Several brand-new cruise ships will be entering service in 2018 and the one I'm most excited about is the Norwegian Bliss.
With the recent expansion of the Panama Canal, it's now much easier for cruise lines to position mega cruise ships on the west coast of the United States.
I'm a California boy, so I'm really excited to see that Norwegian's newest ship is going to be coming to Los Angeles.
NCL specifically designed the Norwegian Bliss for cruises in Alaska...
But the Alaska cruising season is only a little more than three months long...
So, for the rest of the year she'll be doing some Pacific coast cruises, Mexican Riviera cruises...
And shuttling back and forth through the Panama Canal to be able to do some Caribbean cruises, too.
I've become such a fan of Norwegian Cruise Line in recent years!
The last four cruises I've done with NCL have been fantastic.
And I really like the design of their latest ships.
So, I can't wait to get onboard the new Norwegian Bliss... and I'm booked on one of her very first cruises.
In fact, it'll be the very first time that she'll cruise through the Panama Canal.
Our cruise will start in Miami, and end in Los Angeles.
So, for me, I'll be flying out from LA to Miami...
And the Norwegian Bliss is going to bring me back home.
I like that idea!
In this video, I'm going to try to show you why I'm so excited about the Norwegian Bliss.
Just remember that at the point I'm making this video, the Norwegian Bliss is still under construction...
So, actual photos and videos of her completed features don't exist yet.
So, in this video I'm going to use artist's renderings and animations supplied by Norwegian Cruise Line...
As well as a few pictures from sister ships to illustrate my points.
Let me start by showing you a rendering of the cabin that my wife and I will be staying in.
At first glance, it probably looks pretty much like a standard balcony cabin, but...
Actually, there's something special about the type of cabin that we've booked...
And it's better than just a regular balcony cabin.
It's what's known as a "spa mini suite"... and "spa" is the most important word in that phrase.
By booking a spa cabin, we'll have complete access to one of the best features on the Norwegian Bliss:
The thermal suite, in the spa.
Norwegian's been building nice thermal suites in the spas of their ships ever since the Jewel-class more than 10 years ago...
And they've been getting better and better with each new ship!
The thermal suite on the Norwegian Bliss looks like it's going to be the most beautiful and most comfortable yet.
Here's a video that I shot in the thermal suite on the Norwegian Escape, last year.
We enjoyed spending time in this warm thermal pool every day... and that was only a seven day cruise.
Our Panama Canal cruise on the Norwegian Bliss will be 14 days...
And relaxing in the thermal suite is going to be one of my favorite daily activities, I'm sure.
Notice those big picture windows on the left side of this rendering...
And the heated tile loungers lined up to give you a great view out those windows.
Can you imagine watching the ship go through one of the locks of the Panama Canal from here? I can!
But from what I can tell in examining the deck plans for the Norwegian Bliss...
There's one key difference regarding that view out the picture windows of the thermal suite.
On the last three Norwegian ships, the thermal suite was at the front of the ship.
But from what I can tell on Norwegian Bliss, it's going to be at the back end of the ship.
So, the view out those windows will be of what's behind the ship.
And it looks like the reason they moved the spa to the back of the ship...
Was to make way for something the other ships don't have...
An observation lounge with a spectacular view forward.
It'll take up the entire front end of deck 15.
I'm sure the idea behind this larger observation area was for Alaska cruises...
To provide a warm indoor area where people could comfortably enjoy the view.
But I think it'll be great for Panama Canal cruises, too, because...
It'll be a comfortable air-conditioned place to avoid the heat without missing the views.
Another great place for viewing the Panama Canal (or Alaska) on Norwegian Bliss...
Is a two-story observation lounge on deck 17 and 18 forward called "the Horizon Lounge".
But the Horizon Lounge is for the exclusive use of guests staying within "The Haven"...
NCL's exclusive, un-crowded, and pricey VIP area of the ship.
We've stayed within The Haven on three of our previous NCL cruises and absolutely loved it.
But the word has gotten out about The Haven in recent years.
Demand for cabins within the Haven has increased and the prices are quite a bit higher now than they were for a while there.
And since our Panama Canal cruise is 14 days, the price for even the least expensive room in The Haven was completely out of reach for us.
So, that's why we'll be in a spa cabin, not a Haven suite, for this cruise.
Something I'm really looking forward to trying out on the Norwegian Bliss is the go-kart track.
This is certainly something you wouldn't expect to find on a cruise ship, but there will indeed be one on Norwegian Bliss.
In addition to my wife, one of my sisters will be on this cruise with us.
I'm looking forward to racing both of them on the go-karts on Norwegian Bliss.
Along the same lines... the Bliss will continue NCL's tradition of offering the best water slides at sea on their newest ships.
If somebody in your family likes water slides, you shouldn't be cruising with any of the other cruise lines.
Norwegian is definitely the cruise line with the best water slides!
I've made a lot of money off of advertising revenue from YouTube videos about water slides on cruise ships.
Three of my YouTube videos about cruise ship water slides have gone viral with more than a million views.
One of them has had over 93 million views!
So, I am going to plant myself at the Norwegian Bliss' waterslides with my video camera...
And see if I can get lightning to strike a fourth time!
Looking back over all 42 cruises I've ever done...
I'd have to say that some of the best food experiences I've ever had have been on Norwegian.
On most cruises, my wife and I just eat our meals in the buffet, but...
On NCL, we find ourselves eating dinner in the specialty restaurants much more often than we do on other cruise lines...
Because the restaurants on NCL are so good!
There's a Brazilian steakhouse that I've totally loved on my previous NCL cruises.
Cagney's... A regular American-style steakhouse.
La Cucina... the Italian restaurant.
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville... with a pretty great plate of nachos!
Plus, the Bliss will have several new restaurants that we haven't seen on our previous NCL cruises.
There's a Texas smokehouse called "Q". I'm really excited about that one!
Los Lobos... a new Mexican restaurant. I've seen the menu and it looks great!
Another restaurant I look forward to returning to on NCL is the Manhattan Room.
No extra charge... It's basically just one of their main dining rooms. But I like that they have a band that plays there.
And the food has always been good on my visits during previous NCL cruises.
Another thing I really like about dining on the newer NCL ships is that there's outdoor seating along what they call "The Waterfront".
Having the option to eat outside on a warm evening... especially if you time your meal for sunset... really makes it special!
Well, this video's really just scratched the surface of what's so special about the Norwegian Bliss.
Look for many more videos about the Norwegian Bliss on my YouTube channel, after we return.
And a comprehensive review of our cruise on my web site at JimZim.net somewhere around the beginning of June 2018.
I'm Jim Zim. Here are links to some videos from my previous NCL cruises that I think you'd like.
Thanks for watching!