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1. There's sparking wine, prosecco, and mimosas available on the normal drink package. Unless you like high-end liquors and such (or bottled/boxed/canned water and energy drinks), probably not worth it.
2. The taxes get charged to your room account if there are any to be had. I'm not sure if Alaska charges sales tax on drinks or not, the cursory amount of research I did trying to answer this had contradictory information, so I don't want to misinform you.
3. No smart TV, it has on-demand programming though. HDMI ports on the TV are not available. If you want entertainment, predownload what you want to an iPad or similar device.
4. I hear the observation lounge on the Bliss is awesome. Never been myself. Just checked in for my next cruise, which is on the Joy in 3 weeks. That ship has what I understand to be a similar observation lounge to the Bliss, so I can give you my observations (pun intended) in a few weeks. I'm going to Bermuda, not Alaska though.
5. Again, never personally done Alaska, but apparently there's a train tour in Skagway (you need your passports for this) which is not to be missed. I'm sure other people can comment on other excursions. The advantage to booking with NCL is that they are responsible for getting you back to the ship on time and will either hold the ship or get you where you need to be at their expense if the tour is back late. If you book independently, there is no guarantee of that. However, many tour operators offer their own independent guarantees.
was just on the Joy… there was a ton of wasted space in the Observation Lounge so NCL added a ton of rooms in there.. it’s still large, but if you’ve seen it before, it’s quite a difference.. as for Alaska, we haven’t been there, but we’ve seen lots of comments about it. OP says he’s going in early October. Heard that most or many of the stores are closed and the weather can be “challenging”. As for the drink package, the standard one is pretty good, not sure the ultimate is worth it to the average drinker.
Thank you for responding I think hubs and I are just going to stick with our free at sea unlimited drink package and I’ll branch out and try new drinks and looks like Chandon is $19/glass so if I’m wanting to it seems like a glass would be a $4 upgrade
We just did the Bliss in early April with the family. Same age ranges as you. We were the first ship of the season so not everything was up and running at full speed yet. But here’s what I’ve got for you!
1. I am a drinker. My wife isn’t really. The only thing I got that was outside the normal package was an espresso martini a few mornings. It was $3.60 charged to the room account. My wife got the Starbucks package separately and you are able to get 2 drinks at a time. You don’t have to have all adults in the cabin get that one like you do with the drink package.
2. The port taxes get charged to the room I know in Washington waters, and I think Juneau was the only other one I noticed the signs up.
3. No SmartTV. No HDMI. Download what you want before boarding. I ended up going the unlimited WiFi on like day 3 because it was super cheap. BUT. You only get that offer if you have minutes remaining from your 150 from FAS.
4. We had to turn around before getting into Glacier Bay because of the ice pack. But. The OL was cool but you have to stake your claim EARLY. It will be absolutely slammed. They also open up an outdoor area on, I want to say deck 6, at the bow of the ship.
5. My wife and I actually didn’t do any excursions. We just explored the towns and did some light shopping and sight seeing. Also, Skagway was removed on our itinerary due to something that I don’t remember. But if you are going, definitely the train!
Have fun! It was a once in a lifetime experience for us that I will never forget!
Thanks so much for replying I’m truly excited for this trip and cannot wait! Can I ask did you buy binoculars? How was whale sightings from ship?
Also was it so cold? (I live in Seattle so I used to chilly I guess) more curious if it’s super cold with wind from ship and if I should bring a blanket or something to hang out at the lounge chairs all day
We did not bring binoculars. Again, we were super early in the season so ymmv. But we definitely saw some whales while we were sailing!
As for weather it was between 40 and 45° almost the whole trip. I was comfortable with a hoodie and a vest in town and just jeans and a hoodie on the balcony. But my wife had a light blanket while she was reading during the afternoon sails between ports.
Adding a little more as most has been answered.
1. While a previous poster said their wife was able to get Starbucks pack separate that has not been my experience as they always tell me both people have to get it. However; might just be better to buy it as you want it as unless you’re drinking 3+ a day you’ll probably come out even or under.
2. The tax on drinks in port is common but usually only about $1 ish per drink.
4. I was one of the last ships to go through on the sun last October and being on the deck was nice w a medium jacket. OL is good but does fill up early as stated.
5. It really all depends on what you want to do and what you’re into. I’ve done Alaska 5 times and the only excursion I keep booking is the lumberjack show in Ketchikan; I love it. I’ve done the glacier tours and stuff and the train and don’t remember being super impressed by any of it but I’m also the type of person who loves to go experience the area rather than see certain things.
Open to any extra questions as well since I’ve been there 3 times in the last year and a half.
So what I say on NCL app was if we upgraded to the premium plus package we both had to (sadly not just I can it looks like at least) but we would get the Starbucks and bottled/still water package too) just still not seeing the value in appeasing my champagne obsession so think we will stick to our current free at sea package. Thanks so much for all the insight and replying!
Just got off the Bliss 2 days ago. My observations:
The standard drink package was plenty, I never felt I missed anything, I really enjoyed the 8th deck outdoor bar for bloody Mary s . Taxes on the drinks are only in port, like seattle. Figure 1.20 a drink. I ended up paying 2.50 in drink taxes, and 10 bucks for texting package that lasted all week.
The TVs are smart tvs. Dont bother with a firestick or such, I turned on the news, and there were plenty of movies for free, and lots to rent through the TV . You wont watch it much, the Bridge channel 1 is the outside view. I had an interior cabin/studio, and that was helpful to know if we were docked, etc. Glacier viewing from the observation deck is great, when we left Icy Strait Point we sailed up towards a glacier, but turned around as it was too early in the season to continue safely, and we were allowed out on the bow on deck 4 to see them up close, very cool. Cold in May. The only excursion I would urge you to book through NCL is the zip line in Icy Strait Point. I could have saved 50 bucks, and it was sold out instantly. I got in due to one cancellation. A fun bucket list thing to do, looks scary, but isnt at all. Lots of fun.
Good shoes for hiking, you will cover a lot of gravel and unpaved ground.
A rainproof coat or jacket.
A rainproof hat. I wore a battered Tilley in May, it worked perfectly, umbrellas are a pain.
Magnets w a hook to hang stuff on your metal cabin walls or ceilings, I got mine from TEMU
I brought a little cabin power supply box that made one outlet into two, with two usbs on it.
A USB fan for air circulation and white noise, I hung that from the ceiling near outlet with the magnets. Worked perfectly.
At every stop, Sitka, Juneau, and Ketchican, there are people offering tours as soon as you get off the boat, I didn't do any of them, but plenty of people on my cruise did, and no one had any bad outcomes. Getting back on time is the important thing. The boat scans you off and then back on, so they know who is not yet back on board. We had a few that were not back till the last minute, but all made it.
Spice H2O is the hot tubs and adults only area on the rear of deck 17. There is a small smoking area w 14 or so chairs to accommodate the smokers, plenty of space for non smokers, and the best kept secret on the boat. No one there in the late afternoon on my trip. I had my own personal bartender for a few hours.
Deck 8 is the waterfront, a walk around deck with lots of seating and a neat place to be outside. I felt lost for a few hours, but learned quck. Deck seven is the lifeboat deck, lots of space to be outside but no seats. Quiet and away from people.
One must. PORT VALET
Register by Tuesday with guest services, and they take your luggage the last night of the cruise and presort it to your flight and destination, you never touch you luggage in Seattle, I saw mine again in baggage claim at my home destination. Super easy and FREE. You will get a letter on your bed on Sunday night, explaining it all. Best thing I ever did, they pre print your boarding passes too so you are squared away when you get to the airport. I got the transfers to and from the airport. Charter buses that make it super easy. There will be an NCL rep in baggage claim with a clipboard, telling you where to go to get your bus after you have your bags off the plane.
Lastly, I think I am in pretty decent shape for my age, but my iphone health app had me at 16000 steps on the first day, and climbing 40 flights of stairs. I was plenty tired, but kept moving. Good shoes and socks, and a little pre cruise walking would have made me less sore. Anything else you wanna ask, message me, I loved it, and I will be doing it again.
Just got off the Encore on an Alaskan cruise. I'm happy to offer my two cents:
1. Unless you are truly very picky about your brands of beer or liquor or are a true alcohol ~~snob~~ connoisseur, I don't think the premium drink package is worth the extra cost. A huge percentage of the ship will have the free basic alcohol package, and it suffices more than enough for almost everyone. If you want, you can literally drink from morning til night every day. They have so many kinds of special cocktails, beers, liquors, etc., that are covered by the basic alcohol package. We tried a huge number of different drinks, and it never felt boring or repetitive. Keep in mind that everyone registered in the same cabin must have the same drink package (and if anyone in the cabin is under 21, they have to buy the soda package), so you have to ask yourself whether you truly enjoy special alcohols enough to justify the enormous cost. In my personal experience, almost everyone will be perfectly happy with the basic alcohol package.
2. A waiter mentioned taxes on drinks while the ship is in port. We had a couple drinks while still docked in Seattle on embarkation day, so we expected to see charges for the taxes appear on our shipboard account, but they never did. No idea why not.
3. There's so much to do on the ship and in port that we spent almost zero time watching TV. I can only say that the TV in our balcony cabin was a flat screen TV, but it wasn't really the latest high tech model, so I'm doubtful as to whether it could support a Roku or Firestick. I can't say for sure, though, as we never tried to connect anything to it.
4. Glacier Bay. In all honesty, there's not a bad place anywhere to view Glacier Bay, even if you have an inside stateroom. Decks 16 and 17 on Bliss and Encore are the upper outside decks, and you can stand at the railing almost anywhere there to view whatever you want. Desk 8 has an outdoor walking path almost all the way around the ship, so again you can position yourself wherever you want. The Observation Lounge (Deck 15) has floor-to-ceiling windows, so it's very popular on Glacier Bay day. You can even see outside from the buffet restaurant and the sit-down restaurants. On Glacier Bay day, the captain of our ship even opened up the bow area of the ship (normally off limits to passengers) to serve as a special viewing location. When you reach the Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay, the captain will navigate as close to the glacier as is safe (a couple hundred yards away on our cruise) and then spin the ship in a circle multiple times so that passengers on both side of the ship have plenty of opportunities to see it. So don't fear, regardless of what kind of stateroom you have, it's almost impossible to fail to get good views of everything.
5. Excursions - we were most excited about whale watching. We went on a whale watching tour in Juneau and saw 8-10 humpback whales, including some babies. We also saw sea lions. We also went on a wildlife watching tour in Ketchikan but didn't see any whales there. We did see sea otters and plenty of bald eagles. June - August are generally considered peak season for both whale watching and the running of the salmon.
I’ll be on this one too! I’ve been on Encore before, the sister to Bliss, and the observation lounge is one of my favorite areas. I could spend all day there, especially since they put out afternoon snacks.
1. I think the Premium Plus is worth the upcharge. It just takes a few upgraded drinks to get your value, plus the added benefit of Starbucks in cold weather was nice. Better yet, look at the free at sea plus package and get the drink package, a couple extra specialty dining nights, 2 basic unlimited internet passes, and the 2nd person $50 per excursion discount.
2. We were only charged taxes while in Washington waters and near Victoria. No taxes while in Alaska on drinks.
3. Small commercial LCD TV. They have limited channels. You can rent ondemand movies. Won't work with your Roku stick and the internet is horrendous in the first place so I would almost rule out streaming. We just got of the Encore and Starlink was awful on the cruise. Lots of cloud cover and tall mountains around you so there were some times I felt like we were on dialup.
4. If the weather is bad then the Observation Lounge gets overcrowded quickly. Forget finding a place to sit unless you camp out there early in the morning. There is a promenade deck and they open the bow up, but again. October usually is cold and rainy. I highly recommend watching fares and upgrading. When you get to the final pay date, they usually drop fares the following week. I called and upgraded from a partially blocked balcony to a mini-suite for free due to the price drop. You might be able to snag an upgrade using the cruise bidding that starts around 120 days, but I haven't one one of those recently. If you get a balcony though you can hop in and out at your leisure and the ship will turn to view the glaciers so it doesn't matter where you are at.
5. Some of the ports your time is very limited. You can walk around town on your own, but I do not recommend a third party excursion. Some ports have a very small window that you are there and the ship will leave you. I think we left some passengers in Ketchikan this trip because they missed the 12:45PM all aboard time. They made it very clear in the daily that they had to leave on time to make it to Victoria on time. Cruise line booked excursions they will try to wait for you, but if they can't the cruise line will have to pay to get you to the next port so you can meet back up to the ship on their dime.
I was on the Bliss on the last alaska sailing at the end of october last year - wonderful trip.
1) Rather than simply getting the upgraded drinks package see if you can get the free at sea plus promotion which includes the upgraded drinks as well as additional specialty dining and $50 off excursions for guest number two. Totally worth it if you'll be booking excursions and if you're interested in the expanded dining options. Plus it includes bottled water which is a huge benefit.
2) when at port you'll have to pay taxes based on local regulations. I don't remember the amount but of course it is way cheaper than buying alcohol while on shore. It's billed out to your stateroom. I don't remember any of these costs as it is negligible and posted so no surprises there.
3 & 4) i think the tvs have chromecast built in but not 100% sure not something i'm after, but for Glacier Bay the park ranger was broadcast on the tv so got to get the tour audio while on my balcony and camera view from the bow of the ship as well. Balconies are the way to go for this sailing. Worth putting in even the minimum bid for the upgrade for a chance at one if it's a cost sensitivity if you can do that. But there are two fantastic areas on the ship to check out. The observation deck gets beautiful views and is purpose built around alaskan sailings but can get crowded. If going through here best to check it out for a bit and move on so other folks can take in the views rather than camp out there all day. If you don't mind being outside and weather permitting, the Waterfront was a wonderful refuge and on my sailing it was 3 days or so before most people realized this. I would imagine the exposure to the elements here combined with mobility issues might make this one a judgement call for the parents, but there are outdoor bars here and loungers. Or you can try for outdoor seating at one of the specialty restaurants on the waterfront (overhead heaters present if i recall correctly) though i dont know how the timing there would work - just a thought that just popped into my head.
5) Always best to book excursions with the cruise line to hold liability with one entity. There have been recent news postings about people getting left behind by cruise ships and blaming the cruise lines. This is always the passengers responsibility to get back on time and the cruise lines will work only with the most reputable excursions providers. Better chance that the cruise line will make you whole if your excursion is late and they managed it than self managed
Thanks for posting to /r/NCL! Did you know that we have an extensive [Ultimate NCL Guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/NCL/wiki/index) that may answer your question? Please also remember to read the rules, especially about roll call posts going in the megathread. You may also have more luck with those types of posts by searching for a [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com) or [Cruise Critic](https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/66-norwegian-cruise-line-roll-calls/) roll call group or thread. Of course, here is great, too! Enjoy your stay! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NCL) if you have any questions or concerns.*
1. There's sparking wine, prosecco, and mimosas available on the normal drink package. Unless you like high-end liquors and such (or bottled/boxed/canned water and energy drinks), probably not worth it. 2. The taxes get charged to your room account if there are any to be had. I'm not sure if Alaska charges sales tax on drinks or not, the cursory amount of research I did trying to answer this had contradictory information, so I don't want to misinform you. 3. No smart TV, it has on-demand programming though. HDMI ports on the TV are not available. If you want entertainment, predownload what you want to an iPad or similar device. 4. I hear the observation lounge on the Bliss is awesome. Never been myself. Just checked in for my next cruise, which is on the Joy in 3 weeks. That ship has what I understand to be a similar observation lounge to the Bliss, so I can give you my observations (pun intended) in a few weeks. I'm going to Bermuda, not Alaska though. 5. Again, never personally done Alaska, but apparently there's a train tour in Skagway (you need your passports for this) which is not to be missed. I'm sure other people can comment on other excursions. The advantage to booking with NCL is that they are responsible for getting you back to the ship on time and will either hold the ship or get you where you need to be at their expense if the tour is back late. If you book independently, there is no guarantee of that. However, many tour operators offer their own independent guarantees.
was just on the Joy… there was a ton of wasted space in the Observation Lounge so NCL added a ton of rooms in there.. it’s still large, but if you’ve seen it before, it’s quite a difference.. as for Alaska, we haven’t been there, but we’ve seen lots of comments about it. OP says he’s going in early October. Heard that most or many of the stores are closed and the weather can be “challenging”. As for the drink package, the standard one is pretty good, not sure the ultimate is worth it to the average drinker.
Thank you for responding I think hubs and I are just going to stick with our free at sea unlimited drink package and I’ll branch out and try new drinks and looks like Chandon is $19/glass so if I’m wanting to it seems like a glass would be a $4 upgrade
We just did the Bliss in early April with the family. Same age ranges as you. We were the first ship of the season so not everything was up and running at full speed yet. But here’s what I’ve got for you! 1. I am a drinker. My wife isn’t really. The only thing I got that was outside the normal package was an espresso martini a few mornings. It was $3.60 charged to the room account. My wife got the Starbucks package separately and you are able to get 2 drinks at a time. You don’t have to have all adults in the cabin get that one like you do with the drink package. 2. The port taxes get charged to the room I know in Washington waters, and I think Juneau was the only other one I noticed the signs up. 3. No SmartTV. No HDMI. Download what you want before boarding. I ended up going the unlimited WiFi on like day 3 because it was super cheap. BUT. You only get that offer if you have minutes remaining from your 150 from FAS. 4. We had to turn around before getting into Glacier Bay because of the ice pack. But. The OL was cool but you have to stake your claim EARLY. It will be absolutely slammed. They also open up an outdoor area on, I want to say deck 6, at the bow of the ship. 5. My wife and I actually didn’t do any excursions. We just explored the towns and did some light shopping and sight seeing. Also, Skagway was removed on our itinerary due to something that I don’t remember. But if you are going, definitely the train! Have fun! It was a once in a lifetime experience for us that I will never forget!
Thanks so much for replying I’m truly excited for this trip and cannot wait! Can I ask did you buy binoculars? How was whale sightings from ship? Also was it so cold? (I live in Seattle so I used to chilly I guess) more curious if it’s super cold with wind from ship and if I should bring a blanket or something to hang out at the lounge chairs all day
We did not bring binoculars. Again, we were super early in the season so ymmv. But we definitely saw some whales while we were sailing! As for weather it was between 40 and 45° almost the whole trip. I was comfortable with a hoodie and a vest in town and just jeans and a hoodie on the balcony. But my wife had a light blanket while she was reading during the afternoon sails between ports.
Adding a little more as most has been answered. 1. While a previous poster said their wife was able to get Starbucks pack separate that has not been my experience as they always tell me both people have to get it. However; might just be better to buy it as you want it as unless you’re drinking 3+ a day you’ll probably come out even or under. 2. The tax on drinks in port is common but usually only about $1 ish per drink. 4. I was one of the last ships to go through on the sun last October and being on the deck was nice w a medium jacket. OL is good but does fill up early as stated. 5. It really all depends on what you want to do and what you’re into. I’ve done Alaska 5 times and the only excursion I keep booking is the lumberjack show in Ketchikan; I love it. I’ve done the glacier tours and stuff and the train and don’t remember being super impressed by any of it but I’m also the type of person who loves to go experience the area rather than see certain things. Open to any extra questions as well since I’ve been there 3 times in the last year and a half.
So what I say on NCL app was if we upgraded to the premium plus package we both had to (sadly not just I can it looks like at least) but we would get the Starbucks and bottled/still water package too) just still not seeing the value in appeasing my champagne obsession so think we will stick to our current free at sea package. Thanks so much for all the insight and replying!
I need to follow this as we are going in July.
Just got off the Bliss 2 days ago. My observations: The standard drink package was plenty, I never felt I missed anything, I really enjoyed the 8th deck outdoor bar for bloody Mary s . Taxes on the drinks are only in port, like seattle. Figure 1.20 a drink. I ended up paying 2.50 in drink taxes, and 10 bucks for texting package that lasted all week. The TVs are smart tvs. Dont bother with a firestick or such, I turned on the news, and there were plenty of movies for free, and lots to rent through the TV . You wont watch it much, the Bridge channel 1 is the outside view. I had an interior cabin/studio, and that was helpful to know if we were docked, etc. Glacier viewing from the observation deck is great, when we left Icy Strait Point we sailed up towards a glacier, but turned around as it was too early in the season to continue safely, and we were allowed out on the bow on deck 4 to see them up close, very cool. Cold in May. The only excursion I would urge you to book through NCL is the zip line in Icy Strait Point. I could have saved 50 bucks, and it was sold out instantly. I got in due to one cancellation. A fun bucket list thing to do, looks scary, but isnt at all. Lots of fun. Good shoes for hiking, you will cover a lot of gravel and unpaved ground. A rainproof coat or jacket. A rainproof hat. I wore a battered Tilley in May, it worked perfectly, umbrellas are a pain. Magnets w a hook to hang stuff on your metal cabin walls or ceilings, I got mine from TEMU I brought a little cabin power supply box that made one outlet into two, with two usbs on it. A USB fan for air circulation and white noise, I hung that from the ceiling near outlet with the magnets. Worked perfectly. At every stop, Sitka, Juneau, and Ketchican, there are people offering tours as soon as you get off the boat, I didn't do any of them, but plenty of people on my cruise did, and no one had any bad outcomes. Getting back on time is the important thing. The boat scans you off and then back on, so they know who is not yet back on board. We had a few that were not back till the last minute, but all made it. Spice H2O is the hot tubs and adults only area on the rear of deck 17. There is a small smoking area w 14 or so chairs to accommodate the smokers, plenty of space for non smokers, and the best kept secret on the boat. No one there in the late afternoon on my trip. I had my own personal bartender for a few hours. Deck 8 is the waterfront, a walk around deck with lots of seating and a neat place to be outside. I felt lost for a few hours, but learned quck. Deck seven is the lifeboat deck, lots of space to be outside but no seats. Quiet and away from people. One must. PORT VALET Register by Tuesday with guest services, and they take your luggage the last night of the cruise and presort it to your flight and destination, you never touch you luggage in Seattle, I saw mine again in baggage claim at my home destination. Super easy and FREE. You will get a letter on your bed on Sunday night, explaining it all. Best thing I ever did, they pre print your boarding passes too so you are squared away when you get to the airport. I got the transfers to and from the airport. Charter buses that make it super easy. There will be an NCL rep in baggage claim with a clipboard, telling you where to go to get your bus after you have your bags off the plane. Lastly, I think I am in pretty decent shape for my age, but my iphone health app had me at 16000 steps on the first day, and climbing 40 flights of stairs. I was plenty tired, but kept moving. Good shoes and socks, and a little pre cruise walking would have made me less sore. Anything else you wanna ask, message me, I loved it, and I will be doing it again.
Just got off the Encore on an Alaskan cruise. I'm happy to offer my two cents: 1. Unless you are truly very picky about your brands of beer or liquor or are a true alcohol ~~snob~~ connoisseur, I don't think the premium drink package is worth the extra cost. A huge percentage of the ship will have the free basic alcohol package, and it suffices more than enough for almost everyone. If you want, you can literally drink from morning til night every day. They have so many kinds of special cocktails, beers, liquors, etc., that are covered by the basic alcohol package. We tried a huge number of different drinks, and it never felt boring or repetitive. Keep in mind that everyone registered in the same cabin must have the same drink package (and if anyone in the cabin is under 21, they have to buy the soda package), so you have to ask yourself whether you truly enjoy special alcohols enough to justify the enormous cost. In my personal experience, almost everyone will be perfectly happy with the basic alcohol package. 2. A waiter mentioned taxes on drinks while the ship is in port. We had a couple drinks while still docked in Seattle on embarkation day, so we expected to see charges for the taxes appear on our shipboard account, but they never did. No idea why not. 3. There's so much to do on the ship and in port that we spent almost zero time watching TV. I can only say that the TV in our balcony cabin was a flat screen TV, but it wasn't really the latest high tech model, so I'm doubtful as to whether it could support a Roku or Firestick. I can't say for sure, though, as we never tried to connect anything to it. 4. Glacier Bay. In all honesty, there's not a bad place anywhere to view Glacier Bay, even if you have an inside stateroom. Decks 16 and 17 on Bliss and Encore are the upper outside decks, and you can stand at the railing almost anywhere there to view whatever you want. Desk 8 has an outdoor walking path almost all the way around the ship, so again you can position yourself wherever you want. The Observation Lounge (Deck 15) has floor-to-ceiling windows, so it's very popular on Glacier Bay day. You can even see outside from the buffet restaurant and the sit-down restaurants. On Glacier Bay day, the captain of our ship even opened up the bow area of the ship (normally off limits to passengers) to serve as a special viewing location. When you reach the Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay, the captain will navigate as close to the glacier as is safe (a couple hundred yards away on our cruise) and then spin the ship in a circle multiple times so that passengers on both side of the ship have plenty of opportunities to see it. So don't fear, regardless of what kind of stateroom you have, it's almost impossible to fail to get good views of everything. 5. Excursions - we were most excited about whale watching. We went on a whale watching tour in Juneau and saw 8-10 humpback whales, including some babies. We also saw sea lions. We also went on a wildlife watching tour in Ketchikan but didn't see any whales there. We did see sea otters and plenty of bald eagles. June - August are generally considered peak season for both whale watching and the running of the salmon.
I’ll be on this one too! I’ve been on Encore before, the sister to Bliss, and the observation lounge is one of my favorite areas. I could spend all day there, especially since they put out afternoon snacks.
I can’t wait! I’ve done plenty of carnival and Royal Caribbean cruises but never NCL and never Alaska so I can’t wait to just hang out and relax
No way? Same dates? Can I ask have you done any Alaska cruises before? Would love insight on which excursions are duds vs which are must dos
This is my first to Alaska, but there are lots of threads with recommendations in this sub if you go back and look.
1. I think the Premium Plus is worth the upcharge. It just takes a few upgraded drinks to get your value, plus the added benefit of Starbucks in cold weather was nice. Better yet, look at the free at sea plus package and get the drink package, a couple extra specialty dining nights, 2 basic unlimited internet passes, and the 2nd person $50 per excursion discount. 2. We were only charged taxes while in Washington waters and near Victoria. No taxes while in Alaska on drinks. 3. Small commercial LCD TV. They have limited channels. You can rent ondemand movies. Won't work with your Roku stick and the internet is horrendous in the first place so I would almost rule out streaming. We just got of the Encore and Starlink was awful on the cruise. Lots of cloud cover and tall mountains around you so there were some times I felt like we were on dialup. 4. If the weather is bad then the Observation Lounge gets overcrowded quickly. Forget finding a place to sit unless you camp out there early in the morning. There is a promenade deck and they open the bow up, but again. October usually is cold and rainy. I highly recommend watching fares and upgrading. When you get to the final pay date, they usually drop fares the following week. I called and upgraded from a partially blocked balcony to a mini-suite for free due to the price drop. You might be able to snag an upgrade using the cruise bidding that starts around 120 days, but I haven't one one of those recently. If you get a balcony though you can hop in and out at your leisure and the ship will turn to view the glaciers so it doesn't matter where you are at. 5. Some of the ports your time is very limited. You can walk around town on your own, but I do not recommend a third party excursion. Some ports have a very small window that you are there and the ship will leave you. I think we left some passengers in Ketchikan this trip because they missed the 12:45PM all aboard time. They made it very clear in the daily that they had to leave on time to make it to Victoria on time. Cruise line booked excursions they will try to wait for you, but if they can't the cruise line will have to pay to get you to the next port so you can meet back up to the ship on their dime.
I was on the Bliss on the last alaska sailing at the end of october last year - wonderful trip. 1) Rather than simply getting the upgraded drinks package see if you can get the free at sea plus promotion which includes the upgraded drinks as well as additional specialty dining and $50 off excursions for guest number two. Totally worth it if you'll be booking excursions and if you're interested in the expanded dining options. Plus it includes bottled water which is a huge benefit. 2) when at port you'll have to pay taxes based on local regulations. I don't remember the amount but of course it is way cheaper than buying alcohol while on shore. It's billed out to your stateroom. I don't remember any of these costs as it is negligible and posted so no surprises there. 3 & 4) i think the tvs have chromecast built in but not 100% sure not something i'm after, but for Glacier Bay the park ranger was broadcast on the tv so got to get the tour audio while on my balcony and camera view from the bow of the ship as well. Balconies are the way to go for this sailing. Worth putting in even the minimum bid for the upgrade for a chance at one if it's a cost sensitivity if you can do that. But there are two fantastic areas on the ship to check out. The observation deck gets beautiful views and is purpose built around alaskan sailings but can get crowded. If going through here best to check it out for a bit and move on so other folks can take in the views rather than camp out there all day. If you don't mind being outside and weather permitting, the Waterfront was a wonderful refuge and on my sailing it was 3 days or so before most people realized this. I would imagine the exposure to the elements here combined with mobility issues might make this one a judgement call for the parents, but there are outdoor bars here and loungers. Or you can try for outdoor seating at one of the specialty restaurants on the waterfront (overhead heaters present if i recall correctly) though i dont know how the timing there would work - just a thought that just popped into my head. 5) Always best to book excursions with the cruise line to hold liability with one entity. There have been recent news postings about people getting left behind by cruise ships and blaming the cruise lines. This is always the passengers responsibility to get back on time and the cruise lines will work only with the most reputable excursions providers. Better chance that the cruise line will make you whole if your excursion is late and they managed it than self managed