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It´s The Sanctuary with Princess. MSC has the Top 19 Exclusive Solarium (which is also for the Aurea Experience but you can pay for it too). NCL has the Vibe Beach Club. The Retreat is the new suite area with Celebrity Cruises. steamboats

Royal Caribbean had a lot of problems with the Allure of the Seas´ azipods and the bearings. So it´s definitely not just NCL. steamboats

Se here´s a little more about the MS Mozart and her future with Riverside. Sorry, but the text is in German so you need to use an online translation. steamboats

Schengen is a "closed" area. So assuming you are flying into Barcelona directly there will be only one passport control for the whole trip and that one will be at the airport in Barcelona. So just one stamp. In case you´re flying via - let´s say - Frankfurt the passport control will be in Frankfurt as all flights within the Schengen area are regarded as "domestic" flights. On this itinerary you will keep your passport and the cruise line won´t keep it (unless there is a special situation like the G7 meeting). Technically and legally you are required to take your passport onshore as this is the only legal document. Driver licenses are not accepted in Europe. The only other legal document would be an EU ID card (but as you are from the US you don´t have any). There are definitely no passport controls when you disembark the ship on route and not even when you finally disembark in Barcelona. The next one to check your passport will be the airline (and in Spain you also need the passport at the gate when boarding). steamboats

No, Prima does not have Howl at the Moon / dueling pianos. steamboats

We´re not allowed to promote any FB groups here on CC. steamboats

Read this in a FB group too and it was confirmed by other group members. There was a talk about one or two small engine room fires and multiple black outs in The Haven suites (with full lights on when the power came back in the middle of the night). "The Drop" is one of the new attractions on the Norwegian Prima and it´s a dry slide not a water slide. So of course the people are talking about it because they wanted to try it out. steamboats

I know it´s not active but they did take all shore tours off their lists which involved any kind of volcanoes. Even those which have been not active for centuries. steamboats

Well, you have to see it from their perspective... They don´t want to act as a cruise line but a hotel brand. Same with Ritz-Carlton´s Evrima... and there´s another luxury hotel brand which recently announced that they are building a small luxury cruise ship. I assume we´re not the target group ;-). steamboats

Plus the outside area has not many tables where you can really eat. Only the ones along the glass front of the Indulge Food Hall have tables where you can eat. All other furniture are loungers or sofas with pretty small tables. steamboats

It´s not geared to cruisers but their hotel guests. steamboats

Yes, the ship is going to Vienna for a media presentation/event tonight. Then she´s heading back to Linz. Their main focus are their existing hotel guests. They now have four price models on the website. "Full Board" which includes the meals and water. And "all inclusive" option which includes a beverage package and afternoon coffee/waffles. And then you can have both packages with one excursion at each port. steamboats

Didn´t the whole RCG stop all volcano tours after the incident in New Zealand? I thought they never offered any volcano activities since. steamboats

The ship is built in Finland... if there is a TA then it may start in Southampton. To go South you have to cross the gulf of Biscaye which is usually pretty rough especially during winter. Even the Azores can be rough by that time of the year. So to get to the South it will take a couple of days... steamboats

TUI Cruises is German but TUI River Cruises is UK 😉 steamboats

Gee, seems like they change the plans frequently... I did have a recent report that the direct bus is not running anymore (within the last two weeks). And it definitely was discontinued when they reopened Largo della Pace. steamboats

Do you really want to do a TA in early January??? steamboats

No, it´s reported several times that they are not running the direct PortLink anymore but are back to the Largo della Pace and two shuttles. Largo della Pace was used for Covid-tests and not available when cruising resumed. Therefore they have installed the direct bus. But the area is now available again (since late May/early June) and so they are back with the two busses. steamboats

No the shuttle is running from the train station to Largo della Pace (2 Euro single ride). Then you have to switch to another free shuttle to your ship. steamboats

Here´s a video about Ocean Cay - my DH was there a few weeks ago. steamboats

I hardly used my internet package. Internet was pretty slow. You only need the package when leaving port. My data plan was much faster in ports. steamboats

We were told that the Vibe Bar will be open for everyone in the evenings. I don´t know whether this is the case now. On the christening cruise we could make reservations for the Comedy show but not for Syd´s. You may mix this up... The entertainment crew did use Syd´s as the place to go where you can make reservations for all other shows (so Syd´s was used as the "Box Office"). The Bird, thanks for taking us with you! steamboats

It´s the nature of the river that there can be high or low water. And this is not a problem which is just happening in Europe. Currently the Upper Mississippi River has an extreme low water situation and Viking had to shorten the cruise there. I had low and high water on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers multiple times on my cruises. My shortest river cruise lasted for 23 hours on the Danube river. That´s Mother Nature... steamboats

No, no similar venue on Prima. Available at the Penrose Bar in the Atrium. steamboats

I can confirm there is no fire pit - at least not yet. This is the area shown on the renderings on the Indulge Outdoor Area. steamboats