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ganggreen88

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    Review of NCL Bliss - 11/24/18 sailing

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    16 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

    I am glad to hear everyone enjoyed Q. I had heard a lot of negative reviews about the food there, but encouraging reviews about the music. We are on the Bliss in February and had pretty much decided to skip food at Q, but maybe we will rethink that.

    I find with food that everyone really is different with the likes and dislikes.  You just have to taste things and make your own opinion.  If you want to go somewhere, I wouldn't stop because some guy in Michigan said it was bad or some lady from Puerto Rico said it was dull.  Enjoy!!

     

    Review of NCL Bliss - 11/24/18 sailing

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Our family just went on the NCL Bliss for the 11/24 sailing out of Miami.  I wanted to share some of my opinions about this cruise.

     

    Cabin – We had a balcony cabin on the 10th floor, mid ship.  I have to say with 2 adults and 1 child in the room, it was spacious.  The shower space was great too.  The balcony was nice.

     

    Steward – Danilo was excellent.  One of the best we have ever had.

     

    Boat – The Bliss is a beautiful ship.  Everything is so new and nice.  To us, the boat never felt crowded.

     

    Elevators – This was the only negative to the boat.  Even though the boat never felt crowded, the elevators took forever to come.  I don’t understand why some buttons control some elevators and won’t call other elevators.  You press a button and it lights up 2 elevators, but then you go press the other button, it lights up 4 elevators.  It just didn’t have a good flow and was an issue at times, but not that big of a deal.  Better to just grab one when you can and go for a ride.

     

    MDRs – Were excellent.  We thought the menus were great and the food was fantastic.  The servers are hit or miss, but he food was excellent.

     

    Cagney’s – Ribeye was back on the menu.  This was our choice.  It was very good.  The potatoes au gratin was fantastic.

     

    Teppanyaki – Always a great experience.  The amount of food is ridiculous.  The chefs are great.

     

    Q – By far the best restaurant food we had.  Our whole party thought everything was so good here.  The chili is the best.  The brisket was amazing.  The grits were great.  I have to say that one of the best desserts I have ever had is the bread pudding from here.  (Ask them to put a scoop of vanilla on there as well).  It was out of this world.

     

    Buffet – I am not a huge buffet fan, but this one was nice and clean looking.  Pretty good food or quick snacks here. 

     

    Pool/Kid’s Aqua Park – My son had a blast in the kid’s aqua park.  He went up and down the slide at least 100 times.  It was fun for all of us.  The pool next to the park was nice, but tough to get in and out.  Salt water and pretty cold water.  This is what I don’t understand.  Why don’t you heat the water a little?  It was freezing.

     

    Slides – The tube slide was fun.   There was an accident on the fast slide and they pretty much shut it down for the length of the cruise.  No biggie.

     

    Mini golf – We had fun here too.  Only 5 holes but nice.  Also, nice view of go karts from here.

     

    Go Karts/Laser – My son is too young to enjoy these, so I’ll wait until he is old enough.  No biggie.  I was really impressed how quiet the go karts were.  Awesome.

     

    Jersey Boys – This was really the only show we saw since our son fell asleep right before the 1030 show.  It was very good.  I have seen the show in Vegas and it’s almost as good.

     

    Embarkation/Disembarkation – Very quick and easy

     

    UBP – This was fantastic.  We tried so many drinks that we normally wouldn’t try.  I loved it and worth it as a perk.  No brainer. 

     

    Summary – The Bliss is a great ship.  We are doing an Alaska cruise next year as well on the Bliss.  The Observation Lounge is incredible.  What a great boat and a great vacation.

    • Like 2

    NCL Bliss - 2 year old

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Hello. I am sorry if this has been talked about already, but does the Bliss have a nursery where they can watch your child for an hour or two to have dinner or to watch a show? I have heard that the Escape has one, but not sure about the Bliss. He just turned 2. Thank you.

    Pearl Review - Panama Canal - 12/31 thru 1/11

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Thanks for your review on the Partial Transit Panama Canal aboard the NCL Pearl, ganggreen88! It sounds like you had a really nice trip along with a positive experience on the Pearl. We are sailing this itinerary in November, and I have a question for you regarding Norwegians Night Out. I am curious as to which night this was offered during your itinerary. I know on every other NCL cruise I have been on, it's always been the day following embarkation. Did NCL follow this same pattern?

     

    My group always likes to dine in the MDR that particular night. I just want to avoid making a dinner reservation in one of the specialty restaurants that particular evening. This may sound silly, but we all seem to have certain cruise rituals that we follow! :)

     

    We didn't attend the Norwegians Night Out party, but I do remember it being one of the first couple of days of the cruise. Sorry

    Pearl Review - Panama Canal - 12/31 thru 1/11

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    So you don't get to go thru the locks on the ship?

     

    If you did NOT have an excursion booked for Panama, you stayed on the cruise ship and went thru the Gatun Locks in the Panama Canal. After that, the cruise ship goes to Colon, Panama.

     

    If you had a booked excursion, you got off the boat before the locks, took your tour and then all the tours ended up in Colon, where you would meet back up with the cruise ship.

     

    Hope this helps.

    Pearl Review - Panama Canal - 12/31 thru 1/11

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Thanks for the review! Can you describe the Grand Tour in Panama/Gatun Lake a bit? I'm assuming you mean the ship excursion by that name? The description on NCL makes it sound quite varied and interesting!

     

    Yes, we took a ship excursion called 'Grand Tour'. It was nice. You are only allowed off the ship in Panama if you have an excursion. We tendered to port. We got picked up by a nice bus. We took a tour of the area on bus first. We then got dropped off at a nice hotel. We then walked thru the hotel to their docks. There we jumped on a boat and sailed around the Gatun Lake. We saw many different birds, toucans and sloths. Then we visited a tribe that lives out on Gatun Lake. Very interesting. Then we went back to dock to board the bus. Once we were back, we boarded the bus to the Panama Canal observation deck at Gatun Locks. There we had an hour to see the Canal process. It was very cool. Then the bus takes you back to Colon to meet the boat. Very nice tour. About 5 hours. Includes water and a sandwich.

    Pearl Review - Panama Canal - 12/31 thru 1/11

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Boat

     

    • The Pearl is a great boat. I love the bigger boats, but this ship is a great size.

    • I found the condition of the boat fantastic.

    • Embarkation was very smooth.

    • Disembarkation was smooth until we got into the Port of Miami.

    • Shows were fantastic. I was worried since I was used to the big production shows, but these were great. Chip Romero, the comedian, was hilarious. George, the guy who led the Frank Valli show was great as well. Cheesy but great. All of them were great. The hypnotist was fantastic as well.

     

     

    Cabin

     

    • We had an inside cabin (10069). I have to say for being a big guy, the room was comfortable. My wife and I were surprised how nice the shower was. Toilet was at a weird angle, but I am 6’3 and managed. Plenty of storage.

    • Why can’t these boats get better TV’s and channels? I know we aren’t there for TV, but when in the room, I get tired of tracking the boat channel. LOL

    • Steward was fantastic.

     

     

    Spa

     

    • Wife and I got spa package for the week. The spa was huge, really nice. It had a Men’s side and a Woman’s side.

    • The lounge chairs towards the windows were so comfortable. My wife and I would fall asleep 5 minutes after laying there. It had to be because of the water noise.

    • I hate chair hoggers. Some people would put towels on the lounges while on the heated tile recliners. Come on, have some common sense.

     

     

    Restaurants

     

    • Summer Palace and Indigo – Fantastic. We had great service all cruise long.

    • Moderno – Great food, fantastic service.

    • Cagney’s – Went twice and both times it was great. It was nice to try different things.

    • Le Bistro – Fantastic. Service was the best

    • Teppanyaki – Awesome as always. Chef Luisito was a riot.

     

     

    Ports/Excursions

     

    • Colombia – Party Bus – We had so much fun. Nice way to view Cartagena. Rum bottles flowing all day long

    • Panama – Grand Tour – This was a great tour. Seeing the Panama Canal from the Observation deck was very, very impressive.

    • Costa Rica – We hired a cab driver to take us around. Cab driver was nice, but the town was really bad. Not a nice place to roam around. I am sure there are nicer areas in CR.

    • Honduras/Roatan – Private tour with Channin – Fantastic guy and speaks perfect English. We really loved this town and it’s very beautiful.

    • Belize – Cab driver took us around. Unimpressive.

    • Costa Maya, Mexico – Port was great. We did the Salsa Cooking and Dancing tour. This was a lot of fun. Staying on the beach was great too.

     

     

    My wife and I really love NCL. Hopefully we can keep cruising with them in the future.

    Live Pearl April 16 Panama Canal and Pacific Coast

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    FYI - we just got off the Pearl Sat from the Panama Canal trip - first the suite life is really really bitchen - if you can would recommend - we were in 9172 aft suite -

    it was a handicap room so no bath but a huge shower room and lots of storage space = the deck was big enough for two loungers - just had to ask the butler and she got it the first day - with a suite you get private dinning for breakfast and lunch - with a great selection of entrees and a great fruit bar in the AM - we also got the UDP - that we eased every nite except for 2 so we could get the pot stickers and spring rolls and sushi -

     

    it was with out a doubt the best vacation we had - the crew was absolutely outstanding - we did not meet or even hear one bitch from any of the crew- the rooms were cleaned 2 -3 times a day, we had 7 pillows to choose from - even the coffee machine was cool - i get up early like at sunrise every day so it was great to had hot joe without having to wait for room service of get dressed -

     

    we also had the spa pass for the 2 weeks and it was great especially on those hot humid days - just got my bucket of beers - book and relax looking out the bow picture window

     

    Food - i thought was outstanding - the shows so so - the seating was the only real complain i have - JG and i are 6 foot and 6-4 and the chairs we just awful they slopped down and were real low - we stood for 1 show - we were so uncomfortable we passed on most every event in the stardust room

     

    cigar room was great most times it was just me in there

     

    the aft views just can't be beat - with the tv set showing the bow and sitting on the lounge chairs on the deck in the rear - was awsome -

     

     

    Stops - Cartagena was great we used dora tours

     

    Costa Rica was great we used Gio tours best stop

     

    Guatemala - real poor country tour was by Carlos - good not great

     

    Puerto Chiapas - we stayed on the boat not much there

     

    Huatulco -went fishing caught 7 dorados in 3 hours! and its a resort town small and quite - i would got again there

     

    Puerto Vallarta - wow its grown since were there 20 yrs ago went to the john huston house tour - bitchen - i would do that again in a heart beat

     

    Cabo - a big newport beach - we just walked around and drank 3 buck beers

     

    Ensenada we stayed on the ship -been there done that

     

    anyway ask your questions and i will help - all i can say is wow - what a trip

     

    and thanks to the CC members who helped with all the tours

     

     

    How much was the spa pass? We will be on the 12/31 Panama Cruise and wanted to find out. Thanks.

    My first RCCL cruise - Vision of the Seas review - 10/18/14 sailing

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    This was our first RCCL cruise and here are some of my thoughts. I always look on here for reviews so I would like to submit my own review based on our 5 day cruise on the Vision of the Seas we just took on 10/18/14 – 10/23/14.

    Embarkation

    This was smooth and easy. We got there around 1130am and was on the boat in no time. Only problem, not a RCCL issue, was the parking at the garage. The lines were long and slow. They told me they never have 3 boats there and weren’t prepared. This made no sense to me. They had the garage limited to one lane and people coming from both sides. Quite a mess, but like I said, not RCCL’s fault.

    Boat

    We went on two mega ships for Norwegian. This boat obviously was smaller in comparison. The boat was in great shape. Everything inside looked new and clean. Carpets, furniture, decks, etc.

    - Centrum was great. What a great central location for everything

    - Solarium was great too. What a nice quiet place and the pool was big.

    - Park Café was nice place to get food. Looked fresh and everything was hot.

    - Aquarius was a nice MDR. Our server Vijeet was fantastic.

    - Giovanni’s Table was very nice. Way too much food was brought out. They don’t care so order a little of everything. Was nice.

    - Masquerade Theater was nice. We loved the love seats.

    - We had no issues getting drinks anywhere

    - Shops and pictures were good.

    - Windjammer was ok. Not that many seats in there.

    - Some enchanted Evening was a nice place to watch a show or play Bingo

    Food

    I have to say, I thought the food was ok (On a scale of 1-10 I think it was like a 6). Nothing great. At our table, we had a cook who said the food was terrible. I have to say the buffet was terrible. Not my cup of tea. Just bland food. MDR and Giovanni’s saved it for me.

    Cabin

    We had a ‘large’ inside cabin (4311). I have to say it wasn’t as small as I thought. It was fine and for the price it looked better.

    - The shower was super small. The shower curtain drove me nuts

    - The bathroom sink was terrible. Pressure was horrendous. Drove me nuts.

    - Bed was ok

    - Lighting and A/C were great.

    - Space was nice

    Shows

    - The production shows were fine, a little boring

    - Scott Record was a riot

    - Love and Marriage was funny

    - Rick something (other comedian) was terrible

    Cruise Director/Activities Manager

    Paul at first bothered me, but he was funny. It was an older crowd and I think he handles those well.

    Moe was the activity manager. He was funny, but sometimes hard to understand.

    Summary

    This was my first RCCL cruise and being a Norwegian fan, I was pleasantly surprised. I am not really 100% into either one. I just go where the best deals are. I really want to go on the Allure of the Seas so hopefully in the near future I am able to go on it. Until the next one.

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