Yes we were mad travelling all the way from Edinburgh to LA for a 5 day cruise, but this was to replace a cancelled Canaries cruise planned for my daughter’s 21st. Myself, my daughter and my sister (her first cruise) did really enjoy the ship and had a great time, even though I’d say this was probably my least favourite NCL cruise so far.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
All aboard was 2pm, we got to the port about 12:30 and virtually no queues. We took the chance of booking flights (Edinburgh to London, then to LAX), hotel and transfers with NCL and it honestly couldn’t have gone smoother, apart from the fact our transfer from hotel to port didn’t turn up and I had to pay for a taxi myself! I contacted NCL after the cruise, they got back to me within a day, apologised and offered a refund on the taxi fare right away. As they acknowledged and fixed the mistake I won’t hold it against them.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
As you can’t give 3.5 I’ll be generous and round up to 4 stars. No problem with food quality, it was the temperature that was often the issue. The MDR we used was Taste and the food was great. Los Lobos was slightly disappointing for speciality. The Local was complimentary and the food was pretty good - don’t be put off by big queues as they go down quickly. Lack of vegetarian options for my daughter in many restaurants meant we visited the buffet more than usual, and she found plenty to eat there. We also loved the Observation Lounge for pastries in the afternoon. American Diner has just been changed from speciality to complimentary but the venue is outdoors and was too windy most days! This was probably my least favourite NCL ship for food but overall it was still pretty decent.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Our balcony cabin included a thermal suite pass for the duration of the cruise. The thermal suite on the Bliss is great and we made good use of it. We didn’t use many of the other facilities and some of them (go karts and laser tag) had an upcharge but we were using this holiday to chill anyway and were happy relaxing in the observation lounge or chatting in one of the bars.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We booked Jersey Boys 3 weeks before the cruise when entertainment opened up, and it didn’t disappoint, this was a high quality production with outstanding vocals. We also booked Six during the cruise but weren’t able to go in the end up. Theme parties were good (80s, 90s etc)
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
In line with our previous experiences on NCL, the service from everyone was faultless. Dominic L our room steward, and Evelyn who served us the 3 times we visited Taste, were 2 people we gave specific feedback to NCL about as they were outstanding.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship is beautiful, it still feels pretty new and was very clean, the observation lounge that wraps right around the front of deck 15 is an amazing space and apart from the first day always had plenty of free sofas. I much prefer the layout of the Escape where the main pool and pool bars are concerned. And as nice as the ship is, in terms of atmosphere it’s probably been my least favourite NCL ship, it just felt like something was missing and I don’t know what. The windy weather may have played a part in that though.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Would never usually book as high as deck 15 or beside/under public areas, but these are the cabins that come with thermal suite passes. We agreed if it was noisy it would be our own fault for booking a cabin in that location, but actually we were never bothered by noise. My daughter found the sofa comfy to sleep on, although as there’s no turndown service it was left made up as a sofa bed the entire time which limited cabin space. There’s plenty of storage space though and charging points. Bathroom is an ok size and shower was good. We didn’t mind the cabin only being cleaned once a day, our room steward was very accommodating on when suited us to have it cleaned.
Ship tip
Book dining and shows on the app when reservations open up (120 or 90 days out for dining, 21 days for entertainment). There will always be walk ins available for sold out shows. If no restaurant reservations show as available on the app while on the cruise try at reservations desk through the day or directly at MDR. they can usually find you something. Take advantage of the observation lounge and the thermal suite. Be kind and respectful to the staff, they work hard and are amazing.
Was told tenders would be a nightmare here but we just waited until general tendering and there were no queues out or back. No excursion but still saw sea life when we were sailing in and while off the ship. Vendors were really pushy but it’s their livelihood and you just say no if not interested.
We were on an NCL transfer to the airport and were given a 9am disembarkation. We did self assist luggage and by the time our colour was called it was all running smoothly. I’ve had some poor disembarkation experiences with NCL but was actually impressed this time. Prior to that, while they were waiting on us being cleared to disembark, people insisted on crowding on the deck you were to disembark from, even though we were repeatedly asked to only go when your colour was called. And I bet those same people moaned plenty about the crowds!
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