About the Trip

With my itinerary, you'll try every bar on the ship and enjoy all the activities, and excursions I booked. (Activity level: Low/Moderate)

I took a 7-day cruise to Alaska with Norwegian Bliss, mid-May, had a room with balcony, and had the unlimited drink package. The trip included going to Sitka, Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Ketchikan, and Victoria CA. My sister and I chose to take this trip because her birthday was coming up, and we decided to just turn it into a girls' trip and bring along our mom and aunt (might as well celebrate Mother's Day and my mom's birthday too). This was my second cruise ever; I took my first cruise in February with Royal Carribean to the Bahamas, that'll be a different post. Overall, this trip was amazing, and I highly recommend it!

The Weather

We arrived in Seattle Friday, May 10th, 2024, and it was very cold, until the next day, which was extremely hot. I guess the weather does change a lot so pack accordingly! As for Alaska itself (Sitka, Juneau, Icy Strait Point, and Ketchikan), every day was freezing... You never know if you'll have a sunny day though, especially in May. Victoria, Canada, was also 40s-50sF and at night it'd go down to almost 30sF. Maybe being from Miami makes these temperatures feel even colder since there's not much humidity/sun lol.

Itinerary

Day 1: Seattle
Day 2: Embarkation
Day 3: Day at Sea
Day 4: Sitka, Alaska
Day 5: Juneau, Alaska
Day 6: Icy Strait Point, Alaska
Day 7: Ketchikan, Alaska
Day 8: Victoria, Canada,
Day 9: Disembarkation
Day 10: Going home

Main Decks Info:

Deck 5:
Video Arcade

Deck 6:
Savor (complimentary)
Taste (complimentary)
Coco’s (cost)
Atrium bar
Mixx Bar
Starbucks
Bliss Theater
The Social

Deck 7:
The Local Bar & Grill (complimentary)
The Manhattan Room (complimentary)(Main Dining)
Skyline Bar
678 Ocean Place
Bliss Casino

Deck 8:
Dolce Gelato (cost)
The Bake Shop (cost)
Maltings Whiskey Bar
Sugarcane Mojito Bar
The A-List bar
The Cavern Club
The Cellars Wine Bar (cost)
The District Brew House
The Waterfront (complimentary)
Tradewinds-Merch

Deck 15
Observation Lounge

Deck 16
Garden Cafe (complimentary)
Waves Pool Bar
Aqua Park
Pulse Fitness Center
Hair Salon
Mandara Spa and Salon
The Marketplace

Deck 17
Spice H2O

Deck 18
Bliss Speedway (cost)

Deck 19
Mini Golf (complimentary)

Deck 20
Laser Tag (cost)

DAY 1- SEATTLE

I flew from MIA (Miami) to SEA (Seattle) airport, and it was about a 5-6 hour flight. When we arrived, we checked in to The Charter Seattle Curio Collection by Hilton, since I work with Hilton. There are also plenty of other nice hotels around the area, luckily this one was about 2-4 minutes from the cruise port. 
A few places we explored:
- Pike Place Market
- The Gum Wall
- The Seattle Great Wheel

DAY 2- Embarkation

We had breakfast at the hotel (Restaurant: The Patagon), and had an 11:00am embarkation time, and the whole process was much easier than the airport. I would suggest getting an early embarkation time so you can enjoy the ship earlier. The first day was VERY hot. Since we had the drink package, we were able to eat and drink early as everything was opened (keep in mind: "at sea" means no tax charges). It did get very cold at night as we headed out, and this is what we did that day:
- Breakfast at hotel
- Garden Cafe for lunch (or Local Bar & Grill, or Waterfront)
- Drinks at Waves Pool Bar and enjoy views
- Drinks at Sugarcane Mojito Bar
- Savor for dinner
- The Cavern Club
- Enjoy a show at the theater
- Hangout at the Observation Lounge/explore ship

DAY 3- Day at Sea

- Savor for breakfast
- Bliss Casino
- Taste for lunch
- Drinks at Mixx Bar
- Drinks at Maltings Whiskey Bar
- Enjoy the ship! Have some drinks and snacks at the Observation Lounge (go mini golfing, play laser tag, enjoy a show at the theater, go shopping... (Norwegian has some giveaways sometimes and also complimentary salon/spa activities)

Day 4- Sitka, Alaska

- Savor for breakfast
- EXCURSION: Sea Otter & Wildlife Quest (the boat ended up taking us whale watching too! They can do that!) (Activity Level: Low)
- Explore Sitka, Alaska
- Get drinks at Local Bar & Grill bar
- Lunch at Taste
- Bliss Casino
- Dinner at Manhattan Room
- Drinks at the Atrium Bar
- Go to the Social

Day 5- Juneau, Alaska

- Have early breakfast Garden Cafe
- EXCUSION: Mendenhall Glacier Lake Hike (Activity Level: Moderate)
- Explore downtown Juneau
- Have lunch at Tracy's King Crab Shack
- Eat and drink at Local Bar & Grill
- Have dinner at Manhattan Room
- Head to the Cavern Club
- Head to the Social

Day 6- Icy Strait Point, Alaska

- Have breakfast at the Manhattan Room
- Head to Icy Strait Point, Alaska and walk trail to town (you don't have to complete it, it's a long walk), you can find donuts and crab bloody marys
- Eat and drink at the Local Bar & Grill
- Head to Observation Lounge and/or A-list Bar
- Dinner at Manhattan Room (or wherever you want!)
- Head to Cavern Club

Day 7- Ketchikan, Alaska

- Early breakfast at Garden Cafe (They also have a bar so you can order mimosas!)
- EXCURSION: Tongass National Forest Hike (Activity Level: Medium)
- Lunch at a repeat location
- Explore ship
- Dinner at the Manhattan Room
- Head to the Social
- Head to the Cavern Club or Bliss Theater
- Night snacks and drinks at Observation Lounge, or Bliss Casino

Day 8- Victoria, Canada

Most bars and the casino will close this day so enjoy your drinks before you arrive to Canada. We arrived in Canada at around 8pm so there wasn't much to do.

- Wake up late, have brunch at place of your choice
- Head to the observation lounge for some extra snacks and drinks
- Have last lunch/dinner at Manhattan Room and enjoy Casino
- Get off in Victoria, Canada, explore the town (it's a long walk, we had to take a taxi back to the port because it quickly got dark and cold)

Explore the ship, repeat all your favorite activities, restaurants, and bars! This was our last night and had to leave our luggage outside for the next day... Everyone was having their last drinks at the Local Bar & Grill, and after that, we ended our night at the Observation Lounge until they closed the last bar, super sad!

Day 9- Disembarkation

- Have breakfast/brunch at restaurant of your choice before disembarking
- Disembark/grab luggage and take Lyft to your hotel (I stayed at the Hilton Motif Seattle)
- Explore Space Needle area
We ended our day with dinner at Pho Viet Anh in Belltown area.

Day 10- Going Home

My biggest regret was not going out to the highest deck when the ship was passing through the glaciers, so don't forget to do that..

Feel free to ask me any questions or message me on Instagram @katxrivera ! 🫶