NCL Bliss Live Review 8/27/22 - 9/3/22 Lots of Pictures !!!

[Hogladyrider]

All set to rock n roll on this Alaska adventure....such a scenic cruise.....Alaska cruise just barely touches Alaska.  After our 1st Alaskan cruise we did a 7 day interior tour with Alaska Wildland Adventures....16 people all inclusive, vacation of a lifetime.  Alaska is wonderful if you love nature.

 

@BennyBrun....I think you were home long enough to get the laundry done before you headed out on your next adventure.  Great life ENJOY!

[vacation44]

Will be following along again!   We are looking to book our first Alaskan cruise for this time next year.

 

Have an wonderful sailing!

 

[j&bcruzing]

Going on the Bliss on October 8th. Slightly different itinerary than yours but excited to see your adventures and pictures of the Bliss.

[Markj]

Did this exact same cruise on Bliss back in July and it was absolutely amazing. It was our third Alaskan cruise and we still didnt repeat anything. Other than eating and drinking too much of course.

 

Have a great time!!!

[Eggs2Go]

Hey Benny, good to see you getting onboard again. Wow, from hot southern Greece up to usually cold Alaska all in the same month, that's a serious adjustment. At least you took time in between to pack appropriate clothing. I did the Alaska sailing on Bliss in the summer just before covid, and it was one of my best cruises ever (but I seem to say that about most every cruise I take). Your postings will bring back many memories for me, I'm sure. Happy sailing; I'll be following along daily.

[BennyBrun]

13 hours ago, mearsfansinboise said:

I just read on another thread that crew masks are no longer required; is that the case on your sailing?

 

--- we're on this sailing October 15; the last one of the season.  Looking forward to your report and photos, thank you!

Will certainly let you know once I am onboard tomorrow… it would be nice to see the smiling faces again!

[BennyBrun]

9 hours ago, drumming cruisers said:

We were on AK, cruise a week ago and all crew were wearing masks. We wore masks in all public places and ate meals outside if at all possible. By end of cruise lots of people were coughing. On FB board quite a few reported they tested positive for covid when they got home. 

Yikes… I guess we will have to learn to live with this reality that Covid will be with us… stranger danger … I will bring my timer and limit my conversation with strangers to 10 minutes or less 😂 <jk>

[BennyBrun]

8 hours ago, Muckyduckway said:

Ready to sail with you...

 

Really looking forward to this one as Alaska is on "our list", but more so because it's a totally different environment to your recent cruises. Keen to see your impressions of the original great outdoors!

Thanks so much!  It will be different but this will be my fourth or fifth time back to Alaska … it’s an amazing place but sadly every time I go back the glacier I visit seemed to be getting smaller and smaller especially the glacier in Juneau, but on the other hand it’s much easier to spot bald eagles every time I go back !

[BennyBrun]

4 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

All set to rock n roll on this Alaska adventure....such a scenic cruise.....Alaska cruise just barely touches Alaska.  After our 1st Alaskan cruise we did a 7 day interior tour with Alaska Wildland Adventures....16 people all inclusive, vacation of a lifetime.  Alaska is wonderful if you love nature.

 

@BennyBrun....I think you were home long enough to get the laundry done before you headed out on your next adventure.  Great life ENJOY!

Welcome back and thanks for coming along once again!  Yeap I have fully recovered from the Greece trip … this trip will be more relaxed but still with plenty of hiking and walking but with sea days to rest up!  The next few cruises I have lined up with be less interesting by comparison… back to the Caribbean on Royal so some fun and rest 😆 

[BennyBrun]

3 hours ago, vacation44 said:

Will be following along again!   We are looking to book our first Alaskan cruise for this time next year.

 

Have an wonderful sailing!

 

If you never been it’s a great experience… I highly recommend some of the more adventurous excursions like kayaking to a glacier if you can do it!  I was less impressed with the helicopter/ flight tours… while it’s great to see it’s another experience when you get up close and step onto the glacier via Kayak!  Pick your cruise line carefully because that’s important to visit Alaska !

[BennyBrun]

49 minutes ago, Markj said:

Did this exact same cruise on Bliss back in July and it was absolutely amazing. It was our third Alaskan cruise and we still didnt repeat anything. Other than eating and drinking too much of course.

 

Have a great time!!!

Hahahah… that’s the 3/4 of the fun of going on a cruise … eating and drinking!  I am so glad you had a great time!

[BennyBrun]

19 minutes ago, Eggs2Go said:

Hey Benny, good to see you getting onboard again. Wow, from hot southern Greece up to usually cold Alaska all in the same month, that's a serious adjustment. At least you took time in between to pack appropriate clothing. I did the Alaska sailing on Bliss in the summer just before covid, and it was one of my best cruises ever (but I seem to say that about most every cruise I take). Your postings will bring back many memories for me, I'm sure. Happy sailing; I'll be following along daily.

Thanks so much!  It will be an adjustment… I packed layers in my luggage along with rain jacket/umbrella/and semi water proof shoes for Sitka/Juneau!  Feel free to chime in and welcome aboard yet another virtual cruise!

[vacation44]

4 minutes ago, BennyBrun said:

If you never been it’s a great experience… I highly recommend some of the more adventurous excursions like kayaking to a glacier if you can do it!  I was less impressed with the helicopter/ flight tours… while it’s great to see it’s another experience when you get up close and step onto the glacier via Kayak!  Pick your cruise line carefully because that’s important to visit Alaska !

Thank you for the Kayak recommendation as my husband loves kayaking.   I believe he owns four.    The helicopter tours is a definite no for me.

 

We are looking at the Encore as it includes Glacier Bay.

[ecslady]

Thank you in advance for letting us follow along with another live thread.  Have a great cruise!

[cruiseny4life]

I'm cruising on September 3rd and totally needed a diversion to make work go by faster. Thank you for doing this so I can somehow make it through the next five workdays. Argh! 

[Muckyduckway]

1 hour ago, BennyBrun said:

Thanks so much!  It will be different but this will be my fourth or fifth time back to Alaska … it’s an amazing place but sadly every time I go back the glacier I visit seemed to be getting smaller and smaller especially the glacier in Juneau, but on the other hand it’s much easier to spot bald eagles every time I go back !

4th or 5th time!  Lucky you🙂

That means we won't get the first timer wonderment -  although it sounds like you have a real appreciation of the area, so can't wait for this to start. Sad about the glaciers though.

[BennyBrun]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'm cruising on September 3rd and totally needed a diversion to make work go by faster. Thank you for doing this so I can somehow make it through the next five workdays. Argh! 

Hahahah… get ready for a week worth of distractions (NCL Wi-Fi willing to cooperate)  Have a great cruise!!!

[BennyBrun]

1 hour ago, Muckyduckway said:

4th or 5th time!  Lucky you🙂

That means we won't get the first timer wonderment -  although it sounds like you have a real appreciation of the area, so can't wait for this to start. Sad about the glaciers though.

Not to worry you will still feel the excitement through the pictures!  I have been to Perfect Day so many times I still treat each visit like my first on my reviews 😂 

 

I distinctly remembered on my first visit via the kayak excursion the guide was saying to keep an eye out for the receding glacier and I forgot the year but it is expected to melt away due to the rise in temperature.

[BennyBrun]

Embarkation Day

 

Living dangerously and getting on a flight the day of my cruise… just didn’t have enough time to leave Friday evening plus the hotels around the airport is just insanely priced when they know there will be a cruise ship in town… I didn’t think it’s worth it … but I would recommend the Hampton Inn by the airport… nice clean and more reasonably priced and close to the light rail.  I usually take the light rail to University Station and then hop on a Uber to get to the cruise port.  It’s efficient and 1/3 of the cost from taking an Uber from the airport.

[BennyBrun]

Embarkation Day 

 

First I have to stop for food at the SkyClub so that I can nap on my flight over 

[BennyBrun]

Embarkation Day

 

I will be using the transfer arranged through NCL to get to the port… $27.00 per person.  It’s a little more than the light rail / uber combination and will take longer in the shuttle but for the convenience it’s worth the extra few dollars.

[agrimm01]

Why do you use the light rail/Uber combination to University instead of just taking light rail to downtown?

[buffet24]

17 hours ago, BennyBrun said:

Hahahah… get ready for a week worth of distractions (NCL Wi-Fi willing to cooperate)  Have a great cruise!!!

Yeah, good luck trying to upload pictures on the ship WiFi...   We got the "FREE" WiFi which is only 150 minutes... and it was a 150 minutes of *Free Frustration*...  🥵 And with Upload speeds of a whopping 0.20 Mbps on the PEARL (Hope yours is faster)... you will spend half your sailing watching it trying to upload... while your phone is draining its battery down the toilet...  Again, hope yours is faster... But just enjoy the cruise and your Drink package!!!  😁 

[mertziek]

On 8/25/2022 at 9:29 PM, mearsfansinboise said:

I just read on another thread that crew masks are no longer required; is that the case on your sailing?

 

--- we're on this sailing October 15; the last one of the season.  Looking forward to your report and photos, thank you!

We’re on this last cruise of season to Alaska, too.  Still wondering if we will be getting to Skagway.

[BennyBrun]

4 hours ago, buffet24 said:

Yeah, good luck trying to upload pictures on the ship WiFi...   We got the "FREE" WiFi which is only 150 minutes... and it was a 150 minutes of *Free Frustration*...  🥵 And with Upload speeds of a whopping 0.20 Mbps on the PEARL (Hope yours is faster)... you will spend half your sailing watching it trying to upload... while your phone is draining its battery down the toilet...  Again, hope yours is faster... But just enjoy the cruise and your Drink package!!!  😁 

I am well aware of NCLs Wi-Fi speed… it is terrible … I upgraded for $50.00 simply because I have about three sea days so I will have coffee/drinks/snacks ready at the table while trying to use the Wi-Fi… I suspect I will be uploading while in port to minimize the frustration 😂