Table Of Content
We stuck around to hear a few more songs, and then all of us decided it was time to call it a night. Inside this specialty restaurant, there were two reservation areas, one for the go-karts and laser tag and a second for entertainment reservations. We flew into Seattle the day before the cruise, reserving a harbor view king room at the Edgewater. This hotel is located right next to Pier 66 allowing us to walk to the pier in the morning.
Welcome Aboard Norwegian Encore
Review: Norwegian Spirit - TravelAge West
Review: Norwegian Spirit.
Posted: Wed, 09 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
This allowed them to plan ahead of time which activities they wanted to spend their onboard credit on and prevented overspending. All of the information regarding the next day’s activities and showtimes can be found in the daily newsletter called Freestyle Daily. It is also a good alternative for those looking for a light breakfast or lunch. Food items include danishes, mini quiche, fruit, bread, cheese, fruit, and desserts. Familiarize yourself with where your stateroom is in relation to the complimentary dining, main atrium, Observation Lounge, and pool deck.
Days At Sea (Glacier Bay National Park & Hubbard Glacier)
The ship holds just over 4,000 passengers but disperses the crowds nicely at most times. With Freestyle Dining, we were able to pre-book reservations at most of the popular specialty restaurants with varying party sizes without any issues. We chose this cruise for several reasons, including testing out the brand new ship, returning to the beautiful Alaskan ports of call, and having the chance to sail with some friends. Norwegian Cruise Line’s freestyle approach makes cruising with others easy. Cruise Critic is not a booking agent and does not charge any service fees to users of our site.
Norwegian Bliss Alaska 2024: Daily Trip Report
You might also want to consider purchasing a pass to the Mandara Spa’s thermal suite. Week-long passes are available, as well as day passes on port days pending availability. The thermal suite is limited to just 200 passes for the week, so it will never feel too crowded. During our Alaska cruise, the go-karts were open various times depending on the port of call.
Though we saw children of all ages on our cruise, I recommend that kids be at least 10 years old for an Alaska cruise- or mature enough to fully appreciate the experience. Disney Cruise Line exceeded our expectations in terms of its elegant design, high-end services, and enchanting entertainment and set the bar high for our future cruises. Further, we were largely impressed by the enormous amount of family-friendly activities found on the ship that we knew our kids (ages 11, 14, & 16) would love.
So, Don and our friend Adam suited up for a battle on this most intricate laser tag course at sea. The lost city of Atlantis laser tag course is $9.95 for a 10-minute game and is a fun activity for all ages. Wanting to see what the view was like from our balcony, we then hurried our way up to our cabin in time to catch the view on the starboard side. The Cavern Club, inspired by the Liverpool landmark, typically hosts Beatles tribute bands. However, we were told that one of the members of the group was sick, so the ship’s rock band mostly played this venue during our sailing.
comment on Norwegian Bliss Alaska Cruise Review
But overall, the weather in Alaska can be rather wet and cloudy many days out of the year. There is the guest services desk in the main atrium (deck 7- middle of the ship) where you can discuss any billing issues on board. When the cruise commences, the Norwegian Cruise Line will charge the final bill to the card or debit card you have on file. And lastly, we gave Chin Chin a couple of tries for dinner.
Other cruise lines, including Norwegian, offer itineraries with varying ports of call. For comparison purposes, we took a 7-day cruise on Norwegian Encore that featured 5 ports of call. Our only other experience cruising together as a family was on a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise aboard the Disney Fantasy that we write about here. We work with reputable, local tour operators to offer you a wide variety of excursions to choose from, in every port you’ll visit.
Norwegian Jewel
The fourteen of us—minus our two-year-old, Fin, who was born at the beginning of COVID-times—have taken many vacations together. We’ve gone to Disney World; taken a Caribbean cruise; and rented a cabin in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; and we spend at least one week in Orange Beach, Alabama, nearly every year. I’ll give a more thorough review of the ship in future posts, but for now suffice it to say we picked this ship and itinerary because it was the only one that fit the core needs of our group. An Alaskan cruise has long been on my bucket list, but always in the “one-day” column. I’d flip through the cruise fliers that fill my mailbox weekly, pause over the beautiful pictures of Glacier Bay or Ketchikan’s Creek Street, and think, One day. One day, when the kids are older, when money is no object, when we have the time, when, when, when .
While a free shuttle service was provided, the distance added a layer of inconvenience to our day. In summary, Sitka is a treasure trove of experiences, from its historical landmarks to culinary delights and shopping options. Despite the extra time needed for tendering, the day was rich in Alaskan culture and natural beauty. We also explored downtown Skagway, a delightful blend of the old and the new. And for the adrenaline junkies, don’t miss the helicopter tours with glacier landings.
Even though we had a little taste of the new ship during a 3-day inaugural cruise earlier this summer, we couldn’t wait to get back onboard Norwegian Bliss. For our full week trip, we were cruising with two other couples. This “group cruise” included several planned dinners and excursions together, as well as some separately. After cruising on Norwegian Bliss, we are more than glad we opted to secure the vacation funds for a second Alaskan cruise sooner than expected. For mega-ship lovers, Norwegian Bliss is the ship to choose when cruising to Alaska.
After all this gaming, we had worked up an appetite, so we headed to lunch at the American Diner. This venue is an up-charge, where you can either pay a la carte or use a specialty dining credit. Since we had already used all our credits, we paid a la carte. Unfortunately though, this was the worst meal we had all week and not worth an up-charge in our opinion. Next up was laser tag, which I decided to bow out of and capture the photos and videos instead.
Well, we just returned from a 7-night roundtrip sailing from Seattle and share all the details with you in our Norwegian Encore cruise ship scorecard review. Our larger cruise ships offer some pretty remarkable onboard experiences. Imagine zooming around a two-story race track as a bald eagle soars overhead. Imagine playing nighttime laser tag beneath the shimmering Milky Way or savoring a romantic dinner al fresco as the sun sinks behind jagged peaks. You can do all this and so much more aboard two of Norwegian’s newest ships, Norwegian Bliss and Norwegian Encore — custom-built for the spectacular. There's something about cruising Alaska that fills travelers with awe and exhilaration.
No comments:
Post a Comment