We made it a GREAT relaxing vacation

Item: Norwegian Bliss
Rating: 4.1
Author: ljoywilliams

Norwegian Bliss Cruise Review

ljoywilliams

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 48

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5

8 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 20, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Bliss

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 14623

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

We believe every vacation is what you make it. The purpose was for us to get away, relax and spend time with each other without the demanding pressures of our jobs, our larger family and community and that’s what we did. We don’t rely on others to provide a good time for us we make a good time with what ever resources we have and whatever space we are in. This was a great relaxing and fun time.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Given the amount of people we thought the boarding process was efficient. We followed directions and had all of our materials ready and even though there was a slight issue with the computer requiring a switch, it didn’t take us long.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

The food was fine. Nothing to write home about but generally ok. The steak was surprisingly great, never over done or tough. They definitely need a new pastry chef, the desserts could use a refresh and some toppings for the always available ice cream would be great. But you can bring those on yourself and have a different ice cream sundae every day 🍨 There were a lot of complaints about the wait time for the main dining rooms. We never waited longer than 20 minutes which is reasonable.

Teppanyaki

5 out of 5

This was a lot of fun and the food was very tasty. Comparable to any hibachi place in NYC. Although you make a personal order they make a lot of food and you will get to taste other things. For instance, I ordered the filet mignon but also got shrimp, scallops and chicken because others ordered it in our group.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Fitness Center

4 out of 5

My husband used this the most and after he found a sweet spot in terms of time when it wasn’t over crowded he was fine. The only complaint he had was there wasn’t available staff to manage when people were taking too much time on machines or with equipment.

Mandara Spa

5 out of 5

This was my haven for the entire cruise. I got the spa pass and was in their everyday of the cruise. I also had two massages throughout the week which were very good. The only negative is the last 2 days I think the oversold day passes including to teenagers who when grouped together can be noisy.

Bliss Speedway

4 out of 5

This was a lot of fun but if you are a large person this will be uncomfortable for you. My husband is 6’3 and and he felt cramped in the car making it difficult for him to maneuver.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

We got tickets to Six and Jersey Boys but only saw Six which was cool. We made it a “dinner and a show” night which was cool. We hit other “clubs” on various occasions but didn’t stay long because the music we liked would pass and go. Which is understandable when you need to play to a lot of different audiences.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

I think the staff overall was great, engaging and did their very best to accommodate guests.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Most of the time when we saw staff they were cleaning. We often remarked to each other how much NCL must be focused on cleanliness. “washy-washy” is now part of our regular lexicon 🤣

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

I was hyper concerned about the space of an inside cabin but it was surprisingly great. The steward kept the room clean and sanitized even though we had a lot of do not disturb days. Not having a window also made sleeping in much better because there was no sunlight to wake you up. If we have an inside in the future I will make sure to bring a little fan of some kind for air circulation.

Ship tip

You can book almost everything using the tv in your room which is what we did as soon as we got on the ship.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Nassau, Bahamas

4 out of 5

We didn’t do an excursion here. We just walked around the port area.

Thumbs Up 1

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5

We took the transport excursion to Disney Springs and went to the movies. It was cool for a rainy day.

Thumbs Up 1

Disembarkation

2 out of 5

What the heck? This was craziness and I wonder if this process was handled by a completely different staff because it was so disorganized.

7 Comments

cruisereckoning 4 years ago

Thanks for the review.

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pebblesles 4 years ago

Great review. Yes your vacation is what you make it. Disembarkation was a long delay, but I sat in our lounge until red luggage tag was called and it went very smoothly.

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jaemom 4 years ago

Thank you the honest and fair review. I agree with the "it is what you make it" thought process. Glad you enjoyed your vacation!

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WSmith78 4 years ago

Excellent review! Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

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clclip4xs 4 years ago

I agree ljoywilliams!!! Attitude is 3/4 of your vacation!! How can anybody have a bad time when somebody else is cookin n cleanen!? Do what brings u the most joy and put it on repeat!! Love cruising!!

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wooti05 4 years ago

Thanks for a great review, going on her in December all the information was appreciated.

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HalfHand 4 years ago

Disembarkation First time we cruised NCL we thought something must have gone wrong. Second time we decided NCL just doesn't know how to do it. Going on Joy in a few months, expecting it to go badly. We have been on 3 different cruise lines, only experienced this on NCL

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Other reviews of this sailing

Relaxing

The worst cruise vacation that I ever had. The ship was too big, understaffed and they have no smile on their face, always have a hard time finding a table at the Garden Cafe, long lines waiting for shows, basically everywhere

Two Star Cruise to Nowhere