The Mexican Riviera Aboard the Norwegian Bliss

The Mexican Riviera Aboard the Norwegian Bliss

I had the pleasure of sailing on Norwegian Cruise Line in November of 2024 on the beautiful Norwegian Bliss to the Mexican Riviera. I was with four girlfriends from middle school. We all turned 60 in late 2023 and 2024 so this was a celebratory trip to honor that milestone and all our years of friendship.

We flew into Long Beach the day before our cruise sailed. I always recommend arriving in the city where your cruise begins at least one day prior to embarkation.

We booked two rooms at the Residence Inn Long Beach Downtown for the night before the cruise began. This hotel was nice and conveniently located. It was a 15-minute Uber ride from the hotel to the cruise terminal in San Pedro the following day.

The Bliss is a large ship and at double capacity, holds 4,004 passengers. That is too many people for me, but we were limited regarding a week that worked for all five of us. We had not sailed with NCL yet, so we decided this was the ship and itinerary for us. Boarding the ship that Sunday was tedious. It took 2.5 hours and was A LOT. Having been on Silversea’s Silver Nova in May (750 passengers) and Celebrity’s Solstice in July (2,200 passengers), boarding with 4,000 other people was overwhelming. We finally made it onboard but had to wait for an hour for our two staterooms to be ready. We relaxed in one of the ship’s lounges and before we knew it, we were able to access our staterooms.

We had two Club Balcony Suites for the five of us. Margaret, Becky and I shared one of them and Khris and Gweyn shared the other. They were adjoining staterooms so most of the cruise we had the door open, so we felt like we were all together. These staterooms on the Bliss are mostly located mid-ship. We had two twin beds in each room and a fold-out couch for Becky that was also a twin. Both rooms can accommodate up to three guests.The bathrooms were very nice with big showers (compared to our tiny shower on the Celebrity Solstice in July) and a nice double sink. The beds were all quite comfortable with nice bedding and great pillows. We had balconies but surprisingly, we didn’t spend much time out there. They mostly housed our wet towels and bathing suits to dry.

We had three ports on this cruise. We did an NCL shore excursion in Cabo San Lucas and we did our own thing in Puerto Vallarta. Both times getting off the ship was confusing and crowded. On the day we were disembarking in Cabo, we were given the wrong information three times before we finally figured out where to line up to board our tender. This was disappointing since they do this itinerary often and I expected it to run more smoothly.

Now, onto the good stuff which far outweighed any negative issues. The Bliss is a beautiful ship and once onboard, it did not feel crowded at all. The only place that always seemed very crowded was the main pool area, but this is to be expected. Going to the Mexican Riviera I knew the area would be a bit of a party scene and it was, but not in a bad way. People were happy and ready to have a good time! Lots of loud music, dancing and fun activities in the main pool area. If you’re not into a party atmosphere, there are many other places on the ship to enjoy comfortable lounge chairs, hot tubs and lots of sunshine. One of our favorite places on The Bliss was the Observation Lounge. We had a light breakfast up there most mornings. It was not a huge spread like the buffet, but I preferred it as I am not a big breakfast eater. We hung out there a couple of days around 5pm and only one day was it crowded. The Observation Lounge seemed to be a best kept secret on the ship. It had the most incredible views, especially at sunset.

We had dinner the first night at one of the Main Dining Rooms. There are three on the Bliss: Taste, Savor and The Manhattan Room. The food was good. On our second night we booked one of the specialty restaurants, Teppanyaki. The food here was excellent but the show was even better! Dinner is centered around a hibachi-style grill with your chef preparing dinner with his knife tricks and jokes which made us all laugh. There was singing too! This is a great way to meet fellow passengers. We had a family of four at our table and we had a wonderful time with them.

Tuesday we were in Cabo San Lucas. We had booked a shore excursion through NCL. Besides the confusion of boarding our tender, our day in Cabo was lovely. We did a luxury day sail with Cabo Adventures. This was a three-hour tour with snacks, a light lunch and drinks included (yummy margaritas!) We sailed on the turquoise waters of the Sea of Cortez. The scenery was beautiful, and we relaxed and laughed a lot. We got very lucky as our boat captain spotted a whale and her baby. We spent some extra time watching them, which was such an unexpected treat! We were told that they usually do not start seeing the whales until mid-December, so we lucked out.

Dinner that night was in The Manhattan Room, and then off to see a show. We saw “ICONS” which celebrated different eras and genres of music. The performers all had sensational voices, and we enjoyed listening to them sing familiar songs.

Wednesday was our stop in Mazatlán. Khris and Margaret did an NCL shore excursion called “Hike to the Lighthouse.” This is the highest natural working lighthouse in the world. They both really enjoyed this excursion and walked back to the ship afterwards, so they definitely got their steps in! Gweyn, Becky and I opted to remain on the ship. I was planning to sit out on our balcony and read for a bit, but we were in an industrial port, and I did not feel like looking out to large trucks and containers. I spent the morning up in the Observation Lounge and then met up with Gweyn and Becky for some sun and time in one of the ship’s six infinity hot tubs. The lounge chairs were very comfortable, and I got some reading in while looking out at the beautiful sea.

Thursday we were in Puerto Vallarta. A few of us had been there before so we decided to do our own thing rather than a shore excursion. We took an Uber into Old Town where we toured a beautiful church and shopped for a bit. I had made a lunch reservation at a restaurant called Mar Vino, a rooftop restaurant where the tables sit in a very shallow pool. It was quite humid in PV that day and after our walk to the restaurant, it sure did feel wonderful to remove our shoes and dip our feet into the refreshing pool water. The food and service were both excellent and it was another excuse for a delicious margarita. We shared fresh guacamole, salsa and chips and I had their crab enchiladas which were divine.

Friday and Saturday were both sea days. I know some people love to be in a port every day, but I LOVE my sea days! Nothing to do but relax with my friends and enjoy time on the ship. On the Bliss, you can really be as busy, lazy or anything in between as you want to be. We saw Jersey Boys on Friday night, and we were all impressed with the cast. This was an excellent show!

Saturday was the last day of our cruise, and we had booked the specialty restaurant Le Bistro for our final dinner. I booked both specialty restaurants a couple of months before our cruise. You pay for them when you book them. Le Bistro is a French restaurant, and we enjoyed it very much. I had soupe a l’oignon gratinee that had just the right amount (a lot) of gruyere cheese. My main course was their filet de boeuf and the beef tenderloin was perfectly prepared. Because this was our last night, it was somewhat bittersweet. We ended the evening dancing at Social Comedy and Night Club. The party vibe and dancing can last until 2am here, although we were not out that late.

I enjoyed my experience on NCL and especially the time I spent with my lifelong friends. The next time the five of us cruise together, we will choose a smaller ship, but we will always cherish our memories on the Norwegian Bliss.