Bliss 2-9 to 2-16 Quick Haven Experience/Review

[Beamco]

My wife and I just got home from a great week on the Bliss!! We have only sailed on NCL and have only booked Haven cabins for our last 5 cruises. I find the Haven product to be worth the extra cost and try to pick a week inside of a specific window of time and simply go the week that offers the best rate- I mostly sail for the Ship experience not the ports. I try to sail on NCL's new ships within 9 months of their inaugural cruises, however I liked the Escape so much I sailed on her twice. I also booked on the Breakaway when the ship was a couple of years old because of a great Spring rate to Bermuda. So, I guess my answer to another thread about what's going on with Haven Rates would be I pay the rack rate but shop for the best weekly rate I can find and then book to experience the Haven not the destination. 

 

If you asked us if we would sail Bliss again both of us would say Absolutely YES!!!. 

 

I will add that I started what was to become a detailed review after my first Escape cruise that I titled something like Read the Rock and intended it to be a detailed review on how NCL dealt with a bad situation. However, I became sick and had to deal with a long-term health issue and never finished it. So, for this one I will share my overall thoughts and answer any questions you may have but keep it relatively short! It seems as if every time I sail, we have some issue and, in every case, NCL handles the issue perfectly. 

1.     We always fly in the day before to avoid day of travel delays etc. that may cause us to miss the cruise. This also allows us to enjoy a day/night in South Beach. This year we stayed in a recently renovated Marriott Autograph Resort - The Cadillac Hotel. The hotel was so outstanding that I will be doing something I never do -rate them on Trip Advisor. The Hotel service was exceptional. My only complaint is the area, it’s a short walk from the Fontainebleau and there are no non-hotel restaurants within walking distance. So, for this reason I will switch back to my normal choice of the Marriott Stanton in South Beach. Great Restaurants, Bars, Beach, Great Boardwalk, Park and pier where you can watch the Friday night cruises depart. 10 Minute Uber ride to port in the morning.

2.     Embarkation was quick and painless. We got to the terminal at 11:15 and we were in the Haven Lounge at 11:35. I liked the new Haven set up - they now confirm you as a Haven passenger at the bottom of the stairs outside the terminal. They then escort you to the front of the security lines, bring you into the Haven lounge, check you in and escort you all the way to the Haven Lounge by passing whatever lines may be in the main terminal. As I said we arrived at 11:15 and I will say the general boarding area was not crowded or chaotic, it seemed like everyone was getting on board quickly.

3.     For those that have asked Day 1 includes lunch at Margaritaville for free for Haven passengers. They also include a 50% discount at Food Republic on the first night. We opted for lunch at Margaritaville and really enjoyed the burgers we ordered along with Conch Fritters. Overall very good but we never went again during the rest of the week. We have always loved Food Republic on the Escape, but I will agree with those posters that have posted that Food Republic is disappointing on Bliss. We had a couple of good items outstanding service but overall very disappointing!

4.     Some random highlights the Haven Observation rooms are outstanding, and we loved sitting there for sail away and at other random times during the week. The 19^thfloor sundeck is always our go to day time hangout, we always found loungers, never overcrowded, the staff keeps it to 16 and older. The expanded size is great and the loungers facing forward on the left side are a perfect spot to watch the world go by and are truly relaxing! Servers were very active, and we had no problems getting drinks on the sundeck. The first two days at sea were very windy so I was not surprised that the retractable roof over the Haven lounge was not opened on those days. But on the return trip from Tortola the winds were light but the roof was never opened, they had people up on it doing some sort of repairs that were not finished on our cruise, hopefully it will be fixed because it’s great to relax in the atrium area by the indoor pool with that roof open, this was one of the few disappointments we had all week. 

5.     Jersey Boys was excellent, Havana was good not great. We managed to squeeze into the back of the Cavern Club to hear about 5 songs from the Beatles cover band in that setting and I would have preferred to see a full set in there but it was always crowded and “sold out”!! We did go to see them on Friday night in the theatre and that was a great show. We also watched all three comedians do a set in the main theatre and they were fabulous, then went to the adult 10 PM show on Friday night and laughed all night. Sligo Band was great, they do an 80’s set in the Cavern Club. The piano playing woman entertainer in the Mojito Bar was a lot of fun. Overall entertainment was a 9 out of 10. I would have given a 10 if Havana was better. 

6.     For Food we eat breakfast and lunch every day in the Haven. We had a great meal at Cagney’s, La Cucina was better than on other NCL ships but only good not great, Los lobos was fair we would not eat there again. Le Bistro is normally our favorite NCL specialty restaurant, but it really was not good on Bliss, I have to agree with other posters something is off there, and the location also is odd. We did not try Q. 

7.     Bartenders were awesome everywhere. Haven, Local, Mojito bar all great. Bong had it going every night in the Mojito Bar! Grey Goose is back on the UBP!! For us we were always out enjoying as much as possible that the Bliss had to offer, we were out past midnight every night, which is a big deal for us, the Bliss seemed to always have something fun going on all the time, so it kept us up later than usual!!!

That’s all I can think of for now – if you have any questions just ask and if I have an answer I will reply. Bliss is a perfect name for this ship - the trip and week were pure Bliss for us!!!

[AtlantaAlly]

Thanks so much for this review! We are in the Haven on Bliss in June and I keep scouring the boards for reviews like this! Also- thank you for sharing that Grey Goose is back on UBP- that is great news!

 

a few questions if you don’t mind?

- is there a haven perk for seating in the comedy shows/Beatles cover band in the cavern club? Or just first come first served?

- were you escorted to shows from the Haven?

- how crowded is the Haven bar between 5-7 (pre-dinner) Times?

- what room were you in? How was your butler service?

- did you have the concierge make any day of dining reservations for you? Anything they couldn’t get?

 

thanks again!!

[blondie1746]

We have read that they were going to start offering a daily dinner special in addition to the regular menu in the Haven restaurant. Have they started doing that? If so, do you remember any of the dinner specials?

[northernrose]

Thank for the information. We will be in the Haven in September.

[Beamco]

For AtlantaAlly:

 

few questions if you don’t mind?

 

- is there a haven perk for seating in the comedy shows/Beatles cover band in the cavern club? Or just first come first served? The Beatles were first come first serve being in the Haven gave no priority - for Comedy late in the week we asked our Haven Concierge to get us a reservation for the Friday night 10 PM show and she got us in no problem

 

- were you escorted to shows from the Haven? This one surprised me they no longer escort you to the theatre - there were about 3-4 rows reserved for Haven Guests for each show - we arrived 15 minutes early to 4 shows Havana, Jersey Boys, Comedy and Beatles act and never had a problem, no lines we walked right in. They open up the Haven seats about 5 minutes before the show and the rows were never full - so no escort was no problem

 

- how crowded is the Haven bar between 5-7 (pre-dinner) Times? Never "crowded" for me a few nights there were maybe 10-12 people out there pre dinner and I thought that added to the experience each night!

 

- what room were you in? How was your butler service? I was in 17726 and for me it was awesome, some others may not like it because it was at the end of the Haven where the main deck starts, some nights we heard the parties at the pool deck but for the most part we were never in the room before Midnight. We had a huge balcony 8.5 x 17 we had two lounge chairs 2 chairs and a table and we could have added more, at times we hung out on the balcony and enjoyed the music from the main pool. There is a service door across the hall and staff does use it at all hours - if closing door noise will bother you then the perk of a huge balcony won't help - for us it was great and the noise does not bother me - I sleep like a rock! Butler did everything we asked including changing our two bottles of sparkling wine to a red and a white.  Changing up the afternoon snacks to include mini sandwiches each day, put a small bowel of peanut M&M's and Potato Chips in the room, but other than that we don't ask for much. Very personable and very helpful if you ask, he was constantly asking me if he could do anything else for us. Jenzer was his name and he was great.

 

- did you have the concierge make any day of dining reservations for you? Anything they couldn’t get? We had the concierge change every pre-cruise show and dinner we had arranged, and they were able to do it no problem. We also are only a party of 2 so I can't speak to this ability for larger parties but it seemed like most people had a very good experience with change requests. To me the Haven Concierges are at the top of the list of Haven perks. One example we had an over charge on our bill from Le Bistro the haven Concierge personally went to the service desk and had it removed, saving me from the painful experience of standing in line to potentially argue.

[Beamco]

For Blondie1746 - yes the Haven offered a dinner special every night - one night they had a T-Bone steak which was great especially since there are no more bone in steaks at Cagney's. They had a Bronzino fish special and a Salmon special on two other nights. Steak was awesome and my wife had the Salmon and loved that. We only ate in the Haven restaurant for dinner twice and at least one of us had a special each night, so I would say the special is a good idea for the Haven! I asked each morning when I was there for breakfast sometimes just out of curiosity and other times because I knew I was eating there that night. But I only remember these three nights. By the way Prime Rib in the Haven is excellent!!

Edited February 17, 2019 by Beamco

[Shidah]

How much bigger is this balcony versus other H5’s on 17?  Also was there noise from the outdoor restaurant upstairs?  Thanks!  This room is currently available on an upcoming cruise.

[Beamco]

Shidah first the balcony on a Haven room on the 17th floor is deeper than the balcony on the 18th floor by a few feet - it does allow that if you are at your rail the people on the 18th floor above you can see you by the rail. This was never an issue the extra space overuled a lit bit of privacy loss - whenever I was out there no one was on the deck above and balcony's on cruise ships are not that private to begin with. The extra space left to right was significant, I am guessing now but 8-10 feet. The balcony was very large we had 2 recliners brought in and left the table and chairs and we had plenty of room with space in between everything. I never noticed noise from the restaurant or the common deck that adjoined the balcony. There was a noise issue in the morning from a crew door across the hall but I still highly recommend this room and plan to book it again on the Bliss and or Encore.

 

[Shidah]

Thanks, I have it booked currently!  Your original post was key to me picking this room.  Thanks so much for posting it!

[tomservo]

On 2/17/2019 at 12:44 AM, Beamco said:

I will agree with those posters that have posted that Food Republic is disappointing on Bliss. We had a couple of good items outstanding service but overall very disappointing!

 

What did you enjoy at Food Republic? Is the issue more the food or the service?

[Beamco]

Tomservo you are stretching my memory but my overall impression is that menu items changed from when this was a "pub belly run restaurant" once NCL ended that contract and changed the menu the food was not as good or the same. I remember always liking Lamb Chops, a Shrimp Dish and a Dumpling dish, the Pad Thai is also good, and we always like dessert! I have rarely had bad service anywhere on an NCL cruise with the exception of  a very slow meal on the Bliss at Le Bistro. Le Bistro is always our favorite particularly for my wife, on the Bliss my wife returned her meal and ended up not eating an entree, they need to fix Le Bistro on the Bliss. Service at Food Republic has always been great on every cruise every ship that has it. Maybe northernrose can add more recent details from their September cruise?

[Norwayrider]

On 2/17/2019 at 6:21 PM, Beamco said:

For AtlantaAlly:

 

few questions if you don’t mind?

 

- is there a haven perk for seating in the comedy shows/Beatles cover band in the cavern club? Or just first come first served? The Beatles were first come first serve being in the Haven gave no priority - for Comedy late in the week we asked our Haven Concierge to get us a reservation for the Friday night 10 PM show and she got us in no problem

 

- were you escorted to shows from the Haven? This one surprised me they no longer escort you to the theatre - there were about 3-4 rows reserved for Haven Guests for each show - we arrived 15 minutes early to 4 shows Havana, Jersey Boys, Comedy and Beatles act and never had a problem, no lines we walked right in. They open up the Haven seats about 5 minutes before the show and the rows were never full - so no escort was no problem

 

- how crowded is the Haven bar between 5-7 (pre-dinner) Times? Never "crowded" for me a few nights there were maybe 10-12 people out there pre dinner and I thought that added to the experience each night!

 

- what room were you in? How was your butler service? I was in 17726 and for me it was awesome, some others may not like it because it was at the end of the Haven where the main deck starts, some nights we heard the parties at the pool deck but for the most part we were never in the room before Midnight. We had a huge balcony 8.5 x 17 we had two lounge chairs 2 chairs and a table and we could have added more, at times we hung out on the balcony and enjoyed the music from the main pool. There is a service door across the hall and staff does use it at all hours - if closing door noise will bother you then the perk of a huge balcony won't help - for us it was great and the noise does not bother me - I sleep like a rock! Butler did everything we asked including changing our two bottles of sparkling wine to a red and a white.  Changing up the afternoon snacks to include mini sandwiches each day, put a small bowel of peanut M&M's and Potato Chips in the room, but other than that we don't ask for much. Very personable and very helpful if you ask, he was constantly asking me if he could do anything else for us. Jenzer was his name and he was great.

 

- did you have the concierge make any day of dining reservations for you? Anything they couldn’t get? We had the concierge change every pre-cruise show and dinner we had arranged, and they were able to do it no problem. We also are only a party of 2 so I can't speak to this ability for larger parties but it seemed like most people had a very good experience with change requests. To me the Haven Concierges are at the top of the list of Haven perks. One example we had an over charge on our bill from Le Bistro the haven Concierge personally went to the service desk and had it removed, saving me from the painful experience of standing in line to potentially argue.

 

On 10/20/2019 at 6:48 PM, Beamco said:

Tomservo you are stretching my memory but my overall impression is that menu items changed from when this was a "pub belly run restaurant" once NCL ended that contract and changed the menu the food was not as good or the same. I remember always liking Lamb Chops, a Shrimp Dish and a Dumpling dish, the Pad Thai is also good, and we always like dessert! I have rarely had bad service anywhere on an NCL cruise with the exception of  a very slow meal on the Bliss at Le Bistro. Le Bistro is always our favorite particularly for my wife, on the Bliss my wife returned her meal and ended up not eating an entree, they need to fix Le Bistro on the Bliss. Service at Food Republic has always been great on every cruise every ship that has it. Maybe northernrose can add more recent details from their September cruise?

 

[Norwayrider]

Hi Beamco, we have booked the same cabin 17726 on Norwegian Encore. It was hard to decide and I have googled the net for more info about the size of the cabin. I assume there will not be much noise from the restaurant over and below (since it is not a disco etc.) There will be some insight from the outdoor haven restaurant area if some care to watch, but I dont care so much about that. NCL home page says regarding size, deck 18, 324-536 (HF former H5), balcony 43-54 sq.ft. (the latter I think is for Accessible cabin). On deck 17, 374-620, balcony 104-146. (the latter I think is also for Accessible cabin). So I assume both the cabin and balcony is larger on deck 17, the balcony for sure since they have an extra space protruding outward, nor sure what part of the cabin that is larger (now named HE instead of H5). 

 

I think the number 146 sq.ft. balcony could be the 17726 and 17162 due to the extra space behind. Regarding the difference between deck 18 and 17 im not sure if the cabin is deeper or wider, can not find that out. 

 

One question, was your cabin as wide as the balcony? If not, what is between  your cabin and the "empty" space to the public area?

 

I also would think that noise or music from the pool area could be possible to hear, but that would be OK. Im not that sensible. Originally I was going on the Encore this weekend, but due to COVID-19 we have postponed it a whole year, reebooked with a good discount and upgraded now to the Haven, originally planned was a standard balcony. Next year to other ports, I want to experience the ship and as long the climate is great the ports is not my first priority.

[Norwayrider]

[Greenpea2]

We were in the Haven on the Bliss Feb 23-March 1 and the only thing different from your Haven experience was we were indeed escorted to the theatre for shows. It must depend on the Concierge as the one we had was not the same as yours. Ours was new to the Bliss as of our cruise (or maybe the cruise before).

 

We also loved Le Bistro and Los Lobos! But as we all know, food is subjective. Glad you had a great cruise! The Bliss is gorgeous.