I've been on 12 cruises. This was my 3rd NCL cruise. I like NCL and had good experiences with them, I also like a new and modern ship. I chose this cruise because the Bliss fit the bill. We had a great cruise. I was hoping for a 5 star rating but I'd call this one a 4 star (I'd go 4.5 star if that were possible). NCL really put their best into the design of this ship. Far and away it is the nicest cruise ship I've ever been on. The embarkation/debarkation was the best I've ever had. In both instances we walked-on/walked-off the ship with minimal wait. NCL has done a great job on this. The entertainment and music are also the best I've ever had on a cruise. Every night there was a lot of things happening and most of it was good. The music and dance parties were especially good. Their top-deck bar/dance area is called 'spice h2o' and it is not to be missed we went to 3 late night parties there and it was very fun, there was a lot of energy, a lot of people and the music was excellent. I didn't give this a 5 star because I thought the food and service were sub-par for NCL. That isn't to say they weren't good, just not up to what I am use to for NCL. They were more on par for what I am use to from Carnival. I love Carnival but I think of NCL as a step up. Something else I didn't like is that we had fixed dining but we did not get the same table and wait staff each night. They moved us around like it was anytime dining. I like to get to know the staff, I think that is a connection that can add a lot of value to a cruise. Bouncing from table to table did not allow for this. We had several excellent wait staff and several who were clueless.

The bars on the Bliss are excellent. We frequented the Whiskey bar and the A-list. The best bartenders IMO were in the casino and at Spice h2o.

We attended Jersey Boys - it was excellent I call it a "must do" if you are on the Bliss. We also wen't to the prohibition review. I didn't care much for that as I thought it might be more of a dance-party and it was more of a burlesque show.