Quick Review - Bliss - 3/16/19 - 3/23/19

[lonzwinery]

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!