“Are you here with your husband?” This is a question I recently overheard — from a fellow traveler to a young lady on the Norwegian Cruise Line Cruise Ship Bliss. We celebrated New Years and our anniversary with the family and 5,800 other passengers and staff in the Western Caribbean.
The Norwegian Bliss started sailing in 2018 and just entered dry dock for a three-week complete refurbishment. It is part of the Breakaway-Plus class and has the capacity to hold over 4,000 passengers with 2,200 cabins. The ship has an overall length of 1,094 feet (or approximately three football fields), width of 136 feet and 20 decks. It has a height equivalent to a 15-story building.
The family-oriented ship features some 18 restaurants, 20 bars, two shows and many other activities. It took me a couple of days to figure out where everything was. My daily routine was rowing while overlooking the ocean portside in their massive gym, getting coffee for Carol (they even had a Starbucks) and placing towels to reserve chairs around the pool. Then it was breakfast at a buffet, which included my daily, fresh croissant.
The Bliss is a foodie traveler’s dream ship. Numerous restaurants on board come with unique cuisines and atmospheres. Their “Freestyle Dining” program allows you flexibility with no fixed dining times or pre-assigned seating. Dress up. Dress down. Sit with your friends, or make new ones. Dine inside or oceanside along the waterfront. There are various dining and beverage plans to consider when booking. All the restaurants had the same wine list with a wide range of prices and wines The dining staff are international, and at a session I attended on “Managing a Floating Hotel,” I learned that most of the chefs were from India. The Garden Café buffet featured numerous Indian dishes.
There is no longer a midnight buffet but “The Local” is a 24-hour eatery on Deck 7. The Local offers classic pub fare in a relaxed pub atmosphere. With popular dishes like chicken pot pie, fish n’ chips and daily dinner specials like prime rib, The Local has all your favorite comfort foods.
The Garden Café is a massive buffet on Deck 16. Whatever you’re craving, you will find it at the Garden Café. This indoor restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner — and the floor-to-ceiling windows provide picturesque ocean views. You also have the option to bring your food from the buffet out to the pool deck where there are tables.
The three main inclusive, white-tablecloth dining rooms are the Savor, Taste and Manhattan. The dinner menus were the same for the three and changed nightly. We were a group of eight and never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a table.
Specialty dining restaurants have fees and/or are included with premium dining packages. We dined at two of them, Teppanyaki and Le Bistro.
Teppanyaki featured flying shrimp, onion volcanoes, twirling knives and group singing led by the chef. We all sat around a lively shared table as the skillful chef sliced, chopped and grilled steak, seafood and chicken on a large steel grill right before our eyes.
Romance was in the air as Carol and I celebrated our anniversary in their signature French restaurant, Le Bistro. Situated toward the top of the ship among floor-to-ceiling windows, the restaurant offers spectacular views. Elegant interiors, crisp white linens and attentive servers make this an intimate dining experience.
Other themed, specialty restaurants on the ship were Cagney’s Steakhouse, Italian dining at La Cucina and Ocean Blue for seafood. Room service is available for a small service charge.
We did not try it, but Coco’s, which serves chocolate treats on Deck 6, looked interesting. It has savory chocolate pralines, crepes, coffees and more types of divine treats than there are days of your cruise.
For those planning a cruise, I would recommend selecting a cabin that is mid-ship (above and below other rooms), close to the elevators and not a room above or below any of the restaurants or bars. I would also avoid being underneath the pool deck. If you have any motion sickness issues, mid-ship cabins are more stable.
For the kids and families, there is a racetrack, multiple water slides, bowling, laser tag, miniature golf, family karaoke and kids’ camps. For adults, I counted 16 bars, a comedy club, a club with Beatles impersonators and live entertainment everywhere. We saw the full production of the Jersey Boys with a very talented cast in the ship’s theater. In the casino, Carol won 37 cents one night on the penny slots.
In a session I attended led by the captain, he was asked why the ships are getting so large. His response was, “It’s all about demand. It was not long ago that around 2,500 people would be cruising weekly in Alaska, and now in-season, there are over 100,000.” I can see why. The service provided by the staff was exceptional. I think they are trained to try to never say “no” to a request. A cruise provides a weeklong vacation with new adventures daily and never having to repack your luggage.
One final note — next time you complain about your gas mileage, keep in mind that our captain reported theirs was 17 feet for every gallon of fuel.
Bon voyage, and I hope to see you on a future cruise!
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Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management and Baking/Pastry, and non-credit cooking and food classes through ͷapp Community Education.
Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.