laudergayle

Absolutely NOT. Pack early and upon return stay half-packed and ready for your next cruise😊

@HBCcruiser I just LOVE your new identity!!!

But certainly a scary feeling being abandoned. Glad you had Uber and 200 EU. Hope the rest of your cruise made up for this mishap.

You can still call NCL customer service and ask them to add it. Also, the FAS upgrade offer hasn’t changed…but that doesn’t mean it won’t.

If you do it yourself online you will have to pay now. Contact your PCC or TA and have them add it. It won’t be due until final payment.

@GINNY L I didn’t get Captain, Staff Captain and Chief Engineer, but here are the others. Djamel Benatmane, GM Marites Sonia, Asst GM Sreekanth Sundaram, F&B Dir Dan-Dan Cuasito, Cruise Dir Sameer Sawant, Restaurant Mgr Jacob Santa, Executive Chef Haide Balon, Beverage Mgr Jojo Orofino, Executive Housekeeper Manuel Japson, Guest Services Mgr Sebastian Cremerius, Cruise Next Mgr

You’re doing a slot pull…yay! They are so much fun…hope your group wins BIG 💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵

The Belvedere Bar is a great bar when in the casino. The casino bar (forward of casino) is typically packed. The Belevedere (aft of casino) is rarely crowded.

That’s interesting as we have the Sun booked for November 2025, Lisbon to Canary Islands. It’s still showing in my account.

I already chuckled. But does this package come with an original “Rat Wrap” ? Still in.

Thank you for your kindness. Right now I’m chuckling about my fall…but realize it could have been so much worse. Our next cruise. We are re-doing Alaska in mid-May. The Jewel…Vancouver to Seward, with awesome excursions already booked. I’m so happy I may have helped you curate the perfect cruise. Bon Voyage 🛳️

Hmmm…maybe it wasn’t for SIX. That was all I could think of.

That was part of the problem, they never told the excursion people where to go…just meet on the pier after tendering and allow 45 mins to tender. We went to the Manhattan MDR for Platinum Priority tendering. By the time they got to us they we’re on a group 6 general tendering. Stop by Cruise Next deck on Day 1 and ask them if they have refined the process. I would also sign up upon boarding for Group 1 as a backup. Good luck.

Memorable Moments The Meet and Greet was 100+ people strong…and the attending Officers were totally impressed. We had a hometown gift exchange and I picked a bag from a lovely young lady from Oregon. It was filled with all sorts of treats. Following the M&G was a slot pull with over 60 participants. We split into three groups. While there was not a BIG win, I did take 2nd Place for highest spin. I got a trophy, 50 bucks and bragging rights! Yay! So much fun. THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT And, not in a good way. If you recall in Post #1 I mentioned my hubby’s fear that Cagney’s caused his illness. It didn’t, but it’s hard to just forget that was the last meal you had eaten. Then, under my Food review, I mentioned that our Cagney’s experience wasn’t great…and we didn’t finish our entrees AND I didn’t get my birthday OMG cheesecake. Well here’s the backstory. Remember, they had just cleaned the carpet. Well…midway through our entree I had the sudden urge to pee (oops). I excused myself and hurried off to the Ladies room…kinda. Well, when I stepped off the carpet onto the hard surface at the bar, my front foot slipped forward and I went down like a high school cheerleader into a geriatric split. My knee was gashed and bloody, my butt bone hurt like heck and I have bruise the size of a baseball on my arm. Some bystanders brought me a chair, the Cagney staff got me some bandaids (I declined medical) and summoned my hubby. He escorted me to the waiting area and went back to get my purse. The waiter told him to wait so he could sign the ticket. He asked for my cheesecake to be delivered to our cabin. I sat in the chairs outside Cagney’s while I waited for my husband, and I would have thought that someone from Cagney’s would of at least checked on me. They didn’t , and my cheesecake never arrived.☹️ Security tracked me down the next evening to give a statement. They asked me to complete a form and write a few sentences. Funny, once I told them I believed I slipped because the carpet may still have been wet, they no longer wanted my written statement. They simply said if I feel like I need to see medical I should visit them. I did not let this incident spoil my evening nor my cruise…but I think hubby and have decided we won’t try Cagney’s on the Bliss ever again. It just bad juju for us. Overall, the cruise was Epic and full of Bliss. We feel blessed to be able to cruise. Hope you enjoyed reading my review.

The Ports Cabo San Lucas. First, the tender process is a total cluster $#&%. NCL’s communication on where to go to catch the tender was non-existent. Combine that with the tenders are run by the port. Hopefully this will improve each week. We did an NCL excursion, the Luxury Day Sail. Well worth the cost. We boarded a sailboat and headed out to the arch, then off to Santa Maria bay for snorkeling and swimming. The fish were everywhere…so many that I had to get out of the water. They served chips, homemade guacamole and pico, along with grilled shrimp. After swimming we were fed again, pasta salad, chips, and ceviche. We also had mimosas, beer, rum punch, Mexican coca-cola. The most amazing thing at the end of the trip…we saw a humpback whale!! Sorry no pics ☹️ Puerto Vallarta. We did a self excursion. Took the public bus for 20 pesos to the Malecon for a Bean to Bar Chocolate Experience at the Chocolate Museo. The Malecon still had up their annual Day of the Dead exhibit with Guinness World Record Tallest Callavera Catrina. The chocolate experience was very educational (not very hygienic lol). Mazatlan. We just shopped at the area right outside the ship. The vendors were nice, the prices were good. And, it’s crazy the drugs controlled in the US are available OTC at their pharmacia. Ensenada. NCL excursion Sightseeing and shopping. We stopped at the once grandiose resort where the Margarita was invented, then on to a quick wine tasting at Santo Tomas and then some time to shop. It was an ok excursion with first person bring free.

The Service we felt the service was above average. With the exception of a few instances the staff and crew were happy, friendly, helpful and efficient. The waitstaff in the dining venues (except The Local) seemed stretched and didn’t have time to remember the small details like requested condiments, and sometimes basics like water and coffee. The bars we visited were fully staffed and the bartenders and bar backs were having fun with the guests. Room Stewards are not as thorough as they were when doing 2x daily service. Our room had litter snd feathers on the floor from the previous cruise. The steward was accommodating with whatever we requested but was still cleaning cabins at 4:00 (not ours, thankfully). The highlight with the staff and crew was on our last day. Upon returning to the ship in Ensenada they lined up and clapped and sang for the returning guests. Then again that evening after the Jersey Boys performance they cheered everyone as we exited the theater. Honestly, it brought a tear to my eyes. The Entertainment Having two major productions, SIX snd The Jersey Boys, on one ship is a rarity these days. While we have seen both it was nice to see they were still being offered (for now as SIX will be leaving in early 2024). Originally SIX was to perform 1x on Sunday and 2x on Monday. On Monday we received notification that SIX was canceled due to illness and we were given an OBC of $21 pp. They quickly added a Beatles show for Monday early evening. They also adjusted the rest of the weekly entertainment schedule, which unfortunately conflicted with previous planned dinner reservations. The Jersey Boys was phenomenal. This is a DO NOT MISS performance. We saw one comedy show that was 18+. I must admit, the older I get, the more conservative I become. We did participate in several events. Bingo is now $49 for one card/3 games…for prize winnings of $100, $250 and $900. It’s to the point where I would rather drop 50 bucks in the slots for better odds. Atrium activities are always fun and we totally suck at trivia. We were thoroughly impressed and enjoyed the Fruit & Vegetable Carving demo. We also attended our very first Park West art auction. While we will likely never buy anything, it was fascinating to see the pieces and watch the bidding. We’ll definitely attend more. The casino is huge and also very crowded at times. There was an CAS 80’s Slot Tournament going on, as well as a private slot pull with 60+ people. So much fun. Overall, there was never a lack of things to do, and there’s always the Observation Lounge to just chill.

I would call or chat and ask for one.

Do you have FASUP on your last cruise confirmation from NCL? BTW we’re in the same boat as you with only the excursion credit showing on our account.

I know you’re excited about your cruise, but you can’t rush time🤣 on a serious note, I know how excited you must be! I’m excited for you too! So glad you’re taking us along with you.

Take a look at Taller de Tapas in the Gothic Quarter. The paella did not disappoint …but that was several years ago.

LOVE this!! I’m an over planner according to my DH…but he sure doesn’t mind being the beneficiary 😁

I know right! I tried to get him to do that as I knew he wouldn’t eat the liver.

I know…I try not to think about that…but I always do.

Good luck hunting those bottles down. Just like the OP and others have said…we’re bringing our own next cruise. Or, we could just book the Haven. ☺️

The Food Overall, the food was good in both complimentary and specialty dining. The portion sizes of mostly everything have definitely shrunk in the past two years. There were a few standout dishes, but mostly just good, not great. Our specialty dining included LeBistro, Ocean Blue, Cagney’s and Teppanyaki. The Local was actually our favorite this cruise. The food was delicious, the portion sizes were huge and the service was fast and efficient. We took the advice of a CC member and requested our wings extra crispy with sauce on the side. Excellent suggestion. The Reuben and Chicken Salad sandwiches were delish and, IMO the fries rival Mickey D’s. LeBistro was our best specialty dining experience. Hubby ordered the filet with foie gras (which, IMO is disgusting in every way). While he didn’t eat the foie gras, he raved about his filet. I ordered the Black Sea bass which was okay. The big disappointment was my all time favorite dessert…the Ile Flotante. Unfortunately the custard was not set☹️. Hubby loved his Fraser. Ocean Blue was our second favorite specialty dining meal. The Ciopinno was everything I remembered. I just love that broth…yummmm. Teppanyaki. This was the first time we have tried Teppanyaki, and probably the last. It just wasn’t our thing. The “show” was fun and the Teppanyaki chef was talented but I was really turned off seeing my food prepared. Sometimes ignorance is bliss…lol. The amount of Soy Sauce and Garlic fat/lard used in the food prep blew my mind. Cagney’s was absolutely the worst, not because of the food but rather the experience. Which was unfortunate as this was my Birthday dinner. We used our Platinum coupon for dinner with wine, and had a nice Ferrari Carano Merlot. I ordered the French onion soup, salad and petite filet with A-1 (yes I ruin my filet with bottled sauce). DH had the lamb chops, and he ruins his with mint jelly. 😂 And, I couldn’t wait for the OMG Butterscotch Cheesecake. So, why was this dinner the worst? For multiple reasons…the biggest you’ll have to wait for. Once we were seated, there was a very pungent smell of room deodorizer, we switched tables and it was a little better, but still present. I had to pull up the tablecloth over my lap to trap out the scent. Our server told us they had cleaned the carport earlier that day. Neither of us finished our entrees, and I never did get my OMG Butterscotch Cheesecake.