Semi-live from the Bliss | June 17-24, 2023 | Alaska ho!

[OrcaGirl]

Okay, here’s the final wrap-up summary…

 

It was a great trip, and we really lucked out on weather. Travelling with a child was much less stressful than travelling with my mom (but don’t tell her that!)

 

We were in cabin 10898, a BB balcony just past the aft elevators. It was a standard balcony cabin, and was perfectly fine for our needs, although we all found the beds to be not super comfortable.

 

My personal three best things:

1. The Endicott Arm / Dawes Glacier excursion — totally worth the expense

2. The Bliss Thermal Spa — so glad they had that half-week pass available, even if we didn’t spend quite as much time in it as we would have liked

3. The Indian food in the buffet, especially the eggplant and mushroom pakora

 

My ‘three things I’d change if given a magic wand that worked only on cruise ships’:

1. The wifi was soooooo slow at times and dropped randomly

2. More hot tubs!!!

3. Longer hours for the Thermal Spa

 

The Fox’s top three things:

1. Endicott Arm / Dawes Glacier excursion

2. The thermal spa

3. Splash Academy

 

Her three areas for improvement, in no particular order:

1. Cheap toilet paper 🧻

2. Long waits / slow service at sit-down restaurants

3. Not having an indoor pool (other than in the thermal spa)

 

The Cub’s top three things:

1. Splash Academy, particularly the video game tournaments 🎮 

2. Eating at the buffet, especially getting to mix different kinds of juices in the morning and the strawberry-kiwi and mango water in the afternoons/evenings

3. Not having to make his bed each day

 

The Cub’s least favourite things:

1. Splash Academy when they didn’t have the games room open due to staffing shortages

2. Packed elevators

3. Missing his dad

 

So that’s that… questions?

 

 

 

 

[Panhandle Couple]

Thank you for an open and honest review. 

 

When we sailed the Bliss in Alaska in 2019 it was very full, and there were waits in MDR as well. So I take the before/after comments with a grain of salt or two.

 

Super absorbent TP means easier to clog, and with 3,000 plus toilets on board....

 

I'm not an expert on all cruise ships, but it seems most would only have small spa type pools indoors.

 

[OrcaGirl]

6 hours ago, Panhandle Couple said:

I'm not an expert on all cruise ships, but it seems most would only have small spa type pools indoors.

 

 

Many of the Princess ships and the Celebrity ships have nice indoor pools that I've made good use of in the past. I think some of the Royal ships and Holland America ships do as well, but I've never sailed on those lines.

[Panhandle Couple]

14 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

 

Many of the Princess ships and the Celebrity ships have nice indoor pools that I've made good use of in the past. I think some of the Royal ships and Holland America ships do as well, but I've never sailed on those lines.

Thanks. Nice know that.

[georgegarlowjr]

14 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Okay, here’s the final wrap-up summary…

 

It was a great trip, and we really lucked out on weather. Travelling with a child was much less stressful than travelling with my mom (but don’t tell her that!)

 

We were in cabin 10898, a BB balcony just past the aft elevators. It was a standard balcony cabin, and was perfectly fine for our needs, although we all found the beds to be not super comfortable.

 

My personal three best things:

1. The Endicott Arm / Dawes Glacier excursion — totally worth the expense

2. The Bliss Thermal Spa — so glad they had that half-week pass available, even if we didn’t spend quite as much time in it as we would have liked

3. The Indian food in the buffet, especially the eggplant and mushroom pakora

 

My ‘three things I’d change if given a magic wand that worked only on cruise ships’:

1. The wifi was soooooo slow at times and dropped randomly

2. More hot tubs!!!

3. Longer hours for the Thermal Spa

 

The Fox’s top three things:

1. Endicott Arm / Dawes Glacier excursion

2. The thermal spa

3. Splash Academy

 

Her three areas for improvement, in no particular order:

1. Cheap toilet paper 🧻

2. Long waits / slow service at sit-down restaurants

3. Not having an indoor pool (other than in the thermal spa)

 

The Cub’s top three things:

1. Splash Academy, particularly the video game tournaments 🎮 

2. Eating at the buffet, especially getting to mix different kinds of juices in the morning and the strawberry-kiwi and mango water in the afternoons/evenings

3. Not having to make his bed each day

 

The Cub’s least favourite things:

1. Splash Academy when they didn’t have the games room open due to staffing shortages

2. Packed elevators

3. Missing his dad

 

So that’s that… questions?

 

 

 

 

Was it cool inside the ship? Trying to figure out what to pack. I understand the whole layers thing for going ashore and out on the decks but what about interior to the ship for going to dinner, bars and shows? We are used to warm weather cruises. Thanks for any input you have!

[garlictown]

@OrcaGirl I was wondering about the a/c on the🛳️ Bliss, too.

I realize that outside is on the cool side but what about the temps in the theater, dining rooms, etc.? 

Thank you, Katie

[OrcaGirl]

2 hours ago, garlictown said:

@OrcaGirl I was wondering about the a/c on the🛳️ Bliss, too.

I realize that outside is on the cool side but what about the temps in the theater, dining rooms, etc.? 

Thank you, Katie

 

I always found it just a touch too warm inside the ship (except one section of the Garden Cafe seating area where the AC was *blasting*). But also I tend to run warm all the time anyway.

 

I usually walked around the ship in a tank top, but the Fox and the Cub usually had a light hoodie.

 

[Sakura Tomoe]

On 6/26/2023 at 1:29 PM, OrcaGirl said:

 

I always found it just a touch too warm inside the ship (except one section of the Garden Cafe seating area where the AC was *blasting*). But also I tend to run warm all the time anyway.

 

I usually walked around the ship in a tank top, but the Fox and the Cub usually had a light hoodie.

 

Not related to what I'm quoting, but just trying to get your attention. Just wondering if you happened to notice if the daily menus at the main dining room changed each night, or if they were the same each time.  I know NCL is looking to make it so their menus are the same every night of a cruise, and they've started doing that on several ships, just not sure if it's happened on the Bliss yet or not.

[YVRteacher]

The menus in the MDR change each evening. NCL piloted having the same menu each night with some additions from the specialty restaurants on the Prima but that didn’t last.  Fleetwide NCL has 21 dinner menus.  The executive chef and the F and B manager select which menus will be on rotation for a given cruise about 3 months in advance. Not all 21 menus are used on each ship and some get taken out of rotation when supply chain issues arise.

[Sallymp]

Thank you so much for this review. We fly out from the UK in mid August to do this cruise and are so excited.

a question from my 9yo daughter. Do they sell and Six merch on board? It’s her favourite show and one of the reasons we booked Bliss

[OrcaGirl]

2 hours ago, Sallymp said:

Thank you so much for this review. We fly out from the UK in mid August to do this cruise and are so excited.

a question from my 9yo daughter. Do they sell and Six merch on board? It’s her favourite show and one of the reasons we booked Bliss

Alas, no Six merch on board. That’s a shame too, as the Fox would have DEFINITELY have bought some. (We’re considering heading back down to Seattle in a couple of weeks to see the touring production.)
 

 

 

[Jetswdo]

Could you please post the dailies again?  It says "unavailable" each time I tried to look at them.  Thanks.  Anita

[ggTexasGal]

4 minutes ago, Jetswdo said:

Could you please post the dailies again?  It says "unavailable" each time I tried to look at them.  Thanks.  Anita

You need to be logged into your Cruise Critis account in order to see the document.

[Jetswdo]

I am logged in.  It still says unavailable.

[Jetswdo]

I just logged out and logged back in again.  It now works!  Wierd.  Thanks.

[OrcaGirl]

Glad that worked for you since I just deleted all of the digital Dailies and threw out the paper copies last week. 🤣