Nice ship, some concerns you should be aware of:

Norwegian Bliss Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 145

Overall rating:

3.3 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Bliss

7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 23, 2020

Ship: Norwegian Bliss

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 8728

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

Great ship, great food, great staff, but some issues that future passengers should be aware of. We have sailed on 32 cruises in the past with various cruise lines, so we know what we are talking about. Listen carefully: 1. Beautiful ship and great food and free drinks with certain fares and packages. Wonderful! 2. Great and friendly staff. One of the best in the industry. 3. Great layout of the "Garden Cafe" the ships buffet style food area for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Love the design and booth seating. Very nice and colorful. Done right! 4. Very labor intensive embarkment and disembarkment. The worst I have seen yet. 5. Very labor intensive tendering to and from their own island, Great Stirrup Cay. 6. The race cars at the back of the ship spew oil into your face and clothing from the race cars. Make sure you wear old, dirty and throw-away cloths when you try the cars. The staff will deny it, but it happened to three sets of our clothes. Poor engineering of the cars. 7. Also, at the back of the ship the ships chimneys spew out a lot of black soot onto the ship. I have to assume that the ship engineers did not design chimney scrubbers into the chimneys and thus, there is black soot at the rear of the ship. Stay away from the balcony rooms at the rear of the ship and some outdoor activities also at the rear of the ship. I would suspect a possible health hazard for both the crew and passengers. If you don't believe me, wipe your hands on the railings at the back of the ship and you will see. 8. The worst disembarkement that I have ever seen. Long lines and labor intensive, but the worst is no common area to wait for your ride, unless you walk across 12th avenue with ALL of your luggage and stand on the sidewalk and wait for your ride. I could not believe it when we disembarked. I have never seen this before with any other cruise line. Just awful!! Time for them to build a nice and clean common area to wait for your ride, not have to stand out on 12th avenue with your luggage and wait. Just shocked when we heard this and had to do it.

Embarkation

2 out of 5
long lines, slow check in. labor instensive.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Great food and drinks. Some of the best compared to other cruise lines.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
good activities. not the best though. fitness center is average, no rock climbing wall and race cars spew oil into your face and clothing.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Jersey Boys and Six were excellent. Some of the best show compared to other cruise lines.

Children's Programs

4 out of 5
very good, but long wait lines to get in. Means it is popular.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
Very good staff. Some of the best in the industry, except long wait lines at the bars due to free drinks with certain packages.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
new ship nice and very clean. Except the back of the ship where black soot spews onto the ship from the chimneys.

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5
Don't be fooled by the name, Mini-Suite. The only thing that is true is the word; Mini.

Ship tip

Your room will be small unless you spend the money for a "Haven" room. Big bucks though.

Ports of call

New York, New York

1 out of 5
Busy and dirty. The worst port we have ever embarked/disembarked from. NO general pick up area unless you walk across 12th avenue and stand on the sidewalk. Just crazy!! Very poor design.

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5
Nice Port. Very clean and well layout. Disney is a great excursion if you take the bus. Beaches are fair.

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

2 out of 5
Great Island, but the cruise line has NOT figured out how to get passengers to and from the island in a reasonable time frame. It is a tender. Very labor intensive. Probably would not go there again or not get off the ship next time. Other cruise lines can tender, NCL cannot.

Nassau, Bahamas

3 out of 5
Dirty town, great excursions. Stay away from the town. ONLY do the excursions. Otherwise, looks like hepatitis city.

Disembarkation

2 out of 5
Long lines again and time consuming. Other cruise lines have it down pat. NCL does not.
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