Just off a fully sold out Bliss - the good, the bad, and the inbetween. Taking questions.

[Lakesregion]

Got to love all the NCL cheerleaders. No matter what a reviewer has to say they have an excuse why it is the reviewers fault. I can just imagine their response to a review from a Titanic passenger. "Guess you should not have booked  an inaugural sailing but I will book as soon as they refloat the ship."

[david_sobe]

Thanks for sharing your experience.  I also have stayed in Haven suites inside the Haven and outside forward penthouses with Haven access.  While its nice having a bigger cabin, the Haven experience was not the same due to the long walks to the complex.  It felt like you are only visitors.  I call it Haven-light.  For a little more money, go for the Haven experience especially on such a big and wonderful complex like on Bliss.

Most people always defend their decisions but its great to hear honesty that there is a reason why those cabins are less expensive even though you get access to the Haven.  Staying inside the Haven on Encore was a dream.  Our cabin was 10 steps to the Horizon lounge.  We soaked it all up inside the complex.  I would have hated to keep walking back and forth.

A good analogy is:  Do you want to stay at an ocean front resort with your room over looking the pool, ocean, and restaurant  OR do you want to stay at a less expensive hotel within 3 blocks walking distance and you have access to the beach and pool, etc.  No comparison in my book.

BTW, I have also cruised Valentines Day week and its something I avoid.  There are all sorts of single mingle cruisers that just overtake every venue.  One night at Cagneys the entire restaurant was booked exclusively for a singles club.

Edited February 19, 2023 by david_sobe

[rxlowry]

5 hours ago, www3traveler said:

You chose to cruise during one of the busiest weeks in a cruise schedule-- Midwinter Break for many many school districts-- therefore lots and lots of people.  About what I woulld have expected.

Sorry your cruise did  not meet your expectations.

Just off Encore and super crowded. Not many kids at all.  Barely a teen or middle schooler in sight.  A few little ones and babies.  Demographics was 40-60s 

[rxlowry]

I’ve always hated the folding chairs they bring out.   
thanks for the Virgin info.  I’m very interested in trying them. 

[BirdTravels]

26 minutes ago, Lakesregion said:

Got to love all the NCL cheerleaders. No matter what a reviewer has to say they have an excuse why it is the reviewers fault. 

Sure.... 

 

"We booked a room at the front of the ship and the front of the ship moved a lot and your could hear the waves breaking on the bow". Rah rah rah  

 

"It was unsafe to dock in Costa Maya, so that was unacceptable. We should  have risked the ship and the passengers and forced ourselves into the dock". Rah rah rah 

 

We forced our way onto the dock at Costa Maya in high wind conditions and there were endless complaints because a lot people did not run down the wet and slippery gangway fast enough and got whacked on the side of the head by the waves breaking over the gangway.

 

"Gosh,,, it was raining in Roatan and the vendors decided it was unsafe to operate tours in the rain,,, like ATVing through mud where there was a 100% chance that people would get stuck. Or ziplining in the rain which would put you at risk of getting stuck on the wire. Or horseback riding in the rain down muddy paths where the horses could get injured" Rah rah rah 

 

"We waited in line 20-30 minutes at the pool bar instead of walking 1 minute to the buffet bar which had no line"  Rah rah rah 

 

"We don't like origami, only 70 year olds would like that"  Rah rah rah 

 

"We don't like DJs, we demand live music"  Rah rah rah 

 

[uneamie]

One of the things I've notice with these big ships, or I should say what I think they do which impacts a better experiece, is........they build these mega ships to pack in as many cabins and pay restaurants as they can....leaving too little space for people to gather in all the public places. I think it's avoidable. We are booked on the new Prima in May and I am hoping it's not going to be the same experiece we had on the Breakaway with all common areas pack full of people. I just can't handle that. We are not in the Haven so we will have no place to go unless we book he Vibe which is pretty costly for us. That said, thank you for the very details review and so sorry you had so many disturbing issues. 

[coldferret]

21 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

u

h 

 

"We waited in line 20-30 minutes at the pool bar instead of walking 1 minute to the buffet bar which had no line"  Rah rah rah 

 

 

 

Thank you for that information. When did they start serving more than beer and wine?

 

 

[chloe173]

4 hours ago, oteixeira said:

Anyway, what I am trying to say is I am glad you found a line that works well for you in Virgin.  

Yeah, wasn't saying that Virgin was the only line for me - someone asked a specific question about my experience there that I was responding to. I've actually cruised NCL more than any other line - this was my 4th NCL sailing, and the other three (all pre-covid) were all considerably better experiences.

 

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

"We booked a room at the front of the ship and the front of the ship moved a lot and your could hear the waves breaking on the bow". Rah rah rah  

 

Ah, there you are, I knew as the ultimate NCL apologist you'd be here soon. 😄

 

I won't bother arguing with you except for this one, because the situation I explained that happened the first night wasn't "normal" front of ship movement. It literally sounded and felt like a helicopter was landing on top of our room - that's how much movement we're talking about. Glasses in the living room bar area falling out of their holder by the wall, the closet turning into a strobe light because of how much it was shaking. We literally called down to Guest Services to ask what was going on and if we needed to move to a Muster station - that's how much shaking we're talking about. It was like nothing I've ever experienced on any ship. Others who had rooms at the front of the ship had similar experiences - this was definitely NOT something to anticipate no matter where your cabin is.

[chloe173]

Annnnnnd at least 6 people in the FB group for this cruise are now reporting testing positive for Covid. Great. Just super.

[oteixeira]

3 minutes ago, chloe173 said:

Annnnnnd at least 6 people in the FB group for this cruise are now reporting testing positive for Covid. Great. Just super.

That will happen on every cruise, and in your home town.  Covid is still something anyone can get, so people will get it.  Hopefully it will be mild for all and they will recover well.

[chloe173]

4 hours ago, david_sobe said:

For a little more money, go for the Haven experience especially on such a big and wonderful complex like on Bliss.

Absolutely agree about this. I honestly sort of misunderstood the ship deck plans re: the courtyard suites - I mistakenly thought they overlooked the courtyard directly, rather than having a hallway between them and the courtyard. I thought being right on the courtyard could possibly be noisy. But now that I have seen the actual layout, I absolutely would have chosen the courtyard rooms instead. Hindsight is 20/20, but being in the Haven complex would have been a step up for sure.

[PATRLR]

10 hours ago, chloe173 said:

Annnnnnd at least 6 people in the FB group for this cruise are now reporting testing positive for Covid. Great. Just super.

If I had to guess, I'd say 6 is probably a low number for a situation with 4000 people in tight quarters.   

(Please don't ask me to support that statement in any way.  I very clearly stated it was a guess)

 

[Calicoskies1234]

Covid is just like a cold or flu or Norovirus risk that could possibly affect you on vacation. 12 out of my group of 19 on the Breakaway have Covid from early Feb sailing. That’s the new normal. Only way to prevent a respiratory virus would be a hazmat suit and oxygen mask 24/7. 

[SunshineGal2022]

20 hours ago, chloe173 said:

Well, for one thing Virgin includes all exercise classes in the cruise fare, so they have things like sunrise yoga, bungee aerobics (which i found i am TERRIBLE at, but i suppose you do burn calories from laughing at yourself, lol), and the "VHS" (Video-Hair Metal-Simmons) 80's themed aerobic workout, which people dress up in 80s gear for and is all set to the most cheesy 80s songs. Rather than boring ol' bingo - they have drag queen bingo, which was a hoot. They had upcharge classes to teach you bartending, or food photography, which we didn't do but we heard good things about.

And they also would have members of their "Happenings Staff" as they call them just scheduled to hang out in certain areas at certain times....so like, "The Gamer" would be hanging in a bar with like 10 board games, and would organize people to play different things together. Another bar would have "The Charmer" (onboard magician) and would just hang out with whoever showed up and do up-close magic.

 

So it felt a lot more social and active overall - a lot of variety.

 

 

This sounds so fun!  Activities like this certainly invoke a different atmosphere than napkin folding.  I would like both atmospheres, but would prefer the Virgin cruise style that you describe.
 

I would be disappointed in the cruise too. If you spend $10K+ on a vacation, you would hope to not have as many little things go as poorly as you did.  The port stop issues in a storm/ bad sea conditions were understandable.  But when you combine that with everything else, it would not be a great trip. Hopefully one day you can look back on this trip and laugh at the constant issues. 
 

I would tell DH to get an X-ray, to make sure there is not a bone piece stuck under his gums.  

[wil e coyote]

OP, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts on your cruise. FWIW, we sailed on a fully sold-out Escape back in January. We were also in the Haven, but as we walked around the ship, we couldn't help but notice how full it was and how long many of the lines were, and I can't count the number of times we thanked our lucky stars that we had booked (and were able to afford) the Haven. We had a great time - but we made it to all our ports so that probably affected our point of view.

We've sailed on fairly large NCL ships pre-COVID (Epic in early 2020, non-Haven) and didn't notice the same feeling of everything being super-crowded. I know my sensitivity to large crowds has changed over the past 3 years, and I am spoiled by our recent Haven cruises. But in my opinion (no facts to back this up) it does seem that the crew is less well-equipped to handle a full ship than they were pre-pandemic. I hope that is due to restart pains and things will return to "normal" eventually.

FWIW, if you do cruise NCL Haven again, and if you have a competent concierge, you can take any Guest Services requests to the Haven Concierge desk and they will take care of it. We have done that multiple times, and it beats the heck out of standing in line down on Deck 6.

[chloe173]

2 hours ago, SunshineGal2022 said:

I would tell DH to get an X-ray, to make sure there is not a bone piece stuck under his gums.  

 

Yep, he's booked a dentist appt for next week. He says it'll feel totally fine most of the time, and then out of nowhere he'll get a twinge of pain in that same spot again, so clearly something's still up with it. Thanks for the recommendation!

[chloe173]

1 hour ago, wil e coyote said:

But in my opinion (no facts to back this up) it does seem that the crew is less well-equipped to handle a full ship than they were pre-pandemic. I hope that is due to restart pains and things will return to "normal" eventually.

I think that's exactly right, and it boils down to lack of experience.

 

One of our favorite crew members this trip was Yuliya in the Cellars Wine Bar. She told us it was her 15th contract, she had met her husband on ships, etc. And she told us that a LOT of the more experienced folks like herself that have done numerous contracts didn't come back after the covid break, and so it seems like they're operating with a much higher percentage of rookie crew members, or crew who started right after covid and so had never seen a full ship before. 

[justhappy]

18 hours ago, david_sobe said:

Thanks for sharing your experience.  I also have stayed in Haven suites inside the Haven and outside forward penthouses with Haven access.  While its nice having a bigger cabin, the Haven experience was not the same due to the long walks to the complex.  It felt like you are only visitors.  I call it Haven-light.  For a little more money, go for the Haven experience especially on such a big and wonderful complex like on Bliss.

Most people always defend their decisions but its great to hear honesty that there is a reason why those cabins are less expensive even though you get access to the Haven.  Staying inside the Haven on Encore was a dream.  Our cabin was 10 steps to the Horizon lounge.  We soaked it all up inside the complex.  I would have hated to keep walking back and forth.

A good analogy is:  Do you want to stay at an ocean front resort with your room over looking the pool, ocean, and restaurant  OR do you want to stay at a less expensive hotel within 3 blocks walking distance and you have access to the beach and pool, etc.  No comparison in my book.

BTW, I have also cruised Valentines Day week and its something I avoid.  There are all sorts of single mingle cruisers that just overtake every venue.  One night at Cagneys the entire restaurant was booked exclusively for a singles club.

To each their own I guess, I would rather pay more and have more room and be outside the Haven, I enjoy the walking from aft to Forward and seeing what’s going on around the ship. If I stayed within the Haven complex all day long I’d go bonkers. You’re comparison to an oceanfront room vs 3 blocks back is not valid IMO.

Give me that Oceanfront aft view all day long❤️

[justhappy]

4 minutes ago, justhappy said:

To each their own I guess, I would rather pay more and have more room and be outside the Haven, I enjoy the walking from aft to Forward and seeing what’s going on around the ship. If I stayed within the Haven complex all day long I’d go bonkers. Your comparison to an oceanfront room vs 3 blocks back is not valid IMO.

Give me that Oceanfront aft view all day long❤️

 

[pc_load_letter]

I dunno, we were on Bliss out of San Pedro for a five day last Thanksgiving and it was great. Not perfect, but we had a really good time.

 

Because we slum it with the poors, we ate in the MDR most evenings and enjoyed it. Buffet was nice for lunch. Even late The Local was excellent. We used our free specialty dining in the steakhouse and it was all very good.

 

I do agree the main pool deck is small. I agree with the poster above that these mega ships seem to be making pool decks and outdoor space small. It's quite frustrating because most ports don't do much for us unless it's in the Med. We generally stay on the ship.

 

I thought Six was boring and it put me to sleep. Jersey Boys was good but not my cup of tea. I'd rather see NCL license Rock of Ages. The Beatles cover band from Argentina was excellent. We did both shows and were first in line at the Cavern Club. Got there about an hour early.

 

We did enjoy the gocarts and they had the World Cup match US v Iran on the big screen which was fun.

 

We will definitely sail on Bliss again from San Pedro. But I agree with the OP on a number of her points.

[chloe173]

2 minutes ago, justhappy said:

I enjoy the walking from aft to Forward and seeing what’s going on around the ship.

The challenge with that on this particular ship was really mostly around the elevators making it difficult to get anywhere. There isn't an elevator bank for guests in the front of the ship, just the ones at the mid and back, and so all the elevators were crammed all the time, and that made it difficult to get to the Haven to take advantage of our perks. 

 

So, for example, because we were Haven we could get priority walk-off disembarkation. But we had to get ourselves and our luggage up to the Haven to take advantage, and with the mid-ship elevators totally jam packed for disembarkation day, it took close to 20 minutes just to get an elevator to get us to the Haven. I suppose we could have lugged our bags up the 6 flights of stairs to get there that way, but that wasn't super appealing first thing in the morning either, lol.

[chloe173]

1 minute ago, pc_load_letter said:

Even late The Local was excellent.

Oh, that's another fun issue from our sailing I forgot to even mention, lol. There was a fire in the Local one night. You can likely find the video going around about it if you search on that other site CC won't let us mention. Smoke pouring out of the kitchen, alarm going off for like 30 minutes. Yikes.

[justhappy]

2 minutes ago, chloe173 said:

The challenge with that on this particular ship was really mostly around the elevators making it difficult to get anywhere. There isn't an elevator bank for guests in the front of the ship, just the ones at the mid and back, and so all the elevators were crammed all the time, and that made it difficult to get to the Haven to take advantage of our perks. 

 

So, for example, because we were Haven we could get priority walk-off disembarkation. But we had to get ourselves and our luggage up to the Haven to take advantage, and with the mid-ship elevators totally jam packed for disembarkation day, it took close to 20 minutes just to get an elevator to get us to the Haven. I suppose we could have lugged our bags up the 6 flights of stairs to get there that way, but that wasn't super appealing first thing in the morning either, lol.

The Bliss is like all the other Breakaway class ships I have sailed on and has two elevator locations, forward (which are really closer to midship) and aft.

 I never had an issue in an aft stateroom walking to the aft elevators and going down to deck 8 and walking the waterfront forward and catching an elevator or up to deck 15 and walking forward. And this was on the Escape with a sailing of 4600 guests. Sorry that your experience was different.
   As to having to taking your luggage up to self disembark I agree that is difficult. I hope your husband is ok and that y’all enjoy whatever cruise line is best for you. I’m glad we all have choices.

[newty25]

We're on the Bliss for a Mexican Riviera cruise in a few weeks and I hope the concierge has figured it out by then. You should never be going to customer service desk on the ship, that's what the concierge desk is for. And, if you needed to go there for any reason, the concierge should be walking you down there personally to see that you get taken care of immediately. And, you should never be waiting in lines as a Haven guest... it's the one thing I love taking advantage of by staying in the Haven. Bring your room phone with you everywhere and call the concierge if you have any problems.

 

Seems you've figured out that staying in the Courtyard is best place for the Haven. And, I've heard you can bypass other floors in the elevator using your keycard, but I've never tried it. Would be funny to have a full elevator and keycard directly up to 17/18 though!

[warb]

This Forum reminds me of a  Car & a Lawnmower Forum I use. At times 

you get Criticized for asking a Question about a Known Problem  a Car 

has.  I thought your Post was very Informative. All things on this Cruise

weren't right.  I haven't Cruised for 5 or so years, but I enjoy reading

 

Other Cruisers Reports.  Most of my last Cruises were on NCL. 

 

Some people have a near-perfect Cruise & some don't on the Same Cruise. 

I was Lucky that some negative things were taken care of or made better

by Great Management in years gone by.