New to NCL and the Bliss..Need help!

[madre2]

We have never cruised with  NCL.  We have done RCCL, Celebrity, and Carnival.  Looking to try Pacific Coast on the Bliss next year, but don't know much about the ship, or how NCL does things.  Are the shows free of charge or do you have to pay?  Do you have to make reservations for shows?  Is the specialty dining worth it if we get 3 meals free?  How is the wifi?  Anything else anyone can share about the ship or itinerary would be so much appreciated.

[valleyvillage]

We just got back from that very cruise! The specialty dining was wonderful. We did Cagney's, Le Bistro, and Los Lobos. The service was terrific and so was the food. We had a great time.

There were no problems with the wifi and we were able to upgrade to unlimited for something like $14.00.

It is true that with so many people the elevators can get very very busy. We eventually succumbed to the strategy of riding up to go down and vice versa. 

Most of the shows are free of charge and they fill up quickly! Be sure to reserve online early to get your choice.

Have a bon voyage!

[jdvmd]

1 hour ago, valleyvillage said:

We just got back from that very cruise! The specialty dining was wonderful. We did Cagney's, Le Bistro, and Los Lobos. The service was terrific and so was the food. We had a great time.

There were no problems with the wifi and we were able to upgrade to unlimited for something like $14.00.

It is true that with so many people the elevators can get very very busy. We eventually succumbed to the strategy of riding up to go down and vice versa. 

Most of the shows are free of charge and they fill up quickly! Be sure to reserve online early to get your choice.

Have a bon voyage!

Had to laugh about riding up to go down! Have had to do this so many times.

[Itzmyn]

We were on the last sailing in Alaska.  First time on NCL, sailed previously on the same lines you listed.  The Bliss is a beautiful ship.  We were on deck 14 port side, midship, and found this location to be great for access to Observation Lounge and buffet, and we had no trouble taking the stairs from decks 7 on up for other venues.  We did Teppanyaki, Ocean Blue, and Q for the specialty dining.  I would prefer doing Cagney's, Le Bistro or La Cucina over Q, wasn't impressed with food or service there. The Jersey Boys was excellent for ship entertainment.  The Bliss was probably the cleanest ship I've been on, and my inlaws wanted to purchase whatever product they used to clean the staterooms, the soft fragrance was very nice.  We've always had assigned time dining, so freestyle was new to us.  We only ate at Savor once, the rest of our group preferred the buffet for dinner, and I must say the food and choices there were very good.  We will sail Bliss again for sure!

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, madre2 said:

We have never cruised with  NCL.  We have done RCCL, Celebrity, and Carnival.  Looking to try Pacific Coast on the Bliss next year, but don't know much about the ship, or how NCL does things.  Are the shows free of charge or do you have to pay?  Do you have to make reservations for shows?  Is the specialty dining worth it if we get 3 meals free?  How is the wifi?  Anything else anyone can share about the ship or itinerary would be so much appreciated.

The two main Broadway shows are free of charge (Jersey Boys and Havana) 

This is like sailing on a Quantum or Oasis class ship on RCL. You need to make reservations for some of the shows. If  you get three free meals with your booking, then use them. The WiFi is similar to Voom. 

Menus and general information on the ship can be found on our Alaska live post 

 

[WitnessProtection]

20 hours ago, madre2 said:

We have never cruised with  NCL.  We have done RCCL, Celebrity, and Carnival.  Looking to try Pacific Coast on the Bliss next year, but don't know much about the ship, or how NCL does things.  Are the shows free of charge or do you have to pay?  Do you have to make reservations for shows?  Is the specialty dining worth it if we get 3 meals free?  How is the wifi?  Anything else anyone can share about the ship or itinerary would be so much appreciated.

We also were on the last sailing to Alaska on the Bliss and had a wonderful time on this beautiful ship!  As others have stated, the two main shows are Havana and Jersey Boys, and both are free of charge.  If you can only make it to one of the shows, I'd suggest Jersey Boys based on our experience and others we sailed with.  I was very surprised at how many people left Havana during the show, and felt that while it was entertaining, I wouldn't see it again.  We made reservations online prior to boarding, but did notice many open seats during the show.  If you aren't able to reserve seating due to it showing full, you can always try the stand-by line (and my guess is that you will get in based on all the empty seats we saw). 

We chose the 3 free specialty dining meals as one of our perks and did enjoy our meals at each.  We had reservations for Cagney's twice and Le Bistro.  While the meals were good for the most part, I wouldn't pay extra to eat there if I did not receive it as a perk. On our next sailing, we will try different specialty restaurants to see which ones we like best.  Really enjoyed all of our meals in the MDRs...both Taste and Savor.  We found after the first day that if we brought our first drink (soda) to the table with us and ordered another one right away, things went smoother and we were never waiting for a refill.  

We hardly ever felt the ship was crowded at all except a few times trying to find a seat at the buffet and in the elevators after shows.  We ended up finding tables outside on the pool deck and always found a seat there.  The Local was also mobbed for football all day on Sunday, and we were happy that we could also watch the games in our stateroom if we wished.   Many times we were surprised that no one was on the elevators and at other times they were somewhat crowded.   We took the stairs going down whenever possible, so that did help.  

We loved all of the staff we encountered and thought the ship was very clean.  We were very sad to leave after a mere 7 day sailing, and kept saying on the last morning that 7 days is not enough for us.  I'd suggest really exploring the ship on your first day, and find venues that fit what you are looking for.  Hopefully, you will love your experience on the Bliss as much as we did!