mking8288

Hear hear ... That would be my/our post as well - we're all excited and booked the Prima for 2023, twice cancelled before final payment, booked again and the red circle on the digital calendar is coming up soon. It's another strike lately, nearly fleet-wide, with the major entertainment "changes" - we go for the main theater big production shows, comedy & magics aren't our cup of tea, and, can't stand being packed like sardines in an overcrowded venue that one must line up 60+ minutes before door(s) are open to get in. Selling vibe passes & behind the scene tours aren't exactly "entertainment" per se, not in my/our cruise dictionary anyway, but to each her/his own & those still cheering are free to disagree, don't bother me but anyone wish to flame, go ahead ... just add to the "ignore" list. We finally cruised the Epic this April with an open mind and it was fine, despite reading about it all. Burn The Floor was the only onboard major entertainment for the long TA, the other sea days filled in with comedians, singing duos/trios - trending exactly what we are now reading about with the changes announced ... the atrium was packed & jammed full, and long lines daily at Shorex, CruiseNext and Guest Services. Anyway, let's see how things go this summer with the Prima. Elsewhere, just heard that NCL is partnering with land casinos here in the NE, players promotion deals & discounts will surely help fill some of the last minute, unsold cabins - sometimes, I wonder ...

@graphicguy Hey, how's retirement for you ... speaking of the Prima, have you look at her TA, 11 days/nights BCN to NYC - FWIW, it's not selling well (Viva's TA isn't either, for whatever reasons, at this point & it's not quite final payment/cancel deadline yet.) Check it out, airfares & hotel deals < on your "own" > to be found - the "spacious" balcony should do (BF) - just priced it, cruising solo - $2,200 all inclusive including your basic unlimited beverage. Between your TA, Amex & deals/discounts and if DSC is covered, sweet !! We're looking at her NY repo to Galveston, TX which I suspect will eventually fill up. Sea days, these crossing are always a toss up but there's 3 ("planned") short/quick port stops to get off & stretch. Friends on a similar TA - different ship - last Fall ended up skipping ports & ship took a big detour going southerly, dropped down to the Caribbean seas with great weather before turning north toward NY. Was just chatting this weekend with an old TA friend about MSC when this came up at a friend's 80th b'day. Regards - Henry Back on topic - been reading, following recent threads & feedbacks regarding the Prima ... that's on top of direct observations from extended families & friends that sailed her this Spring, none too positive about this new ship, if at all. And, trending the wrong way against the promised upscale experience - not surprised one bit about the comments by OP. Harry & company in Miami has got work to do to "fix" and make changes, and the onboard GM has got to face the songs & music coming from passengers. Some of the issues, I think, are partially with the ports and can't really do much if a given sailing run into rough weather & seas, except for their contingency and backup plans to manage passenger dis/satisfactions ...

Our portside balcony stateroom was on Deck 15 last September and we frequently visited/use the OL, I dig thru our photo collections - cabin #14176 is under the OL, it is near "current" entrance - but as best as I can remember (see photo below as that's best one we have to help explain it) - it is a non-public space there, further ahead along that corridor is the first section of the lounge with fixed/stationary sofa, small coffee tables and about 4 chairs ... layout similar to a large living room. Any foot traffic would be directly along the corridor (that's "your" hallway, outside the cabin ... sound insulation is excellent, you won't hear any ordinary noises from above.) Even if someone is going to move around those single chairs, it is not going to really make a lot of noise that you can hear from the deck below.

We started cruising NCL about 25 years ago and that was on the Norwegian Sea then (also, the Crown ... followed by the "Dawn" then, when it was brand new - the rest, part of our cruise history since. A lot has changed, including management and freestyle cruising has changed quite a bit. Other posters already mentioned & covered many area, don't see much to add on the pro's and con's of sailing NCL. The Epic is one of its own, unique for its French design (especially if you talk to the ship's officers) vs most other ships that come out of other shipyard(s) with Italian styling. It's not the most popular & some hated & disliked it, sort of the same feelings some say with the newest Prima class ships - plentiful "issues". We just recently did our first TA and saw a nice price drop after final payment cutoff, cancelled our plan to sail the Prima, and did a 15 nights eastbound, NY to Barcelona via the "northern" routing thru the Azores - it was a fine, good cruise for us, not perfect and it worked well for us; skipped Cadiz, Spain due to maritime weather, mainly very (rough ??) sea as the ship apparently cannot safely dock - already at the harbor's entrance. You can refer to & read our detailed Semi/Live Cruise Report below ... haven't seen any other recent reports from the Epic since then, as she is in Europe for the summer & fall. Crew & officers onboard were happy as some of them, looking forward to a change of scenery and different ports. The ship is, IMHO, overdue for a good dry dock as there are subtle areas that are in need of some cosmetic touch-up; and, additions (unlike newer ship builts, do not have bedside USB/outlets). We didn't have issues with the funky & separate toilet and shower "closets" and sliding frosted see-thru doors (aside from the loud sound when "flushing" while your spouse/partner is sleeping). If you go read the details in the report, plus the pictures - it should give you a good feel for it. NCL has other ships sailing out of FL, including PC - if the price is right for the Epic and the schedule looks good, DW and I would probably book & sail on her again.

Overseas non-stop to the US, as a general rule, requires extra security & documentation (passport) check as part of the (extra time & "extra early") boarding check process ... and unless the gates your connecting flights are close to each other - it could be a rather long walk. Posting what airline & looking up the on-time performance of the specific flights might be useful as well. That is on top of possible security & x-ray screening (leaving/entering non-EU secured < non/Schengen > area within the airport). I highly recommend that you go to the European forum here & post the question for CDG (airport code) and see whether anyone recently transiting thru can help you with this. Is there a CC roll call for your cruise, a good chance someone there might be experienced transiting thru and can advise. Last but not least, go to Flyertalk forum, CC's equivalent/counterpart and the frequent flying experts there can help you with both airport / transit details, as well as airline's typical protocol at that airport. Be advised that while you might be able to run to the gate as they announced (final) boarding for your flight, and board the aircraft - typical cutoff is 45 minutes before scheduled international departure or losing your assigned seat(s) - your checked luggage might not make the connection & not get transferred or loaded in time. For example - take a look at this post over at FT - https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/france-monaco/2113388-cdg-terminal-1-terminal-2e-2-5hrs-enough.html Be mindful of any "important" items in checked luggage and do what many recommend these days, put an AirTag or equivalent in the bag (unless airline rules specifically prohibit or restrict it) ... there are hundreds of lost & unclaimed black TravelPro luggage & generic look-alike bags/spinners & rollerboards at airports just about everywhere. Nowadays, we are mindful of doing a domestic flight connection here within the USA (i.e. ATL, JFK, SFO, LAX, ORD, DFW, etc.) with a "legal" ticketing transit time of 60 to 90 minutes when not on a non-stop flight and must fly via one of the major, busy & large airport hubs. Good luck !

I wear this (or the one from the Crown) and it's a good conversation piece onboard, sometimes with the puzzled look on the faces among the younger crew members.

On our recent Epic 15 nights TA (April - May 2023) - DW and I both being Sapphire (or Platinum) got us 4 bags free (2 per person, 1 per member for a typical 7 nighter - but, 2 weeks meant 2 bags; it is NOT a documented freebie or benefits in writing: ask & confirm at the CruiseNext desk, just in case) It was the same on our last 14 nighters on the Escape. That plus at least 1 free bag for being in the Club Balcony is 5 free bags (that are much smaller than before, of course) - should suffice. If they tell you 2 free bags since it's 16 nights in the Club balcony, that's even better. CruiseNext said, if there is any billing issues - stop at or go to Guest Services and they'll take care of the charges & reverse it. Besides, the "paid" $29 Bag Specials were offered 3 times on our 15 nights - and, that isn't "that" bad - all other things & prices onboard considered, and a 20% service charge wasn't added (don't hold your breath on it) If we needed another bag stuffed full of clothes to be washed, will just sent it & used OBC to offset it.

@graceinga Congrats for leaving the workplace behind. TA eastbound, you'll lose 1 hour (clock forward) on designated days as ship continue sailing toward Europe, i.e. that's 5 to 6 hours by disembarkation time. TA westbound, you turn the clock by 1 hour instead, gaining an extra hour that night as you sail toward the USA crossing the pond - going reverse in direction. Most prefer (and popular, often reflected in "asking" prices) going westbound - that's usually in the Fall with rougher weather and sea state, etc. depending on the routing as more likely, plus skipping or cancelling ports en route - just the way mother nature works. Advantage, you can shop until you drop and come home with an extra suitcase each, fill with your "loots" - no worries about airline restriction on carry-on luggage, baggage weight, etc. especially if you do not go over CBP's duty-free/tax exemptions, etc. coming home. We did our first TA, eastbound going NY to Barcelona via Bermuda & Azores, only missed 1 port - perfect weather except for our 1st port in Spain (Cadiz) ... almost at the harbor before the ship turned, left for the Gibraltar (that turned out to be a great daylight crossing with cellular services for a while, roaming free under our plan) - love it & doing that again soon, westbound this time. DW is going to shop until ... as we are flying out a few days ahead, making our own air arrangements (plenty of reasonable options from NY's JFK & EWR nearby) Either direction, bring an old fashion watch or clock, smartphones and iPhones tend to go "nuts" with time zones and automatic adjustments, etc. Sadly, NCL has been cutting back onboard entertainment and we had only 1 major production show in the main theater for 15 nights, the rest filled with musical duos, comedy & magical, etc. (not our cup of tea.) Loaded up our tablet & iPads but never got around to it, plenty of do - sleep late on full sea days, walk around the outside deck, chill out on the balcony, afternoon naps & tea time, and plan ahead for the next port, etc. Internet was pricey but thankfully, used mostly non-refundable OBC and worked for us about 95% of the time - there was an area with very poor coverage, iCafe claimed it was "local" interference, whatever that's supposed to be. As others said, shop around & price it out - other lines might have deals, including last minute ones. We locked in nice hotel deals with discounts & it's like 40% off compared to peak summer prices this year. @JIMESOPUS - aren't those amazing prices for balconies, we aren't going to be on the same one but ... the other crossing on the slightly "older" ship is just as good, and dropping (and following yours by a few days from the other port city.) We're shocked that our recent Epic TA was at 95% occupancies, apparently - a local TA somehow managed to fill up the cheaper cabins last minute, bundled & sold them.

Not even with your "generous" non-refundable OBC from CAS ?? Haha, I did walk thru the Epic's huge photo center last month, and there're plenty of overpriced, expensive camera gears for "sale" ... have you check lately, just in case you have trouble "spending" down those OBC again ?? Best regards.

Devil's advocate for a moment ... why not get rid of the "costly" theater space entirely & use the atrium, which is used from morning until late evening for lots of things and jammed full. And, add extra (inside) cabins to help the corporate bottom line. Now, apparently - paid Behind The Scene tours & Vibe Passes are listed as entertainment options on our upcoming cruise 🙄🙄🙄 Really, what the ...

Still doing it onboard the Epic recently ... And, yes on creme brulee in the MDR, too ... Yummy good.

LOL, don't believe everything posted here on CC by the expert posters here either 😉 😆 😁 FWIW, what do I know ... cruising NCL (and, other lines) since about 2000 only. I can't and will not vouch as a generalization across NCL's fleet of ships. Case in point, our our January Getaway 12 nighters sailing at +90% double occupancies and April's Epic TA 15 nighters at +95% double occupancies - had no problem whatsoever booking Specialty Dining on embarkation day, using the NCL App connected to ship's WiFi inTRAnet, plenty of availabilities for most days at popular "prime" time for 2 of us ... By mid/late evening, while we're still anchored at the pier since it was scheduled for a 19:30 departure - fewer "preferred" slots were available. Cagney's and Le Bistro were among the top choices to fill up by Day 2 and nearly all taken by Day 3, not a surprise - still, plenty of choices for Moderno and Tappenyaki. For a larger group to do SD together, i.e. 6, 7's and 8's - it is best to book it as soon as "practical" onboard - just common sense, IMHO. In 2018 and 2019, we booked 2 tables of 4 at Moderno for the same date/time ahead on the Gem & Dawn, and spoke with the host/ess once onboard, they happily set up a larger table for 6 and 7 of us [their "system" then has a limit of 6 for the smaller venue like Moderno, specific to the ship(s)] My advise to OP, @golf4me2010 if the system permit booking for a table for 2 and another table for 4, together at the same time & date for the specific ship in question, depending on the particular SD restaurant in question - BOOK it now and then, odds are good that the host/ess or asst manager on duty can "override" the system, make a note of linking the reservations together & join the 2 tables together, if and when possible ahead of time. Worst case, you will be seated behind the other table, next to and not side-by-side, etc. You'll "lock" out others ahead now from taking the "vacant" slots for a given date/time. Pre-Covid, staffing issues had sometimes resulted in empty tables not available to be booked and/or assigned as being available - I imagine this continue to be one of the many "challenges" facing the ship in managing the bookings.

Bravo ... among the tools at our disposal, put them on your "Ignore" list. Don't respond, don't reply, don't acknowledge, don't give them the satisfaction, don't read and just continue on as if they don't exist ... that's one way to manage cyber life here on CC. Don't quote and don't refer to it - just post what you want to say & think. I've been here long enough to recognize - don't lose temper and add & sometimes pack lots of humors into the posts. Make it a win-win by agreeing to disagree, it's not either my/their way or the highway. If I get flamed for this, so be it - give it a thumbs up is more than enough, no need to say or write anything further. Cheers to you over an icy chilled latte (since I don't go for alcoholic beverages ... about all that money DW and I saved & spent pampering ourselves in other ways when we travel, cruise and take vacations, etc.) P.S. Issues lately with housekeeping, sadly, falls on the room attendant or steward when in fact, IMHO, is a direct and indirect reflection of NCL management & its practices, spilling over to DSC and tipping, etc. etc.

Oops. just in time with the busy 2023 summer season ramping up - sounds like it is best to say farewell & goodbye to the production cast currently onboard for now. AI generated virtual 3D shows ... that is a possibility, according to a quick chat with Google Bard. Chatbot responded that it will be cost-effective, flexible and accessible. LOL. Cheers 😕

FWIW and as a suggestion, you might want to contact NCL Special Needs / Access Desk and ask about it, maybe they can - note that in your booking, if it can be done and have the sofa bed frame moved out of the cabin (it's heavy and require 2 crew members to safely do it) The sofabed isn't an integrated one-piece slide-out sofa, rather it is a cleverly designed storage headboard/backrest, with a sliding storage bedframe on the bottom ... and the high density foam mattress sitting on top. The frame looked fairly similar to a traditional metal bedframe (see below - it's not the exact one, but pretty close to it) - one of the large drawer is used to store the extra pillows, sheets & duvet/comforter. Ask ahead and see what NCL say, if you wait until embarkation - housekeeping is short on staffing these days and might be more challenging to get anything done until they are free & available ... evening or day 2, etc. A few years ago, we're doing a CC cabin crawl and someone on the *Away class ship did something similar to the sofa in their balcony stateroom to free up valuable floor space, as they needed the extra room for "access" reasons and all the accessible cabins were taken. Kindly let us know if you are successful. Good luck.

FDR "officially" retiring end of this month. Just reported that he sold about 1/4 of his NCLH shares worth about $5.5 m. https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/finance/frank-del-rio-sells-55m-nclh-shares

FWIW, on the Getaway this January & we were at Amber Cove, nice Carnival owned port that's open & a shared with other cruise lines when not in use. Taxis to town & back, TB is pricey compared to other Caribbean ports, not walkable. TB is supposed to be done with deeper channel by now, making it safer for mega ships to sail & navigate without running into the bottom, i.e. Escape in 2021. Nice duty-free shops at AC with prices lower than St. Thomas, USVi.

Trending-wise lately with NCL's fleet schedule and re-deployment, dry-dock schedules and charters ... I would be extra cautious and careful in booking & planning that far ahead. Think for a moment, the Epic ...

Sailing across the pond, neither we nor the ship/bridge & captain have full control over maritime weather & stormy seas. We had a nearly perfect eastbound TA recently, assumed yours to be westbound. PD is beautiful and easy to get around, you get a glimpse in being able to visit for most of the day. Go find & look for your fellow CC'ers on the roll call and see what the seasoned ones are doing - "shop" around & compare prices, and if you do a half day or 4 to 5 hour private / local tour, there's very little risk of not making it back to the ship in time for sailaway again - cost will be much less than ... Check with the tours about their policy for cancellations & refunds, etc. (and, what if weather isn't good & ship(s) cannot safely dock, it is not a tender port) Shops are just across the street & many of the popular tourist spots are within 10 to 20 minutes, easy walking distance on level, flat grounds & solid pavements (walking shoes). Checkout CC's partner sites, TripAdvisors for additional info. If you do NCL tours, shared bus rides with 40+ fellow cruisers from the ship is a given ... and, a long ride with a short stop at each "spot" is a given, boarding & getting off the bus is a given. Great place to just walk around, do your own selfies (can't figure out paying $$ on an "escorted" walking tour to just do that, LOL) and enjoy a great & inexpensive lunch ... credit cards cheerfully accepted but we always plan ahead & paid for things with Euros. Have another TA later, ourselves & already confirmed a small group, private van tour - shared by a total of 6 ship pax using a local guide. On our way back at the end of the tour, will get dropped off near the ship, eat & do a little quick shopping before boarding the ship.

Why not, there is no minimum or table charge per person anyway. As I recall, a bowl of the (Vietnamese) style pho (noodles) in broth (soup) was like $16 + 20%, many other items are less - that's for one of the guest in the party. When food is served, just dive in ... This is largely corporate office and senior management constantly flip-flopping on policies, as some of us have seen ... over the past 2 decades, nothing new - nothing changed - nothing different - in the quest for bottomline profits (nothing wrong with that). The dining venue (asst.) managers and wait staff are caught in the crossfires as usual. We're on the Joy last year & dine in FR, it was as a matter of fact, the server that nicely said to us, it's plenty of food and to not order more, save it & come back on another day ... we ended up getting some of the sushi rolls and dessert packed to go (they packed it for us, gave us napkins & utensils, covers for the plates, etc. - short of delivering it to our cabin.) At that time, sharing was not prohibited or restricted (at one time or another, it was done for Haven guests ... talk about double standards, LOL) Fast forward to May 2023, playing games with their rules & prohibitions again - it's an ongoing thing with NCL, clarifications of the rules until infinity 😷 😉 😕 Another reason that I carry a pen and a piece of paper while onboard, at times - in consideration for filling out & signing one of the those vacation hero and comments card, and/or writing a note to the "Dear GM" to drop in the box/slot in the lobby at Guest Services.

Got my/our vote on it, although we always travel with (some) of our own preferred brand/mix ... just in case. Last month on the Epic, they ran out of the flat pods and the regular filtered pouch as restocked was marked for a 4-cup carafe, too strong for some / fine for us - and hot water started leaking out of the Hamilton Beach 1-cup machine. You would think, that a global cruiseline's provisioning and logistics team can figure out how & where to source, ship & deliver the basics on a timely basis to the fleet operating ... but, if they can run out of butter, low on tomato juice and short on hash brown potatoes - the sky isn't the limit b/c they aren't dealing with UFO's (just kidding) Look at that picture, while desk/dresser or counter space might be shallow and limited, and look higher or up, there is plenty of wall space - not that difficult to hang or add some shelving - sturdy & not necessary expensive ... and, problems solved, I think. And, or, hang that VoIP telephone on the wall (like the studio cabins) & the plastic holder for the placard(s) on the wall too ... put the tissue holder up there while the work is being done - no electrical, plumbing or general contractor license(s) need for those simple handy work. Haha, better not give NCL any funny ideas or else ... the junior crew members will get extra training to perform the task.

Here, edited & fixed it with my nickel's worth, for your thoughts (not convenience, LOL.) Too bad, NCL doesn't believe in the notion of inviting focus groups aside from their own ... still shaking my head on the reported PWA attempted takeover of the Prima's OL. Validated our reasons to twice cancelled our 2 rooms sailing on her earlier this year, despite the rest of the gangs going and not-so-positive feedback from them about the small & poor use of limited public space, dining, etc. Depending on where NCL is going to seasonally homeport the Joy in 2025 & beyond, especially in colder climate, the complete loss of the OL would not be good, but she was originally designed differently for their hopeful China market, which bottomed up poorly, very badly as I called them 5+ years ago, without a good market analysis ( ... Shanghai's shipyard just launched their own mega 140,000 ton Adora Magic City ship, state of the art tech innovation while NCL is still frozen in time, sadly) Was just looking at MSC this morning about their cabin design with the basics, impressed ... one of these days. We're on the Joy twice in 2022 and had a good look at the balconies and the Family 2 BR (inside) "suite" which we saw lost opportunities ... and the latest round of staffing cutback aren't going to reverse it, despite the increased fees & charges. Compare to NCL mega ship's atrium lobbies, the OL still remained not "that" crowded as a whole - and we spend a good deal of time on Deck 15, not far from the OL, our favorite hangout and the place for afternoon snacks & "tea" - but for the evenings, clearly under-utilized with the action elsewhere with dining & shows. IMHO, restoring a # of "suites" with clearly defined perks & (non-Haven ??) perks could be a good selling basis when the plumbing, electricals and sectional structure capped but in place ... give the contractors a good 4 to 8 weeks, can be done. Studio cabins is another possibility, not just plain "Insides" ... or, perhaps - add some "accessible family cabins" - I see possibilities, speaking strictly with the "corporate" hats on, not as a "critic" per se. Will go with the notion of getting rid of the Galaxy P. in consideration of a thermal suite ... maybe, reclassify some of the nearby cabins as spa balconies too = $$$ There are lots of Haven designations on this ship already, adding more isn't necessary a good thing, unless they can reformulate and balance out the expected high level of services for those premium bookings, or else, will have to resort to discounting and playing the bidding games. They can preserve the bulk of the OL, add some cabins, relocate the "entrances" into the lounge and even section it as a multi-function venues for the "public" There are other "public" space that NCL can re-consider, including the vast & wasted real estate dedicated to shopping & duty-free (true also on the Epic) and maybe that's where they can share/allocate exhibition space to Park West to promote over-priced duty-free artwork, etc. FDR is gone and at most, collecting his consulting fees - Harry and company should, and, need to think outside the box to map the corporate strategy ahead, and figure things ... fully booked ships sailing at 105% double occupancies are great if they can manage to keep most campers happy. Lately, it's not easy to see clear examples of NCL crews and officers going above & beyond ... I know, the biased audience here on CC is just the 5 percentile. BTW, there is nothing to stop NCL from starting the pre dry-dock work while a ship is reposition doing the pond crossings - that'll easily give them another 10+ days as thing get underway, easily done by blocking out some cabins (and, do that early enough to not seriously annoy and piss off cruisers that planned their trips way ahead)

Haven's private courtyard ? 😁 😆 😁

It's a huge port with berths for 7 ships, each with its own terminal ... depending on your dock, can be a very, very long walk out to the statue / bottom or port end of La Rambla. Taxis are plentiful & inexpensive, or use Cabify app instead of Uber.

With a port intensive itinerary, unless you plan to spent a lot of time staying onboard & using the balcony, personally speaking, 2 of us - if we are going to sail the Epic again (recently, TA for 15 nights cruised her to Spain from NY) would just book a balcony. The "nice" bathtub doesn't matter to us, the toilet closet looks the same & functional. Ship is overdue for drydocking and to get a good amount of work to refresh her, balcony railings in need of a fresh coat of clear varnish, rust spots here & there painted over ... mattress overdue for replacement so the topper would likely be necessary (unless they have newish & fancier memory foam mattress for all the suites, which I won't count on. P.S. Remember to pull out the main mattress to fully extend it (unless all are 5' 8" or shorter) as otherwise, it isn't easy to walk around to reach the balcony, pick one with the sofa near the shower for optimal use of the "curved" room layout as designed by the French, one of its only kind. Be mindful of scaled back entertainment in the main theater, lounge shows & entertainers should be fine, after dinner or skipping one to see them (if "on" for that evening) Nothing special about the treats (delivered twice by room service rolling along on a cart to all suites), just go to the buffet before 9:30 pm closing time to get fresh one yourself. Sparking wine is $5 retail ashore, IMHO skip it - couldn't give them away to anyone and Laundry is worth $29, which you can do during special days when offered to all guests (available twice on 10 to 12 nights). Pocket the savings and spend them on shorex, that's our two cents, FWIW. Happy cruising.