No one does it better than Disney! After the terrible experience of taking my first cruise on Carnival about 5 years ago I was real hesitant to go cruising again...least to say I'm very glad I gave Disney a try because they changed my perspective on the whole cruising industry. Our cruise was a 7 night to the Mexican Rivera with stops in Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. Room: The room was great! We had a family balcony stateroom which was very spacious and could sleep up to 5 people with 4 beds in the room. The split bathrooms on Disney ships are genius, especially for getting ready in the mornings. Our room steward Lorenzo was amazing! Entertainment: There was never a down moment aboard the Disney Wonder! They always had something going on. We saw 3 stage shows which were all amazing and they also had a Ventriloquist, Magician, comedian and hypnotist aboard doing shows daily. Being 23 I was concerned that there would be annoying kids all over the ship and that all entertainment and activities would be geared solely to children. Despite what I thought, the only time I really saw children was a breakfast in the buffet and at night at the stage shows. For the most part they stayed in the kids clubs and the children pool. There were plenty of adult areas to relax in, and the entire front of the ship in filled with adult only clubs and lounges. Food: To me the food aboard the Disney Wonder was a bit of a disappointment. The appetizers, soups and desserts always blew us away but the entres were somewhat lacking in flavor and constancy. I feel this is one area they could definable improve. The buffet was good, they had a great variety of food and rotated their menus which I appreciated. I really enjoyed the rotating dining that Disney does, my favorite restaurant for food was Tritons and Tianas Place for the atmosphere. Service: The service aboard the ship was incredible! Our servers were amazing and really boosted our experience aboard the ship! Tati and Ikadek were our servers and they treated us like kings. The cruise line lost our bags on the first day, we went to guest service and they located them within hours and sent chocolate covered strawberries and a hand written apology for the inconvenience. Spa: I spent alot of time (and money) in the spa and was pleased with the service rendered there. On day one of the cruise I won a raffle for a $50 spa certificate. I ended up getting a rainforest pass which for $129, I don't feel was worth the money. Also had my teeth whitened what I was very pleased with (they honestly did a better job than my dentist), I received an acupuncture session (waste of money) and a great massage! They always tried to sell you stuff after services which really got annoying after a while. Ports: Highlights Cabo: we didn't do any excursions here, just walked around the pier. Extremely touristy! Mazatlan: Probably our lease favorite port. We did the Best of Mazatlan tour which was a complete waste of money and time. They took us to see a light house (which was a couple miles away from the look out point the bus stopped at) Then took us to see a old church (which was pretty) Their "golden zone" was super trashy and full of street vendors that get really annoying after a while. We ended the tour with a nasty fiesta lunch filled with store bought taquitos, overcooked rice, and other gross, non authentic food. There was supposed to be a folkloric show that mainly just consisted of drinking games. Don't go on this tour. Puerto Vallarta: Our favorite port. It's very jungly here and lest touristy. We did a cooking class which consisted of visiting a local market and tortilla factory where we bought masa, then took a bus ride through the mountains to a rural village where we learned to cook amazing authentic mexican food. I highly recommend this tour if you are looking for an authentic mexican experience. Altogether the cruise was amazing! I booked another cruise while onboard and can't wait till my next one! 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

This was a special cruise called HALLOWEEN ON THE HIGH SEAS. San Diego, Cabo, Mazatlan and PTO Vallarta/San Diego return. My first-ever holiday sailing. Cabin 5012 was forward and located on deck-5. A excellent location with great access to everything. This is a outside stateroom with the large picture window/porthole. The ship is in pristine condition. As in the cleanest ship I have ever sailed on. Both in stateroom and public areas. Embarkation was classic Disney with perfection in line/group control but Disney was using the older San Diego cruise terminal that is in dire need of refurbishment. Escalators and elevators were broken so it was the stairs for all with the exception of one elevator. It's dark, cold, poor seating and with limited restrooms. Once aboard, it all turns to Pixie Dust and I will never know how Disney accomplishes such crew perfection but they do and with ease. Every single employee/cast member/crew member was amazing 24/7. I was never so impressed. Cabins are larger than most at-sea with a two-bathroom concept that takes up way too much space in the stateroom/cabin. Serving no purpose as only one bathroom has a toilet. Stateroom TV's are ultra small at 22"-26" and guess what? It's all Disney programming! ABC, FOX and CNN can be had but that did not occur when at-sea. The most disappointing aspect of a Disney cruise is the overall dining quality (my third Disney sailing). That said, expect 'Theme Park Dining' at best. Catering to families and kids mostly. You'll need your own salt & pepper shakers. The food is bland, boring, basic in presentation and uneventful in every single course. Disney incorporates what is called 'Rotational Dining' in that that every night you change dining rooms (keeping the same waiter) which are themed on a different approach each night. We had ANIMATOR'S PALATE, TRITON'S and TIANA'S PLACE as our dining venues. Tiana's Place is new to Disney with a Mardi Gras theme and it is exceptionally loud. Very loud. It is a dining room floor show experience in a sense. It can be impossible for the waiters or the guest to engage in conversation. There are Quick Service dining venues also aboard The Disney Wonder but they all failed. The only exception to any dining experience onboard is the buffet area called CABANA'S. That saved us all! Yet Disney closes it for dinner making it a sit-down venue instead serving the same basic and bland offerings as found in the dining rooms. Unlike most other cruise lines that offer 24/7 dining options, Disney has a very rigid schedule of openings and closings. Room service is 24/7 thankfully but on par with Arby's Roast Beef if not worse. Disney is all about its movies and shows and expect only the best because that is the rule for any Disney showroom presentation. We were entertained for FROZEN, THE GOLDEN MICKEY'S and DREAMS. There were also several guest performers for a 7 day cruise but all were 'VERY SAFE' because we are a family cruise line first and foremost. Because this was a holiday sailing involving Halloween, candy was passed out Halloween night and most passengers dressed in costume for the event but activities were very limited. Menus that night never addressed Halloween. This isn't a cruise line for just kids. There are many 'adult-only areas' (never enforced) and on this sailing the amount of kids never felt like it exceeded 40-50%. What I will remember most about the type of passenger aboard a Disney cruise was the morning we were dining outside (at Cabana's) and on the table, next to the drink station for beverages, was a mother changing her baby on the table while we all dined for breakfast. Several Disney cruise staff walked by the event but none ever addressed it... There was a bathroom just inside the doors some 30 feet away that the mom could have used. That said, it is a family line. It's a Disney product and it's always 'Pixie Dust'. Sometimes boring. Unless you are a kid or a pure Disney fanatic. 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

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

We choose this cruise because of the ship, especially because of the newly designed Haven and it did not disappoint us. Overall there was a lot to do and many places to go, we didn't have a change to experience all, as there were so many things to do. The Waterfront is a great concept, we had dinner outside in Los Lobos and the food, ambiance and service were excellent, try the table-side guacamole! The avocado ice cream was not a favorite of us, but everything else was delicious. Also had drinks on the Mojito bar outside several times. The breakfast foods in the buffet were good selection, but we felt that hot foods were not hot at all, by the time you would get to your table the food would be cold. The Haven court yard, sundeck, lounge and restaurant were excellent with top of the line service and food, the fillet mignon in the Heaven restaurant was better than in Gagney's. The personnel in Haven would greet you by your name and remember your preferences, I have a gluten intolerance and it was always addressed properly, they would provide gluten freed bread and adjust dishes to be gluten free. Our Concierge Hanno and our butler were super attentive and took care of everything from room service deliveries, Racetrack reservations to shore excursions. Casino was also nice with good selection of slots, wished there would have been more Video poker game variations. VP machines had a decent pay tables for a cruise line. Read Less

I went on this cruise with my boyfriend and his family. Staff were great, and overall very attentive. The food was generally not good. The best food was at the buffet. While staff at the restaurants were very accommodating, the food did not live up to our expectations for being on a "luxury" cruise. Service at the restaurants that required an upcharge was mediocre at best. Staterooms were modern and very clean. The shows that we went to see (Six and Jersey Boys) were both excellent. The observation lounge and promenade were great places. The shore excursions were well-organized and a lot of fun, although our last excursion to Cabo was time limited because it was turning into an "at sea" day. I would definitely do an NCL cruise again, but with more realistic expectations. Not sure if it was really worth the money that I paid. Overall, it was definitely a positive experience. Read Less

Just off the Royal this morning. There was 7 in our group, including my wife and son, in laws and sister in law and her husband. Overall enjoyed the ship and the cruise. The food was better than expected, the ship is in lovely condition. The cruise director, Matt O is very funny and has more energy than the Energizer Bunny. We were in a mini-suite (B337) midship. The cabin was nice for three people. Our son slept on the bunk bed that came down from the ceiling. We really enjoyed the bedding. Two large screen tv’s on the wall. Lots of free movies to chose from. The bathroom was nice enough. We would prefer a nice shower over a shower/tub combo, but it was fine. Lots of storage space. Our cabin attendant was simply adequate. He came in the first day and told us three things he couldn’t do, before we opened our mouth. We picked the cabin because it has the bunk bed in the ceiling. Our 14 year old is 6’0 and the couch was just too small. He was not happy that we asked for the bunk bed but he made it up. We asked for three towels in the bathroom as there was three of us and he told us we were lucky to have 2 towels as the machine was down. While I’m sure this was true, all he had to say was that he would get the third towel in asap. We asked that he replenish the ice bucket in the morning and at night and we failed to do that most of the time. None of these issues is major, but we have never encountered this type of average service from a cabin attendant in over 25 cruises. Usually we are making sure to tip extra to our cabin attendant who took such good care of us, but this time there was simply no “above and beyond” type of service. We had lovely service in the Allegro dining room every night. Civil and Ariel were great waiters. The food in the main dining room was better than past cruises on Princess. The food in the Horizon Court buffet was also good. The design of the Horizon court is awful. They have “alleys” that are perpendicular to the seating areas. The ship was full and there was narrow walk ways and congestion, partly caused by the fact that there is no front/back of the lines. We had breakfast in the dining room a couple of times just to avoid the buffet. The pizza and burgers were also delicious by the pool. Loved the pool area. Lots of loungers, the Movies Under the Stars was great, and the waiter service at the bar and all areas of the ship was excellent. We worked out in the fitness center twice over the 5 days and the gym is a little tight but the equipment was in good shape. Our son played hoops on the basketball court and loved that there was a competitive game with adults. We did the virtual clay pigeon shooting one afternoon that was also fun. The casino was nice (other than overwhelming cigarette smell). I do love the new ships that ban smoking in the casino. The casino dealers were nice and friendly. The coffee shop on level 5 was fantastic. They have fabulous espresso, great sandwiches and desserts. We enjoyed the jazz septuplets in the Wheelhouse Bar and the piano players throughout the cruise. They had mariachi music throughout the week and while it was great it got a little old as it felt that we heard it in the piazza every day for three days straight. The regular band played by the pool and in the piazza and had a great guitar player and lead singer. There was a good selection of shops on board that my wife and son loved and good advantage of! Read Less

My cousin and I wanted a cruise that we could drive to and just spend a lot of time enjoying the cruise itself. One port that we didn't care about was perfect! Unfortunately, this ship has the Medallion system, technology to use instead of talking to real live people. It was very frustrating, very slow, and very inefficient. We don't like keeping our cell phones with us, but if you wanted to use the Medallion system, then you needed your phone with you at all times. The only good thing about the medallion was that when you were within 15 feet of your cabin, the cabin would unlock for you when you had your medallion with you. Leaving the ship, as well as returning to the ship, was easy. You just scan the medallion. We tried to use the medallion system with our phones,but it would just turn off, or go very slow. I preferred the daily paper over caring around my phone. We tried to also order drinks using the system, and it wouldn't work. Finally just walked up to the bar and ordered. We heard others complaining that when they did order their drink, it would never arrive with the GPS system supposedly able to find them with the Medallion. If you didn't want to wear the Medallion on a lanyard around your neck, Princess sold (Surprise! Surprise! ) a wrist band for $12 or a chain necklace for $54. If you already wear a watch, then you would need to put the wrist band on the other wrist. Too much. As a vegan, the main meals were disappointing. No protein offered, and the worst veggie burgers there are. They also allow smoking in half of the casino. But, you could smell it throughout the casino. Plus, if you wanted a machine that was in the smoking area, but not in the non-smoking area, too bad. The entertainment was great! Wonderful music and musicians. The assistant cruise director, Matt O', was great! He kept us smiling. Read Less

4th cruise on NCL. 6th overall. Prior on Sky, Gem and Getaway. Big fans of the Freestyle cruising. Had the beverage package and 3 meals at specialty dining included in the fare. THE GOOD Beautiful stunning new ship with top notch technology. We had 250 min of WIFI and I had little/no issues accessing it. Opted for the texting/calling onboard and it came in handy a few times. Any issues, visit the desk at the internet café in the atrium. Embarkation was super quick. We were supposed to be there between 10-1030a. Ended up arriving closer to 11a. Check in was quick and were given boarding number 19. I think they were at 6 when we sat down. Waited maybe 10-15 min and then they called all people waiting to board. Disembarkation was a bit slower. Our flight was later so we waited towards the end and walked off. There was probably a couple hundred people behind us. It took us probably an hour or so to get thru the line. We overheard many people who missed their flights. I wouldn't book a flight before noon. Kids (9-12) both enjoyed Splash Academy. One time we tried to drop off the 9-year-old and they were full. That surprised me a bit. Cabin was wonderful. We had a mini suite balcony (10234). I haven’t had a week of good sleep like that in a long time. We had 4 people in the room and it was big enough. No noise issues. No issues with motion as opposed to sitting in the Obs Lounge. Cabin steward – Mohammad was great. I enjoyed the conversations I had with him learning about him and his family. For the limited times we were in the cabin, the movies they had running were impressive late runs movies. Kids appreciated that while we got ready or rested. Week’s worth of dining and I think there was only one meal I had that wasn’t very good (Steak on the classic menu in the Manhattan Room). It was edible, just not good. All the other meals were great. We dined at Cagney’s (excellent), Teppyanaki (Moises was great, steak was tender and juicy, server was quick with the drinks, tablemates were fun with the Saki Bombs) and Le Bistro (server was a bit snooty but was that for ambience?). Very happy with meals/service in Taste/Savor. Other memorable plates for me were the Spinach Caesar Salad, Pizza/Egg White and spinach omelet in the buffet, Caprese snack in the Obs Lounge. For breakfast, they had tasty hash browns, but it seemed like they were only available in one place on the buffet. Why is that? Everything else could be found in numerous locations. Side note, the omelet bars are also able to make regular fried eggs (over medium, sunny side up, etc). Daughter loved having Starbucks on board. Soda seemed flat. Loved the District Brewhouse. Found George and found my beer. By the end of the cruise, I would walk in and he knew what I wanted. Observation Lounge was an interesting place. Wonderful place to go and relax and have a drink/light snacks. It felt like a comfortable living room. I personally wouldn’t be comfortable with people eating in my living room. My expectations for Jersey Boys and Six were very low – honestly had no interest in seeing either. I was blown away with both shows. So glad that they replaced Havana with Six. Even my 12-year-old, who I thought would have been bored with Jersey Boys, really got into it. The scene changes were impressive. Well done. If you don’t have any interest in seeing either because “it just isn’t your thing”, please give it a try. I cannot stress this enough. Give it a try. I almost missed out on it because it just didn’t sound appealing. Comedians – Quincy and Flip – were very funny. I appreciated the Carnival jokes. The other guy was unmemorable. Go carts were fun. My 9-year-old was questionable on the height (probably a half inch off the requirement). We tried to push him thru and I regret doing that. He couldn’t control the go cart and was removed from the track. The 12 year enjoyed it but wasn’t overly eager to do it again. Kids enjoyed laser tag – they did it once in the day and once at night. It is an open top venue. I was told it is better at night. Waterslides were fun. The tube one was fun but short. The drop slide was fun but seemed like only 50% of the riders made it over the first loop resulting in longer waits as the had to check both escape hatches. I would call that a design flaw. I don’t remember the drop slides on the Getaway having that issue. The Caliente party was fun. The Cruise Director staff did a great job getting everyone pumped up. One of the staff danced with a little girl (probably 2-3 years old) for a long time. It was a cute interaction. THE BAD Had some stress when we first got on as we needed to reserve go carts/laser tag/shows/restaurants/etc. Sort of went against your Freestyle Cruising concept which we are big fans of. We were able to reserve a few things before the cruise. Seemed like we had to modify or change reservations 2 or 3 times while on the cruise. I had to visit the desk to confirm what I had reserved. Just got a little confusing and complicated. I would be nice if we could just walk up and do these things when we are ready to do them. Ok, if I had to be super picky, I guess I wish I could have had more time in ports. We were cutting it close in Cabo (arriving at the tender boat line like 5 min before 2pm) only to find a massive line. Elevators were always busy so I opted to take the stairs 95% of the time. Good way to burn all the beer and buffet pizza. The ping pong tables on outside of the ship were unplayable due to the winds. The ones on the inside were usable. Bar service at times was slow. I am guessing it is because NCL is giving away more beverage packages. Most attentive service was in the District though. FINAL THOUGHTS On the first day, I witnessed a guy (lets call him Richard, or Dick for short) barking demands at George in the District. “Turn on the Mets Game” George explained they did not have it. “Get me a Harp or Stella” George explained they did not have it and offered an alternative. “Get me the alternative”. It was poured and had some head on it (as beers do). “Scrape the head off”. Unbelievable. The thing that disgusted me the most about this cruise is the way the passengers treated the crew. A simple please, thank you, smile, good morning go a long way. Please keep this in mind when you read reviews. Surely the man that needed his beer scraped is also on here writing. Side note – I saw that man later in a hallway propped up against a wall unable to find his room. Don't be like Dick. Ha. Go and have a wonderful time. Read Less

My younger son turns 13 in October 2019 and wanted to go to the Splash Academy one last time before he is "too old" as his birthday gift. So, we booked this cruise when we were on NCL Escape in November 2018. Again, we learned from the same mistake, never booked our cruise too early as NCL will drop their price dramatically as they cannot sell their rooms during the regular periods of the year. However, we still love the NCL shows although there are lesser and lesser available. The crew members are still hardworking and most of them are very good! We still love them! Drinks are still good and NCL is still kids friendly! Overall, as a regular NCL cruiser, I am disappointed with NCL on their arrangments on the food they served. They only serve Lobster at the Ocean Blue and Caney's now, and they are not as good as other ships. The crab cakes at Q were too salty, so did the scallops at the Teppys. The lunch's menu at the two "sit-down" restaurants have not been changed during the entire 7-day-cruise. The only good thing is "The Local" still serves good Burgers, but the chefs could not hold the qualities of the wings that they served. My wife and I are both agreed that it is time for us to start sailing with other cruise lines and stat building our membership-tier.​ Read Less

I enjoyed certain aspects of the boat but I will definitely say that people should understand that the boat is huge and there are a ton of people going on vacation with you. Almost everywhere you go there will be a crowd. The service at the specialty restaurants was probably my favorite experience. Other smaller eateries and smaller areas were way too crowded. I would recommend taking one of Norwegians smaller ships if you want that personalized feel. Me and my wife’s room was barely cleaned. Never came back to the room with the towel animals or anything. The staff seemed worn down and tired a day into the cruise. Some of the cameras on board don’t work. We went to the race track and had an amazing time just to find out that the camera system didn’t work so we wouldn’t be getting any footage of a great moment we had on the ship. Also if you get sea sick be prepared for the journey back to port. The captain does not take his time and tons of people were sea sick and vomiting everywhere. Read Less

Im a cruise lover... been on about 8 cruises and this is my second time on NCL.. last NCL before this one was in 2016 and I could really really really see feel and taste their departure from elegance and comfort to mediocrity... Crowded as all heck!! They had the 3rd and 4th passenger sail free promotion going on and it absolutely packed that ship to the brim. Every show sold out by day two, every restaurant sold out by day three.. nowhere to just chill. The kids club was 20-30 min just to check in and then another 20-30 min to check kids out. It felt like being at the local shopping mall December 23rd the entire week.. everywhere. Every place. To get a drink was 10 min at any bar minimum. And the worst part was the crew.. they all had this sense of exhaustion on them. What a shame. I will never sail NCL again. So much different than 2016. Read Less

From the time we step onboard, everything was all in order. There was little chaos on elevators and passages due to people are lost or don’t know what to do or where to go. But the crew was very helpful in all ways possible to help out. The foods are amazingly well organized. The crew made sure that all guests are enjoying each meal. The restaurants are very well maintained and crews assigned are ready to serve all guests. The mustering drill is very chaotic. It took so much time to muster all guests. There should be a better way to fix this issue. If there is a real situation, there might not be enough time to save someone’s life. It took about 40 minutes to fill the theatre where our group has to muster. It takes about 10 minutes before hypothermia set in to someone. Every crew were very responsive and courteous. They know what they are doing. Read Less

This is our 2nd Norwegian cruise with our kids. Our first one, 3 years ago on the Getaway, was fantastic. We stayed in the Haven in the 2 bedroom family villa and EVERY part of the cruise was fantastic! This cruise, we board to find a sign entering the Haven Sun Deck that only those 16 and over were permitted. That is completely ridiculous. First of all, there is ZERO communication on that while booking on NCL.com. There is NOTHING that states that children will not be allowed on the sun deck. On our Getaway ship, we spend numerous hours up there with our kids. This cruise...we basically were put in the Haven Pool deck which had the retractable roof closed, 90% of the time. "How was your time in the sun? We didn't get to be in the sun, but we did stay in a Holiday Innn Express!" Unacceptable. Why...WHY would you have 2 areas of the ship, the Vibe and Spice2O, be adults only and then have the Haven Sun Deck to be the same when there is a 2 bedroom FAMILY villa in the Haven? It is ridiculous. There are 2 separate areas of the ship that allow adults only to "get away from" the kids/noise. That makes no sense at all. If those in the Haven want a complete adult only experience...they have 2 options. We paid MORE than a couple that stays in the Haven, and did NOT get to have all of the amenities as they did. Let that sink in for a second. We specifically pay to have that part of the ship. To not be in the crowded area. To spend that kind of money only to be told we have to go to the public area of the ship if we want to lay in the sun with our kids (ages 13/11/8). Secondly, this ship has NO sports complex. Sure, it has a race track...but our kids couldn't do it because they were too short. The 2 big slides...tall enough, but not 99 pounds...so the ONLY slide they could do was the big one. From the getaway, where they could do 3 slides, ropes course, rock wall, spider slide, jump ball, 18 hole putt putt course, this was a complete disappointment. Now, this was my fault for not checking to see if there was not a sports complex, or at least something else for them to do. This second issue, is definitely my fault. The Bliss/Joy/Encore are obviously more for adults. Hey but the Bliss does have a 5 hole putt putt course!! Yes...sarcasm. Lastly, we brought our concerns our concierge the first night. He said that he was going to get back to us first thing next day (Monday). Monday, at sea, came and went with no communication, and a wasted day of not being able to be on the sun deck. Long story short, we talked with the Assistant GM of the Bliss, and he basically told us, too bad, that is NCL corporate decision...which, he was right. He just cannot make that decision to override the stupid decisions that corporate boards/execs make. Sadly, I have been cruising for over 30 years. My first cruise was when I was 10 years old on the SS Norway. Since then, my favorite vacation has always been a cruise, and an NCL cruise. No longer. There are way too many options, especially from Royal Caribbean, to continue to cruise with a line that discriminates against children, yet charges the same/more for those families to not be able to utilize all the amenities offered to those who choose to pay more for the Haven. On the final day the cruise decided to give us a discount on a future cruise. First off, we are taking a family trip to Italy next year, so we will not be cruising. But why would we choose to cruise again with NCL when our kids cannot go to the sun deck? Regretfully, my love for NCL cruises are done. This was a terrible way to end it, but there was nothing done to try to accommodate what they did not inform us of before the cruise. Read Less

Summary of our trip: If you ever traveled on one of the larger Disney boats, the Dream or Fantasy, you will be somewhat disappointed on the Wonder. We traveled with our adult children and their children ages 8, 6, 2-1/2 and a 10 month old. My husband and I had connecting rooms with my daughter who has two babies. The connecting rooms helped with the small cabin size as we freely went back and forth. We had all their junk in our cabin so they could accommodate the pack and play comfortably. I don't know how they could have managed with all their kid stuff....stroller, diapers, formula, diaper genie, etc...if they had only their cabin space. Embarkation was fine. We arrived at the Port of San Diego about 10:45 and people were already checking in. We were number 21 for boarding and that happened about 12:45. We headed for the Triton sit down restaurant, but it was already full and there was a 30 minute wait. So off to the food court, Cabanas, we went. What a mad house as everyone was there since the cabins were not ready. Your first impression is ....holy cow....how crowded is this small ship. It took some ingenuity to find a table for nine. Once we could go to our cabin at 1:30, we received our bags about 45 minutes later. The first night of dining was at the Animator's Palace, early seating. They had a cute show on the walls and Mickey makes an appearance in Fantasmic fashion. Our servers were Jen from the United Kingdom assisted by Angelina from Poland. They could have not been more helpful especially since we had two kids in high chairs making a mess every night. Out of the many cruises that we have been on, the food delivery was the quickest that we have experienced. Tonight's show was the Golden Mickeys in the Walt Disney Theater. Note that this theater is only on one level....versus the larger ships that have a balcony. Go early if you want a decent up front seat. We never arrived after 8 for a 8:30 show. (First dining at 5:45, shows start at 8:30) We spent some time the next day in the Oceaniere Lab during the open house....the only time the toddlers could be in the Lab. The two year old thought it was fun, but the 8 and 6 year old loved it. We did not get off the ship in Enceneda....others felt the same was as it was full of people for a shore day. Pirate dinner in Tiana's Place. Servers walked around in pirate gear. It was pirate night and here is where the difference between a large ship and a small old ship is highlighted. On the Dream last year, there was a detailed pirate show that lasted a full 15 minutes with about 30 actors. On the Wonder, it's basically a dance party for pirate night. Mickey and a pirate go down the zip line, but there is no show to speak of. What a disappointment. Fireworks at sea lasted for about 90 seconds. It was not worth keeping toddlers up to past 10:15 when the fireworks happened. Before the pirate and firework event, there was a magician in the WD theater. We saw half of the show then left to save seats on the pool deck for the non existent pirate show. Day three was a sea day. Our impressions....the food at Cabanas is fine. Nothing special but it is convenient if you want to be at the pool area. There is also an average burger and pizza spot. Daisy's food area has salads and sandwiches and fruit, so we enjoyed that area. We went to Triton's for a sit down lunch most days....nice to be out of the crowded pool area. Speaking of pools....the pool area compared to the Dream is about half its size, which is also a disappointment. BTW. Kids must be potty trained...swim diapers not allowed. A kid pooped in the baby pool and it had to be closed for three hours. If not potty trained, there is a very small splash pad area....again, half the size of the Dream. Not worth the hassle with the toddlers. We played bingo with the kids....$40 for the cards. Dinner again at Tiana's Place where she made an appearance and they had a New Orleans style parade around the restaurant. The show was Frozen. Fabulous production. The actor playing Elsa is amazing with a really solid voice. Again, if you want center, up close seats, get in line early....for this show, earlier than 8 pm. Next day was Cabo. There are tenders in Cabo....a royal pain with kids in strollers. We went to the Dolphin area where the older kids swam with the dolphins. They enjoyed themselves...they should for the price of this excursion. Cabo by the port is very touristy...bars and tee shirt shops. Next time, I won't get off the ship. Dinner at Triton's Place...the most boring restaurant of all. Forgot to mention that the cabin stewart, Omar, made sure his services did not interfer with nap time. He was great dealing with that dreaded diaper genie. Thanks, Omar! The highlight for the 8 and 6 year old granddaughters happened on the last full day. The Princess Royal Tea. Very expensive for the girls, but well worth it. It is done so well. The girls were showered with gifts only available at this tea....a doll, jewelry box, charms, crown etc. The Princesses came to each table and spent time talking to the girls. A cute show with the hostess and baker....two very good actors from the ensemble. I can't recommend this tea more....worth every penny if you have girls that love the Princesses. The show tonight was Believe which was fabulous. It's snippets of many Disney movies. Don't miss. Back to Animator's Palace. No show by the servers. Disembarkation was chaos. We had breakfast in Animator's Palace....they rush you through. We had first seating at dinner....so first seating for the last breakfast at 7:15. They servers make it very apparent that they want you out for the next group. You get off the ship on level 3 and the elevator spills out to the area where those waiting for Tiana's Place are lined up. It was gridlock. Plus, most people are with all their luggage ignoring the night before drop off. There is luggage everywhere, wall to wall people on level 3 and no where to go. I'm so surprised that Disney has not figured out a solution to this problem. Getting off was easy if you do not need an elevator in the port building. We carried down the stroller or we would have had a 20 minute wait for an elevator. Customs was a breeze and cabs were plentiful. Again our total impression....we will not cruise on the Wonder or Magic, the smaller ships, again. Just too crowded, not as technically advanced, more of a wall to wall people feeling. Give us a newer, larger ship any day. Read Less

We wanted to try out something that’s fun and relaxing and were told Carnival Cruise Line could be one good choice. Since the itinerary was able to fit into our overall schedule touring LA and taking another cruise ship, we decided to sail on Carnival Inspiration. We were impressed by the Long Beach Cruise Terminal which is run by Carnival Cruse Line. The fun element started when we were brought to a cocktail table where they would verify our identify. Everything was really just like s flash, scanned and we saw our photo. We didn’t have to go go thru another round or registration and the key card was sent to the stateroom by 1:30pm. The activities on the ship were American orientated but people were enjoying on the ship. It’s Halloween season and many guests were dressed up every day in their own favourite Halloween characters. The main dining room had very friendly and helpful staff. Most dishes were nicely served, which we didn’t have any problem. Except for few Asian / international delights which might need some improvement in terms of the naming of the dishes and cooking styles. I enjoyed the brunch and hi tea on the last sea day, they were deliciously presented. Ensenada is such a nice port in Mexico and I was glad we signed up for a city tour which brought us to the town area. In the evening we would explore few places for dancing and realised Salsa and Bachata were popular on this ship. Great Singers! Though Carnival Inspiration is not a premium ship, it provides the general comfort and fun elements to the guests. For instance, every dinner the staff would gather to dance with the guests. Read Less

We cruise once or twice a year usually on Princess or Carnival, the reason we decided to go on Norwegian is because we wanted to try out a new ship and since Bliss is a brand new ship it made our decision very easy. Embarkation: We were traveling with two children 3 and 11 months so we had a stroller. Bliss only has 16 elevators on average about 10 elevators less then any other ship we've been on with less passengers so to get on and off the ship or between the floors every-time took very long time and was very frustrating. Dining: The garden buffet had a good selection but several times we've encountered food to be under cooked. Dining rooms took forever to get your food (we were a party of 9) but still it should take hours to eat. Special dining were the worst, not only it took forever to get your food but we got food poisoning TWICE in two separate restaurants (not just couple of us but the entire party). When my kid was trowing up the next morning the manager approached us took our information but nothing came of it. Service: Through out our years of cruising the service on Bliss was horrible. Not sure if crew is overworked or there is something else going on but they were rude, unresponsive and service was just slow. It is like you were asking them for a favor every-time. On-board Experience: EVERYTHING IS EXTRA on the ship, I was surprised that the water slides were free since they were charging for everything, also if you wanted to go to some shows or restaurant you had to reserve ahead of time. The first day we got on the boat everything was already reserved and we had to get on a waiting list for most of the activities. Also there is not that much open/roaming areas on the ship, it seems that they tried to put as many state rooms on the ship as possible. Cabin: Was ok, smaller then on other ships, had a nice size bathroom but i wish the closet was designed different. It was right next to the couch and getting to it was tough. Read Less

It was my husband's fall break from school and my dad and his wife could fit this cruise into their schedule so for the first time we were able to take a cruise together. We had been looking forward to it for many months. We flew into San Diego a day earlier and got a night at the nearby Best Western prior to embarkation. Embarkation went smoothly. After checking in, we had to wait about 40 minutes before we could get on the ship but they had a decent waiting area with plenty of seating so it was not a big deal. Once we boarded the ship, we were able to go right to our rooms to check them out. We got side by side balcony staterooms and had our room steward open the balcony partition between rooms so that we could enjoy each other's company during the cruise. Our room stewards were Rohman and Ron and both seemed fine. One thing I didn't really like was that I felt a little shamed for asking for an extra towel to be inside our bathroom at all times so that if needed, I wouldn't have to ask for it. I got the lecture about how they want us to re-use the towels to save water. I get it but I'm also asking for one extra towel and shoot! I'm on vacation. If I want to use an extra towel, can't I? What I did learn super quickly though was an extra hand towel was needed to keep the sink area dry because every time we reached between the soap and the faucet, water dripped everywhere. They really should use hand soap dispensers - kind of like they do in the shower with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. If the dispenser was right over the sink itself, there would be no mess of drips everywhere. We then went up to lunch in the Lido Cafe otherwise known as the "buffet." I would give it an 8 out of 10 for lunch. I found the desserts to be lacking in flavor though. And, the ice cream was good but twice I wanted a waffle cone and twice they said, no more. Wait until next time. I think whoever makes them needs to make more if they are this popular. I liked the salad station though. It was nice to be able to have salads made up however I wanted them. We pre-purchased a soda card and a drink card before boarding and they were both very useful. In fact, I don't think we actually zero'd out the soda card by the end of the cruise. The dining room was nice and we had great waiters. Supardi and Eki where wonderful and always greeted us with a smile, and gave us what ever we asked for. And, my thing is Creme Brulee. I asked for it every night but one and I got it every night but one. Thank you for that!! Now that is an awesome fulfillment of a request! The options for appetizers and soups and salads were a little bit lacking I thought. Maybe they have cut down on choices over the years? We also enjoyed our wine guy. His name was Ron and he was great. I only ordered wine once but my dad and his wife got a wine package and he was super friendly and not pushy which is what I like!! These 3 got extra tips from all of us! Entertainment...well, I hate to say it but I was totally bored by the HAL performers on the ship. That is the first time in 11 cruises (other lines as well as HAL) that I've ever had to say that. Too bad. We opted to skip the second night they performed too. Now, the hired help - Comedians...they were awesome! Both kept me laughing and left me wanting more. Went to all three shows of theirs. The entertainment in the lounges was good, however seating was lacking if you got there even one minute after it started. That actually annoyed me. The four of us did enjoy the game nights in the different lounges though. We originally pre-purchased two shore excursions from HAL but ended up cancelling the one for Cabo because it was a beach/resort day and we found out it wasn't even on a swimmable beach and to see the pictures online left a lot to be desired. We went out on our own and purchased a resort day online before leaving - for a whole lot less, and at a nicer resort on a swimmable beach! In Puerto Vallarta we also purchased HAL's resort/beach day and it was actually very nice! My only complaint was that it should have started and hour or two later so that it ended later. Many in our group never got to eat lunch in a restaurant at the resort because the seating was limited and we had to get back on the bus at 1:20 and the restaurants didn't open for lunch until noon. If you weren't there waiting in line right at 12:00, you didn't get a table. The excursion should have gone from 10-3 or something along those times. The resort itself though was super nice with multiple pools and a private beach with kayaks to use. The all-inclusive aspect at the resort was nice too. They had nice towels and free drinks! In Mazatlan, we caught a taxi to go to the Golden Zone to shop. It was SO HOT though that about 1 hour into it we had enough. Sweat dripping down your back just isn't fun. In the future, I would do a water related excursion - at least this time of year. We also went to the newer Wal Mart and picked up some extra bottled water and a few other little items. My husband likes to bake so picking up about 5 bottles of Mexican vanilla was "the thrill of the hunt" for him! I think he ended up with different brands too. So this next part is why I gave this cruise 3/5...On the last sea day, my husband started feeling sick in the morning. Not the ships fault, but what made it really hard was that our stateroom flooded! We were away from the room, and when I came back to change, the door was open, there were huge fans all around as the water had come out into the hallway, and our room was flooded almost all the way over to the balcony. No one could tell us why and how it happened but something about the pipes in the bathroom. So my husband went to Guest Services to tell them what had happened (Rohman had told him to since he couldn't handle the catastrophe) and they followed my husband down to the room, looked at the situation and then said, "well, we'll wait and see!" Ok, our bed had been upended. Our luggage which had been stored under the bed, was next to the balcony and every item of furniture was pushed over to the door of the balcony. All the water had been shut off. It was totally unlivable! And they say, "let's wait and see????" Nope, not good enough! So we were basically displaced outside of our cabin for a few hours while they decided to "wait and see." Finally, they found us and gave us a new cabin to go to which was nice because it was a suite. Great! But at this point my husband was really feeling awful and slept the day away in the suite which meant I had to get out of it so he could rest. Moving all of our stuff to the suite was all up to us too so that was all kinds of fun. I entertained myself the rest of the day - outside the new cabin and by 10:00 that night...I was now sick! Not a fun way to end the cruise. Disembarkation was quite chaotic and both of us felt awful and had to look forward to the journey home feeling that way. ***on another note, we heard from other cruisers onboard that the ship had an issue with A/C in multiple cabins. There was none!!! Why didn't they get moved to available cabins?? These people went all week with no A/C and many of them were elderly people! That seems unacceptable to me! Many had to beg for fans! And there weren't enough! Maybe it had something to do with just coming from Alaska but even so, these systems should have been checked out before getting to the Mexican Riviera where for the most part it was extremely hot in every port! If it had happened to us, my husband said it would have been our last cruise!! Read Less

I went on this cruise for my play daughters birthday. Although the bliss is a beautiful ship the service sucked. i payed for specialty dinners for two. i try not to eat off of a buffet because l don’t eat meat nor anything cooked with meat. i could not get any reservations at the seafood restaurant or any of the specialty restaurants . I was not informed in advanced that getting reservations was going to be so difficult. the last two days of the trip i was finally told to go to the restaurants and see if they could seat us. The seafood restaurant told us no but cagney’s was very caring and understood my dilemma. They also were able to make room for my daughter that is wheelchair bound. Cootos to cagney’s and the people that helped us. when all the other specialty restaurants told me no, they said no problem. The buffet food, i’ll just say for lunch and dinner was bread and salad for me. This is the first cruise i did not know my stewards name or who he or she was. i cruised for 7 days, the first two days my room was not made up at all. the third day it was after 6 and they came to make up my room and i wouldn’t let them because i traveled with three disabled adults that were going to sleep. Even though i asked that my room be made up no later than 6 the day before. AND THEY DID NOT MAKE ONE ANIMAL NOR DID THEY DO ANYTHING SPECIAL TO MAKE US FEEL WELCOME Read Less