Alaska: Looking at Bliss and Encore

[lovetotraveltx]

Have some fcc and a cruise next certificate so thinking of booking Alaska 2022 now. Sailing round trip Seattle. Always wanted to try the Encore, but may like Bliss' ports better. If you have been on both, is there a big difference. If you do have a preference, why?

 

Also, for sightseeing in Seattle and Alaska, was thinking July is the best month, yes?

 

Thank you!

[don't-use-real-name]

41 minutes ago, lovetotraveltx said:

Have some fcc and a cruise next certificate so thinking of booking Alaska 2022 now. Sailing round trip Seattle. Always wanted to try the Encore, but may like Bliss' ports better. If you have been on both, is there a big difference. If you do have a preference, why?

 

Also, for sightseeing in Seattle and Alaska, was thinking July is the best month, yes?

 

Thank you!

July is PEAK period - book early - - -

 

Ports visited *** not all on the same cruise:

Ketchikan

Juneau

Icy Strait Point

Skagway

Sitka *** rare visits common with the SUN

Seward

Victoria *** Seattle cruises PVSA act

 

Glaciers visited *** again not all on the same cruise:

Hubbard

Glacier Bay

Dawes Endicott Arm

Sawyer Tracy Arm *** somewhat restricted due to rapid glacier ice melting

Mendenhall *** shore excursion at Juneau

 

Origin Ports:

Vancouver

Seattle*** requires a Canada port visit PVSA act

Seward

 

At Seward there is a host of land package tours to consider pre-post cruise.

 

You will have to wait for other CC members to rant rave about the BIGGIE ships !

BIG ships BIG crowds - small ships something manageable.

 

My preference is the JEWEL or the SUN for Alaska to see and do more - but then

oranges mangos apples apricots different cruises ports glaciers - so many to pick from !

Edited September 30, 2020 by don't-use-real-name

[Budget Queen]

What are the differences?    Post them.    NO,  July is not the "best".    There is no "best".   🙂      I suggest you head over to the Alaska Ports of Call board.   Will find a lot more experienced replies  and detailed information.  

[Summerstravel]

I am looking at sailing on the Bliss for next spring to Alaska. I personally like the bigger ships. Especially since they have the solo cabins. Interested in the replies here. 

 

Tracie 

Edited September 30, 2020 by Summerstravel
typo

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, lovetotraveltx said:

Have some fcc and a cruise next certificate so thinking of booking Alaska 2022 now. Sailing round trip Seattle. Always wanted to try the Encore, but may like Bliss' ports better. If you have been on both, is there a big difference. If you do have a preference, why?

 

Also, for sightseeing in Seattle and Alaska, was thinking July is the best month, yes?

 

Thank you!

We have been on both. They are sister ships. People will nit pick differences, but there is nothing significant for Alaska. Pick the cruise by the itinerary. 
 

We sail Alaska yearly at different times. We prefer a bit later when the salmon are running, but not a big driver. 
 

Enjoy your cruise!

[PhillyTravelBug]

Which ever sailing has Glacier Bay. You will regret missing that,

[Budget Queen]

1 hour ago, Joeghartman said:

Which ever sailing has Glacier Bay. You will regret missing that,

Have you been to all 5 of the Glacier areas,  that the mega cruise ships sail?      They ALL are worthwhile and offer an extremely unique experience.      I instead,  looking at the ENTIRE itinerary,  it's all a compromise.   I never recommend giving "priority" to any single day.    It's always going to involve compromises   Ports,  time in ports,  glaciers,  they are all equally important.   

[Sailing12Away]

We recently booked an April 2021 roundtrip out of Seattle on the Bliss. Preferred the itinerary on the Jewel better, but since it is one way to/or/from Vancouver, we figured we would have better luck with being able to cruise at all this early in the game if we stuck with a US departure both ways.

[coastcat]

21 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

We recently booked an April 2021 roundtrip out of Seattle on the Bliss. Preferred the itinerary on the Jewel better, but since it is one way to/or/from Vancouver, we figured we would have better luck with being able to cruise at all this early in the game if we stuck with a US departure both ways.

It doesn't matter, thanks to the PVSA. A roundtrip out of Seattle still requires a port stop in another country and that means Victoria or Vancouver.

 

I'm booked for the Bliss April 2021 repositioning cruise (LA to Vancouver) which puts her in place for the Alaska season. Hopefully Canada will re-open to cruise traffic by then. I was supposed to have been on Jewel back in June but...

[hallux]

Biggest difference between the ships is the removal of Spice H2O (free adults-only space during the day - Bliss has it, Encore doesn't) and relocation of the laser tag to that space.  In place of laser tag on deck 20 is expanded Vibe Beach club (paid limited-access adults-only space).

 

Otherwise, they're pretty much going to be identical in layout and venues and slightly different in decor and what shows are playing (if any, but I hope they're doing shows).

[lovetotraveltx]

Thank you everyone!

[Sailing12Away]

On 9/30/2020 at 9:01 PM, coastcat said:

It doesn't matter, thanks to the PVSA. A roundtrip out of Seattle still requires a port stop in another country and that means Victoria or Vancouver.

 

I'm booked for the Bliss April 2021 repositioning cruise (LA to Vancouver) which puts her in place for the Alaska season. Hopefully Canada will re-open to cruise traffic by then. I was supposed to have been on Jewel back in June but...

It does matter, because a port stop is very different from an embarkation stop. They're not required to let everyone off the ship at a port stop. They could potentially restrict it to just Canadian citizens or people on officially NCL sponsored excursions only.

[HowardK]

I had one of the $1 holds on the Bliss August of 2019 (but had multiple concerts instead). My Encore was cancelled this May of course so I am looking at one of the ships for either May or August of 2022 to Alaska for a milestone birthday.

 

I did notice sometimes on ship returns Saturday vs Sunday and that Sunday flights out of Alaska back east were more than Saturday or Monday. Did anyone else find this? 

 

[coastcat]

7 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

It does matter, because a port stop is very different from an embarkation stop. They're not required to let everyone off the ship at a port stop. They could potentially restrict it to just Canadian citizens or people on officially NCL sponsored excursions only.

As I understand the PVSA, a port stop does not qualify if passengers are not allowed to disembark. 
 

However, you might have found the technical loophole. In re-reading the law, I don’t see any requirement that all passengers be able to disembark, nor that U.S. citizens be allowed to disembark. If the cruise lines could convince Canada to allow its own citizens to get off the ship in Victoria, and then get back on again before the ship departs, it technically might with the PVSA.

 

However, at this time, Canadian citizens & permanent residents returning to Canada are required to quarantine for two weeks unless they meet certain exemption requirements. If they disembark in Victoria, they’re not going to make it back onboard for dinner...

[smplybcause]

I did Bliss in Alaska in May. I enjoyed the hot tubs in Spice a few times, but Spice wasn't the hang out it was on Caribbean sailings. However, that might change later in the Alaska season. It was a bit too cold for me to hang out for long in Spice without bringing something to keep the wind chill off me. So I found myself in the Observation lounge for most of the chill time I usually am in Spice. So it's not a huge difference. I didn't make it back to Spice during the glacier viewings as I wanted to check out the bow viewing too - so I'm not sure if Spice was less crowded than around the pools. 

[Summerstravel]

On 9/30/2020 at 9:14 PM, hallux said:

Biggest difference between the ships is the removal of Spice H2O (free adults-only space during the day - Bliss has it, Encore doesn't) and relocation of the laser tag to that space.  In place of laser tag on deck 20 is expanded Vibe Beach club (paid limited-access adults-only space).

 

Otherwise, they're pretty much going to be identical in layout and venues and slightly different in decor and what shows are playing (if any, but I hope they're doing shows).

I'm curious what the out door temperature on the ship and off  is like during these Alaska cruises? What clothing items are best to pack for a trip to a Alaska? Would the vibe beach club pass really be worth it? 

[smplybcause]

11 hours ago, Summerstravel said:

I'm curious what the out door temperature on the ship and off  is like during these Alaska cruises? What clothing items are best to pack for a trip to a Alaska? Would the vibe beach club pass really be worth it? 

 

It varies a lot depending on which month you go. I the middle of summer it can get up into the 80s, but it could also not get out of the 50s some days. Layers are you friend along with a good waterproof jacket that also helps with the wind. I brought tanks, tshirts, long sleeve shirts, thin sweaters, thicker sweaters, and a really nice jacket that was 3-1. On cold days you wear a ton of layers, but can take some off as the day warms up or if you do an activity. I don't think I'd bother with the vibe pass because it's all up on the top deck - even when it's decent outside the wind can make it feel cold. 

[Summerstravel]

1 hour ago, smplybcause said:

 

It varies a lot depending on which month you go. I the middle of summer it can get up into the 80s, but it could also not get out of the 50s some days. Layers are you friend along with a good waterproof jacket that also helps with the wind. I brought tanks, tshirts, long sleeve shirts, thin sweaters, thicker sweaters, and a really nice jacket that was 3-1. On cold days you wear a ton of layers, but can take some off as the day warms up or if you do an activity. I don't think I'd bother with the vibe pass because it's all up on the top deck - even when it's decent outside the wind can make it feel cold. 

Thank you so much wow I may need a bigger suitcase. lol 

[smplybcause]

10 minutes ago, Summerstravel said:

Thank you so much wow I may need a bigger suitcase. lol 

 

Lol I went in early May and born & raised in Florida and I was able to fit everything in the normal large checked bag and my carryon stuff (which was just a backpack and my not so big camera bag) - though I did carry on my 3-1 jacket with me since it's bulky. Some things you can wear more than once - like my thicker sweaters I only had a few and I would wear them around on the ship over several days. If you think through what you need and what things you can wear more than once if needed, it's not as much as you'd think. 

[HowardK]

Thanks - these are really good tips. I'll probably do this one as my next cruise so I can visit either Vancouver or Seattle beforehand as well

[hallux]

16 minutes ago, HowardK said:

so I can visit either Vancouver

Honestly, I wish I'd had more than just the 36 hours I had there last year.  I should have taken a hotel room for the night after my cruise and toured more of the city.  I thought I was going to have most of the day there when we arrived, but because of the tides ship didn't finish tying up until 1:30 or 2, if I recall, but we overnighted on the ship while in port in Vancouver.

[HowardK]

6 minutes ago, hallux said:

Honestly, I wish I'd had more than just the 36 hours I had there last year.  I should have taken a hotel room for the night after my cruise and toured more of the city.  I thought I was going to have most of the day there when we arrived, but because of the tides ship didn't finish tying up until 1:30 or 2, if I recall, but we overnighted on the ship while in port in Vancouver.

Would you recommend Vancouver over Seattle?  I'm on the East Coast as well- so this would be a cross country trip that I might do only once.

[hallux]

I've never spent an appreciable amount of time in Seattle so I can't comment on that.

[IRMO12HD]

4 hours ago, HowardK said:

Would you recommend Vancouver over Seattle?  I'm on the East Coast as well- so this would be a cross country trip that I might do only once.

I would say it depends on your interests.  I've cruised out of Vancouver, but haven't stayed there (yet), but live on the East side of the Cascades in Washington state, and have family in Seattle.  In my opinion, Seattle is great for exploring locales, wine, and is probably the more cost-effective flight destination.  Of course, you can also land in Seattle, tour a day or two, take the train up to Vancouver, cruise, tour Vancouver/Victoria, and take the ferry back to Seattle (from Victoria).