Bliss Reviews , Good, the Bad, and the Overcrowded....

[$hip$hape]

[quote=Oldgoat61;56685677]

We were on the Bliss when it went thru the PC.

Had never cruised on other "NCL mega ships", only Jewel and Dawn class ships.

We discovered that the "mega ships" are not our cup of tea.

Finding a seat in the buffet was difficult, had to sit in the area that wasn't near the windows all but a few times.

Had very few kids on the cruise, so I had no problems with the gokarts.

It is necessary to make reservations to any specialty restaurant, even on smaller ships.

I am guilty of pushing buttons on both sides of the elevators, but we did use the stairs quite a bit, and we didn't see any issues with people with wheel chairs (just the opposite).

I did find it interesting that the hallways were narrower, and the ceilings were lower as well.

Enjoy your cruise, just be prepared for larger crowds.

We would sail on a mega ship again, but only if the itinerary was exceptional.:cool:

 

 

WE will be on the Bliss, again, for the Panama Canal cruise in November, 2018.

Thank you for your post!

We make all of our cruises exceptional.

Michael

Edited August 2, 2018 by $hip$hape

[Laszlo]

I hope NCL creates another entertainment venue on their new ships because my biggest complaint of the Breakaway or (plus) ships is using the atrium for shows or games. The venue is way too small and unless you get there 45 mins early, you cant see at thing. The acoustics are also very bad if you are upstairs. Just another thing to plan for. Since the theater is used every night, they don't have a good venue for shows.

 

Agree, the Atrium is the stupidest design, its not only small with a large amount of people trying to jam in it also screws up the flow up people walking back and forth

[wdsted]

This forum has an ignore feature. Use it. ;)

 

However, I would never tell you where or when to post, that's inappropriate.

 

I have quite a few on my ignore list, welcome to the club!

 

For what it's worth, I don't hijack threads. I comment on threads that interest me and stay on topic. This is "good, bad, and overcrowded" and my comments are appropriate for the topic. Note: BAD, and OVERCROWDED. But apparently someone can't agree with some of the bad aspects? Someone else asked about the crowding comparison and I commented accordingly. There are 45 topics just on the main NCL forum alone, I've commented on what, 2 or 3? If that offends you, ignore me.

 

 

 

Seriously, you’re obsessed with your visceral hatred of NCL. I’m glad that to you RCCL is heaven, but IMO all the middle tier cruise lines are very similar. I’ve never had a cruise with any cruise line that sent me on a mission to constantly complain about the experience and snarl at those who disagreed with me.

 

 

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[david_sobe]

Agree, the Atrium is the stupidest design, its not only small with a large amount of people trying to jam in it also screws up the flow up people walking back and forth

 

And they keep building the atriums the same way. Don't get me wrong, I personally love the giant screen at the atrium and its fine for towel folding demonstrations or seminars. But some of the famous NCL entertainment like Not so newlywed game and Perfect Couple are very good but unless you get there really really early, you cant see anything. Its a shame they don't have another theater for such shows. I saw one of the funniest Perfect Couple shows ever last time on Getaway. I was in tears and could not stop laughing.

[graphicguy]

And they keep building the atriums the same way. Don't get me wrong, I personally love the giant screen at the atrium and its fine for towel folding demonstrations or seminars. But some of the famous NCL entertainment like Not so newlywed game and Perfect Couple are very good but unless you get there really really early, you cant see anything. Its a shame they don't have another theater for such shows. I saw one of the funniest Perfect Couple shows ever last time on Getaway. I was in tears and could not stop laughing.

David...don't know if you've ever tried it, but I sit in O'Sheehans to watch Atrium entertainment. Never had an issue getting a chair up there.

[LakeLureGuy]

My two cents. We are avid NLC cruisers, and this is what works for us each time. This may not be what you want to do, of course, and just take your chances once on board. For starters, we know as soon as we make our final payment, we can access our booking on myncl.com.

1) We look at the entertainment venues that accept a reservation. We write down what days/dates/times each one is performing. If possible, we try to book them on sea days, but if not, then we reserve what fits with our port schedule. Put them in your "cart", and check out so you can be assured you got your choices.

2) We always choose the specialty dining as one of our options. So, knowing when we have entertainment booked, we sometimes coordinate a restaurant time, thus, having a nice night! But, we can also reserve on one of the other nights, of course. Again, pull up each restaurant to see the times available, then put them in your "cart", check out! Always print out whatever you reserve!

This may seem too much work, but it really goes fast, and then you can now enjoy your choices without all the hassle of being shut out by waiting later or to be onboard.

Hope this helps for those who tend to get flustered with all this reservation stuff, but it is just the way of cruising on many cruise lines, not just NCL. By the way, we have also done this same approach on other cruise lines! Life is simple once our cruise begins!

[gambit57]

WE were on the Bliss TransAtlantic.

The water slides have heated water.

They ARE fun !

 

Excellent! Thanks for the info! I think I'll even try out the water slides then.

[david_sobe]

David...don't know if you've ever tried it, but I sit in O'Sheehans to watch Atrium entertainment. Never had an issue getting a chair up there.

 

 

That is where we watch. You can get a chair if you are there 1 hour before the show. There will be people standing around the row of chairs which then blocks out everyone else who wants to see the show. In addition the acoustics are horrible and its difficult to hear.

I hope you are not trying to convince me its a good show venue LOL We met many NCL reps or performers who admit its a horrible place to put on a show. However when you have on theater that runs every night, options are limited. I remember the days when they tried to have shows at Spice on Epic. That only lasted so long because with the wind people could not hear and there was not enough seating for everyone. Its just a lesson we learned long ago. Get to O'Sheehans an hour early and have some beer and wings before the show.

[Maya1234]

I'd love to throw out the question of how people felt the thermal spa was in regards to crowds. Are there peak times? What are they? Any help is appreciated.

 

Thermal spa on bliss would get busy at peak times. The heated tile loungers fill up as do chairs right at the window. But I was a,ways able to get a chair ( all have decent views ). LOVED the thermal spa.

[Cgriffin100]

Have sailed on the Jewel in 2016, the Epic 2018 and was just about to put a deposit down on the Bliss for 2019 for what will surely be a 15-20K vacation for 5 but not so sure now! I hope NCL is reading these posts!!

[Olive2cruise]

We were on the June 9th cruise (the 2nd Alaskan cruise) and these were my observations

Common complaints so far:

 

Buffet> can't find a seat often.

Never had a problem finding a seat. I especially liked the seating in the outside area and often it was only us and one other table of people. The only time there was a line was the Seafood buffet night for the crab legs. Also, there are several stations with the same food...walk towards the back for omelets and carving stations...no line.

 

Laser/Karts sold out by noon for the week. People upset.

N/A for us..we weren’t interested

 

Folks with UDP can't get reservations. Restaurants fully booked.

We were able to get all our reservations ahead of time at the times we wanted. There were 6 of us. We did have to call for our Q reservations, don’t know if that glitch has been fixed

 

Cavern holds 100 folks, with 4,700 guests on the ship.

Same for the Social comedy club.

When we boarded we made our comedy club reservations. No problem. I think everyone on the stand by line got in as well.

 

Atrium overcrowded. Noisy.

Crowded and enthusiastic. We like to grab stools one deck up at The Local and watch and drink from there

 

All day chair hogs.

It wasn’t super warm so I’m sure that had an impact but watched World Cup soccer poolside, among other times with no problem

Always found seats in the Observation lounge. It is a gathering place for people who might be in separate rooms and they might hang there for awhile but there is still plenty of other seating.

Main theatre holds around 1,000 guests, long lines. Guests turned away from shows.

We had our reservations before we boarded. Many standbys got in. Not sure if all because never went back out. Recommend getting your drink ahead of time while there are servers taking orders. They don’t get to everyone

 

Elevators> two banks facing each other, folks push buttons on both sides,

making for 10 to 20 minute waits. Folks in wheelchairs left out for

all those in a big hurry and cut in front. IE: not enough elevators for

4,700 guests.

The first couple of days there were crowds at the elevators but it did get better. For those that can, walking up or down a couple of decks can alleviate the crowd at one floor.

 

 

Really hope NCL corporate is listening and works to rectify these

issues by expanding shows/ times etc.

We are looking forward to our cruise in Dec. But one review said:

"NCL used to be Anything you want, when you want... Now it is

Make your reservations ASAP upon boarding for the week and be ready to

stand in long lines...and pay lots of Fees"

Not sure what lines they had to stand on. We never had a wait for dinner, show, or boarding at a port. My bill at the end of the week for the two of us was $34.00. One of our favorite areas was Deck 8, Waterfront. Empty! The bartender was looking for customers!

Envious that you’ll be on in December! You’ll love it

As mentioned earlier, please take some time to search current Bliss

 

reviews and make your own conclusions. :cool:

Edited August 2, 2018 by Olive2cruise
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[friendlyshuswapbc]

Moore's of Tampa Bay; I too have read most if not all the reviews all over the web & watched Youtube also, at first yes I was very concerned over all the bad reviews I was reading which was well almost I'd say 1 out of every three or four. But then as a few have said..'fail to plan then plan to fail' & 'make it what you want', go in with a very loose plan and just then believe in "Having fun! You will!" Get on board, split up and make reservations immediately, and know that its possible that you won't be able to do everything that you'd like too. Also just know that yes this is a new ship on its first summer sailing, and they do have somethings to well .. nail down and get better training on perhaps, and when they do I really think it will be 'Bliss'. Until then, embark with happy thoughts & a good, patient attitude and we'll make this a great sailing hopefully! I've been on NCL three times before and enjoyed the Pearl twice and a NCL ship in Hawaii. We all need to pack our patience and smiles and know that most of the crew are trying their hardest and working very long hours and for that I commend most of them. Sailing September 8th; Gloria & Rob, Seattle WA

[OurAnniversary25]

Moore's of Tampa Bay; I too have read most if not all the reviews all over the web & watched Youtube also, at first yes I was very concerned over all the bad reviews I was reading which was well almost I'd say 1 out of every three or four. But then as a few have said..'fail to plan then plan to fail' & 'make it what you want', go in with a very loose plan and just then believe in "Having fun! You will!" Get on board, split up and make reservations immediately, and know that its possible that you won't be able to do everything that you'd like too. Also just know that yes this is a new ship on its first summer sailing, and they do have somethings to well .. nail down and get better training on perhaps, and when they do I really think it will be 'Bliss'. Until then, embark with happy thoughts & a good, patient attitude and we'll make this a great sailing hopefully! I've been on NCL three times before and enjoyed the Pearl twice and a NCL ship in Hawaii. We all need to pack our patience and smiles and know that most of the crew are trying their hardest and working very long hours and for that I commend most of them. Sailing September 8th; Gloria & Rob, Seattle WA

 

Wonderful advice! It is always good to remember that any inconveniences on a cruise ship are First World problems. I am on your sailing and can guarantee that we will have a wonderful time!