Everything.. Norwegian BLISS! - launch April 2018 -

[TheDougOut]

Notice the “NORWEGIAN BLISS” is up in front of the track.... progress!

 

[omarchs]

Anyone have a guess as to when exursions will start to be listed on Alaska cruises? Port times are short so I'm curious as to what will work. We are very excited about the Bliss so flexible about whatever excursion but seems like for some ports especially Juneau many excursions won't work

 

Just saw a few excursions added for our October Mexico sailing which is later so i would hope you would see yours any day now.

[partman57]

The hull art is nice but I wish it were more easily distinguishable from the Escape. The color scheme and theme even are very similar.

 

 

 

Really!

 

 

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[gambit57]

The one excursion I saw earlier disappeared from our Sept. cruise. Interesting to see how this stuff plays out on a new ship. I still find it more exciting than annoying, even though it makes it more difficult for me to plan.

[gambit57]

The hull art is nice but I wish it were more easily distinguishable from the Escape. The color scheme and theme even are very similar.

 

In a way, you can argue that all of Norwegian's ships start to blend together because of the hull art. Pearl, Star, etc have the bright colorful stuff to match their names. Bliss and Escape have sealife.

 

With the Bliss, the giant racetrack on the top of ship makes it pretty easy to identify IMO.

[TheDougOut]

I don’t think this has been posted yet, but it’s a listing of all the industry/media inaugural sailings...

 

[Maya1234]

The one excursion I saw earlier disappeared from our Sept. cruise. Interesting to see how this stuff plays out on a new ship. I still find it more exciting than annoying, even though it makes it more difficult for me to plan.

Agreed! I wonder if NCL is trying to work with excursion operators to come up with new ones that will fit short port stay especially in Jeaneau.

[gambit57]

Agreed! I wonder if NCL is trying to work with excursion operators to come up with new ones that will fit short port stay especially in Jeaneau.

 

I certainly hope so. It's annoying that Juneau is the biggest city and has the most tour options typically, but the port time is the shortest there.

 

There's a whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier tour I want to go on, but I dunno if there will be enough time. It starts at 7:30 and ends at 12:30, when the ship is only there til 1:00 PM.

[zlacruising]

I certainly hope so. It's annoying that Juneau is the biggest city and has the most tour options typically, but the port time is the shortest there.

 

There's a whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier tour I want to go on, but I dunno if there will be enough time. It starts at 7:30 and ends at 12:30, when the ship is only there til 1:00 PM.

If that is one tour and it is through the ship, they will wait for you to get back if tour is late. My favorite was walking on the Mendenhall Glacier. We took a helicopter there. Beautiful!!!

 

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[BugsyCruiser]

I certainly hope so. It's annoying that Juneau is the biggest city and has the most tour options typically, but the port time is the shortest there.

 

There's a whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier tour I want to go on, but I dunno if there will be enough time. It starts at 7:30 and ends at 12:30, when the ship is only there til 1:00 PM.

Actually according to my itinerary for the cruise Bliss is there till 1:30 pm so if the excursion is through the cruise line it's good on time [emoji4]

 

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[roxette]

If that is one tour and it is through the ship, they will wait for you to get back if tour is late.

 

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They make sure you get to the ship. Might be in the next port as well. They dont always wait for you. It is not possible at all times.

[gambit57]

You guys are right, it's 1:30 so that should be fine. It's not through the ship, although it's from a large company so I suspect it'll be added on. Just with a huge premium. My main concern is actually the 7:30 start time. I've always taken my time getting off a ship, and never one with this many passengers. I wonder if it'll be a problem getting off in time.

 

The NCL.com website deleted the one excursion that was listed on the Bliss. Now, there's nothing listed anymore. I do hope they figure things out by 90 days from the first Alaskan cruise though.

[zlacruising]

You guys are right, it's 1:30 so that should be fine. It's not through the ship, although it's from a large company so I suspect it'll be added on. Just with a huge premium. My main concern is actually the 7:30 start time. I've always taken my time getting off a ship, and never one with this many passengers. I wonder if it'll be a problem getting off in time.

 

The NCL.com website deleted the one excursion that was listed on the Bliss. Now, there's nothing listed anymore. I do hope they figure things out by 90 days from the first Alaskan cruise though.

What time does your tour start?

 

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[gambit57]

It says 7:30 AM. The boat is supposed to dock at 7:00 AM. Not sure where they meet and how far I'd have to go to get there. If there's a long line to leave, or they do that "leave in groups" thing and I get a later depart time, I'd be screwed. I dunno how nice they are about giving you the first slot if you take a private tour instead of their excursion (which I imagine they'd have something similar and it'd be very popular).

 

I've never left a ship earlier than 2 hours after they dock, except for Disney when they reached their private island and that took a long (if organized) time cuz the whole ship (including most of the crew) was disembarking. I kinda doubt the whole ship would attempt to leave the boat at 7 AM in Juneau, but I could be totally wrong.

[KristieB]

Anyone have a guess as to when exursions will start to be listed on Alaska cruises? Port times are short so I'm curious as to what will work. We are very excited about the Bliss so flexible about whatever excursion but seems like for some ports especially Juneau many excursions won't work

 

Someone said they called NCL and asked about excursions. He said he was told that NCL is still negotiating with excursion companies in Alaska and that they should be done late January/early February.

[zlacruising]

It says 7:30 AM. The boat is supposed to dock at 7:00 AM. Not sure where they meet and how far I'd have to go to get there. If there's a long line to leave, or they do that "leave in groups" thing and I get a later depart time, I'd be screwed. I dunno how nice they are about giving you the first slot if you take a private tour instead of their excursion (which I imagine they'd have something similar and it'd be very popular).

 

I've never left a ship earlier than 2 hours after they dock, except for Disney when they reached their private island and that took a long (if organized) time cuz the whole ship (including most of the crew) was disembarking. I kinda doubt the whole ship would attempt to leave the boat at 7 AM in Juneau, but I could be totally wrong.

There can be a line going out early, especially since the ship leaves early. I think Platinum and Platinum Plus might get to get off first and maybe guests in suites also. If you have prior cruises with NCL you might check with them. I would get in touch with the tour company to see if they would wait if you were a bit late. I'm just guessing, but others on your ship will probably be on that excursion also. I hope this helps.☺

 

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[Maya1234]

Someone said they called NCL and asked about excursions. He said he was told that NCL is still negotiating with excursion companies in Alaska and that they should be done late January/early February.

That makes sense. I’m sure the operators of those excursions that won’t work for short port stays don’t want to lose out on the business. They might consider revamping excursions to fit ncl schedule. Given the short stays the guarantee that they won’t leave wothout you would pull even more to ncl approved excursions thus giving them some negotiating power.

[Maya1234]

Obviously I am a cruise novice so I may be confused but when ncl says that the Bliss “arrives” in Juneau at 7 and “departs” at 1:30 but also says

• Disembarkation usually begins 2 hours after docking.
  
• Due to security reasons, all guests must be on board 2 hours before sailing.
  

Would this mean that you can only be off the ship from 9-11:30. Or does “arrival” mean when you can disembark?

[Mike@col]

Obviously I am a cruise novice so I may be confused but when ncl says that the Bliss “arrives” in Juneau at 7 and “departs” at 1:30 but also says

• Disembarkation usually begins 2 hours after docking.
  
• Due to security reasons, all guests must be on board 2 hours before sailing.
  

Would this mean that you can only be off the ship from 9-11:30. Or does “arrival” mean when you can disembark?

No. Usually 30 minutes.

 

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[zlacruising]

Obviously I am a cruise novice so I may be confused but when ncl says that the Bliss “arrives” in Juneau at 7 and “departs” at 1:30 but also says

• Disembarkation usually begins 2 hours after docking.
  
• Due to security reasons, all guests must be on board 2 hours before sailing.
  

Would this mean that you can only be off the ship from 9-11:30. Or does “arrival” mean when you can disembark?

The ones you have astericks by are only for the first day that you board the ship. During the cruise port days there will be signs saying what time you need to be on board. It is usually 30 minutes before the ship actually leaves. It will also be listed on the front page of the paper that will be in your room daily. If this is your first cruise, there is a lot of info in the paper that you get...read it over to get an idea of what will be going on during the day and night. This is going to be a beatiful ship for a first cruise!!! Enjoy!☺

 

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[floridian1]

The short port time in Juneau (7:30-1pm) is very disappointing. I have a Dog sledding + extra glacier landing tour booked with Coastal for 8:30am. it says it lasts 3.5 hours including transportation to and from. I'm getting nervous we won't be back in time, although if everything runs smoothly I should be back by 12. I'm afraid if the flight is cancelled it won't leave me any time to try to book a back up tour.

[Maya1234]

The ones you have astericks by are only for the first day that you board the ship. During the cruise port days there will be signs saying what time you need to be on board. It is usually 30 minutes before the ship actually leaves. It will also be listed on the front page of the paper that will be in your room daily. If this is your first cruise, there is a lot of info in the paper that you get...read it over to get an idea of what will be going on during the day and night. This is going to be a beatiful ship for a first cruise!!! Enjoy!☺

 

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Thanks so much! I really feel very ignorant about so much. I’m reading a lot on CC but still feel like there’s so much to know !

[zlacruising]

Thanks so much! I really feel very ignorant about so much. I’m reading a lot on CC but still feel like there’s so much to know !

Yes, there is a lot to know, but you will have fun and see spectulalar scenery on this trip. If you have questions feel free to ask.

 

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[gambit57]

That makes sense. I’m sure the operators of those excursions that won’t work for short port stays don’t want to lose out on the business. They might consider revamping excursions to fit ncl schedule. Given the short stays the guarantee that they won’t leave wothout you would pull even more to ncl approved excursions thus giving them some negotiating power.

 

That makes sense. I'm sure they're making tweaks with a ship as big as the Bliss. That's a lot of potential customers.

[TheDougOut]

Updated web cam shot... looks like things are wrapping up quickly on the outside!