Sitting in the forward Observation Lounge, we watched the Norwegian Bliss exit the LA Harbor. Passing the entrance to the harbor, we were in our cabin and could see the sun setting over the ocean. The picture of Patty on our balcony, seen on the Vacation page, was taken at this time.
Wandering the ship on the first evening - there were just over 1100 passengers and 1700 crew on a ship capable of holding almost 5000 paying passengers - the three story atrium with hanging chandelier was a focal point for shopping, gambling, and eating.
Our balcony cabin wasn't large, but it was very tasteful and efficient. The view forward and aft wasn't bad either. The protrusion left is the bridge.
We visited the Observation Lounge on the 15th deck several times. It was quite large and wrapped around the front of the ship and about a quarter of the way back. When food wasn't being served in the buffet on the 16th deck, there was food provided here.
The 16th deck was the main outside area topside. The outdoor theater screen, the two swimming pools, and aquatic area were all located on this deck.
Indoors there was a Starbucks, a bowling alley, along with all manner of eating places. With so few passengers many lounging deck chairs remained stacked for the voyage.
Arriving in Cabo San Lucas, the tender gave us a great view of the Bliss from several angles.
In our short time ashore, we took and excursion around The Arches and up the Pacific side of Cabo.
Many small boats took people right up to this famous landmark, but not so many were visible from the Pacific side. We did see our ship through the ricks.
On the Pacific side we see Craig taking a drink of water???
Finally, here's Craig reading on the way back.
The 16th deck of the Bliss has several family fun attractions. There is an aqua 'drop' to the left - you drop about 3 decks before whipping through a water tube over the side of the ship. The tube aqua loops on the right are much calmer, but also loop over the edge of the ship. Then there is a children's water play area with slides and tipping buckets for fun play.
To the right is a Lazer Tag maze that is only used at night. Two teams of three compete until a winner is determined, then it starts over again. This, and the Go Cart racing below cost extra to play. The picture on the left is taken from a railing around the Lazer Tag area.
Bliss Speedway has two levels and Craig took the Go Cart out for an eight minute spin, finishing in the middle of the pack of eight.
The Bliss has two buffet areas on the upper decks and four complimentary dining rooms on decks 6 and 7. The Manhattan and the Local Pub are on deck 7, while two entirely different restaurant layouts (Savor and Taste) are on deck 6.
Complimentary dining in the Manhattan dining room - looking from above,
then from our table - both forward and aft.
There are 5 restaurants that cost extra on the Bliss. Each has a unique menu and theme. Cagney's is a steak house, Los Lobos is Mexican, La Cucina is Italian, Le Bistro is French, and Teppanyaki is a Japanese grill where the chefs show off for everyone.
Three of the restaurants are on deck 8, location of a promenade around the ship called the Waterfront. For each of these restaurants the customer can choose to eat inside or outside - Patty is shown here in front of Cagney's outside dining.
Our last night we ate at Teppanyaki - it was our best eating experience.
There are several theater/club areas spread around the Bliss - primarily on decks 6 through 8.
This Beatles Tribute Band played in a small club called - appropriately The Cave - and graduated to the large Bliss Theater for the performance show left.
They were quite good and we got to see them in both The Cave and the Bliss Theater - the shows were different.
High up at the stern of the ship is a bar and hot tub area called H2O Spice. There is this water feature in this area that Patty is standing in front of. The water is cascading down to a wet bed that people can wander about on.
Here Craig is using the pub to complete his luggage tags prior to repacking our things on the last day.
We didn't get off the ship at Ensenada, but got these beautiful pictures.
The first is from the Waterfront deck looking into the early morning mist.
The second is from the deck 20 platform at the entrance to the aquatic slide. A container ship was being moved to it's dock just across from us. Notice the area between the communication globes on the 20th deck - this is the Lazer Tag area.
Finally we get a sunset shot just before we leave Ensenada.
The last night of the cruise was a full moon. This was the view from our cabin.
One last trip around the upper decks late at night. The ship is very pretty at night. Here we see the aqua areas and the big outdoor screen.
This last photo was taken early in the morning, while the ship was offshore of Orange County - approaching the Los Angeles berth.