My Two Cents: Norwegian BLISS 1/22-1/27 (Mexican Riviera)

[SuzieQ521]

DISCLAIMER: This was our first NCL cruise, first post-pandemic cruise AND first cruise with a child so my opinion may be a bit skewed based on those factors. Our last cruise was pre-child: A Princess cruise to Alaska in 2017.

 

Overall, we enjoyed our cruise, although it was much more crowded than I expected for mid-January (I think it may have hit 4k capacity but don't know for certain). I also believe it was understaffed (this was also according to another passenger who frequently sails NCL); the crew seemed overwhelmed at times. However, the price was amazing for this time of year though and that is why we decided to take this specific cruise.

 

We flew in from Vegas the afternoon before and stayed at the Crowne Plaza--yes it's a bit outdated but it's perfectly adequate for one night. Great location, great convenience and customer service was good. Lots of restaurants within walking distance and we utilized the shuttle for our 9-9:30 a.m. port check in. (PRO TIP: as will be discussed below, take the shuttle back to the Crowne if time allows upon disembarkation to avoid the insane ride share surge pricing...our Lyft ride went from $80 to $25 back at the Crowne!).

 

EMBARKATION: I knew going in that although we had early check in, boarding of the ship would be after 11:30 a.m. at the earliest. Check-in was smooth and appeared organized; the line moved along. We got our group number and sat down to wait. Unfortunately, the Port employees told us that NCL was delayed in allowing people to board...it wasn't until after 12:30 p.m. that groups were allowed to board. At that point, there were people waiting outside to even be allowed into the building to check-in and other people had to stand as all chairs were gone. I would still recommend obtaining an early check-in and that way you at least have a seat while you wait for the boarding to begin.

 

BOARDING: We made our way into one of the open dining rooms (Taste or Savor...don't recall which); you could tell that the waitstaff was a bit stressed out with the delays and still had limited supplies (apparently, they were out of lettuce until the Cabo port!); It was a bit confusing though as to when our room would be ready. We made it up to our rooms but apparently our steward had not finalized it yet so we went back down. Our bags came a few hours later. 

 

We were supposed to leave the Port at 4 p.m. but did not end up leaving until around 6:30 p.m. because the Captain said they were still bringing supplies on (something to do with a truck getting delayed); we did end up making up time and arrived to Cabo without delay.

 

ROOM: We chose a family balcony on the 13th floor that had the sofabed for our 4 year old son. Upon walking in, I was a little surprised as the room seemed smaller than expected--I think it was mostly the layout of it...it's not very wide so there is very limited space to walk to the balcony door in front of the beds. However, they do make such great use of organizational space so it was fine in the long run and the bathroom had ample organizational space as well. Our steward did not seem very friendly on the first day but I think it was because the staff was overwhelmed as they had just come from a Panama canal cruise and had very limited time for turnover.  He was very helpful and we did end up leaving him an additional gratuity.

 

FOOD:  The food was generally very good; the wait to get into the dining rooms did take some time on occasion and sometimes the food did take a while to come out but that was generally during peak times. I was very pleasantly surprised about the BUFFET- we did not expect to eat there much but it was probably the best cruise buffet I've ever had and we did end up eating there for convenience sake as well. The LOCAL had good (pub-type) food too. HIDDEN GEM: observation lounge had a great layout of food...light bites and desserts...which was great to have midday. 

 

We used our FAS at Cagney's and it was excellent (except for the creamed spinach which was a bit too watery).

 

STARBUCKS: We did take advantage of our unlimited Starbucks package; during peak times (8 am to 10 am) the line was long but the staff did a great job of moving it along. NOTE: whenever near the L.A. port, there is a tax on drinks, even with the unlimited package. I was also charged twice in error for drinks but the guest services did remove it. I would recommend constantly checking your onboard account on the app so you don't have to wait in the super long line on the last day to address issues.

 

On occasion, given the amount of people, the wait for the elevators was very long so we had to use the stairs but it was manageable.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Jersey boys was great; did not get to see other shows as we had our son. They also played movies by the pool at night and some in the Atrium for the kids. My son loved the Arcade as well.

 

SPLASH ACADEMY: I was a little concerned if my son would like it but he did. Note: they are closed during Port hours but they do have a couple hours of free play where parents need to supervise on these days. One gripe is this: they ask the parents where they are going to be and you are somewhat beholden to these decks (you could call and tell them if you are moving though). But I think it would be much more efficient to allow for free messaging from the staff to the parents on the App in case the child needed to be picked up. On one day, even though we told a staff member we would be on a certain deck, I went back to the room hours later and found a voicemail saying my son wanted to be picked up...a messaging system would have been better.

 

CABO: This was the tender port and it was mostly a smooth process; however, on the way back, the line for the tender was extremely long....it snaked through all the shops on the marina. The NCL staff however did pass out water and cool towels and so it was bearable (it helped that the weather was very pleasant).

 

We did not get off at Ensenada as we did not have any interest and wanted to take advantage of less people on the ship to do more activities that day.

 

SPA: I did take advantage of a port day special for a massage but I did wish I purchased a week pass for the thermal spa as the regular relaxation room for a service is very basic. The massage was very good though.

 

DISEMBARKATION: We chose to self disembark (we had 3 carry ons and a couple of backpacks) so we could take our time with breakfast and our flight was not until late afternoon. We ate at the buffet and then waited on the pool deck for the final call. 

Upon getting off, the Port seemed a bit chaotic since you had people embarking for the Bliss's Panama Canal cruise right after ours. ***As noted above, avoid taking a ride share if possible from the Port because of the insane surcharge and wait time. I called Crowne Plaza and asked if we can take their shuttle back and they said to just hop on when we see it as they were dropping people off for the Panama cruise. We hopped on and just waited a bit at the hotel before taking our Lyft (way cheaper).

 

FINAL THOUGHTS: Overall, we enjoyed our cruise (as best as we could with a kid, ha) but just had some minor criticisms with the crowdedness and likely understaffing; however, we would sail NCL again if the price is right, possibly on a smaller ship. The Bliss is a beautiful ship though with lots of activities to do and great food.

Edited January 28, 2023 by SuzieQ521

[Two Wheels Only]

26 minutes ago, SuzieQ521 said:

Upon walking in, I was a little surprised as the room seemed smaller than expected--I think it was mostly the layout of it...it's not very wide so there is very limited space to walk to the balcony door in front of the beds.

 

In your case, was the bed near the balcony or was the bed near the closet?

[SuzieQ521]

5 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

In your case, was the bed near the balcony or was the bed near the closet?

The Queen bed was by the balcony and sofa bed by the front of the room (which I believe is different than the traditional balcony room).

 

We also had an angled balcony which was great with the added space.

[BirdTravels]

17 minutes ago, SuzieQ521 said:

The Queen bed was by the balcony and sofa bed by the front of the room (which I believe is different than the traditional balcony room). We also had an angled balcony which was great with the added space.

Usually about 50%/50% on the bed position

[New2cruise2022]

Great write up! Thanks for sharing. I still need to write mine. I think it was a great cruise. And for the most part I thought the value exceeded the cost. 

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, SuzieQ521 said:

The Queen bed was by the balcony and sofa bed by the front of the room (which I believe is different than the traditional balcony room).

 

The configuration tends to alternate for most of the balcony staterooms along the side of the ship.  Most people find that bed near balcony "feels" more spacious. The angled balcony was a plus, though.

[New2cruise2022]

Great tip on avoiding the surge pricing too!

[willsears94]

We were on this cruise. If you leave out of this port, I do recommend Hilton Doubletree. With a 1 year old, they were very attentive to our needs to and from the port.

[sabrecatz]

Thanks for the great and honest review!

[beachmiker]

I really like your tip about taking shuttle to the hotel,  then taking ride share from the hotel. Great Idea! 

Thank you for your tips and TR.

Edited January 29, 2023 by beachmiker
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