Live (ish) Bliss Apr 9-14 Coastal

[The Traveling Man]

3 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Not off to a good start. The cream for the coffee came with the salmon bagels that two of us ordered. By this time, the coffee was cold. The salmon bagels were eaten and the other two of us still had no food. I asked for pastries- I guess they no longer bring them around. We got a basket of assorted pastries but no plates. I then got a refill of the coffee - it was hot but had both weird taste and smell ( like fish?) nope. 
 

The food finally came after 40 minutes- two Belgian waffles with caramel sauce and whipped cream and the loaded hash browns. The hash browns and one waffle were good. We ran into problems with the second waffle. I spread the cream over and  thought it was kind of thick, but with everything else that had gone on I didn’t pay too much attention. One bite and I realized they had given me cream cheese rather than whipped cream, and now it was all over my food. After an hour of waiting this was the final straw. I called the waiter over and pointed out the error…and he laughed. Yeah. Not impressed. I just got up and walked out. 

 

We had similar poor service recently on the Sky.  First I asked myself why we were paying ever-increasing gratuities, aka Daily Service Charge, for continually diminishing service quality.  Then I asked the same question at the Guest Service Desk.  Finally, for the first time in over 30 NCL cruises, I asked that our DSC be reduced by an appropriate amount to reflect the poor service.  They were going to eliminate it completely.  I got them to "compromise" on just reducing it by two days' worth.

[ceilidh1]

After the disaster at breakfast we decided to have lunch at the Garden Cafe (I appreciate the irony that we have been trying to eat elsewhere the past 3 days and now we can, we are still at the buffet). It was easy to find a table and there were lines or crowds. I would say it was peaceful, but unfortunately they have chosen lunch time to do some kind of behind the scenes repairs. Not sure if you can hear the sound on this video, but the drilling/sawing noise is loud and monotonous.

 

We hit the Indian section (of course) and it was delicious. Timing was perfect as they pulled out a freshly cooked batch of naan that was so good!

[ceilidh1]

7 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

We had similar poor service recently on the Sky.  First I asked myself why we were paying ever-increasing gratuities, aka Daily Service Charge, for continually diminishing service quality.  Then I asked the same question at the Guest Service Desk.  Finally, for the first time in over 30 NCL cruises, I asked that our DSC be reduced by an appropriate amount to reflect the poor service.  They were going to eliminate it completely.  I got them to "compromise" on just reducing it by two days' worth.

I was “fortunate” that my booking was made prior to the increases so as long as I prepaid, I retained the lower rate. Honestly, if I had paid more I likely would have asked for it to be reduced. This is my first cruise ever that I won’t be leaving an additional cash tip for the steward. I haven’t got the extra towels I requested and the beds are not put away/pulled out morning and night. Also, the fact that rooms weren’t ready until after 5 and even then there was still garbage left from previous guest. You get one chance to make a first impression…

[ceilidh1]

Cookie treats - at least there are 4!

[ceilidh1]

Disembark info. So rude. Kicking us off already.

[The Traveling Man]

11 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

I was “fortunate” that my booking was made prior to the increases so as long as I prepaid, I retained the lower rate. Honestly, if I had paid more I likely would have asked for it to be reduced. This is my first cruise ever that I won’t be leaving an additional cash tip for the steward. I haven’t got the extra towels I requested and the beds are not put away/pulled out morning and night. Also, the fact that rooms weren’t ready until after 5 and even then there was still garbage left from previous guest. You get one chance to make a first impression…

Do you think NCL would finally get the message if more and more passengers stopped leaving additional cash tips and/or started asking the Guest Services Desk to reduce their DSC?

[ceilidh1]

7 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

Do you think NCL would finally get the message if more and more passengers stopped leaving additional cash tips and/or started asking the Guest Services Desk to reduce their DSC?

Maybe, but how many actually take that action? New cruisers wouldn’t know any better. Seasoned cruisers usually recognize that the steward isn’t the one to blame, or that servers are overworked and understaffed, so tend to feel bad for them. I’m in that camp too. However, I also work in a public facing service industry that is understaffed and overworked, but I still don’t allow my customers to see or feel that. 

[libtrek]

We were on Bliss in February (3rd time) and definitely noticed that staff appeared to be overwhelmed. Service was slow at meals and we encountered more than one unpleasant staff member. We did not remove tips but did not tip extra either. We are trying Jewel-Alaska in mid June. We shall see if things are better on a smaller ship. ML

[Captain-John]

Some of those Facebook comments are really bothersome. I know some people are prone to exaggeration but combined with your account of the sailing, something is quite wrong I think!

Edited April 12, 2023 by Captain-John

[hallux]

Those FB comments and the OP's account are definitely concerning.  Especially considering I was on the Escape only a month ago with a similar passenger load and didn't experience the same issues.

[ceilidh1]

We had a nice afternoon on the slides - free from lines - and in the pool and hot tub. I allowed the kids to break the rules and go in the “adults only” pool. Sorry, NCL, but if you choose to have the kid pool closed two days running with no ETA on when it will open, with 800 kids onboard, you’re gonna get kids in the adult pool. The pool had a LOT of chlorine so we didn’t stay in too long. It was a beautiful, sunny day with blue skies in Victoria and the ship was so much nicer with everyone in port!

[ceilidh1]

46 minutes ago, Captain-John said:

Some of those Facebook comments are really bothersome. I know some people are prone to exaggeration but combined with your account of the sailing, something is quite wrong I think!

 

22 minutes ago, hallux said:

Those FB comments and the OP's account are definitely concerning.  Especially considering I was on the Escape only a month ago with a similar passenger load and didn't experience the same issues.

It might be a lot to do with the demographic on the ship, too. Lots of BIG groups so that holds up dining, entertainment, etc as they go together and take up the space. There’s also a big casino group in the ship apparently. It feels like a cross between a booze cruise and an extended family cruise! I will add that 95% of staff are great - the issue is the other 5% that are the ones that stick in your mind (and not in a good way).

 

I did fill out a few vacation hero cards for the few staff that were really great!

[ceilidh1]

Dinner menu for this evening. Trying to get into taste. We will see how that works out…

[YVRteacher]

5 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Just wanted to say that we are still having a great time despite the lines, crowds, slow service, etc. i would rather be here than at work and I’m always grateful to be able to do these trips. However, this is definitely a different experience than I’m used to with this ship. Had this been my first cruise or first with NCL I doubt I would return.

That is exactly how I felt.

[ceilidh1]

Just checked my onboard account and for some reason we each have $15.88 in refundable onboard credit. I also had $10 credit from the booking and I’ve spent $10 as an additional gratuity at Food Republic. So I need to spend some $$$. Lol

[AK Dreaming]

18 hours ago, Apsalar said:

What is your 11 year old doing for fun since Splash Academy has been full? We'll be on the Bliss next week with our 8 year old and I'd love to have some ideas to keep her occupied if it's the same sort of situation.

Hi  We get on the Bliss the week after you.  If possible could you post about your embarkation, when rooms are available and restaurants open.  I've heard varying information.  I'm just trying to figure out the best time to board with my mother.  Thank you!

[graphicguy]

Regarding service, NCL puts its best, most experienced crew on their newest ships.  The Prima and all the Breakaway Plus ships are their newest.  The issue, as I see it, is the shutdown caused many of their crew to look for other employment opportunities and didn’t come back.

 

What that did was force them to hire lots of new, inexperienced crew.  Every once in a while I’ve encountered some crew on the sailings I’ve done who came back because NCL “took care of them” during the shutdown.  But, there were relatively few of those.

 

The result is a lot of 1-2 year crew who replaced 8-9-10 contract people.

 

The inexperience shows.

[Oakman58]

20 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

These are some comments from our cruise group (I cropped out names due to privacy)

 

Obviously NCL has put getting back to profitability a much higher priority than providing excellent passenger experience.  Even so, brand loyalty will keep most coming back for more bad service.

[prov2727]

17 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

After the disaster at breakfast we decided to have lunch at the Garden Cafe (I appreciate the irony that we have been trying to eat elsewhere the past 3 days and now we can, we are still at the buffet). It was easy to find a table and there were lines or crowds. I would say it was peaceful, but unfortunately they have chosen lunch time to do some kind of behind the scenes repairs. Not sure if you can hear the sound on this video, but the drilling/sawing noise is loud and monotonous.

 

We hit the Indian section (of course) and it was delicious. Timing was perfect as they pulled out a freshly cooked batch of naan that was so good!

IMG_6755.MOV

Naan is my favorite. I ate it every day on my last cruise.

[www3traveler]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

Regarding service, NCL puts its best, most experienced crew on their newest ships.  The Prima and all the Breakaway Plus ships are their newest.  The issue, as I see it, is the shutdown caused many of their crew to look for other employment opportunities and didn’t come back.

 

What that did was force them to hire lots of new, inexperienced crew.  Every once in a while I’ve encountered some crew on the sailings I’ve done who came back because NCL “took care of them” during the shutdown.  But, there were relatively few of those.

 

The result is a lot of 1-2 year crew who replaced 8-9-10 contract people.

 

The inexperience shows.

In addition to people choosing not to return, a number of staff passed away from Covid-19 (Papi), some from cancer and some for other reasons.  Left large hole to be filled.  May take a long time to get every ship to full staffing.  With The Viva coming on line soon, experienced staff will be moved once again and all those postions (on and off The Viva) will need to be filled.  Like everywhere else in the world trying to find qualified people to fill positons is not easy.

[ChiefMateJRK]

6 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

 

Obviously NCL has put getting back to profitability a much higher priority than providing excellent passenger experience.  Even so, brand loyalty will keep most coming back for more bad service.

If NCL doesn't return to profitability, there will be no more passenger experiences.

[ceilidh1]

10 hours ago, AK Dreaming said:

Hi  We get on the Bliss the week after you.  If possible could you post about your embarkation, when rooms are available and restaurants open.  I've heard varying information.  I'm just trying to figure out the best time to board with my mother.  Thank you!

Embarkation was not great as there was a coastguard inspection. We got to terminal at 10am and checked in within 10 minutes, with boarding group 7. Sadly, boarding didn’t begin until after 12pm and all control as to order of boarding was lost. We were “lucky” in that we were early enough to get a seat in the terminal. Many were kept outside for hours. Once on the ship, the Local and Garden Cafe were open. Bags could be left at Q until 3pm. We were told rooms would be ready at 4:30. Ours wasn’t ready until after 5.

[ceilidh1]

Dinner was at Taste. Definitely got this down now. Wait in line starting at 4:40. It opens at 5:30 but they start seating at 5:15. This makes us first in! We did have an issue getting drinks- server explained they might take a while as only one bar was open (Canada). We got our starters and finished them. When the main came out the server told us that they weren’t able to find my wine (it was just a cheap, standard Pinot Grigio off the menu) so we wouldn’t have drinks. The weird thing was that the kids had ordered 3 sodas and it seemed we weren’t getting those either! All around us, tables were getting wine, sodas, juice, etc. so odd.

[ceilidh1]

We had pot stickers, crab chowder, corn bread, pizza (kids menu), sirloin skewers, and pork belly. The food was all excellent. As we finished our main course, the server came over and said they had found my wine. I was grateful he had followed through, but didn’t really want it at that point! Still no drinks for kids. So strange!

[ceilidh1]

After dinner it was time for the activity I have been waiting for since the day I booked - Six!!!! I love this show. If you’ve never seen it, run, don’t walk to first opportunity you have. It’s fantastic. This was no exception. I’ve said it before, but NCL knows how to do entertainment. Their production shows are top class.