Disillusioned compared to previous Norwegian cruises

Norwegian Bliss Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

glsharona

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 8

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

15 Night Panama Canal: Mexico & Costa Rica (Los Angeles To Miami)

Sail date: January 12, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Bliss

Cabin number: 5100

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 months ago

Review summary

We took a Norwegian cruise from San Francisco through the Panama Canal and back to Miami, Florida with quite a few stops along the way. The cities and excursions themselves were wonderful, but getting to San Francisco, some of the employees on the ship, some of the food on the trip, wait times to get to excursions, and wait times to get off the ship were not acceptable. We had Norwegian book our air from Milwaukee to San Francisco and back to make sure that if anything went wrong, Norwegian would take care of getting us to the ship on time. We even booked an extra day in San Francisco through Norwegian so we could ensure enough time to get to the ship. DO NOT trust Norwegian to take care of your getting to the ship no matter how much extra you paid nor the extra amount of time you have to get there. After spending more than 15 hours on the phone, much of it on hold to Norwegian, we forfeited the money we paid Norwegian and re-booked our airfare with another carrier at 3:00 a.m. the morning before our trip so we could actually get to the ship before it took off. They refused to help us, shuttling us from one area of Norwegian “help” to another. When we tried to get our money back from them for the airfare we didn’t use, we were simply rebuffed. We lost $1500 in the deal because that was what it cost us to book one way to SF through another carrier. We also had a couple of bad experience in one of the restaurants. Taste had a Matre’d that should have had a lesson in politeness from his kindergarten teacher. We had reservations for 7:30 and arrived around 7:15. My husband politely went up to the desk and told them we were a bit early but would be glad to be seated early if there was room. He was rudely told to go sit at the bar and have a drink until 7:30. So we did that. When we ordered, my husband ordered steak, which was not only cold, but tough. The next night, the same Matre’d again acted as if he was doing us a favor to seat us at all. That night, I ordered grilled watermelon for dessert. When it came, it was tepid, limp and tasteless. We did not go back to that restaurant. The excursions on this ship were mostly wonderful. BUT the wait times to get off the ship to the waiting buses for the excursions were unacceptable. We often were given a time to be in the auditorium and didn’t end up on the buses for over an hour. One time it was almost 2 hours. And getting OFF the ship. YIKES! Literally hours. We were expected out of our staterooms by 9:00 a.m. and, in our case, were supposed to be leaving the ship by 10:00 a.m. We and literally hundreds of other people waited in hallways and atriums with no access to food or water until after 2:00 p.m. AND THEN, we still waited in line at border patrol because they had not staffed enough personnel to check us out. Unacceptable! If that isn’t enough, the ship was ginormous! We knew that before went, but had always had good experiences with Norwegian in the past. So we figured they knew what they were doing. NOT! Hallways were often jammed with people. Reservations at most restaurants were non-existent unless one wanted to eat at 9:00 p.m. Most of the shows were reserved entirely the first day, as well. Many excursions were over-booked or no longer open for booking. The cafeteria was often so jammed, one could hardly find a place to sit if you could actually get to the food. We never ended up with a chair at the pool and could barely walk the walking path because chairs were put on it by staff. The hot tubs were usually jammed with people as well. Finally, if that isn’t enough, we (foolishly) booked another cruise with Norwegian, this one going to Japan. It is almost 6 months from now and already, there are 4 days where there are NO excursions available. WHAT!??? Talk about unacceptable! I am angry, upset and hurt. This is not what we have experienced with Norwegian in the past. In fact, we have been using them for years and gone on 4 other cruises with Norwegian, praising them up to our friends and relatives. Not anymore. I am very disillusioned and upset. WHAT GIVES, NORWEGIAN?!!?