Live-ish Norwegian Bliss October 14-21st Alaska 2023

[eileeshb]

This will be a first attempt at a live review from me so here’s some background.

I am from Ireland and this will be my 6th NCL cruise, first time to Alaska. I have been to the US over 20 times since I was an undergrad on a J1 visa in the 90s, I spent 13 years working for an American multinational and have cousins stateside. Alaska will be the 14th state I’ve visited. 
I booked this cruise in January 2022 and at the end of 2022 one of my friends (AC) decided to come along for her first cruise, we are both booked in Studio cabins so we’ll have our own space once we’re on the ship. It will also be her birthday on the last night of the cruise and she’s so excited she’s already asking where we’re going next year! 
As this is a long haul trip we’ll be flying in on the 11th so we’ve 2 full days to be tourists in Seattle and being from Ireland the weather isn’t going to be a major change for us. We just weathered the first named storm of the North Atlantic storm season, without any damage to our areas though the south coast got a bit of a whack. 
 

[NW Pacific]

Am sure many will appreciate your review.  

[ggTexasGal]

I'm looking forward to your review!

[eileeshb]

For those wondering.. as Irish citizens we have to apply for the US ESTA permit which remains valid for 2 years. I already have one from my last trip to the USA, but AC just got one for the first time. I did notice there’s now an app for the esta application so I have that loaded on my phone in case CBP start asking for proof. We will complete immigration and customs here in Ireland so we are treated as domestic travellers when we reach Boston.

Back when I was doing regular business trips I once had a connection in Newark that was about 30 minutes and when I got off the flight for Ireland, the connecting flight to Phoenix was at the gate directly across from the gate I walked out from. This time around it will be a 4 hour layover in Boston en route to Seattle. We will be flying with Aer Lingus to Boston and then with Alaskan to Seattle. 
 

Edited September 29, 2023 by eileeshb
Typo

[LauraAnneC]

8 hours ago, eileeshb said:

For those wondering.. as Irish citizens we have to apply for the US ESTA permit which remains valid for 2 years. I already have one from my last trip to the USA, but AC just got one for the first time. I did notice there’s now an app for the esta application so I have that loaded on my phone in case CBP start asking for proof. We will complete immigration and customs here in Ireland so we are treated as domestic travellers when we reach Boston.

Back when I was doing regular business trips I once had a connection in Newark that was about 30 minutes and when I got off the flight for Ireland, the connecting flight to Phoenix was at the gate directly across from the gate I walked out from. This time around it will be a 4 hour layover in Boston en route to Seattle. We will be flying with Aer Lingus to Boston and then with Alaskan to Seattle. 
 

Looking forward to reading your review. Thanks for the info on the app for the ESTA. Didn’t know about that. Since I’ve a new passport I’ll need a new visa before December. Hope you have a wonderful cruise! Safe Travels!

[PhillyTravelBug]

Looking forward to an Alaskan review in October.  Enjoy!

[laudergayle]

On 9/28/2023 at 4:58 PM, eileeshb said:

It will also be her birthday on the last night of the cruise and she’s so excited

Looks like you might be in Victoria for her birthday.  We took a cab into downtown where there were lots of bars and restaurants…lots of people on the street.  Very vibrant.  I don’t have any recommendations on places to dine…but Ask around the boards…I’m sure you’ll get some.  Have fun!

[eileeshb]

20 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Looks like you might be in Victoria for her birthday.  We took a cab into downtown where there were lots of bars and restaurants…lots of people on the street.  Very vibrant.  I don’t have any recommendations on places to dine…but Ask around the boards…I’m sure you’ll get some.  Have fun!

I've booked Teppanyaki for dinner before we get to Victoria so we'll possibly try to get a pedi cab or the like at the pier if either of us have any money left at that stage 🤑

[laudergayle]

5 minutes ago, eileeshb said:

I've booked Teppanyaki for dinner before we get to Victoria so we'll possibly try to get a pedi cab or the like at the pier if either of us have any money left at that stage 🤑

That will be a fun dinner?  Skip dessert…there were also several ice cream/ chocolate shops in the area.

[eileeshb]

One of the toughest packing decisions for this trip is the camera kit. I used to do a fair amount of pitchside rugby photography so I have a semi decent collection of lenses and a couple of dSLRs. This is a recurring theme in the Photography and cruise technology forum and as a result the main thread on the topic for Alaska has been pinned by the forum moderators. 
The complicating factor is obviously the length of travel and limits in baggage. I have fit all of the kit into a backpack in the past that was so heavy I got pinpoint bruises on my shoulders. I was hoping to trim the selection for this trip but it looks like I’ll have to suck up the weight and bring 2 of the big lenses. 
The other CC members on the photography forum are telling me to bring my 70-200mm /f2.8 lens but the whale watching excursion provider is recommending bringing the longer zoom lens, 100-400/f4-5.6. That excursion provider also runs a photo safari during the summer months when there are more hours of daylight so I’m inclined to take their advice. My dSLRs are not full frame and are about 10 years old, but they have a high frame rate so should work for nature photography as effectively as they did for sports. 

[eileeshb]

16 hours ago, LauraAnneC said:

Looking forward to reading your review. Thanks for the info on the app for the ESTA. Didn’t know about that. Since I’ve a new passport I’ll need a new visa before December. Hope you have a wonderful cruise! Safe Travels!

I was surprised when the app was suggested as I was pulling the esta application web address for AC, hopefully it will be handy in future.

[eileeshb]

8 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

Looking forward to an Alaskan review in October.  Enjoy!

It could be interesting! I’ve had my fair share of experiencing rough seas in fishing boats and ferries in the past; I now know as long as I can see the waves and am not in the proximity of smokers or lingering smoke I should be fine. 

[eileeshb]

The weather in Ireland right now is pretty changeable so I'm having to resist using anything I want to pack for Alaska. I also seem to have mislaid my luggage scales .. this may be a problem. 

I just got the 10-days to go reminder for my flights from Aer Lingus .. Thankfully our outbound flight from Ireland is not super early in the morning which would normally be the case for flights to the USA, but the flip side is it will be close to midnight by the time we reach the hotel in Seattle.

 

I'm currently checking for options of activities to do in Skagway as the morning excursion we had booked has been cancelled. We will be doing the train in the afternoon, 1pm. NCL notified us that the train has been shortened due to works on the track so we will only be going as far as Inspiration Point. What is interesting is that on the excursion list they are still showing the excursion I booked, as well as the altered version. The inspiration point version is both shorter AND more expensive. So if you happen to be on one of the cruises this month, pick the cheaper one. 

[redlock]

Have a great time in Alaska. We were on the Encore on the 17th Sept sailing. Had a great time.

I booked the White Pass Railroad independently but unfortunately we couldn't dock in Skagway due to high winds. I emailed The White Pass Railroad and they refunded me straight away.

Still a great cruise and enjoyed every minute.

[Elsammo46]

Looking foreword to your review! I'll be on this sailing as well 🙂

[eileeshb]

7 hours ago, redlock said:

Have a great time in Alaska. We were on the Encore on the 17th Sept sailing. Had a great time.

I booked the White Pass Railroad independently but unfortunately we couldn't dock in Skagway due to high winds. I emailed The White Pass Railroad and they refunded me straight away.

Still a great cruise and enjoyed every minute.

Compared to my previous cruises we will have a lot of @sea time on this one so I made sure to book the thermal spa pass. I just hope if we hit rough seas that facility won’t be closed! I’m likely to be the loon in the pool as waves are breaking in it. I grew up in a fishing village and work in a surf shop so waves are just fun to me ! 
 

[redlock]

10 hours ago, eileeshb said:

Compared to my previous cruises we will have a lot of @sea time on this one so I made sure to book the thermal spa pass. I just hope if we hit rough seas that facility won’t be closed! I’m likely to be the loon in the pool as waves are breaking in it. I grew up in a fishing village and work in a surf shop so waves are just fun to me ! 
 

Our first sea day was very rocky, all the first night and upto about 1600 the next day till we got sheltered by Moresby Island.

We spent most of the morning in the Thermal Suite. I thought it would have been shut but it was open, the water in the pool was moving so much it was exposing all the water jets. The staff were constantly wiping up the water.

[eileeshb]

Just booked the car park for my local airport, the cheapest option is all booked out so it's back to their original long-term car park €110  for 11 days. It seems the airport is finally growing the range of flights year-round which is leading to car park congestion. It is only a 15 minute drive from my house rather than the 3+hours to Dublin and they have the new security scanners that means no liquid limits in carry-ons. I'm hoping it will also mean not having to extract all the camera gear too ! 

Looking at the long term swell forecasts they don't quite reach to the start of the cruise but it looks like there could still be rocky conditions. 

[skittl1321]

On 10/2/2023 at 5:12 AM, redlock said:

 

We spent most of the morning in the Thermal Suite. I thought it would have been shut but it was open, the water in the pool was moving so much it was exposing all the water jets. The staff were constantly wiping up the water.

 

About to go on the Encore and they are forecasting rocky weather. I am so nervous the thermal spa will close the pool. The spa was such a splurge for me, and without that pool, I can't see how it will be worth it. 

However, I love ship movement, so as long as the weather is safe, I am looking forward to the motion!

[redlock]

1 hour ago, skittl1321 said:

 

About to go on the Encore and they are forecasting rocky weather. I am so nervous the thermal spa will close the pool. The spa was such a splurge for me, and without that pool, I can't see how it will be worth it. 

However, I love ship movement, so as long as the weather is safe, I am looking forward to the motion!

As I said, our sea day was very rocky. Much more than a normal rough day, to a point that even the bar staff were mentioning it later in the day. But  the Spa was still open and to be honest it was probably the best place to be. Hope you have a great time.

[gerry1.10]

2 hours ago, skittl1321 said:

 

About to go on the Encore and they are forecasting rocky weather. I am so nervous the thermal spa will close the pool. The spa was such a splurge for me, and without that pool, I can't see how it will be worth it. 

However, I love ship movement, so as long as the weather is safe, I am looking forward to the motion!

Hi Skit

When will you embark on the Encore? When you do can you list the officers? We'll be embarking her at the end of the month.

thank you

[skittl1321]

16 minutes ago, gerry1.10 said:

Hi Skit

When will you embark on the Encore? When you do can you list the officers? We'll be embarking her at the end of the month.

thank you

Embarking on Sunday.  If it is easy for me to find, I'll update them. I have to admit, 6 cruises and I've never paid attention to who the officers are... (Though our last cruise my kids did meet the captain, between him and the dancers, you'd have thought they met royalty.)

[gerry1.10]

Thanks Skit

happy sailing

[eileeshb]

3 hours ago, skittl1321 said:

 

About to go on the Encore and they are forecasting rocky weather. I am so nervous the thermal spa will close the pool. The spa was such a splurge for me, and without that pool, I can't see how it will be worth it. 

However, I love ship movement, so as long as the weather is safe, I am looking forward to the motion!

I certainly hope the spa stays open too! Waves don’t bother me as long as I get a view of them every now and then. 

[scubacruiserx2]

On 9/30/2023 at 4:13 PM, eileeshb said:

One of the toughest packing decisions for this trip is the camera kit. I used to do a fair amount of pitchside rugby photography so I have a semi decent collection of lenses and a couple of dSLRs. This is a recurring theme in the Photography and cruise technology forum and as a result the main thread on the topic for Alaska has been pinned by the forum moderators. 
The complicating factor is obviously the length of travel and limits in baggage. I have fit all of the kit into a backpack in the past that was so heavy I got pinpoint bruises on my shoulders. I was hoping to trim the selection for this trip but it looks like I’ll have to suck up the weight and bring 2 of the big lenses. 
The other CC members on the photography forum are telling me to bring my 70-200mm /f2.8 lens but the whale watching excursion provider is recommending bringing the longer zoom lens, 100-400/f4-5.6. That excursion provider also runs a photo safari during the summer months when there are more hours of daylight so I’m inclined to take their advice. My dSLRs are not full frame and are about 10 years old, but they have a high frame rate so should work for nature photography as effectively as they did for sports. 

 

 I'm also a DSLR fan and we did this cruise last year on another line in the Fall . Here's a photo of the Encore when we were in Juneau and a" Whale " in Juneau .

 

 

 

This is the shoulder camera bag that I use and would recommend ( I have 2 , one with a 70-300 tele and the other with 17-40 full frame , both Canon )

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BcIcagfuHU

 

 The ship was shot with the tele and the whale the wide angle . We have done 2 cruises and photo reviews to Alaska ,  the first in Spring from Seattle which didn't do Skagway . The second in the Fall from Vancouver which did Skagway , but not Victoria like the Spring one . The links are posted below and we think that they may help you see where you may want to go . We would love to answer any questions that you may have - if you have any . Have a blissful cruise to Alaska !! 

 

🙂😊

 

 

 

 

Edited October 5, 2023 by scubacruiserx2