Live from the Bliss March 12-26, 2023: Letters Home to Dad

[mearsfansinboise]

11 hours ago, drumming cruisers said:

Interesting, I have read on other posts about San Pedro if you're in Haven you can go to the front of the security line and bypass the tent. 

Love your reviews.

 

Will be on Bliss in a couple of weeks.

This was not the case when we sailed the Bliss out of San Pedro last Spring Break.  Same line for everyone.  It's not until you are in do you get the Haven treatment (shorter line, lounge, etc.).  We sail again the 26th, so, we'll see ...

[YVRteacher]

Muster Drill

As I was walking from deck 19 to deck 8, I saw people sitting on the floor at every hallway entrance waiting for their cabins to be ready.  In what I can only describe as irony, the cruise director kept telling people to look on the back of their cabin door to be prepared for the muster drill.  Cabins are not yet available.  People who are trying to get to their cabins are getting spoken to sternly.  No one is looking at the back of their cabin door, Dan Dan.

 

Moment of interest: the largest cargo ship I have ever seen just passed us.  It is NYKline. Wow!

 

In the muster drill, people payed as much attention as a class of third graders learning about the history of colonialism.  You know you really got through to them and delivered an inspiring lesson when you ask for questions and one little guy puts up his hand to ask why the booger in your nose is so chunky.  Not that that ever happened to me…

You know what did happen?  The muster drill from hell.  

After we had been sitting cheek to cheek for 30 minutes our station leader started calling names of people who hadn’t yet checked in at their muster station.  They called a name and a woman said “that’s my husband.  He’s in the cabin.”

The NCL staff said “he needs to be here.”  The woman queried, “should so go get him?”

Cue mass groaning noises.

 

The District Brewhouse is a ridiculous location for a muster drill.  12 people could see the life jacket demonstration and the rest of us will be donning our life jackets upside down and backward with the leg strap wrapped around our forehead.

 

After the life jacket demonstration the cruise director (Dan Dan) went over A LOT of rules over the PA system.  Most people were standing and a lot looked like were going to faint.  I’m not exaggerating.  It was an awful muster drill.

 

Normally I feel like it’s officially vacation time after the muster drill but with cabins not being ready and being unable to unpack, it wasn’t until about 5pm that I felt officially, OFFICIALLY on vacation.  This is almost a whole day of my trip.  In my opinion the changes NCL has recently implemented are impacting passengers’ first days of vacation. If they are going to take away 1/7 of my vacation they should charge 1/7 less.  Right?

[YVRteacher]

Day 1

Sailaway was stunning.  The morning cloud finally lifted and the sun felt wonderfully warm and vacationy.  

I walked laps around the waterfront to get some exercise and enjoy the workings of the port.  I think I read that the port of Los Angeles is the largest port in North America.  It’s busy even on a Sunday.  People need their imported goods from China!  Has anyone read A Year Without Made In China?  It’s a non-fiction book documenting a year in the life of a family from New York who set themselves the challenge of living without buying anything imported from China.  Could they get birthday candles?  No.  Shoelaces? No.

 

I did something brave today.  I’m very much an introvert and meeting new people is hard at first.  For the first time as a solo cruiser I went to the solo cruiser’s gathering.  Gloria, the team member from the entertainment staff, is wonderful.  She connected with everyone, made us feel comfortable, explained how to get involved with solo gatherings and took us to the solo lounge.  There were about 30 people there and I enjoyed myself.  I’m already looking forward to our next gathering.  

I’ll write a separate post and start a thread about staying in a studio cabin but I can already tell that I like the experience and feel like a world of opportunity has just opened up to me when I cruise by myself. 

 

For dinner I went to my favourite restaurant on the Bliss: Los Lobos.  When the waiter asked I I had any allergies I said no but I’m a vegetarian. Ok, he said, you can have the beet salad.

No, I said.  I will not have the beet salad.  I would like the tableside guacamole, half portion of vegetarian tacos, a side of elotes and a side of plantains.  Small portions of didn’t happen but I will say everything was delicious.  The main course came before the appetizer but oh well.  The servers were friendly (even if they did tell me to order beets) and I liked being in a non-crowded space.  

I ordered a frozen margarita but I think it was tequila-less because when I stood up after dinner I could walk.

Overall it was a great first meal.  All the food I’ve eaten and all the food I’ve seen today looks excellent.  

After dinner I lingered at the table for while since I was finally getting wifi then walked around the pool deck.  The fog has covered us like a baby’s blanket and there is an eerie, mystical quality to the pool deck. Wakanda Forever is playing outdoors and people are enjoying it from the hot tubs.  I too wanted to go hot running but the ones on deck 17 and 19 were full so I headed to Spice H2O and ended up staying there until they told us it was closing time at 11:

  What I’m experiencing so far (yes, I know it’s day one) is that people are friendly, easy to talk to and not pushy.  Yes, it’s a big crowd this week but my sense is that is a good crowd.  At one point I was in the hot tub with a group of college students from Spokane.  They are big fans of their school’s basketball team and are trying to figure out how to watch the games this week.  They were so fun to talk with and listen to.  Anyone who talks about college students on spring break should probably take some time to talk to them and not about them.  These guys were awesome!  Shout out to Gonzaga!

I ordered a mudslide and had it well away from the hot tub water.  The bartender kept coming and telling people not to drink in the hot tubs.  He moved my drink so far I couldn’t reach it then another bartender came and threw it away.  Who throws away a Mudslide?  That has got to be a violation of the bartender’s alcoholic oath.

 

The evening’s excitement truly began when I came back to the cabin to shower and go to bed.  The shower part was fine but my advice is to start doing a lot of squats if you are going to book a studio cabin.  If you drop something in the shower there is not room to gently fold over and pick it up.  Oh contraire.  One need to slowly squat and reach then rise up without out knocking the glass soap dish out of position.  Glass.  Unsecured. In a shower.  That’s just stitches and a lawsuit waiting to happen.  

When I went to use the hair dryer it sputtered a bit but no hot air came out.  This is the exact opposite of Cruise critic posters who blow off hot steam every time someone asks about opening patio dividers, wanting a towel change more than once a day or blowing bubbles off the balcony.  

Oh shoot!  I forgot my bubbles!

Important detail: the hair dryer has a European two prong plug. Anyhow, I called housekeeping who did not answer.  Then I called the front desk who did not answer.  Then I called both departments again.  After 50 rings guest services answered.  When I told him the hair dryer didn’t work he told me to put my key card I the holder.  I told I had light and electricity but the hair dryer was broken.  He put me on hold and never came back.  I called again and the phone rang 50 times before disconnecting.  I called back and the front desk guy put me on hold again.  Then he said someone from maintenance would come.

Maintenance came at 12:45pm.  The hair dryer did not work.  He started to dismantle it in the cabin and so told him no, he could fix it somewhere else and he just needed to bring a working hairdryer.  He left and came back at 12:50 to tell me the hair dryer works so the socket must be broken.  I told him to please bring me a working hair dryer so I could dry my hair.  He told me the other sockets didn’t work either.  I told him I used the other socket to charge my phone and it worked just fine.  He wanted to fix the socket.  I wanted to dry my hair and go to bed.  Eventually I told him no more.  It is bed time.  If my hair looks awful tomorrow you know why.

[Oakman58]

16 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

 

There is a group of 6 people in line behind me and they all just shared the same tube of chapstick.  Ew ew ew.

 

 

 

Probably a group of "kissin' cousins" from a certain southern state.

[BlueWatersCruising]

The food pics look so good.  I can’t wait to get onboard next week.   Is it possible to post the dailies to see what is going on each day?

[YVRteacher]

Behind the Scenes Tour

The short version:  loved it!

The long version:

Behind the Scenes tours on the Bliss resumed March 1, 2023.

There are so many latitudes members on board they are running several Behind the Scenes tours at different times.  I had to set an alarm to be on time for my 9:00am tour.

We began on 1-95 then entered the galleys on deck 6.  On previous Behind the Scenes tours we have gone to the galley in between breakfast and lunch so few people were working.  Today it is breakfast time and hundreds of people are working on both breakfast and lunch.  The well-spoken Chef de Cuisine explained that there are 249 crew members who work in this galley and that he tastes all the food 45 minutes before each service.  He also said they cook in small batches on the Bliss so food is always hot.  The bakery lovingly (my word, not his) prepares 700 lbs of pastries and breads each morning. 5000 eggs go into each day’s pastries.

 

We saw birthday cakes being iced and decorated and learned there are 28 bakers creating specialty cakes and desserts.  

 

After the galley we traipsed down to the laundry. On the Bliss laundry is washed on one deck and dried on another.  Laundry

For sheets Runs every 2 

minutes 

Press the water out squish like pizza dough

Nearly everything is mechanized and I notice a big difference in the process between the smaller ships and the larger ones.

Used towels that no longer have a life as guest towels go to engine room to sop up whatever engines emit.

Medical laundry is washed at

170 degrees F.  Crew wear PPE when doing medical laundry.

 

 The folding machine is called a mangler.  I asked how much it cost and the laundry master said over a million dollars.  It is built at the shipyard while the ship is being built.

 

At the folding station, we meet a crew member who’s job for the entire day is to separate sheets into different sizes.

 

Back to I-95

Did you know there are two levels of crew decks on decks 6, 7 and 8?  There are decks 7-1 and 7-2 etcetera.  Crew on the Bliss are in Jack and Jill cabins with their own room and a shared bathroom.  I know from talking to crew that if one person got Covid, the other had to isolate as well.  They were paid during this time.

 

Theatre

 

The Six costumes are handcrafted for each queen in New York and some of them cost over $1000.  The boots with Swarovski crystals need to be re-bedazzled after each show. Since the costumes for the Queens are handcrafted they can not be washed so they are cleaned with vodka.

 

It takes 4 hours to take down the set for Jersey Boys and set up for Six.  Even the floors are rolled up then changed.

 

When Six is playing, the cast stays on stage for the whole 75 minutes except coming off for water.  When Six is first brought into a ship, New York

management comes on to ensure the show is true to script and no alterations are made. 

New York records the show and there is a recorded track in case someone is sick and unable to perform.  There is one female drummer and if she can not do the show the recorded drumming music is used.  This is the sixth cast of Six on the Bliss and the 8th cast of Jersey Boys.  Contracts are for six months.

[mlgb]

" Me - May I please book Ocean Blue for Saturday March 18?

NCL person: Yes, that will be Wednesday at 6:45pm

Me-blink blink"

LOLOLOLOL

If you are vegetarian do check out the Indian station in the buffet.

Edited March 14, 2023 by mlgb

[lostone65]

As always I enjoy your reviews, and like everyone else will miss your Dad!  We will be on the Bliss twice this year the first in July to Alaska and since we live in an hour ferry ride from the Seattle port we are excited to sail from home and skip the travel days! We will sail her again in November for the Mexican Riveria.  I have a good friend that works for NCL and was given a personal tour of the Bliss in 2019 and I was able to see I-95 on embarkation day and other areas between passengers disembarking and embarking it was amazing!  

 

I look forward to continuing the rest of your live! 

[YVRteacher]

Day 2

 

I’ve never experienced a Cruise Critic Meet and Greet like this before.  

People started schmoozing with the officers as soon as they entered.  

The name tags were small and not readable and it was obvious there were more people from FB than Cruise Critic.  

The GM started by talking about the changes with NCL and how they are for the environment. There is a slight chance I may have rolled my eyes.  

 

He also said the the passengers on the previous cruise (repositioning through the Panama Canal) packed a lot of luggage which impacted their disembarkation thus delaying our embarkation.  This is the fullest the Bliss has been since the restart with 4699 passengers.

There are almost 300 housekeeping staff.

 

I really appreciate how kindly the GM spoke about the department managers in his introductions.  His respect for his team is evident.

 

For lunch I savoured my favourite: Indian food from the  Garden Cafe.  Wow!  So delicious.  I always love the Indian food but the Aloo Methi was exceptional.  I went back to the station to compliment the chef.  

The Garden Cafe is the busiest I’ve ever seen with people lined up at each station.  If you go farther toward the bow there are no lines at the different stations. What surprised me is how many NCL crew members (management, spa, entertainers) were eating at the buffet and sitting in the Garden Cafe on a cruise with this many passengers at peak lunch time.  It used to be certain staff could eat at the Garden Cafe at off-peak times which is fine.  Passengers are trying to find tables and crew are using tables.  How do you feel about this?

 

I spent the afternoon on deck 19 on the sundeck.

  The people next to me were wonderful to chat with and share cruising adventures.  I was facing sideways so the left side of my body is slightly sunburnt.  

As the sun became hotter we headed inside and I went to the Observation Lounge to charge my phone.  The lamps all have USB ports.  Do you know what my dad would have loved most about today?  Watching this!

 

Tri-bond trivia happened at 4:15.  I love Tri-bond and scored 20/20 as a team of one.

We had a short solo meet up then I headed to the Latitudes party which was held in the Observation Lounge.  Drinks were flowing and food is no longer served.  No door prizes (which we haven’t had since the restart.)

Officers nodded at people as they entered then reappeared for their introductions.  The Cruise Next manager did a great job hosting the party.  

Some stats:

1724 crew on board

1676 latitudes members

600 invited to the party

250 showed up

11 Diamond on board

1 ambassador on board

 

NCL has 500000 Latitudes members and 300 are ambassadors.

 

I didn’t linger because Six is at 7 and I needed dinner.  I scarfed some hummus and pita then secured a row 4 aisle seat for Six.  So excited!!!!

Edited March 14, 2023 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

I’m really struggling with slow/not working internet so will post the Freestyle Dailies later. Today the NCL app had the Freestyle Daily for yesterday.  Will share my interaction with the Internet Cafe people later.  It’s a doozy.

[drumming cruisers]

Popsicles? where do you get those? I have never seen them on a cruise. 

[Prnsessmoi]

Haven't been on a cruise since right before the shutdown, and have only been on 2 cruises total. We found it helpful previously, to have our sail cards punched, and hook on a lanyard. Have read that that is no longer possible, with a new type of card. So, I am wondering now, if the cards are in a clear pouch type thing on a lanyard, will the card have to be removed each time to be "swiped", or can it be read through the clear plastic?

Thanks! Enjoying following along.

[YVRteacher]

Cards are not swiped.  They are tapped.  Yes, they can be read through the plastic pocket on a lanyard. 

[#55worktoplay]

On 3/10/2023 at 12:08 AM, YVRteacher said:

The app is CBP MPC (customs and border patrol mobile passport control.)

Is it Mandatory to use the app?  

[YVRteacher]

No, it’s not mandatory but it sure made the process quick. No questions asked since you’ve already answered everything on the app.

[YVRteacher]

Just a quick note to say I am having a wonderful time and am so impressed with the crew and the passengers.  Some cruises have a special feeling on board and this is one of them.

The food, the condition of the ship, the bartenders, the entertainment, the cleanliness of the cabins and the public areas are all outstanding.  

[vacation44]

Very happy to read you are having a wonderful time!  

[mearsfansinboise]

On 3/12/2023 at 8:24 PM, YVRteacher said:

After that I went to Guest Services to get my anti seasick pills.  I am the kind of person who gets seasick even when the ship is docked so these are essential.  I take one tablet every 12 hours.  The person I spoke with gave me two packages.  I had asked for enough for 7 days.  She told me they aren’t allowed to give more out. I told her that wasn’t correct and she gave me 7 packages.

Are these free?

I always buy a box of Bonine before a cruise, it's got the same mg of Meclizine in it, but if I can get it for free on board ... 

[YVRteacher]

Yes, they are free.

[YVRteacher]

Day 1

[YVRteacher]

[YVRteacher]

Day 2 Part 3

 

Dream come true!!  I saw Six!!!  

Exhilarating

Empowering

Energizing

 

The immensely talented cast, the costumes with their attention to detail (make sure you look at their earrings!), the personalized boots with Swarovski crystals, the powerful, powerful lyrics, the text language, the references to other singers and songs, the remix of how the stories are told, the music, the female musicians.  All of it.  I loved all of it.  I went to the first show, had a quick second half of my dinner then went back for the 9:30 show.  What a night!  (See what I did there?  Jersey Boys is on in a couple of days…)

Thank you to this fabulous cast and crew for a brilliant on-board production.

Quick note: there are so many people on board that the guy making pizza in the Garden Cafe can not keep up.  The moment a pizza is put out it is gone in a flash of melted cheesy goodness.

[NikiPinkston]

So enjoying your review, and especially the Behind the Scenes Tour. Is the tour only for Platinum and above? (We won't be platinum until after our next cruse on the Bliss this May, but I would love to do this tour.) The Bliss is my favorite NCL ship and I love reading all of your positive comments. We don't mind the once-a-day cleaning of the staterooms, but I've been reading comments from other ships about how overworked and unhappy the stateroom attendants are & that made me sad. Have you seen any of that? As always, loving your review and your wonderful sense of humor! I also love Tri-Bond Trivia. We'd make an awesome team!

[fstuff1]

22 minutes ago, NikiPinkston said:

I've been reading comments from other ships about how overworked and unhappy the stateroom attendants are & that made me sad. Have you seen any of that?

 

overworked room stewards?

what do they do now in the evening since they're no longer cleaning our cabins?

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

59 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

 

overworked room stewards?

what do they do now in the evening since they're no longer cleaning our cabins?

They are busier than ever:  staffing has been reduced so they may only clean your room once per day, but they're now responsible for more than twice as many rooms......