kuceramd

@twangster  Thank you for all the wonderful images and information! 😀 We sail on the beautiful MG next Saturday on this same itinerary, so we've been following your wonderful chronicles on this wonderful ship. We're extremely grateful that you've taken the time to provide such an extensive and detailed knowledge base and insightful commentary for your fellow cruisers following in your footsteps! Mike & Sue

Thanks for the fantastic review and all of the pics! 😀 We're on the 4 Sep MG sailing and will be following your updates this week especially. Hope the weather improves for your itinerary.

Mike & Sue, Niceville, FL

Wife and I are booked on the Mardi Gras 4 Sep sailing for under $1,200 in a Spa Balcony room all in (room, taxes, insurance, prepaid gratuities). We upgraded the offer that we got from the Carnival Player's club and we've only been on Carnival once and aren't big gamblers at all. The offers came right to our e-mail.

Mike & Sue, Niceville, FL

Thanks for the excellent photo review! 😀 Hopefully you'll be posting more shortly upon your return as we're booked on the Mardi Gras, same itinerary as you in two weeks!!

We loved the UDP, never had issues anywhere getting drinks, most drinks, wine and all beers are under the $15 limit. The only time it appeared you'd have to pay extra was on tasting flights, generally $20, but they give you a 20% discount on those if you absolutely want to have one. Otherwise, just order the full size drinks and don't worry about any extra cost! :-)

As for the dining, we ate at Cagney's (excellent steak), La Cucina (outstanding service) and Los Lobos (different twist on Mexican, but still excellent). Los Lobos prices were by far the cheapest, so if you have to pay out of pocket, definitely the restaurant you want to do that in. We never had an issue w/ any of our orders, but the amount of food is usually so much, that we never tried to get multiples of anything, but I think they would honor any reasonable request, or you just pay the extra amount.

We loved our cruise, still suffering withdrawl after docking last Saturday. Would absolutely recommend this cruise on the Bliss and despite what you may read about crowds, etc, we never really had any issues. Make your reservations as early as possible, but don't fret if you don't get everything reserved before the cruise or immediately upon boarding. We easily got into comedy shows and such without reservations. About the only thing that seems to be problematic is the go-karts, but we did manage a reservation for that too made the first afternoon on board. The forward set of elevators do get crowded, especially at peak times (meals & shows). Use the aft elevators, the stairs or even take an elevator the opposite direction, then ride it to where you want to go.

The biggest complaint we had was finding a seat in the buffet. But avoiding peak times or simply sitting in the outer area between the indoor buffet and the pool area always had seating, even at peak times and is still protected from the weather. We highly recommend the spa pass, purchased ours for $199 pre cruise and loved every minute of it. They actually limit the number of passes they sell and to be honest, there was only ever one time in the six days and 15 hours I spent in the spa that was "crowded" and by crowded, I mean there was one lounge chair for each person present (approx 60).

Mike & Sue

Thank you for the very thorough and informative review along with all of the photos. The various dailies and menus are much appreciated as we sail on the Bliss this Saturday; 23 June. We’re also excited to see all of the beautiful sights you’ve highlighted with your stunning photos. Thanks for sharing and informing! :D

Mike & Sue

Thanks, John. Glad you enjoyed the review. Yeah, it is pretty sweet that Seattle is the home port for the Bliss in the summer months. We loved the Bliss so much we are already planning our next cruise on her, hopefully a Mexican Riviera cruise next year. But I know I won't have The Waterfront all to myself on that itinerary! :cool:

Thanks for the awesome pix & very informative review. We sail on the Bliss with friends this Saturday 23 June. We’re all currently in Seattle for a conference this week, so furtuitous timing for us. We’ll definitely plan on enjoying the waterfront as well as our Thermal Spa pass :D

Mike & Sue