Live From: Bliss 5 Day Coastal Mar 31-Apr 5 with Hollywood Pre Cruise

[cruiseny4life]

50 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

We left at 11:30 last night. Currently circling around in WA waters, so 10.25% tax. Not that I’m ever drinking again 

 

49 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

We left at 11:30 last night. Currently circling around in WA waters, so 10.25% tax. Not that I’m ever drinking again 

I see what you did there. If you say it twice, it ain't true! You will be drinking again. 🍷

[ceilidh1]

5pm and starting to feel human again! Just got my first alcohol of the day. NCL are winning on my drink package today…lol

 

We watched some game shows in the super packed Atrium, then went to catch the Beatles show at the theatre. These guys are The Beatles Experience (Argentina) and very good! It was so odd hearing them speak with a South American accent, though! 
 

There were almost fisticuffs in the theatre . It was a packed house and lots of people were searching for seats while others were saving seats for people. Not cool folks. I’m of the mind that if you don’t get there with all your party then you don’t get to sit together. But that’s just me! Of course, the reserved Haven seats had some empties and it was amusing watching people get turfed out when they thought they had found seats!

[ceilidh1]

After The Beatles we stayed for the crew appreciation thing where they parade down the theatre steps and go on stage. It always makes me a little emotional!

[ceilidh1]

Hit up The Local for food. It was packed so we got a pager for our 30 minute wait. It ended up being 15 minutes only. There were many empty tables but I guess not enough staff. Once again, folks were yelling at the poor hostess about having to wait. 
 

It was definitely a little chaotic but the staff were hustling and doing their best. Our drinks didn’t come until we were done eating and then I never got a glass for the Aqua Panna…but not the end of the world by any means.

[ceilidh1]

Family friendly comedy - sadly the jokes were all the same as the last show. DS still laughed just as hard!

 

I wanted to grab some duty free from the store, which was listed as opening at 6pm. I swung by at 6:45pm but all closed still. Instead I went to the room to pack, then went back to the store at 7:30pm. Still closed. One of the staff told me they were opening at 8pm. I guess we will see!

[LincolnLegend]

I finally caught up and you are nearly ready to get off! So very glad there were some shennanigans!!!

[travelingtink]

Enjoyed following along to see a different perspective of the same cruise. Wish I had known about the inflated wait times that were quoted. After a few 30-45 min quotes I finally decided to get a pager and go get a drink. Sure enough, by the time my drink came my pager went off. Now I know!

 

I’m not sure if we ever crossed paths but I closed down the Atrium bar most nights so it’s quite possible. 

[ceilidh1]

So yesterday was kind of a chill today - I drank a grand total of one beer and was in bed at 9:30! Even DS commented that I usually savour every last second and close the ship on the last night. I just didn’t have it in me after two days of hard partying. I guess this is getting old for you!

 

This morning I got up at 7:30am, grabbed some food at the buffet and brought it back to the room. DS and I ate, packed the last of our stuff, and left the room right at 8:30am - Stewart was just coming knocking to kick us out but I beat her to the punch! We were off the ship by 8:45am and in my house by 9am! I put in a full work day and now I’m in the process of unpacking and finding the next cruise to book!

[ceilidh1]

DS asked if there was anything I would change or if there was anything I had complaints about. Honestly, there was nothing! Well, maybe not partying quite so hard so I could enjoy the last day, but I really can’t blame NCL for that. I do have some observations, though:

 

- every bathroom seemed to have at least one (usually more) blocked toilet. Plus, constantly out of toilet paper and paper towels. Maybe I was just unlucky.

 

- the ice machine at the buffet seemed to be temporarily out of service the whole time. 
 

- I dislike that the District Brewhouse is now adult only. My teens loved chilling in there playing games with me. No longer allowed.

 

- A few times, cruise staff running more adult centred games would comment/suggest kids be dropped at Splash Academy. The problem was, it was at capacity (hence the kids swarming every public area). 
 

- Several times I checked the daily for specific opening/closing times but then they ended up being wrong 

- I found this sailing a vast improvement on the same sailing last year (though it seems many wouldn’t agree). I had a blast!

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.  

[fastpitchdad]

3 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

DS asked if there was anything I would change or if there was anything I had complaints about. Honestly, there was nothing! Well, maybe not partying quite so hard so I could enjoy the last day, but I really can’t blame NCL for that. I do have some observations, though:

 

- every bathroom seemed to have at least one (usually more) blocked toilet. Plus, constantly out of toilet paper and paper towels. Maybe I was just unlucky.

 

- the ice machine at the buffet seemed to be temporarily out of service the whole time. 
 

- I dislike that the District Brewhouse is now adult only. My teens loved chilling in there playing games with me. No longer allowed.

 

- A few times, cruise staff running more adult centred games would comment/suggest kids be dropped at Splash Academy. The problem was, it was at capacity (hence the kids swarming every public area). 
 

- Several times I checked the daily for specific opening/closing times but then they ended up being wrong 

- I found this sailing a vast improvement on the same sailing last year (though it seems many wouldn’t agree). I had a blast!

 

I agree with you, I enjoyed the sailing this year more than last year, although 2022 was far and away the best of all. 

[ceilidh1]

7 minutes ago, fastpitchdad said:

 

I agree with you, I enjoyed the sailing this year more than last year, although 2022 was far and away the best of all. 

2019 was my Haven year, so that was my fave...but 2022 was good, too. 

[YVRteacher]

3 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

DS asked if there was anything I would change or if there was anything I had complaints about. Honestly, there was nothing! Well, maybe not partying quite so hard so I could enjoy the last day, but I really can’t blame NCL for that. I do have some observations, though:

 

- every bathroom seemed to have at least one (usually more) blocked toilet. Plus, constantly out of toilet paper and paper towels. Maybe I was just unlucky.

 

- the ice machine at the buffet seemed to be temporarily out of service the whole time. 
 

- I dislike that the District Brewhouse is now adult only. My teens loved chilling in there playing games with me. No longer allowed.

 

- A few times, cruise staff running more adult centred games would comment/suggest kids be dropped at Splash Academy. The problem was, it was at capacity (hence the kids swarming every public area). 
 

- Several times I checked the daily for specific opening/closing times but then they ended up being wrong 

- I found this sailing a vast improvement on the same sailing last year (though it seems many wouldn’t agree). I had a blast!

Was there anything DS would have changed? I hope he had a great time!!

[ceilidh1]

7 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Was there anything DS would have changed? I hope he had a great time!!

He wasn't pleased with the tv channel choice...lol. Although he did watch at least 3 movies in the 5 days, so it couldn't have been that bad! He had a blast - and I still reign supreme at air hockey, so all is well!

[mommio]

On 4/4/2024 at 7:33 PM, ceilidh1 said:

Hit up The Local for food. It was packed so we got a pager for our 30 minute wait. It ended up being 15 minutes only. There were many empty tables but I guess not enough staff. Once again, folks were yelling at the poor hostess about having to wait. 
 

It was definitely a little chaotic but the staff were hustling and doing their best. Our drinks didn’t come until we were done eating and then I never got a glass for the Aqua Panna…but not the end of the world by any means.

What is this last dish?  It looks delicious 

 

[ceilidh1]

15 minutes ago, mommio said:

What is this last dish?  It looks delicious 

 

That’s the apple pie in the local. Both my kids love it but I’m a more traditional apple pie gal - I need more pastry and less apple!

[scar4711]

20 hours ago, fastpitchdad said:

 

I agree with you, I enjoyed the sailing this year more than last year, although 2022 was far and away the best of all. 

yeah.  those of us on the 2022 version were spoiled 🙂

[tcmagnum]

On 4/5/2024 at 8:05 PM, ceilidh1 said:

So yesterday was kind of a chill today - I drank a grand total of one beer and was in bed at 9:30! Even DS commented that I usually savour every last second and close the ship on the last night. I just didn’t have it in me after two days of hard partying. I guess this is getting old for you!

 

This morning I got up at 7:30am, grabbed some food at the buffet and brought it back to the room. DS and I ate, packed the last of our stuff, and left the room right at 8:30am - Stewart was just coming knocking to kick us out but I beat her to the punch! We were off the ship by 8:45am and in my house by 9am! I put in a full work day and now I’m in the process of unpacking and finding the next cruise to book!

Yes!!  You need to book another cruise so we can follow along.

Loved your writing style and I had fun vicariously with you!!

[Twolittleboys]

On 3/31/2024 at 4:47 AM, ceilidh1 said:

Here’s an aside… when we came in to Hollywood, across the street from our hotel was a really cool looking building called The Magic Castle. I assumed it was a hotel and decided to research it. Turns out that it’s a nightclub for magicians! DS informed me that this place was in the Ricky, Nicky, Dicky and Dawn show, 

 

Just in case you do visit LA/Hollywood again in the near future: If you stay at the Magic Castle Hotel (right next to the Magic Castle) and book your hotel directly on their website, you can buy a pass to visit the Magic Castle!

 

Not cheap but not outrageous either. I have been twice, once with kids (only possible for brunch with minors) and last summer on my own in the evening. I can highly, highly recommend the experience. Fun magic shows and a really cool vibe!

[ceilidh1]

Just now, Twolittleboys said:

 

Just in case you do visit LA/Hollywood again in the near future: If you stay at the Magic Castle Hotel (right next to the Magic Castle) and book your hotel directly on their website, you can buy a pass to visit the Magic Castle!

 

Not cheap but not outrageous either. I have been twice, once with kids (only possible for brunch with minors) and last summer on my own in the evening. I can highly, highly recommend the experience. Fun magic shows and a really cool vibe!

Oh my goodness! Thank you for this - I tried to figure out if it was a hotel as well but obviously wasn't smart enough. My teens would get such a kick out of it!

[ceilidh1]

On 4/7/2024 at 7:03 AM, tcmagnum said:

Yes!!  You need to book another cruise so we can follow along.

Loved your writing style and I had fun vicariously with you!!

I may or may not (spoiler - I did) have booked on RCI Harmony of the Seas for August. This was the teen's choice of ship - I'm already overwhelmed just thinking about it. I haven't sailed RC in over 15 years, so there are lots of things that are new for me. Stay tuned for shenanigans - I will be doing a live!

[Twolittleboys]

4 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Oh my goodness! Thank you for this - I tried to figure out if it was a hotel as well but obviously wasn't smart enough. My teens would get such a kick out of it!

 

I bet they would (my kids had a great time but were a bit younger). The quality of the magic shows varies (it is more of a training ground so don't expect a Las Vegas show) but the atmosphere is incredible and everyone is so nice!

 

Also, the Magic Castle Hotel is THE best hotel in all of LA for families in my opinion. It is a converted apartment building (rather similar to the place you stayed at) but offers all kinds of goodies. For example kids (and adults) can go to reception and get an unlimited supply of various snacks/candies. There is a free soda machine, free laundry (they do it for you and deliver to room), free soft serve ice-cream and they even have a special phone at the pool from which kids can order popsicles!