Aprille

Am I reading correctly that Port Valet is a FREE service?

Yep. Service provided by Port of Seattle, not NCL.

You should get your snail mail luggage tags exactly 50 days before your cruise.

I got mine 49 days out. Glad I didn't see this before then or I might have started panicking the day before. ;)

9/22 is the last Bliss cruise of the season. The Tracy Arm Cruise excursion is not available that late in the season.

I got mine 8/4 for 9/22 sailing so 50ish days out.

Average Christmas Day:

http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weatherdaily.php3?s=764051&month=12&theday=25&citynameCabo+San+Lucas%2C+Baja+California+Sur%2C+Mexico&set=

You can click on "Previous Day" and "Next Day" for the rest of the week.

did you go to la bistro? I am trying to see if they changed the menu on the bliss?

 

Thanks

Bliss Le Bistro menu:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56220457&postcount=77

Where do you get Whirlout?

Amazon is one place to get it...

https://www.amazon.com/Summit-Brands-WhirlOUT-Jetted-Cleaner/dp/B000DZBLJ6

Also, Home Depot, Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond...

Do a Google search.

In that I've cruised in suites, I haven't had to pay the 20% gratuity on the UBP (the policy changed June 2017, suites booked after that date will have to pay it), so I leave $1 to $2 per drink. I'm personally glad that the suites will now be charged the 20% gratuity, because I won't have to carry around dollar bills.

My understanding (and maybe I'm wrong) is that the 20% was included with the promo before the change in June 2017. I also did not have to pay the gratuity on our upcoming cruise (Bliss Haven) because I booked before the change.

That said, I carry $1 bills around and typically tip additional per drink and more at the end of cruise to my favorite bartender(s).

I don’t understand the snickers bar in s Bloody Mary I wouldn’t be a fan.

But I usually bring ones sling on a cruise just for this purpose. Not that I think I get better service but that 20% gratuity spread out through all the bartenders isn’t overly extravagant. Even when I don’t have a drink package I have tipped extra to the bartenders.

Agree.

Trying to understand this. When we book we took the Promo package for drinks states first 2 guest. Because I'm a 3rd guest NCL lady on line when we booked said I would have to buy mine if I wanted one We are in a 2 bedroom Family Suite on Pearl in Sept. we cruised on the Sky in owner's suite this past April with package and they kept the fridge stock with drinks but have been told that don't do this on Pearl .

Owner's suite is provided with bottled water and soft drinks throughout your cruise at no additional charge. In a 2br family suite you have to purchase.

Our biggest thrill on our tour of Denali Park was a mama bear with 2 yearling cubs walking within 50' of our bus! I thought the bus would tip over with everyone running to one side for pictures. LOL! They even walked across the road in front of us. It was awesome!

We also saw a huge bull moose. It was way off in the distance and we needed binoculars to really see it. I don't know how our guide spotted it. I'm sure through her many years of experience. She said it was a rare sighting. Could have been because of the time of year. It was late September.

Our tour was also suppose to be 8 hours but turned into about 10 because we saw so much wildlife leading to lots of stops for pictures. I hope your trip is as successful!

Always love your live reviews. This one is special since you're doing it for your mom. Prayers and thoughts to her for a speedy and full recovery. You are such a sweet man to do this for her. I know men don't like to be called sweet but you are very sweet. :)

One request and I promise it's an easy one. I'm loving all the group pictures and while I know your mom knows who everyone is, I don't. Would love one of the group pictures to identify everyone. I "know" you, Sue and your dad and maybe your sister. But would like the full line-up.

Looks like y'all are having a great time. Enjoy the rest of your trip and happy, happy 75th birthday to your adorable dad!

Love you review style! :'):')

You're giving out great info which will be very helpful to those planning the same cruise.

Between you and TheDougOut, y'all are making me want to do this cruise and a Baltic cruise has never even been on my radar. :D

Looking forward to the rest of your trip/cruise review.

Looking forward to you review. We are looking at doing an Alaskan cruise tour but are not sure if we want Northbound or Southbound or how many days we want to spend on the land portion yet. I am researching and your review will help with our decision.

My suggestion would be to do southbound doing the land portion first. You will be exhausted after the land portion changing hotels nearly every night. LOL! It makes it such a relief to get on the ship after, unpack and be done with that for 7 nights.

Do as many nights as you possibly can for the land portion. We did 5 nights and wish we had done 6. (6 was the max on RCCL when we did it. Not sure what NCL offers.) There is so much to see and who knows if you'll ever get back.

Tries to book dinner times on the Bliss for the Q. Do they not take reservations or just a glich? I have booked everything else but hat one.

I had the same issue a few weeks ago. Seems to be a glitch. Many have posted not being able to book Q online. I emailed my PCC and she got reservations for us for the time we wanted. Others have called to book.

You will not have to "lug" any suitcases around. Or you shouldn't. Our land/cruise trip was on RCCL but I assume it's similar. The suitcases you need will be delivered to your hotel room (usually even before you get to your room!) and picked up outside your hotel room when you are heading to a new city. There will be a designated time to set them outside your hotel room. Usually quite early in the morning. If you forget something you need in the bags you have stowed until the cruise, they will get it out for you at your request. I had to do that a couple of times. :o

As I said, this was on RCCL and it was 13 years ago. I would guess it's very similar in NCL. We had an awesome time and saw tons of wildlife at Denali Park.

Have a great time (you will!) and I'll be following along on your review. :)

Can someone please tell me where the Haven muster drill is located on the Bliss?

TIA

Deck 18 is just a small overlook onto the main deck 17 lounge. Just go down some stairs for snacks

Thanks. That's what I figured. Are the nearest elevators down by the Haven Restaurant? I typically use a walker but can handle one set of stairs with handrails, if need be. We're staying in the DOS so we're right outside the upper level observation deck.

Havana on Sun and Mon - 7:30p and 10:00p (1hr 15min)

Jersey Boys on Wed and Thur - 7:30p and 10:00p (1hr 45min)

I don't know about any of the other shows (comedy shows, Beatlemania, etc).

Hi, Maya. I have enjoyed your pre-cruise thoughts, live cruise review and now your final thoughts.

Can you tell me if deck 18 Haven Lounge has snacks like the food spread on deck 17? Thanks.

 

Card Room - (deck 12 forward)

 

 

available games

Dominoes, yes. You probably need to bring your own Skip-bo cards if that's what you want to play.

 

Cana Brava Rum

Bacardi 8 Rum

Aylesbury Duck Vodka

Ketel One

Fords London Gin

Tequila Cabesa

Dewars

Bulleit Kentucky

Jameson

Crown Royal

Campari

Cinzano

Baileys

Kahlua

Hidalgo

plus 6 wines.

Thank you!

What's DOS? I googled, couldn't find it. A drink package?

Deluxe Owner's Suite. 3 bottles of liquor are included along with unlimited bottled water, soft drinks and mixers.

I know I saw a list posted recently but I went back 5 pages (and did a search) and can't find it. It wasn't really relevant at the time but we just upgraded to the DOS on our Sept Bliss cruise so now the list *is* relevant. :D

I found a list from June 2017 but I'm pretty sure that's not the current list.

TIA

Did you go to Margaritaville because the Haven was too crowded?

Lunch at Margaritaville is free on embarkation day for Haven guests so that's likely why they went there.

How does this work? You install the NCL app, pay the $9/$10 per device and then text through the app? Can you put your phone in airplane mode while using this or do you have to connect to the ship's wifi? (Thinking about keeping possible incoming calls/texts from home coming through and incurring additional charges.)

Also can the concierge set this up for you or do you need to go to the internet desk?

This would be so handy for me to try to keep up with my wandering hubby. :D