May 2022 we made our maiden voyage to South East Alaska on the Norwegian Bliss cruise ship from Seattle.
It's now 2+ month later and I'm still feeling the "come down" from fabulous Alaskan cruise life. Expect to come back from sea, having 2 very different fun adventures.
The cruise ship experience and the Alaska land experience.
Top 10 Alaska Cruise Vacation Tips at Sea
The Norwegian Bliss is a beautiful and massive City at Sea. The ship has the capacity to hold 4004 passengers, boasts 19restaurants, 16bars, the hull is designed by renowned sealife artist Wyland, plus its energy efficient design meets Alaska's strict environmental regulations.-
Go with the Flow & be patient. The Cruise Industry and fellow Travelers are experiencing growing pains & still trying figuring it out. Remember you're on vacation, be grateful 😊
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Layered Simple Conscious Packing. I only used a carryon and backpack. Pack layers of clothes for Alaska. My Go To layered outfit (on land) was yoga pants with a pair of denim jeans on top, a long sleeve t-shirt, a long sleeve fleece, compact puffer jacket, waterproof light weight hiking boots, and dri-tech socks. * There are no irons on the ship, consider wrinkle spray.
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Prepare for the Motion of the Ocean. I was fine with a motion sickness patch on 24/7 and a few drops of essential oils. I did these more just being cautious, although going from SEA - AK & AK to Canada, I double patched it, as we got bounced around due to strong winds.
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On board Entertainment: The talent was phenomenal EveryDay. We saw "Jersey Boys" & "Six" in the theater and tons of musicians/singers in various bars & lounges throughout the ship.
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Cruise Ship Rooms: small, but efficient and 80% of the time you won't be in it. If you can, I'd highly recommend splurging for a balcony room. We left our slider door open & fell asleep to the sound and smell of the ocean.
6.Food & Drinks: They're everywhere & all-inclusive (90%) of the time. My go to food was a Caesar Salad, BBQ chicken wings, and french fries at The Local. Drinks wise I'm a big fan of champagne always flowing, with an occasional bloody mary, or espresso martini (and they made these well).
7. Favorite Restaurants/Bars: Manhattan if you're not feeling the ginormous buffet. Speciality dining is superior, we went to Cagney's Steakhouse & Ocean Blue seafood. Favorite space and place to grab a coffee or a cocktail is the Observation Lounge. And I spent every night dancing my face off at The Social.
8. Dress Codee: Cruise Casual with the new "Freedom of Freestyle" cruise theme. We packed a few versatile "dressy" pieces & packed whatever else was comfortable and expressed our cruise vacation vibes.
9. Pools/Hottubs/Waterslides: Swimsuit ready with 2 Heated Pools/ 9 "public" Hottubs & Waterslides. No one was ever in the pools, a & the hottubs were barely used. Making them one of my all time favorite places to be. Check out Ocean Loop Slide, which hangs over the side of the ship.
10. The Staff: imagine being away from your family & homeland for 2-11months helping cruise vacationers. And yet they still are friendly and helpful. I wished I had brought some small gifts from CA to thank them. (as it's harder to come by a lot of goods in Alaska + on ship)
11. Technology: Room TV has a helpful 13min ship overview video & show's up to date account info (to check on spending). Digital Kiosks are found near the elevators on each floor, making it easy to book speciality dining and shows. Wifi seemed very questionable in general on ship (I didn't even bother) most ports in towns had public wifi.
Top 10 Alaska Cruise Vacation Tips for on Land
The Last Frontier has a mysterious & inviting allure. It's the last of U.S.A to be settled, explored, or developed. Alaska is the perfect place to connect back into nature & yourself.The Bliss Docks at 6 Picturesque Ports: Seattle: Sitka Alaska, Juneau Alaska, Icy Point Strait Alaska, Ketchikan, Victoria Canada
- Walkable & Waterproof: We basically walked 5+ miles each day. The ground was always wet and it could rain at any minute. We actually got really lucky and had lots of sunshine. I never would have thought I'd come back from Alaska with a tan. ** Bring Sunscreen
- Wildlife: When I first booked this trip I was very excited to see penguins. That's all I really talked about to A LOT of people until someone suggested otherwise. I was very disappointed to learn penguins are only found in Antarctic not Alaska. However, Whales, Orcas, Bears, Salmon, Eagles, and Owls are abound.
- Nature Glaciers, Blue Ice, Waterfalls & Rainbows. I don't know if I've ever breathed cleaner air in my life & have felt peacefully disconnected, while constantly in awe of mother nature.
- Towns: Places I'd most likely to go back to: Juneau & Ketchikan both are bigger"cities"with a lot more options & outdoor adventures, Ketchikan even has a gay friendly Cabaret.
- Locals: Native American Culture runs deep through the Last Frontier. Everyone is very friendly and seems ready to hit a comedy stage, full of jokes and fun facts. Most of the locals you'll encounter tend to be from other parts of the USA (WA/ OR) helping out for cruise season. Best way to immerse yourself with the locals & have a signature Alaskan DuckFart Shot at the local bar.
- Excursions: We booked only 1 excursion ahead of time with the cruiseline & played it by ear, based on weather and our energy level for the next day. This seemed to work out well. We loved the Mendenhall Glacier shuttle & hiking to Nugget Falls in Juneau. This made our trip! For Whale Watching, Bear Watching, or Kayaking, Icy Point Strait is where it's at. In Victoria Canada the horse drawn trolley was nice since it was night time & we had a limited amount of time.
- Local Food: Best Bites were at a pop up tent along the water on the way to Totem Park in Sitka Alaska for Black Cod Masubi! Icy Point Straight had delicious Lil Gens Donuts, Fresh Oysters. Mouth watering fish tacos in Ketchikan at the Fish House.
- Respect: Cutoff from the outside world Alaskan is haven for adventurers, pioneers, and wanderlusters. With Great Lands comes Great Responsibility, do your part to leave the lands, people, and each other better versions of each other.
Honorable Tip Mentions:
- It's sunlight A LOT 4am-10pm (in May) but the gray clouds & being a ship we didn't notice.
- Bring stamps if you plan sending postcards etc. It's nearly impossible to find them.
- Snacks If you have a special snack you enjoy, bring them (it's a mission to locate in towns)
- Great Souvenirs, we found them to inexpensive high quality. I'd also support locally carved, painted "goods" the core Native American Alaskan community. *Also cash is king!
- Cruise Room: Test leaving your room walking both left & right. We discovered on the last day had we gone left instead of right, we would have shaved miles off our days.
Have any other questions we didn't cover feel free to DM us @hashtagsandheadlines We've Got Answers :)