Live (ish) Bliss Apr 9-14 Coastal

[ceilidh1]

Since I didn’t upgrade my FAS for this sailing, I only have limited internet minutes so I will likely only post at the end of each day!

 

On this sailing is myself, DD (15), DS (11), and DDs bff (15). We live in Vancouver, so these repositioning cruises are a great little getaway. We have done this cruise on Bliss every year it has been offered. 

[ceilidh1]

We flew from Vancouver to LAX on Saturday morning. Took the Canada line at 5am, getting to YVR around 5:25. I had pre booked with YVR Express and had a 5:45 time to go through security. Once at the airport, I completed mobile passport control for entry into the US. These two steps saved us a good half hour or so waiting in line! Our flight was in time, and landed at LAX around 10:45am.

 

The stars were aligned as the moment we stepped out of the airport, the LAX-it shuttle arrived and we were on our way to the Uber pick up spot. We were able to get an Uber from the airport to the Crowne plaza in San Pedro for $36 and it arrived within 10 minutes.

 

Since we were so early, rooms weren’t ready at the hotel but we were able to leave our bags. We then ordered another Uber and g to or $19 we were taken to the Del Amo Fashion Centre. This place was recommended by someone on the west coast departures forum and I’m so glad we did it. The teens were in heaven. This mall is huge and has everything you need (including both Walmart and target). We literally spent 6 hours there before ubering back to the hotel.

 

We have stayed at Crowne plaza many times and, other than a huge price increase, this stay was no different to the others. It’s a convenient hotel for cruises, safe, clean, and quiet. It’s definitely not worth the $360 price tag and I wouldn’t stay more than one night. Our room was fine other than the bathroom door wouldn’t lock and one the lights was burned out.

 

We relaxed in the room for a bit and then ordered pizza from Buonos just a block or so away. It was good pizza but overpriced. I walked over to pick it up and we ate it in the room. After that it was bed time!

[ceilidh1]

We checked out of the hotel at 9:30am and walked over to the ship. The hotel does have a shuttle but if you have bags you can manage, it’s an easy 10 minute walk. There weren’t many people at the port and we breezed through security and check in, and were assigned boarding group 7. Note to anyone that may be travelling with minors that aren’t their children - at check in we were required to give the signed permission form off the NCL site along with copies of the parents IDs. I was glad I had them. What I didn’t know was that they were meant to return these rather than keep them…more in that later.

 

Since the ship wasn’t ready for boarding we were directed to a seating area. It was freezing in the waiting area, so bring a jacket! We waited and waited and waited. The terminal got more and more full and st one point they had to stop checking people in as there was nowhere for them to go. Around 11am one of the shore staff announced that boarding was delayed due to a coast guard inspection and they hoped to have us on in the next half hour. Then someone brought our giant fans, which made the crowd crazy as it was SO cold. Apparently, the fans were needed to circulate the sir cause Covid. Even though we had been sat there over an hour already without them. Hmmm.

 

Around 11:50 we saw that haven were boarding so knew we were close. That’s when things started to fall apart. The second they started calling groups to board, everyone swarmed to the front. They weren’t able to control it and just let anyone go on. We were sitting right near the escalator up to the ship so just headed on with the crowd! 

[ceilidh1]

First stop was to check in at the muster station. Then over to Local for lunch. There was a bit of a line and the maître d was trying to persuade people to go to the buffet. We got seated after about 10 minutes and then waited about 15 minutes to order. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. Then the waitress came back to say she needed to submit our drink order again. Sigh. The food came out and we pretty much finished it all before we got drinks. The food was excellent - fish and chips, cheeseburger, and fish sandwich.

 

After eating, we dropped our bags at Q as the rooms weren’t ready yet. We were warned that bag pick up was 3pm and rooms would be ready by then. Spoiler - they weren’t. From here we went to register for kid and teen club. At the teen club we found out about the mistake with the check in agent retaining the guardian forms, as these were needed to register for the teen program. They told me to ask at guest services. Guest services told me to come back after we sail as they would be brought onboard by then. Of course, as a glass half empty gal, I asked what happened in the event the forms don’t make it onboard. I was assured they would. Hmmm.

[ceilidh1]

Sorry about the upside down pics

[ceilidh1]

Next stop was district brew house while the kids went off to explore the ship. I love the district! Then up to the pool deck for sailaway. Lots of fun and dancing in the sun! Dan Dan announced that rooms would be ready at 4:30 so we headed down to get changed at 4:40. The room wasn’t ready. We did meet our steward Gerardo who seemed very stressed. I mentioned that I needed the beds split into twins (this was also requested pre cruise) and he seemed a little put out. 

 

Back down to guest services for the forms and, you guessed it, they couldn’t be found. I was there for a hood half hour while they checked and I could feel my blood pressure rising. They told me they would email the pier staff, but that wasn’t going to help me with two teens that were eager to get to teen club in an hour! Just as I was about to lose it, they got a call that there was more paperwork on deck 4 that hadn’t been brought up yet. Thank goodness, our forms were there! This was a good 40 minutes of my time wasted needlessly due to shore staff not knowing the procedure.

[ceilidh1]

[ceilidh1]

Dinner was at the Manhattan Room with a special Easter menu. Once again, there was zero drink service and our dinner came out before we even saw our drink server! The food was great - sirloin steak and lamb, with chocolate volcano for dessert. 

[ceilidh1]

After dinner we went to the atrium and watched trivia and Siglo - I love Siglo! Then up to the Garden Cafe for a late night ice cream before getting the little guy off to bed. The room never got the welcome aboard bubbly or treats that come with a club balcony, or the flow water that comes with latitude status - not needed, but meant to be included! I can’t figure out how to get the sink in the bathroom to drain - there doesn’t appear to be any lever to lift the plug so I have been reaching in and removing it. Lol. Also, am I losing my mind or did the fancy shower in the club balcony used to have a rain shower head? Our shower has a weird skinny head that works fine but can’t be adjusted at all. 

[cruiseny4life]

In March, our sink drain had to be physically removed in order to let the water flow, so you're not alone in this struggle! 

Will that wand come out and function as what I so eloquently call an "undercarriage washer?" Seems that it should. I also suspect it should move up and down. Not really sure how, but it seems that it should. 

[wolfie11]

How full is the ship?

[YVRteacher]

Oooh- I’ve been looking forward to this review!

[ChiefMateJRK]

I want to hear all about the musicians in Brewhouse, Observation Lounge and Atrium!!  Please tell us the good, bad and ugly! 😎

 

(some of us will be on the Bliss VERY soon)

[bluesea777]

Sink plug … try pushing it down for it to pop up?

 

You’re in Club Balcony …. There are levers on the bottom knob of the shower - if you can’t figure them out ask your cabin steward if he can kindly show you how to use them. 
 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

[hallux]

2 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

I only have limited internet minutes so I will likely only post at the end of each day!

On the login page (someplace) is a section for free pages - CruiseCritic is one of them.  It may be slower when not logged in, but you can still access it!

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, wolfie11 said:

How full is the ship?

Full!

[ceilidh1]

Day 2 - At Sea

 

Great night sleep but woke to fog and drizzle. Hopefully it clears up so we can do the waterslides later. Plans for today include jersey boys, comedy, meet n greet, and possibly food republic. Other than that, we will play it by ear. 

 

We decided to go to the Garden Cafe for breakfast. It was packed! We were lucky enough to walk by a table that someone was vacating so grabbed it. Many people were aimlessly looking for tables. The food was good - we had a selection of waffles, pastries, hot foods and all was satisfactory. After eating we went to the atrium to watch the Food Republic cooking demonstration. As so many others have commented, this is such a bad place for the activities they hold there. Nowhere near enough seating. We were lucky to find 3 seats and grabbed them while we looked for an empty chair to slide over. I should mention that there were two chairs next to us that were being “held” with various items. When the one person holding them came back, it was evident that the other seat was for her bag, coat, etc rather than a person. Note to self…don’t be that person!

 

The cooking demonstration was great - those chefs can whip up sushi so fast. After the demo, the teens disappeared to teen club and I attempted to get a drink. I had read many reviews about slow bar service and long lines. These are proving to be true - drink service in restaurants yesterday were sloooow and the bar in the atrium was swamped. I went to the Mixx bar, which was less busy, but had only one bartender. It took me at least half an hour to get us two drinks, by which time the game show we were there to watch was half over. 

 

One thing to mention is that the ship is packed. I think this is the first of our many post Covid cruises that has been at capacity. I’m not loving it. I’ve done bliss many times and don’t ever recall it feeling so busy. People everywhere. Lines everywhere. Staff seem overwhelmed. Still rather be on here than at my desk…

[ceilidh1]

Lunch was at Food Republic. Originally I had booked Cagneys for dinner to use our specialty dining. The problem with having only guest 1 and 2 for dining means that we would be paying for guest 3 and 4. The money isn’t the issue, just the fact that the other two were not remotely interested in steak so it seemed a waste. We opted, instead to use both credits for 8 items at food republic.

 

Food Republic was the bomb! Food was outstanding! I let the teens loose on the iPad ordering!

[ceilidh1]

Sorry again for upside down pics

[ceilidh1]

Afterwards we got dessert at garden cafe. Note to any fellow Brits…the English trifle is as far from English as you can go. Dried fruit  in the jello? Umm no! Ice cream was good though. It was also so hilarious that in front of us were identical twin boys. The guy served the first one and then skipped to us. My kid said oh he is before us. The server looked confused. The kids mom said they are identical. So the server gave the second kid the same order. The kid was like nooo I want something different. Lol. It was cute.

 

The meet and greet from the FB group was kind of a bust. I couldn’t find anyone at the bar and then two people found me. Seems we were the only ones that showed. Still great to meet the other two !

[ceilidh1]

Some drinks 

[ceilidh1]

We got treats to our room. There are 4 of us in this room. Still no bubbly or water.

[ceilidh1]

[YVRteacher]

Will you have a chance to see Archie tonight?

[YVRteacher]

@ChiefMateJRK You will like Archie too!!