Bliss - July 7th sailing - Travelogue

Ok. The time has come. Jumping on the Bliss today. Happy to field any questions still out there. However, as I’ve read plenty prior to this, not sure how many questions are still out there...

A little about us. Family of four with a 15 year old son and 19 year old daughter. This is our second Alaska cruise with NCL but, in all honesty, we didn’t enjoy the first one much. It was about ten years ago and their idea of an Italian specialty dining experience was curtaining off half of the buffet during dinner time. My how the dining had changed in 10 years. We also lived in Seattle at the time and realized we couldn’t afford skipping the Seattle summer sunshine. Now, as residents of Vegas, we are more than happy to take in some overcast skies as a break from our normal summer. Go Knights Go.

We’re waiting to board now so more to come later.

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To starts off - we really enjoyed visiting our old Seattle stomping grounds. Hit all the basics downtown including a Mariners game to cap it off. We’ll also be spending a bit of time with old friends after.

Speaking of the Mariners, I’ll post the first dining image of this thread. Whoever thought serving (or on my part - tasting) grasshoppers at a baseball game was a good idea may have been hit by a foul ball or two recently.

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Looking forward to this! I’m also very curious to read about your 15y/o son’s perspective on the ship.

Safe travels!

Hi, if you wouldn't mind can you advise on if this ship has high speed internet or if its more like traditional cruising? I had VOOM on RC and it was great. Trying to decide if I should give Bliss a shot? Thanks.

Hoping you get the same amazing weather we did. Every port day was 68-78 degrees and sunny last week.

What cabin are you guys in? We are hoping to find someone in 17126. We are in that cabin in October and hoping for a sneak preview of the interior and balcony.

Have an awesome trip! I'll be taking it at the end of August. If you could get plenty of pictures of what's offered at Alaskan Salmon night at the buffet, including sides and desserts, I'd love to live vicariously through them.

What cabin are you guys in? We are hoping to find someone in 17126. We are in that cabin in October and hoping for a sneak preview of the interior and balcony.

I was in 18126 above it! 1st is mine and 2nd is sideways yours

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What cabin are you guys in? We are hoping to find someone in 17126. We are in that cabin in October and hoping for a sneak preview of the interior and balcony.

Sorry - we’re in a mini-suite on deck 14.

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Hoping you get the same amazing weather we did. Every port day was 68-78 degrees and sunny last week.

Yeah - weather forecasts not looking good yet but we’ll keep our fingers crossed.

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Looking forward to this! I’m also very curious to read about your 15y/o son’s perspective on the ship.

 

 

 

Safe travels!

We’ve got him checked in to the teen area. That’s something we’ve failed on in cruises past. Good sign so far...

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Have a wonderful Alaska adventure!

Embarkation was very smooth. We were assigned a very early time when checking in (930-1000) so we sat for a while but boarded around 11:00. I will say the actual “boarding” was a bit underwhelming compared to previous cruises - not a destination entry. Just entered through the slot machines onto the ship and then scatter to find what you need.

Quickest sell-outs: comedy shows were all full within a couple hours. Racetrack and laser tag reservations were just a mess in Q where you could book in person. We booked those on a touchscreen immediately when boarding so we were good - but, I’m sure there are quite a few upset folks who may not read these boards as often...

Muster drill time. At least we’re in a bar and we didn’t have to throw away our drinks...

Lunch at the buffet. I really wanted The Local but was overruled by the “grateful” teens whose cruise we paid for and who live in our house. [emoji6]. However, other than crowded - offer selection was quite nice and I’m sure I’ll hit The Local a couple times later this voyage.

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First stop of the day... and they still use straws!

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Hope you have a wonderful cruise on the wonderful Bliss. Love your style.. very enjoyable. Cheers.

Following along. Enjoy your cruise.

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I am so happy to read another travelogue of the Bliss! We disembarked on the 1st and are still missing the ship and all the wonderful crew we made friends with!!! Enjoy!!!

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Embarkation was very smooth. We were assigned a very early time when checking in (930-1000) so we sat for a while but boarded around 11:00. I will say the actual “boarding” was a bit underwhelming compared to previous cruises - not a destination entry. Just entered through the slot machines onto the ship and then scatter to find what you need.

 

Quickest sell-outs: comedy shows were all full within a couple hours. Racetrack and laser tag reservations were just a mess in Q where you could book in person. We booked those on a touchscreen immediately when boarding so we were good - but, I’m sure there are quite a few upset folks who may not read these boards as often...

 

 

 

Muster drill time. At least we’re in a bar and we didn’t have to throw away our drinks...

 

Lunch at the buffet. I really wanted The Local but was overruled by the “grateful” teens whose cruise we paid for and who live in our house. [emoji6]. However, other than crowded - offer selection was quite nice and I’m sure I’ll hit The Local a couple times later this voyage.

 

 

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hmmmmm.. I say you tell the Teens that you are the parent and paid for the trip and are lucky to be on a cruise in the first place. And that they will eat in the local with you and like it.

And they really will LIKE it really since I ate in the LOCAL twice. I say the selling point is the burgers since they are not precooked as in the buffet -- and are really good and the desserts are nicer and bigger size from the buffet.

I was lucky to be on the 14 day Panama Canal cruise in May. Many of us were saying that the 7 day cruises are gonna have a problem with the race track and shows. Just too crowded and the Bliss needs to make longer hours. But good luck and try walking up later in the day and towards evening for the Cars.

Dear Dad...

Thanks so much for sharing. Another poster had said that the Haven concierge was telling them that unlimited go karts were $99 pp. But I have not seen any

follow up posts. 4,700 passengers on board some sailings. (ie: upper bunks and sofa beds), and the fact it takes about an hour for the carts each time, we are concerned that if we board at 2 pm we may not be able to get reservations.

Jersey Boys is two nights during the cruise, and the smaller theater with under

1k seats for 4 shows means that perhaps 20% of guests may not be able to see the show.

We are excited about our sailing on the Bliss, but concerned that the concept

of FreeStyle is now feeling like FeeStyle as they are raising fees and charges

very often...

Have fun you guys! The morning omelletes at the local are great!

May your Seas be Flat,

And your tummies be fat. :cool:

Sorry - we’re in a mini-suite on deck 14.

 

 

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Where on deck 14 we sail in mini suite in 2 weeks on deck 14

Ok. Just to catch up a bit... dinner at Q. Decided to just shoot my food (other than desserts) as would have taken too long otherwise and some folks couldn’t wait to start eating away.

Restaurant - BBQ was good but I wouldn’t say great. The apps, sides and desserts were another story - great flavor. As it was the first night, Q was relatively quiet - only about half full if that. Live music isn’t till about 10 so they probably should have cranked the stereo a little bit louder to add ambiance (as you non-country music lovers shake your head no)... on that note, Camille has ended her short residency and we now have the Greg White Jr Country Band.

Speaking of the band, they did play at the Welcome Aboard Show and I am looking forward to seeing them one of these nights at Q. Great sound. The show itself, though, upset a few folks as the App showed it starting at 8 but it really started at 730. Therefore, watch for that if you cruise in the future.

Finally - Happy Hour Prohibition went up another $10 per person. Not sure when that happened as I could have missed it earlier. It was about $36 per person including fees. Just as an FYI.

Calling it an early night on Day 1. A month’s worth of work travel and time changes is catching up. We’ll see what Day 2 has in store. And, as an update to earlier question, while we did get my son signed up for teen area - he did not step inside on Day 1.

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I am enjoying your review, thank you!

I do have a few questions and I know I could probably do a search and find the answers but since I'm still confused I thought it would be better to ask you. I have been on over 20 cruises but never on NCL and for some reason I'm totally confused.

What is the dress code like in Q, Teppanyaki, and Cagney's?

I read somewhere on here tonight that you can wear shorts in the main dining room at dinner time but now I can't find the post. Is this correct? Is the casual dress code limited to any certain dining room? I don't wear shorts but my friend does and may like this if I'm reading it correctly.

Where do we go to sign up for the comedy shows? I would be totally bummed if we could not get in.

If it all possible would you please post photos of the Internet plans? Does it work well from your cabin?

Thank you so much for your review and for any questions you can answer. Have a great cruise!

 

 

 

Happy to provide a little color...

 

Q is quite casual. I think Q and Los Lobos are a bit more casual-accepted. However, as I’ve seen, the wardrobe is quite eclectic overall. You’ll see on the clip below that they’ve given up on expecting everyone to dress up on a formal night as well.

 

I haven’t been to the main dining room yet but I’d be surprised if there aren’t some folks wearing shorts. Our Alaska cruise, though, seems to be a bit cooler than last couple of weeks so I haven’t seen an overwhelming number of shorts in the evening. Not sure that helps but I’ll see what ease I can observe in the coming days.

 

Reservations - Right when you get on the ship, go straight to the interactive screens. They are at almost every elevator area (on the end-caps). On these screens, you can book comedy, go-carts, laser tag, dinners, shows, etc. Trying to find a body to help you might put you in a position where there’s not much left.

 

I’ll have to snap a pic of the internet prices. We don’t have the “streaming” package so it hasn’t been great. However, my father (who cruises much more than he) says the internet on the Bliss is well above average compared to other ships.

 

Hope that helps.

 

 

 

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Day 2...

Nice Meet and Greet in DIstrict Brewhouse. I must say, though, that I was a bit disappointed in NCL. I’ve only been to one other M&G and it was RCL Harmony last year. During that event, every senior officer (including the Captain) joined us for about 30 minutes to share with our small group. No one from NCL at this one. Maybe the Harmony experience was the exception and not the rule???

The slot pull afterwards was a lot of fun and I’m not just saying that because I took down the side pot.

Next - racetrack time. I know there have been mixed reviews but I must say that we really enjoyed these. I was lucky enough to get starting position and took off from there. However, after lapping a few folks, the next car in front of me would never let me pass for the final four laps. It was frustrating and I would have bumped the car into a corner had there not been a rule against it and had the car not been my wife’s (who could make me pay dearly if I attempted said passing maneuver).

Relaxed in the afternoon and then grabbed dinner at La Cucina. We had a 530 reservation so we could easily catch the 800 comedy show - we thought. While the food was pretty good and the waiter very nice, it was one of the slowest dinners I’ve ever experienced. We barely made the show before the standby line was let in. Greg Warren was hilarious!

We gain an hour of sleep tonight with the time change which is good news for a 730 excursion meetup time.

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Day 2...

The slot pull afterwards was a lot of fun and I’m not just saying that because I took down the side pot. Congratulations! How much did you win?

 

Next - racetrack time. I know there have been mixed reviews but I must say that we really enjoyed these. I was lucky enough to get starting position and took off from there. However, after lapping a few folks, the next car in front of me would never let me pass for the final four laps. It was frustrating and I would have bumped the car into a corner had there not been a rule against it and had the car not been my wife’s (who could make me pay dearly if I attempted said passing maneuver). While you were describing it I was picturing a grown male in his 30s or maybe 40s, blocking you. This made me laugh, out loud when you said it was your wife! I love your sense of humor!

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Looking forward to your next post.