Semi-live from the Bliss 12/19

[OrcaGirl]

2 hours ago, kpjb said:

 

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.

They played Cure, R.E.M., Soul Asylum, U2, Coldplay, etc. The band’s name was Siqlo I think… gonna make a point of catching more of their shows. More our style than Beatles etc. 🙂

[OrcaGirl]

2 hours ago, kpjb said:

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?

 

They extended the drink package and our thermal spa passes, so we were happy. But the extra days didn’t count towards Latitude points. 

[OrcaGirl]

Trying to post the entertainment schedule, and maybe it’s the signal and maybe it’s the many drinks, but it’s being a pain. 

[OrcaGirl]

Where were we? After lunch, we had some hot tub time and enjoyed several more beverages before heading back to the room to dry off and get ready for sailaway. Except we didn’t sail away at 5pm as planned. So I went to the spa raffle (no luck) while the husband stayed in the cabin for a disco nap.

 

We eventually left port around 6pm (delays due to people still in the check-in lines).

 

[OrcaGirl]

Dinner was at Le Bistro (our first time dining there). Everything was delicious (scallops, French onion soup, filet), and the service was top notch. Only issue was some loud-talkers at a table near us, though I do admit i got a bad case of the giggles when the dude did a whole “well actually, champagne is only from the Champagne region of France, otherwise it’s sparkling wine” spiel without any irony…

 

 

 

 

Apres dinner, we hustled our way down to the Social for the 18+ comedy show. Really enjoyed Leo Flowers — very funny, gracefully handled a very drunk woman who was disrupting his show with her own interjections. 

[DraesMiran]

Loving this. Thank you!

[KAYKAY121]

WOW! That line, we are going right after you! Thanks for the LeBistro pics. Now I know I made the right choice for anniversary dinner.  Enjoy your cruise.  Please post the venues for the band you love. Way more the hub's taste. And can you elaborate on the mask situation, there are so many varying descriptions of what you have to do (should they be required when we sail). I just need to know how many to buy.

[vacation44]

Thank you for the live trip thread and have an wonderful cruise!

[julie3fan]

Thank you for taking time out of your days to post for us.  We're doing the B2B on Jan 9th and 16th, and I'll be hanging on to your every word!

[OrcaGirl]

Let’s talk masks. We booked through a certain membership-based warehouse store’s travel division, and never received any communication from them or NCL about the new mask mandate for this cruise. I wouldn’t have known in advance except for folks sharing their notifications here on CC.

 

We packed our own masks (a mix of 3-layer fabric masks, disposable paper masks, and a couple N95s. There were two packaged KN95s waiting in our cabin. 

 

There was a notice about the masks in the first day’s Freestyle Dailies, plus a few PA announcements. There are some signs of in the indoor areas of the ship. 

 

But there was no mention of it during the check-in process so I imagine a few people got caught off-guard.

 

So far most people seem to be complying when in indoor areas… a small few who aren’t, a larger few who think walking around with a cup of coffee or a beer in their hand means that they can be unmasked altogether. So not all that different from home, actually. 

 

Heading to the thermal spa after breakfast, will report back on the mask situation there. 

[szpal]

Enjoying the report so far! Do you know how many people are on board? We sail next week and I'm curious how crowded (or not) it is.

[Travelicious]

56 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

a larger few who think walking around with a cup of coffee or a beer in their hand means that they can be unmasked altogether. So not all that different from home, actually.  

Spot on!

[Niffernay]

Loving your review. Thanks so much for taking the time to keep us all informed.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise!!

 

[vacationut]

1 hour ago, OrcaGirl said:

Heading to the thermal spa after breakfast, will report back on the mask situation there. 

 

Yes please. Very eager to hear how this is going to work.

[OrcaGirl]

2 hours ago, szpal said:

Enjoying the report so far! Do you know how many people are on board? We sail next week and I'm curious how crowded (or not) it is.

Not sure, but it does not feel crowded AT ALL. Comedy club has lots of seats last night, lots of available tables in the buffet this morning. A few towels out saving prime seats near the pool, but lots of free seats.

 

Seems less busy than our end-of-season Encore cruise to Alaska.

[OrcaGirl]

Random notes as I enjoy my first mojito of the day and wait for the husband to get back from the gym:

 

The husband thinks the Garden Cafe is smaller on the Bliss vs the Encore, I just think it’s a slightly different layout, e.g. the bar is at the very front and easy to miss. Cruise ship hash browns may be my favourite thing, but I didn’t see a single one this morning! Buffet remains self-serve but they seem to have staff at the juice/coffee stations.

 

We’re staying in an spa cabin on Deck 15, and there’s some definite shimmy at the back of the ship. I loved it, it was like being rocked to sleep last night. It’s less pronounced than when we were on the Encore during rough Alaska seas, but if you’re sensitive to motion or prone to seasickness be aware.

 

The band we really liked is actually called Siglo with a g, not Siqlo with a q. They had a show at the Cavern Club last night (but we had conflicting dinner reservations) and looks like they’ve got two shows there again tonight (New Wave / Alt Rock and then a Classic Rock show).

 

But we’re going to see Six tonight and I’m so excited!!! Divorced, beheaded, died! Divorced, beheaded, survived! I just got an email yesterday that my tickets to a touring Broadway production of Anastasia in Vancouver for January were just cancelled due to new COVID protection measures and I’m missing live musical theatre sooooo much, so I need this.

 

Loving the Christmas decorations throughout the ship. Especially the jellyfish decorations on some of the trees, and the sassy Santas on the gingerbread cruise ship. They’re also playing Christmas songs over the PA in the hallways, and many of the staff are wearing Santa hats. 
 

 

Our room steward is the sweetest guy, and I’m glad I packed a little Christmas present for him (chocolates and cash). 

 

I’ll admit, we specifically booked this trip because we thought it might be our best opportunity to go on a Christmas cruise with the fewest possible children around… no offence to the parents out there… 😉 I’m not good at estimating kids’ ages, but there seem to be just a handful of kids under 12, and lots of teens. 

 

Maybe when your wife says ‘look for whales,’ don’t point at her and say ‘found one’… (not my husband, he knows better.)

 

Learning a few phrases of Tagalog and Indonesian has really paid off in surprising the crew when you say hello or thank you in their own language. 

 

[vacation44]

24 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

Random notes as I enjoy my first mojito of the day and wait for the husband to get back from the gym:

 

The husband thinks the Garden Cafe is smaller on the Bliss vs the Encore, I just think it’s a slightly different layout, e.g. the bar is at the very front and easy to miss. Cruise ship hash browns may be my favourite thing, but I didn’t see a single one this morning! Buffet remains self-serve but they seem to have staff at the juice/coffee stations.

 

We’re staying in an spa cabin on Deck 15, and there’s some definite shimmy at the back of the ship. I loved it, it was like being rocked to sleep last night. It’s less pronounced than when we were on the Encore during rough Alaska seas, but if you’re sensitive to motion or prone to seasickness be aware.

 

The band we really liked is actually called Siglo with a g, not Siqlo with a q. They had a show at the Cavern Club last night (but we had conflicting dinner reservations) and looks like they’ve got two shows there again tonight (New Wave / Alt Rock and then a Classic Rock show).

 

But we’re going to see Six tonight and I’m so excited!!! Divorced, beheaded, died! Divorced, beheaded, survived! I just got an email yesterday that my tickets to a touring Broadway production of Anastasia in Vancouver for January were just cancelled due to new COVID protection measures and I’m missing live musical theatre sooooo much, so I need this.

 

Loving the Christmas decorations throughout the ship. Especially the jellyfish decorations on some of the trees, and the sassy Santas on the gingerbread cruise ship. They’re also playing Christmas songs over the PA in the hallways, and many of the staff are wearing Santa hats. 
 

 

Our room steward is the sweetest guy, and I’m glad I packed a little Christmas present for him (chocolates and cash). 

 

I’ll admit, we specifically booked this trip because we thought it might be our best opportunity to go on a Christmas cruise with the fewest possible children around… no offence to the parents out there… 😉 I’m not good at estimating kids’ ages, but there seem to be just a handful of kids under 12, and lots of teens. 

 

Maybe when your wife says ‘look for whales,’ don’t point at her and say ‘found one’… (not my husband, he knows better.)

 

Learning a few phrases of Tagalog and Indonesian has really paid off in surprising the crew when you say hello or thank you in their own language. 

 

Is the first picture taken in Vibe?  Do you know if it sold out?

[exgman]

2 hours ago, 3kidsncats said:

I just got off Bliss, along with about 30 friends.  Some of us had bug bites, but not from tiny bugs in the cabin — so I don’t know that I would say BS, but maybe they were just guessing incorrectly.  There are crickets hanging out on deck 8 but doubt they were the culprits.

 

We observed crew scrubbing and sanitizing everything pretty much all the time.  

I'm so glad you heard the crickets. Every time I brought my wife to hear them, they would shut up. She thought I was crazy. 

[sergirl1]

4 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Heading to the thermal spa after breakfast, will report back on the mask situation there

I love the thermal spa.  I can't image being there with a mask.  How was it? 

[Old & Retired]

On 12/19/2021 at 12:17 PM, OrcaGirl said:

 

 

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

Like most things they tell you at the terminal, that's false. It is allowed.  We did as well as others.

P.S.  It is much faster to walk.

 

[Old & Retired]

4 hours ago, szpal said:

Enjoying the report so far! Do you know how many people are on board? We sail next week and I'm curious how crowded (or not) it is.

Projected to be about 3000.

[ElizaSTN]

2 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

 

LOVE the book selection!!!!

 

Enjoying your review and can’t wait to hear about the spa.

[Trogger]

I'm really interested in the Mask enforcement outdoors. I'm seeing reports online of some cruisers on NCL being asked to mask up while laying outside tanning.

[Niffernay]

2 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Learning a few phrases of Tagalog and Indonesian has really paid off in surprising the crew when you say hello or thank you in their own language. 

I did this; they seem to love it!

[3kidsncats]

1 hour ago, exgman said:

I'm so glad you heard the crickets. Every time I brought my wife to hear them, they would shut up. She thought I was crazy. 

Several people in our group did — there was talk of a cricket hunt and rescue party but ultimately sitting and making the most of the beverage package won