We chose this cruise first of all because of the ship and also because of departure from Los Angeles. We have cruised Royal Caribbean and Carnival in the past and enjoyed both, but wanted to try a different line. We thought NCL might be our new choice after looking at the Bliss and it's amenities. We will go back to our previous cruise lines in the future, but here are pros and cons:
Pros: The ...
.We have been on more than 20 cruises with Carnival and Royal and decided to “up our game” to NCL
We went with the all inclusive trip which included air, hotel and transfers.
Here is a 5 point summary of our experience with NCL.
1-Very long and slow lines, between waiting on our shuttle to the port at 10:30 am to actually getting in our room was 6 hours, 4 of which were waiting in some ...
A little background, I have a unique perspective as I was a previous cruise ship employee for over 11 years and passenger for many more years on HAL, Crown, Regent, Regency, Commodore, Cunard, RCCL, Black Sea Shipping and I am sure I am forgetting some.
This was our first cruise on NCL and the reviews were pretty bad that I read after booking:( I wanted to try NCL and the Bliss out of LA as its ...
It was overall a really bad experience. Common areas were not large enough to comfortably accommodate the amount of passengers. It was very similar to Vegas. Maybe half the staff that was needed to accommodate a full ship. Room was barely cleaned late in the day. No turn down service. Took forever to get a drink at the bars and there was no service at chairs or tables besides in the sit down ...
Need an elevator? Sorry too crowded. Gokarts? Sorry full. Shore excursions? Sorry sold out. Restaurant for your family to sit? Nope- not taking any more reservations. Go to the buffet and fight for a table. Pool chairs for your family? Good luck. Drink service at the pool? Lol. Got up to wait for a drink? Lost your seat. Norwegian has taken what would an ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS boat and turned it into ...
We chose this Cruise because we are on the West Coast and leaving from LA was cheaper than the Caribbean. Also, we were able to pay for this cruise using Air Miles points. The Norwegian Bliss is a giant ship full of Staterooms - not open spaces, not beautiful fine finishes, just more staterooms... "pack 'em in like cattle" should be their motto. No seating at the Buffett, wait in line at every ...
This was our sixth NCL cruise If this was our first cruise ever on NCL, it's unlikely we would ever return.
So many things went sideways on this cruise. Just challenges all week long.
First, embarkation at San Pedro was the worst it has ever been. Handicapped passengers were ignored and repeatedly lied to about boarding. We waited THREE hours in the terminal for wheelchair assistance, ...
We recently completed a 15 day Panama Canal crossing trip on the NCL Bliss. Overall, this cruise was an excellent and enjoyable experience. That said, some improvements could be made:
Two excellent plays, “Jersey Boys” and “Six” were each shown 4 times. However, the ticketing computers indicted all shows were sold out the first night of the cruise. Given the theater seats nearly 1,000 ...
We were offered this cruise from Miami thru the Canal to LA at a decent price due to cancellations incurred during the Pandemic.
First off this will be our last cruise on a "Mega" ship. Just far too many people with far too few staff. Cabins are now cleaned only once a day, drink and food service in all dining rooms were lengthy. Waits exceed 20 minutes to simply get a glass of wine, and coffee ...
Nice ship but long lines for everything. There are 8 restaurants you have to pay extra for. Five that are included, which includes the buffet. But if you want to eat beware of long lines and plan ahead. Getting off the ship is a nightmare. I've been standing in line for 4 hours with no end in sight. If you want to walk on a treadmill great but if you prefer any other kind of exercise like ...