Nixxon

I Agree with Ellis. On that cruise you are unlikely to find the outside areas crowded. I would definitely go for the Thermal Suite. You will enjoy it after your shore excursions in particular.

Vibe is great for relaxing in a more peaceful environment on a warm weather cruise. The thermal suite is the equivalent for colder cruises. Both areas are limited access, and you will always find a place to unwind. Like in most resorts and cruise ships today people reserve loungers starting 7AM. Not having to deal with that is in it self worth the money. The value increases even more if you don’t have a balcony.

As a general rule, southern European countries prefer cash in smaller restaurants and shops. The more you venture out of the main tourist areas, the more true it is. It often saves them the trouble of paying taxes. So I would bring enough to pay for at least lunch, transportation etc. on port days, as well as for smaller souvenirs. Probably about €100 per day in t0s, 20s and 50s will do the job. You can get cash in ATMs all over as well, and the exchange rate is usually better with the credit card company, So I would probably bring only a couple of hundred to get through through the first few port days, and use ATMs after that.

Just for your information I bought a dinner package and a open bar package (separately) to an event in Spain in two weeks. Both packages include VAT. I honestly don’t know how much, as prices in Europe are almost always quoted including VAT. I guarantee that no one will levy VAT on each drink. I will get a bracelet upon entering, which will get me free drinks at the bar.

Since the cruise starts from France, my sad conclusion would be that the French have joined the Spaniards. The VAT for alcoholic beverages sold in French restaurants is 20%. I would assume that the rate of 10% (which is applied for anything except alcohol in restaurants sold for immediate consumption) is applied for the gratuity as it is added automatically. In this case it wouldn’t be viewed as an actual gratuity by the authorities. The bill presented cannot be FAS, as others have pointed out as well. If any VAT would be applied, it would normally applied to the purchase value of the package. (Spain has three VAT tiers. 21%, 10% and 4%.)

OK, so if no day passes are sold, and the termal suite is not included in treatments, I suppose I must have gotten the 200 passes sold wrong as well. Such a large space for the use of only 200 can’t make economic sense. Apologies.

BTW. When I booked the thermal pass for November (after seing the video) I was not able to do it in the app. It kept crashing. I did it on the web without problems, and the reservation shows up confirmed. You may want to try that.

I was warching a video on the Prima (I am sorry I don’t remember which one). The person doing the presentation mentioned that there are only a total of 200 cruise long passes sold. Considering the size of the thermal suite, the number sounded quite low. I automatically assumed that the reason is that you get thermal suite access with the treatment. I am surprised to learn that this is not the case, as the treatments are faitly expensive. I guess the only option would be to buy day passes on the ship.

I was trying to make an apples to apples comparison. Therefore I selected the same ship category (prima class), same stateroom (Haven penthouse), same itinerary (Mediterranean 10-11 days), and the same month (November). The ONLY difference is the year. The SilverSea comparison was simply there to illustrate that a similar type of suite with them is currently less expensive. I love NCL, and they are my first choice. There are, as you pointed out, always good deals to be found. I guess what I am trying to say is that the person (or algorithm) doing pricing for 2024 and beyond, is going ballistic. Transatlantic cruise on the Viva 29.11-15.12.2014. Haven penthouse at EUR 11,741. Inside starts at 2,714

I only did a very quick comparison. The price for the Prima Haven on November 1st was 2040 EUR, which I booked a few weeks back. It is indeed sold out now. I guess the point I was trying to make is that the Haven and suite categories on NCL are going up in price so much in 2024/25 that SilveSea, Regent etc become serious alternatives. Of course the concept of small ship cruises is very different. I will book our next cruise on one of these luxury lines. They have some great itineraries, but what concerns me is the size of the ship, often combined with quite a few sea days. If I don’t get cabin fever, and don’t need to attend weight watchers and AA afterwards, it may be the way to go.

The NCL prices ARE skyrocketing. Consider the following: I10 day Mediterranean in a Haven penthouse suite on the Prima in November this year. Base price EUR 2100pp. This is pretty close to off season, and the weather is a gamble. But with Haven, an additional 350 for the thermal suite, and great cities to explore every day, it comes to around 250pp/day including FAS and pre paid gratuity. 2024 November Viva EUR 7775pp for the same category. And November 2025 8596. Consider the comparison to a true all-incöusive luxury cruise line like Silversea. I looked at the price without air, in a Classic Veranda Suite, and similar length (10-11 days) November 2023. 7450 November 2024 5650 November 2025 6350

I agree. Norway will be beautiful, majestic scenery, but the weather is guaranteed to be cold. Also, the cities you would be visiting are fairly small, and quite expensive. Finally, the itinerary has quite a few sea days. Unless you just want to enjoy the ship, I would go for the Mediterranean. I will be on the Prima out of Barcelona on 1 November 2023. The weather is a little bit of a gamble, but so much more to see and do.

I just booked us on an HE with the Norwegian Prima at 2040pp from Barcelona to Rome on 1-11 of November. IMO this is an excellent deal, considering that the weather can still be pretty good in western Mediterranean at that time. Also, Barcelona and Rome are great cities to visit at the time of the year. You can also get very good deals on flights to both cities. The Haven prices for European cruises in November are all pretty good, but keep in mind that the weather, especially in the eastern part can be pretty cold in late November already.