First West Coast Cruise for Us!

Great time on the Bliss, returned to a Breakaway class ship after a few sailings on Prima class. Forgot how much we loved Sugar Cane Mojito Bar, District Brew House, and just the overall layout and pace of these ships. While we love the aesthetic and smaller size of Prima class, Bliss and ships like her provide an outstanding value and experience. Didn't have a bad meal or service experience all week, Vibe as great as usual, and the ship did a great job with Halloween decor and parties. This was our first time taking a West Coast cruise, and it did not disappoint. Entertainment was plentiful, and it was easy to get a drink. The ship was comfortable, clean, and in overall good condition. As so many others like to point out, elevator wait times can be long. Now, for some specific highlights and comments.... Embarkation was quick and painless. It was cool passing the battleship directly next to the pier, and the porters and staff at the terminal were efficient and knowledgeable. We ate at five specialty restaurants: Le Bistro, Cagney's, Q, Food Republic, and La Cucina. We missed Onda on Prima, but I had lasagna at La Cucina that was flavorful and worth ordering. Le Bistro served it's usual awesome filet, Cagney's ribeye was definitely smaller than previous visits but still too large to eat in a sitting, Q was a welcome return as this is not available on Prima class ships and had a pretty decent band playing with lots of people dancing (including the wait staff!), and Food Republic continues to be underrated for it's menu selection and quality of food. We had a great dinner in Manhattan, a delicious lunch at the Local, and a not so great experience at Savor for breakfast one day - slow service and long ticket time for food. The Assistant Maitre D saw the issue, visited us, made it right. District Brew House was awesome every visit we made there, and the real winner for us was Sugar Cane Mojito; we loved this space on our previous Escape, Encore, Bliss sailings, and it did not disappoint. Sailing out of LA, there was a larger Hispanic mix of passengers on board, so there was no shortage of dancing and fun in Sugarcane for the week, especially with the Dodgers in the Series! Jersey Boys is one of our favorite shows on a ship, so it was cool to sail Bliss again and get to see it - it was the first week of the new cast, and for a show on a ship, it was very good as always. The Beatles were a little underwhelming, but we did have Siglo on board, a well traveled and well reviewed ship band for NCL - good crowds and following at all of their shows. This was our 13th time in Vibe out of 14 NCL sailings, and the bartenders and staff were new to us - excellent service from the Vibe team as always. We chose a shore excursion at Puerto Vallarta that was only $39 per person (Sabal Playa), had a great infinity pool with beach access, drinks and food not included. Skipped excursion in Mazatlan, enjoyed the pool and an empty ship. Cabo San Lucas - we did Exclusive Resort and Pool Escape, which was at Casa Dorada, a Hilton property. Beautiful. Outstanding pool, Medano Beach access, two drink tickets each included. Note - both our excursions to the resorts included transportation on big, beautiful air conditioned busses. And, a small detriment in Cabo - it's a tender port, so getting back to the ship requires patience. If you are returning close to the return to ship time, you will in all likelihood be in a long line around the Cabo San Lucas marina - took about 50 minutes to stand in line and get back to ship. NCL employees came out and provided cold towels and water to those waiting in line. And the seas were rough - crossing the gangplank bridge from the tender onto the ship was harrowing. But, all survived, and the means definitely justified the experience and result! Embarkation was a little strained - lines were long for walk off, and it is a hike to get out of the terminal. However, it is extremely easy to get ground transportation set up or just use a Rideshare or taxi to get to your airport if necessary. We booked a private black car service from LAX to the terminal because I had read some difficult experiences using Uber or Lyft from LAX, cost $180. Taxi back to LAX after the cruise cost $80 with tip. Choose whatever works for you and your family or group. Finally, we stayed at the Doubletree in San Pedro the night before the cruise. Great marina views, clean room, comfortable. And it provides a great complimentary shuttle to the pier from the hotel. Final thoughts? We loved this cruise like we have enjoyed our previous 14 NCL cruises. We are busy professionals and parents of a college age daughter - these cruise vacations allow us time to reconnect and laugh, hang out, see the sun and catch up as life for so many of us is just so busy. We enjoyed every minute!

Had a great time.

Pro's: Cabin was comfortable, clean and had plenty of stowage room. Bathrooms are small but easy to get around in and shower was big enough for my 6.1' frame. Getting on and off the ship was very well planned out and other than the crowd of people and lines, easy to maneuver. Service was excellent and dinning was top notch. Everyone working on board was polite and helpful. I'd like to give an atta boy to a young Philippina man named Leo in the Taste restaurant for outstanding service. The Beattle experience band was excellent. I didn't miss any of their 4 shows while on board. Jersey Boys was well done but my personal favorite was the Beattle experience. Didn't take any of the tours or leave the ship due to a bum knee. Overall, a very enjoyable experience. Con's : Wall to wall people. Crowded venues. Lots of lines, had to put up with a few drunks.

Great cruise on the Bliss

This is my third cruise with NCL and my wife and I had great time. Overall the experience was excellent from the embarkation in Seattle to getting off the ship back in Seattle. From the time we got dropped off at the pier it only took us 20 minutes to get on the ship. The crew were friendly and helpful. We had a family ocean view cabin. It was clean and very spacious. Our cabin steward did a great job of cleaning our cabin everyday and always greeted with a smile and How can I help you today? The staff always helped us with a smile and seamed happy and willing to help us with all our questions. We did 2 excursions and had a great time on both. The first was the helicopter to Mendenhall Glacier and dog sledding. One of the best I have been on. I would recommend it to everyone. Special shout out to Ryan our musher on the glacier. The second one was the whale watching. We saw lots of whales and had a very good time. I have read many poor reviews of NCL complaining about everything from the ship to the staff. The staff work very hard to make sure we have a good experience. I have never had any of the staff be rude or do anything but work hard and do everything to accommodate our requests. They always took the time to make sure we were happy or just talk to us and make us feel welcome.