Second attempt to Mexican Riviera (first stopped by Norovirus :( - and sure glad we did! :)
Norwegian Bliss Cruise Review to Mexico
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 80
7 Night Mexican Riviera (Los Angeles Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 06, 2019
Ship: Norwegian Bliss
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 15774
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
As mentioned this was a very nice cruise mostly made possible by NCL staff. Can't safe enough of their professionalism; courtesy; and friendliness. The ports were beautiful and the ship was great. Missed out on the Laser Tag and Karts because of a goof up (on my part) with dinner reservations. My advise is to book as soon as you go on board. Do not go to Guest Services. Go directly to screens on decks that you navigate through and all you will need is your cabin key.Embarkation
Dropped off by NCL transport at curb. Was informed to just walk across the street and give the porters the luggage if we had NCL tags on them (We did) Otherwise there is a booth where they would give you tags to ID your Deck & Cabin. Quick and easy. Long lines though due to arriving around 2:00 (explain that later) Otherwise, all was fine.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
I was truly surprised at how much variety there was throughout the day for all meals. Fresh salads (that's a biggie with me, can't stand seeing wilted lettuce and veggies) so much food that you truly couldn't complain. Also if there was something you liked that you did not see, all we needed to do was ask. 99.9% of the time, they delivered :) Specialty dinners (we received 3 as a perk) were kind of hit or miss. The Lobos Mexican restaurant was "OK" the empanadas; chips/salsa and guacamole were great. The tacos no so. I actually did not eat mine and hubby said his were not that great either. The Q restaurant had great ribs. :) My hubby ordered the beef I ordered the pork - Mine better :) Cagney's was really good. My steak was really good. Too much fat but that is expected with a Ribeye. Hubby ordered the NY Sirloin but it was over done. Did not bother returning it. However he ordered Med. Well yet it came back well done. Too dry, not much taste. So keep that in mind if ordering it. Otherwise, all in all, no complaints at all about the food. :) The drink package was also included (we don't drink alcohol but love the frozen non-alcohol drinks) Pina colada mostly. All well done. Soda, well that is in a glass but you can get one at a time as many as you like. No specialty coffees included. Must also mentioned they had at least 6 different flavors nightly of ice cream; really, really good. :)
Onboard Activities
Did not really participate in any at all.
Service and Staff
Amazing staff! Wow... they went over and beyond. No request too big or small. I believe this is the very best (this was our 20th cruise) cruise staff we have encountered in all our cruises which have included Carnival/Celebrity/RCCL/Princess and NCL in the past.
Ship Quality
Obviously new ship but the design was awesome. For the first time we actually walked each public deck from one end to the other. Straight through. Just truly great. And don't get me started on that Observation Deck which was right on our Deck. Beautiful!!! Make sure you take photos all the way around of each port. Amazing. :)
Cabin / Stateroom
MA Category - Mini-Suite - The Cabin was great. Lots of storage; lots and lots. The shower was really nice as was the double sink. Storage under the sofa. Actually was able to store all my jeans and tops in one of the drawers and so did my husband. (I didn't store him in there, just hte jeans and tees-lolol) Only hung up a few shirts and tops that we didn't want wrinkled too much. The balcony was small. And not much sunshine coming through if you like to sun on your deck. I did ask our cabin steward if we could get a lounge chair instead of the regular chairs and we had one within 15 minutes. Let me tell you, again, after 20 cruises to different parts of the world this cruise made our vacation exceptional. And it all began with Angela our Cabin Steward. Wow... how courteous; kind; professional; I mean, just unreal how dedicated she is to her job. I wish she were on every ship and be our cabin steward on every trip we were on. (Well, one can dream :) -
Ship tip
Don't miss the Observation Deck - and go all the way around. And also the Art Gallery exhibit in the halls. Just beautiful.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
San Pedro (Los Angeles), California
I loved this port. We did an excursion through NCL only because it was part of perks ($50 per port) The tour operator was amazing. So knowledgeable and friendly. We saw so much in that time span and still had time to do some shopping before going on board. Note: Do not miss the Mosaic Park - it is very cool. Also, don't be afraid to try the shaved ice from the local small trucks. My husband had one for $1 US - different sizes available. Delicious. Others in our group saw us and asked where we got them. Easily showed them where and they were grateful in that heat to have something cool :)
We also did a tour through NCL - This was not a good tour. It was the Topless Bus Tour. 2.5 hours. We were rushed through each stop except for the church and the shopping at a silver store. At the cliff dive area we were there for about 5 minutes - tops! We were rushed off the bus; told to get cameras ready because they were waiting for us so they could jump (actually one guy does the jump most of the time) the cliff diver made an announcement of what he was going to do, asked for tips - jokingly $50 or $100 dollars - not pesos - and then went and jumped I mean that was it. Came back running for his tips and off we went. That fast. We could not take pictures; walk the area, etc.. They gave us 1/2 hour at the church which I found a waste of time. No disrespect but people were actually praying and meditating at the church when the tours went through, I believe that's disrespectful, but they must be used to it. Many did leave after about 5 minutes and didn't know what to do next. The same with the Silver Store. We were told they had water for us (bottled) in the store, so we went to get water, warm water, not cold; then there was a tip jar. How tacky for such a beautiful store. Oh well. when we were finally dropped back to the ship, we went back to the ship; had lunch and then decided to go back on our own. Reason being there was so much to see; such beautiful Boardwalk; bronze statues etc.. that we were not allowed to photograph; go near; etc... So after lunch we followed the Blue line into town. Yes, there is actually a Blue line into town for tourist. We wanted to go to the boardwalk and we are sooo thankful we did. Omgosh what a great time. What great photo ops and the water. Just amazing. If we ever go back, we will do no tours, just go directly here and then grab a quick $4 US - cab to the Cliff divers. (We actually walked there) Note: If you do walk the Blue line, for a short cut - when you get to where you see an actual Arrow pointing straight - turn Left and keep going. That will take you directly to the Boardwalk, lots of shops, food, etc.. No need to follow the arrow into town. You won't regret it :)
I really just wanted to see the Arches. We did NCL tour and this was a waste of time. The tour company they used was on Island time. Which is fine if you are not on a tour with a cruise. First, there is not much time in Cabo; secondly, they actually made us wait 30 minutes while others got there, then another 15 minutes "just in case" I honestly believe that not everyone on the boat was from NCL because the wait time was actually in town. We just sat and sat and sat in 95 degree temperature. This was supposed to be Arches and Glass Blowing tour and shopping. We skipped the Glass Blowing tour because one of the tour operators informed me that we would need to wait for others once we got back. HUH? And when I asked why she acted like she couldn't understand why I didn't get it. It was the idea that we had to leave that boat and wait for another boat. No way. We just stayed in town and looked around a bit then went back to the ship. If we did this port again, we'd do with independent tour operators from the locals.
Disembarkation
This was super smooth. NCL gives you tags; and a Sticker for your blouse/tee if you have NCL transport which we did Then you let them know what airline and they place the luggage in the van in order of airline. Very organized. And there is a toilet in the van. I mention this because once you are out of the terminal, there are no facilities close by. None - the closest is a port a john. Yuk. lol - Oh, and luggage tag colors coordinate with where they will be for pick up when you leave the ship.