Planning Alaska 2019...comparing NCL BLISS to DCL Wonder

[WishUponAStarryNight]

oh dear, whats the height requirement? I didn't even think about that.

I was told 55 inches.

 

[cruiser21]

We have done 4 DCL sailings to the Caribbean and love it. I have my TA working on booking us Wednesday. We are a family of 6, so it will be expensive even with OBB. Because of this I am having her book us shoulder season (late May) and trying for 2 secret portholes, but if those are gone then 2 connecting 7As. I need all 3 little kids in my room or connecting, so doing a Verandah/Inside combo won't work.

Being the good researcher I am, I wanted to compare pricing on NCL bliss. We can sail connecting verandahs in peak season for about $12k. The ship looks awesome for my 8 & 10 year olds. It is round trip with glacier bay from Seattle. Seems like alot of pros to this one. I am just concerned with the kid clubs b/c I can't see much info on their site. Are the hours good? I will need DD3 to stay onboard for some excursions. Are they open for that? Are 3 year olds in with 12 year olds? That is actually fine when my boys are in there with her, but I don't know about that for the rest of the time. My inlaws want to go too, and aren't thrilled with the DCL cost or lack of glacier bay.

Anyone been on both lines and can comment to help me?

According to the NCL website FAQ section it says one authorized pick up person must stay onboard if you leave your child in the splash academy on port days. They separate the ages on NCL. 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12. The Bliss hasn't sailed yet this will be her first Summer....no reviews yet. The clubs are open until 1030pm after that it's a minimal charge. They do close down during dinner time I believe from 5-7pm.

 

[cruiser21]

That's what I was thinking too... Bliss looks amazing and we want to try it but.. too maybe too much for Alaska...

She will also be doing Mexican Riviera cruises during the non Alaska season. I think that would be a good cruise to just enjoy the ship.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

According to the NCL website FAQ section it says one authorized pick up person must stay onboard if you leave your child in the splash academy on port days. They separate the ages on NCL. 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12. The Bliss hasn't sailed yet this will be her first Summer....no reviews yet. The clubs are open until 1030pm after that it's a minimal charge. They do close down during dinner time I believe from 5-7pm.

Hmm that's different than Royal Caribbean then... DH and I got off in Bermuda while DS stayed in Adventure Ocean all day...

 

[cruiser21]

Hmm that's different than Royal Caribbean then... DH and I got off in Bermuda while DS stayed in Adventure Ocean all day...

It does sound like someone would have to stay onboard. It could be a grandparent though.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

It does sound like someone would have to stay onboard. It could be a grandparent though.

Right... It was just DH and I on the Royal sailing.. they knew we were leaving the ship when we dropped DS off.
I would assume that most ships would have this so that parents could get off in port without the youngsters if desired... but I don't know.
We would not normally utilize this anyway, DS loves the ports but we were in Bermuda for 2 days.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

To me, Bliss is too much ship for Alaska. I loved my relaxing Alaska cruise on the Wonder. We didn't feel rushed to experience it all and could enjoy the scenery. I think with the Bliss, there'd be too much we haven't done to be relaxing. Plus, when I've priced the Bliss in the past, it was higher than the smaller NCL ships. Too bad they've decided to go with the one-way cruises on the smaller ships for the most part, as I think they'd fit us a bit better than the Bliss (at least, for Alaska).

I agree, I looked at the website and it just seems overwhelming to me. Like a giant floating city. Their passenger capacity is nearly twice that of the Wonder too, and the Juneau day on the itinerary I checked was short, out of the port by 1:30PM. Can't imagine how swarmed the ports must feel when one of these ships docks along with another ship or two! Those chocolate treats do look amazing though! And the Haven rooms seems a lot nicer or at least more modern and spacious than the comparable concierge rooms on DCL. My DH said he would prefer NCL over Disney, but I don't think he's considering how much more our young kids would enjoy DCL, the characters, etc. I feel like DCL is just more truly geared for young kids, while NCL would be perfect for tweens and teenagers who can roam free and need to have a lot to do on sea days. I think our eldest DS (6) would hate the Bliss actually, he would find it overstimulating.

 

[cruiser21]

I agree, I looked at the website and it just seems overwhelming to me. Like a giant floating city. Their passenger capacity is nearly twice that of the Wonder too, and the Juneau day on the itinerary I checked was short, out of the port by 1:30PM. Can't imagine how swarmed the ports must feel when one of these ships docks along with another ship or two! Those chocolate treats do look amazing though! And the Haven rooms seems a lot nicer or at least more modern and spacious than the comparable concierge rooms on DCL. My DH said he would prefer NCL over Disney, but I don't think he's considering how much more our young kids would enjoy DCL, the characters, etc. I feel like DCL is just more truly geared for young kids, while NCL would be perfect for tweens and teenagers who can roam free and need to have a lot to do on sea days. I think our eldest DS (6) would hate the Bliss actually, he would find it overstimulating.

I heard amazing things about the Haven. One of the benefits to dcl for us was the kids clubs hours and basically the ability to check themselves in and out at an early age. Now they teens I barely see them on any cruise. They have a curfew at night but their pretty much on their own.

Just to add my kids did not like clubs on ncl because they couldn't check themselves in and out. It's why we haven't been back. The teen club is 13 to 17 and my 13 year old didn't want to be in with older kids. He does want to try this ship because of the gocarts on the top deck. He will turn 15 Fall of next year and I figure sometime next year or 2020 will give it a try

 

[wl1117]

I agree, I looked at the website and it just seems overwhelming to me. Like a giant floating city. Their passenger capacity is nearly twice that of the Wonder too, and the Juneau day on the itinerary I checked was short, out of the port by 1:30PM. Can't imagine how swarmed the ports must feel when one of these ships docks along with another ship or two! Those chocolate treats do look amazing though! And the Haven rooms seems a lot nicer or at least more modern and spacious than the comparable concierge rooms on DCL. My DH said he would prefer NCL over Disney, but I don't think he's considering how much more our young kids would enjoy DCL, the characters, etc. I feel like DCL is just more truly geared for young kids, while NCL would be perfect for tweens and teenagers who can roam free and need to have a lot to do on sea days. I think our eldest DS (6) would hate the Bliss actually, he would find it overstimulating.

The Haven is why I'll eventually book an NCL trip. Maybe when the littlest is a few years older, or if DH and I can sneak away and let newly retired Pawpaw babysit.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

I feel like DCL is just more truly geared for young kids, while NCL would be perfect for tweens and teenagers who can roam free and need to have a lot to do on sea days. I think our eldest DS (6) would hate the Bliss actually, he would find it overstimulating.

This is exactly why we’ll sail the Wonder in May, rather than June when DS is through with school.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I was told 55 inches.

good grief, I am only 60". Maybe they mean to drive.

According to the NCL website FAQ section it says one authorized pick up person must stay onboard if you leave your child in the splash academy on port days. They separate the ages on NCL. 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12. The Bliss hasn't sailed yet this will be her first Summer....no reviews yet. The clubs are open until 1030pm after that it's a minimal charge. They do close down during dinner time I believe from 5-7pm.

OH dear, that won't work then. Guess I can cross Bliss off the list.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

good grief, I am only 60". Maybe they mean to drive.

Ha! I had the same reaction - I’m barely tall enough. They’re one seaters. Height max is 83 inches....

 

[jenf22]

Whatever you do, don't show your son this! https://www.ncl.com/travel-blog/nor...PRO_BRA_TWI_BLG_TWT_SHIPBLISS_COCOS3518_NA_NA

Sorry - this popped up in my Twitter feed and I thought of your post. Couldn't resist!

OMG! Now I *have* to book Bliss!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Well got my quote. May 27, 2019 connecting 7As is $14730. Ouch.

I was playing around with other lines and ovation is approx $11k in July in verandah rooms.
Bliss (I’ve eliminated due to child care thing) $12k or so balconies in July.

Bliss- glacier bay
Ovation- inside passage

Decision time.

 

[Sergel02]

I was looking at Bliss for May and it's not too bad.
4 adults in a mini suite with the 3rd and 4th person free is like $5200 total. Of course I think room is slightly smaller than the biggest Disney one. Another thing to consider are the surcharge restaraunts and the fact that it seems that their excursions are slightly more pricey than Disney's.

Probably the biggest thing is that Bliss does Glacier Bay, but it also has limited time in ports compared to Wonder. It's in Victoria for like 4 hours literally.

 

[jenf22]

I was looking at Bliss for May and it's not too bad.
4 adults in a mini suite with the 3rd and 4th person free is like $5200 total. Of course I think room is slightly smaller than the biggest Disney one. Another thing to consider are the surcharge restaraunts and the fact that it seems that their excursions are slightly more pricey than Disney's.

Probably the biggest thing is that Bliss does Glacier Bay, but it also has limited time in ports compared to Wonder. It's in Victoria for like 4 hours literally.

Having been on other NCL ships, we love going to the specialty (surcharge) restaurants. But most of the time on NCL you can "pick 2" freebies, so we always get the dining as one of them. We did DCL to Alaska and only did one excursion through the ship. So I wouldn't let the excursion prices factor in too much. I really want to see Glacier Bay since we missed it on DCL. I've got my eye on Bliss, but I want to wait until the kiddo is tall enough (old enough?) to drive the go carts.

OP did you eliminate Bliss because the child care is closed at dinner or because you can't leave them on the ship? We met a couple on our Med cruise that we often saw in port and their kids were left on the ship. Now maybe they were violating the rules, I don't know. Our kiddo (age 10) doesn't go in any kids clubs (even DCL), so we don't have to worry about it Good luck with your decision and have a great time in Alaska!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Having been on other NCL ships, we love going to the specialty (surcharge) restaurants. But most of the time on NCL you can "pick 2" freebies, so we always get the dining as one of them. We did DCL to Alaska and only did one excursion through the ship. So I wouldn't let the excursion prices factor in too much. I really want to see Glacier Bay since we missed it on DCL. I've got my eye on Bliss, but I want to wait until the kiddo is tall enough (old enough?) to drive the go carts.

OP did you eliminate Bliss because the child care is closed at dinner or because you can't leave them on the ship? We met a couple on our Med cruise that we often saw in port and their kids were left on the ship. Now maybe they were violating the rules, I don't know. Our kiddo (age 10) doesn't go in any kids clubs (even DCL), so we don't have to worry about it Good luck with your decision and have a great time in Alaska!

Wait it is closed at dinner too!? I missed that part. I need to be able to leave her while I go ashore at ports. She won’t be old enough for much. So that’s why I eliminated it.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

Well got my quote. May 27, 2019 connecting 7As is $14730. Ouch.

I was playing around with other lines and ovation is approx $11k in July in verandah rooms.
Bliss (I’ve eliminated due to child care thing) $12k or so balconies in July.

Bliss- glacier bay
Ovation- inside passage

Decision time.

I eliminated the Bliss and then looked at the Ovation. Other than the fact that it looks like a shopping mall, I didn't like the itinerary. We're booked on the 5/20 Wonder sailing in a 7A and 11A across the hall. Total is approx $9400 (we used the OBB on the 7A but will re-shop the 11A onboard in April to see if we can get that one a little lower) for 2 people in each room. I also looked at connecting 9As and the price was actually a little higher than the 7A/11A combo. Have you considered one verandah cabin? I don't know if this works for your family, but it's a very good solution for mine.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I eliminated the Bliss and then looked at the Ovation. Other than the fact that it looks like a shopping mall, I didn't like the itinerary. We're booked on the 5/20 Wonder sailing in a 7A and 11A across the hall. Total is approx $9400 (we used the OBB on the 7A but will re-shop the 11A onboard in April to see if we can get that one a little lower) for 2 people in each room. I also looked at connecting 9As and the price was actually a little higher than the 7A/11A combo. Have you considered one verandah cabin? I don't know if this works for your family, but it's a very good solution for mine.

I did consider that. Our oldest is going to be 20 so she’d be fine in an inside. Problem is I need the 3 little ones in my room so they are supervised so we’d have to do a cat 4 to sleep the other 5 of us...and there goes the savings. I’d never sleep worrying about the 10 year old wandering off at 3am. He has ADD and often is very impulsive. The 8 yr old would maybe do fine across the hall. I guess I could use a baby monitor.

ETA: I may look at the 5/20 to save a bit too. One of the kids graduates from 5th grade that May though so I bet we’d miss the ceremony. Crap. There is always something with 4 kiddos. Haha

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

I did consider that. Our oldest is going to be 20 so she’d be fine in an inside. Problem is I need the 3 little ones in my room so they are supervised so we’d have to do a cat 4 to sleep the other 5 of us...and there goes the savings. I’d never sleep worrying about the 10 year old wandering off at 3am. He has ADD and often is very impulsive. The 8 yr old would maybe do fine across the hall. I guess I could use a baby monitor.

ETA: I may look at the 5/20 to save a bit too. One of the kids graduates from 5th grade that May though so I bet we’d miss the ceremony. Crap. There is always something with 4 kiddos. Haha

Hmm...that's tough. If the youngest is small enough for a pack and play, you might be able to squeeze 4 of you into the 7A for sleeping (though you'd have to book 3 and 3). Might not be very comfortable. It's a lot of money to be uncomfortable.