Table Of Content
With Freestyle Dining, we were able to pre-book reservations at most of the popular specialty restaurants with varying party sizes without any issues. Norwegian Bliss is a Breakaway-Plus class ship, which is currently the largest in Norwegian Cruise Line’s fleet. This high-tech vessel includes the largest go-kart race track at sea, an outdoor laser tag course, as well as signature entertainment.
Day 4
The shareable guacamole was prepared table side which was a little awkward for this introvert, terrible at small talk. ” He ignored my question and asked me where I was from. “Seattle.” And then I remembered protocol, looked at his badge which said “Philippines” and asked “small town or large city?
Day 3 Breakfast in the MDR
…and delicious complimentary snacks and unique desserts, many with an international flair and not available anywhere else on the ship. You can also maximize your drink package without judgment byrotating among several bars located nearby. All my food was good (the corn with a side of corn and the salad) to great (the guacamole and cake) but again, not worth the a la carte price ($60 + 20% service charge) I’d have paid without my Platinum voucher. I also ordered a betabel salad, the rajas and crema tacos, the elotes, and the tres leches cake. The tacos and the elotes were essentially the exact same dish, but with one including an edible delivery device and the other requiring another awkward conversation (they cut the kernels off the cob table side) and a fork.
Day 3
The high point was when my waiter approached the table next to mine and called a clear “ma’am” a “sir.” I generously thought, “language barrier? ” but when he realized his mistake three courses later, he just busted up laughing and was like, “you’ve been a lady this whole time? ” Like maybe her gender identity changed between the antipasto and the risotto. I should mention that the bottle of wine I selected was called 19 Crimes, which I order every time because it’s the only one I can pronounce. But tonight it seemed very on brand and I offered to share a glass with my waiter who’d committed all 19 crimes before the 7 o’clock rush.
Tomorrow was a full sea day, so we could sleep in a bit. The clocks were being moved an hour ahead, but we didn’t have any official plans until our race track reservation at 11 am. Back to our room a bit before 5 pm, we began to change up for dinner. Not that either of us were all that hungry after lunch at Margaritaville. I wasn’t sure how I was going to make room for a three course Cagney’s meal tonight. During this time, the announcement was made that several tours were being canceled, which included the Mendenhall Glacier Helicopter Tour and Guided Walk that we completed during our last visit to Juneau.
Endicott Arm Fjord
We returned to the Local for lunch to be greeted by the hostess who was quoting 15 to 20 minute wait times! Truthfully, we waited less than five minutes for a table of two. I decided to snack on a plate of Buffalo wings (again) and fries, while the Princess went with the Grilled Cheese meal this time. While we both did salads as appetizers, we opted to skip dessert. The filet I ordered was probably the best entree I had all cruise. The Princess was also fond of the coq au vin, which is her go-to at this restaurant.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s freestyle approach makes cruising with others easy. Embarkation was simple as the NCL app allows nearly all the steps prior to arriving. We arrived about 10 AM and since this was the first trip of the Alaska season, there were no passengers on the ship from a previous cruise. From baggage drop off to the waiting area was about 15 minutes.
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Still, the cruise director Dan Dan and his staff tried to get the crowd energized. Grabbing snacks and coffee, we reviewed our schedule for the week while waiting for our friends to get onboard the ship. Shortly thereafter, an announcement was made that the rooms were “accessible”, so we decided to venture down to check out our cabin. Embarking on Deck 7, we were among the first people on the ship.
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With our unpacking already done, we made our way to the Observation Lounge to continue our drink around the ship. By now, the sun had mostly set, but there was still a light glow in the sky illuminating the nearby coastline. The ship did not officially pull away from the pier until after 5 pm. With our dinner reservation for 6 pm, we made our way downstairs hoping to find our luggage so we could unpack. Luckily, the luggage had arrived, so it was a mad rush to unpack and spruce ourselves up for dinner.
For the two of us, we ended up spending about $46, so an average of $23 a person, which is just slightly more than the per person cost of the specialty dining package. The ship was making the crew only area on the front of Deck 8 available for cruisers to get an up-close view of Endicott Arm and the Dawes Glacier. Along with some other adventurous cruisers, we found our way to the not so well labeled viewing area. However, we were turned around by security as the viewing section was not officially open yet. Dropping us off and picking us up 2.5 hours later, we trekked through the wet conditions along the Nugget Falls and the Photo Op trails to try to get some views and pictures of the beautiful landscape. Mother Nature had other plans though as our camera started malfunctioning due to the rain.
Given that we were already upstairs, I wanted to peek into the much publicized Seafood Buffet at the Garden Cafe. The only additions were a large section of shrimp cocktail and steamed mussels. A few other seafood dishes were scattered among the other food but nothing really stood out. Outside, the weather appeared to be getting nicer, so we took a stroll on the Waterfront. Still a tad too windy to stay outside for any length of time, it was nice to get some fresh air. Looking for something else to do, we decided to check another bar off our list.
We booked a 6 pm reservation at Le Bistro for tonight as we knew this would be the “formal night” on the ship. Picture stations on Deck 6 and 8 opened at 5 pm, so our plan was to hit up a few of them before dinner. There are so many things to do and see that we couldn’t waste time snoozing. While the Princess got ready, I used the time to get some photos and videos of inside venues, including the dining rooms, the Waterfront, and 678 Ocean Place. Even though the first cruiser to sing was obviously a trained musician, this did not stop them for getting up there for a duet of Keene’s, Somewhere Only We Know.
Which reminds me, if someone local to Seattle wouldn’t mind me crashing on your couch for a few days while I pretend to be lost at sea so I don’t have to help, I’d be ever so grateful. Even though the Perseverance Trail is part of a trail system I discovered a few years ago within walking distance of Ward Cove (where NCL ships dock outside of Ketchikan), the name has so far discouraged me. When I think “perseverance” I think of some self help nonsense promising mental strength as a result of physical or psychological pain with no certain outcome. It’s not often that I’m tempted by multiple salads, but tonight I wanted all of them.
The final crime occurred when I was informed that the dessert I’d ordered wasn’t ready yet and would I like the tiramisu (!!!) instead. You’ll recall I sacrificed an entire night of blissful cruise sleep to tiramisu like 72 hours ago and vowed to never order it again. Anyway, the food was very good, but only about 10% better than what I’ve been enjoying in the MDR and certainly not worth the extra $49 (not including the wine) it would have cost me without the voucher. We went to Alaska to celebrate our 30th anniversary..the crew was friendly and excited because it was the first cruise of the season.
