I’ve done both and enjoyed them equally. Living in the Seattle area it’s so easy to just jump on an Alaska cruise several times a year. NCL also now does 10 night Alaska voyages on Bliss which I’ve scheduled for April. Prices are reasonable for balcony and best of all…..No crowds like summer and very few families with kids make it even more enjoyable.
I took my first cruise last October on Encore. It was all about the ship. THIS October I'm doing 10 days on the Sun, focusing more on the ports this time! We have at least 8 and usually 12 hours per port.
We are doing the 10 day on the Sun in the fall as well to experience it on a smaller ship and hitting so many more ports and for longer. It is a great itinerary! Emma & Jack
Wow that's so interesting, We have only done the Bliss but Icy Straight was my FAV port stop, but we had an amazing whale watching excursion and also did the zip line and walked around the upper transporter area. I agree about the glacier bay part, we missed out on Dawes glacier because of ice as well and from other videos, glacier bay looks AMAZING!
Thanks for watching and commenting! That Zipline did look pretty amazing. We were sad to not see Dawes Glacier to be able to compare but Glacier Bay was amazing! We will be back to Alaska so many more times because of how amazing it is. Emma & Jack
Thank you, I really appreciate your input as always! We selected the Bliss Aug 2024 because it was built for Alaska and we are traveling on the Encore in Feb 2025 for an Eastern Caribbean. If I had watched your channel before booking i would have selected the Encore. The prices for the Haven have gone up so much since our cruise in March this year on the Joy. Love your channel!!
Thanks so much. You will have a great time no matter what and we have also seen the Haven prices increasing almost or more than the Celebrity Retreat is now. We really appreciate your support and hope you continue to enjoy the channel! Emma & Jack
We were on the Encore Alaska cruise Sep. 2022 and loved it overall, they replaced Skagway with Sitka due to the landslide problem, unfortunately that day was cold, foggy & rainy so we stayed on board.
We were just back in Skagway this past week and saw the landslide for the first time. Sorry the weather wasn’t great in Sitka because it is a beautiful place. We visited Sitka as well last week and luckily had great weather and went for a nice hike to a couple mountain lakes.
Did the Encore and it was the Itinerary is why I chose it. Train ride on white pass and bike ride down it was incredible, can't do that with the Bliss. If I move to west coast I may do again , for sure. but want to try smaller ships, these are mini cities.
We just got off a smaller NcL ship. Did a 10 day in Alaska. We loved the itinerary because we stayed in ports much longer and full days to explore. Even did the White Pass this time and our daughter and us loved it. Emma & Jack
Thank you very much for the post. I’m planning a family Alaskan cruise for August 2024. I already made a deposit for the NCL Bliss. After watching your video, I reached out to my travel agent and requested to switch our ship to Encore instead. The port excursion time are more spread out. The price difference is $300 more/cabin. Q: should I book our excursion via Viator app instead of onboard trips which I find super expensive ? Q. Any suggestions on clothing and what to wear for month of August cruise Our family is Ver excited. Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience We are a family of 4 , traveling with 2 teenage boys, are all August babies plus we’re celebrating our 25th anniversary 🎉
We are so happy our video could help out. Your family will have an amazing time! For the questions: - that is really tough and we go back and forth. I would just look at total cost and the times. A lot of time the Viators are ran together with the cruise times so if that is the case you should probably go with the cheapest option. However, if we ever booking an excursion that could be close to the ship leaving then we only book with the cruise line for safety reasons. Clothing will be all over the map. Definitely plan to bring layers and make sure you bring some summer clothing as well. You should need heavy jackets and winter clothing. We will be making a video on what to pack for Alaska in the next few months so be on the look out for that video as we will be more specific on what to pack. Hope you have a great time planning and an even greater time on your trip. Emma & Jack
I've been on both ships last year 3 weeks apart. Main difference is that Bliss does not have Spice h20 the adults only covered outdoor bar and hottub area which was my favorite area. The negative to spice is smoking allowed on one side sometime gets into the bar area. Being outdoors while covered with heaters was great. Basically the same boat besides that but definitely would take Bliss anytime over encore because of this area. Also, Bliss has one more port stop at icy straight. Just not skagway unfortunately. I like how icy straight is described as similar to a cruise ship island. Spot on. For better or worse.
Thanks for watching! There are a bunch of other ships that do round trips or Northbound/Southbound to Alaska. We have only done the Encore and Bliss big ships but this fall will being doing a new itinerary on a smaller ship which is 10 days and visits 8 ports! We hope your having a good weekend. Emma & Jack
Great episode! I loved the Bliss but was so bummed when we couldn't get to the Dawes Glacier. I also didn't go into Ketchikan because of the long shuttle lines and it sounds like Skagway was easier. Probably be Encore next time! Thanks for the comparisons!
Thanks for watching! You will definitely need to get into Ketchikan next time because it is amazing. We are going on a smaller ship later this year that stops in the ports much longer so let’s see how much that improves the experience. Emma & Jack
Love your channel. Just a quick note - the last 4 cruises of the year for the Bliss does the "Encore" route. Those are the 9/30, 10/7, 10/14, and 10/21 sailings. We are booked on the 10/14 sailing of the Bliss - any possibility of you guys doing yet another Alaska cruise before the end of the year?
Thank you so much! We completely forgot that the Bliss does switch at the end of the season when the Encore starts to head back to the Caribbean. We will be going back to Alaska in late September with NCL. We are trying a small ship that does a round trip and hits both the Encore ports and the Bliss ports in one trip! Hope you continue to enjoy this channel! Emma & Jack
Glad it could help out planning your trip! We hope you have an amazing time! Alaska is so amazing! Let us know if you have any questions planning your trip and we will have a fresh set out vlogs coming out about Alaska in the future. Emma & Jack
I chose Encore over Bliss last year because Kinky Boots was more interesting to me than Jersey Boys. I'm glad I did, since NCL ended the K.B. show a few months later.
Kinky Boots was amazing. Luckily they still have Choir of Man which is awesome. Sadly I think the time of large Broadway productions on NCL is going away. Emma & Jack
I'm not on the right video of yours, but you did a plane (or maybe it was a helicopter) ride in Alaska over glaciers 🤩 you spoke about this in one of your vlogs saying it was expensive but so worth it. Can you tell me where you did this (which port/ship), how much time you had to do this, and if it was an NFL excursion or something you planned with an independent vendor? THANK YOU so much ❤️ we'd like to get on the encore in just a few weeks and I'd love to do just that with my teens. And dog sledding. But I don't know where to start and would love to save cost because the ncl excursions are so so $$$. Really appreciate your response please 🙏 and thanks for this great review!!!
We have never done Princess so can’t speak to that specific experience. However with young kids, NCL is probably going to be your best option. NCL is more a family oriented experience. Emma & Jack
I kinda feel Alaska cruises are not the most suitable for kids, they're kinda adult oriented. Heard kids have much more fun on cruises heading to bahamas and bermuda.
Super great comparison/contrast. For folks who have never experienced either ship you made it clear to check the itinerary and port times. We sailed the Encore and prior to planning next trip did review itinerary. Encore won out again for 2 reasons only: Skagway and Glacier Bay. Post Covid we missed Skagway on Encore and had Icy Strait…couldn’t go into town of Hoonah for fear of spreading Covid…understandably so. But we enjoyed the rustic value of Icy Strait. With regard to Vancouver, time challenges persist but make the best of it. Another well done and most informative Vlog! Thank You!❤️
Thanks much Diane! We hope your having a great week. We will getting back to Colorado soon and have some swag to send your way. Appreciate the support as always! Emma & Jack
Thanks for this info! We’ve never cruised and are planning an Alaska trip for 2024. Trying to decide between May or August. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
We hope you have an amazing time. Our suggestion would probably be May. It is a little less congested in the ports and is right before the actual rainy season kicks in for Jun-Aug. Look for something mid May (around the 15th) because early May things are not fully opened up as many of the tourist jobs are seasonal. Let’s us know if you have any questions. Emma & Jack
Ooo that sounds amazing! They are sister ships so very similar! We LOVE Alaska! So jealous of the 21 day Panama cruise! That’s been on our list for a while! Enjoy!!! Live a Little Emma & Jack
Saturday vs. Sunday sailing The Encore doesn't have an advantage. Since most people are flying east and have to schedule later flights for disembarkation, the flights tend to arrive late at night meaning a Sunday night arrival could lead to needing to take Monday off.
That is true and we did forgot to mention the last few Bliss trips in late sept to oct go the typical Encore locations. Hope you enjoy your trip. Skagway was definitely worth it. Emma & Jack
We learned after making this video that at the end of the season (late Sept and Oct) the Bliss moves to the Encore itinerary.
Just did the Bliss with the Juneau/Skagway/Ketchikan stops. There's no way I would have missed Glacier Bay National Park. It was spectacular.
I’ve done both and enjoyed them equally. Living in the Seattle area it’s so easy to just jump on an Alaska cruise several times a year. NCL also now does 10 night Alaska voyages on Bliss which I’ve scheduled for April. Prices are reasonable for balcony and best of all…..No crowds like summer and very few families with kids make it even more enjoyable.
I took my first cruise last October on Encore. It was all about the ship. THIS October I'm doing 10 days on the Sun, focusing more on the ports this time! We have at least 8 and usually 12 hours per port.
We are doing the 10 day on the Sun in the fall as well to experience it on a smaller ship and hitting so many more ports and for longer. It is a great itinerary!
Emma & Jack
Wow that's so interesting, We have only done the Bliss but Icy Straight was my FAV port stop, but we had an amazing whale watching excursion and also did the zip line and walked around the upper transporter area. I agree about the glacier bay part, we missed out on Dawes glacier because of ice as well and from other videos, glacier bay looks AMAZING!
Thanks for watching and commenting! That Zipline did look pretty amazing. We were sad to not see Dawes Glacier to be able to compare but Glacier Bay was amazing! We will be back to Alaska so many more times because of how amazing it is.
Emma & Jack
I sailed the Encore in October 2023 to Alaska. I enjoyed the itinerary. I plan to sail the same cruise and itinerary in late Sept 2024.
Enjoy your trip!
Emma & Jack
Thanks for this very helpful post! Couldn’t decide between the ships and this confirmed our choice…Encore!
Glad it could help!
Emma & Jack
Thank you, I really appreciate your input as always! We selected the Bliss Aug 2024 because it was built for Alaska and we are traveling on the Encore in Feb 2025 for an Eastern Caribbean. If I had watched your channel before booking i would have selected the Encore. The prices for the Haven have gone up so much since our cruise in March this year on the Joy. Love your channel!!
Thanks so much. You will have a great time no matter what and we have also seen the Haven prices increasing almost or more than the Celebrity Retreat is now.
We really appreciate your support and hope you continue to enjoy the channel!
Emma & Jack
We were on the Encore Alaska cruise Sep. 2022 and loved it overall, they replaced Skagway with Sitka due to the landslide problem, unfortunately that day was cold, foggy & rainy so we stayed on board.
We were just back in Skagway this past week and saw the landslide for the first time. Sorry the weather wasn’t great in Sitka because it is a beautiful place. We visited Sitka as well last week and luckily had great weather and went for a nice hike to a couple mountain lakes.
Did the Encore and it was the Itinerary is why I chose it. Train ride on white pass and bike ride down it was incredible, can't do that with the Bliss. If I move to west coast I may do again , for sure. but want to try smaller ships, these are mini cities.
We just got off a smaller NcL ship. Did a 10 day in Alaska. We loved the itinerary because we stayed in ports much longer and full days to explore. Even did the White Pass this time and our daughter and us loved it.
Emma & Jack
Thanks so much! My friend & I are scheduled to go to Alaska on the Encore in October!❤
Thanks much for watching and commenting! You will have an amazing time!
Emma & Jack
Thank you very much for the post. I’m planning a family Alaskan cruise for August 2024. I already made a deposit for the NCL Bliss. After watching your video, I reached out to my travel agent and requested to switch our ship to Encore instead. The port excursion time are more spread out. The price difference is $300 more/cabin.
Q: should I book our excursion via Viator app instead of onboard trips which I find super expensive ?
Q. Any suggestions on clothing and what to wear for month of August cruise
Our family is Ver excited. Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience
We are a family of 4 , traveling with 2 teenage boys, are all August babies plus we’re celebrating our 25th anniversary 🎉
We are so happy our video could help out. Your family will have an amazing time!
For the questions:
- that is really tough and we go back and forth. I would just look at total cost and the times. A lot of time the Viators are ran together with the cruise times so if that is the case you should probably go with the cheapest option. However, if we ever booking an excursion that could be close to the ship leaving then we only book with the cruise line for safety reasons.
Clothing will be all over the map. Definitely plan to bring layers and make sure you bring some summer clothing as well. You should need heavy jackets and winter clothing.
We will be making a video on what to pack for Alaska in the next few months so be on the look out for that video as we will be more specific on what to pack.
Hope you have a great time planning and an even greater time on your trip.
Emma & Jack
I've been on both ships last year 3 weeks apart. Main difference is that Bliss does not have Spice h20 the adults only covered outdoor bar and hottub area which was my favorite area. The negative to spice is smoking allowed on one side sometime gets into the bar area. Being outdoors while covered with heaters was great. Basically the same boat besides that but definitely would take Bliss anytime over encore because of this area. Also, Bliss has one more port stop at icy straight. Just not skagway unfortunately. I like how icy straight is described as similar to a cruise ship island. Spot on. For better or worse.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
I been on NCL Jewel to Alaska. I had a great time. There a good number of NCL ships that goes to Alaska.
Thanks for watching!
There are a bunch of other ships that do round trips or Northbound/Southbound to Alaska. We have only done the Encore and Bliss big ships but this fall will being doing a new itinerary on a smaller ship which is 10 days and visits 8 ports!
We hope your having a good weekend.
Emma & Jack
Great episode! I loved the Bliss but was so bummed when we couldn't get to the Dawes Glacier. I also didn't go into Ketchikan because of the long shuttle lines and it sounds like Skagway was easier. Probably be Encore next time! Thanks for the comparisons!
Thanks for watching!
You will definitely need to get into Ketchikan next time because it is amazing.
We are going on a smaller ship later this year that stops in the ports much longer so let’s see how much that improves the experience.
Emma & Jack
Scheduled for Encore next month.... wish us luck!!!
We hope you have a great time!
Emma & Jack
Love your channel. Just a quick note - the last 4 cruises of the year for the Bliss does the "Encore" route. Those are the 9/30, 10/7, 10/14, and 10/21 sailings. We are booked on the 10/14 sailing of the Bliss - any possibility of you guys doing yet another Alaska cruise before the end of the year?
Thank you so much! We completely forgot that the Bliss does switch at the end of the season when the Encore starts to head back to the Caribbean.
We will be going back to Alaska in late September with NCL. We are trying a small ship that does a round trip and hits both the Encore ports and the Bliss ports in one trip!
Hope you continue to enjoy this channel!
Emma & Jack
We just did the Bliss and Icy Straight Pointe was all 4 of my family’s 2nd favorite stop. The mendinhall glacier was everyone number one pick.
Thank you so much for this. Exactly what I was looking for. Short video and to the point. Love it!!! Btw we are going with your recommendation #Encore
Glad it could help out planning your trip! We hope you have an amazing time!
Alaska is so amazing!
Let us know if you have any questions planning your trip and we will have a fresh set out vlogs coming out about Alaska in the future.
Emma & Jack
Super helpful. Thank you!
Thanks for watching! Glad it was helpful!
I would have to say I love Encore!
Love your videos!! ❤️❤️
We would definitely agree and love your videos as well. Hope yal are having a great week!
Emma & Jack
I chose Encore over Bliss last year because Kinky Boots was more interesting to me than Jersey Boys. I'm glad I did, since NCL ended the K.B. show a few months later.
Kinky Boots was amazing. Luckily they still have Choir of Man which is awesome.
Sadly I think the time of large Broadway productions on NCL is going away.
Emma & Jack
I'm not on the right video of yours, but you did a plane (or maybe it was a helicopter) ride in Alaska over glaciers 🤩 you spoke about this in one of your vlogs saying it was expensive but so worth it. Can you tell me where you did this (which port/ship), how much time you had to do this, and if it was an NFL excursion or something you planned with an independent vendor? THANK YOU so much ❤️ we'd like to get on the encore in just a few weeks and I'd love to do just that with my teens. And dog sledding. But I don't know where to start and would love to save cost because the ncl excursions are so so $$$. Really appreciate your response please 🙏 and thanks for this great review!!!
Between NCL Encore and Princess Discovery, which one would you pick for a round trip to Alaska from Seattle with young kids?
We have never done Princess so can’t speak to that specific experience. However with young kids, NCL is probably going to be your best option. NCL is more a family oriented experience.
Emma & Jack
I kinda feel Alaska cruises are not the most suitable for kids, they're kinda adult oriented. Heard kids have much more fun on cruises heading to bahamas and bermuda.
Super great comparison/contrast. For folks who have never experienced either ship you made it clear to check the itinerary and port times. We sailed the Encore and prior to planning next trip did review itinerary. Encore won out again for 2 reasons only: Skagway and Glacier Bay. Post Covid we missed Skagway on Encore and had Icy Strait…couldn’t go into town of Hoonah for fear of spreading Covid…understandably so. But we enjoyed the rustic value of Icy Strait. With regard to Vancouver, time challenges persist but make the best of it.
Another well done and most informative Vlog! Thank You!❤️
Thanks much Diane! We hope your having a great week. We will getting back to Colorado soon and have some swag to send your way.
Appreciate the support as always!
Emma & Jack
Thanks for this info! We’ve never cruised and are planning an Alaska trip for 2024. Trying to decide between May or August. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
We hope you have an amazing time. Our suggestion would probably be May. It is a little less congested in the ports and is right before the actual rainy season kicks in for Jun-Aug.
Look for something mid May (around the 15th) because early May things are not fully opened up as many of the tourist jobs are seasonal.
Let’s us know if you have any questions.
Emma & Jack
I'll be on both ships in 2024. 7 day Alaska on the Bliss, mid June, 2024, and then a 21 day, Panama cruise on the Encore, Mid October, 2024.
Ooo that sounds amazing! They are sister ships so very similar! We LOVE Alaska! So jealous of the 21 day Panama cruise! That’s been on our list for a while! Enjoy!!!
Live a Little
Emma & Jack
@@lindsayslivealittle The 21 day cruise has lots of sea days (which I like)
I think the encore’s chandelier is better but the bliss has spice h20 so I do think overall the bliss is a better ship for adults.
Love the hat. Gig ‘em!
Always. Thank and Gig ‘Em!
Saturday vs. Sunday sailing
The Encore doesn't have an advantage. Since most people are flying east and have to schedule later flights for disembarkation, the flights tend to arrive late at night meaning a Sunday night arrival could lead to needing to take Monday off.
Thanks for watching and providing your opinion.
Emma & Jack
Just came back, sailed on the Encore. Too many cruise ship in port at Juneau, all excursion was sold out. Bummer.
Sorry to hear about that. We hope you enjoyed the trip overall though.
Emma & Jack
Thank you!
Welcome!
Thaaaaanks… this help a loooot
Going on the Bliss end of Sept and it goes to Skagway not Sitka.
That is true and we did forgot to mention the last few Bliss trips in late sept to oct go the typical Encore locations. Hope you enjoy your trip. Skagway was definitely worth it.
Emma & Jack
What is the best month?
We prefer mid May and late September as the cruise ports are a bit less congested and nice weather.
Encore has Onda and Bliss does not. That is another reason. I love that restaurant.
That is another great reason!
Emma & Jack