schmoopie17

No mention of the fee? If I recall correctly, others mentioned a ($50??) fee. In any case, thanks for digging into this and explaining the process. It seems that this has been a mystery around here for a while.

For your convenience...of course.

Never done it, but I seem to recall others saying there is a fee involved and it isn't worth it and you're better off booking your own flights.

Also depends where you're flying from.

All the Mary Janes on CC will be offended...

Unless you want drinks in the Mediterranean. *VAT can of worms opened* Sorry...couldn't help myself.

We've been on the Escape twice (including a 16 day Transatlantic)...and have booked it again for next September. As you can see, we hate it...😁

Yes, the outside seating at the Local is a plus. Unfortunately, my memory of sitting out there was having to return the fish and chips because the fish on the inside was black. Seriously inedible. On the other hand, the wings (which routinely get blasted on CC) were actually pretty good. They somehow managed to get them crispy.

This is the only ship I've seen that had the Local bar smack dab in a walkway. This resulted in people passing by trying to belly up to an already overcrowded, understaffed bar. It's not an exaggeration to say that there were 30 people jammed in there with two bartenders. Wait times were off the charts. Also, the enclosed dining area in the Prima Local is claustrophobic...unlike those the large, airy Local or O'Sheahan's on the Escape, etc., where you can sit around the curved railing overlooking the atrium.

People talk about the "wheelchair pushers". Am I allowed to push my wife in the airport wheelchair that we requested from the airline, or do we need a "pusher"?

You've captured Prima in a nutshell. Your experience pretty much mirrored ours...especially the creaking of our balcony wall and the inconsistency of the food. Don't get me started about the awful traffic flow and the unfortunate placement of the Local bar in a main thoroughfare.

And taking your picture when checking in online is always an adventure, as well.

Questions like "Is it worth...?" are all relative. And personal. What may be worth it to some people isn't worth it to others. Looks like you got answers to your other more specific questions.

But this doesn't explain why your account didn't reflect your Veteran status. Or if it WAS there, why your PCC missed it. Or if it WAS there, why the fare wasn't automatically adjusted to reflect the 10% discount. It's not an email issue at all.

For what it's worth, we booked the Epic for next September. Another couple who has never cruised before was going with us. Long story short, we ended up canceling and re-booking the Escape. Since they were first time cruisers, we figured they would have a better experience on the Escape. (There were other reasons for canceling...itinerary, cost, etc.) but this was a big one).

Not sure what this has to do with the topic at hand...but welcome to CC

We used to use an online TA and they required you to input your passport info at the time of making the reservation. Why can't NCL do it if it's needed?

My issue isn't regarding the passport requirement. However, knowing that a passport is required, why would their system not be set up to have you input the passport info. This whole mess could be avoided with a simple system tweak.

But the cruise line doesn't have to know the required documentation and lets people check in without it?????? They do this thousands of times a day. Shouldn't they (or their check-in system) know better?

If that's the case, NCL should not have allowed check-in without a passport. This is on them.

But you don't show your passport when getting off the ship for the day in any port that I'm aware of.

Check out the discussion here... EDIT: Never mind...looks like you already found it.

Looks like someone else is in the same boat, so to speak.

If you ask me (and you sort of did)...Escape all the way. It's our second favorite ship (we will be on her a third time next year).

Didn't you know that the safest place to be on a ship "taking on water" in a raging storm is an open deck? OOPS...there I go, adding to this seemingly endless discussion.