lantzalot

It was a regular Starbucks. And they automatically add a 20% tip. I didn’t use my Starbucks card/app because I figured I needed to have internet access to pull it up? So I missed a star. Oh well. :)

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Those were definitely not the MDR menus on the Bliss last week.

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We have the same question for the 1/19/19 Bliss sailing. If anyone on one of the sailings a few weeks prior finds out, please come back and let us know the show schedule! Thanks!

You’ll be able to book all of it in a few weeks. So you will know the schedule for your cruise around 9/21/18.

We booked our shows and dining in advance and there were plenty of options at that time. It was only as it got closer that things filled up. But some things opened up too. You’ll be fine making your reservations since you know to make them 120 days in advance.

Note though that when reservations opened for our sailing (8/25 bliss) I found that some restaurants weren’t available on the app and some weren’t available on the website. It was probably some sort of glitch. But if you see something funky, try both places. For instance Cagneys said “reservations not available” on the app. But then only cagneys was available on the website and no other restaurants.

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Get the app and you each pay $9.95 for the whole cruise to have access to texting and calling each other on board.

You do not need to spring for the internet package for that service.

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Wow!

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Yes continental breakfast is free. But you can pay a $7.95 fee if you want something more substantial. Although...we did that one morning and were charged $12.95. I’m still not sure how that worked and it wasn’t worth dealing with for $5. I figure there was some fine print or other charge I missed.

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You can also just call the box office to make your reservation. We won it last week! The puzzles were challenging but I’m a puzzle nerd and have done a lot of escape rooms. :) It wasn’t only me though. There was another family in our group and they figured some hard ones out!! It was really fun.

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Anybody have links to menus

I just posted them for you above

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We did the Q, Los Lobos and La Cucina on our cruise. We didn't want to pay the upcharge for any of the others. We were happy with our choices. La Cucina was the best of those three. The MDRs were the most disappointing for us. Just really tired and stuffy menus mostly. We liked the Local (which I think is O'Sheehan's? on other boats) better than the MDR. Nothing special really at the Local, but that's what I'm saying about the MDR menu. Your opinion may be different. Just look at the menus. They do change. Menu examples: https://eatsleepcruise.com/2018/06/norwegian-bliss-restaurant-menus-and-guide/

Anybody have links to menu

 

 

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https://eatsleepcruise.com/2018/06/norwegian-bliss-restaurant-menus-and-guide/

I thought the menus in Savor/Taste/Manhattan were really boring and stuffy. I was disappointed with them. We ate in Savor once and it was one of the most forgettable of the trip. And my son's Hake (fish) was very overcooked and dry. The salmon at the buffet was much better. Honestly I preferred the Local to the MDRs.

We just got back and had no dirt issues on the go karts. It wasn’t raining though either.

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Not sure if I’d buy it, maybe but it seems they off the plans for free often. We got it for free for 2 of us so bought plans for the kids too as it seemed like the best way to go

 

I think the specialty restaurants are quite a bit better

We did not buy it for our kids. We got ours for free. I’m glad we didn’t buy it for the kids because the wait staff was all very creative with getting most of what the kids ordered included into our plans. For instance we could have ordered two appetizers each, plus entree, and dessert (maybe even multiples?). So that was more than we’d ever need. They’d figure out how to make their food count as one of our appetizers or occasionally all we had to pay for was one of their entrees. And the food was reasonably priced. At the Q the only extra we paid for all four of us was a $13 salmon entree. At Los Lobos, my son wanted nachos which was an appetizer but giant! So they made that one of my apps. And they added chicken to it by calling it an add on to a salad that I didn’t even get. So his was free. We paid for my other sons $9.99 burrito. And they gave us an extra free guacamole because the waiter was having fun with my kids. :) And we also didn’t get them a soda package and they just put their sodas on our drinks package that we also got as a perk.

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Most of what you are mentioning is included with the free app and does not require the 9.95 per phone. That fee is just for txt and calling. I agree with you though that the main app still has plenty of room for improvement. They have certainly come a long way over the past few years with thier apps. No idea why the bliss switched to a different app though. Seemed to have the same function as the app for the other ships.

 

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Sorry I wasn’t clear. Yes the fee is only if you want to text and call your pals. :)

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Wish they would have them all on the screens and let you choose what you want to print.

They actually do! It’s just so dumb that they also print them out.

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We were on that cruise as well. Huge bummer that we didn't see the glaciers. All summer long it seems that everyone had nice weather...then came our cruise. Juneau was a bust too - glad I canceled our excursion early enough to get a refund!

We actually went to Mendenhall Glacier and the weather cleared in time for us to get some good views!

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Ship - Bliss

 

Deck - 11

 

Stateroom # - 11184

 

Stateroom Category – MA - Midship mini suite with balcony

 

Starboard or Port Side - Port

 

 

 

Quiet Stateroom? – Quiet - we were very near the elevators and it was still amazingly quiet. We did sleep with white noise but that's because we always do.

 

 

 

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No.

 

 

 

 

 

Balcony View - We were happy with it. No obstructions of any sort.

 

 

 

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - I think it was normal. It had 2 chairs and a table. We brought a folding chair so we could have an extra seat and it fit there fine. Also we are both "plus sized" and the chairs were not super comfortable for us because of the arms. The kids were fine.

 

 

 

Was wind a problem? - I don't think it was a problem vs. anywhere else. When it was windy, it was windy. But during normal cruising, you could sit out there just fine.

 

 

 

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - NA

 

 

 

Any specific problems with this cabin? - None that I can think of

 

 

 

Any other comments?

 

We were a family of four so this is all based on 4 person occupancy.

 

 

The photos I'd seen of the mini suite had the couch closer to the balcony but our layout had the bed by the balcony and couch (that turned into bunk beds) closer to the entrance and bathroom. The bathroom was a really nice size and had a big shower with jets. There were two deep drawers in the vanity that easily held all of our things.

 

 

 

There was plenty of storage. The closet is a bit difficult to access because it's right next to the couch, particularly if the bunk bed is set up. But it was fine. We were able to put all of our things away easily and didn't have need for additional storage. I did bring some magnetic hooks for the walls and some over door hooks that we put on the bathroom door (facing into the room as there were already hooks in the bathroom side). We used the hooks for our lanyards and jackets, and I had a few things in a reusable shopping bag on a hook (gloves, hats, etc). All of these things could have gone in the closet or on the top shelf of the closet.

 

 

 

It was a really convenient location. Our steward was very nice and he left cute towel animals for the kids. This was our first cruise and I was pleasantly surprised with the size of the room and we were able to relax in there without feeling cramped. The kids LOVED the bunk bed.

 

 

I wasn’t able to add photos from my computer so I’m trying from my phone.

Bunk set up:

Balcony:

Looking forward from the balcony:

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Ship - Bliss

Deck - 11

Stateroom # - 11184

Stateroom Category – MA - Midship mini suite with balcony

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Quiet Stateroom? – Quiet - we were very near the elevators and it was still amazingly quiet. We did sleep with white noise but that's because we always do.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No.

Balcony View - We were happy with it. No obstructions of any sort.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - I think it was normal. It had 2 chairs and a table. We brought a folding chair so we could have an extra seat and it fit there fine. Also we are both "plus sized" and the chairs were not super comfortable for us because of the arms. The kids were fine.

Was wind a problem? - I don't think it was a problem vs. anywhere else. When it was windy, it was windy. But during normal cruising, you could sit out there just fine.

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - NA

Any specific problems with this cabin? - None that I can think of

Any other comments?

We were a family of four so this is all based on 4 person occupancy.

The photos I'd seen of the mini suite had the couch closer to the balcony but our layout had the bed by the balcony and couch (that turned into bunk beds) closer to the entrance and bathroom. The bathroom was a really nice size and had a big shower with jets. There were two deep drawers in the vanity that easily held all of our things.

There was plenty of storage. The closet is a bit difficult to access because it's right next to the couch, particularly if the bunk bed is set up. But it was fine. We were able to put all of our things away easily and didn't have need for additional storage. I did bring some magnetic hooks for the walls and some over door hooks that we put on the bathroom door (facing into the room as there were already hooks in the bathroom side). We used the hooks for our lanyards and jackets, and I had a few things in a reusable shopping bag on a hook (gloves, hats, etc). All of these things could have gone in the closet or on the top shelf of the closet.

It was a really convenient location. Our steward was very nice and he left cute towel animals for the kids. This was our first cruise and I was pleasantly surprised with the size of the room and we were able to relax in there without feeling cramped. The kids LOVED the bunk bed.

They took the photos, printed them out, and then brought them to your table so you could see/purchase. What also bothered me was the incredible amount of wasted paper!!

This is how I feel about all the photos. In the photo gallery where everyone has a full binder of photos already printed out, I'm sure almost all get tossed out. I didn't want to pay $40!!!! for our embarkation photo but it was already sitting there for free. It would be nice if they printed out 4x6s of the proofs and just gave them to you and only charged if you wanted to order another size. What a huge waste.

Yes glacier was amazing. I thought there would be to many ice burgs but they navigated right up to the glacier. Great views. Obviously they cant get that close but close enough for pictures. The front of the boat was open. The waterfront did not look to busy. A lot of people were on their balconies.

 

My in-laws did the spa pass. Recommend purchasing in advance. It is more expensive on the ship.

The first morning they went. (Sunday, sea day) and they said it was packed. Couldn't find a seat.

But the rest of the cruise was ok in there.

jealous!!! We just sailed 8/25-9/1 and it was so foggy that we had to turn around before we really got to the glaciers. We saw a lot of ice bergs, but didn't get to the glaciers. :(

We just got back from an 8/25 cruise on the Bliss and used the new app. It was $9.95/phone. Worked just great. Occasionally a message was delayed a bit. My one complaint is that if you book the race track and/or laser tag, it doesn't show you those reservations on the app. It will show you that you have *something* reserved that day, but not the details. It shows dining and show reservations though.

We did have one issue when we first arrived that one of our dining reservations seemed to have disappeared. I had printed out our edocs the day before and the dining reservation was there. Then when we got on the ship one was gone. I then went to make a new one on the TV and it somehow made 2 15 minutes apart. So I had to call down to the dining people to get that sorted out. But I don't know if that was the app's fault for deleting it up front or some random fluke.

I also wish you could see the restaurant menus on the app - or on the TV for that matter. It seemed like the only place we could see menus was on the screens on the walls out near the elevators. All that to say they could definitely improve it, but for talking to your vacation companions it worked fine.

Just back from our 8/25 cruise on the Bliss. We had uploaded security photos and our passports to the on line check in, and I'm not sure if it made any difference at all. They still snapped security photos of us upon arrival and they still scanned our passports just like they were doing for everyone. So I don't know if it mattered at all. There was no evidence that people who had that info uploaded already were processed any differently.

If you do want to do Cagney's, make sure you pay attention to when the reservations open up. It fills up fast. We don't have a reservation for that one and I swear I was making reservations the first week that they were available. I also found that some restaurants were only available on the app and some were only available on the website. It may have been some weird glitch this summer, but it was ongoing for a week or 2. So.... pay attention to the dates, and try the app and the website. Or, I suppose you could call and talk to a human. :)

On my recent trip on the Bliss, I picked an early arrival time like 9:30 a.m.. This is done to spread out the people arriving to check in, but has NO bearing on when you will be allowed on the ship. We were checked in at 9:30 a.m., but given a group 5 boarding group, after all of the Haven, higher level loyalty people, etc. We were in the first group of regular passengers to board, around 11:30 - 11:45 a.m. A lot of sitting around. Might as well be in your hotel in my opinion. If I had it to all over again, I would just pick 11:30, arrive at 11:30, and probably board around 11:30 a.m.

Thanks! that's helpful. We have an arrival time of 11-11:30 so it sounds like we've got a good time. I just want to be able to grab a few reservations for the race track that day before they fill up, or my kids will really give us grief! :)

We are cruising again in August and we didn't get a drink package. I did not pre pay gratuities either. I found that we had been pre-paying and then giving the people serving/waiting/helping us an addition 20% tip. I rather give the money directly to the staff helping us so I know they are getting it.

They might still pool tips and distribute them exactly like they do with the pre-paid charges - particularly in the restaurants. Bottom line is that no one knows the behind the scenes of how everyone gets paid, and it's nice to let people know that you think they've done a good job. I'm going to assume that the 20% and the pre-paid gratuities are sufficient to keep the staff paid properly, and if I find someone doing something extraordinarily helpful, I'll give them an additional tip, but I will also send a note to NCL with that person's name so that they are recognized. I'm sure plenty of people complain about all sorts of things, and an appreciative note helps.