Bliss Questions

[Cruising89143]

As someone who has not cruised on NCL in about ten years I have a few questions. 

 

First the recent reviews for this ship here on CC are not great. Now I have been on Cruise Critic long enough and know to take most reviews with a grain of salt but seems that the Long Beach embarkation can be a challenge. Anyone have any comments? We are booked in the Haven and I know that there should be someone to check in with outside the terminal to let them know that we’re in the Haven. Not sure if that will be the case. We’re the first cruise for the fall season out of LA in October.

 

Also in a recent review someone stated that they had to pay for the show Havana. Really? They missed the show due to dinner running over but stated that they were charged anyway. I knew that some of the entertainment had a charge but not the main shows. I’m also aware that like RCI entertainment has to be pre booked which I have no problem with. Was the charge comment accurate?

 

Thanks in advance for any comments on the above. 

[NW Pacific]

Our Bliss Cruise Oct. 2018 was out of San Pedro, LA cruise terminal, which I am pretty sure yours will be also.  San Pedro was not set up yet for the BIG Ships, so we had a lot of standing inline gong through temporary  "tents" put out to accommodate the passengers that they haven't dealt with before.  We were in the Haven, but until you get inside the terminal, already through security, then start looking for Haven access and asking any NCL agent which way to go.  Once onboard you will have a grand experience.  Havana was no charge.  You can make reservations prior to sailing online I believe or with the Concierge once  in the Haven.  Concierge will give a talk about connecting with him/her about any reservations needed as soon as you get onboard.

[Cruising89143]

7 minutes ago, NW Pacific said:

Our Bliss Cruise Oct. 2018 was out of San Pedro, LA cruise terminal, which I am pretty sure yours will be also.  San Pedro was not set up yet for the BIG Ships, so we had a lot of standing inline gong through temporary  "tents" put out to accommodate the passengers that they haven't dealt with before.  We were in the Haven, but until you get inside the terminal, already through security, then start looking for Haven access and asking any NCL agent which way to go.  Once onboard you will have a grand experience.  Havana was no charge.  You can make reservations prior to sailing online I believe or with the Concierge once  in the Haven.  Concierge will give a talk about connecting with him/her about any reservations needed as soon as you get onboard.

 

Thank you. We will be prepared to deal with the boarding process. Not sure how someone could state that they were charged for a show when there isn’t a charge. That’s what I mean about reviews. 

 

We have been given the phone number to the concierge so will reach out for our specialty dining and entertainment reservations. 

 

Thank you. 🙂

[schmoopie17]

Havana is free, and deservedly so. While not horrible, it's just okay.

On the other hand, we would have gladly paid to see Jersey Boys. Fantastic show...and like Havana, it's also free.

[rmurray847]

The only thing I can think of re: HAVANA is that they had made a reservation, which you can do in advance online, and perhaps even though they didn't make it, they were "dinged" for having seen the show.  No cost; but no ability to make another reservation for another performance?  It's a stretch, I know...

[DeeandNatalie]

We boarded the Bliss a week and a half ago in Long Beach, and the port staff were highly unorganised.  We were looking for the Latitudes line after going through security, and they told us they were busy so they just "mixed all the lines up... go find one and you'll be seen as soon as possible".  

Yeah, nice.  Being Platinum didn't hold any weight with them.

 

[BirdTravels]

That’s part of it. The port staff do not work for NCL. They are just port agents. 

 

And with these “one off” cruises (well a couple of cruises) there is no “routine” like Miami where there are ships in port multiple times a week and the shore personnel understand the NCL lingo being used by the passengers.  

 

It’s unfortunate that the San Pedro port agent doesn’t train their staff with the basics. 

[Nola26]

Havana is a complimentary show, but Prohibition is at a charge, but recall it as a daytime option, not a main evening show.

[Cruising89143]

Thanks for all of the responses.

 

I thought that the review concerning Havana was incorrect. 

 

Does seem like that the Port of Los Angeles can be hit or miss. While I understand that those working at the port do not work directly for the cruise lines IMHO it’s each cruise lines responsibility to ensure that they’re representing the cruise in a positive way and well trained. Looking forward to cruising on the Bliss. 

[marktwothousand]

I just went on the Vallarta-Mazatlan-Cabo route out of LA last week on the Bliss. I would rate it as one of my top cruises ever and it was my second time on the Bliss. This is an excellent itinerary. Yes, the port is pretty ramshackle, but I arrived at 1 PM and was on the ship within an hour. People who arrived slightly after us seemed to have no wait at all - lines died down almost right after we arrived. Also, beware of aggressive porters at the port, the luggage guy was very demanding and rude about tips.

 

Also, debarking was pretty awful too, but again - I was last off the ship at 9:45 and it still only took 15-30 minutes to get through customs. The customs lines were 4-5 snakearounds, but they were just waving people through for the most part.

 

I wasn't in the Haven, and, from what I could SEE, the "Haven" side of the port didn't look all that great, save being separated with different signage and shorter lines, but, hopefully, the "quality of the port for Haven customers" isn't on the list of most people's pro's and con's about taking this cruise because it is one of the BEST itineraries going right now on the Bliss. Eyeballing it, I'd say at 1 PM the Haven check-in line was about 10-20 people deep and the main line was 50-80.

 

Also, I had a chance to attend a passenger's sailaway reception at Cabo in an aft Haven Penthouse, and it was quite the fancy experience. You are in for a fabulous time.

[Cruising89143]

1 hour ago, marktwothousand said:

I just went on the Vallarta-Mazatlan-Cabo route out of LA last week on the Bliss. I would rate it as one of my top cruises ever and it was my second time on the Bliss. This is an excellent itinerary. Yes, the port is pretty ramshackle, but I arrived at 1 PM and was on the ship within an hour. People who arrived slightly after us seemed to have no wait at all - lines died down almost right after we arrived. Also, beware of aggressive porters at the port, the luggage guy was very demanding and rude about tips.

 

Also, debarking was pretty awful too, but again - I was last off the ship at 9:45 and it still only took 15-30 minutes to get through customs. The customs lines were 4-5 snakearounds, but they were just waving people through for the most part.

 

I wasn't in the Haven, and, from what I could SEE, the "Haven" side of the port didn't look all that great, save being separated with different signage and shorter lines, but, hopefully, the "quality of the port for Haven customers" isn't on the list of most people's pro's and con's about taking this cruise because it is one of the BEST itineraries going right now on the Bliss. Eyeballing it, I'd say at 1 PM the Haven check-in line was about 10-20 people deep and the main line was 50-80.

 

Also, I had a chance to attend a passenger's sailaway reception at Cabo in an aft Haven Penthouse, and it was quite the fancy experience. You are in for a fabulous time.

 

Thanks for the comments. Nice to read about the same itinerary that we’re taking. We’re booked in one of the aft Penthouse. They look nice in the videos that I’ve seen on YouTube and I love aft staterooms. Regardless of how our embarkation goes it should be a great time. 

[hallux]

I was on the Bliss cruise last week, LA to Vancouver.  Embarkation went pretty quick, I got there around 11 and was on the ship within 30-45 minutes.  It was slightly disorganized though (not as bad as the shuttle from LAX was) - they shuffled me to the left but my boarding card was behind the counter to the right, those poor folks got their exercise.

 

The Havana question has been answered...

Edited May 6, 2019 by hallux