Live From: Bliss 5 Day Coastal Mar 31-Apr 5 with Hollywood Pre Cruise

[ceilidh1]

The 4am text from DD who is on Sun Princess in Europe: “Well the Acropolis was kinda underwhelming! Took an hour to get in and there were only 5 things to look at.” 🤣🤣🤣🤣 She did buy a pretty cool shirt for her little brother though! 

[kpark895]

13 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

My checklist is almost completely checked. I had a snafu in my plans today when I suddenly had to work. Luckily I’m able to work from home so I’m between actual work I packed, cleaned, did laundry, and made my checklist! Does anyone else add things to the checklist that are already done just so you can check them off? Does anyone else prepare for a zombie apocalypse each time you go on vacation by not only cleaning the entire house but also eating everything in the place and refusing to buy groceries? We have had some questionable meals this week, but tonight’s dinner was the best - last hamburger bun with cheese slice and ham and a bowl of ramen. Mom of the year award goes to me!.....

 

 

I always add things I've done to my checklist -otherwise, how would I know I've done them?

 

I actually have a core checklist, then add and subtract depending on the cruise, how many days, expected climate, etc., etc.  It constantly changes as I pack.

[ricksurf]

Welcome to Southern California. We will see you Sunday onboard the beautiful Bliss. We love this ship and especially the repositioning cruises to the North. There will be 5 of us from Orange County; including a Canuck, who will be visiting her parents in Vancouver.  

Hopefully, we can bring the warm California sunshine with us up the Coast.

[ceilidh1]

We made it to the airport! For those of you interested in timing..

 

6:50am - left the house and walked to Canada Line

 

7:10am: Boarded train for YVR (we just missed the train and had to wait 6 minutes for the next one

 

7:45am: Entered YVR terminal 

 

zero lines for security or CBP this morning so breezed through both 

 

8:00am: Entered Plaza Premium lounge and enjoyed breakfast and fresh coffee (bar opens at 9am)

[ceilidh1]

It’s pretty busy in the lounge this morning so I felt weird taking pictures. Breakfast offerings were sausage, scrambled eggs, hash browns, salads, yogurt, granola, cereal, pastries, and toast. Fresh juice, great coffee, soda, and the bar opens (free) at 9am!

[ceilidh1]

Bar is open but no one appears to be drinking. Maybe 9am is too early to ask for beer or wine (no mimosas here 😭) but I just ordered a whiskey and made my own Irish coffee! Let the vacation commence.

[ceilidh1]

It appears I started a trend! As soon as I was handed the whiskey, four other people went up to the bar. I guess they were all just shy! You’re welcome people, you’re welcome!

[cruiseny4life]

1 minute ago, ceilidh1 said:

It appears I started a trend! As soon as I was handed the whiskey, four other people went up to the bar. I guess they were all just shy! You’re welcome people, you’re welcome!

Someone's gotta be the trendsetter! And dang it, you're on vacation, so it better be you!!! 🥂

[travelingtink]

I agree with a previous poster, there’s not much to see after hitting the main attractions right around Hollywood and Vine area. You also don’t want to venture too far as the neighborhoods are not the greatest,

 

The ramen bar (don’t remember the name) above the Dolby Theater was pretty good. And Pink’s Hotdogs is a Hollywood staple but you’ll need to Uber there. Worth it in my opinion. The dogs are good and you never know who you’ll run into. 
 

 

[Lush LaRue]

15 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

I want Veuve

Following along - I board the Bliss in Seattle on the 13th.

If you find a honeypot spot for good bubbles, lemme know. 🙂

Wishing you easy and safe travels today. 🙂

[ninjacat123]

Be careful if you walk around in your hotel neighborhood after dark.

In-N-Out burgers

Tommy burgers

Yamashiro Hollywood (great view of Hollywood)

Oki's Dog

LOVE Laguna Beach but probably too far away.  Great day trip!

Great review!!

[SenatorsFan]

I hope you and your son have a wonderful time together. It sounds like you have a lot of fun things planned. 😃🥂

Edited March 26 by SenatorsFan

[ceilidh1]

An uneventful flight got us into LAX 20 minutes early! I am plagued by seat kickers whenever I fly but @YVRteachergave me a tip to choose seats in front of the emergency row. We did that this time and no seat kicking. Now I need to figure out how to get rid of this from the person in front of me..

[ceilidh1]

Beautiful views from the sky

[ceilidh1]

Got a Lyft from LAX to Hollywood- $52. The traffic was bumper to bumper so it took an hour. I feel like the ride should have been free given that we had to endure an hour of jazz radio. If there is one type of music I despise it is jazz…

[ceilidh1]

Hollywood celebrity hotel is good so far! Clean, big room, nice front desk staff. We are heading out in search of food but here are some room pics for now.

[ceilidh1]

And the upside down pics begin

[YVRteacher]

22 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

My checklist is almost completely checked. I had a snafu in my plans today when I suddenly had to work. Luckily I’m able to work from home so I’m between actual work I packed, cleaned, did laundry, and made my checklist! Does anyone else add things to the checklist that are already done just so you can check them off? Does anyone else prepare for a zombie apocalypse each time you go on vacation by not only cleaning the entire house but also eating everything in the place and refusing to buy groceries? We have had some questionable meals this week, but tonight’s dinner was the best - last hamburger bun with cheese slice and ham and a bowl of ramen. Mom of the year award goes to me!

 

We are all checked in for our flight and will hopefully save some time at security with YVR express. For anyone who doesn’t know about this free program, you can book an arrival time beginning 72 hours before your flight. You go to the front of the security line and scan the barcode you received when you booked. I’ve also pre filled the US pre clearance using mobile passport control. Once at the airport, you just open the app and get fast tracked through the CBP line up. Can you tell I’m eager to get to the premium lounge? I hope they serve alcohol that early in the morning…

 

Also checked off the list is calling DS out of school for the 3 days he will miss after Easter. I don’t feel at all guilty as he is not having a great year in grade 7 (he has loved school since kindergarten but this year is a struggle) but just received word that he was accepted into his first choice for high school. His teacher this year is just the worst - I wish @YVRteacher was his teacher!

 

While I was working today, DS researched where we would eat on our trip. His search words were “happy hour” “bar” and “brewery”. I’ve taught him well. Any locals have some recommendations for good eats in the Hollywood area?

I love your boy!!!!!!!

[YVRteacher]

1 hour ago, ceilidh1 said:

An uneventful flight got us into LAX 20 minutes early! I am plagued by seat kickers whenever I fly but @YVRteachergave me a tip to choose seats in front of the emergency row. We did that this time and no seat kicking. Now I need to figure out how to get rid of this from the person in front of me..

Scissors. You need scissors.

[ceilidh1]

We were in need of food so ventured out for late lunch. Last night DS had been researching food places and had a few suggestions- we opted for Stout Burgers, which was a 15 minute walk according to Google maps. 

 

I’m going to add here that my crazy cheap cell phone plan (hard to find in Canada) has no option to add any kind of roaming plan. Ordinarily I just add it to the plan DD has and she takes charge, but since she isn’t with us this time I had to find another option. I dug out one of our old iPhones (the 7) and purchased a SIM card on Amazon from Jethro mobile. It was $30 and gives data for a month so hopefully that should cover us for maps, Lyft, etc when we have no wifi. So far it is working beautifully.

 

Back to dinner. We followed the google map walking directions and DS got his first glimpse of Hollywood Boulevard. To say it was overwhelming for him would be putting it mildly. He was pretty much glued to my side. Lots of crowds, noise, and people passed out on the sidewalk. We made it unscathed to the burger place and it literally checked all the boxes! Great beers on tap, unique food (albeit burgers), lovely staff, fabulous music, and a dive bar feel!

 

For food, I ordered the Truffle Shuffle and DS ordered The Morning After. The burgers didn’t come with fries (which was shocking for a $17 burger) so we ordered the loaded fries to share. I also got the White Rascal beer. 

 

The beer was awesome- I liked it so much I got another. My burger was perfect. Solid 10/10. DS found the chipotle ketchup on his burger way too spicy -the burger was good and the bacon and egg were perfect but the spice was overpowering! I tried it and my mouth was on fire! DS gave it 7/10. The loaded fries were loaded. And yummy.

 

And for the cherry on the cake…when the bill came it was less than I expected because everything was $2 off! Score!

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

Scissors. You need scissors.

I wish I brought scissors.

[ceilidh1]

Walking Hollywood Boulevard. I thought DS’s eyes were going to pop out of his head! He was so overwhelmed at the crowds, the noise, the in-your-face leaflet people. Me? I’m in my happy place. I was born for this 80s rock lifestyle!

[ceilidh1]

Spotted my first robot delivery dude!!!

[ceilidh1]

And truly in my happy place right now!!! (Forgive me. We don’t have target in Vancouver)

 

Picked up some snacks, White Castle sliders to microwave, Mr Beast chocolate, and most importantly mom drinks (hello peach mimosa and lemonade moscato)

[ceilidh1]

We are now back at the hotel and chilling for the evening. Early start tomorrow for our day at Universal. While DS is trying to find something to watch on this tv, I’m getting texts from my guests staying at my place in Vancouver saying they can’t work the tv! lol.