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My Review Of The Norwegian Bliss

We are not official cruise critics but we have been on a fair share of cruises. In fact, we prefer cruising to all other vacations: unlimited food, never have to unpack, and our kid is entertained. My husband and I have been planning an Alaskan cruise for close to five years. We knew this was going to be a once in a lifetime trip, therefore we a knew the trip needed to be memorable. When researching Alaskan cruises, there were several cruise lines that made the voyage. Which cruise line would be the best for our family? Here are ten reasons to sail on the Norwegian Bliss for your family-friendly Alaskan cruise.

Reasons to Sail on the Norwegian Bliss

Reason 1–The Ship Is New

Is being on a new cruise ship a must? Not necessarily, but because the Bliss was brand new it was one of the main reasons we chose it. Due to the fact the ship was new, we new the amenities would be top notch. The decor would be modern and there would be state of the art technology.

After much research, I discovered the Bliss was going to have so much for us to do that we could never be bored. The ship did not disappoint. We were on the inaugural voyage to Alaska. I will discuss some of the highlights later in the post.

Reason 2–There is a Go-Cart race track on board

As stated in Number 1, because Bliss is new it has some of the most state of the art technology and amenities. One such was a go-cart track on board. Needless to say, with a ten year old going with us on the trip, this was a super enticing feature.

Who would not want to race on the top deck of the ship? The go-carts went very fast and the experience was exhilarating.

There was an additional cost to do the go-carts and you could reserve a day and specific timeframe once you were on the ship. I would recommend reserving this time on the first day you are on the ship as the time slots filled up quickly.

Reason 3: The Aqua Park

Even though we were cruising in June to Alaska, the aqua park on the boat was a wonderful amenity. The only day it was slightly warm enough to experience the thrill of the water slides was on the day we set sail and were docked in Seattle. When I say warm enough, it was definitely too cold for me to get in the water, but my son was able to experience the thrill of the water slides before the ship set sail.

The largest water slide had a floor which dropped from beneath you. You then went out over the side of the ship. The slide was clear so you could see everything!

In addition, there was a water park area with another smaller slide and a play area for the kids.

Reason 4–The observation lounge

The Norwegian Bliss has the most amazing observation lounge. This was especially useful as the ship was sailing. Because the temperatures were a bit brisk, standing outside on the deck to view the great Alaskan scenery was not comfortable. Instead, you could go to the observation lounge. This area had a bar, food during the lunchtime hours, and a comfortable seating area with floor to ceiling windows for an unobstructed view. Norwegian Cruise lines’ website describes the observation lounge as “offering the most expansive views at sea”. I would concur!

Reason 5–Wyland

Norwegian has other ships with hulls painted by Guy Harvey. The Bliss’ hull is painted by the artist, Wyland. The hull’s design entitled, “Cruising with the Whales”, features a humpback whale and her calf.

Because we cruised on the ship’s inaugural sailing, we were fortunate enough to get to see Wyland paint while on board. I even sat next to his mother at one of the award winning Broadway shows.

Reason 6–The District Brew House

We loved all of the bars and restaurants aboard the Norwegian Bliss, however one of our favorite was The District Brew House. First, the views from this bar were amazing. Second, they had table games that not only were entertaining for adults but definitely for my son!

Let’s talk about the brews. There were more than 50 bottled beers as well as 24 draft beers to choose from. Our favorite was the Alaskan Husky IPA. Yum! We had the unlimited beverage package so we tried quite a few of the many beers offered.

Reason 7 –The entertainment

There was entertainment every day and night. The entertainment was amazing!

Being too young to have seen the Beatles perform in person but having grown up listening to 45 records from my mother’s collection, it was a pure joy to see a Beatles cover band in a replica of the Cavern Club of Liverpool.

There were two Broadway quality shows on the Norwegian Bliss. Be aware! In order to have priority seating for the shows, you need to sign up for show date and times. You can sign up for these online prior to the cruise and if you did not do it prior to boarding the boat, you can sign up just as you sign up for the go cart racing (see number 2).

The two shows we saw were Havana and Jersey Boys. Both were amazing.

Reason 8–The room and room service

The room was quite large and I appreciated the shower had a glass door. Having sailed on other cruise lines with a shower curtain that seemed to make the shower even smaller, led to the appreciation of a glass shower.

The room was spacious. It included a large bed. There was a closet. The couch was big enough for my son to sleep comfortably and our room steward made up the couch each evening for him to include the traditional cruise towel animals.

The balcony room was the best choice as there was quite a bit to see as we were sailing. Here are some pictures of icebergs, waterfalls, and mountains. We also got to see the Sawyer Glacier from our balcony!

Reason 9–Dining Choices

There was an abundant amount of delicious dining options aboard the Norwegian Bliss. You could choose to eat at several specialty restaurants that cost additional money, however we did not.

Having not chosen specialty dining, there were a large variety of dining options included in the cruise fare. Norwegian cruise lines allows you to eat when you wish in either of the two main dining rooms, Savor and Taste. In addition, there is a dining room that only served dinner called the Manhattan Room. There was a buffet always available called the Garden Cafe. The Local was a pub style restaurant. Also, a light lunch was served in the Observation Lounge that consisted of finger sandwiches and soup.

Even on a ship of this magnitude, we never had to wait longer than a few minutes to be seated to eat.

Reason 10– Kids club

If you have never cruised with your kids before, the kids camp provided is the best kept secret. My family enjoys cruising because not only is there entertainment provided for your child there is no additional cost. This gives the adults time to have a date night every single night (and many times during the day as well), but it also gives the kids times to make friends and play.

The kids camp on the Norwegian Bliss for my ten year old son was the best one he has ever participated in. They had a check in process that was seamless and the camp counselors knew him by name. Each night was a different theme. Some themes included Hollywood night, Super Heroes, Spy night. He could not wait to leave us and get to camp. In fact, he urged us to get to camp check in early so he could be one of the first ones in the door.

They also performed a circus for the parents in the main theater. It was actually very entertaining for the adults.

In summary…

In summary, I would highly recommend a cruise on the Norwegian Bliss. I have many more than ten reasons that I could easily list as to why you should sail on the Norwegian Bliss. There is something for everyone, young and old.

Norwegian offers some free offers when cruising with them. Dependent upon the room you book, you can choose between one and five free options. These include Unlimited open bar, shore excursion credit, free WiFi, Specialty dining, and sometimes friends and family sail free.

Cruising on the Norwegian Bliss made our Alaskan vacation a once in a lifetime memory which we will never forget! We rate the Norwegian Bliss a 5 out of 5.

Related: How to Save Money On Shore Excursions

Have you cruised on the Norwegian Bliss? What were your thoughts? Can you add a reason to sail on the Norwegian Bliss? Drop me a comment. I’d love to hear from you.

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