Seas2mountains

Abba and Bee Gees dance party in Prima Club. Do you get extra cool points for dancing with your bus excursion sticker still on your shirt?!? 🤣

Thank you! Yes, it was a lot of food in Palomar. They said it was baked at 400 degrees. We like how Alvin had kept the atrium entertainment to be mostly the duos - Duo Essence and Duo Riko with Familiar Strangers to finish the night. We did not care for the CD on the Gem who used the atrium during prime time for Deal or No Deal when the theater was a better venue. We also met him at the VIP party. Well the only officer we met and he has remembered us and our names since that meeting. Wow on the unexpected credits. We don’t expect any from this cruise. We should be okay on charge as we have a morning flight on Thursday. I struggled keeping a charge in the UK on our own excursions needing Apple Maps so my husband and I took turns so it made it last.

Thank you, Mandy! We appreciate the prayers! We will be on Pride of America in September and we will go on Viva out of Puerto Rico and Joy out of LA in December. Do you have a cruise planned this year or next year?

You’re welcome. Sadly, we have one full day left until we get kicked off the ship early on Thursday morning.

Thank you! Yes, we would recommend Vibe and Thermal Spa passes if the budget allows. Have a wonderful cruise!

My mistake. I see the Executive Chef. Halilur Mohamed.

Any other questions? I have a lot of Prima photos taken the first morning that I have not posted but will once we have more time. It will probably be once we are at the airport. I still need to post photos from beautiful Bruges.

So sorry Henry and Mandy @www3traveler for the delay in getting the AGM and Executive Chef info AGM - Nomita Ranbhunjan Executive Chef - not listed on the photo I took but there may have been updates. I’ll check tomorrow. Sorry, Henry, I think I may have seen Nomita this evening but wasn’t sure if it was her. If I run into Nomita or Adrian, I will let them know you and Susan say hello.

We enjoyed time in the mostly quiet thermal spa. We both think Prima has the best thermal spa of any ship and we expect Viva is likely the same. While it was a little chilly yesterday in Akureyri, we still enjoyed a few hours in the Vibe as the sun made it tolerable and it was fairly busy compared to other previous days.

We had dinner in Palomar this evening. I have read the CC reviews from others about their experience with food at this restaurant. We were pleasantly surprised to be seated at a table with beautiful views by the big windows. We had a later reservation and expected all the good tables would have been taken as the restaurant was mostly full. When my husband read the menu, he asked about sharing the fish for two. I was happy to hear that as I had read good feedback about that menu item and it was what I preferred, too. We were told it would take 45 minutes for it to be cooked after we ordered it. My husband said well after the long wait we had at Hasuki last night to receive our food, 45 minutes is nothing. Shortly after placing our order, the Maitre D’ (manager) for Palomar let us know she was aware of the feedback we shared about our Hasuki experience and they will likely prepare the food for those with specific preferences or dietary concerns in the kitchen so the rest of the group didn’t have to wait. Back to Palomar, we had excellent service from one or the best waiters, Marc Phillip, who also suggested a great Sauvignon Blanc which paired well with our food. The bread is grilled sourdough with olive oil with fresh oregano. We ordered the grilled octopus and seafood salad for appetizers and we both ordered the Greek salad. The Branzino fish came with grilled carrots and the fish was cut and deboned at our table which was neat to watch. We ordered grilled asparagus and the pommes puree (mashed potatoes). It was all so good and we couldn’t finish it all. We passed on desserts. We would go back to Palomar. The views, service and food were fantastic. Keep this restaurant in mind for scenic areas such as departing Amsterdam or any sail aways.

That sounds like a great tour. We loved an excursion we had in Skagway, Alaska where the guide was in costume but it wasn’t a nature walk. I’m sorry to hear you did not get to visit due to the dock issues and the fact that Prima cannot do tenders. That is crazy you had to deal with the issues and cost related to the tour cancellation. For us, Isofjordur was our least favorite port stops of the cruise.

Here are some photos from our walk around Isofjordur. We appreciated being docked as Coral Princess and NCL Star were using tenders. We know the dock is new. The small town did seem a little crowded with three ships in port. We opted out of climbing up the hill/mountain to the observation area even though the weather was good. If we were to come here again, we may check into doing an excursion.

It is a nice touch and kind of them to do this.

I agree with you that Prima has so many outdoor options that are best in warm weather environments. We were lucky to have beautiful weather in Southampton, Bruges, and Amsterdam and the outside areas were definitely being used. We were happier to get on the Prima than Dawn or Star when seeing these ships in ports this cruise.

It was operated by Forest Lagoon. Thank you for the suggestion for Sky Lagoon. A crew member said it was closer than Blue Lagoon.

Good night from Iceland and the Midnight Sun.

Yes, we did, too. We expected to pay an admissions fee and were so surprised this was not collected.

Glad you had a great time with the Jewels of the North excursion. It sounds like pre-ordering food with dietary restrictions tends to work well. So glad it sounds like it is working for you.

Thank you. Yes, I agree. We try to be sensitive but this request ruined the dining experience for seven of nine people at the table.

Well it had to happen sometime. We did not have have a great dinner experience at Hasuki tonight. In the past, when a passenger identified a food allergy or preference, the kitchen cooked their food so the rest of the table was not negatively impacted. Tonight, the chef catered to two of nine people at the table. The rest of us waited and waited. The rice was not good at all as it was modified to the preference of the two people. We stayed after dinner to speak with the maitre d’. The chef struggled to get engagement with songs as the normal flow was off track to cater to the two people. And the rest of us were a bit stunned that dinner was so delayed to take care of two people and the fact that their needs were prioritized over the seven of us who were also hungry. I felt bad for a Mom and her two tween age sons who were trying so hard to be patient but were clearly hungry. They were kind and professional but should not have been treated as if their preferences didn’t matter. I hope they learn something from our feedback as this experience could be different.

Cookies are confirmed in the Observation Lounge in the afternoon. Found two days in a row and these were the only two days we have gone there in the afternoon.

Two churches - we did not go inside. Flowers and Buildings in the downtown area of Akureyri. A yarn store. Bakery.

Next we walked to the beautiful botanical gardens. It was worth the walk uphill.

Thank you. This is the only ship where we have experienced this.

Yes, we agree. It was $50/person which is definitely less than shore excursions. My husband is tired of the busy days exploring so this was a great alternative for a few hours.