rmurray847

3 hours ago, kochleffel said:

Really try to buy before boarding if you need anything, because the onboard selection is small and the prices are high.

Yes, exactly.  I'd do everything I could to avoid buying $15 sunscreen or $6 toothpaste.  Not sure where you're embarking, but if it's in the US, there is surely a Walgreen's or CVS near where you will be.  A five minute visit there could save you some bucks later.

40 minutes ago, Bajan Keith said:

Hi Guys,

 

at the time of my next cruise it will be over 5 years since my last cruise.

 

I know Carnival has changed its Embarkation Procedure and you now have assigned times to board the ship.

 

Is this the same for NCL or can we embark when we want to?

 

Regards,

Everything is a trade off.  (As others have said, you can ignore your "assigned" time.)  If you arrive 10:15 to 10:30ish, you'll arrive at what is often the craziest time.  The debarkation is just wrapping up and people are still waiting on their rides and such to leave.  LOTS of people arrive early so it can have a bit more of a "madhouse" feeling.  But you'll ultimately get on the ship in the early group.  Come a little later, and you MIGHT have less chaos to deal with, but you'll miss time on the ship.  In our early days of cruising, we came later so we could spend more time in our embarkation city (Rome & Barcelona, so that was understandable)...but now we enjoy our time on the ship enough that we skew earlier.  But even that is subject to change for us.  

But to answer you original question, I think 10:15 is the earliest reasonable time.  You CAN arrive sooner, but you really will be twiddling your thumbs.  I would hate to get there so early that I couldn't immediately hand-off my luggage to a porter.

1 hour ago, TexasCruiser84 said:

THIS.   I am not a confrontational person but by day 5 I had no problem saying "excuse me, may I get off first???" aggressively to those who tried to bowl me over getting into the elevator.  It was absurd. 

This elevator-etiquette is not unique to cruise ships...but one's use of elevators on a cruise ship goes up exponentially from "real life."  It must be nice, though, that some people can forget they're sharing a ship with 4000 other people.  Every elevator is for them and them alone.

9 hours ago, IRMO12HD said:

Thanks for your review -- we'll be on the Bliss in April 2020 for a 21-night Panama Canal cruise, so I appreciated your in-depth comments.  Where on the 14th deck were you?

We were in 14778.  Just slight forward of mid-ship.  Closer to the forward elevators.  

Move towards MDR for lunch, but briefly visiting the nearest bar between me and the MDR.

You'd be surprised how easy it is to get money from an ATM once onshore at much better rates.  If at all possible, consider that option.  Years ago, I got Croatian money from an ATM in historic old Dubrovnik using my ATM card.  Amazing what can be done these days!

3 hours ago, timf2001 said:

 

You can sit at the bar and order volcano nachos, pretzel sticks, or chips & salsa without having to pay the full cover charge.  It's not very well advertised because the door to the bar has a sign directing people to the other entrance for restaurant seating.

Good to know...and yes, a well kept secret.  Although, honestly, on the Alaska cruise, I never really yearned to sit at Margaritaville.  That gets back to my original point...a significant portion of the time, Bliss is in non-sit-outside-for-a-meal weather...so I really wonder about the value of that space overall.

29 minutes ago, ZsaZsa2019 said:

After having traveled quite a bit in Mexico and the Caribbean, I've found Margaritaville to have lost its luster everywhere.  I love Jimmy Buffet, but after a few visits to his restaurants, I lost interest.  One can only have so much Buffet.  LOL  We have never been to one that was busy, with maybe the exception of Cancun years ago when they had a band at night. 

Interesting.  I feel that the cost point for NCL is wrong.  You basically can't go to Margaritaville for appetizers...you have to pay, I think, $15, no matter what.  I'd recommend they try doing it like a land-based restaurant.  Some might go for a full meal...others just for apps, etc.  From my observation of the utilization, I'd either shutter them in favor of a different venture altogether, or completely rethink how they approach the venue.

33 minutes ago, cheeseclan said:

We will be boarding the Escape on Aug 4.  Wondering if it is possible to drop off our luggage and go check out the Intrepid for a little bit.   What time can we drop off luggage?  Has anyone else done this before?  

 

Or can we check in and go to our cabin to dump our backpacks and then get off the ship to go visit the Intrepid?  If that is possible, what time can we board the ship?

We dropped off our luggage for Norwegian Bliss in Seattle just a couple of weeks ago, then spent another 2 hours doing stuff in Seattle.  I did have my backpack with me, though.  For a variety of reasons, I just don't think you'll be able to embark and then get off.  But when we dropped off our bags, we even dropped off my wife's backpack.  We stripped down to the bare minimum.

3 hours ago, timf2001 said:

Margaritaville is a good fallback for days when the other dining areas are too busy or closed.  This comes into play especially on the Ketchikan day where everyone is back on board by 1:00 and wanting to eat lunch, but the main dining rooms never opened for lunch since it was a port day.  The wait for The Local was at least an hour, and it was impossible to find a seat at the buffet.

On our cruise, we ate at The Local after Ketchikan and there was no wait to be seated.   So obviously, things vary.

14 hours ago, sunshine3838 said:

I can't wait to go on my cruise based on your review. On Glacier Bay day, what deck should I be at when they open the very front of ship? And at what time should I be there? Did you have breakfast first before going out?

 

Thanks!!!

Deck 8.  Front of ship between DIstrict Brewhouse and Food Republic.  There is a door there that is normally closed, and we had a nice staff person "guarding" it until 8 am.  Then the door opens and you go down a long, backstage hallway.  And yes, we ate beforehand at the buffet.  6:30, I think it was.  It's an early day.  All the excitement is over by around 12:30.

15 hours ago, killineybay said:

This was an excellent review.  Very balanced and informative.  We will be on Bliss later this month with a family group for our 50th wedding anniversary.  I especially enjoyed your review of the day at Glacier Bay.  It was a great summary.  So well written.  Thank you so much for all the information.  My question would be where would you suggest to hang out (dining and otherwise) to avoid the crowds especially on the first day?

Thank you for the kind words.  

On the first day, we went to Taste for lunch.  It was half empty...very calm and relaxing.

On 6/3/2019 at 12:32 PM, dongordon said:

 

Both of you nailed it in your comparison.  The Spinnaker Lounge and the Great Outdoors are the best!!

 

Yes and yes to this.  LOVE the Great Outdoors.

OP, you said that the buffet on Away ships is open 24 hours a day. I've done Breakaway and just got off the Bliss.  This was not the case.  Both closed at midnight and didn't open until 6 or 6:30.

No pool tables anywhere that I saw two weeks ago.

On 6/3/2019 at 1:15 PM, ninsim said:

Hi does anyone know if I can use an amazon fire stick to get prime movies on the TVs in Independence of the Seas cabins

Really depends on your internet connection.  While I don't really watch much TV when cruising, I have out of curiosity occasionally tried streaming stuff on Netflix, etc. on my devices when connected to ship wi-fi.  Results have varied widely between ships and even at different times on the same ship.  So by all means try it, but don't PLAN on it working in the way you'd always like it to.  

Just now, Joeghartman said:

Awesome review. Love your observations and insight.  Would you recommend packing any light winter gloves. I can’t imagine packing a winter hat. It seems that almost every type of season is gong into the suitcase.

Thanks Joe!  I DID have light winter gloves yes...and a beanie. No actual winter hat, nor did I regret the omission. I wore those during Glacier Bay morning, as it was a bit chilly on deck, especially up front as we were still moving.  Even the little breeze stirred by that movement cools you off pretty fast.  And then when we took our helicopter ride to the glacier in Skagway.  That was actually cold.  Yes, for us, nearly every season came into play.  I never got down to shorts, but there were several days I had jeans and a t-shirt.  But the other thing I hear about Alaska is that your mileage may vary.  We had great luck with weather...not everyone does.  On the other hand, we were early in the season, when it might have been chillier (on average).

19 minutes ago, Kruzin Karen said:

Does it matter which side of the ship your balcony is on to get a good view of Glacier Bay?

For Glacier Bay, try NOT to be in your cabin.  The sights are great on both sides as you sail up to the glaciers, and you can't beat having the far more expansive views you get on deck.  While the ship will do a 180 so that you can see the glacier no matter what side you're on...I truly believe that's no substitute for being on deck.

If you MUST though, from our experience on the Bliss a couple of weeks ago, the PORT balconies would have had the longest views of the Margerie glacier.  We stayed there an hour, but the ship mostly stopped in place and didn't spin until 45 minutes had gone by, meaning the Starboard side got shorted.  On the way out of the bay, the starboard side got the best view of Johns Hopkins and Lamplugh glaciers, though.  But we didn't spend a very long time at either.

8 minutes ago, ZsaZsa2019 said:

Very helpful review.  We are on the Bliss this coming Sunday.  Alaska is new for us, so you had some good insight for me.  thank you for taking the time!

 

My only stress is what to pack.  I will start to work on that tonite.  Are sea days very casual - like a hoodie and jeans are Ok even in the restuarants for lunch?  We plan on nicer outfits for dinner, even tho I know there really isn't a dress code.

Thank you for your kind remarks and for your question.  Yes, packing was a challenge for us too.  This was the most casual cruise we've been on.  Hoodies and jeans...that was me!!  Even the dining room at dinner was more casual than usual.  They never had a "dress up or not" night like I've seen on other NCL cruises.  We dressed up (a little) for the evening because we LIKE to, but one evening, I wore a sportcoat and slacks and felt overdressed.

Layers are the rule, I think.  We had unusually nice weather (70 degrees in Juneau).  We NEVER had a drop of rain.  The coldest we were was when we flew to a Glacier and stood on a block of ice, and even that was above freezing.  

Have FUN!!!!!

MISC / FINAL THOUGHTS:

I realize, going through this, that there are a lot of "negative" comments about our experience and the Bliss.  Like many, I tend to focus on faults to a disproportionate degree.  Overall, though, I highly recommend this cruise, this ship and this experience.  Yes, there were issues, and some were even quite annoying...but we still had a fabulous time.  Please don't mis-understand.

A few random things:

1)     There were many parts of the ship we did not experience this time.  Spa, gym, most specialty dining, the pool, and except for a brief visit, Spice H2O.  We didn't see the kids areas.  We (sadly) didn't get to bowl, as it was always busy.  (In case you don't know, this bowling is of the miniature variety.  A ball the size of a softball.  $5 per game.)  This was a port & sights heavy cruise...we spent all morning before arrival in Juneau out on deck, watching whales, porpoises and scenery.  We just didn't have the time to try out everything.

2)     Elevators.  When you're at a bank of elevators, make sure that pressing one button lights them all up.  Some elevators on some banks go higher than others and if you don't press all the buttons, you'll see some of the zip right past you.  And just be ready for the usual obliviousness from many passengers.  The are waiting for their elevator.  One arrives.  They immediately try to get on, no allowing anyone to get off first.  Always amusing.  

3)     Wi-fi. We splurged on the unlimited, deluxe package, and it worked fairly well.  We kept it on my wife's phone most of the time, and she pretty much never got cut off.  One morning, she was off for an hour or two, but otherwise, it worked all the time.  We were even able to watch the first 10 minutes of the GAME OF THRONES finale before it started buffering every 10 seconds.  So, while hardly what you get on land, it wasn't as bad as many experiences we've had.  It seems to get slightly better year after year.  (I still remember dial-up speeds 8 years ago.)

4)     Shops onboard.  We hardly spent any time here...totally typical experience.  They did have a small shop that was selling exclusively Alaska based items, which was nice if you forgot to get gifts for folks back home.  (It seems like this shop is a Margaritaville shop during parts of the year.)  

5)     Casino.  I spent a total of 1 hour here on the last day.  Note that the casino closes at 3:30 pm on the last day, as Victoria looms, and will not reopen for the duration of the cruise.  My one hour was plenty, the slots were all tight.

6)     Overall ship.  Everything was kept clean and everything looked pretty new.  The public restrooms were kept clean, although I have to say the automatic soap dispensers were all VERY finicky.  Be patient...the soap will eventually come.  The public areas looked good, and just overall it looked fresh.  Very inviting overall.

And that's about it for me, unless you have questions.  I will be very happy to help if I can.  Thanks for reading!!!

On 5/31/2019 at 10:51 AM, jemz1949 said:

I would not want to arrive at the pier any later than 3 or 330p at the latest.  Don't know where your hotel is in relationship to the pier and how you plan to handle your luggage.   

I agree.  Too much room for error cutting it much closer.  

Barcelona is amazing, and I agree that you will want to see as much as you can.  If you get in the day before, perhaps plan to stay up late.  Barcelona is a late to bed, late to rise city.  On our visit there a few years ago, we couldn't even find a place open for breakfast before 9:30 am.  So make your arrival day a crazy one!

Other hints:  you can get tickets in advance for Sagrada Familia, online.  (If memory serves, it actually ends up being a Ticketmaster site!).  Do it!  The lines there are unreal...but if you have a reservation, there is virtually no wait.  And Casa Battlo, one of Gaudi's great masterpieces, also took reservations in advance and they are open quite late.  I seem to recall our entry time as being about 8:30 pm.

GLACIER BAY

One of the true highpoints of the cruise.  One of those days where the beauty of nature is there to overwhelm you if you're willing to get caught up in it.

It starts early...be ready and don't sleep in!  Around 6 or so, the National Park Service brings out a boat and several rangers get on board.  They had a 7am pre-glacier lecture in the Observation Lounge, and they had a small, ad hoc gift shop set up.  Mostly books, but other nice stuff as well.  But as soon as that wraps up at 7:30, get outside, if that's your inclination.  Needless to say, the lounge was really packed that day...but we had bundled up and planned to spend our time on deck.  At 8am, they opened the very front of the ship up (this is the crew's rec area at other times), so we went there in the very first group.  Only about 12 people were lined up to go there when it opened...later in the morning, others caught on and the prow was packed.  This is SO worth doing...great views of both sides.  We found a spot on the railing and hung out there for the next 3 hours or so.  We were lucky with the weather; it was chilly but not bad, and the skies were only partly cloudy.  Beautiful morning.  Saw sea otters, mountain goats and more.  And when we arrived at Margerie Glacier...oh boy!  The ship just stopped off the glacier for nearly an hour and we looked at it.  Amazing.  Could have stayed longer.  We saw the glacier calve twice!!  It was all awe-inspiring.  Eventually, we had to leave and let the next ship have her turn.  We went to our cabin and spent time on the balcony, brewing coffee and visiting briefly the Johns Hopkins Glacier and the Lamplugh glacier, which calved also and was the most beautiful blue we had seen yet on the trip.  

During this whole adventure, the park rangers made announcements over the PA.  Sometimes the acoustics weren't ideal, but mostly it was a great touch.  The crew brought around hot chocolate all morning long.  It was handled very, very well all day.  By 12:30 or so, we were nearly out of the park area, and there was a 1pm ranger talk in the theater.  Go to this...he showed slides with aerial views of what we had seen...terrific way to end our morning with the glaciers.  Just one of the great days of travel we've ever had.  Memorable in every way.  

We saw many amazing things during our cruise.  Helicopter to a glacier in Skagway.  Chilkoot Trail and river float.  Whale watching in Juneau.  Yes, even a sea plane in Ketchikan.  All gorgeous...and all at an extra cost.  But NCL has provided, at no additional cost, a truly fantastic way to experience Glacier Bay.  TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!!

PORTS

I don't intend to spend much time talking about the ports and the activities we did.  We did all "privately booked" excursions, so can't comment on what the ship provides.  But I feel we I should point out a few things.

Both Juneau and Skagway have piers that are right in the middle of town (well, on the edge of the middle of town...obviously we couldn't dock on a street!).  And both have a pier that is a long way from the middle.  It seems that the default for the bigger ships (as in the Bliss and the Joy) is the pier that's a long way away.  So, for example, in Juneau, it's about a 20 minute walk from the pier to town.  Other ships, 30 second walk.  Skagway, 10 minute walk.  Other ships, 30 seconds.  It's not the end of the world, but when scheduling excursions and such, it's worth nothing.  We just made it on time to our ride for our Juneau excursion.

And for some reason, with both Juneau and Victoria, the line of folks waiting to disembark was VERY long.  We lined up a the very back of Deck 6 and the exit was all the way in front.  Victoria, in particular, was terrible.  

The town of Juneau started shutting down at 9, even though our all-aboard was 10:30pm.  The other ships were already leaving, so I guess we weren't worth staying open for.  So, if you want to do some shopping, don't put it off for the end.  

The stop in Ketchikan was more reasonable (as for as location), but I wish we had more time.  And speaking of time, I think the website still implies arrival in Ketchikan around 6:30 or so.  That is NOT accurate...we arrive at 7:30 and all-aboard is 12:45.  We had to cancel our original excursion because we didn't get into port in time.  NCL never updated any of their documents...not until the Daily Planner comes out the night before would you know that your time was cut short by an hour.  So be alerted.  Same with Victoria...all our documents said arrive at 7:30, all-aboard at 11:30.  Day before, that became 8:30.  I know that legally, the ship needs to stop in Canada, but good grief, what a waste.  I believe they COULD have arrived sooner and actually given us some time in the city...but the port is clearly just there to check a box.  If you want to go downtown, shuttle buses are provided (and ample), but it's $12 USD per person (it was $15 CDN, but when we paid with a credit card, the rate dropped to $12 with the exchange rate.  But they were happy to take $15 US from folks who had cash!!  Pay with a credit card!).  And not surprisingly, plenty of people stayed on the ship.  Many were probably packing!!

RACE TRACK and LASER TAG

As mentioned, because we got on the ship a little later, we had no luck securing reservations for  the Race Track, except at times that conflicted with our show schedule.  We found one fairly bad time for Laser Tag (45 minutes before a dinner reservation).

We ended up NOT doing the Laser Tag.  We were told that with the prep time, waiting for enough people to show up, etc. etc. that we should allow a full hour at least.  It was a VERY windy evening, and just not terribly pleasant out...so we bailed.  They were nice enough to give us our money back.

We did the Race Track on the last day...it was no problem just walking up and being assigned a time one hour in the future.  This activity was fun, although they shut us down early because one driver decided to take her foot off the gas in the middle of the track, and two other cars couldn't brake fast enough to avoid hitting her...so they made everyone stop 2 laps early.  Bummer.  It's fun, but honestly, at the new rate of $15 per person...it's not really worth it.  Once it starts, its like any race track...there's no sensation of "hey, I'm doing this on a ship!"  You're too busy driving.  Glad I did it...probably wouldn't again unless I was on a cruise with the whole family and we did it as a big group.

(A word about miniature golf.  It's hidden behind the racetrack on deck 19 and is only 5 short holes.  Fun as always, but it gets packed fast, since there are so few holes.  It sure does feel like an afterthought.  They ran out of clubs and balls the day we did it, so as soon as you finished, you had to run back to the front and hand off your clubs to the next person waiting.)

(Also, there are no sports courts.  No basketball, volleyball, soccer, etc.   Obviously the race track has taken this spot.  Although I don't use those myself...I can imagine a lot of folks being bummed.)

57 minutes ago, adam3313 said:

That stinks they didn't have the Dogfish Head 90 minute on draft for you.  I was on the Joy last week, and was able to enjoy that on draft.  Makes you wonder...

The had Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin to help make up for it...but it ain't Dogfish Head.  

Don't forget, feel free to ask questions.  Those are the most fun!