Bliss / Live / Solo - March 2-9, 2019 ​

[EganFire]

Thank you to those who have been commenting. I really hope I can provide some insight, but also some fun, along the way through this cruise.

 

On previous cruise trips I have made friends with people at the meet and mingle, on port excursions, sitting at the bars, and even the muster drill. I am not what I would consider the most outgoing person, but if someone else wants to talk I certainly will.  If anyone on the cruise recognizes me, come on by and say hello.  I might be that guy eating alone at a specialty dining location, but it is ok to say hello. I may ask your screen name so I can correlate who I am speaking with. 

 

I am heading out to meet some friends for dinner.  I will post the list I have developed so far afterward.  

[EganFire]

Tonight I met with friends for dinner. I wanted something I like but would not find easily on board the bliss.

I selected pizza. Yes I know we can find pizza on board but it’s not as good as this.



That is a coal fire cooked pizza with fresh mozzarella, basil, and prosciutto.

I also enjoyed a VooDoo Ranger IPA.




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[Mcarsey]

Great...looking forward to your review.  We are on the 3/23 sailing, heading down to Miami from Tampa.  I too find myself as a brewery snob, so you have me interested on the 2 in Miami.

[NeurosurgeryNP]

Have fun. We will be boarding the day you disembark!  

[EganFire]

1 hour ago, Mcarsey said:

Great...looking forward to your review.  We are on the 3/23 sailing, heading down to Miami from Tampa.  I too find myself as a brewery snob, so you have me interested on the 2 in Miami.

 I will make sure to give details on the breweries I visit in Miami and the ports (if time permits). Out of curiosity, what is your favorite brewery in the Tampa area?

[Mcarsey]

19 minutes ago, EganFire said:

 I will make sure to give details on the breweries I visit in Miami and the ports (if time permits). Out of curiosity, what is your favorite brewery in the Tampa area?

I would have to say Cigar City and Coppertail.  On the Clearwater side, Big Storm.

[RNCheryl]

Sid beat me to it:  Trunk Bay St. John is heaven on earth.

 

We are sailing Bliss to Alaska in July for 50th anniversary sailing.  BFF is going with us and our family; she will be in a single cabin.  Would appreciate pictures of your cabin to share with you.

 

 

[itseaya]

Great review so far!  Sailed on the Bliss 2/16-2/23.  Going again in October.  I wasn't a fan of the ports for my February sailing but looking forward to my October sailing to the Mexican Riviera.  I loved the ship though (other than the whole pool thing).  Even though I have been on the Bliss I always love following the reviews.  Maybe get more tips and tricks.  Followed Doug and Sid and got great tips.  If you didn't go to Jim Badger last time, make sure you go to the Brewhouse, he is fun

[CruisinMama2003]

Following along! Love all of the details, great start so far 👍

[jimbri]

Looking forward to your review and photos!

[EganFire]

Went for a walk around my backyard this morning. I usually have an amazing few of wildlife. Eagles. Hawks. Ospreys. And sometimes this little fellow.....



Or one of the others that frequent my backyard. But don’t worry. The HOA places signs so you can be warned.



Now to head back inside and work on my packing list. Also I’m going to watch some packing videos. I really am not a good packer. I forget things or pack and end up with really bad wrinkles. So maybe YouTube can help me.


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[EganFire]

OK, so I have watched videos that show folding, bundling, using cubes, rolling, and I apparently have been doing things wrong in the past. Or at least YouTube says so….  My packing in the past was take clothes from my dresser and the closet and place them in suitcase.. 

 

So, ..... for this trip I have decided to mix a few NEW concepts into my packing plans.

 

My plan is part Marie Kondo, part Army Ranger Roll, maybe a cube or two, and part get it in somehow I will figure it out later. 

 

This plan should work… right?  I will take pictures as I work on this later… but I also need to make the list (and check it twice - am I allowed to steal list ideas from Santa?) 

 

On a serious note, I am 24 hours from wheels rolling tomorrow to Miami (with some stops on the way).

Edited February 28, 2019 by EganFire

[EganFire]

12 hours ago, RNCheryl said:

Would appreciate pictures of your cabin to share with you.

 

 

Absolutely, I will provide those. My room and the solo lounge will certainly have pictures posted. 

[EganFire]

12 hours ago, itseaya said:

Even though I have been on the Bliss I always love following the reviews.  Maybe get more tips and tricks.  Followed Doug and Sid and got great tips.  If you didn't go to Jim Badger last time, make sure you go to the Brewhouse, he is fun

I have always found the live reviews to be fun to read, and I have learned from them. So I want to do the same for others.   I have followed Sid several times and he (and others - but mostly Sid) inspired me to do this. I did make it to see Jim Badger one night towards the end of the cruise and it was packed. I hope to see him and arrive earlier for a seat this time. 

[schmoopie17]

Hey, don't drink all the beer on the ship! We're on the Bliss Panama Canal cruise March 30th and it would be disappointing to find the kegs all drained...especially since the six of us are beer snobs and we all have the UBP.

[pebbles1102]

22 hours ago, EganFire said:

 

Going into a specialty restaurant Solo is always interesting.  This was my biggest concern my first time cruising solo... and my concerns were absolutely met every time I ate solo. 

 

I get some looks from some people as I sit at a table alone…  Guests and servers.... All really do look over and I have seen some "discussing" it.... 

 

It is hard to tell if people are jealous that I have some alone time, or if they just think I really pissed off my significant other and they are avoiding me, leaving me to eat alone for the night. Either way, I just smile and make them wonder.  🙂 

 

This is my biggest fear for my cruise in November on the Breakaway.  It will be my first weeklong solo cruise.  As far as dining alone, I don't care what people think, I just find it lonely.  I enjoy the specialty restaurants that NCL has.  Hopefully, through meeting people, solo gatherings, etcetera, I will be able to find people to dine with at the specialty restaurants.  

[dcipjr]

Bundle wrapping works well—if you do it right, everything will take up less space, and it won't wrinkle too badly. The caveat is that once it's all bundled up, to get to anything in the bundle, you have to unwrap the whole thing. But that's not a big deal when you're going on a cruise, and generally just have to unpack once.

 

If your suitcase has compression tie-downs, use them to compress the bundle—it works great!

 

Packing cubes are good for people that either hyper-organize everything, or don't want to organize anything, and just cram-it-all-in. But my rationale is that the cubes themselves do take up space, and if I pack efficiently, I can do better without the cubes. They are good for duffels, though, which are generally just one big open compartment.

 

Roll-packing works great for t-shirts and polos, but you gotta roll 'em tight to avoid wrinkles. You can compress a t-shirt to around the size of a pair of socks, which is useful!

 

Depending on the length of a trip, I typically travel with a backpack and/or a suitcase. For a cruise, I'll usually bring both. I bundle-wrap for the suitcase, and I roll-pack for the backpack. 

 

I try not to bring anything I don't absolutely need, and bring clothes that you can mix and match. For a longer cruise, do the laundry bag special (you can ask your cabin attendant for this at any time, in my experience). 

 

A little strategy goes a long way: "my sandals are brown, so I should bring my brown shoes and shirts/pants that go well with brown, otherwise I have to bring black shoes and a black belt". 

 

Good luck!

[kpark895]

Since Sid gave you the inspiration for this review, I am definitely following along!

[EganFire]

The packing list is being double checked and of course, altered as I get deeper into this plan.. I am a list guy… I make lists to remind me of lists and then sometimes I do use them and sometimes I do not use them. So…. here goes my list for this trip:

 

• clothes (various styles, colors, and either too many or not enough - Only time shall tell)
• toiletries (enough to stay smelling and looking good for 7 days)
• Hats (cause why not)
• Camera / phone & cords 
• Laptop / cords 
• Backpack for port days
• Sun Screen 
• Sun Glasses
• Passport
• ID cards
• Credit cards
• Cash (small bills) 
• Shoes (Sneakers too) 
• Highlighters (Found very useful in the past)
• Post-It pad (Also found very useful in the past)
• Suction cup mirror to shave in the shower with
• Earplugs
• Wipes (always good for cleaning hands in ports)
• Chapstick 

 

A straw or two (since the Bliss has gone 99.2% strawless.  (**TRIVIA QUESTION: Does anyone know the 0.8% of the Bliss that you CAN get a straw in???)

 

I am 10000% sure I will forget something, but hopefully, it is not something that I can’t buy or drink enough beer to not care that I forgot it.

[EganFire]

Packing of clothing is under way, and I HATE packing. I try to plan, then I end up with either way too little or way too much clothing.



I have only every once packed perfectly and it was by pure absolute luck …. I am sure. Sitting here in my house, how am I supposed to know what I will feel like wearing at 2 PM 6 days from now… part of me says who cares, then part of me knows that come 1:59 PM that day I will say “Why did I NOT pack such and such” This is what is driving me to drink.. and so I shall have one or three while I pack.



Additionally, as I am staying in Miami for a night before I am trying to pack a smaller bag that I will only need for the one night in Miami, so I do not have to open the cruise packed suitcase.


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[EganFire]

Also I have my luggage tags ready. I find these sealable plastic tags are more reliable than just the paper stapled together. I have heard of luggage being delayed or missing due to paper tags falling off.

These were fairly cheap on amazon and they have different sizes for the different cruise lines. The metal unscrews so you can secure it to your luggage where you like.


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[FLJIM]

Somebody's excited about their cruise!

We're on the Bliss March 16th, can't wait.  Thanks for your efforts in doing this review.

[EganFire]

2 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Hey, don't drink all the beer on the ship! We're on the Bliss Panama Canal cruise March 30th and it would be disappointing to find the kegs all drained...especially since the six of us are beer snobs and we all have the UBP.

I can't make any promises... 🙂

[EganFire]

Something I always bring is a bag to use in ports. I found this one a few years ago and love it. It’s packs down real small and makes it easy to pack in somewhere.



Then you just open it up



And you have a backpack. Great for one person in the port



As far as packing this in my suitcase, it is something I will just stuff in somewhere. No special folds needed from Marie Kondo needed.


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Edited February 28, 2019 by EganFire

[EganFire]

So far the combination of ranger rolls and Marie Kondo is working out well here. I’m thinking I’m going to try the bundle method for the button down shirts.


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