schmoopie17

Of the many things we didn't like about the Prima, the main dining room menu was right up there among our dislikes. (Along with redesigning the Local to put the bar in a main passageway where everyone and their brother tries to belly up to the bar...with 20 people already waiting at the bar, with just two bartenders.) Whoever at NCL thought these were good ideas needs a new job.

The Big C does not offer the BOGO, which was what prompted this discussion in the first place. But they do have their current promotion of free gratuities on NCL (which expires today) and a bunch of other rebates. These help offset the loss of BOGO. Having said that, we decided that having the flexibility of choosing our own flights eventually won out over the BOGO. We booked with the Big C, as opposed to booking directly with NCL. Even though we will end up paying a bit more on the bottom line after airfare, we figure it's worth it to have control over the flights. Since this is a Europe cruise, comfort on the long haul flights won out over price. Besides, we may have enough miles banked to pay for the flights by the time the cruise rolls around in a year and a half. Thanks for everyone's input.

We're looking at a round-trip cruise from Rome to Rome. Flying from O'Hare to Rome and back. Can you explain how the flights are worse on a round-trip? So, you're saying that flights are better if you fly into Rome and depart from say, Athens? We may have that option, as well.

We've used it before with no issues. It's worth trying again.

We are contemplating booking an NCL cruise through a large travel agency that offers free gratuities, cash back, yadda yadda. The one thing they don't offer is NCL's BOGO airfare. Not sure why, but that's the case. So...if we book the cruise through the agency, can we then go to NCL and book the BOGO directly through them? I did an online NCL chat and I was told that this is doable. However, I have been told other things by NCL Customer Service that turned out to be untrue. So, I'm looking for anyone with personal experience as to whether or not this is allowed. Thanks...

A couple of things: We were on one of the Prima cruises shortly after a previous cruise reported people contracting Legionnaire's Disease. NCL sent emails to us, as well as several other Prima cruises notifying passengers of this happening and what it means. To date, I haven't seen any follow-up (although I may have missed it) as to whether or not the issue causing this outbreak had been identified and resolved. As for the Prima, itself...we are not fans of the ship. There are reasons why this ship gets extremely low ratings on CC. Bar service is horrendous, our cabin creaked loudly in the middle of the night, the layout is funky, main dining room food is barely passable (and repetitive), etc., etc. I could go on, but I did a review of the Prima on the Reviews page. But as they like to say on CC...YMMV. Good luck...

Just don't wear your birthday suit in the MDR...people will make judgments.

We didn't hear anyone in the adjoining staterooms. However, our wall with the sliding balcony door creaked loudly 90% of the time the last two nights of the cruise. So much so that it woke us up (and I sleep with ear plugs). I feel sorry for whoever got that cabin the next week...and beyond.

I think @BirdTravels misread his calendar when he posted this thread. April Fools isn't for at least another week.

I'm going to start referring to snail mail as escargots mail. Sounds classier...

The formal night question gates asked at least once a month, along with the standard answers. Having said that, I'll give my standard answer. If people want to waste valuable suitcase space packing tuxedos, suits, dresses and ball gowns, go for it. It's a free country...or at least it used to be.

I am the original poster on this topic and I have to say I'm shocked that this has dragged on for so long. Surely they would have resolved the situation prior to a March 19 cruise...unless it's more serious than they're letting on. Having said that, I don't know if I wouldn't sail on the Prima solely because of this (we have other reasons why we wouldn't do the Prima again).

We used American credit card miles to book a nonstop flight from ORD to Rome. Got to pick our seats (bulkhead with extra room) and no worries about missed connections. Would not want to book international flights through NCL.

SOCA?? I think you misspelled SUCK,,,because it sounds like it will definitely suck.

Our November Escape TA had 2,200 passengers...or about half capacity. TA cruises are less crowded because most people can't take off from work, school, etc., for extended periods (in our case, 17 days). Most of the people we saw were retirees, like us.

I don't recall getting a coupon, but when I log in to my NCL account there is a banner you can click on and it takes you right to the discounted cruises.

We did the Escape TA in November and it was (maybe) half full...and we saw maybe three kids. Not everyone can do them due to work, school, etc...(which is why they're half full)...but if you want to avoid crowds, a TA is the way to go.

After "enjoying" mushy wings at O'Sheahan's on the Escape in November, we were hesitant to try them again at the Local on Prima in January. Surprisingly, they were crispy and quite tasty. Maybe they forgot about them and left them in the oven too long...but whatever works.

This is shocking! Don't most parents think their kids are ugly and dumb? 😁

We found the Local bar extremely overcrowded on our Jan 29th Prima cruise. The bar is in a bad location, on a main thoroughfare with tons of people walking past and deciding to belly up to the bar (or as close as they could get to the bar with the tons of people already waiting at the bar). With only two bartenders to serve the thirsty hordes, it took 20 minutes to get a drink. Lots of negative comments on this set-up on our cruise.

And I answered it yesterday. He must be really thirsty...

Prima has a bar inside Indulge with a better beer choice than any other bar on Prima.

Our group of eight showed up at the hostess desk for Hudson's several times and we got right in without reservations.

Funny you would mention Motion Eze. We use it on every cruise. A drip or two behind the ears and you're good to go.

Be careful not to get one with the vented mesh panel on top. The sun comes right in there. Not good for a clam shell that is supposed to provide shade.