lonzwinery

I was on the Bliss last week (3/16 to 3/23) and they were, in fact, charging $4.95 for shrimp at Cagney's. Sure, I could've bought ten of them if I wanted to, but out of spite, I refused. Also had to tell my 3 boys "No." We ordered the Oysters Rockafeller instead, and they were not very good at all 🙁. Have to admit, although it's a nominal charge, and I can certainly afford it, it's pretty annoying when you're sold on one thing, but then you're given something else. And yes, I know they reserve the right to change things anytime they want.

Lastly, I will say, things have certainly changed in the cruise industry over the last 20 years. I've been on over 15 cruises over my lifetime, most of them with Princess, however, I decided to give NCL a try, since Princess has been going downhill, cutting corners all over the place (at least that's my perception, going on Princess cruises since the 90's). Two years ago, we went on the Escape and had a great time! Food was really, really good, too! But I can already tell in just 2 short years, NCL is now cutting too many corners, just like Princess. As such, I will not be cruising NCL anymore. 2 is good enough for me 😀. Just need to figure out which line is next!

Just off the Bliss. 3 hours to kill in the FFL airport.

6 of us total of the cruise. Wife, 4 children (girl 16, boy 14, boy 10, boy 8), and me.

Food overall was okay (sometimes times good, other times not very good). I would rate the food overall at a solid 6 out of 10. Ate at Manhattan first night. Not very good. Ate at Cagney's one night. Surprised they upcharge $5 for shrimp as an appetizer. Filet was good. Ate at Los Lobos one night. Guac was good, queso was not (way too thick). I had shrimp as my main course. Not very good. Wife said her enchilada was good. Ate at Teppanyaki one night. That was really good! Ate at Cucina one night. Had the fish. Not that great. Wife's pasta was okay, not great. Ate at the Local one night. That was actually really good! We really liked the wings, and the burger was good. We ate at Food Republic one day for lunch. Not that great, plus, I do not recall California rolls being $9.95 when we were on the Escape two years ago. That place was completely empty all week. Margaritaville was also completely empty all week. Perhaps people just do not want to pay the upcharges... I've gotta believe NCL will repurpose those areas in the coming years. I would.

Go-karts were pretty much a bust. Was really, really difficult to book. Everything was completely booked by 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM on Saturday. My 10 and 14 year olds could only ride twice the entire week. They were not very happy about that, and then my wife and I got to hear them complain during the week, which was not fun. My 8 year old was literally a half inch short (54.5"). He was pretty bummed, but oh well. Laser tag was similar. Very, very difficult to book. They each did laser tag twice during the week, and said it was okay. Overall, I think the whole go-kart thing is rather gimmickey. Takes up a TON of room, and is simply too difficult to book. I think the Escape is more conducive for children, especially since the Escape has the ropes course and a basketball court.

Overall, the cruise was good. The ship is really nice, and the staff was great! They work their butts off, that's for sure! Would I do this cruise again? Short answer, no, I would not do the Bliss with my children. They were pretty bored, especially since they could not do the go-karts, and had no sports court to play basketball. I think we would've been better off paying a little more and doing the Symphony of the Seas. If we could do it again, that's exactly what we'd do, especially since Royal does not upcharge for things like rock wall climbing, surfing, ice skating, etc. My wife said the same thing - she said she would not go on the Bliss again with our children.

Hope this helps!

Yep, we almost ran into the same problem coming down here to Miami yesterday for our cruise tomorrow on the Bliss. Luckily, our flight was not impacted! Our return next Saturday is not impacted either, thank goodness. 

Received my bid rejection email yesterday for tomorrow's (3/16) departure on the Bliss. Our original booking was for a standard balcony room with 2 people on the reservation, category DB. Total cost was $2892. I bid $1620 each ($3240 total) for an aft Haven room. The bid was in the "good" range. I did not bid on any other rooms. I figured it was a long shot, since all the Haven rooms were showing sold out. Oh well! Looking forward to hitting Miami Beach today! We got in yesterday morning, so that we could get 2 full days on Miami Beach before the cruise tomorrow! Looking forward to it! 🙂

28 minutes ago, Nola26 said:

Also be sure to sign them for the teen and or kids club. My teenager couldn't wait to go there daily. Entourage had video games, air hockey and other fun items.

Thank you for the reminder! I'll definitely do that! 🙂

Thank you for the feedback. Based on this feedback, I've decided NOT to buy the unlimited pass for my 3 boys. I'm going to limit them to 4-5 go-kart rides each, and 4-5 laser tag sessions each.

I'm still contemplating buying the unlimited go kart pass for $200 for our upcoming cruise in a week... Sounds like it's pretty difficult to get reservations, given the sheer volume of people.  Does anyone know how reservations work with the unlimited go kart pass? I read somewhere that there's a separate line for those with the unlimited pass, but thought I'd double check. Would hate to pay $200, only be able to use it a few times, due to all the spots being reserved right away...

Thanks, @EganFire!

Couple of quick questions...

Is there a fee to enter the beach at Trunk Bay? I heard there was at one point in time.

Also, thought I read somewhere that there was a small place on Trunk Bay that serves food and drinks, however, maybe that place is no longer there, due to the recent hurricane?

Thanks!

Just wondering if it's possible to bid on non-Haven aft cabins over the phone with a NCL customer service rep? I noticed for the cruise we're on in a couple of weeks, there are still several non-Haven aft cabins available. I'd be willing to move into one of those for the right price :-).

The customer service rep that I talked to earlier mentioned that I should call back a few days before sail date. She also mentioned that I might receive an email to bid directly on the non-Haven aft cabins, in addition to the "Let's Get You Upgraded" email that I already received.

Has anyone ever called NCL directly and tried to work a deal over the phone? If so, any luck?

Thanks!

2 hours ago, EganFire said:

I agree however I think they should do it as a bid or lottery system. The current system only allows the first 30 or so people to get it. This Caused fights and stress. If they allowed a bid/lottery system I believe they would actually make more money and provide a better experience than the current method. But that is just my $0.02


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Yep, agreed. NCL needs a better system, so that people do not fight. Definitely not a great way to start a vacation, IMO. 

21 hours ago, EganFire said:

Yes. Well at least for this cruise. We all paid $209.


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Doesn't surprise me one bit. Based on the demand, NCL should easily be charging a lot more. The key to running a profitable business is this: Continue raising your prices until the insatiable demand subsides. If demand wanes, lower your prices. Best part: We all have the choice to buy it, or not to buy it. We are all free to choose, and I love that.

4 hours ago, david_sobe said:

Interesting.  I just watched a very well known couple who's youtube cruise channel is VERY popular.  They had the unlimited plan and said how great it was and that hardly anyone had it because the crew was confused by their pass.  They had to remind the crew what the pass was, etc.  I feel the cost was worth more in not waiting in line rather than unlimited rides.  When you combine them both maybe it was too good of a deal.

$100 maybe but I think I will pass at $200

Yeah, it's a tough call for me right now... I might just limit them to 3 rides each of the 3 sea days, which would amount to $90 each, or $270 total. Sure beats $600. But on the other hand, I like the fact that they'll stay occupied, and not bother my wife and I all the time, complaining they're bored 🙂

Ouch! That hurts! When we booked, it was $100. Looks like I'll be coming off another $300, since I have 3 boys. Good times!

Hello,

Is the cost of unlimited go-karts on the Bliss still $100 for the entire week? I read somewhere that they may have doubled the cost to $200 for the week.

Thanks!

2 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I believe folks have booked a regular room at Baha Mar.

Yep, I just called them. They confirmed that I can simply book a room for the night, and have access to the entire resort for the day. Only problem, it ain't cheap! Over $500 with all the fees, plus, this does not include food and drinks. Ouch! Me thinks we'll just stay on the boat 🙂

Breezes looks really nice! Was all set to book day passes for our cruise in March, however, no children under 14 are allowed.

Was thinking about trying Baha Mar, but looks like they do not offer day passes. Has anyone ever just booked a room for the night, and used the room booking as your day pass? Was thinking about going this route instead...

5 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

Sell them on eBay. That's what i'm doing. I've been looking hard trying to find an ok deal to use them on but there's so many better deals out there with other cruise lines that offer an even better experience that I don't want to give NCL anymore of my money. Every month they either increase a charge or start charging for something new. I've never gotten over the fact that the UBP doesn't even include bottled water. On MSC and Celebrity it was all included. Crazy!

I might be willing to buy them off you guys 🙂. I'm booked for the Bliss next month (March). How much are they worth, and how much are you selling them for?

Price increases do not surprise me one bit. NCL is a publicly traded company with shareholders. I've worked for both public companies and privately held companies. The order of priority (usually) for public companies is profits (i.e., shareholders), customers, employees. Sometimes, it's profits (shareholders), employees, customers. Profits always come first for publicly traded companies, period. For privately held companies, the priority is usually employees, customers, and then profits. Based on my experience, if you take care of your employees and customers first, usually profits will follow.

Hello,

My wife, sons, and I will be on the Bliss in March. My wife and I have the 3-night specialty dining package, however, when booking the reservation, the agent from Norwegian recommended that we DO NOT buy separate specialty dining packages for my boys (8 and 10) since they will be able to eat free.

Does anyone have experience with "kids eat free" in the specialty dining restaurants? For example, can they order off the menu, or do they have a separate menu for kids? I'm happy to buy separate packages for each of them, but just thought I'd check with the group. I'll probably call and confirm, too, but just thought I'd ask for any first-hand experiences 🙂

My apologies if this question has already been asked. I searched the forum, and a TON of results came back for "specialty dining kids eat free," and I didn't see any concrete answers (I know a lot of people tend to get very upset when the same question has been asked, so my apologies!).

Thanks!

We're sailing on the Bliss in March. I put offers on every single Haven category room. I'm guessing none of them will hit since the Haven is showing completely sold-out for our sailing date, but figured it's worth a shot  .

Is there an unlimited price option for Laser Tag on the Bliss, similar to how there's an unlimited option for Go-Carts on the Bliss?

Apologies if this question was already asked. I did search the forum but didn't find an answer.  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=laser tag

Thanks!

4 minutes ago, uconnWBB said:

Warning. If you are thinking about this and have already booked a room please check to see what the room will cost with this promotion. We have booked a room on the Jade in October so I checked what the price would be now and for a Balcony room it went up over $2000 so these extra "perks" are not free. We are staying with our original booking.

Agreed. A lot of the "promotions" are smoke and mirrors/shell games. 

6 hours ago, mtsnd1900 said:

Most likely the (not really) Free at Sea with some added OBC, and perhaps a $1 deposit.  take a look at the price you want today, and do yourself a favor - book it now... if the deal is better moving forward, your agent can always re-book it for you.  for the most part, there are no real good sales offered, just smoke and mirrors making people think they got a great deal (will raise price, then give OBC or another "free" perk.  Book now, can't get todays prices tomorrow, but can get todays price repriced to tomorrows prices tomorrow!

 

Agreed. The various different pricing models, OBC credit, "free at sea" offers, etc. all seem to be a shell game... At the end of the day, the pricing really does not change all that much...

I locked in a reservation for a guarantee (GTY) balcony room on the Bliss, and noticed I was randomly assigned a handicap cabin, which I was surprised to see (I am not handicap, nor do I want to take a handicap cabin from someone that truly needs one).

Anyhow, the cabin number is 14260. In looking at the deck plans, it's not entirely clear to me in terms of what exactly is different about this room. Is it bigger? I noticed the deck plans show a little white space between 14260 and 14262 (please see pic). Does this mean the room is bigger, along with a bigger deck? Curious if anyone has ever stayed in one, and if so, what's different about this cabin?

Thanks!

We have 4 specialty dining nights for our upcoming cruise on the Bliss. Which ones should we hit? 

I'm thinking:

1. Cagney's

2. Teppanyaki

3. La Cucina

4. ?

Haven't heard much about Los Lobos, Q, or Ocean Blue. We're pretty much open to whatever option has the best reviews 🙂

Thanks!