Joy or Bliss?

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Now in their 50th and 72nd years cruising Alaska, respectively, stalwarts Princess and Holland America can be counted on to call on decades of experience cruising the region to deliver an authentic Alaska experience.  With their balanced, traditional approach to cruising, they're perfect for family groups and meaningful travelers who want to learn about the region including lots of in-depth edutainment on board for those who crave that. 

For more personal treatment in a more upscale environment, you can take one of several luxury ships in Alaska, cruises that frequently include more amenities as standard.  Some of those can sometimes provide surprising value, like the last-minute deals I have currently available for early season cruises on Azamara, one of my favorite lines.  Azamara always includes free pre-paid gratuities, open bar and complimentary transportation from piers to port-cities.  In many ways, however, it really comes down more to the anticipatory crew that truly understands what you personally want that makes these smaller, more luxurious ships special, if you are prepared to pay more than for a mainstream cruise. 

 

Norwegian Cruise Lines has developed a pampering suites program of its own, expanded in recent years with their Haven, a private key-carded ship-within-a-ship for those seeking those small ship luxuries with the choice to enter the larger ship for a night on the town to experience mega-ship entertainment. 

NCL'S Joy or Bliss, their two newest and largest mega-ships will soon meet up in Alaska for the summer season.  These are beautiful ships with lots of fun things to do on board, including a laser-tag space station arena, go kart racing on a winding, two-story track and virtual reality arcade where you are physically inside the games.  I kid you not! 

Joy and Bliss have upped the ante from the fleet with more sophisticated, subdued hues throughout the ship than some on their older ships, but they still have occasional splashes of flair that might make you think you're in Las Vegas. 

Their showroom entertainment, including re-productions of Broadway shows like "Footloose," which at an hour and forty minutes ran about twice as long as a standard cruise production show when I saw it, is terrific.  The young Beatles perform in the famed Cavern Club once again --- no, not the real Beatles or the real club, but a very good facsimile --- and the crowd goes wild.  And much more! 

If you opt for the cheapest rates, you get that same public entertainment, but if you want a specific stateroom assignment or a room with a view, you'll of course incrementally pay more as rise through the categories and ship location.  You might even want to splurge for the Haven, a private ship within a ship including more luxurious staterooms and special pool area, lounges and restaurant just for the elite. 

An interesting twist is a Family Concierge Club Interior room for families with young children that's unique to this class of ship, a terrific category you would never know about if all you cared about was price.  These two-bedroom, two-bath suites come in at over 500 square feet to house up to six guests, but they don't have a real balcony.  They do have a virtual balcony, a large LED screen that reveals an ocean view, which might be preferable if you have small kids. 

It would be perfect, for example, for a family with four young children who otherwise would need two connecting staterooms, which combined would still have less than half the space. 

That's a great thing about Joy and Bliss (and NCL in general).  As you can see, there is something for everyone in terms of stateroom selection, making them another great choice for multi-generational families.  However, it must be stressed that if the grandparents have a Haven Balcony, that doesn't mean their grandkids can come to the private Haven Pool, restaurant or lounges.  Those are for Haven Key Card guest access only, so perhaps that family of six might want to splurge for one of the two-bedroom Haven Suites, which at up to 1450 square feet are not only huge by cruise ship standards and also include all the amenities from "Free at Sea" plus private butler as well as concierge services.  In fact, not only do they include the option to eat in specialty dining, Haven Suite-guests can also order from those menus to have the meals served in their own rooms or private balconies. 

You've seen "Free at Sea" advertised frequently, including on TV and the internet, with rousing videos to get you excited, often accompanied with low starting rates.  You should be aware that the "free" amenities do not apply to entry-level pricing, which usually applies to staterooms that have categories ending with X.  These X categories do NOT include any of free amenities and can often cost hundreds less.  They also do not include stateroom assignments, so while they may work out fine for the budget-conscious, just remember when you're making that long walk from one end of the ship to the other on a mega-ship that you got a big discount to accept whatever location NCL assigned you, and that assignment may come as late as the day you board. 

I will also add that the intangible, hard-to-quantify trait of luxury cruise lines, anticipatory service, and the meaningful traveler depth of experience with Princess/HAL, is not what you sign up for with NCL in an X guarantee.  

While Haven guests can expect above average service, there can be language hurdles for some crew members on mega-ships like Joy and Bliss, which may be interpreted as ignoring you when in fact they may not fully understand.  Speak slowly and have patience, remembering that karma usually means you will get back the kindness and love that you emit...but also the hostility. Our faces are the easiest to understand conduits of our emotions. 

So do you want Joy or Bliss in Alaska? 

I'd love to help you achieve that.  

Say OMMMMMMMM! 

"Better service leads to better trips!" 

Wes 

P.S. Great news for Los Angelinos!  Joy will be on the West Coast doing the Mexican Riviera from November through April, after the Alaska season ends.