Semi-live from the Bliss 12/19

[OrcaGirl]

Embarking the Norwegian Bliss in a couple of hours for the 7-day Mexican Riviera itinerary (Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo san Lucas).

 

I’ll try to post 1-2 times each day with what we’re up to, though my particular focus will usually be cocktails, food, entertainment and excursion adventures. (I’ll likely also be posting lots of photos over on Instagram Stories; look for erin_braincandy if you just want all the photos and none of the chatter.)

 

A few background notes before we head over to the pier:

• This is our fourth time sailing Norwegian, our first time cruising to the Mexican Riviera, and probably our eleventh or twelfth cruise together.
• My husband and I are both double-vaxxed with AstraZeneca. We got our required-to-fly-to-the-US COVID antigen tests done  on Friday at a nearby drive-thru site, with the results back within 40 minutes. (FYI, antigen testing for the purposes of travel is not cheap in British Columbia, especially compared to Alberta and Ontario.)
• We sailed on the Encore in October out of Seattle to Alaska, and loved the ship and the experience. We felt that the COVID protocols in place made us feel as safe as we could reasonably expect to be when travelling during a pandemic.
• We were on the last sailing of the Norwegian Epic in March 2020 when cruising was suspended – we weren’t allowed to dock in San Juan for disembarkation and spent an extra 2.5 days at sea heading to Orlando instead. So going on two cruises in just under three months feels like making up for lost time. (I wanted to make a ‘Long time, no sea’ t-shirt but got lazy…)

 

We were supposed to have a relaxing flight from YVR to Orange Country airport yesterday, but our plane had a ‘systems failure’ and after circling over the Catalina Islands for 30 min we were diverted to LAX for an emergency landing. It was nerve-wracking but we landed safely. But I am going to be making good use of the drink package after all of that.

[thegriff]

Is your NCL app working this morning? Mine keeps getting a “failed to load page” error. 

[OrcaGirl]

7 minutes ago, thegriff said:

Is your NCL app working this morning? Mine keeps getting a “failed to load page” error. 

I also get an error message when I open it, but the in-app link to my edocs works fine, so I wouldn’t worry unless it still doesn’t work once connected to NCL wifi.

[OrcaGirl]

We spent last night at the Crowne Plaza… it’s fine for the price, convenient location, but otherwise meh. Our room smelled faintly of stale smoke and there was a plastic bag wrapped around the smoke detector, which was a bit concerning. And there’s obviously been a flood recently in the lobby.

 

Not sure if it’s a COVID thing or a staffing issue, but the hotel restaurant is only serving wine and beer (can’t write that without humming tunes from Rent), no cocktails. 
 

Due to our flight misadventures, we didn’t get to San Pedro until 2pm, and we were starving! The hotel restaurant was closed then so we walked a couple of blocks up to San Pedro Brewing Company and grabbed a seat on the sidewalk patio. Drinks were strong, food was tasty (the short rib fries in particular), service was friendly. Exactly what we needed.

[OrcaGirl]

(Not sure how to properly add photos from my phone, but let’s try…)

 

Photos:

1. Circling for 30 min while the pilot reminds us to reread the safety card on bracing position.

 

2. Delicious short rib fries at San Pedro Brewing Company.

 

3. Fire safety at the
Crowne Plaza

[debenson0723]

Looking forward to your review...I did this cruise last month and the ship and crew are fabulous. I did read yesterday that Carnival is skipping Cabo due to testing requirements now in place.  Have you heard anything about the Bliss doing the same?  I was thinking since NCL has testing at the port you all might be within the Cabo guidelines. Even though I was on during Thanksgiving week, we still only had 1786 passengers.  Would be curious to hear how many are on now.  Have a wonderful time!

[OrcaGirl]

5 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

Looking forward to your review...I did this cruise last month and the ship and crew are fabulous. I did read yesterday that Carnival is skipping Cabo due to testing requirements now in place.  Have you heard anything about the Bliss doing the same?  I was thinking since NCL has testing at the port you all might be within the Cabo guidelines. Even though I was on during Thanksgiving week, we still only had 1786 passengers.  Would be curious to hear how many are on now.  Have a wonderful time!

Oh interesting, I wonder if that’s the real reason that NCL moved Cabo up to be our first port of call instead of last. Will definitely post if it gets cancelled but that would be such a bummer - Cabo is the only port that we were able to book scuba diving for my husband with the revised port times.

[debenson0723]

3 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

Oh interesting, I wonder if that’s the real reason that NCL moved Cabo up to be our first port of call instead of last. Will definitely post if it gets cancelled but that would be such a bummer - Cabo is the only port that we were able to book scuba diving for my husband with the revised port times.

If they did that, then it makes sense.  You will have been tested 2 days prior to going there, whereas with Carnival some people would be 4 days past testing even if it was the first stop, since they don't test at the port, and I believe that is past the guidelines. Fingers crossed you make it!

[szpal]

So excited to follow along with your adventure--I'll be hanging on every word. We're flying down Christmas Day and will be on the Bliss next week!

[styxfire]

So glad you finally get to resume your sea-life.  I'm looking forward to hear your impressions of the cruise & the ports.  I'll be doing the exact same cruise, 3 weeks after yours.   I'd also LOVE to see copies of the Freestyle Daily's.  I'm clueless as to how to schedule dinners without knowing what nights the broadway shows are scheduled.

 

Thanks for being willing to share!  Looking forward to hearing more.

P.S. If possible, can you share the cost of the Thermal Suite that is shown in the Freestyle Daily? (onboard price)

[OrcaGirl]

6 minutes ago, styxfire said:

So glad you finally get to resume your sea-life.  I'm looking forward to hear your impressions of the cruise & the ports.  I'll be doing the exact same cruise, 3 weeks after yours.   I'd also LOVE to see copies of the Freestyle Daily's.  I'm clueless as to how to schedule dinners without knowing what nights the broadway shows are scheduled.

 

Thanks for being willing to share!  Looking forward to hearing more.

P.S. If possible, can you share the cost of the Thermal Suite that is shown in the Freestyle Daily? (onboard price)

I will definitely hang on to the Dailies to post when I’m home but may not be able to post them during the cruise; will depend on how quickly I use up my wifi minutes. 
 

I feel the same re: scheduling dinners around shows; our first stop after checking in at our muster station will be The Social to make our show reservations — will post a pick of the list of times for sure, but it seems like due to differing itineraries and COVID disruptions the show schedules are very different week to week so far this season.

[OrcaGirl]

Had a quick breakfast at the hotel, now chilling in our room watching the awful Point Break remake until it’s time to walk over to the port. We picked an 11am arrival time, hoping to avoid a long wait between testing and boarding.
 

Peekaboo ‘view’ of the Bliss from our room…

 

[mlgb]

Cool! I live next door in Long Beach. Never have heard of short rib fries. I am booked on the Bliss 5 Day Cruise next month (to use up my Cruise Next credit).  Bliss was my last cruise in Nov 2019 (3 week repo LA to NYC). I'll be interested to hear about your precruise testing and the shore excursions.

 

I really liked the Observation Lounge, the Jersey Boys show and the Indian food in the buffet.  For specialty dining we liked the French place best for food and service (saw the Captain there both times that we went). I see people complain about the Mexican place but I liked it (and it was easy to get a booking).  Be sure to let your waiter know if you are trying to make a show.. At Cagney's we had to gobble down our desserts in order to make our booking. Took forever for him to come and take our order. Allow two hours there, at least.

 

The MDRs are a weak point, spotty service and fairly limited menus in all three. When we complained about the service issues to the dining manager, she comped up a meal at the Food Republic. After that, I think they sat me in the "good waiter" section in the MDRs and put a "complainer" flag next to my name. Things did get better.

Edited December 19, 2021 by mlgb

[OrcaGirl]

A bit chaotic getting there (a lot people have pretty much given up on the concept of distancing) but we dropped off our luggage, got our noses swabbed, and are awaiting results. 
 

[OrcaGirl]

Just got our negative results, woot woot!! Approximately 1 hour and 15 min from the time we entered the testing terminal.

 

On the shuttle to the check-in area; wanted to walk but was told it wasn’t allowed.

 

edited to add: at 12:18 the line to get into the testing location is reaaaaaaaaally long, stretching back almost to the ship. 

Edited December 19, 2021 by OrcaGirl
Adding new info

[OrcaGirl]

On board! Quick stop at our muster station (Cagneys) and then to our spa cabin on Deck 15 to check out our angled balcony, then up top to find food and drinks.

 

Decided to start with American Diner for the lobster sliders (now lobster and shrimp sliders, hmm…) and a couple of margaritas. Paying a la carte instead of using up a dining credit. 
 

The husband has abandoned me to go listen to the house band playing The Cure (his favourite band) by the pool, but I’m sure he’ll return for his margarita.

[OrcaGirl]

Photo time: 

 

The line for COVID testing around 12:45pm (with gap to allow vehicles through)

 

Treats!

 

American Diner menu switched from lobster sliders to lobster and shrimp “sliders”…

 

 

 

[The Traveling Man]

14 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

Photo time: 

 

The line for COVID testing around 12:45pm (with gap to allow vehicles through)

 

Treats!

 

American Diner menu switched from lobster sliders to lobster and shrimp “sliders”…

 

 

 

Are those lobster AND shrimp sliders, or are they lobster OR shrimp sliders?  When we were on the Epic a few weeks ago we were able to get them with just lobster meat, no shrimp.

[Oakman58]

46 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

Photo time: 

 

The line for COVID testing around 12:45pm (with gap to allow vehicles through)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll be a son of a gun.  They changed back to the original building they were doing the Covid testing in.  I wonder why?

Edited December 19, 2021 by Oakman58

[OrcaGirl]

42 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

Are those lobster AND shrimp sliders, or are they lobster OR shrimp sliders?  When we were on the Epic a few weeks ago we were able to get them with just lobster meat, no shrimp.

Lobster AND shrimp. Didn’t ask about alterations. I was suspicious that it would be heavy on shrimp and little lobster, but it was fairly balanced. Small but damn tasty. 
 

[SAPMAN]

Great posting.  I am on the 9 Jan Bliss, but got a 9-9:30am check in.   Maybe a wait after test and check in before boarding - but at least likely seated?   Was the process: 1 line up for covid test and get results, 2 go to check in for ship card, 3 wait for shuttle to the ship (do they board based on when you finished covid test?).   

 Do you know when they started Boarding?

We are at Crown Plaza also.  Do they have shuttle to ship or is it easy to haul bags to ship or should be Uber/Lyft?    Thanks

 

[OrcaGirl]

14 minutes ago, SAPMAN said:

Great posting.  I am on the 9 Jan Bliss, but got a 9-9:30am check in.   Maybe a wait after test and check in before boarding - but at least likely seated?   Was the process: 1 line up for covid test and get results, 2 go to check in for ship card, 3 wait for shuttle to the ship (do they board based on when you finished covid test?).   

 Do you know when they started Boarding?

We are at Crown Plaza also.  Do they have shuttle to ship or is it easy to haul bags to ship or should be Uber/Lyft?    Thanks

 

 

It was: drop off bags, wait in line to enter testing terminal, wait in line for actual testing, get tested, wait for results; then shuttle to actual check-in terminal; go through security; check-in; then board.

 

We walked (10 min?) but the hotel did have a shuttle. Heard other people booking it when we were checking in.

[SAPMAN]

34 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

 

It was: drop off bags, wait in line to enter testing terminal, wait in line for actual testing, get tested, wait for results; then shuttle to actual check-in terminal; go through security; check-in; then board.

 

We walked (10 min?) but the hotel did have a shuttle. Heard other people booking it when we were checking in.

Thanks so much for the reply.  I think I am glad I have a 9-9:30 check in time... Even if a wait somewhere in the process, should get a good seat.   Once you know, list the shows and times if you can.

[kpjb]

2 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

 

The husband has abandoned me to go listen to the house band playing The Cure (his favourite band) by the pool, but I’m sure he’ll return for his margarita.

 

They were doing a whole Cure show, or just one song?  I'm totally down for a Cure cover show.  We're on Bliss in January.  Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[kpjb]

Oh dear, that testing line.  Our flight doesn't land at LAX until 11am, so I scheduled a 12:30 check in.  I am not looking forward to that.

 

I've always wondered about this:  when you couldn't disembark in Puerto Rico and spent the extra days sailing to Miami, did they extend the drink package, or were you on your own for those days?

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by kpjb