Cruising on NCL During Retirement

 

Recently, NCL's gorgeous ship, the Bliss, has resumed sailing from Los Angeles to Mexico.  I was lucky enough to be a blogger on their first cruise since the pandemic.  It was an exciting and relaxing week.

NCL requires everyone to be fully vaccinated; there are no exceptions.  I also had my dog vaccinated before leaving.  Our local boarding facility informed us that one dog had died from a newly circulating  respiratory virus.  I wanted to make sure that Lula was protected.  There are two new vaccines available for them.  

I drove from my cottage to Long Beach.  Sunday is the ideal day for a departure, since the 405 freeway was nearly empty.  I zoomed down the freeway to the pier.  It only took an hour, which went by quickly.  Singing along with the radio, I happily anticipated a week of fun, no chores and warm sunshine.

Once I had parked at Berth 93, I was instructed to go to Berth 92 for a Covid test.  Everyone boarding the ship was required to test negative in order to be permitted on the cruise.  The procedure was very well organized and the lines moved quickly.  We were all very excited to be taking a trip after spending such a long time in lockdown.

My negative text results arrived by text  after about a twenty minute wait.  A small group of us got into the van that took us back to the loading dock.  We all wore our face coverings.  I had ordered several KN95 masks from Amazon in preparation for the journey.  

Since I just had carry on luggage, I was enjoying a delicious meal al freco from the Garden Cafe within minutes.  There was a hand washing station with hot water and soap at the entrance.  An attendant welcomed us and made sure that everyone took their turn.  The food was plentiful and delicious.  I had forgotten what a stunning ship The Bliss is.  She's so luxurious!

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