Bliss Unlimited Go-Kart Pass - Don't buy out of NY in Winter

[Justaddvodka68]

We traveled on the Bliss Dec 13th from Manhattan. Just wanted to pass along the advice to not purchase the unlimited go-kart pass on this itinerary in the winter.  We had rough seas and rain for the first two days, closed the track completely. Then on port days it's not open until 7:30, and the first hour is reserved for double karts. That takes you to 8:30 and they close at 10:30, so two hours to get people with reservations and the unlimited people on the track. My kids were lucky to get in 2 rides each night. The next sea day it was open more, and the weather was decent, so they got in a few more rides, but then the next day was extremely cold with intermittent rain, so it was closed most of the day again. We complained and they did refund us the unlimited pass and charged by the ride for the number of rides the kids did get in, but they didn't want to. I had to really argue for it and even throw out, "I was thinking of getting some Cruise Next certificates, but I'm rethinking that . . . " before they caved in. 

 

We did know of course that weather would be expected sailing out of NY in December, but hadn't given much thought to how that would impact the unlimited carts. I guess I didn't expect them to have such limited hours on port days, and since we don't usually stay off the ship the whole time we were in port I figured they'd make up for the closed days by riding a lot on the others, but with such a small window of opportunity, it just wasn't possible.  It was very disappointing because it was the kid's Christmas gift from their grandmother, and they had planned to ride to their heart's content. 

 

Of course we still had a wonderful time doing other things, but I just wanted to recommend that you're better off paying by the ride unless you're on a itinerary with great weather expected. 

[smplybcause]

Even with great weather, the track is closed for a lot of the day while in port. I always wondered if someone could really get in over 13 rides in a week. 

[david_sobe]

Thanks for sharing your experience.  Not flaming you but getting 2 rides a night seems pretty good considering the weather and the track being closed on port days. IMHO, its the closure on port days that backs up everyone.  People are drawn to these ships for the go carts and find out they are closed several days of the week. 
You realize you are the lucky ones.  There were many kids who did not get to ride at all and left disappointed.  NCL could get so many more people to ride the go carts if they stayed open on port days.  NCL is making a fortune.  Should not be a big deal to hire more staff to keep them open.

Edited January 22, 2020 by david_sobe

[Gershep]

Glad to hear you got back your money.

[JamieLogical]

It's definitely weird that they are closed on port days. That seems like the prime opportunity to ride, because sea conditions wouldn't play a factor. Seeing as how they are taking up a MASSIVE amount of deck space for the tracks, you would think they would want o maximize the money they can make from the go-karts by having them open as much as possible.