Norwegian Bliss Cruise Reviews - Reviews

It was a great experience, given this was our first cruise. Staff was the best part as they took care of every little concern and made our experience a very delightful one.

Fun experience for first time on NCL. I did not want to come home!

This was a great cruise. The activity director, Richard was awesome. He’s very outgoing and always had a smile for us. The games in the atrium were so much fun. I’d sale on Bliss again.

A++++! Excellent. The entertainment is by far the best on all the cruise ships! The appetizers were extraordinary. The ship is beautiful, walking on deck 7, 8, or 16. Soft ice cream machines in the buffet were wonderful when I did not like the dessert menu in the restaurants. Savor was my favorite, because the Manhattan (large dining room) one time I had to wait 40 minutes to get appetizers. Savor, a smaller restaurant, same menu, I always received excellent service and fast!

We had a great time...great food and great service. My only complaint was with Cagneys which is normally my favorite...service was slow there and food wasn't that hot. But all in all, a fabulous time!

This was my first solo trip. I loved and enjoyed the trip. The solo lounge was incredible and so was our solo coordinator Augu. I would definitely do this cruise again.

We have been on other cruise lines and we have been on NCL a few times before. This cruise was ok. Some things were great and others were not

We were previously on the Bliss a year earlier for a Panama Canal cruise and loved it. This cruise was good, but not great. Two main reasons I believe: 1. The nickel and diming is out of control. We had charges on our account for .60 and .80 and $20 pp/per day service charges. That adds up fast! I'm also really NOT HAPPY that lobster night was taken away. 2. On our last Bliss cruise, the ship was supposedly full. Well.... this time there were substantially more people on board. We often found the dining rooms full the Local full, and even the buffet at late lunch one day. I love the big boats but even they have their limits. We have an Alaska booked on the Bliss in September '25. This was not a bad cruise and I love the Bliss, but I just don't know if I want to (or can afford to)do this again. This ship also has a fine cigar lounge. I love it.

Our trip was amazing. The Bliss is beautiful, when lots to do and a good flow. We heard complaints about crowded elevators, but we didn't experience that. The restaurants, bars and amenities were all really enjoyable, staff was great. The ports other than Panama weren't great. We wouldn't take this itinerary again.

Definitely recommend Norwegian Bliss. We used the $9.95 phone and texting package while we were on the ship to keep in touch with family. Wish the phone would notify you when a text came in. You can use this service without using any of your 300 wifi minutes. Service goes through the ships wifi.

We had a balcony cabin 13166 which was just right for 2 people. Food was generally very good especially at Cagney’s Steak House and the All American Diner. The Bliss has very good live bands and duo’s I.e. The Cavern Club and Sugarcane Mojito Bar.

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?!!?

I’m already planning my next vacation on the NCL Bliss.

It was a good cruise. I probably will not cruise this size ship again myself. It was too big and crowded for my taste. Not enough days to really enjoy all the venues and activities due to number of people mostly. Couldn’t get a seat in the casino unless you were willing to be in the smoking room.

Overall this was a fun cruise. Staff was attentive. Good was good. Cabin was comfortable and cleaned every day. Service and food in Cagney's and Le Bistro we're great!

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.

Cruise was relaxing and fun. The Bliss is a beautiful ship, and the service was excellent.

Cruising the Panama Canal is a must do in a lifetime thing. It is worth the money. I think a partial transit would be nice if you're looking for shorter, but full transit was a cool experience. I love NCL and cruise with them when I can. The Bliss is a great ship and I highly recommend.

We will try a different NCL ship and either leave the 20 somethings home or make sure there are better activities for them. Still thinking we like RCL better but overall we had a great trip.

Ports of call were great, transiting the Panama canal was a lifetime experience. Ship staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful. And the activities were heavy on game shows, trivia, bingo and music. It was very little of educational nature in their schedule activities