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cot427

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About Me

  • Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
  • Interests
    Insert hobbies here
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Royal Caribbean, Celebrity,
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Caribbean

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cot427's Achievements

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3,000+ Club (3/15)

  1. I agree with you 100%. I just booked this cruise, the repo price is awesome, and I got the $600 + $100 for status match plus $100 from TA.
  2. Is the $600 per cabin or per person?
  3. Thank you for the review...just booked Apex for December on the Western Caribbean route.
  4. Tried this last night, did not work. Asked very nicely, to two different agents. Was escalated to resolutions but no luck. It was a move from Mariner 6-night to Harmony 7-night and was almost double the cost. No getting around that $100pp change fee.
  5. You make excellent points! I'm done with the Western itinerary for a while after this. And Bliss, while beautiful, was made not beautiful by the masses. The Observation lounge was the star of the cruise, and I should've splurged for Vibe. I did get a good price, so I am happy with the "value". I will say, I think the waterfront is slightly underutilized. The outside parts of all restaurants except La Cucina were almost always not full, and the small parts of the bars of Sugarcane and Cavern were not nearly as big as they should be.
  6. I figured I would provide some feedback since there's not much info for Bliss Caribbean runs (I was looking ahead, it doesn't do too many so that's probably why). - Feb 18-25th W. Caribbean (Roatan, Harvest Caye, Cozumel) (skipped Costa Maya due to winds) Ship - I've been on BA, GA and Escape, and I remember loving Escape. Not sure what changed this time, but the ship always felt cramped and crowded. Getting an elevator was a disaster, the pool and open deck areas were very crowded and hard to get loungers. I ended up finding a secret deck area on 19 forward that had a bar (opposite Vibe). The deck plans only indicate a sun deck and not a bar, but it was fully staffed, so that was nice. Perhaps the ship is just more suited for colder, Alaska climate where it spends most of its time. I've cruised in February before, but I don't ever remember feeling the ship move and rock and sway as much as the Bliss did this trip. Even when the seas seemed calm. So I'm not sure if it was just the time of year or if the ship just doesn't handle the water as smooth as some other classes of ships. Bar/Bar Service - I also remember loving their bar menus and handmade cocktails. It seems now they cutback and offer the same menu throughout the ship, with a few exceptions. The mojito bar mojitos were not as good as years ago, no muddling and seems like they are batched. I only got 1. Spice H2O was very disorganized, it would sometimes take 20-30 to get a drink. One server would write down the drink you wanted, ring you in, and then another bartender would make the drink and then set it there, having no idea who to give it to. The best bar I encountered was Observation Lounge due to some fantastic bartenders (Zandy and Rachel). No one else went above and beyond like they did. Stateroom - My stateroom attendant was not very personable at all. He scoffed when I asked him to put the beds together. Every night the crack in the middle of the bed would expand and the sheets would come off the sides of the bed. Other attendants would say hi as I walked down the hall, but not him. I was just unlucky. Food - The food was decent. We tried Teppanyaki, Ocean Blue and Le Bistro and they were all fantastic. Food Republic was also very good. The Local's food was good but hit or miss on the speed of service. I miss having a 24 hour walk up and go place like on Royal. Went to the dining room only one night and due to the slowness of service (2.5 hours for a group of 😎 did not return. We were only offered beverages once. The buffet was fine, nice options but at peak times it may have been the most crowded, chaotic buffet I've been to on a ship. Shows/Entertainment - Love the deck themed parties every night (and there was one every night). Absolutely loved Six and Jersey Boys. Top notch talent and performers. Missed Levity until the last night in the main theater when both had an open seating show, however walked out because the first guy (Mike Klein maybe?) was not funny at all. Glad to have missed the solo show for him. Missed the other entertainment options that Royal has both throughout the day and at night with other shows. Overall, I wanted to try Norwegian after 6 or so years of not, but I missed Royal. I just can't justify spending the amount I did on Norwegian ships, that lack a lot of the wow factors, but also the quiet and more open public spaces. I also missed the level of service I am used to on Royal.
  7. Thank you all for the feedback regarding the freestyle inclusions, additions and late-night food. Can anyone comment on the parties/deck parties/entertainment on Bliss? Also very important to me coming from Royal...I love the variety of shows on Oasis class.
  8. Next year it'll be about 6 years since I've cruised Norwegian, I know a lot of things are the same, but wanted to clarify some things before I decide to book. Looking at a late winter/early spring Western Caribbean on the Bliss. I've been on BA, GA and Escape. I loved the Escape, but don't want to cruise out of PC. I wanted a ship that still has Spice H2O, so Bliss is it. My questions are: The drink package that comes with free at sea needs upgraded if I want water bottles and Starbucks included? Anything else additional I would get with the upgrade? Does the specialty dining package have any limitations specific to Bliss restaurants? Is it one dinner per person per night? The food at The Local is included? How is their late-night/24 hour food selection? I am talking post-midnight/1,2 am hours? Does Norwegian have hard seltzers? I glanced at a menu and only saw one lemon/lime option. Quite honestly I love Royal but I am looking for something different...just different bar menus, food and overall vibe. Really appreciate good drinks, great food, quality entertainment and good late-night parties.
  9. Any more recent reports from Rhapsody? I board Monday next week, so will report back then, but just curious!
  10. I am assuming if it says "an error occured" that simply means it's sold out for that time. So if the express is sold out, I would probably prefer to go earlier. Are the earlier trains accommodating to cruise passengers with luggage?
  11. Following as well! Day 2 of her back in service...hopefully someone can report over the next few days or sailings. I sail 6/13 so will report back then if we don't hear anything sooner.
  12. Also suggest the eMed tests - used them in Florida before a cruise; as long as you have access to a device such as laptop, iPad or smartphone with camera and audio, it's easy to use. They guide you along and it takes no more than 20 minutes.
  13. Awesome! I used CVS for my first two cruises back after the shutdown, but appointments are increasingly hard to come by and getting canceled. Used those BinaxNow tests from eMed last month and they were super easy to use and convenient, done right in your hotel with a virtual proctor. I will buy a couple more for Rhapsody in June (always good to have an extra or two just in case).
  14. Do they accept the e-proctored Binax Now tests for European cruises? Do they even work accessing from abroad?
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