This is starting to a bit old news, as the
Norwegian Bliss was delivered a week ago now, and I returned from my trip on her last Saturday... but even though I plan to share with just photos of the public rooms, and limit myself to just one photo per space (with one or to exception) there are still a whopping 56 images - which is why this entry will be split to an unprecedented three parts: this first one covers decks 20 though 15 (as you know, I like to start from the top), part two will show decks 14 though 8 and part three will be decks 7 though 5. If we stick to tradition, these will be out at one-week intervals.
Norwegian Bliss
IMO 9751509
Built 2018, Meyer Werft Papenburg, Germany
Tonnage 168 028 GT
Length 333,32 m
Width 41,40 m
Draugth 8,72 m
4 004 passengers (lower berths)
5 MAN B&W diesels, combined 41 000 kW
2 azipods
3 bow thrusters
Service speed 23,2 knots
All photos taken between 19 and 21 April 2018.
Deck 20 hosts the Laser Tag course and the top of the Aqua Racer waterslide.
 |
| Overlooking the main sun deck from behind the Laser Tag complex. Note the just-lengthened, not-yet-in-service TT-Line ferry Peter Pan in the background. |
 |
| The Laser Tag course is, essentially, a real-life of a FPS (first-person shooter) computer game. When you consider the fact that first-generation gamers are now 40-somethings with kids, NCL are right on top of their game with this one. |
Deck 19 has extra-cost sun decks (The Haven class and Vibe Beach Club) forward, alongside some deck space for your regular passengers, and the upper level of the onboard race track aft.
 |
| The Haven -class passengers have the nicest and softest deck chairs onboard. |
 |
| Those on the extra-cost Vibe Beach Club are not as nice, but still pretty good when you compare to the regular versions seen in the first photo. |
 |
| The Racetrack is a featre previously found on the Norwegian Joy, but the one on the Norwegian Bliss is longer and overtaking has been made easier. I wouldn't know from experience, I don't even know how to drive a car do I gave it a pass. |
Deck 18: the interior spaces here are given over exclusively to The Haven -class: suites, the upper levels of their Horizon observation lounge and The Haven Lounge, as well as The Haven Restaurant.
 |
| The Haven Restaurant is undoubtedly the most exclusive space onboard, and probably has the nicest food. The decor is a bit bland to my tastes, to be honest (then again, I'm probably a ten-year-old at heart as my favourite spaces onboard were the kid's rooms). |
Deck 17 has more The Haven areas forward, public sun decks amidships, Le Bistro and Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville restaurants aft (the former I didn't photographed as it was one of the few public spaces onboard with locked doors every time I tried to visit), with the Spice H2O sun deck area/night club right aft.
 |
| Horizon Lounge is The Haven's own neat obsservation lounge, spanning decks 17 and 18. |
 |
| Similarly, the impressive The Haven Courtyard pool area spans the entire height of The Haven class areas (decks 17 through 19). |
 |
| The Haven Lounge is another Haven only -space. |
 |
| Further down the ship, there are hot tubs cantilevered off the sides on the ship on both sides... |
 |
| ...but those are not nearly as impressive as the Ocean Loops waterslide, which extends much further away from the ship. |
Deck 16 returns us to the realm of regular, mortal passengers. What I really like about this deck is the way it reverses the traditional layout: forward is the Garden Café buffet restaurant, with pretty amazing forward views to boot, followed by the pools, Kids' Aqua Park, and the Beauty Salon, Barber Shop, Fitness Canter and Mandara Spa aft.
 |
| The buffet restaurants has varying types of seating, and different areas are decorated with different colours; in addition to the yellow here, there are red and green subdivisions (with the hexagonal pattern on the sofas, the green bits look amazingly similar to the Fast Lane cafeterias onboard Tallink and Silja Line ships). |
 |
| In the middle of the buffet there is also this area for quick eaters. |
 |
| The main sun deck has two pools, and the two impressive water slides are also a part of this complex... |
 |
| ...as is the Kids' Aqua Park, located adjacent to the pool seen above. |
 |
| The Beauty Salon and Barber Shop combo was an interesting foray into (needlessly) gendered design: compare the colours and forms of the Beauty Salon seen here... |
 |
| ...with much more masculine colours and forms of the Barber Shop seen here. |
 |
| The Mandara Spa aft features the most amusing thing I have ever seen onboard a cruise ship: in addition to a sauna, it has a "sanarium", a slightly cooler version of a sauna that "adds humidity to the heat of a regular sauna". I have news for you: the whole point of a proper sauna is heat and humidity. Your sanarium isn't hot enough to be a real sauna, while your sauna isn't humid enough to be a real sauna. |
Deck 15 features what is one of, if not the, largest Observation Lounge afloat forward, covering over a third of the entire deck, with the rest given over to cabins.
 |
| The Observation Lounge quickly became my absolute favourite space oboard. While not mentioned in the cruise programme, it also served breakfast (a limited version of what was offered in the buffet above), so there's actually no reason to leave this place except for lunch, dinner and sleep. |
If all goes to plan, Kships will return next week with more photos from the
Norwegian Bliss.
