Sand and Seas

The Haven pool area 'snack' menu is usually available 2-5pm on our Joy & Breakaway cruises. As I recall, it has Hamburgers, Hot Dogs and a Chicken Caesar wrap and fries. It was a nice late lunch. Just ask the attendant for a menu.

DH said he had a good burger & bun in the American Diner on Encore last month. We ate there a couple of times during our cruise.

Good observation! Maybe that's why I like the chocolate covered strawberries. The strawberry adds a delish freshness. And, if you have never tried it, pineapple rings dipped in chocolate are extra delish! If you are in the Haven, a good butler can get them for you with a day or two's notice. (They are listed as one of the items you can pre-order under 'Gifts & More' on the app.)

Since someone brought up tortilla chips.... In the past you could get potato chips instead of fries with your sandwiches at the Local. Last couple of cruises we have been told no potato chips onboard but offered tortilla chips instead. We just declined fries or tortilla chips. We don't keep potato chips at home (too addictive!) but on a cruise we have enjoyed them occasionally😋 As for chocolate covered strawberries, some of us love them and others won't touch them. I wish they would have an online preference we could check. Some higher level tiers might prefer a choice of an extra liter of water. Me, I want the strawberries!

We sailed out of Galveston on Prima last year and had a great time. When we came home from that cruise we immediately booked another. Loved our roomy cabin and loved the Deck 8 Oceanfront area. And, as others have mentioned, the food choices are awesome. We also love ships like Bliss & Joy. Is Prima different? Yes! I compare it to staying at a quirky boutique hotel. Totally different kind of ship so hard to compare to others.

I would advise OP to look for posted hours when the Finance desk (next to Customer Services) is staffed. Although the CS agents can process payments, they are not as knowledgeable as the Finance officers. When you are 'adding' an additional form of payment, they have to designate which card you are leaving on file for any more charges. Personal example, I visited CS and asked to have a specific amount placed on a different credit card. They made some sort of mistake processing it and I received a call from the Finance officer to apologize for the error made. My credit card had a couple of 'corrections' that could have caused a problem until they cleared. Another example, I tried to make an after midnight cash deposit of some winnings from the casino. The late night agent suggested I return during the day. I definitely did not want to leave a large sum of cash with someone who did not know how to process it for my account.

Your ship docks at Harvest Caye and there is a covered walkway to the island. No need to wait for Tenders. We enjoy the walk but there is a golf cart vehicle for those that would have trouble walking that far. Large beautiful pool and beach. Don't miss the butterfly exhibit😎

@trinity91, great review! We will be back on the Prima again soon. Really enjoyed your perspective on the ship & the ports. Thanks for posting😎

If you want maximum comps, talk to a host about your options before playing your points as Freeplay. In the past I have on occasion played my points and received some additional comps. However, I have learned my best comps are without converting to Freeplay. I have been Ruby tier with CAS for many years. Talking to the hosts on board has always worked well for me.

I don't know what their calculations are, but I do know a friend that had about 2500 points which would have been $25 of FreePlay but they gave her about $90 off her bill. It can depend on what type of items you have charged to your onboard account. I believe it's easier for them to comp something like food charges but many of us have been sent to the gift shop for an additional $XXX for them to comp. I have gotten jewelry, watches, handbags and cosmetics comped that last evening. If you have 5000 points, that is $50 Freeplay or a $250 CasinoNext certificate. It is usually noted in the FreeStyle Daily that you can convert 2500 or more points to comps off your bill and 5000 or more points to CasinoNext certificates.

With 20,000 tier points earned, you can get two $500 CASNext certificates for $1000 off of cruises. I just used same to pay for my next comped Haven daily service charges and port fees. Visit with hosts on board early in cruise.They ask me what wine, chocolates, etc. I would prefer that cruise. If you are Sapphire you will also have $200 OBC to start with each cruise. Ruby has $400. This is prior to last night comps. If you choose CASNEXT certificates that replaces additional onboard comps. Since I start with $400 OBC I usually get the CASNEXT certificates now.

Same for us. Cruise four times a year and we have never had the Yellow tags delivered to us. Always have to go to Guest Services or CruiseNext desk to pick them up.

Was your original Balcony a casino comp? The 90 sounds like the base price for insurance if your cruise cost is only paying the $20 pp/per day admin fee. Then, if we pay for an upgrade, the new insurance cost is based on our new 'cost' of the cruise. Recently, we did a $200 per person/$400 upgrade through CAS. Our insurance is now $150 total (75 per person.)

For most, they open at 21 days out. (Higher tiers 26 days out.) Choir of Man was awesome on our cruise earlier this month. Enjoy😎

I believe the two 20 OBC credits were for missing GSC as we had them credited to our bill also. They were added on the same day as the missed port. Choir of Man was excellent. For a ten day cruise i was surprised they were only scheduled on two nights. it was nice that the Beatles group had a couple of shows in the theater along with the cavern club.

When we were on board the Joy, the entire players tracking system was down for a couple of hours the last day of the cruise. We were advised we could play but wouldn't be given credit until the tracking system was back up. No additional tier points were awarded.

We love to cruise from New Orleans. Very happy to see NCL increase the number of cruises from there😎

Yes, we upgraded from balcony to club balcony on a 11 day Prima. There is an older thread detailing ours and others experience with Diamond upgrades. It wasn't easy but it worked. Good luck !

We have stayed in this category several times without an issue. Love the huge balconies and it's easy to get to venues on decks 6,7 and 8.

Can't wait to hear more about your cruise. Glad you made it to Galveston on time!

I'm onboard Encore now. I was at guest services earlier and saw them talking to an unhappy guy. GS was showing him a lengthy list of those who were cancelled. I think they were offering him $50 OBC which doesn't seem like enough to me🤨. I feel sorry sorry for those who planned on Vibe.

I've never seen a website listing machines on a cruise ship. You could try searching for a video of a "NCL Epic ship tour". (Look for ones that have posted in the last few months or last year.) They usually walk through the casino and you would see some of the variety of machines available.

We have stayed at Hampton Inn Blue lagoon two or three times a year pre-cruise. Yes, they have a free shuttle from the airport. Then, once you check in, you can sign up for the shuttle to Port of Miami for $10 per person. They usually have two or three times to choose from. You could call their front desk for details. It's located across the street from a Publix and several other stores. We have found this location very convenient pre-cruise.

We enjoyed our stay at Ink48. Very close to Manhattan cruise terminal. We ended up just rolling our luggage over day of embarkation.

Yes, same for us. We are on Encore later in two weeks and it shows as complimentary on the app. (Our Joy cruise in the fall still says a la carte)