BirdTravels

We were on a cruise in August and ended up stopping to lend assistance to two refugee boats off the cost of Havana. We took them back to Miami with us.

The NCL Upgrade Advantage is almost identical to the RCCL Royal Up.

That is incorrect.

Yup. Saw that. If you aren't doing your job, time to clean house.

We just completed 7 days on the Prima and went to the Thermal Suite every day. To me, the salt bath, steam room, and saunas were some of the best in the fleet. (The only thing that would make the saunas better would have been exterior windows). And having big, comfortable day beds versus loungers piled on each other was a treat.

It is called smart business. You need a lean and mean organization to move to the future. And the cuts are described as NCLH,,, which could be viewed as an layer of management above and beyond what is needed to run the day-to-day business of each of the cruise lines.

On the sample note, all of those things are complimentary. Some afternoon snacks from our August cruise (the bar mix, M&Ms and Gummy Bears that are left over daily end up in a zip lock for snacking on shore excursions - and are refilled daily). Everything from the Haven or MDR/Local is also complimentary - steak & eggs served on a white tablecloth in your stateroom.

On ships like the Joy, there is a Haven Concierge and staff (2 assistant concierge) and a different Suites Concierge. I did not check to see how it worked on the Prima.

Nope. Dec 6 appears to be the one and only continental US cruise of the Viva. After that, she goes to San Juan and never returns to the continental US (at least the current advertised schedules through the end of 2025). From Nov 27-Dec 6 will be PR/Media/TA cruise(s) (Prima did one to Halifax) and then a repositioning cruise from NYC to Miami.

No bubbles. Just 12 jet stations in the fresh water hydrotherapy pool. Similar to BA/BA+ ships. They were running last week.

There was live music in Deck 6 atrium every night. We went almost every night, but we normally didn't show up until after the evening shows, so we were there 10:00ish to 11:30ish.

A lot of drama over $9.

Never seen this. Onboard credit has always been available on board only.

As everyone has said, you need to have documentation. Your original invoice for your cruise. Your cancellation receipt from NCL. A doctor's note with the information required by the insurance company. The link below is to the NCL standard plan. At the bottom of the page, there is a link to start a claim. Click the link and start the claim (even if you're not ready). It will get you to an Attending Physician Statement that will show you what you need from your doctor. https://affinitytravelcert.com/document/pdfs/NCL-LandingPage-STANDARD-7-2017.html Port Fees/Taxes, pre-paid shore ex, pre-paid gratuities (daily service charge, free at sea promotions, etc.) will be refunded to your original form of payment. The cruise fare itself is what the insurance company will pay.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! That's about it. You'll pay the higher daily service charge and you'll pay insurance based on the cost of the room you get.

fwiw, I feel that it is important to get to know your butler and let them help you versus a note in your reservation. We always create 1/4 sheet note paper for every cruise to leave messages to our room steward and butler. When we meet our butler, we hand them the note and ask about anything else they recommend. We do it in writing, so nothing is misunderstood.

I have always found the pre-cruise concierge totally useless. They are a glorified call center that can not do anything you can't do yourself. If fact, if you wait until you get your concierge letter, it is far too late to make any reservations. I don't need "help" selecting between regular or decaf coffee when both are provided every day by my butler. Once onboard, after inspecting my pillow, I will talk to my room steward on getting something different, if and only if, needed. I high recommend that you use the first few hours onboard the ship to establish a rapport with your concierge team and your butler. And not some faceless off shore call center person picking up the concierge line. The onboard concierge team (not the daft pre-concierge) has the ability to oversell a restaurant or show and get you a reservation when it shows "sold out". But,,, once a restaurant is fully oversold, even the concierge can't get you a seat, so making all of your reservations as soon as you embark is highly recommended. wrt to luggage tags, just print them out from your edocs 21 days prior to departure. The "Haven Tags" don't help getting your bags through screening or get them to your stateroom any quicker. The dock workers could care less. The screeners could care less. And once on the ship, they are just another bag to move up the elevators. Concierge letter you are waiting for.... really, really lame.

Welcome to Cruise Critic If you are not a sun lover, the Thermal suite on a larger ship (not the Gem) provides a private sanctuary to rest and relax. After a hard day of touring ashore, we love the saunas and steam rooms along with the hydrotherapy pools of warm jetted water. See post #37 on the link below for some photos

We have now sailed on the Prima twice. We think that she is a lovely ship and would recommend that you keep your reservations. The biggest flaw in the postings/complaints from the people on this forum is that they are trying to compare the features of the Prima to her distant cousin, the BA+ Escape. The thing that people fail to recognize and acknowlege is that the Prima is a smaller ship. 3100 passengers compared to 4266 passengers. Rather than compare the features of the Prima to the Escape, people should be comparing the Prima to the Jewel. "The buffet is smaller than the Escape".... sure, you don't need to feed as many people and the Prima has added additional complimentary dining options. If you go to the buffet on any ship at peak breakfast or lunch hours, it will be crowded. At least NCL has not lowered themselves to the level of Royal Caribbean who continually makes announcements in their buffet "If you are done stuffing your face, get out, so others can stuff their face"... something that I have always found totally offensive. "The Observation Lounge is smaller than the Bliss"... again, there are a lot fewer people on board, so you do not need a lounge of comparable size. The Prima offers the best of her predecessors scaled to the size of the ship. The Prima has taken the concept of the Waterfront on the Breakaway and put it on steroids to provide massive amounts of contemporary sun deck space to spread passengers out, rather than the traditional mass of people around a pool. . The Prima offers the most outdoor deck space of any modern cruise ship. The Prima offers up to 36% more space per passenger compared to other comparable cruise lines. And have designed their staterooms to provide the most spacious accommodations of any new cruise ships. I was amazed at the shower and bathroom space in our staterooms compared to other ships (NCL and other cruise lines). And the shape of the stateroom makes it feel a lot more spacious. With a passenger to crew ratio of 2, there is up to 47% more crew per passenger than other contemporarily cruise lines. The choice is yours. The Prima offers the modern, contemporary cruise ship at sea. There are lots of pictures of the Prima on my live post from last week below

We would pick (1) Le Bistro, (2) Ocean Blue (3) Cagney's in that order. Cagney's service and food quality across the fleet has been on a downward spiral since before the pandemic and has not improved much since the restart. If I were ordering dinner for myself: Le Bistro: Steak Tartare, Escargot, Veal Chop or Lamb Shank/Chops or Lobster Thermador (extra charge), Poached Pear Ocean Blue: Ahi Tuna and Avocado Tower, Pan-Seared Scallops on Pork Belly, Grouper, Brussels Sprouts, Mushroom Risotto, Cheesecake in a Jar Cagney's: Ahi Tuna Tartare, Oysters Rockefeller, Baked Onion Soup, Porterhouse with Yuzu Togarashi Butter, Truffle Fries, Mushrooms, Apple Crisp Cagney's Steakhouse - Breakaway 08-2022.pdf Ocean Blue - Breakaway 08-2022.pdf Le Bistro - Breakaway 08-2022.pdf Le Bistro Ocean Blue Cagney's

Maybe you misunderstand the concept. It is free/complimentary beach picnic food. Not fine dining.

The concierge staff will help you with reservation. Haven seating is available for the main shows on large ships. Depending on the concierge, they will either escort you through the main entrance, or escort you through a crew entrance. Check with your concierge and find out what they are planning to do. On our August cruise, the concierge had folks wanting an escort meet in the Haven lounge and used the crew elevator down to the theater. Since the Haven seating is not the best, none of the escorted guests sat in that section. Everyone picked a spot front and center. Late comers used the Haven seating.

One person can make multiple bookings at The Social on embarkation day (you need all cabin numbers). If you are using a touch screen kiosk, you need the room key for the other room. The 18+ is only a recommendation. Anyone can attend. It only include f-bombs and every third sentence and sexually suggestive humor,,,, nothing that your 17 year old doesn't hear every day.

Shorts are allowed in all dining rooms for all meals except Le Bistro and Ocean Blue. For those two restaurants, the ship kindly requests that Gents wear long pants (jeans or dockers are o.k.). All of the restaurants listed in your post allow shorts for all meals. The Haven dining room is a complimentary dining room that allows shorts for all meals. Aloha Breakaway