boat was terrific. One of NCL's larger boats and we liked that. It was clean, orderly and refurbished at some point in the last year or two and thus feels nicely modern and attentive inside and cruised smoothly. We encountered 10-15 foot seas one day and it takes that much to really notice the ship moving. If you suffer from motion sickness you may experience discomfort but none of our party really suffered from it. Bring motion sickness pills though as they can be highly useful. 2) Our room. We did a balcony room on a high floor (15) and have nothing but good things to say about it. I'm a big/tall person and if you aren't a cruiser the room will feel a bit small at first glance. Don't overpack but if you do there's a surprising amount of storage in the room. The balcony I feel is a must particularly in Alaska. Lots of chances to see wildlife and views from your own room without competing with crowds for viewing space. They have an upgrade area called the Haven which has bigger rooms and I suppose if you can afford that it may be worth it. But we had absolutely no issue with the room. It was clean and meticulously serviced every day by our steward. The shower is small but the water pressure and temp were outstanding. Overall I give the room a solid thumbs up. 3) The food. A bigger boat like the Bliss has a lot of eating options. Costs can vary depending on the package you purchase. We had a package that allowed us cost covered access to two of their specialty restaurants and we enjoyed both immensely. We ate at Teppanyaki and Le Bistro. Both really good. We loved the atmosphere in Teppanyaki. I hear they are expanding it with their next upgrade and well deserved. Overall the main buffet and other freestyle eating choices we had little or no issues. The main buffet is crowded at peak moments but it isn't unbearable in my opinion. If you are older perhaps it could be but take it in stride. Food varies at dinner day by day even in the buffet. The service in the restaurants is relentlessly excellent. They keep your tables clean and have a great spirit about serving and supporting you. No exceptions here even the buffet. They come around and sing to you while you drink your coffee. Only a couple of what I deem minor things we would have liked more out of the food. The desserts were somewhat redundant even in specialty places. Lots of little cakes and things. Sometimes a basic cookie or brownie (particularly at the buffet or during lunch hours) would be welcome but were hard to find. Lastly and the thing we liked the least was the lack of handy finger snacks in the hang out areas (pool deck, atrium, etc). Many people are drinking and you want a little pretzel, chip, etc to munch on. I know NCL avoids this because it can create mess but it is mostly non-existent on the ship and there needs to be more. You can bring some of your own snacks on and you may want to do this. But again overall we gave the food a solid thumbs up. 4) The drinking. Your package dictates how this will go. If you are a drinker you will of course take the package that includes the alcohol. We had the basic package and never had any issues. They offer many "premium" drinks that could be extra charge but from my view there was an almost unlimited # of choices using the basic drink package. Do not upgrade to cover premium drinks unless you are the most finicky even snobby drinker out there. Our group drank a ton with huge variety and did not incur one extra upcharge. If you don't drink you may be able to survive without a drink package. But soda isn't necessarily complimentary so be careful when selecting and I'd recommend you spend enough to add the basic drink package. There are so many bars and drink locations you won't have time to explore them all. The bartenders are simply great. Enthusiastic and entertaining and skilled. Alcohol drinkers will thoroughly enjoy the NCL Bliss. 5) The entertainment. Being on a bigger ship a lot of options. Again the crew is brilliantly engaging. The cruise director was terrific as was his main staff. The night time shows had comedy, games, Broadway type shows, singers, etc. We enjoyed them all and of course no extra cost for any. Our adult age kids loved the late night nightlife with great clubs, kareoke, and dance halls with great fun and energy. If you so choose you can have a week with very little sleeping if you like to stay up late and go at it. My advice though if you do this do not sleep in and waste the morning views. You can't really sleep in on port days if you have excursions anyway but there can be lots to see outside in AK so sleep when you get home. Utilize your balcony and order room service for breakfast and enjoy the views you will encounter. 6) The ports. We had a great time at each port. We went in October. Weather can be tricky this time of year and we got some of that. We had one port canceled (Ketchikan) and they offset this by extending our stay in Victoria BC. This cancel was a bit of a downer but you can not control the weather and must roll with it. The other ports we did get to we ended up liking the October arrival. NCL is only major line cruising in October in AK and the result is the ports were totally uncrowded. I'd imagine this can be hugely frustrating in the summer when there can be 3-5 ships in port at the same time. Some of the towns are getting ready to shut down for the season but more than enough is open to get what you need out of it. The days are shorter but again there's enough daylight to make the ports work. We did a whale watch in Juneau and saw numerous humpbacks and Orcas which was great even late in the season. Totally enjoyable. Other stop in Victoria was fun walking the city but we did have rain. Our other main day is cruising the straits of Glacier Bay and this was wonderful and awe inspiring. You should go to AK just for this. We had perfect weather and although you don't disembark on this day the views are just amazing. Wildlife everywhere on land or sea and the mountains and glaciers are just spectacular. Is something everyone should get to see in their lifetime. Overall this was an amazing vacation. I have nothing but good things to say about NCL. We like their freestyle less formal cruising atmosphere. You don't need to get dressed up for anything if you don't want to. Some may not like an informal atmosphere 24/7 but we loved it. While cruising there is something to keep your attention literally all day long if you willing to get involved. The service is the best and never lets up. AK is a must see in my opinion and we were so glad we did it. Last we arrived the night before our cruise as Seattle is a remote flight for almost everyone. We didn't want to risk a same day arrival coming from the east coast and we were very happy we did this. It adds to the cost of the trip but allows you to get rid of baggage early and have nearly a 1/2 day to explore the Seattle market and waterfront which was fun. We also added an additional night in Seattle at the end which was well worth it. Cruising can be a highly varied experience depending on which packages you buy, which room levels you choose, weather, etc. But we loved our balcony room and have nothing but great things to say about this week. Don't know if we'd ever do AK again but if we decided to would not hesitate to choose NCL again. Comment if you have specific questions about NCL or AK and I'll give you my views. Enjoy!!
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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scott m wrote a review Oct 2024
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Fun trip! Very large ship. I am not a foodie. One a scale of 1-5 I would give the food a 3.5. We did not go to the speciality restaurants. On the negative side - the coffee was not good. The creamer for the coffee was in tubes. The tube was like a tube of toothpaste. They had a Starbucks - I was a regular. The shows were always full. The Beatles group was excellent. Thank you for a wonderful week.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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J J wrote a review Oct 2024
Hastings, United Kingdom42 contributions11 helpful votes
3.0 of 5 bubbles
For us, this cruise was crammed. There were people everywhere! And queues for everything. A whole deck of the ship is taken up with gambling - machines and tables. And even this was busy, busy. There is little to do otherwise! Eg no cinema. Admittedly, the weather was poor, so noone was outside on deck. But there were people in the pools! Our visit, and thus a trip, to Ketchikan was cancelled. We were told by the tour guide that this regularly happens! It is because there is an American law, made in 1935, which states that only American built boats can go from American port to American port and since all cruise ships are built elsewhere, they must call in to another country - hence why this cruise visits Victoria, Canada. If for any reason they are slowed down at the point of visiting Ketchikan, they simply head to Seattle, leaving Ketchikan out of the itinerary. Skagway and Juneau are both worth a visit!
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Alicia T wrote a review Oct 2024
1 contribution2 helpful votes
1.0 of 5 bubbles
I truly am not too sure where to begin as I feel there was a lot more bad than good on the trip. Rather than jumping into the bad let me start by saying the workers for majority of the trip were very pleasant and welcoming, specifically Mervan and Ravi at she District Bar. Other than that the only true entertainment we fully enjoyed was Anthony playing the piano at different locations on the ship. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much else to do. They had 2 shows and comedians that replayed the entire trip. Bingo (overpriced for 3 cards) trivia and wheel of fortune. More entertainment is needed especially when stranded at sea for days. Once rooms are “ready” make sure you are also ready to search the entire floor for your bags. Good luck to you… Food: same repetitive options with little to no flavor at buffet. Specialty dining: Teppanyaki restaurant show was lengthy but good but the food had no flavor for being hibachi. Soy sauce and butter is what they used. We enjoyed Food republic and Los Lobos they were good specialty options. My husband ordered surf and turf from Manhattan dining room for an extra cost and the filet was dry and overcooked, more than likely made ahead and sat under heating lamp. Lobster was overcooked and hard. We sat there a total of 2 hours and left without dessert. Elevators: good luck you’re better off taking stairs. Period. Port Cancellations: Captain stated it was due to weather and safety reasons which we understood only to find out 2 others ships we were with at different ports made it to both. Bliss on the other hand headed to Canada stayed in a cove for a bit then went back out of the cove and sat floating for hours getting hit by large waves! They gave us $150 onboard credit, which was absorbed by any money owed at end of trip. Also offered 15% off of booked prior to 2025, which I never plan to return. Oh but don’t worry they offered to take off gratuities paid in advance for their workers which is completely appalling. They were more willing to take money from their employees than the multi billion dollar company. All I can say is what a huge disappointment after waiting 10 years to venture for our wedding anniversary!
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7 Night Cruise to the Mexican Riviera
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Sunday, 17/11/24
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