LIVE * Bliss * 12/31/23-1/7/24 * New Year’s Haven-light Cruise

[HBCcruiser]

I can’t believe this cruise is finally here! It was a long time in the making. It started out as a Virgin Voyages Brilliant Lady MerMaiden cruise out of Puerto Rico. We were so looking forward to that cruise and itinerary! I had a hunch that it was going to be cancelled due lack of communication from VV, and sure enough it was. Boo! The ship was, and still is, no where near ready to sail! Luckily all 16 of us were able to jump aboard the Bliss sailing out of our home port of LA. It was an easy call. No flights needed for most of us and the price was right. 
 

So, those of you who have blog-sailed along with me before are now wondering how I will ever survive an NCL cruise without being in the Haven. 😱😱 well I’m still wondering but time will tell! We thought about booking a two-bedroom suite but first, the prices were astronomical and second, there are 16 of us going and we all wanted to enjoy things together. Sooo we decided to go with @Sthrngary’s Haven-Light”. We booked a Club Balcony Suite with the Vibe, Premium Plus Beverage package, and dining package. Oh, and this is the first time I will be sailing as Platinum so we get the extra dinners as well. Score! 🥂 That makes 6 nights of specialty dining. Others in our group just bought the extra dining nights. Trying to book dining times together, well that’s another story.
 

So who are the 16 cruising with us? My DH and I are in one cabin, my BIL and his GF are in the cabin next to us, my two adult DDs are down the hall, our very close, dear friend’s niece and nephew who are the same age as my DDs are a one cabin away from my DDs (Yeh, I’ll address that in a min), my friend and her mom are close by, her sister and BF are down the hall followed by their friends who I have not yet met. We are all on lucky deck 13. An omen? Perhaps. 😂 Oh, I plan on giving the cabin occupants sandwiched in between my DDs and the niece and nephew’s cabin a bottle of bubbly to apologize in advance for any shenanigans they might witness between the two cabins. All of the young adults are polite, but may come back a little boisterous after the clubs close. We want the neighbors to know that it is ok to let them know if they are bothering them, and to knock it off if they get too loud. Of course if the occupants in the sandwiched cabin are into partying then all bets are off. 🤪

 

Here is the itinerary:

[TheDawg79]

I’m on the Bliss right now doing this very same itinerary. You will have a great time, I promise. Make sure to catch Jersey Boys. Saw it last night and it was excellent. Probably the best show I’ve ever seen at sea.

[HBCcruiser]

Booking things:

 

So this was a learning experience. I have never really had to worry about booking dining and shows on NCL ships before. Traveling with 16 people, though, changed that. Dining opened up for those of us in Club Balconies 26 days prior at midnight EST. That was 9 PM my time. I made the foolish mistake of trying to book tables of 6. The only times available were 5:30 PM or 9:30 PM. I should have booked for 4. Lesson learned. I booked the 5:30. Stupid! 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️. I should have called and booked tables for 4 at the good times. By the time I tried to do that the tables and times were limited. My DDs were able to book dining at 21 days out. They booked tables of 4 at the times we all wanted. Most in our group got times close to what we wanted but there are still some times we need to try to fix. If we are lucky. It’s definitely third world issues and not the end of the world if we can’t all eat the same time. New Year’s Eve dinner would be great if we could eat at the same time. Lesson: Have everyone book tables of 2-4 at the time you all want. Even if only 2 in the cabin you can spread those reservations to others in your group as needed. 
 

Booking shows was another experience. As Platinum I was able to book shows earlier. The problem was that I could only book the shows for me, not my DH because he is not Platinum. When I tried to book his shows at 21 days out I couldn’t. There is a glitch in the system. 🙄 I called NCL and the rep had to cancel my booked show times and rebook us both. Lesson: if only one of you are Platinum don’t book shows early. Wait until 21 days out. 
 

Luckily we all have the early check-in time of 9:30 AM. My hope is to be able to board early to try and change some dining times around. Also, I’d like to book the Platinum wines around the world. Unlike RCI, my DH won’t be able to join me. That sucks. 

Edited December 29, 2023 by HBCcruiser

[HBCcruiser]

12 minutes ago, TheDawg79 said:

I’m on the Bliss right now doing this very same itinerary. You will have a great time, I promise. Make sure to catch Jersey Boys. Saw it last night and it was excellent. Probably the best show I’ve ever seen at sea.

Great! Could you tell me what theme parties they have? Was Glow Night as you were leaving PV? Have a great cruise! The waves here in LA are intense RN. I hope it’s not too rough heading back up for you. 

[mking8288]

Here's to a happy, happy cruise into 2024, bon voyage and following.  Been cruising for close to 30 years and when you cruise "light" as we do, you get more bangs for those set-aside vacation funds and stretch it, sail and cruise more often, enjoy extra vacations ... as long as you have the time and able to be "away" from getting vacation days or leaves, etc.  We don't have to worry bets and our indoor house plants have a self-watering system that worked ... get away for 2 to 3 weeks without "needing" someone to come into our townhouse apartment, and upstair neighbors take care of any mail or package deliveries, etc. 

 

Thanks for taking your time to share, post and upload, etc.  Best wishes - safe, healthy & happy travel.  

[TheDawg79]

11 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Great! Could you tell me what theme parties they have? Was Glow Night as you were leaving PV? Have a great cruise! The waves here in LA are intense RN. I hope it’s not too rough heading back up for you. 

We had a white night on day 4 and a 90’s party tonight (Night 6). Other than that I cannot tell you what else they had as that’s not my thing. Sorry. The ship has absolutely been rocking pretty good since leaving Mazatlan. Seems to be more wind related than swells. I’m on Deck 18 right now and it’s pitching up and down pretty good. Nothing bad, but you certainly feel it. The wife is still in bed being a little sea sick and our cabin is on deck 10 and there is a big difference in what you feel between deck 10 and where I’m at on 18 for sure

[laudergayle]

Following for certain!  What better way to celebrate adventures of ‘23 and ring in ‘24 than a lively and animated LIVE from HBCcruiser…in steerage!!

 

Wishing you a little respite from the craziness you are about to witness.  You probably need a case of that bubbly!!

[HBCcruiser]

10 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Following for certain!  What better way to celebrate adventures of ‘23 and ring in ‘24 than a lively and animated LIVE from HBCcruiser…in steerage!!

 

Wishing you a little respite from the craziness you are about to witness.  You probably need a case of that bubbly!!

Glad you are following along. That way we can laugh and cry together! 🥂🥂

[sjacobs11]

We were just on the 5-night sailing. When in Ensenada, try to make it to Manzanilla, a restaurant that's about a 20 min walk from the pier. It's amazing and owned by a Mexican celebrity chef. Fish and fancy tacos - and a margarita that will kick your tushy. Total bill or 3 of us, with drinks, was US$100.

[HBCcruiser]

Excursions - Shore things:

 

We booked mostly NCL excursions due to the great prices with the NCL Free at Sea Plus where we each get the $50 off each excursion. In Cabo we want to get off of the ship early so we booked the Luxury Sail at 12:30 PM. It is a short excursion which allows us a few hours to go to Nicksan for great sushi and hit a few bars on the pier before catching one of the last tenders back.

 

 

In PV some of us are doing the horseback riding excursion (I LOVE horses and have ridden most of my life). The DDs and younger crew are going on the 4X4 excursion. 
 

 

In Mazatlan our port times suck so we decided to book the Stone Island excursion which wound up being practically free with the discounts. 

 

One of my favorite shore thing will be in Ensenada. Ensenada you inquire? That h3ll hole? Yup! Many Napa wineries are opening up boutique wineries 40 minutes outside of Ensenada in Valle del Guadalupe. We have booked private transportation to take us to our favorites. You must prebook some of the better wineries which we did. We will only have time to visit two - Vena Cava and Casa Frida. Frida also has infused tequila tasting. Yum!
 

Edited December 29, 2023 by HBCcruiser

[vacation44]

Have a wonderful cruise.   

 

We did the Haven-light between two Haven cruises and only missed the Haven restaurant.   However, now that we are platinum, we do not see us going back to the Haven anytime soon.  For our next four cruises, we booked a club balcony suite and we are not even trying for a Haven upgrade for our upcoming February Encore cruise.   

 

Again, have a wonderful time and enjoy the Vibe!

[HBCcruiser]

1 minute ago, vacation44 said:

Have a wonderful cruise.   

 

We did the Haven-light between two Haven cruises and only missed the Haven restaurant.   However, now that we are platinum, we do not see us going back to the Haven anytime soon.  For our next four cruises, we booked a club balcony suite and we are not even trying for a Haven upgrade for our upcoming February Encore cruise.   

 

Again, have a wonderful time and enjoy the Vibe!

So there is hope for us? Good to know! 😂 Cheers!

[vacation44]

2 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

So there is hope for us? Good to know! 😂 Cheers!

Yes, there is!    

[HBCcruiser]

Cheesin’ it up!

 

We will be the cheesy ones on this cruise. We have matching shirts for sailaway, outfits for the Glow party, 90s, New Years and Cowboy night which we will create on our own if they do not have one. For New Years we are dressing as we would have from Scarlett Night - in Red. We are also doing a pub crawl and have cheesy outfits for that as well. 
 

Sailaway shirts:

 

Some of our cowboy night and Glow party garb. We had a blast shopping down town in the garment district! 😂

 

 

 

[HBCcruiser]

Today is cleaning, packing and nail day. The out of town crew start arriving today so we have to be ready to Paaahtay by this afternoon. My friend is hosting a  bon voyage brunch tomorrow with the entire crew. Should be fun! Time to scurry 🐀 and start my chores! 

[laudergayle]

Deck 13 will never be the same🤣

[Sand and Seas]

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

Deck 13 will never be the same🤣

Oh yeah.....this review is going to be fun to keep an eye on🧐

[HBCcruiser]

Packing RN. My plan is to pack my NYE outfit, curling iron and makeup with my wine in my carry on bag. I worry that our bags might night arrive before we want to start the NYE party.

 

For my red wine I’m thinking Bodyguard by Daou, Silver Oak, and Caymus. For bubbles Nic or Veuve. One must be kept cold for sailaway. 

[HBCcruiser]

And so it begins…

[HBCcruiser]

Rum smash. Soooo good!

 

 

[HBCcruiser]

[HBCcruiser]

[oteixeira]

27 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

I do love me a small pretzel bite with my beer.  :)  Did he get a stout or porter?  

[HBCcruiser]

1 hour ago, oteixeira said:

I do love me a small pretzel bite with my beer.  🙂Did he get a stout or porter?  

Stout. 

[HBCcruiser]

Oh FFS! My one DD driving from Arizona just got a flat tire. She needs a flatbed and is in Blythe of all places. We are hoping they can tow her to a dealership in Palm Springs. If the dealership has her tire she can get it replaced tomorrow, otherwise my DH is driving out there to get her, book a hotel, spend the night, then drive back here tomorrow. What a $-show! 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

Edited December 30, 2023 by HBCcruiser