Recent experience on the Bliss to Alaska

[MidCitiesMan]

I’m sending this to NCL, and thought I would share. 
 

What was right:

• Roberto is an excellent cruise director. Have cruised with him in the last. 

 

• The officers Q&A is always good.

 

• The food was better than previous cruises.

 

• The level of service on the ship overall was better. This may have been because the ship was at half capacity, but most of the crew seemed happy to be here. 

 

• The washy washy people at the buffet were entertaining. 

 

 

What was wrong:

• The boarding process in Seattle was atrocious. It was very hot in the terminal and took much longer than a recent cruise on Princess.

 

• Our cabin steward, Wilson Rato Reblando, was mostly absentee. We never got ice or a bucket. 

 

• Our stateroom was dirty when we checked in. It was not vacuumed before or during our cruise, and there was hair on the desk from where previous guests had shaved. I have serious doubts that our stateroom was properly sanitized. 

 

• The chairs in the atrium are in poor condition. 

 

• The $100 onboard credit for being a shareholder should have been applied to the shareholders (me) onboard account. It was split equally between our party.

 

• Latitudes rewards discount was not applied to an excursion we booked onboard. We had to go to the desk and request it. She is gold and I am silver. 

 

• Our stateroom was very noisy. Slamming doors resonated through it, and the paneling by the balcony door creaked anytime the ship was moving. 

 

• The phone lines are crossed. To call stateroom xxxxx, they call yyyyy. And vice versa. They shared details about me with the wrong room, and details about them with us on another call. There were billing mistakes with room service as a result.

 

• We got Covid on the ship, despite us being fully vaccinated and wearing masks nearly all the time we were in public areas. 

 

• When I went to the medical center, they made me put on a new mask. Which was fine. Except they had me reach into a box of unsealed masks and fish one out. I touched masks that other guests would later put on their face. Think about that. 
   
• The medical center cannot provide a schedule of fees. I understand why am ER cannot, negotiated rates with insurance. But NCL doesn’t bill insurance. 
   
• The CARE team is not living up to their promises of following up with us. We paid them for our flights, and need them rebooked. The longer they wait, the more it will cost us. 

 

Neither right nor wrong, just worthy of mention. 

• Getting off the ship was surreal. The COVID positive people were last off. They came to our room in full hazmat suits. Didn’t speak, just gave hand signals as they guided us off the ship. Someone followed us with an aluminum machine that we assume was to kill germs. They took us to a freight elevator in the terminal. We didn’t even have to clear customs. Loaded us and other sick people into a van to this hotel. Then the van driver just has 2 surgical masks on and drove with his window open.

[julig22]

On the same cruise, no complaints.  No issues with boarding but I had priority (sapphire) access.  But I did come home with a cold, thanks to the tour guide in Victoria.  Excursion should have been cancelled.

But to address a couple of your comments-

the shareholder credit is always split but I believe you can have it adjusted if necessary.

You have to request your latitudes credit, it's not automatic if you book onboard. Never has been.

Some 300 crew members were leaving the ship.  My steward told me she'd been on the ship for 9 months. So I expect some were pretty much already checked out, although not an excuse.

Did you ask for ice?  Hasn't been a thing for quite some time, even pre-covid, unless you ask.

No way to know if you got covid from being on the ship, pre-cruise travel, or an excursion.

Hope you are feeling better.

[MidCitiesMan]

Julig, we saw the steward twice in 5 days. Hard to ask him for ice.

 

Amusing you know where you got your cold, but state I can’t know where we got Covid. We tested negative on Friday and Wednesday, positive on Friday. It was on the ship or an excursion. 
 

Thanks for the other info. Appreciate it and the well wishes. 
 

 

Desiree, I’m not asking for preferential treatment. I’m expect them to protect other passengers by not making me reach into a box of masks other guests will be putting on their face. I had not problem changing my mask. I stated that. 
 

 

We never heard from the care team as promised. 

[Jason82]

Sorry to hear you got Covid. Did you get quarantined to different stateroom like others have?

[cjetson1997]

I am so sorry you came down sick with Covid and hope you and yours are doing well and on the roads to recovery. I’m trying to get back into cruising, but still so hesitant due to varying protocols. I am also sure that being sick only exacerbated the other less than favorable conditions on the ship. Can you comment on any of the services received while ill on board?

[MidCitiesMan]

6 minutes ago, Jason82 said:

Sorry to hear you got Covid. Did you get quarantined to different stateroom like others have?

Not a different room, our stateroom. But thank you. It is mild for both of us thankfully. If we can get our arrangements nailed down I will sleep better. 
 

Our Seattle quarantine is at the Hilton Garden Inn, and they have been lovely. I might switch my hotel preference for rewards to Hilton as a result. 

[MidCitiesMan]

2 minutes ago, cjetson1997 said:

I am so sorry you came down sick with Covid and hope you and yours are doing well and on the roads to recovery. I’m trying to get back into cruising, but still so hesitant due to varying protocols. I am also sure that being sick only exacerbated the other less than favorable conditions on the ship. Can you comment on any of the services received while ill on board?

The room service while in quarantine was good. We were happy with that. We weren’t charged for the delivery and were able to get items from the dining room menu. They were also great about sending someone to pickup the tray after. 

[MidCitiesMan]

1 minute ago, Desiree Hooter said:

 

 

 

So sorry to hear you got sick. I hope you and your wife had a speedy and trouble-free recovery. 

 

~Desireé

 

Thank you very much. That is nice. 

[MidCitiesMan]

2 hours ago, Belinda Van Krevel said:

honestly the more youse talk about the bliss the more I know it's a dud

It is a beautiful ship. I guess we drew the short straw. I do wonder how many people thinking they have a cold or sinus infection actually have Covid. Our symptoms were so light we considered not getting tested. It was out of an abundance of caution for ourselves and other passengers that I decided to. It has been a wave of emotions but I’m glad I was tested. Hopefully I didn’t pass it on to anyone else. 
 

I think the actual cases onboard are much higher than reported for several reasons. First no one wants their vacation cut short. Second the test is $149, and because the cost of quarantine in port is not insignificant. Then there is the uncertainty of how we will get home. 

 

Our costs for onboard medical, quarantine hotel, and food delivery will exceed $2,000. Add in whatever the flight changes end up costing and it could be $3k. We have travel insurance but it has limits. NCL gave us a letter indicating they would cover some if insurance denies the claim, but it too has limits, and considering their care team still hasn’t contacted us, I have doubts about their follow through. It felt like they just wanted us off the ship in a manner that satisfies the CDC and local laws. 
 

I do wish I had investigated and understood the insurance better. That would be my advice. Is there a travel insurance thread? I have much to learn. And lots of free time lol. 

Edited May 24, 2022 by MidCitiesMan

[julig22]

58 minutes ago, MidCitiesMan said:

It is a beautiful ship. I guess we drew the short straw. I do wonder how many people thinking they have a cold or sinus infection actually have Covid. Our symptoms were so light we considered not getting tested. It was out of an abundance of caution for ourselves and other passengers that I decided to. It has been a wave of emotions but I’m glad I was tested. Hopefully I didn’t pass it on to anyone else. 

Count me in the "it's a cold" group.  Tested negative yesterday but positive today.  Doubt I passed it to anyone, I drove to the port and had no symptoms until after I got home.  That's probably what the tour guide thought also...I think there were about 100 passengers on that bus.

[MidCitiesMan]

5 hours ago, julig22 said:

Count me in the "it's a cold" group.  Tested negative yesterday but positive today.  Doubt I passed it to anyone, I drove to the port and had no symptoms until after I got home.  That's probably what the tour guide thought also...I think there were about 100 passengers on that bus.

I am sorry to hear that and hope you heal quickly. 

[G-DawgMN]

11 hours ago, MidCitiesMan said:

Julig, we saw the steward twice in 5 days. Hard to ask him for ice.

 

 

 

 I always leave the steward a note with any requests that I have and typically they get filled. I do know that there were a fair amount of staff members near the end of their 9 month contract, we had been recognized by many bartenders since we had been on back in October. That still isn't an excuse to not clean your room though.. 

 

Sorry that you caught Covid on the cruise, we were on a few weeks ago and tested positive when we got home.

[deliver42]

There is no excuse for a dirty cabin, whether coming on board or during the cruise. The steward should have been reported.

[njkate]

9 hours ago, MidCitiesMan said:

It is a beautiful ship. I guess we drew the short straw. I do wonder how many people thinking they have a cold or sinus infection actually have Covid. Our symptoms were so light we considered not getting tested. It was out of an abundance of caution for ourselves and other passengers that I decided to. It has been a wave of emotions but I’m glad I was tested. Hopefully I didn’t pass it on to anyone else. 
 

I think the actual cases onboard are much higher than reported for several reasons. First no one wants their vacation cut short. Second the test is $149, and because the cost of quarantine in port is not insignificant. Then there is the uncertainty of how we will get home. 

 

Our costs for onboard medical, quarantine hotel, and food delivery will exceed $2,000. Add in whatever the flight changes end up costing and it could be $3k. We have travel insurance but it has limits. NCL gave us a letter indicating they would cover some if insurance denies the claim, but it too has limits, and considering their care team still hasn’t contacted us, I have doubts about their follow through. It felt like they just wanted us off the ship in a manner that satisfies the CDC and local laws. 
 

I do wish I had investigated and understood the insurance better. That would be my advice. Is there a travel insurance thread? I have much to learn. And lots of free time lol. 

So NCL is charging $149 for test if you go to medical? I’m sailing the Bliss in July and the more I read the more nervous I become,  I will bring covid tests to test before I’d go to medical if any of us get symptoms 

[MidCitiesMan]

49 minutes ago, njkate said:

So NCL is charging $149 for test if you go to medical? I’m sailing the Bliss in July and the more I read the more nervous I become,  I will bring covid tests to test before I’d go to medical if any of us get symptoms 

Yes, $149 for the test, $199 to see the doctor (for 3 minutes), and $44 for two bottles of DayQuil. For one person.  
 

At this point the frustrating part is waiting on the CARE team to contact us about rescheduling our flight home. I suspect their delay will cost us more than the trip to medical. 

[julig22]

25 minutes ago, MidCitiesMan said:

Yes, $149 for the test, $199 to see the doctor (for 3 minutes), and $44 for two bottles of DayQuil. For one person.  

That's very interesting - seems like they were more concerned about norovirus than covid.  They were always announcing that if you had GI issues your visit to medical was free.

Hope you get home soon!

[ShakeDaddy]

Nice write up and enjoyed your comments.  

 

On the room steward we had Wilson in December on the Bliss Mexican Rivera deck 9 and really enjoyed him and found his service to be excellent.  We like to have ice everyday delivered and after the request to him on day 1 had it delivered without fail.   

 

Hope your feeling better soon.

[MidCitiesMan]

3 hours ago, ShakeDaddy said:

Nice write up and enjoyed your comments.  

 

On the room steward we had Wilson in December on the Bliss Mexican Rivera deck 9 and really enjoyed him and found his service to be excellent.  We like to have ice everyday delivered and after the request to him on day 1 had it delivered without fail.   

 

Hope your feeling better soon.

Thank you. Our steward experience was atypical for sure. I am guessing he was at the end of a long contract and probably had more rooms than usual.