gmbhardy

On the Joy last week, using our Latitudes coupon, we asked if we could split the 8 items into two 4 item meals and were refused. We’ve done this in the past but not this time.

Both Starbucks on the Joy are literally a few steps from bars. By the second day the bartenders saw me coming and had the Baileys ready to pour. On one occasion, a new bartender pulled out the cheap stuff (it’s actually pretty good) and was swiftly told that I had the plus package and to give me Baileys instead, lol.

I really think it depends on what you drink. We cruised the Bliss a few weeks ago and they had everything we wanted, bottles of champagne at dinner, top shelf liquors like Zacapa 23 and Whistle Pig, Ice Wine for dessert and Chimay beer in the District Brew House. I would suggest not buying the package until you get on board where you can check out the things you specifically want.

You could in Vibe on the Bliss.

If you’re not staying in the Haven, I don’t believe any rooms have coffee makers any more. We requested one from our steward and it was delivered to our cabin right away. We used it sparingly as we had Starbucks included with the premium plus beverage package. There were no robes or slippers in our cabin but I believe they are an included amenity in spa cabins. Vibe was not the best place to view the transit as you can only view one side of the Canal. I was continually walking out of Vibe to view things on the other side of the ship. Vibe was closed when we passed under the Atlantic Bridge in the early morning. I wasn’t in Vibe when we passed under the Centennial Bridge but that might have been a good vantage point. After going through the Pacific side locks we dropped anchor because we had to wait for low tide to proceed under the Bridge of the Americas. This happened at about 11 pm. We then docked in Panama City in the wee hours of the morning. but I don’t believe anyone could get off the ship until later the next morning. Never rented a cabana in Vibe. I spend most of my time at the bar, lol.

We’ve cruised on NCL 26 times, the last seven in the Haven, so this was our first ‘steerage’ experience in a few years. We also cruise in MSC’s Yacht Club. We booked a Club Balcony Suite on deck 15 so we would be close to the Observation Lounge (more on that later). We also purchased Vibe tickets and upgraded our beverage package to premium plus. We are in our 60s and enjoy good food, beverages and entertainment. This cruise was booked to celebrate my 69th birthday. Embarkation We started boarding a tad late, but from what I can tell, things went pretty efficiently at the Miami terminal . As Sapphires, we boarded early and were moving around the ship by 11:30. The cabins were ready quite early, but my luggage didn’t arrive until 6:15 pm. Sail away was also a little late. I believe this was the last cruise that held the virtual muster drill. I for one liked the new drill and I am not looking forward to going back to the old one. Club Balcony Suite Cabin Our cabin, 15180 was located just under the pool deck on the port side. I booked this cabin to be close to the observation lounge but in hindsight that was a mistake. Every morning at around 5:30 am you could here noise above from the pool deck and on many evenings loud music thumped continually until about 11:30 pm. The front bank of elevators were always busy because they service both the Garden Buffet and the Observation Lounge. We loved the washroom with the walk in shower and found the room to be more than adequate. We had no problem getting a coffee maker from our cabin steward. One odd thing, our bed linens were not changed during the entire15 day cruise. I don’t know if you can request a change or not. We were expecting one after a week, but it never happened. Balcony was a decent size but not big enough for a lounger. Yes, there are USB outlets in the light fixtures on each side of the bed. As part of the Club Balcony amenity package we received a bottle of cheap champagne (which we left behind), two snack plates delivered to our cabin and a voucher for a bag of dry cleaning. Itinerary The 15 day Panama Canal cruise with full transit was awesome. A lot of people were disappointed that Costa Rica was dropped and replaced with Acapulco but overall it was fantastic. Obviously the Canal transit was the best part of the itinerary. An official Panama Canal guide boards the ship and through the on board loudspeaker system explains procedures, operations and canal history - amazing. We had a new guide and he was excellent. Just one side bar, when we were taking our tender from the ship to Cabo San Lucas a whale and calf surfaced about 50 feet from our boat. The captain stopped the ship so people would have a better view as they surfaced three or four times before disappearing. Wow, we will never forget that because it was totally unexpected. I tipped the captain and he was very appreciative . Premium Plus Beverage Package I feel obligated to report on the package because I have posted some pretty negative things about it based on reports from many other posters. The plus experience on the Bliss was excellent. We had no problem getting top shelf liquors and champagne at virtually all the bars. They had two champagnes available by the bottle, Veuve Cliquot and Pommery Rose. My wife enjoyed Hendricks and Tanqueray 10 in her gin and tonics. I had Zacapa rum in my Mojitos and Pina Colads. The District Brew House had a good supply of Chimay beer. We ordered a bottle of champagne every night for dinner, followed by ice wine with our dessert. Doesn’t get any better than that. In Vibe we would order champagne with a touch of Chombard. Try it, you’ll like it. We also enjoyed Starbucks coffee (with a shot of Baileys) every morning. For us the upgrade was money well spent. Restaurants and Bars We ate at Le Bistro, Los Lobos, Ocean Blue and Food Republic (twice, splitting the allowed 8 selections into two four item meals). Didn’t realize going in that now there is a $10 surcharge for the beef fillet at Le Bistro. I didn’t like paying the surcharge but the fillet was absolutely outstanding, best meal I had on the cruise. We were disappointed with Los Lobos, not with the food but the service. Virtually everything was dumped on our table at the same time. If you plan on eating there ask your server to slow down. We had my birthday meal at Ocean Blue. Food in the Local and MDRs was okay. Nothing outstanding but nothing terrible either. The only annoying thing that happened was we missed a show because service was slow. We found the Manhattan room extremely loud and too busy for our liking. We also found the Buffet and the Observation Lounge to be extremely busy. There were days that you couldn’t get a table or chair at either. On those days (primarily lunch) we ate at the Local. It was busy but we always were able to get a table. Our go to bars were Cellars and the A List. For whatever reason, the Observation Lounge bar just didn’t have the same vibe as past cruises, so we spent limited time there. Entertaiment We missed Six because of slow services in the MDR. We’ve been on the Bliss before so we knew we couldn’t miss seeing Jersey Boys. What a production, love it, love it, love it. Don’t know which show I like better, Million Dollar Quartet or Jersey Boys. We also saw the Nashville Tenors in the theatre. It was basically just singing but the three tenors were quite good. Vibe Is Vibe worth it - yes. It’s your oasis to escape the crowds (I believe there were 3800 people on this cruise). The overall atmosphere and particularly the service soundly trumps the Haven Sundeck. In the Bliss Vibe, they still do shot o’clock and they have a reasonable assortment of top shelf liquor and champagne if you have the plus package. The bartenders and servers know your names and drink preferences by the second day. The servers also circulated,it seemed almost hourly, with fruit skewers, cookies and face cloths. I watched the NFL playoff games at the Vibe bar. One note, I was having a Mimosa in the hot tub, one morning when one of the deck attendants told me that drinking in the hot tub was prohibited. Later in the week, I saw the head bartender serve drinks to two ladies in the same hot tub, so I don’t know what the real policy is. Disembarkation We purchased bus transfers on the ship to take us from the port to LAX. Our flight departed at 2:00 pm so we were given an disembarkation time of 9:45 am. Plenty of time I thought to have a leisurely breakfast with no stress - not. On the second to last day of the cruise we noticed two erroneous spa charges on our account. Guest services said the error would be corrected but it wasn’t. On the last morning we had to wait at guest services for them to speak to someone in the Spa. About an hour later the mistake was corrected but we missed breakfast. I submitted a complaint to guest services after returning home and was given some OBC for a future cruise. I was pleased with NCL’s response. When our disembarkation colour was called at about 10:00 am, we lined up and then got as far as the exit to the gangway when were stopped because of congestion in the customs hall. We waited there for about 45 minutes before being allowed to continue. When we entered the hall, the lineups were unbelievable. This no stress 2:00 pm flight was suddenly not happening. We eventually cleared customs and were seated on the bus by about 11;30 pm. But the bus didn’t leave until it was almost full. There was an accident on the highway on the way, so we lost even more time. We arrived at LAX at about 12:30 pm. After checking in at terminal two, we needed to go through security at terminal three. Anyway, we got to our gate when they were in the process of boarding. We didn’t even have time to go to the washroom. There were people on our bus with 1:20 pm departures. We wonder if they made it. On our next cruise out of LA, we are staying over an extra night. Overall impression We absolutely loved it. We’ve done a number of B2Bs but the 15 day itinerary just seemed to have more flow to it. We loved the itinerary, the Canal transit and this cruise confirmed the fact that the Bliss is our favourite NCL ship. The crew was great. We ran into a number of bartenders we knew from past cruises and made friends with new ones. Haven ‘Lite’ vs Haven Value wise, no comparison, it’s literally thousands cheaper than a Haven Suite. The Club Balcony Suite is not as large as s Haven Suite and doesn’t come with all the other Haven amenities but we didn’t mind it at all. With Vibe passes, we really didn’t spend much time in our cabin anyway. The premium plus package gave the cruise experience an upscale spin with the ability to order bottles of champagne for dinner and top shelf liquor whenever we had the urge. When we cruise in the Haven, we don’t use the Butler or Concierge very much, so it’s kind of a wasted amenity for us. In my opinion. the Haven is getting very expensive. I can afford to stay in t he Haven but the Haven ‘Lite’ approach, at least for now, is working for us. We have two more NCL cruises coming up this spring - one in the Haven and two Haven ‘Lite’ Club Balcony Suites. I’m sure we will enjoy both experiences.

Your account will be in US dollars.

I know you can purchase the premium plus beverage package onboard but not sure about FAS +.

My son was on the Encore last week. He had the premium plus package. He said the selection of premium plus options was excellent. The two champagnes available by the bottle were Veuve Cliquot and Moët Chandon. He had Starbucks everyday. The District Brew House had a good supply of Chimay beer. I guess it depends on what you drink. We were on the Bliss two weeks ago and our go to drink was Veuve with a touch of Chambord. Make sure you tell your servers in the restaurants upfront that you would like bottled water, before they instinctively fill your glass with ice water.

They did when we were on the Bliss a couple weeks ago.

No Spice on Encore.

I watched the game at the Haven bar last year. It was extremely boring. No atmosphere, no food - nothing. They needed to serve a couple of platters of chicken wings or something to liven up the atmosphere. Deadsville personified.

Is there any way of knowing which family club balconies come with tubs as opposed to walk in showers? I hate showers in bathtubs.

We will survive on one service a day also but it was nice to return to a refreshed cabin at the end of the day. We will miss that.

My son is a big Flyers fan also. Neither one of us has had much to cheer about over the last few (many) years. That’s why we go on cruises, lol.

Your comments are quite valid. Please remember that I am Canadian and a Buffalo Sabres fan so I am not very bright. After more than 30 cruises averaging close to 16 drinks a day my brain is a bit foggy at times. 😉

I don’t use $2 bills, I use twoonies in tiny envelopes and then attach them to small bottles of maple syrup.

That makes absolutely no sense.

And make sure you check it daily. We had numerous mistakes and did not get them corrected, sometimes for days. We noticed bogus spa charges on our account on the second last day of the cruise. We went to guest services and were told our account would be fixed. It wasn’t. The morning of disembarkation we had to wait at guest services until a spa rep could be reached to reverse the charges. That took over an hour. We missed breakfast as a result .

My point, exactly.

I really wish gratuities were included in the cruise fare. I would gladly pay extra to avoid running around on the last day with envelopes, deciding who to tip, how much to tip where to tip, etc. To me it puts an added level of stress, at the end of what should be a very positive experience.

My son is on the Encore right now and he spends most of his time in Vibe. His name is Brad, have you met him yet?

Just got off the Bliss on a 15 day Panama Canal cruise. We ate at Le Bistro - great meal but I wasn’t aware there is now a $10 up charge for the beef filet (it was worth it, melt in your mouth), La Cucina where I had the Oso Boco (used to be veal, now it’s lamb, IMO not as good), Food Republic where we split the eight selections into two meals (casual, fun place to eat) Los Lobos, food was ok, service not so much (dumped all the dishes on our table at the same time) and Ocean Blue where’ I sent my steak back because it was under cooked, otherwise great meal. We haven’t booked Cagney’s in a while because our experience there hasn’t been very good but we might try it again as many people said they had great meals there. Food in the MDRs was fine, nothing spectacular but nothing terrible either. Didn’t like the Manhattan Room because it was extremely loud and busy. We missed a show because of slow service one evening. I wouldn’t pay out of pocket for any of the specialty restaurants unless it was a very special occasion.

We just stayed in a Club Balcony Suite on the Bliss for a 15 day Panama Canal cruise. There was a bottle of the infamous cheap champagne in our cabin when we arrived. There were no robes or slippers. We requested a coffee maker from our steward that was promptly delivered. We received two small plates of snacks in the afternoon of day two and three (that was it for a 15 day cruise). There was a free laundry coupon to put in your laundry bag. That was about it. We found it odd that our bed linens weren’t changed for the 15 day cruise. There was no free room service.

Yes.