The Girls Cruzin BLISSfully – NCL Bliss Mexican Rivera – April 3-10

The beauty of writing a blog about your adventures is getting to relive your trip and I just had an amazing, fun-filled week with 5 other women, old friends, and new friends. Some of us have known each other for many years, but 3 of them I met for the first time, and we became good friends real fast!  We had 2 balcony cabins right next to each other, very near the elevators, (crucial for us old ladies!)  This was my 2^nd time on the NCL Bliss, a very beautiful ship.

The ship sailed out of the World Cruise Center, in San Pedro California.  The Mexican Rivera itinerary includes Puerta Vallarta, Matalan, and Cabo San Lucas.  I have done these ports before, twice on a Carnival ship,  and on the NCL Bliss in 2019.  I will do this itinerary again; it is affordable and a lot of great excursions to try. 

Embarkation

Embarkation went smoothly.  In line by 10am, on the ship by 11:30am. All the waiting we did was waiting for people to get off the ship, because not everyone was in a hurry to disembark! Can’t imagine why. We were able to go to our cabins right away to drop stuff off, and then head to lunch. Also, got our checked bags quickly! And I did try something new this cruise, using packing cubes!  I had my doubts about them, but thought I would try, and really did love how organized my unpacking and packing back up was.  I am so glad I have given it a try.

The Ship

NCL Bliss has 20 passenger decks, 11 decks are passenger cabins.  We were on deck 13 toward the back. And yes, this ship did have a deck 13.  Other cruise lines I have been on have not, it skipped from 12 to 14 just like many hotels.  Wasn’t unlucky for us, we had a great time!! 

The top decks, 18-20 are the fun decks.  They include the Bliss speedway, mini golf, laser tag, aqua racer, and the water slide.  I didn’t go up there this cruise but have done the speedway on a prior cruise.  It was fun, except for a child kept stopping the action, But I have watched other friends go for it and they had a blast.   

Deck 18 also has the Haven, a private area for those that pay a premium price for their cabin.  They even have their own complimentary restaurant. 

On deck 19 is the Vibe beach club for passengers 18 and over, and includes a hot tub, lounges, and a bar.  There are a limited number of passes available for purchase for $99/day or $209/week at Guest Services.  This is the only exclusive adult area of ship, except an adult only pool next to the kids pool and aqua park.

Deck 16 is the pool area, with slides and a kid’s aqua park.  The spa and fitness center are in the back, and no I did not go there, just looked in the window.  On the other side of the pool area is the Garden Café, a self-serve buffet, with crew members at the entrance reminding us to washy, washy our hands before entering!  I felt the food here was OK, but not great, and choices seemed limited.  Although they did have sandwiches already made, there was no deli to have your sandwich made your way, which we have always enjoyed on other ships.  Also, there were no small eateries (burgers or tacos) around the pool area to enjoy. 

The Observation Lounge on deck 15 is probably my favorite place, other than my balcony.  It is the front third of that deck with windows to the ceiling all the way around. The sitting areas, which include couches, chairs, tables and lounges, winds around the deck. There is a full-service bar at the front, a piano for evening entertainment, and food stations that serve snack food off and on throughout the day.  It is a very relaxing area with spectacular views.  First day up there we saw a school of salmon jumping alongside the ship. And a good spot to play board games with friends!

Decks 6 to 8 are where you find the restaurants, bars, casino, and areas of entertainment like the Bliss Theater and comedy clubs.  Although I don’t gamble, walking through the casino is pretty much inevitable on occasion.  One thing that is great about the casino’s on NCL, Bliss and Encore anyway, smoking section is a closed off room.  You can get a whiff of smoke it you walk by when the door opens, but it is easier to walk through for nonsmokers.

Down on deck 5 is the area exclusively for children and teens.  When we walked by, I saw a sign that says no one over 18 allowed.  They DO have their own area.

Dining

NCL Bliss has 4 complimentary dining options, and 8 specialty restaurants that are a La Carte. There are also specialty shops that also are available for a fee.  I will review the ones I attended and give you reviews from friends that enjoyed more of the A La Carte restaurants than I did.

We started off with lunch at The Local Bar & Grill, one of the complimentary restaurants.  I remember enjoying this place a lot of last time I was on the Bliss, but it didn’t seem quite as good this time. Burgers were good, but most of our group was not impressed.  I did go back once for breakfast and I had a pretty good omelet.

The Manhattan Room, Taste, and Savor are the other complimentary dining rooms.  All three have the same menu, so the choice comes down to service.  We frequented Savor because of one server who was great.  The food was almost always good, except the Southern fried chicken, (more like shake and bake chicken). They did have a good selection of seafood, my favorite, which I enjoyed often.  The salmon was delicious.  I did get a pretty good New York steak also.  I don’t eat sugar, so my go to dessert is a cheese plate, which I was able to get.

A couple of the specialty dining options were included in the Free at Sea promo for our booking. 

Some of our group went to Cagney’s Steakhouse the first night.  I went there the last time I was on the Bliss, so I wanted to try something different.  They did enjoy their dinner very much.

Second night we did Teppanyaki, the hibachi restaurant.  Always very entertaining, but I think I have just done it too many times to be too impressed anymore.  All my friends enjoyed their meal, and the steak and chicken looked delicious. I chose to not eat the rice; I think it upset the chef!  And of course, I ordered the seafood.  My shrimp and scallops were cooked way before the calamari, which was the  last item cooked and was overcooked.  By the time I got it the rest of my food was cold.  I had Calamari a few times on the ship, and it was always overcooked, rubbery.  I know it is hard to get right, cooks so fast.  I will probably skip Teppanyaki next time.

My cabin mates and I did go to Los Lobos, the Mexican restaurant one night.  That was amazing!!  They come to the table to make your guacamole, which is fun. I told her I don’t like tomatoes, and she made a separate bowl just for me.  I had the seafood enchiladas, SOOOO good, and the street corn was perfect!! There was so much food, we couldn’t eat it all, and I was stuffed! I learned something I didn’t know they did.  We were running late for the show, so they offered to plate up our leftovers and deliver it to our cabin!  We could have enjoyed a midnight snack, but I was still stuffed from dinner at midnight. 

The only other specialty restaurant I have been to is Q Texas Smokehouse when I was on the NCL Encore a couple of years ago.  It was delicious, I would have gone there again easy.  Their brisket was so tender and yummy! 

The other specialty dining available were:

• Food Republic, where you go for sushi but they also serve dishes from around the world. Maybe try that one next time.
• Ocean Blue-Seafood Restaurant, and no I didn’t try it, but my companions weren’t seafood lovers like me. 

La Cucina-the Italian restaurant.  Friends of mine that were on the Bliss the week after us did try this place and said it was fantastic. And Micheal did say the calimari was perfect! Maybe because I complained the week before, maybe!

• American Diner, burgers, and Le Bistro, French, are up on Deck 17.  I was never tempted to pay for a burger, and honestly didn’t even know the French restaurant was up there.  Big ship, you miss things

Also available, for a fee, are Starbucks, Coco’s, Dolce Gelato, and The Bake Shop.  My friends did enjoy some of the ice cream creations at Coco’s, a couple of times.

Entertainment

I will say there was no lack of things to do, something, somewhere was always going on.  The usual game shows, like the Love and Marriage show (VERY entertaining!).  The bands on the ship were fantastic, especially enjoyed Back in the Day. https://www.backinthedayband.org/  They performed in the theater and later in the week on the pool deck. 70’s & 80’s music and we loved it.  

There is a small venue called the Cavern where a Beatles group performs, but it was so crowded early so we couldn’t stay to see the show. The group did play in the theater the last night, and they were good, and it was a lot of fun.   All the bands throughout the ship were very good.

Comedians were good, but one did the same show for the adult show that he did for the family show, only with some cuss words thrown in.  The other comedian was just ok for the family show but changed his act up A LOT and was hilarious for the adult show.

And the best of all the shows is the Broadway production of Jersey Boys!  I saw it a couple of times the last time I was on the Bliss, and it did not disappoint this time either.  They really did a fantastic job. A must see!!

PORTS

Puerta Vallarta

I have been here several times and have always had a good time.  First time I did ziplining (17 years ago) at Los Veronos, and it was fantastic.  Couple years ago, we did the pirate ship excursion, that was a lot of fun, included food and drink and some time at a beach.  This time we did the best of all, the Dolphin Encounter.  It was awesome, interacting with a grandma dolphin and even getting to ride on her.  The trainer was very good and knowledgeable. 

Mazatlán

We did the ship excursion to Stone Island.  I have done it before, but it has changed. The beach is very nice, but so many vendors bugging you.  I ran out of money quickly!  The food was very good, but the drinks were definitely watered down.  I did go in the water, even though everyone else said it was too cold.  I loved it.

Cabo San Lucas

We did the Chileno Bay Snorkeling tour.  Highly recommend!  Great boat tour past Lover’s beach and a long ride to snorkeling area.  So much fun, and on the way back drinks were plentiful and strong! The crew were so much fun and guests from the ship were ready to party. 

Pre pandemic, I used to book my excursions privately. There are advantages to doing it either way.

Shipboard through the cruise line:

• excursions are more expensive.
• They guarantee the ship doesn’t leave without you.
• Transportation is all arranged

Private excursions you book on your own:

• Less expensive
• Sometimes more options available
• If you miss the ship, you are SOL

My friends that were on the Bliss following our cruise did book private tours and were very happy.   Cabo they did Tour the Arch through Envatours and they had a wonderful time and at a great price. Roberto met them right off the boat and escorted them through to the boat.   https://www.envatours.com/los-cabos-tour-to-the-arch/?fbclid=IwAR2LZR1wwZV4Sf9XwtVuNjDZqlr3FR7xovt709ZZtpAZKzZmyfUG0C9012g

My friend Micheal loved the taxis in Mazatlán.

Have to say I have never had an issue, whichever way I went. Now that the pandemic is done, I think I will go back to booking private tours, to save money.  I do like to support the locals as well.

The day after we got back, I boarded another ship, Royal Caribbeans Navigator of the Seas! 

Can’t wait to share that adventure with you!!