Bliss / Live / Solo - Dec-01-08-2018...

[ellenw]

On 12/11/2018 at 8:36 AM, sid_9169 said:

This sounds like something I would do... Only, I would be talking to myself, which I do sometimes anyway...

Even better 🤣

[deedle7544]

Inquiring  minds need to know....Are you still employed?

[sid_9169]

7 minutes ago, deedle7544 said:

Inquiring  minds need to know....Are you still employed?

Yes. In fact, I was the first one to work today... Fortunately, my boss has a high tolerance for me getting "lit" at the company party...

[deedle7544]

1 minute ago, sid_9169 said:

Yes. In fact, I was the first one to work today... Fortunately, my boss has a high tolerance for me getting "lit" at the company party...

Huge relief, I was worried about the February cruise  :P

[LincolnLegend]

Hi Sid!

I just wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed your trip report. As an Australian shift worker, although I have no plans to cruise with Ncl, I love to look for entertaining reads at times like this (3.00am) and your account certainly has kept me entertained for a little while!

I so understand your sentiments about loss and the kick it gives you to make life count, I started cruising because my best friend was diagnosed with cancer, we managed 3 cruises before she succumbed to the evil disease, I have done more since but still think of her all the time and send thanks for helping me discover the fun of cruising!

Cheers, Anne

 

[zabnee]

On ‎2018‎/‎12‎/‎03 at 10:13 AM, sid_9169 said:

I love this artwork outside the district brew house. Spent brass casings...

 

 

 

 

Now this is some artwork I can appreciate...  Spent primers and all!  

[OceanBlueWaters]

8 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

Yes. In fact, I was the first one to work today... Fortunately, my boss has a high tolerance for me getting "lit" at the company party...

Yay!  There is a Santa Clause!  Glad you are still in the workforce with us. Kudos to surviving "Holiday Party"!

 

🍹👍

[zabnee]

On ‎2018‎/‎12‎/‎12 at 8:41 AM, sid_9169 said:

After a considerable amount of deliberation, I've decided not to "go Live" on the Breakaway in February... After fighting against horribly slow upload speeds on the Bliss, I have to believe the BA will be the same or probably worse. I just don't need that kind of stress while on vacation.  I will, however be doing a "before & after" version, beginning with the usual pre-cruise shenanigans, this time in New Orleans!... This will be my first time sailing from there, and my first "real" visit to the city. Hotel and flights are booked, so stay tuned for a modified version of the usual review... 

 

Join me, beginning on or about February 5th 2019, when we get away on the Breakaway!...

This one will definitely be on my read list, live or not.  I've never been to New Orleans either, but will be cruising from there with Carnival in 2020.

 

Thank you, again, for everything you have endured to provide us with a little bit of entertainment.  Your vacation is worth for more, yet you persevered through internet turmoil and cruise crud to keep with us.  Thank you!

[marktwothousand]

I am travelling solo on the Bliss over Christmas, I won’t have internet, but I might still do a trip report. Stay tuned. It’ll be called something “Blissmas” if I do (putting dibs on that subject line before anyone else steals it) 🙂

[Moonglo]

On 12/1/2018 at 1:42 PM, sid_9169 said:

I present to you, the dream team of NCL bartenders. Bong and Cowboy (Clarense) at the sugarcane mojito bar...

 

 

And my first drink on board the magnificent Norwegian Bliss. A modified version of the cucumber jalapeno mojito, but with Patron silver instead of rum.

 

 

 

 

The Mojito bar is a good spot to relax and chill as I have found it to not be a busy bar....nice and low key for when I wanted a semi secluded spot to kick back a bit.

 

 

[Moonglo]

On 12/7/2018 at 6:26 PM, sid_9169 said:

This is the biggest BBQ platter available at Q. $25 Chicken, brisket, spare ribs, and sausage, plus four different sides. I'm going in...

 

I think Im in love.....lol that looks so delish!

 

[twisterfreak2280]

On 12/1/2018 at 2:23 PM, sid_9169 said:

All unpacked and ready to get this show on the road... (Or, on the ocean, I guess...)

 

My new home for the week. 12539 in the studio complex.

 

 

 

 

 

I like that the magazine rack isn't on the headboard like it is on Getaway.  It was really annoying there.  I'll be staying in a studio in February so thanks for the pics :).

[boomhower]

I usually frequent the Carnival forums but made a note that you were doing an NCL review.  Again it was a very entertaining ride.  I'm not a fan of the new site either, hopefully they will produce another app to make life easier.  Cant wait for the next installment!

[Bobbylah]

Thanks for all the hard work Sid. Loved your Magic review and was waiting for this one. Just binge read through. Sucks about the live challenges with the site/data speeds/etc, but the last think you want to be doing on vacation is getting stressed because the POS is not working.

 

Salutations from another 'vacation libation specialist'. Looking forward to the next one. Not really a tequila drinker (more vodka and rum), but your pictures have me sold on expanding my horizons on the next cruise.

 

Out of interest, of all of the hangover pills/patches you have tried out so far, which would be your 'go-to'?

 

Cheers.

[sid_9169]

5 hours ago, Bobbylah said:

Thanks for all the hard work Sid. Loved your Magic review and was waiting for this one. Just binge read through. Sucks about the live challenges with the site/data speeds/etc, but the last think you want to be doing on vacation is getting stressed because the POS is not working.

 

Salutations from another 'vacation libation specialist'. Looking forward to the next one. Not really a tequila drinker (more vodka and rum), but your pictures have me sold on expanding my horizons on the next cruise.

 

Out of interest, of all of the hangover pills/patches you have tried out so far, which would be your 'go-to'?

 

Cheers.

I believe there is some merit to all of the hangover pills / patches that I've tried... I used Flyby and Detoxx in the pill category with good results. I have also just placed a new order for the Rebound patches, which have now added a "new" ingredient since I first tried them on the Vista several moths ago. 

[sid_9169]

Well, life is strange and has a way of throwing curve balls at you out of nowhere... Last week, right before the Christmas holiday, I was laid off from my job of 11 1/2 years. This came as quite a shock to me, but the way I dealt with it was to just try and work through the 5 stages of grief as quickly as possible. Denial came and went, and I soon found myself in the "Anger" phase... To tell you the truth, I considered cursing out the owner and breaking a bunch of expensive stuff on my way out the door. Instead, I went home, got really drunk and broke some of my own stuff... I then skipped right over Bargaining, and moved on to the Depression phase. I guess you could say that I already have a good bit of experience with this, and I soon found myself at the final phase, Acceptance...

 

Now, here I am 40 days from my upcoming Breakaway cruise... I'm wayyy past the point of any kind of refund, not to mention the flights and non refundable hotel room at the InterContinental New Orleans. The good news is, that I think I've found another job already, and will hopefully be starting soon after the New Year. It's funny how life is sometimes... Your there, doing the right thing, paying your bills and whatnot. Then, BAM! Out of nowhere, you find yourself in a downward spiral of uncertainty. This is the first time in 5 years that I only have one cruise booked... I have a milestone birthday coming up in less than 9 months, and I'm not even in a stable enough place in my life to make plans for it. Hopefully this job will work out, and I'll find my rhythm again. It's safe to say that I'm going to party like it's 1999 on this upcoming vacation. 

 

I hope to see you all here in about 38 days for my Breakaway "Before & After" review... I'll be going "Live" again for the pre=cruise shenanigans, then hopefully relax for 10 days, while taking plenty of notes and pictures to post upon my return. With the loss of the Cruise Critic app, my days of posting directly from the ship are over. It was just too frustrating to fight against the ship WiFi and the new "improved" CC website. 

 

Again, thank you all for following my adventures, and hopefully we'll see you all here soon for the next adventure......

[SenatorsFan]

Sorry to hear about your job loss. It would indeed be great if you have found another job so quickly. You're right to take that Breakaway cruise and party like it's 1999.  I'll look forward to reading whatever you post. Best wishes for 2019.

Heather

[cruisewithbaby]

Following 

[SNJCruisers]

Heartfelt condolences regarding the job loss.  Sh*t happens and the man upstairs has a plan for us even though we sometimes can't quite comprehend how we're going to get from point A to point B to the finish line.  All I can say is keep enjoying all those Patron variations on your Breakaway cruise.

[ktmush2]

On 12/29/2018 at 12:07 PM, sid_9169 said:

Well, life is strange and has a way of throwing curve balls at you out of nowhere... Last week, right before the Christmas holiday, I was laid off from my job of 11 1/2 years. This came as quite a shock to me, but the way I dealt with it was to just try and work through the 5 stages of grief as quickly as possible. Denial came and went, and I soon found myself in the "Anger" phase... To tell you the truth, I considered cursing out the owner and breaking a bunch of expensive stuff on my way out the door. Instead, I went home, got really drunk and broke some of my own stuff... I then skipped right over Bargaining, and moved on to the Depression phase. I guess you could say that I already have a good bit of experience with this, and I soon found myself at the final phase, Acceptance...

 

Now, here I am 40 days from my upcoming Breakaway cruise... I'm wayyy past the point of any kind of refund, not to mention the flights and non refundable hotel room at the InterContinental New Orleans. The good news is, that I think I've found another job already, and will hopefully be starting soon after the New Year. It's funny how life is sometimes... Your there, doing the right thing, paying your bills and whatnot. Then, BAM! Out of nowhere, you find yourself in a downward spiral of uncertainty. This is the first time in 5 years that I only have one cruise booked... I have a milestone birthday coming up in less than 9 months, and I'm not even in a stable enough place in my life to make plans for it. Hopefully this job will work out, and I'll find my rhythm again. It's safe to say that I'm going to party like it's 1999 on this upcoming vacation. 

 

I hope to see you all here in about 38 days for my Breakaway "Before & After" review... I'll be going "Live" again for the pre=cruise shenanigans, then hopefully relax for 10 days, while taking plenty of notes and pictures to post upon my return. With the loss of the Cruise Critic app, my days of posting directly from the ship are over. It was just too frustrating to fight against the ship WiFi and the new "improved" CC website. 

 

Again, thank you all for following my adventures, and hopefully we'll see you all here soon for the next adventure......

Best wishes to you Sid, here's to you finding your equilibrium in 2019. There was another poster who said party like it was 1999, I agree but I think we're near the same age so I'm gonna say party like it was 1989!! 

[Noworkforme23]

I am so sorry about your lay-off..  I don’t know your occupation, but you have a huge talent of inspiring, writing, and captivating an audience. 

Your trip report before my December 8-15 Bliss sailing was so fun and I want to thank you for your time and effort you spent on your report. I just finished my Cruise Critic report of the Bliss and it should show up on the website in a few days. Can’t wait to read your next report. 😎

 

I already have another booked for December 2020 on the NCL Encore.  👍

[Noworkforme23]

On 12/8/2018 at 10:22 AM, Dayana said:

Hi can you give a quick review of your thoughts of the Hilton blue lagoon. I will be staying there in February (never stayed at this location before).  Want to know if it’s worth it.  Thanks.  

 

The Hilton Blue Lagoon was perfect. The beds were AMAZING.  It is a beautiful hotel and we just crashed and relaxed when we got there. We ordered Uber Eats from a Mexican food restaurant for dinner and ate it in our room and we had room service for breakfast the next morning. It was a very clean and beautiful hotel. I would stay there again most definitely. They have a cruise shuttle that was about $15 or something a person to get to the cruise port, but we decided to take an Uber XL to the port instead. It did not take more than about 25 minutes to get to the port. Our room rate was $256.57 and that included the taxes for a Lagoon view 2 queen bed room. Did I say the beds were AMAZING 😍

[OceanBlueWaters]

Sid/Wilson:

A:  This new CC site sucks.  It has me replying to people I don't even know and need to "clear"  before responding. Huh?

B:  Sorry what happened with your employment.  You will be okay. Believe.

1:  I always LOVED your reviews.  You gave a perspective to cruising for the solo traveler.

C.  You took us off "the beaten path" in your journeys.  So cool!

2:  There were no pics of your spouse/girlfriend showing the "fashion of the day and accessories".  LOL! Instead, you hit hard to the facts about your journey(s).  Perfect.  I honestly don't care about what anyone is wearing, or when/where they got photographed. I just want "facts" about destination(s) and what was hit/miss on your endeavor(s).  You always did that.  Others took me on a "Family Vacation".  I skipped over those since I was not amused...

3: This is all JMO 🙂

4:  Bring on all who disagree.  Good grief...

Looking forward to your next review. Hang in there...

🙂

 

[sid_9169]

On 1/3/2019 at 8:42 PM, OceanBlueWaters said:

Sid/Wilson:

A:  This new CC site sucks.  It has me replying to people I don't even know and need to "clear"  before responding. Huh?

B:  Sorry what happened with your employment.  You will be okay. Believe.

1:  I always LOVED your reviews.  You gave a perspective to cruising for the solo traveler.

C.  You took us off "the beaten path" in your journeys.  So cool!

2:  There were no pics of your spouse/girlfriend showing the "fashion of the day and accessories".  LOL! Instead, you hit hard to the facts about your journey(s).  Perfect.  I honestly don't care about what anyone is wearing, or when/where they got photographed. I just want "facts" about destination(s) and what was hit/miss on your endeavor(s).  You always did that.  Others took me on a "Family Vacation".  I skipped over those since I was not amused...

3: This is all JMO 🙂

4:  Bring on all who disagree.  Good grief...

Looking forward to your next review. Hang in there...

🙂

 

Thanks, OceanBlueWaters... I agree that the new site sucks, particularly when trying to post from a mobile device using a less than great WiFi connection (which is all that's available on board a ship) I have already found another job, though it's much more physically demanding than my last, and I'm not getting any younger... I will be coming back at you all with another review soon, although, the ship and port portion will have to wait until my return. I simply refuse to go through the frustration of attempting to upload from a less than ideal connection. In this regard, the "play by play" aspect will be lost, which is the part I enjoy the most. When I see something worthy, I go with it... I'm going to have to take a lot of written notes this time, in order to try and put up something cohesive and interesting... We'll see what happens... 

 

Thanks again for following and for your complements... See ya'll again about a month for the Breakaway review!...

[blarko]

The play by play and impromptu narration is the best part of your Live reviews. I sure wish that either the internet connection on the ships was better/faster or better yet, this site would go back to having the app. I only used the app and really dislike having to go to the website now. Congrats on the new job, that didn’t take long. Can’t wait for the next cruise adventure installment.