As the name implies, every December we take an NCL cruise out of NYC with the same itinerary to the "south seas", it's a habit I hope never to break. This year was unique because we had a chance to cruise the NCL Bliss. December is known for winter storms along the Atlantic and this year was our turn to be blown around. The captain decided to modify the itinerary and slow our south bound leg of the trip to minimize the effect of the storm rocking the ship. The rain, the cold, the wind, all kept us off the outdoor spaces except for quick "I wonder how bad it really is..." ventures outside. I will say that I hardly felt the ship's motions but some other travelers did feel poorly. The last Nor'Easter we went through was much worse. Although the Bliss is larger and should have a worse wind profile the stabilizers worked very well.

So we had a full days' stay in Canaveral with all the excursions extended to a full day (which is good for the Disney trips); followed by a full day in Nassau with 3 other super-sized cruise ships (read into that very crowded in town). The private beach was skipped because the tendering process would be too dangerous (I agree). Unfortunately for us the private beach day was the only excursion we intended to take.

The on-board services were very good, we had 5 nights of specialty dining and they were all great. I was worried that my digestion system may not handle the Q Smokehouse menu but there was no difficulty. Teppanyaki was fun as usual. Le Bistro and La Cucina also had excellent service and great food. This was our first time at Ocean Blue and I would recommend it to all. Read more