Just back…BLISS. November 5-12

[marne-c]

@laudergayle  Wow!  Super information!!!!  We will do exactly that!

 

--Marne

[HBCcruiser]

23 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

And I would sit in the chairs on the right side (when facing the counter) after checking in.

Do you happen to remember which berth/terminal you were in 91 or 92? The tent or the building?

[laudergayle]

7 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Do you happen to remember which berth/terminal you were in 91 or 92? The tent or the building?

The building. Do they sometimes use the tent?  If do, then my reco is worthless lol.

Edited November 16, 2023 by laudergayle

[HBCcruiser]

2 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

The building.

 

That makes sense. They used to have Haven pax exit right from the Haven waiting area, but lately they have not done that for some reason. They have to enter back into the main terminal area and through the main doors with everyone else. Thanks for the tip/info. 

[TwinMamainMN]

Thanks for posting and sharing your review. We are doing the same trip in early March. I made a note of that Deck 19 tip and hope it's still a hidden gem then too.

 

Do we need pesos to shop in Mexico from the small/independent vendors? We've always been able to use USD in the Caribbean and a Visa card at any brick and mortar store/restaurant. Thinking of a minimal amount for souvenirs, fresh fruit, shave ice, and so on where the vendor may not have credit card capabilities.

[cruiseny4life]

@laudergayle, hows the arm and bum? I hope healed and better than ever!

[InFullertonCA]

On 11/14/2023 at 2:24 PM, Bostonjetset said:

Oh the Cabo tenders were still a nightmare eh?  I do hope they get it together. I was there on Princess in 2019 and the experience was much better. 
 

I love Mazatlan. I think that may be my fave port in the area. The town is really cute with lots of local artisan places to shop. 
 

You mentioned $21 obc for the cancelation of Six. We got $21 obc early in our cruise and I can’t figure out why. Maybe because I complained about the hot tubs being closed?  I never asked for anything and was never told why I got this obc. It just showed up on my account and my husband’s account. If that is a standard amount for unpleasantries maybe I got it for my hot tub issue. That’s all I can think of looking back. 

@laudergayle@BostonjetsetDid your cruise skip a port (Acapulco)?  Maybe the $21 OBC was a refund of port charges??

[laudergayle]

9 hours ago, TwinMamainMN said:

Thanks for posting and sharing your review. We are doing the same trip in early March. I made a note of that Deck 19 tip and hope it's still a hidden gem then too.

 

Do we need pesos to shop in Mexico from the small/independent vendors? We've always been able to use USD in the Caribbean and a Visa card at any brick and mortar store/restaurant. Thinking of a minimal amount for souvenirs, fresh fruit, shave ice, and so on where the vendor may not have credit card capabilities.

We took around 150 in pesos.  Although everyone seemed to take credit cards.  If I were doing it again, I would take probably 500 in pesos for food, drink and trinket souvenirs.  I also suggest a USD to peso cheat sheet in $5 denominations.  Some would quote in USD others in pesos. It was nice to be able to do a quick look-see to get a good understanding of what an item actually costs.  
 

Enjoy your cruise. It’s whale season in March.  

[Bostonjetset]

8 hours ago, InFullertonCA said:

@laudergayle@BostonjetsetDid your cruise skip a port (Acapulco)?  Maybe the $21 OBC was a refund of port charges??

My cruise didn’t skip any ports. It was just a five night to Cabo and Ensenada. The $21 remains a mystery haha. 

[laudergayle]

8 hours ago, InFullertonCA said:

@laudergayle@BostonjetsetDid your cruise skip a port (Acapulco)?  Maybe the $21 OBC was a refund of port charges??

Actually our cruise didn’t go as far south to Acapulco…only the Panama crossing goes there.

[laudergayle]

9 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

@laudergayle, hows the arm and bum? I hope healed and better than ever!

Awwwh, thanks for asking.  The scrapes and bruises are almost gone.  I will miss them…haha.  They were like free souvenirs 🤣.  Glad your Pr1ma cruise was enjoyed.  Everyone on CC sure enjoyed it with you!!

[laudergayle]

On 12/1/2023 at 7:57 AM, laudergayle said:

We took around 150 in pesos.  Although everyone seemed to take credit cards.  If I were doing it again, I would take probably 500 in pesos for food, drink and trinket souvenirs.  I also suggest a USD to peso cheat sheet in $5 denominations.  Some would quote in USD others in pesos. It was nice to be able to do a quick look-see to get a good understanding of what an item actually costs.  
 

Enjoy your cruise. It’s whale season in March.  

@TwinMamainMN I gave you bum info. We took $150 USD worth of pesos which I think was around 2500 pesos.  If doing again we would take $500 USD in pesos and buy everything in pesos.  Sorry for misinformation.

[TwinMamainMN]

3 hours ago, laudergayle said:

@TwinMamainMN I gave you bum info. We took $150 USD worth of pesos which I think was around 2500 pesos.  If doing again we would take $500 USD in pesos and buy everything in pesos.  Sorry for misinformation.

Do you get a better exchange rate or lower prices paying in pesos? Just curious why you would want so much cash in local currency.

[laudergayle]

24 minutes ago, TwinMamainMN said:

Do you get a better exchange rate or lower prices paying in pesos? Just curious why you would want so much cash in local currency.

We found that the Peso to USD conversion by restaurants and vendors ranged (I don’t remember how much) and add that to the general conversion…it was just more complicated.  Most restaurant menus were in pesos.  I found myself looking for “cheap” eats on the menu vs. really enjoying the Mexican cuisine.  Snd while we didn’t buy a lot of souvenirs, we did end up using our credit card several times.  Also, we tipped on excursions in pesos.

[Sugar Magnolia]

On 11/14/2023 at 9:54 PM, laudergayle said:

Our next cruise.  We are re-doing Alaska in mid-May.  The Jewel…Vancouver to Seward, with awesome excursions already booked.  

 

I was on the Jewel B2B this past May/June from Vancouver and back. One of my favorites. I thought the crew on board was the best in the fleet. Definitely considering another run.

 

Thank you for sharing your review. We are considering a big family reunion cruise on the Bliss in March out of LA. All this means is a ton of work for me. 😅

 

Sorry to read about your mishap and hope you have a speedy recovery.

 

I am still catching up after the Viva TA.

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Sugar Magnolia

[ChiefMateJRK]

On 11/15/2023 at 9:17 PM, laudergayle said:

You should know…right?

You’re on the list. 

[laudergayle]

25 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

You’re on the list. 

I was torn between 🤣 and 🏆emojis..,so here’s both😊

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, laudergayle said:

I was torn between 🤣 and 🏆emojis..,so here’s both😊

We’ll speak soon. 
 

I’m pretty “busy” this week. Still looking for @ggTexasGaland her fine husband.  They may be (wisely) laying low. 😝

Edited December 3, 2023 by ChiefMateJRK

[laudergayle]

4 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

We’ll speak soon. 
 

I’m pretty “busy” this week. Still looking for @ggTexasGaland her fine husband.  They may be (wisely) laying low. 😝

Lol. 

 

Wishing y’all the most amazing, relaxing, entertaining, enjoyable cruise. Good to be away from “rat race” of holiday festivities 🎄🎁

 

 

[mcduffy1]

This has been such a wonderful read- your suggestions and experiences some great some well let's just leave the mishap to a not so good experience, ...are so helpful- we are doing this trip on Feb 25, 2024- have cruised on NCL quite a few times before, (on the Joy but first time on the Bliss) but you always learn something and the tip about Deck 19 is great instead of buying Vibe admission-maybe I will save my pennies to put toward the Thermal Spa if I can convince DH 🤣

Thanks for all the great advice & hope you don't have any lingering effects from your slip

Denise

[laudergayle]

52 minutes ago, mcduffy1 said:

This has been such a wonderful read- your suggestions and experiences some great some well let's just leave the mishap to a not so good experience, ...are so helpful- we are doing this trip on Feb 25, 2024- have cruised on NCL quite a few times before, (on the Joy but first time on the Bliss) but you always learn something and the tip about Deck 19 is great instead of buying Vibe admission-maybe I will save my pennies to put toward the Thermal Spa if I can convince DH 🤣

Thanks for all the great advice & hope you don't have any lingering effects from your slip

Denise

Awwh, thanks for the kind words.  All is well from the slip and has now just become a funny memory.  As for Deck 19, if you have kept up with @HBCcruiser on her family NYE cruise, she noted that the “not so public” deck 19 was crowded and invaded by children.  Hopefully that was due to the holiday pax load and not what you will experience.  Wishing you an amazing cruise.  The Bliss is a beautiful ship.

[HBCcruiser]

1 minute ago, laudergayle said:

Awwh, thanks for the kind words.  All is well from the slip and has now just become a funny memory.  As for Deck 19, if you have kept up with @HBCcruiser on her family NYE cruise, she noted that the “not so public” deck 19 was crowded and invaded by children.  Hopefully that was due to the holiday pax load and not what you will experience.  Wishing you an amazing cruise.  The Bliss is a beautiful ship.

True. On the warm sunny days that area was completely full and the hot tub had lots of teens in it. Vibe had lots of open chairs and room in the hot tub. 

[mcduffy1]

Thanks to you both- I am hoping that the Feb 25 sailing won't have many kids on board since it doesn't seem to be a school break time- we'll see, hopefully the "free" side will be empty 🙃 Really hoping to see some whales- we did this same itinerary (with Ensenada) on HAL and were lucky to see a few.

[hallux]

20 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

deck 19 was crowded and invaded by children.  Hopefully that was due to the holiday pax load and not what you will experience

I don't anticipate THAT will be a problem when I board in less than 3 weeks - it's a 2 week cruise...

[laudergayle]

52 minutes ago, mcduffy1 said:

Thanks to you both- I am hoping that the Feb 25 sailing won't have many kids on board since it doesn't seem to be a school break time- we'll see, hopefully the "free" side will be empty 🙃 Really hoping to see some whales- we did this same itinerary (with Ensenada) on HAL and were lucky to see a few.

My son, who used to work on Linblad ships, claims February is perfect time to see momma whales with their calves.  The area around Cabo and Mazatlan, by the mouth of the Cortez Sea (maybe known as Gulf of California)is their playground.  Lucky you!!

Edited January 8 by laudergayle