Itinerary fit our schedule. Balcony, mid ship was fine, specialty dining very nice. Menu was very repetitive in complimentary dining rooms. Over cooked beef, chicken, drink pkg was just ok. Cheap liquor maybe. Public spaces can be very crowded. Spice H2o adult space had smoking section that we had to breath if we wanted to lounge there. Never used this space due to second hand smoke. Favorite place was observation deck. On and off ship easy. Moderate seas last sea day. Watched movies in our room . overall ship crew very nice and service was very very good. Nothing to shop for on ship as they only have jewellery shops and one sundries store. The food was much better on Royal Caribbean when we visited Alaska. I will not cruise again. Land packages offer much more flexibility.. Enjoyed the Aqua racer and the Galaxy pavillion. Enjoyed meeting lots of pleasant people this week! Read Less

We took the family of 11 on a Thanksgiving Cruise. We paid $200.00 per cabin to have "priority embarkation and debarkation"...HAH! do not fall for this ruse. We were the only people that knew this...the staff didn't know this, it meant nothing to the cruise staff and in fact, it hindered us getting on board. When we tried to board, the staff said priority boarding did not apply out side of the ship (?) and we were in a huge crowd of hundreds of people trying to get in the ship...mostly going under taped off lines until the police were called because of the commotion and moved everybody back further. If you broke the law as most did you got on right away because the staff was clueless. On board my 81 year old husband could not connect his medical breathing machine by the bed as there are no outlets. I called the room steward and she said they were on the vanity...I asked if she wanted him to sleep on the vanity? She brought an extension cord that stretched across the room that we tripped over. We are not infirm but it was hard to avoid the extension cord stretched across the room.We were sprayed down with bleach each time we went into public places as there was norovirus on board and they would not let you into dining rooms unless you were thoroughly hosed down. Every condition of' priority' was disallowed even though we were in suites. So we tried to connect with the room steward but they were not available until the second day...we slept in our clothes as did the entire family the first night. Really? a $20,000 vacation and we are sleeping in our clothes...never never again! Read Less

We started in Phoenix and drove to San Pedro the day before our cruise. We were routed thru Yorba Linda and decided to see the Nixon Presidential Library. The stop was well worth it. We did the stay and cruise package at the Crowne Plaza. The staff there was great. The hotel is showing its age but it has the location. On cruise day I drove to the port and dropped our checked bags at about 9:30am. Went back and parked the car and waited till about 10:30 to check in. We just walked to the ship from the hotel. We had done the complete Medallion package and it actually worked! Check in was a breeze and we ended up walking right onto the ship. We were on board by 11:10. We had wanted to make reservations for the Chefs table and Winemakers dinner. It seems many of the crew had no idea what we wanted to do. We were told to go see the maître d' and he would be at Sabatini at noon. We just waited and had lunch at Alfredo's. When we checked at Sabatinis, we were told we had to call the dining reservations number to check on the 2 meals. We found out by this time, both were full and we would be notified if we were able to be included. We missed out on both so that was a lesson learned. Our cabin was B726. good location as the deck was in the middle of food or entertainment. The balcony was small but worked well for our needs. We had a great room steward, almost never saw him. We had a very entertaining comedian on the first night. The next night was singers and dancers with an operetta singer. We did not care for opera so we skipped that show. Next day was Cabo and we had a good Mariachi group preform. All of our cruises to Mexico and this was the first time we actually took in this type of show. We were not disappointed! Cabo was fun as it always is. Getting off the ship initially took about 3 to 4 hours to get most of us ashore. Tenders did run all night. We stayed out till dark and then went out again in the morning. The last tender from shore was noon and shortly after we left. We ate breakfast most mornings in the buffet and were very happy with the varied selections that were offered. We did the dining room breakfast one day and it was about what we expected. Food service and hot food. Dinners wer mostly in the buffet. We ate once in the MDR and were please with the selection. Again, good service and hot food. One night we dined at Sabatini's. This was the best meal we had on the ship. Our waiter was great and the food was delicious. Worth the charge. The cruise director and staff worked hard to keep everyone entertained. We attended a couple of trivia sessions and the Majority Rules show. This show was at the Princess Live location. This was a good location for a game that was not relying on teams. They did some trivia in Princess Live but it was awkward to have teams and work together in that room. We need 2 more Princess cruises to make Platinum and look forward to getting these done soon! Read Less

We are cruiser's, it's not our first rodeo. We took our 2 grandkids, ages 6 and 8 years old boys Food; there is not much food for kids. Dinners were caribbean, french in lido buffet. There is pizza. They make them two at a time, cut them in 4 pieces each and serves 4 people two pieces each. they make grilled cheese, but they don't grill them, they toast them with mayo inside. Not good. Long line here too. But wait, they have chicken nuggets, french fries and pizza by ordering room service but you must pay for these items. Plus you'll have to wait on the phone and for it to be delivered. TABLE SERVICE: people in Lido did not p/u dishes, they waited till your done Dining room; four of us eating brunch. My wife's food came after we 3 were done. She had to eat alone. Kids menu had mac and cheese but it was to fancy for kids. Swimming pools: baby and toddlers in diapers not swim wear. Kids ocean program: these people are the best. They did a great job for my grandkids. Read Less

Over all the experience was horrible. Every crew member encountered was unfriendly. SAVOR RESTAURANT: It took over 2 hours to order and eat at Savor restaurant (we ate there daily at B, L & D). The serving staff could not get the orders correct (i.e. I would like 7 hard boiled eggs, and they bring 2). Missing drinks when ordered. Took 20 minutes to even get a person to come to the table with menus. There were lots of people standing around at the restaurant. GARDEN CAFE: Each food station had to have crew serve you. When you asked fore a second scoop of something, they glared at you and acted like it was an inconvenience. Tables were not bussed and finding a seat for a meal was difficult. OVERALL RESTAURANT: They ask you to wash hands every time you go into a restaurant (Washie, washie, happy, happy). However, the washing, the hand sanitizer or the spray from a squirt bottle does not work against Norovirus. The food was bland and not very appetizing. I had 7 layer cake from Cagney's Steakhouse and it was just okay. Each time we chose to have cheesecake, it was warm. Food was not be taken out of any restaurant. One of the people in my travel party brought fruit from the Garden cafe to the Atrium for an activity. She was verbally attacked by a "cleaning up person" around the Atrium Bar. CHECKING IN PROCESS: Bags were given to the drop off location. When joining in the line we were then given a paper that said the Norovirus was on the previous cruise and 2% of crew and guest were affected. We had to wait a long time in the terminal building. There was a person handing our bottle water (which I appreciated) but she looked every person that asked for water up and down before giving it out. CRUISE ACTIVITIES: There were a fair number of free events, however the majority was pay to play. I have heard that Norwegian "nickel and dimes you" throughout the cruise. When there was a free activity (like in the Atrium) there were so many people there, there was no where to sit. It also was very loud and couldn't hear what was being said on the microphone. The GLOW PARTY (formerly the WHITE OUT PARTY) was the only bright spot of the entertainment. QUIET SPACES: There was two places we found quiet. The deck 8 outside walkway (however people were loud out there too) and the Brew House Bar. People would walk in the hallway outside the room talk and laughing loud without a concern for people sleeping at midnight. NOROVIRUS: The ship gave information that our cruise had only 19 people with the condition. However the doctor on the ship told me that 50 rooms were affected. That doesn't add up. A person in our group was quarantined for 48 hours because she vomited once and had diarrhea once. When she told them she thought the chicken was bad from lunch, they did not even address it. Other people we talked to on the ship also said the chicken was bad and reported to the cruise staff, but was dismissed as not a big deal. DRINK PACKAGES: I chose to have the Ultimate Drink Package for myself. Unfortunately I had to pay for the Soda Package for my son who does not drink soda. On tip of that Gratuities were ridiculously high - 20%? This cruise line did not have a "sipper bottle" and all of the drinks had to be asked for at the bars. There is only one option for people who want soda and are a Diabetic (Diet Pepsi). CRUISE SHOPS & MERCHANDISE: If you wanted to buy big expensive jewelry, watches or clothing this is the cruise for you. Every other cruise I have been on they would have merchandise with the ships logo (polos, t-shorts, towels, etc..). This cruise had very little of that. For around 4 hours of the entire cruise they had t-shirts to sell (buy 4 for $40). However they did not have all of the sizes in stock and I couldn't get a matching shirt any of my group. RACETRACK: We were really looking forward to this. My 18-year old son wanted the unlimited race track pass. We waited in the line on-board to purchase the pass. However when he showed up to the line for his first race, they said he was beyond the weight limit for the cars. This was not posted on NCL's website nor was explained at the reservation desk when we purchased the pass. I am sure that I am missing tons more. I would not recommend booking a Norwegian Cruise Line cruise in the future. Read Less

I’ve been on 4 cruises,3 lines, this is the first with NCL. Family of 15 ages 5-70. 5 families, 6 rooms. 4 rooms paid priority access. 2 days before the cruise we received a text stating boarding time has changed. No reason why. Day before the cruise we drove 7 hours to LA. That evening groups wrote about Norovirus on current 15 day cruise. Morning of we went to the cruise terminal. letters were handed to us confirming Norovirus, also stated if you wanted to reschedule cruise you could with full credit. But,considering all passengers have now traveled to the port, have time,off from work and have planned everything..I think this is late notice. Better if it would have been sent the day before. There was a long line of people in a sick line, ambulances taking passengers to hospitals. We were very delayed on boarding, ship didn’t even leave until 8pm. I have A LOT to say, but will keep it to just main issues as many reviews cover general stuff. We had 2 rooms, Both paid for a new thing called priority access. It comes with getting on ship early,complimentary standard room breakfast, canapés, 50 spa credit,tender priority,priority debarkation, Due to ship issues when we arrived, there was no early on to the ship. The staff was working hard to clean everything. Standard room service, all menus were removed from the rooms. 2nd day I had to make 4 phone calls asking for menus, each I called told me to call this department, circling back to room service. We went down to guest services.got 2 menus. Put them out.. and was never delivered. Went back to guest services. We did not order next 3 nights, BUT both our rooms got called at 630-730am asking if we wanted service,, on sea days. Back to guest services.. they still called. Last night did order room service and 1 room received, other did not. Canapés, like appetizers were supposed to be delivered 2nd day. They were not. Arrived 4th day a port day as a complimentary item from guest services from when we went down to talk to them.. which I find funny as we didn’t receive the one we paid for, this was a port day we got in about 330 items were toast with egg one,fish eggs, shrimp, etc,not sure when delivered but was not cold. So we did not eat. That tray sat in room with canapés for 2 days until we set it outside room, $50 spa credit was for port days only 50 off non sale items. Didn’t use it as we had excursions. Tender Priority we followed prompt to go to manhattan room, where the guy didn’t know where we all should be and told us to go to deck 4. Get there And told to go to Manhattan after 1/2 wait in line. Then told again deck 4 and all going off this way. Waited 1 1/2 to get off, late for excursion. Paid $179 for each room. Maybe on another cruise may be worth it. Definitely not on this one. Staff was very busy doing everything they could to keep things clean. Hallways washed down constantly, no coffee makers In rooms, all paper menus, no salt and pepper shakers. Buffet you could not serve yourself. They got drinks for you, condiments poured for you. I’m sure this was much more work for them. And, I’m sure longer hours. They all said hello. But. Didn’t see any smiles or conversation. We had 3 specialty restaurants. Teppakani,La Cucina, and Cagneys. All good food, good service. We also ate at the main dining rooms. Service not so good. The last night in taste waiter forgot sodas kept having to ask. Forgot a appetizer never brought. One steak over cooked,one under cooked, couldn’t get him to come to table.. after 15 mins asked for sour cream for potatoes we were told we didn’t get it cause we didn’t ask when ordered. By that time everything cold.. we didn’t eat.Told waiter we were going to buffet asked if our dessert could be delivered to the room, were told yes if we wanted the room service charge. In Manhattan room waited a hour and lunch not served. Was for tables around us.. left. One evening also manhattan had 2 tables,they sat kids one adults other and kids had dessert before main table had main course. Even tho we asked for both to be served same time. Found hair in food twice. Whispered it to kitchen staff, besides asking do you want another..no apology. Our cruise also had another norovirus break out. I’m not sure how many. Ambulances again met with ship as we pulled in, I’m in groups and a couple in there would tell their experiences of being sick and not able to leave the rooms. They put a red sticker above doors affected and we could see at least 3 on our walks from elevator to rooms. WiFi was awful. Rarely service. We all ended up buying their 9.99 package after social/ upgraded packages of 84.95 just to communicate. Were told WiFi is very slow if many are using it at the same time. All of the above we still enjoyed our cruise.Great family time, and I believe if we didn’t sail at this time,we may have had a different experience. But, because of our experience we spent quite a few times in line at customer service with many many others and nothing honestly was resolved. Didn’t get a refund for priority access(still trying) After discussing please don’t call us 630 am to see if we want a order,, still did. We would not recommend NCL, and our family of 15 had similar experiences and won’t be returning either. Read Less

I have been on many cruises and now 4 with Norwegian. This was by far my worst experience. Boarding was extremely unorganized and very frustrating. Our room didn’t get cleaned two of the days we were there even though we put the make up room light on. No more towel animals. Footloose show was not very good. Buffet was unorganized and slow. The ship just recently had an outbreak and they had another one when we were on the ship. They were not very informative about the whole situation which scared us even more. We saw people’s rooms getting cleaned by staff in hazmat suits. We didn’t receive anything in our room until the second day so we didn’t know what activities were happening on the ship. Missed the poker tournament because of it. There also wasn’t very much live entertainment like other ships we’ve been on. I’ll definitely think twice about booking another Norwegian cruise. Read Less

Our recent trip aboard NCL Joy was a horrible disappointment. Getting onboarding was a disorganized mess with long lines and no one to communicate what was going on. Then we find out that the ship had the Norovirus. The ship was constantly being cleaned. Our room steward was hard to get a hold of and didn't answer the phone. Our toilet went out and once fixed had a horrible odor the entire trip. The food was mediocre and the service was slow in the dining rooms. The shows were good, but if you didn't booked reservations before you boarded, you couldn't see it. So much for freestyling. They announced activities in the newsletter that were a misprint or cancelled. If you weren't in the Haven, your menu options were limited. Carnival's regular menu was much better. Most people get to enjoy one vacation a year and we felt that we were being nickle and dined at every turn. If you didn't spend extra on speciality dining, your meals were suboptimal. The service was also very slow. It was not a Joy sailing on the Joy at all. Read Less

First time doing a 7 week cruise and had heard great things about NCL. Wow was that the furthest thing from the truth. Before we even boarded the ship we received an email from our travel agent the day before with this: "Costco Travel received the following information in regards to your Norwegian Star sailing November 24, 2019 Due to a full immigration inspection, check-in for Norwegian Joy's sailing on November 24th has been delayed and will be from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and the ship's new departure time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Please arrive at the pier during the new check-in hours. " Well they flat out lied to everyone on board the ship, the reason for the delay for due to a NOROVIRUS outbreak on the ship and they were still trying to contain it. We were a party of 10 that my mother-in-law had saved years to send us all on and almost ALL OF US came down with some sort so stomach illness while on board. We were not informed about the illness until we were at our muster station which we were told by other passengers but by that time is too late to get off the ship.And I didn't even begin with the almost mob seen they had outside trying to get on the ship with no one directing people where to go. They eventually had to call in the port authority to help with crowd control. While on the ship, mini golf, the library and ping pong where all closed due to the sickness. But for some reason they were able to keep open there money makers in the Casino, Video games and the go cart track. I find it very interesting they close down some of the free entertainment but kept open the ones they make money on all day. Lines at all the restaurants were out of control, at the buffet everyone had to be served and could not touch any of the plates, silverware, condiments which I understand due to all the people getting sick. But EVERYTHING TOOK FOREVER TO GET, plus if you wanted to get reservations to one of the nice restaurants good luck unless you wanted to eat dinner at 9 or 9:30PM. Shame on you Norwegian you should be giving all 3800 on board a refund for this disaster of a cruise. This ship needs to be in quarantine until there are no other reported cases of the NOROVIRUS and you sent the same ship out again the day we got back. Read Less

After my Mother saving for years to take the whole family on a cruise (all 10 of us) we departed on November 24th, 2019. There was a delay in boarding that we were lied to and told it was an immigration issue. It was not, it was a norovirus issue. The lines were so bad and the people were so upset it was getting dangerous. The police were called to manage the crowd and I had to remove my children from the situation and go back after a while. unacceptable from the beginning. The shore excursion in Mazatlán was a nightmare:it was the open air bus with not enough seats so we were down below, the bus caught on fire, it was 3 and a half hours and advertised as 2 and a half, the bus was unsafe and uncomfortable. All 10 of us got sick. The staff was rude and clearly overworked, exhausted and at their wits end. Lines everywhere-very few dinner reservations, mini golf closed, ping pong closed, library closed. All because of the virus. It was horrendous. Read Less

My friend actually won this cruise and asked me to go with her. I was thrilled to have this opportunity to enjoy this beautiful ship and meet new friends along the way. I was a little shocked when we were boarding the ship and they handed us a piece of paper that explained the situation regarding the nonavirus but was quickly calmed by the explanation of them scrubbing down the ship before we could get on it. When we were finally able to enter we were greeted by sanitation stations all over the ship, some were people physically squirting sanitation on our hands and others were do it yourself stations. I was amazed at seeing the employees literally scrubbing down the walls and handrails to our stateroom twice a day. We were lucky enough to have a cabin with a balcony and the cabin was great. Honestly I was thinking it would be so small you could barely move but it was spacious and well thought out. Despite the situation I thought that the crew really did everything in their power to keep all of the people on this ship is safe as possible. I had a really great time on this beautiful ship and would diffidently recommend anyone to enjoy this ship and crew. The cruise director Roberto and Assistant cruise director Bianca were amazing at keeping everything so lively, fun, and entertaining. I have to give a shout out to a couple workers in the Garden Cafe. The food was surprisingly good with a good selection for different pallets. The special shout out has to go to June, Clyde and Mark because they were friendly and kind and were always willing to help whenever they could. Thank you all for making this cruise amazing. Read Less

Anytime Dinning in the Concerto is on the downgrade. Also in the Horizon Court. What is going on? Four meals at Concerto and all were unimpressive or poor in Concerto. Crown Grill and Crab Shack were excellent. There were 800 kids on board and the staff allowed them into the hot tubs which is a health problem. Ship in good shape. Have been on the ship many times. Mini suite was just fine and service there as well. Room service very good. Stage productions were ok but Silk was a bust and I do not think anyone understood what was going on about a big white bird flocking around in Asia. Deck parties and Atrium parties seemed like a bust. Not like they used to be like. Why no balloon drop? We are Elite with 60 cruises and should know something is wrong. In my opinion Madallion apps did not work most of the time on my android phone...so I think it stinks. Internet worked great. Boarding and leaving excellent organization. Hotel and food managers had better get on the stick or this will turn into a Carnival like cruise. Read Less

We enjoyed our week on the Royal Princess, but all in all it was nothing special. The food in the main dining rooms was generally good, but some nights the selection was less than inspiring. The buffet offered a wide variety of choices, usually tasty. As always, the ship's pastries were better to look at than to eat. Dinner in the Crown Grill was very good, and worth the upcharge; the same cannot be said of Sabatini's, which was very disappointing--the "lobster three ways" was particularly unpleasant. As others have mentioned, the elevators were inadequate for the number of passengers. The casino is a disaster. Too small, too few machines, too many customers, too much smoke, and illogical use of space which had dead-ends and people bumping into one another. No complimentary beverages, no matter how much one played, just an offer of casino credit on a future cruise. A glass of ordinary white wine came in at $13, including the mandatory "tip." Unconscionable. The mattress was heavenly. Our room steward, Michael, was quiet, efficient, and pleasant. The Medallion experience was a very mixed bag--surely not worth the hassle. We never did manage to use it to locate our travel companions. Princess should either fix it or abandon it. One very complimentary comment: the tv selections were excellent--recent movies, lots of on demand shows from travel and home and garden channels, all day access to MSNBC, BBC, Fox, etc., all at no charge. Best in-cabin entertainment we've ever had. Despite a very generous offer of future casino credit, we're not enthusiastic about returning to the Royal Princess. Read Less

I traveled with a group of ten people to the Hawaiian islands on my first ever cruise. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but I know for certain that I've been spoiled for any other type of travel. Cruising with Princess is truly the definition of royal treatment. The attention to detail was unlike anything I've ever experienced, from simple details in the stateroom to the above-and-beyond treatment we received from the dining room waitstaff (which, with such a large group, does not go unnoticed). The staff and crew were welcoming and well-informed from day 1 to our disembarkation. There was something for everyone in our group. Singing, dancing, shows, trivia, spa treatments, eating, shopping, tours, sitting quietly with a book. All of the entertainment was top-notch, the game shows were memorable, and the activities always got us laughing. We were well-prepared during our stay thanks to the information and printouts Princess provided. I especially appreciated their own miniature version of a morning talk show, the Wake Show. It was a fun way to start the day. I expected a 15 day vacation with my entire family to push me to exhaustion, but that wasn't the case. It was actually bittersweet to leave because we'd met some wonderful people and made friends with some of the crew and staff. It sounds corny, but Princess really does live up to their motto "come back new". Read Less

I chose this cruise for several reasons. With all that has gone on in my life these last two years, I really needed some time away. This 15 day Round trip Hawaiian cruise was perfect! I was worried about being on the water 5 days straight. Trust me there is plenty to do. Then you hit Hilo, now the fun begins. Oahu is an extended stay. The only bad thing was it was on a Sunday. The Cultural Center was closed. Beautiful Kauai is next. We chose the Mudbug atv all day adventure. Let me tell you , those 1000 Polaris are quick and torquey. Maui was total snorkeling to see sea tortoise. Boy did we! Lots! You can take the feeling of the cruise being over. 5 more days at sea is what you have. Aboard ship fun begins again. Now you have made some really good friends. A quick stop to Ensenada for a few beers and bring home a couple of warm cozy blankets always a must. Now you can cry. Back to Los Angeles. It has been a few days now since we’ve been back. I can’t wait for the next one! That will be 4/4/20. The 7 day Mexican Riviera onboard the Royal Princess. The ship itself; the Star, like the Grand is getting up there in age but she still was cooking around 20knts. The Crew was excellent as always. Friendly and courteous. The food... Now I know why Princess’ slogan is “Come back new”. Ya, a new size. All in all it was well needed time away. The demographics on this cruise is slightly more mature for my taste but all were friendly and kind. I would definitely recommend this cruise. It is well worth it! Ratherbecrusing 11/19 Read Less

We recently took the 7 night Mexican Riviera cruise on the Norwegian Bliss with our 3 year old son. We have cruised with him before (Disney in 2017 to the Bahamas) and wanted to try another cruise line this time around. I did all of my cruise homework including pouring over reviews all over the internet but I still had a ton of questions. Here's what I think you should know and hopefully will hlep you on your vacay adventure. So first and foremost this was a great cruise- I have some criticisms but they are constructive and this is no way a BAD cruise! We had a lot of fun as a family but there are a few things that I did notice could be better. So we had an ocean view cabin on the 5th deck. 5164 to be exact. The room was a good size for us and I surprisingly liked the bed (it is on the harder side) but I hated the placement. Right when you walk in the room there is the bathroom on the right side and just past that, boom, the bed, with literally a 2 ft space to walk between the wall and bed to get to the couch and rest of the room. Not the end of the world but definitely made things feel more cramped. That said the room has a ton of storage, large bathroom, really small fridge that is stocked with overpriced sodas and mini bottles of liquor so beware! There is a hairdryer but no iron. The cruise line will lauder your clothes and iron them for you but it is insanely overpriced. I started to run out of shirts for my son so yes I did do some hand washing (there is a clothes line in the bathroom hanging over the bathtub) lol...the cruise line charges PER PIECE for laundry service and PER PIECE for ironing. Crazy. Disney had a laundry room with ironing board for our use for free so that was definitely something I missed. Ok so moving on to the Soda Package - you might be considering buying this $65 unlimited adult and teen soda package, but don't. Its not worth it. Paying individually will equal less, unless you slam like 5 sodas a day. The sodas in the fridge are not covered in your soda package, the sodas on room service are not covered and there is no soda served in the Garde Café which is the buffet. The only places you can get your unlimited Soda is at the sit down restaurants- either the free ones (Taste, Savor and The Local) or the specialty ones. I think total my husband got the chance to get like 6 sodas. So those translated to $10 sodas. Never again lol. Now for the Daycare. I honestly whish I could tell you more about this but I cant because my son refused to even go in. So the Daycare is located on the 5th floor and they are a drop in center. When they are full, they are full. You have to wait outside until someone comes to get their child for yours to go in. Disney lets you reserves ahead of time so you can plan out shows, dinners etc. But the kicker is they would not let you walk your child into the actual center. When dropping off, parents are not allowed into the actual play area, so you take your kid to a lobby, check them in and then someone comes out and these little doors open and your child is supposed to walk into a hallway with some person they don't know. So there we were with about 3 other sets of parents trying to goad our toddlers into going with the workers and yeah...no dice. I honestly cant say I blame them. 3 year old me probably would have been cool off that too. Not to keep comparing but Disney lets you walk your kids in and then do the old slip a'roo out the door. Adopting this style would help out parents a lot I think, but I also get why they don't allow people in too so. So assuming your toddler does not want to go into the unknown that is the Daycare then what to do with your toddler? Well the truth is...theres not much to do at all besides walk around, watch TV, and go into the pool. The pool area for kids is relatively small and I wasn't super impressed. Same for the pool that kids can go in. The race cars, golf and laser tag are an up charge and obviously not something you can do with your toddler. There is an arcade that you pay like $1.50-$3 per game for but that gets old too. Since you will be on sea for a few days make sure to pack some of your kids favorite smaller toys (this also comes in handy for embarkation day which can be a long time in line), books, crayons, cars, dolls whatever...because for us we basically had nothing until our first port day when we stocked up on cars, guitars, moroccas, xylophones you name it. My 3 yr old was a one man banda by the end of the day in Puerto Vallarta. If your child is still in diapers/pullups don't forget to take something on port days that you can change him on, a towel, blanket whatever...there are just not many places to change them at all. I suggest doing Mazatlán and Cabo on your own. In Mazatlán you can get the same tour of the city that they offer as an excursion on the cruise line for half of the cost by going with one of the guys that will rush you when you get to the cruise port. Im not gonna lie... I was scared to go around Mazatlán...but I talked to the guy who ended up being our tour guide and was straight up with him about my fear and he completely understood. In the end we did go with him and he took us all around, the cathedral, the cliff divers, the golden zone and then to a hotel where if you bought an item from the menu let you use their beachfront facility, towels, chairs, pools, bathrooms etc. It was pretty awesome and ended up being my favorite port day. Also....if you are looking to bring back some traditional Mexican items I suggest doing it from Mazatlán, there is shopping at the cruise terminal there so you don't even have to go far. Its cheaper there and they have so much more beautiful items at this port. I was so mad at myself for not shopping more there thinking that Cabo would have the same stuff. Not true...and even so Cabo was way more expensive. Speaking of Cabo...since having a little one pretty much vetos snorkeling, day drinking, and ziplining for you, your options are a but more limited. We ended up going on our own that day and walking their boardwalk area. Its about a 30 min walk to Medano Beach. You just follow the board walk and it will deliver you directly to the beach. Once there its the same kind of set up as Mazatlán, beach front hotels offer you the ability to use their towels, chairs and services for a head charge. We paid $20 to say as long as we wanted. Our Cabo day was pretty short so be sure to time out everything factoring in the walk back and the tend trip time as well. Oh and if you are new like I was...tendering is when a little boat picks you up from the cruise ship which is parked off of the dock in Cabo since they have no actual cruise port. For this reason I don't suggest you take a huge stroller! We took an umbrella stroller and since the boat was rocking crazy that morning I am so glad we did. Finally I will say that there is not a really huge store on the ship, there is a small gift shop with a ton of alcohol and basic sundries but not one toy or child like thing lol..So yeah...I hope this helps you and I hope you got some clarity! The Bliss is a big beautiful ship that is really trying to do its best to incorporate families but by and large is still I think more friendly to solo travelers, childless travelers, and travelers that like to drink and late night party lol....If you really want a kid friendly trip through and through...Im pretty sure you know what line will deliver that less adulty feel. Read Less

Excellent cruise! We were on a family vacation and there was 15 of us. From babies to great grandma on the trip we had a large range in ages. Embarkation was fairly easy considering the size of the ship and # of passengers they have to screen. There was a surprise US Coast Guard inspection which delayed departure by about an hour. Disembarkation was a little more chaotic and somewhat disorganized. Once we arrived at the deck for disembarking there was little direction from NCL and no staff to point people in the correct direction. A lot of people in a small space. The ship is magnificent, it is huge and it even though there’s close to 4K passengers it never felt crowded. The kids had a great time enjoying all the activities but spent most of the their time in the water (pool, slides). We get it, ship is designed for Alaska cruises so more indoor than outdoor but even so the kids had a great time. Reservations a must specially if your a large group but honestly we didn’t have too many issues. Food was average to good, nothing to write home about. Only complaint was the lengthy wait at Taste or Savor for food to be served. We saw Jersey Boys and it was excellent! I think NCL definitely does a better job than most in this department. The live music was also great throughout the week. We were onboard the week of Halloween and I do have to say that was a great time being onboard for Halloween. They do a great job of entertaining the little ones all the way to the adults with the different activities that day. We also enjoyed the comedy shows. Silent disco was way too short only lasted like 45 min. Service was hit or miss everyday. Mostly hit but minor hiccups here and there. You can definitely tell which crew members care and which ones want to get off at the next opportunity. Overall everyone really enjoyed their time on the Bliss. Would we pick the ship again? Maybe with a smaller group. Will we cruise NCL again? Definitely, we really love the freestyle motto this cruise line offers. Read Less

I love the new bliss ship. The hard product is the best among all cruises I had taken . The touchscreen, water slide and racetrack are unique and certainly very appealing. However, I’m disappointed Bliss canceled the childcare program for children under the age 3 so we had to leave our 1 year old daughter at home. Also because the ship could accommodate 4000 plus people, there was always a long wait during normal dining hours at the dining rooms even with reservations. Other popular venues such as the Jersey Boys show and trace track were a torturous affair to attend. The food could use some improvement too. We stopped going to the sit down dining room altogether after day 3 on the cruise, not only because the long wait but also because the food lacks variety and didn’t taste authentic( the pad Thai tasted so weird I only took one bite). Overall The cuisine failed to compliment the dining decor it had hoped to capture. It certainly was lackluster and uninspiring in taste and presentation considering that it’s a new ship. I felt you were almost forced to eat at the specialty restaurants. Overall I think the hard product is very good however the soft product fell way short of expectations. Read Less

This was our first cruise as a family. My husband and I are both in our 30’s. My son is 10 and daughter is 5. Unfortunately Royal Princess put such a bad taste in our mouth that this would be our first and last time on a cruise. We we’re ready to come back after the 2 day of our 7 day cruise. Here are a couple things why. We were told by our travel agent that this ship would be kid friendly which was not at all the case, my kids were bored the entire time. The Kids discovery is only open 9 hrs a day and they chop that into 3 hours so by the time you drop them off you need to pick them up again which would of been fine if they were actually having fun. My daughter never wanted to go and my son only went because there was nothing else to do for his age. They didn’t have any activities for them outside the Discovery camp. They’re activities were mostly for people who are 60 and above, the only thing my husband and I enjoyed was the comedy show. The food was absolutely awful! Very low quality with no taste when it comes to seasoning. My husband and I both lost weight if that gives you an idea of how bad the food was! Everyday was the same thing only some minor tweaks. If you want good food be prepared to pay for it because all the ones included in your ticket are horrible. Overall we were extremely bored and spent 80% of the time in our room, we felt very disappointed and let down. Please take my review very seriously when making your decision and explore better cruise lines when it comes to food, cleanliness, and Entertainment. Read Less

Many bad experiences on this cruise. Absolutely do not book a room over the theater. Loud banging noise until 11pm. The service was horrible- I had to get my own everything..... too much bad to write about. The food was really bad for the most part. Unhealthy and tasteless OR way too salty. Steward was no where to be found. Room service didn’t answer once. Front desk was rude several times during the week. Shops were very pushy to buy, as was the art auction. Super loud party constantly on deck. Fitness center track is built right over the smoking area (yuck) Bartenders were always grumpy. Adult pool was way too hot. Excursions were canceled (two ports!) the elevators were impossible to get on, Ina regular basis The good: the nightly shows and the cruise director’s personality. The sushi. There are many cruise lines out there. Might want to shop around. I have this cruise line booked for May and will Probably cancel it was so bad Read Less

How did we chose this cruise? Mostly timing and price. It was a better value for the dollar than others we had found. And a big perk was there were hardly any kids on the ship because the cruise was during Normal school season. I would definitely cruise again during Halloween. There were so many great costumes on the ship by both crew and guests. The ship itself is recently refurbished and lovely. Our cabin was nice. There were three of us sharing the Mini Suite, and we never felt over crowded. Dining on the ship was excellent. I enjoyed the quality and selection of the food. Our service was also very nice. We had good servers every evening even though we had a different server every evening with Any Time Dining. Anytime Dining worked out quite well also. I was concerned about it, but we never had an issue getting a table to share or to ourselves. Here's my downside to this cruise: Please know that princess does not stand behind the shore excursions they sell. So buyer beware. We had a miserable experience on our Puerto Vallarta shore excursion and Princess left it up to their third party shore excursion company to decide if we got our money back. That’s not right. Their third party vendor decided we would only receive a 20% refund. We have been on many many shore excursions. They aren’t all amazing. But this was the first time that the 3 of us all were truly miserable, for different reasons, and all decided to ditch the tour and took a cab back to the ship at our own expense. It makes me leary is shore excursions in the future. I purchased the excursion directly from Princess, and I believe that Princess needs to back what it sells. The reason the tour was so bad is because the Tour Guide did not stick to the description of the tour. Instead of showing us Puerto Vallarta as the City Highlights tour was described and sold to us, he instead showed us just two things from the day's planned events and then took us to his friend's silver shop, his friend's leather shop, to his friend's iguana way the heck away from the city for a photo op, and then to his friend's restaurant for a non-included lunch. It was just not enjoyable. It was all about the Tour Director getting kick backs from his friends. Embarkation with the new Medallion class is quite simple. Disembarkation was even simpler. In fact, the easiest disembarkation we have ever experienced. Customs was a snap as was boarding the Princess bus to the airport. Read Less

I booked this cruise with my son ( less than a year old), my wife and my in-laws as a getaway. From the moment we arrived at the dock in LA, things just got worse for us. Upon arrival, my wife did not get the correct medallion to gain her Elite status that she had earned. Instead, she got the basic blue one as I had got (since this was my first time sailing with Princess). When it came time to board the ship instead of being asked if we wanted to take the elevator or even mentioning where the elevators were. They expected that we were going to take my son's stroller (which had a full case of water as they WILL NOT PROVIDE WATER FOR FORMULA) up the escalator and carry it the rest of the way. By the time we had moved over to the elevators and had reached the gangway. All other groups had been called and had begun their boarding of the ship, negating any elite status embarkation privilege we were supposed to have. Once we got onboard we headed over to guest services to get the lay of the land and find out the locations of the change tables to make things easier for us, as my son had already needed to be changed from waiting at the dock. The rep at the counter instructed us that "all ADA washrooms had change tables", so off I went to change him. Sadly none of them had change tables onboard the ship (only one is in the kid's club on deck 17). So irritated we went back the next day to enquire about it and were told that "they do not provide them because people may try to flush the diapers, and that it is more sanitary to change them in your room". This came as a complete shock and off as a huge sign of disrespect towards us, not because of the comment but the realization that the company clearly markets themselves as a "multi-generational welcoming company". So while I would not expect go-karts or waterslides to be on board, basic medical necessities like change tables surely should have been available (even if it were just one per level). Then comes the real kicker, during my week onboard everyone from guests to crew members felt it within their right to come up and touch my child. While he does not have any medical issues I do not permit strangers to come up and touch him as I see this as disrespectful and the number of guests that do not wash their hands frequently is appalling (norovirus does spread like wildfire on ships for a reason people). Towards the end of the cruise, I brought forward the issue of crew members touching my child without consent to the person at guest services and they just laughed at this and the idea that I had to either run back to the room to change my child fighting my way past hallways that were always cluttered with carts from the cleaning staff. Or change him on the floor of the bathroom in the ADA washrooms. The doorways into the rooms are so narrow that a basic single collapsible stroller cannot pass through adding to the daily aggravation for the family. So in closing, if there is supposed to be truth in advertising then Princess really has missed the mark on this and I will be sure to never recommend them as a cruise line to anyone with children. The only reason I am giving two out of 5 above is that the Maitre d was excellent and addressed all our concerns with our dining promplty and professionally. Along with our room stweardess Paula, her friendly bubbly attitude helped make our stay a lot better than it was. Read Less

We chose this cruise primarily for the convenience of the location which required a short plane ride. The Royal Princess was a very nice ship. The Cruise Director was great, and the room steward was outstanding. The beds were one of the best ever! The issues we had that took away from the trip we had looked forward to include a room that was as far from the elevator as possible - we were both medically handicapped and this caused us major issues in the distance required from the elevator to the room. We had many conversations with Princess about our conditions in hopes of a room that would be more accessible. Once they had our money, the could not have cared less about the "guaranteed room" status or allowed us to change our choice to being able to pick our room. Additionally, the A/C was not working in our room and there were seven nights of waking up soaked in sweat! Miserable times. The dining room was o.k. except the service was so slow between courses. The beverage choices were extremely limited if you didn't have the beverage package. Our choice was water, coffee or tea. No lemonade unless you were eating at the buffet. The food did not meet our expectations in comparison to Royal Caribbean's dining room choices. (not even close!). The elevators were on their own programming and it wasn't unusual to wait 5 or 10 minutes for it to stop on your floor. Also very disappointing was the lack of evening shows. Very little was published about what was going on in the showroom. Overall, it was o.k. but definitely not to the standards we had become used to on our other cruises with Royal Caribbean. Particularly since the prices were not any less. Read Less

We recently returned from our Norwegian Bliss cruise to the Mexican Rivera. These are our thoughts: 1. Embarkation was extremely efficient and quick. 2. Be prepared to wait for the elevators, which aren't conveniently located if you are mid-ship. 3. By prepared to pay for things like: race car driving, laser tag, bowling, gelato, coco's, cabaret, etc. 4. The food in Savor and Taste were average at best. 5. We dined at: Cagney's, Le Bistro, The Cucina, Teppanyaki, and Ocean Blue. These restaurants were absolutely outstanding and we would HIGHLY recommend them. 6. The Garden Cafe was a go-to for breakfast and lunch. There was a nice variety of selections, and the food quality and taste were great. 7. The shows: Jersey Boys was Excellent. Six was Good. Happy Hour Prohibition was $39 and not worth it. You're served 5 mini-cocktails laced with sugar overload and the entertainment factor is something equivalent to a high school show production. The Cavern Club featuring the Beatles were good. The Comedy Shows were good. 2 of the 3 comedians were funny. The other was boring. 8. The ship is very large so be prepared to wait and wait and wait. 9. Reserve dining and entertainment quickly or it will be sold out. 10. We had the mini-suite with balcony. The bathroom was nicely equipped with a dual vanity and large shower. The room was spacious with very comfortable beds and pillows. We did not like the fact that you can't charge your phones if your not in the room. The electric shuts off if your Key Card is not inserted. 11. Cabin Steward and Cruise Director Team were very nice. Bar and Dining- with the exception of speciality dining and washy washy team- were not very friendly at all. 12. We took three excursions: Luxury Sailing with Snorkeling in Cabo- was awesome. Private Beach Resort in Mazatlan- Outstanding. City Tour of Puerto Vallarta- Avoid. 13. The Norwegian Bliss is the 10 largest ship in the world, so just be prepared for large crowds who are impatient. Norwegian does a great job of trying to make as much seating available and to ensure spots like the Garden Cafe do have plenty of stations. If you meet someone, the chances of running into them again is unlikely. 14. There are plenty of places onboard to get a drink. There are bars nearly everywhere. Don't expect a straw, plastic or paper, which makes drinking a frozen drink difficult. 15. The food in Savor/Taste were just average. We dined once for breakfast and once for dinner. 16. Use the NCL app when you get onboard. It's a great resource. 17. Use your stateroom TV to reserve shows, specialty dining, onboard activities, and shore excursions. It's much more convenient. 18. There was a medical incident onboard and the team reacted quickly and professionally. It was reassuring. 19. The onboard activities were engaging and fun. We really enjoyed them. 20. You get the impression that NCL is always trying to sell you something. 21. I yearn for the days when you can buy a package and EVERYTHING is included. The Deluxe Beverage package did not include water/soda/Starbucks. 22. Norwegian Bliss does have their Disembarking to a science. It was efficient and organized. Overall, we enjoyed the cruise and there is some room for improvement. We wish the staff were more friendly. We sailed on Royal Caribbean in February and that team were so awesome even after a 8 month stint. Read Less

The Bliss is an amazing ship. Lots to do with kids and adults. The pools are very close together and always very busy. There are many options for dinning for every meal of the day, even in the middle of the night. The food is great we never had a bad meal. The buffet was different every day with a large amount to choose from. Cagney's Steakhouse was amazing. Everything we ordered was cooked perfectly and was delicious. La Coucina was our next favorite. The waiter explained everything on the menu. The food was amazing. We really love the free style dinning it gave us a chance to try almost every place to eat on the ship. I recommend getting the dinning package upgrade to try different resturants at a very reasonable price. We truly enjoyed the experience. All of the ships employees are great, very friendly, helpful, and funny. The balcony room is great. We loved being out there enjoying the views. It was peaceful and relaxing. The bed are comfortable. There is extra storage under the sofa. The bathroom had plenty of space for all of our things. The closet had plenty of hangers for our close and the steward asked if we needed more. We loved the coffee maker in the room. It was great for making hot chocolate at night and sitting on the balcony. My daughter lover the large mirror with sitting stool to get ready. It had great lighting she said. It was very convenient so that two people can get ready at the same time. I highly recommend the Stone Island excursion in Mazatlan. The people were amazing, the food was great, the views were stunning. The activities were wondering. There was so much to do and alot of them were included in the package. Everything else was a very reasonable price to do. We loved our guides. The Mexican Fiesta & Lunch excursion in Puerto Vallarta was fun and full of information. Our guide Victor was great and very funny. The Tequila factory was amazing alot of free tequila tasting. The lunch was good and the entertainment was great. The tour around the city before we returned to the ship was great. Alot of stops and alot of sightseeing. We would recommend this. Both of these excursions were well priced for what we got. Not very exspensive at all. AVOID AT ALL COST THE EL ARCO, SCENIC STOP AND GLASS BLOWING IN CABO!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the WORST excursion we have ever been on. The guide would only talk about how poor his country was, how they need and rely on our tips. How the government treats its people so badly, and if you have money then you will be fine. The driver went so slow it was only supposed to be a 3 hour excursion and it ened up being 4 and a half one. With no food or drinks. Not even somewhere to buy something. We were only at the glass blowing demonstration for 5 minutes and the guide kept jumping infront of the demonstration. Even the glass blower himself was getting frustrated. All the guide kept saying was dont forget to tip him. He needs it to feed his family. The glass blown stuff you can purchase was way over priced and was just ok. When we finally got back we had 30 minutes to run back to the tender boat to get to the ship before we left port. The guide and driver took to long there was no time to do anything. We wished we never booked this excursion and never wasted our money. AVOID AT ALL COST. Overall this was a great vacation. We loved Norwegian so much we booked another vacation with them for next year. If you are planning another cruise. Make sure you go to the cruise next desk while on board to book it. They have great offers and are very helpful and friendly. Read Less