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The Signature Taste is one dish from one of the specialty restaurants for an upcharge of 15 Dollar. Then there´s also the Signature Taste menu from the Great Cruise Cook Off which had no upcharge. You can find the menu here. steamboats

On the christening cruise there was live music in the Atrium next to the Penrose Bar and in The Local Bar in front of the big screen. We didn´t have any live music in the Metropolitan Bar. steamboats

There are triangles on the carpet and the tip is towards the bow. steamboats

I don´t have high expectations... it´s about functionality. There´s a high risk to break something when the wire drawers block the door. And I did... so I do speak out of experience. Plus it´s less storage place in the drawers compared to a regular shelf. I do like the "space" of the cabin itself and the design. But some kinks are there... the bathroom door is slamming pretty hard and you don´t want to have anything inbetween... finger, arm... Also the cabin door is opening to the inside where the open hanging space is. There´s a small gap where you can squeeze in your hand or arm. steamboats

Actually the wire drawers were a nuisance for us. A regular shelf would give you more storage space. If you did not close the wire drawer properly the sliding door was blocked... There was no hanging space for longer dresses or slacks. They were all way too short. With the bathroom door opening into the aisle you always had to check whether no one is standing in front of the wardrobe. Otherwise you hit your cabin mate (in my case my DH). steamboats

As I wasn´t solo traveling 😉. There´s even an art tour you can do on your own. There are QR codes next to some of the art pieces which you can scan. Unfortunately I didn´t have the time to check it out. I added two photos to my photos of the Observation Lounge (see here). steamboats

@MrMarvin thanks for your balanced review! Sounds like they really had a rough start and weren´t well prepared. steamboats

We didn´t even had this... both nightstands were open ones... see here. Just the one in the vanity desk. steamboats

It´s not just NCL charging for name changes. Airlines do that too. steamboats

1) They did broadcast Kool & The Gang and Chaka Khan on the pre inaugural in The Local and Syds and some more places. So this is doable. 2) We had two shows per night. 3) - 4) In the theater there were several rows blocked for Haven guests and they were let in first. But they don´t fill up the whole theater and take the seats of those who have a reservation. For Improv you can make reservations too. So get your reservations and be there early. steamboats

Exactly! steamboats

You can also sit down in Indulge Food Hall for breakfast 😉 steamboats

Actually it´s an EU law to charge the VAT. But Spain (and in some way Italy) are the only ones who enforce this. The Spanish VAT (10% or 21%) will be added for the whole cruise for closed loop cruises out of a Spanish port which has no non EU port on the itinerary (like Gibraltar, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia). For all other cruises (like out of Southampton which is non EU anyway) you are only charged the VAT when you are within the 3 mile zone of a Spanish port or in a Spanish port. steamboats

Hmm, Gregor Gerlach is one of the founders and co-investors of Vapiano (Italian restaurant franchise system)... which filed for bankrupcty in April 2021 and is now back again with a different menu and less locations. And now he´s running a river cruise ship... At least the article says something about a beverage package. But then you can bundle the cruise with a shore excursion package... Looking at the prices I´d expect beverages and shore excursions to be included. steamboats

There should be taxis available although 7:46 am is pretty tough to make. A 6 am arrival doesn´t mean that you are really able to leave the ship at 6 am. steamboats

Low and high water happens also on the Mississippi river system... And as I wrote before, it´s no just Viking not telling their customers in time when a cruise has to be altered. My last cruise ended up to be Cincinnati to St. Louis instead of St. Paul to St. Louis due to low water. And how did we learn about it... actually by an email of a friend who was in contact with the captain (a friend of both of us). We told the cruise line that our cruise will be changed (and we had to change our flights from Germany). Anyway, although I haven´t found any reliable data it also looks like Viking did the same as they´ve done here in Europe. They didn´t listen to the experts and so the Viking Mississippi´s draft is a bit deeper than the draft of other river cruise ships. Viking also insisted on docking areas and many communities built them while the others did it the old style and used the ones which were there using a stage. Viking does not have a Mississippi river style stage / gangplank on their ship. They can´t "choke a stump" meaning tie up the boat to a tree somewhere and the passengers walk over the stage onto land. Also with high water they will have a problem. steamboats

Onboard Norwegian Prima they had Limoncello in the Observation Lounge. I had asked for a Lemon Drop Martini and the bar tender apologized that she doesn´t have the flavored vodka she would usually use but just lime juice. I told her that we make it with regular vodka and limoncello. She answered that she has limoncello and I should tell her next time so she can make it for me. So next time I ordered the Lemon Drop Martini with limoncello. steamboats

Although I do like the sustainable cocktails it´s not that I want them every night. Also the more or less 5 cocktails at the Whiskey Bar were very nice. But they definitely should "upgrade" the Belvedere Bar with a full bar menu. The Penrose Bar is way to small and also serves the casino. So to have a larger range of cocktails we ended up in the Observation Bar at night which was almost empty. I also like the new cocktails at the Vibe Beach Bar. But I prefer my cocktails in proper glasses (which can be non breakble but not the single use plant based cups). As a martini lover I did miss a bar with a wider range of martinis. The former signature cocktails are more or less all gone - Rebellious Fish, the various mojitos... The Indulge Food Hall is great but as well as the Surfside Café it´s a bit too small. There are only a few outside tables which are suitable for eating (although the outside area is pretty large). The Soleil Bar is also a great place but also with limited bar menu and those cups... I assume we have to wait and see whether the bar concept and the food concept (especially the not changing menu in Hudson´s and Commodore Room) will work out. steamboats

They said onboard that it´s still coming. steamboats

I have 😉 - see here. steamboats

BTW, Royal Caribbean has dropped the tests for Greece yesterday. I haven´t seen anything for NCL yet. steamboats

There´s no dedicated Martini Bar onboard Norwegian Prima. The Oberservation Lounge Bar has martinis. I asked for a Lemon Drop Martini, an Espresso Martini and a Cosmo (o.k. not really a martini). The Penrose Bar may have them too. I´ve never been there as it´s usually pretty crowded there and not too many seats. steamboats

No, English is one language spoken in the EU - currently only by one little island, Malta. The EU has 24 different official languages. Working languages are English, French and German. steamboats

Did they already install Starlink onboard Beyond? My DH has been on the Freedom of the Seas two weeks ago which was the try out ship and it was excellent. We did a video call via WhatsApp. No problems at all. steamboats

You can find all bar menus of the POA here. steamboats