What was Bliss 2019 Thanksgiving Cruise from NYC like?

[Synergy At Sea]

Bliss from NYC 2019 Thanksgiving Travellers please give me a run down on what it was like or post copies of the Freestyle Daily for the week?  
We Booked Christmas Cruise Spa Mini Suite Balcony with all 4 perks offered in September; drink pkg, dining pkg, 250 min internet, $50 off shore excursion in each port. Not sure what to expect since it’s been a while since we last cruised and so much has changed. Last time we cruised most everything was still free and all inclusive on the cruise ships.  Hubby & I are experienced cruisers and I a Latitude Member, it’s a first time for our reluctant 16 yr old daughter. So far from what I have been reading on these boards, I am almost sorry we booked this cruise. Will we have to pay extra for Yoga & Pilates Classes on board? Is there an EXTRA CHARGE for food on NCL ISLAND of Great Stirrup Cay? Was it worth getting off the ship at Great Stirrup Cay since it now appears to be Haven & special Cabana ized? Does anyone really dress for the country western, carribbean, 80s, 90s and white theme nights on board? Was the ship a NYC rat race during the holiday cruise or were you able to relax and enjoy it? How did they handle your Latitudes Member Shore Excursion  discounts?  Were you incorrectly charged for anything if you had the perks pkg and how was it resolved? So far we at least got our specialty dining reservations although 2 of the 3 are what used to be called late seating. We got the 2 shows booked and our shore excursions are booked.

[shof515]

Will we have to pay extra for Yoga & Pilates Classes on board?

check the freestyle daily everyday, some classes might be free and some you have to pay for it.

Is there an EXTRA CHARGE for food on NCL ISLAND of Great Stirrup Cay?

No extra charge for lunch on the island. The only extra charge on the island is booze

Was it worth getting off the ship at Great Stirrup Cay since it now appears to be Haven & special Cabana ized?

Yes. The haven and cabana is off the side and does not effect the rest of the island. By the time you get on the island, you will most likely never notice it

Does anyone really dress for the country western, carribbean, 80s, 90s and white theme nights on board?

some people do, some people don't. it is not required. dress what is comfortable for you to party in

How did they handle your Latitudes Member Shore Excursion  discounts?

Discount is applied automatically when purchased onboard the ship by visiting the shore desk. When purchasing the shore excursion online before your cruise, the discount is showed at the end during the checkout process

Were you incorrectly charged for anything if you had the perks pkg and how was it resolved?

You can go to the Shore Excursion desk or Guest Services and they will apply whatever discount was not applied

[Synergy At Sea]

Thank you shof515

[ColeThornton]

Just to clarify one point, if you have the free alcohol package that does indeed include drinks at GSC.

[Synergy At Sea]

Thank you for your reply ColeThorton.

[mking8288]

Our friends just came off the Bliss yesterday - a few remarks from them.

 

It's a nice ship, holiday sailing and packed with plenty of children & teens (unconfirmed, someone said around 1,200 onboard) - but it wasn't all that bad.  They managed to get to do their daily workouts in the fitness center.

 

Food was okay, not impressed with some of the menu changes (discussed elsewhere ... ) but it is what it is.  They used their 3 SDP and WiFi worked - used their 250 minutes.  

 

First 2 days, entire ship was on full alert since the previous sailing's noro-like outbreack (apparently & compared to the Joy ... not as bad) as the stepped up measures were scaled back/lowered by the 3rd. day.  

 

Booked thru CAS for an Oceanview - GTY only as none was available to be selected, assigned was an in-category upgrade to a larger family OV that sleep up to 5 or 6, Deck 5 midship ... starboard side.  No issues whatsoever with choppy or rough seas, if any and she being afraid of chilly weather, didn't mind not staying in a balcony.  Disembarked and manage to take home a small win from the casino.  

 

As for the itinerary and stops, nothing to write about - too short in PC, stayed onboard.  Managed to tender & go ashore at GSC ... and Nassau, well.  

[Beer Belly]

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

Just to clarify one point, if you have the free alcohol package that does indeed include drinks at GSC.

Whew !....that was close

[Synergy At Sea]

Thank you mking8288. Loved your detailed report. Even more grateful for your Norovirus update as my teen is super susceptible to Norovirus since 4th grade. We will take extra precautions to keep her from getting it on board. 

[alchemist4]

Just got off a lovely Bliss vacation! My first cruise too...

 

I don't have copies of the Freestyles, but can answer any questions you may have. The one glaring thing I noticed was a removal of the "Escape the Room" activity. Also, I was surprised how short some activities were. (Dance parties were 45 min long sometimes)

 

The only classes that seemed to cost money were the spin classes.

 

All food was included on the island. Drinks were included too with the beverage package. Mostly hot dogs, hamburgers, salads, fruit, and a taco stand. It was 100% worth getting off. GSC was beautiful, and very relaxing. We wanted to try for a villa or cabana, but honestly, we didn't even miss it. Our time there was so short, so it would've been a waste of money.

 

Check in was so smooth for us. Very organized, and we got on the ship quicker than we expected.

 

Shore excursions credits were add onto the account after doing the excursion. Was never charged incorrectly for anything. Note that even with the beverage package, you'll be charged taxes on drinks while in ports (they'll put up signs to let you know).

 

Also, SIX is amazing. It's definitely a show geared to a younger crowd (its a pop musical), but I hope you enjoy it! The cast is incredible, and in my opinion, better than the West End cast.

Edited December 2, 2019 by alchemist4

[Synergy At Sea]

Thank you alchemist4 for sharing your experience with me. After reading your comments I am beginning to feel a bit better about our choice of ship.😀

Edited December 2, 2019 by Synergy At Sea

[softl]

Departed in the cold rain. Was cool until Tuesday off the Florida coast.

 

Far too crowded. And I too heard the 1,200 children rumor. Elevators were a major disappointment. Never going the right direction and when they were they were fully loaded or had passengers going the wrong way.  Do people know how enter an elevator anymore, or how to walk on the right?

 

Haven was full of kids, mostly toddlers, some teens. Bride and I went to the Haven breakfast one morning. Sat us next to the only other diners there, two couples, talking rather loudly. Within 5 minutes their two pre-teens joined them. Got louder!

 

The port stop in Canaveral was nice but the disembarkation was far too lengthy. Really long walk, especially in the terminal. Did the airboat ride. It met  my approval.

 

GSC was beautiful but again, too crowded. I felt bad for people walking the isles looking for beach lounges.

 

Stayed on in Nassau. Watched football on the pool big screen. Turkey dinner was another disappointment. No mashed potatoes???

 

Very windy but sunny on Friday. Saturday was cold and overcast.

 

Disembarkation from the Haven was a line moving nowhere for 25 minutes, everyone dressed for the cold. But i went smoothly .

 

Personally, I'll never do another cruise on that big of a ship nor out of NY in the winter and on a holiday week. My favorite cruises were on the Sky and Sun. Even the Epic was okay.

 

Sorry if anyone sees this post as a piss and moan reply. I had a lot of fun, but wanted to relay some of the major negatives I experienced. Maybe I'll post some good ones on another post.

 

 

[tokidoki]

1 hour ago, alchemist4 said:

Just got off a lovely Bliss vacation! My first cruise too...

 

I don't have copies of the Freestyles, but can answer any questions you may have. The one glaring thing I noticed was a removal of the "Escape the Room" activity. Also, I was surprised how short some activities were. (Dance parties were 45 min long sometimes)

 

The only classes that seemed to cost money were the spin classes.

 

All food was included on the island. Drinks were included too with the beverage package. Mostly hot dogs, hamburgers, salads, fruit, and a taco stand. It was 100% worth getting off. GSC was beautiful, and very relaxing. We wanted to try for a villa or cabana, but honestly, we didn't even miss it. Our time there was so short, so it would've been a waste of money.

 

Check in was so smooth for us. Very organized, and we got on the ship quicker than we expected.

 

Shore excursions credits were add onto the account after doing the excursion. Was never charged incorrectly for anything. Note that even with the beverage package, you'll be charged taxes on drinks while in ports (they'll put up signs to let you know).

 

Also, SIX is amazing. It's definitely a show geared to a younger crowd (its a pop musical), but I hope you enjoy it! The cast is incredible, and in my opinion, better than the West End cast.

welcome back!    just a couple of random questions!    Do u know if there was a gift shop raffle, usually the first nite?  Also did u see the zipline at GSC?   wondered how much it is? Glad u enjoyed Six, looking forward to seeing it and Jersey Boys. Maybe someome can post the dailys,  cause its the same itinerary as mine in March!   thx in advance

[alchemist4]

19 hours ago, tokidoki said:

welcome back!    just a couple of random questions!    Do u know if there was a gift shop raffle, usually the first nite?  Also did u see the zipline at GSC?   wondered how much it is? Glad u enjoyed Six, looking forward to seeing it and Jersey Boys. Maybe someome can post the dailys,  cause its the same itinerary as mine in March!   thx in advance

There was a gift shop raffle every day. They only drew out one ticket, so it was a bit of a long shot.

 

My travel companions did Zipline at GSC. They really enjoyed it! I think it was $59 before discounts and credits.

 

And the itineraries change all the time, so it definitely won't be the same in March.

[tokidoki]

7 minutes ago, alchemist4 said:

There was a gift shop raffle every day. They only drew out one ticket, so it was a bit of a long shot.

 

My travel companions did Zipline at GSC. They really enjoyed it! I think it was $59 before discounts and credits.

 

And the itineraries change all the time, so it definitely won't be the same in March.

Thx😍

[Grandmafreddie]

Which airboat ride did you take and thanks for a great review

[luckyinpa]

im very interested in the haven disembark comment above. been 3 years since i did it so my memory is fuzzy. is the delay waiting on the long sidewalk to get back in the terminal?  why would you be outside 25 min?

 

also will the wait be affected if you do walkoff with luggage , which is what we are doing.

 

i know the porter tip to get thru customs quickly 

[mking8288]

The problems at Pier 88 quite possibly related to 2 broken/out of service gangways on one side of the terminal, promptly ships to dock on the opposite side next to the Intrepid SASM.  According to NJH's live update onboard the Gem this morning, the building was/is without heat ... not nice/good either.  

More particulars might be posted here ... next Friday, both the Bliss & Gem will be back, docking at P88 ?? and P90 - going to get interesting, for sure. 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2714167-norwegian-gem-122-back-in-ny-still-on-the-hudson-not-pier-88-yet/?do=findComment&comment=58884310

 

When we came off the Dawn this Spring in NY, crew on the gangways did a great job, managing the flow of foot traffic onto the pier's long "sidewalk" into the building ... and it was nice, warm & sunny then.  CBP has been using facial recognition for a while to speed most thru the screening ... but, things happen.  

 

Edited December 3, 2019 by mking8288

[CruiseManMikeFromPA]

Overall we had a good cruise, NCL should have provided a letter in each cabin explaining the whole 'Level 3' cleaning/removal of amenities/no touching food thing and a lot of confusion would have been avoided. GSC was, to me, a waste of time and a nightmare. Certainly nothing like DCL or RC islands. Worth swimming over to Coco Cay, almost 🙂

 

Food was great, Jersey Boys was a real production with great lighting and sound. Not for the kids, but they do warn about the Authentic Jersey language and they are right.

 

But driving to vaca and beating the freezing rain home beat sleeping in an airport for me, and that is what made us pick this trip this year. And cheaper than taking my wife to the Cowboys game too!

[Grandmafreddie]

Do you remember the airboat ride you enjoyed did you take it with the ship or private

any help will be appreciated

[jules316]

On 12/2/2019 at 3:47 PM, softl said:

Departed in the cold rain. Was cool until Tuesday off the Florida coast.

 

Far too crowded. And I too heard the 1,200 children rumor. Elevators were a major disappointment. Never going the right direction and when they were they were fully loaded or had passengers going the wrong way.  Do people know how enter an elevator anymore, or how to walk on the right?

 

Haven was full of kids, mostly toddlers, some teens. Bride and I went to the Haven breakfast one morning. Sat us next to the only other diners there, two couples, talking rather loudly. Within 5 minutes their two pre-teens joined them. Got louder!

 

The port stop in Canaveral was nice but the disembarkation was far too lengthy. Really long walk, especially in the terminal. Did the airboat ride. It met  my approval.

 

GSC was beautiful but again, too crowded. I felt bad for people walking the isles looking for beach lounges.

 

Stayed on in Nassau. Watched football on the pool big screen. Turkey dinner was another disappointment. No mashed potatoes???

 

Very windy but sunny on Friday. Saturday was cold and overcast.

 

Disembarkation from the Haven was a line moving nowhere for 25 minutes, everyone dressed for the cold. But i went smoothly .

 

Personally, I'll never do another cruise on that big of a ship nor out of NY in the winter and on a holiday week. My favorite cruises were on the Sky and Sun. Even the Epic was okay.

 

Sorry if anyone sees this post as a piss and moan reply. I had a lot of fun, but wanted to relay some of the major negatives I experienced. Maybe I'll post some good ones on another post.

 

 

I have to absolutely agree with your post.  Tendering at GSC was a nightmare. And they shut down the taco and hot dog stand far too early. Tacos were really good but my husband and son missed out! I waited in line at the bar for 30 minutes. There was only one bartender making the drinks and one taking orders. We decided we’d be better off getting back onboard. It was beautiful though.

Also, if you have ANY interest in the go-karts, laser tag, or comedy show, make reservations as soon as you get onboard. We tried and by Tuesday it was completely booked for the rest of the sailing. Good Luck. 

[softl]

On 12/3/2019 at 12:14 PM, Grandmafreddie said:

Which airboat ride did you take and thanks for a great review

I took the regular air boat trip. There were two, the second included something like a jungle adventure.  Our bus wasn't ready as they needed room for all the KSC tour buses. Unfortunately this cut our excursion a bit as the sun was setting, cooling the air which causes the gators to return to the water. It was educational though.

[softl]

On 12/3/2019 at 12:41 PM, luckyinpa said:

im very interested in the haven disembark comment above. been 3 years since i did it so my memory is fuzzy. is the delay waiting on the long sidewalk to get back in the terminal?  why would you be outside 25 min?

 

also will the wait be affected if you do walkoff with luggage , which is what we are doing.

 

i know the porter tip to get thru customs quickly 

We had an early flight from Laguaurdia so we requested the first disembarkation, with luggage. We got on the service elevators to deck 7 I think.  There we stood in a hallway near the entrance to the theater in our winter gear waiting with other passengers in a non-moving line for what seemed forever, and no explanation.  Then they started moving us through the passkey check and then the facial recognition passport check. Each had two lines. The other one had a lady who wasn't prepared, she didn't have her key card and dug through her purse for her id. This didn't go well with the folks behind her. As for the facial recognition,  I had trouble but I did get a green light, only to be stopped by an official for a retry. Had to remove my glasses as my passport photo does not include glasses.  BTW, they do not take your photo anymore on check in.  They take a photo of your passport photo.

 

After that it was the long ramp and walk through the terminal to the street.  There were taxi, limo and uber drivers hustling fares on the traffic median. Warning,  the Uber drivers are fake. All Uber transactions are pre-booked. We chose a stretch limo for the 6 of us. We had to walk the block to W48 and 11th Ave, but we all fit with luggage. Cost a hundred bucks. My Uber to the ship was only $60. I was able to book that while retrieving luggage.

 

My disappointment was only due to fear of missing the flight on a stormy day. 

Edited December 5, 2019 by softl

[ibwig]

18 hours ago, jules316 said:

I have to absolutely agree with your post.  Tendering at GSC was a nightmare. And they shut down the taco and hot dog stand far too early. Tacos were really good but my husband and son missed out! I waited in line at the bar for 30 minutes. There was only one bartender making the drinks and one taking orders. We decided we’d be better off getting back onboard. It was beautiful though.

Also, if you have ANY interest in the go-karts, laser tag, or comedy show, make reservations as soon as you get onboard. We tried and by Tuesday it was completely booked for the rest of the sailing. Good Luck. 

I agree as well.  Overall we had a great time, but there were a few issues that were frustrating, to say the least.  You are correct, tendering at GSC was horrific.  We had a villa and by the time we actually got there, we were left with only about 3  hours to use it.  We've taken this itinerary twice before, once on the Jewel and once on the Breakaway, and everything ran smoothly which made this experience particularly disappointing.  We had no issues disembarking at Port Canaveral or Nassau.

 

There were a lot of children onboard, which I expected during Thanksgiving week.   In general, I didn't see much chaos from the little ones.  One evening there was a group of teens literally running through the Observation Lounge, and no one bothered to stop them.  

 

Our cabin had a different addition every day, by Friday everything that was supposed to be there was finally there.

 

I also agree with softl's post - no mashed potatoes with a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving was surprising.  We did, in fact, request them since they were on the menu as a side dish for another item.  Our server, who was the only awful server we encountered during the entire cruise, brought one small scoop of mashed potatoes for 6 people to share.

 

The elevators did not seem to be running well, which was particularly frustrating as there were two in our group with mobility issues (no scooters or wheelchairs, but unable to comfortably use the stairs).

 

The ship itself is beautiful, our cabin was comfortable, Six was wonderful, the Go-Karts were fun, and the spa was great.  I personally didn't see Jersey Boys, the comedy shows, or play Laser Tag but some members of our group did and enjoyed them. 

 

Disembarkation was slow and unorganized.  We did need two wheelchairs for disembarkation, and while we expected a wait, it took far longer than it should have.

 

Again, overall we did enjoy the cruise but I think that the lack of communication during some of the events contributed to the chaos and the frustration of many passengers. 

[Synergy At Sea]

On 12/2/2019 at 3:47 PM, softl said:

Departed in the cold rain. Was cool until Tuesday off the Florida coast.

 

Far too crowded. And I too heard the 1,200 children rumor. Elevators were a major disappointment. Never going the right direction and when they were they were fully loaded or had passengers going the wrong way.  Do people know how enter an elevator anymore, or how to walk on the right?

 

Haven was full of kids, mostly toddlers, some teens. Bride and I went to the Haven breakfast one morning. Sat us next to the only other diners there, two couples, talking rather loudly. Within 5 minutes their two pre-teens joined them. Got louder!

 

The port stop in Canaveral was nice but the disembarkation was far too lengthy. Really long walk, especially in the terminal. Did the airboat ride. It met  my approval.

 

GSC was beautiful but again, too crowded. I felt bad for people walking the isles looking for beach lounges.

 

Stayed on in Nassau. Watched football on the pool big screen. Turkey dinner was another disappointment. No mashed potatoes???

 

Very windy but sunny on Friday. Saturday was cold and overcast.

 

Disembarkation from the Haven was a line moving nowhere for 25 minutes, everyone dressed for the cold. But i went smoothly .

 

Personally, I'll never do another cruise on that big of a ship nor out of NY in the winter and on a holiday week. My favorite cruises were on the Sky and Sun. Even the Epic was okay.

 

Sorry if anyone sees this post as a piss and moan reply. I had a lot of fun, but wanted to relay some of the major negatives I experienced. Maybe I'll post some good ones on another post.

 

 

 

[Synergy At Sea]

On 12/2/2019 at 3:47 PM, softl said:

Departed in the cold rain. Was cool until Tuesday off the Florida coast.

 

Far too crowded. And I too heard the 1,200 children rumor. Elevators were a major disappointment. Never going the right direction and when they were they were fully loaded or had passengers going the wrong way.  Do people know how enter an elevator anymore, or how to walk on the right?

 

Haven was full of kids, mostly toddlers, some teens. Bride and I went to the Haven breakfast one morning. Sat us next to the only other diners there, two couples, talking rather loudly. Within 5 minutes their two pre-teens joined them. Got louder!

 

The port stop in Canaveral was nice but the disembarkation was far too lengthy. Really long walk, especially in the terminal. Did the airboat ride. It met  my approval.

 

GSC was beautiful but again, too crowded. I felt bad for people walking the isles looking for beach lounges.

 

Stayed on in Nassau. Watched football on the pool big screen. Turkey dinner was another disappointment. No mashed potatoes???

 

Very windy but sunny on Friday. Saturday was cold and overcast.

 

Disembarkation from the Haven was a line moving nowhere for 25 minutes, everyone dressed for the cold. But i went smoothly .

 

Personally, I'll never do another cruise on that big of a ship nor out of NY in the winter and on a holiday week. My favorite cruises were on the Sky and Sun. Even the Epic was okay.

 

Sorry if anyone sees this post as a piss and moan reply. I had a lot of fun, but wanted to relay some of the major negatives I experienced. Maybe I'll post some good ones on another post.