BirdTravels

So, What if I get sick or hurt while on a cruise ship (one too many Adult Beverage Package drinks and you fall off your bar stool)? The ship has a fully equipped medical center with multiple nurses and doctors to tend to you 24/7. Select from a menu of services (like a Spa Menu).

These were examples of the alcohol tasting events last week k. Our 5-night cruise

We have been on the Epic 7 times and have never had any problems with her beds.

It is 12:00 am NCL time (Miami - Eastern time US). The importance is that you select your time to arrive at the port upon check-in. Early times “sell out” quickly, so if you want an early time, 12:01 is when you need to check in. Same is true on Royal. For non-priority passengers, dining [and show] reservations open 12:00 midnight ET US 120 days prior to departure. Prime time reservations will sell out quickly. Same advice, 12:01 is the best time to be on and reserving. I bracketed show reservations because at the moment, due to COVID, they are not allowing pre booking shows.

The Prima is the “new toy” and you’ll pay a premium price to sail on her. The Bird agrees that a large, but slightly older ship like the Bliss, Joy or Encore would be a good starting point. Passenger count wise, they are similar to Quantum class ships on RCCL. (The Bird sailed on the Quantum of the Seas (just before the fire) to Alaska - a wonderful trip).

No jackets required Long pants for gents (jeans or dockers are fine with a polo shirt).

No problem with what you are suggesting. If you are cheap, like us, we have a 1-device package and share it between 4 phones (2 personal and 2 work), a laptop, and a iPad. Yeah, only one can be on the wifi at the same time, but it is way way way cheaper than having plans for 5 devices.

Because you need to be fully vaccinated to cruise to some locations.

As I keep pointing out, the Prima is closer in passenger count to a Jewel-class ship than a Breakaway+ class ship. So, people should be comparing the Prima to the Jewel/Pearl/Gem than the Escape/Joy/Bliss/Encore.

So,,, skim through my live post to see the Freestyle dailies from last week to see the happenings on the ship

Nespresso

Guarantee.

Our cruise last week was sold out. Since this question keeps getting asked, help us understand the importance of that information. Why does that matter?

As soon as you embark, go to the Box Office, Deck 7, Breakaway Theater, Starboard entrance. You can book SIX (a fantastic show), BTF, Comedy shows (early shows family oriented, late shows 18+), and Velvet (extra fee - Not Bird recommended). You can also book Canvas By U painting (extra fee). See below for a sample entertainment menu from August. The following link is from our live post from the Breakaway a few weeks back. While it was a short cruise, you’ll get a feel for what’s available.

The Birds love those Oasis-class ships. But there is a difference between 3100 passengers and 6000 passengers (max capacity of 7000). We were on the maiden (first paying passenger) voyage of the Wonder of the Seas in March. That new ship smell was intoxicating.

Here’s a spa menu from last week on the Prima

My most recent pass was $339 for a week. That’s up from $199 last year.

Last week, the dress code was Resort Casual every night on the Prima. There was one big Caribbean party on the pool deck (even though we were not in the Caribbean). Other big parties were in the Prima Club (Theater) at night after they “removed” all of the theater seating. Photographers were set up in the Atrium on several decks every night. And were taking photos in specialty dining restaurants nightly.

The minimum/maximum bid is based on your current cabin. So, a Balcony bidding on a Haven Deluxe Owner's Suite will have a [much] higher minimum bid than a Haven 2BR bidding on that same Deluxe Owner's Suite.

We sail Alaska every year, mostly on NCL. How close you get to the glaciers depends on the itinerary and the ice conditions. Cruise ships will not sail into heavy ice no matter how big/small they are. Most of NCL Alaska cruises are round trip Seattle. And a subset of those go to Glacier Bay. There are one-way Vancouver to Seward and back on smaller/older ships. If you have never been on an Alaskan cruise, then a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay is probably what you would want. Other cruises focus on going to the Dawes glacier near Juneau. If you are scheduled to cruise to the Dawes glacier, then take the Glacier Explorer shore excursion to get up close and personal with the glacier. Here's are a couple of my most recent live posts

The Escape has now undergone a couple of major dry docks. The physical layout is the same as the Bliss and Encore where a few walls could create a smoking casino... We were just on the Prima which has a very small smoking casino too.

On both CocoCay and Labadee, there is a lot of open beaches with complimentary loungers and umbrellas. The Oasis pool on CocoCay is complimentary. Complimentary buffet lunches are served. Your drink package or diamond vouchers work on the islands. On CocoCay, we usually camp at Chill Island next to the buffet which is also a short walk over to the pool. (This is actually the Skipper's Grill buffet, but the Chill Island buffet is the same).

Whatever you feel is appropriate. We normally tip our room steward $10-$20 per day. And something similar to our waiter and assistant waiter. Crew that receive tips get a bare minimum pay and the first portion of the tip is used to bring them up to their minimum contract value. This is similar to servers in our home town. Minimum wage is $15/hour around here. But if you are a employee that gets tips, employers can pay as little as $5/hour assuming that the first $10/hour of tips goes to getting you up to minimum wage. And making $80 in tips (8 hour shift) just to get to minimum wage when folks at our local diner leave a buck or less in tips.

Right after restart when crew were confined to the ship, they used to reserve South Beach for the ship's crew. Not any more.