PistolPete13

Nothing against the sculptures but it bothered me to see the accumulated greasy palm and butt stains on the chrome surfaces as the cruise went on. What is it about these things that make people want to touch and feel them? Maybe we should be thankful they don't have a flat surface for observation lounge overflow users to nap on...

The big spot is called Conowingo Dam Plaza. Peak season is now until a little after New Years and again in mid-April for fish spawning season. I'm told you can see several hundred eagles if you get lucky. Here is a link to my photo album from my trip. Unfortunately I didn't see much activity and will probably return for one more try in a few weeks. https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB4Axa Sorry for the thread detour @mking8288! Any interesting wildlife to see in our Caribbean cruise ports? If nothing else I can hunt for the elusive chair hogs early in the morning of our cruises. I think their plumage consists of NCL Blue towels, new books never opened, and colorful Crocs!

It would depend on how much luggage you're carrying. On the Prima I went to Indulge hoping that no one knew about it yet and it worked out BUT most of the seating as you can see in the photos are stools and chairs right next to each other. It will not work well if you have large bags or even carry on sized luggage with you. A bit more elbow room at Hudsons.

This is amazing. Been to Bermuda twice on NCL and I swear the port taxes were definitely much more than $10 a person.

Appreciate your details on the tech elements of the items you take along on a trip like this. I may need to upgrade to higher amp chargers given how devices have upsized over time. The MacBook powerbrick I use with single USB 3.0 output is not enough wth iPads, power banks, and now camera batteries that need charging! I recently upgraded to one of those rolling carts to carry my photo gear in. I'm not sure if this will past "muster" with the port porters! For my next cruise I've upgraded to a 4TB external HD and plan to keep all my photos on that as the main drive with the internal laptop drive as a backup. I've attached some photos of my recent trip to photograph bald eagles in Maryland as an example of my typical camera load out. Imagine if I could bring this setup with me and put it up on a balcony?

Welcome home and thanks for the virtual 2 week vacation!

Looks like the Mera has an overnight vs. a day trip for the Prima. No wonder it waited out the winds.

I've seen photographic evidence that the MSC Meraviglia has a version of these hockey pucks onboard! I'll be sailing on her in mid-January and for sure will torture @cruiseny4life with photos during my "not very" semi-live review...

Sorry to see that you're missing Bermuda today. NYC was 25 degrees this morning with a biting wind. 5AM arrival? No thanks! Not going to lie, I was thinking of trying to get photos of Prima departing Friday afternoon because an unfortunate error on my part wiped out all the original full res photos I had of my trip last year. I even put the external views of the ship in that same folder! But thanks to your thread, I know they are doing a full Coast Guard inspection when she arrives in NYC. On a normal day NCL never sticks to their departure times from NYC. And with this inspection? Forgetaboutit!

Is the iPad ordering system in Indulge stable now? I remember we had a lot of issues with them last October. Hopefully the kinks have been ironed out now.

Thanks for this detailed review! I'll be onboard for the first time in January. Am I understanding correctly that the buffet is a LINE for everything? You can't do hit and runs at various food stations without interrupting the main line and risking dirty looks?

It boggles my mind how someone can fully sleep in public like this when I assume every passenger has a room on the ship. Napping with a book on your lap I can understand but full on blankets and lying down flat? Maybe this is performance art or something. NCL needs to hire the designer who worked on the NYC ferry terminals. They installed spikes along every flat surface to prevent pigeons from resting and sh1tting on the passengers below...

I'm curious, do they finally have a plastic model of the ship in the gift shop now?

Yikes, $50, that's half an excursion. Humm, I'll have to see how well the cruise goes....LOL

Oh, I definitely will post, even if delayed! We stop in Orlando and Miami at the front and back end of the cruise so I will be able to upload. Seeing that NCL is the only company I've cruised with until now, I'll definitely be posting a detail comparision between the two lines. The question is, will the folks in the MSC board be ready for me...humm...

I'm on the same 1/15 sailing and was curious as well. They do look very nice!

Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for taking us along with you! I can't believe it's been over a year now since my short 5 day trip on the then brand new Prima to Bermuda. My lasting impression of the ship is still positive but also that I needed to work to avoid the crowds (not a people person). Side note, the winter cruise blues had come on full force and I was search for a trip leaving from NYC. NCL only has the Getaway here for the winter and none of the Jewel class ships. Plus the only sailings were to the same ports I went to just this past March. Humm... After racking up 38 sea days with NCL in the 4 short Covid interrupted years since my first cruise, I've decided to take an 11-nighter on...MSC in January! Won't be able to do a snarkly semi-live however, can't bring myself to pay $$$ for the Internet package and I think I need to break my online addiction for a bit. LOL.

Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for taking us along for the Haven ride! Please corner the head chef at some point to ask about the missing hockey puck hash browns!!! LOL.

Thanks all! Just to wrap this thread up I found this video that basically answered my question about the snorkling spots around the island and what to expect:

Thanks for the response. I was able to find some videos on YouTube showing some fish activity by the Lighthouse beach so I guess I'll start there. Maybe pocket an extra bread roll at breakfast to try and attract some fish.

Hi all, I'll be visiting Ocean Cay for the first time this coming January on my first MSC cruise and had a question about snorkeling access on the island. I noticed that MSC has an snorkel excursion for $32 that seems to be just equipment rental. Since I already have my own snorkel gear, is there a spot on the island with interesting coral or fish to look at without having to book that excursion? Thanks! -Pete

Indulge was one of the memorable features on the Prima during my short trip on her last year. By the middle of the trip word had gotten out with others and it became very hard to get seats unless at opening or just before closing. Have a great transAtlantic!!

Yup! She was open for public tours today only so I went.

This can't be true, I'm so addicted to those things. On my 12-day Getaway last March they ran out about halfway through and subsituted tater tots which had the same consistency so I was OK with it. This may push me to test the waters with MSC out of NYC! LOL

I picked a good time to return to this forum after getting the cruising itch again after a very busy year of work. I was even at Pier 88 today hoping to be inspired by seeing a NCL ship docked but alas something else got the parking spot.