Norwegian Prima’s First US Sailing - Bermuda Short Break *LIVE*

[CruizinSusan70]

4 minutes ago, uneamie said:

 I don't know if it's the Haven guest taking up the reservations or not because they get priority seating in all venues. 

I'm still questioning the fact about Haven guests getting priority seating in Syd's.  Our last NCL cruise was February 2019 on the Bliss and as long as we showed up early we never had a problem getting seats in the Cavern Club.  No reservations were listed on the Birds posted sheet, even the Rumours show, which should definitely be switched to the big theater, similar to how there was one showing of the Beatles tribute band in the theater on the Bliss.

[uneamie]

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

This is totally inaccurate. There are 107 suites. There are 2155 other rooms. Almost all reservations are for non Havem guests. 

I'm just going by the reviews. Am I not suppose to believe them? BTW 107 suites can equal over 300 guest. If they all use their priority seating for the 50 seat comedy club then I guess that could be a problem. Just doing the math. That said, it's not just the extra Haven suites on this ship that's the issue, it's the limited seating. I'm not blaming the Haven guest...they paid extra for their perks, I'm suggesting that the planners for this ship did not plan it out well. Hopefully they will put some of the comedy acts in the theater or find some alternatives. 

[BirdTravels]

We need power! NCL has tried to address the need for power to charge devices. 

 

Desktop included 3 US, 1 European, USB and USB-C. The Bird always suggests that from a cybersecurity perspective, people should never ever plug devices into “public” USB ports and always use charger plugs. 

 

Bedside. 1 US plug. Now, if you have a big charger cube, the light switch gets in the way. And the nightstands on either side of the bed have standard and C USB plugs. 

 

Bathroom - Shavers only. No blow dryers. 

Edited October 15, 2022 by BirdTravels

[uneamie]

5 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

No. It has nothing to do with the Haven. They are a tiny part of the passenger population. 
 

You know that NCL has not allowed advanced pre-bookings of shows since the restart in August 2021. 
 

Entertainment schedules remain fluid. COVID and availability of guest performers continue to influence schedules. And on many ships, the entertainment schedules are finalized a few days prior to departure. 

Not sure why others are saying they could not get reservations ahead and they were all booked up but maybe they misunderstood the app results.  Perhaps your explanation is why. I did see one or two people say that you should book immediately upon boarding the ship.....so in that case Haven does have an advantage since they are first to board. Guess I will see when I get there. The bottom line here in all my responses to this issue is that is appears to be an actual issue....WHY it's an issue is not clear to me. 

[CruizinSusan70]

2 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Bedside. 1 US plug. 

Fabulous for CPAP users!  👍

[Diver2014]

Wow!  What an awesome review!  And what an awesome ship!  We're booked for July next year from Southampton to Iceland (not going to try to spell those names).  The observation lounge looks fabulous - that's one thing I miss on a lot of ships.  Everything looks amazing!  Because our cruise will be shore excursion intensive, much of the entertainment doesn't appeal to us because we'll probably be in bed by 9pm to get ready for the next day!  Only 2 sea days out of 11!   Thanks again for so much information and fabulous photos!

[graphicguy]

16 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

I'm still questioning the fact about Haven guests getting priority seating in Syd's.  Our last NCL cruise was February 2019 on the Bliss and as long as we showed up early we never had a problem getting seats in the Cavern Club.  No reservations were listed on the Birds posted sheet, even the Rumours show, which should definitely be switched to the big theater, similar to how there was one showing of the Beatles tribute band in the theater on the Bliss.

Are you questioning if Haven guests are getting priority entrance and seating?  If so, yes, they do.  

[CruizinSusan70]

3 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Are you questioning if Haven guests are getting priority entrance and seating?  If so, yes, they do.  

They certainly did not get it in the Cavern Club when we sailed on the Bliss. We showed up 30 minutes ahead of time and always got seats.  Not in the mood to have to wait outside the venue for 60+ minutes in order to see the Rumours show.

[BirdTravels]

21 minutes ago, uneamie said:

I'm just going by the reviews. Am I not suppose to believe them? BTW 107 suites can equal over 300 guest. If they all use their priority seating for the 50 seat comedy club then I guess that could be a problem. Just doing the math. That said, it's not just the extra Haven suites on this ship that's the issue, it's the limited seating. I'm not blaming the Haven guest...they paid extra for their perks, I'm suggesting that the planners for this ship did not plan it out well. Hopefully they will put some of the comedy acts in the theater or find some alternatives. 

For our NoiseBoys show, there were 4 Haven guests escorted into the Prima Theater.
 

For our show of the Donna Summer story, there were 12 escorted in for advance seating. 
 

There were no Haven escorts to our comedy show. 

[JGmf]

49 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

There is Solier Bar at the back of the ship

 

There are two Hydrate Kiosks on either side of the ship at the Infinity Beaches. 

 

There is the Prima Speedway Bar

 

There is the Waves Pool Bar on the pool deck

 

There is the Vibe bar

Edited 46 minutes ago by BirdTravels

 

Thanks so much for all of these photos, the "outdoor bar tour" of the Prima.  Wow! The Vibe bar looks spectacular.  I'm not sure if we are going to buy Vibe passes (probably not), but this may be the tipping point.

[BirdTravels]

If you got hair, the Prima has a dryer for you. And brand new!  Over the years, we have concluded that the cruise ship hairdryers work good enough and ever carry our own. 
 

[CruizinSusan70]

2 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

For our NoiseBoys show, there were 4 Haven guests escorted into the Prima Theater.
 

For our show of the Donna Summer story, there were 12 escorted in for advance seating. 
 

There were no Haven escorts to our comedy show. 

You could have 50 Haven guests escorted into the theater and it wouldn't matter because of the small percentage of the venue they were taking up.

But, if the same 50 guests were allowed into Syd's before steerage, now that's where the problem is because then steerage is standing room only.

[Red-Sol]

3 minutes ago, uneamie said:

Not sure why others are saying they could not get reservations ahead and they were all booked up but maybe they misunderstood the app results.  Perhaps your explanation is why. I did see one or two people say that you should book immediately upon boarding the ship.....so in that case Haven does have an advantage since they are first to board. Guess I will see when I get there. The bottom line here in all my responses to this issue is that is appears to be an actual issue....WHY it's an issue is not clear to me. 

 

The question regarding reservations and Haven access to Syd's has been nothing short of a cluster. I don't believe that any one person has properly explained (and may not even understand) what the ongoing process will be for making any reservations for entertainment either today or going forward. Here is my personal summary as to where my anger and concern is coming from based on many responses to this.

 

1. Reservations for *all* shows can be made immediately upon boarding and there may or may not be any availability to do so. (To me this is totally different than other ship classes that have venues similar to Syd's like the Cavern Club where reservations were never made...people would simply lineup an hour or so before the show in order to get in)

 

2. Haven guests could be escorted into Syd's before anyone else through a back door and may or may not even need a reservation. (This is where much of the anger is coming from)

 

3. Making any reservations for Syd's may even be a temporary thing.

 

4. Much of the frustration can be (and probably will be) alleviated by doing shows in the theater as it becomes more readily available to layout schedules.

 

5. A lot of this is probably due to the newness of the ship and trying to figure some of it out as they go.

 

My summation anyways and I am now at least a little bit hopeful that I will be able to get into Syd's (or the theater) on a future cruise on Prima. 😉

 

 

[CruizinSusan70]

3 minutes ago, Red-Sol said:

 

The question regarding reservations and Haven access to Syd's has been nothing short of a cluster. I don't believe that any one person has properly explained (and may not even understand) what the ongoing process will be for making any reservations for entertainment either today or going forward. Here is my personal summary as to where my anger and concern is coming from based on many responses to this.

 

1. Reservations for *all* shows can be made immediately upon boarding and there may or may not be any availability to do so. (To me this is totally different than other ship classes that have venues similar to Syd's like the Cavern Club where reservations were never made...people would simply lineup an hour or so before the show in order to get in)

 

2. Haven guests could be escorted into Syd's before anyone else through a back door and may or may not even need a reservation. (This is where much of the anger is coming from)

 

3. Making any reservations for Syd's may even be a temporary thing.

 

4. Much of the frustration can be (and probably will be) alleviated by doing shows in the theater as it becomes more readily available to layout schedules.

 

5. A lot of this is probably due to the newness of the ship and trying to figure some of it out as they go.

 

My summation anyways and I am now at least a little bit hopeful that I will be able to get into Syd's (or the theater) on a future cruise on Prima. 😉

 

 

I see what you're saying Joe, but you stated that reservations could be made for all shows and this statement does not correlate with the check off list that Bird downloaded earlier in the thread. It contained options for Donna Summer, Noise Boys, Price is Right and comedy in both the Improv as well as the theater.  No option for Rumours in Syd's.

[BirdTravels]

6 minutes ago, Red-Sol said:

 

The question regarding reservations and Haven access to Syd's has been nothing short of a cluster. I don't believe that any one person has properly explained (and may not even understand) what the ongoing process will be for making any reservations for entertainment either today or going forward. Here is my personal summary as to where my anger and concern is coming from based on many responses to this.

 

1. Reservations for *all* shows can be made immediately upon boarding and there may or may not be any availability to do so. (To me this is totally different than other ship classes that have venues similar to Syd's like the Cavern Club where reservations were never made...people would simply lineup an hour or so before the show in order to get in)

 

2. Haven guests could be escorted into Syd's before anyone else through a back door and may or may not even need a reservation. (This is where much of the anger is coming from)

 

3. Making any reservations for Syd's may even be a temporary thing.

 

4. Much of the frustration can be (and probably will be) alleviated by doing shows in the theater as it becomes more readily available to layout schedules.

 

5. A lot of this is probably due to the newness of the ship and trying to figure some of it out as they go.

 

My summation anyways and I am now at least a little bit hopeful that I will be able to get into Syd's (or the theater) on a future cruise on Prima. 😉

 

 

First and foremost, Syd’s or the Cavern Club on other ships is not reservable. First Come First Serve. 

[uneamie]

9 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

For our NoiseBoys show, there were 4 Haven guests escorted into the Prima Theater.
 

For our show of the Donna Summer story, there were 12 escorted in for advance seating. 
 

There were no Haven escorts to our comedy show. 

I'm guessing, and that's just a guess, that you are a Haven guest otherwise how would you know all that? And if you are a Haven guest then I can believe what you are saying over other reviews. But it still leaves the limited seating an issue regardless of WHO is getting the seats. 

[The Traveling Man]

8 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

This is totally inaccurate. There are 107 suites. There are 2155 other rooms. Almost all reservations are for non Havem guests. 

I haven't double checked the stateroom count, but your numbers don't seem to add up.  Most rooms are rated for double occupancy, and some Haven suites are rated for four or more.  The total rated capacity of the ship is 3099, so that would mean that there are something like 1300 Studio rooms for single passengers and only a bit more than 800 total Inside, OV, and Balcony for double occupancy.

[BirdTravels]

The beautiful 3-story Penrose Atrium. The “chandelier” is nicer than other new ships (specifically the $1M chandelier on the Encore). 
 

 

[Red-Sol]

5 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

I see what you're saying Joe, but you stated that reservations could be made for all shows and this statement does not correlate with the check off list that Bird downloaded earlier in the thread. It contained options for Donna Summer, Noise Boys, Price is Right and comedy in both the Improv as well as the theater.  No option for Rumours in Syd's.

 

It may not have been from Bird's check off list...but I am certain that someone in one of the various reviews mentioned needing reservations for Rumours in Syd's. 🤔

[Red-Sol]

9 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

First and foremost, Syd’s or the Cavern Club on other ships is not reservable. First Come First Serve. 

 

That is good to know...as long as the 100 people or so waiting in line to get in can also get a seat there shouldn't be any problem.

[BirdTravels]

9 minutes ago, uneamie said:

I'm guessing, and that's just a guess, that you are a Haven guest otherwise how would you know all that? And if you are a Haven guest then I can believe what you are saying over other reviews. But it still leaves the limited seating an issue regardless of WHO is getting the seats. 

The Birds were not in the Haven on this cruise. The Bird just responds with facts on what really is going on versus unsubstantiated claims like “300 Haven guest travel in packs and show up for every show taking up all of the seats”. 

[CruizinSusan70]

19 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

First and foremost, Syd’s or the Cavern Club on other ships is not reservable. First Come First Serve. 

Thank you for the crystal clear clarification.  Now we just need the back door to be locked for the Haven, lol.

[The Traveling Man]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

But you can reserve seats ahead of time and the Bird said you could reserve multiple shows.  On his five day sailing, there were two shows on four of the days at the Improv and the fifth day the two comedians were in the big theater for a 45 minute set.

Personally I'm hoping there is a live thread on the 12 day repo cruise from NYC to Galveston that leaves today so I can get a feel for the schedule that should be similar to our 11 day on the 31st.

We were on the Copenhagen to Southampton voyage on the Prima.  We arrived at the cruise terminal about 11:00 and went straight to the head of the priority line, bypassing about 500 or 600 others waiting in line (being a Diamond Latitudes member does have its rewards).  After check-in, we walked straight onto the ship.  I would estimate that no more than a couple of hundred other passengers had managed to get on board before us.  We went straight to our muster station, where the check-in process took all of 15 seconds, then directly to Syd Norman's and the comedy club to make reservations.  Again, even though there were about 1700 passengers on this cruise, I don't think that more than a couple of hundred people in total could have gotten there ahead of us.  We were told that every seat in every comedy club show for the entire ten day cruise was fully booked.  Thinking that this simply was not possible, we asked to speak to a supervisor.  After some hemming and hawing, they agreed that there might just still be a little more room in some of the shows, so they marked us up for one show on each of two nights.  We were not able to reserve any show in Syd Norman's, but there was no problem getting seats in the main auditorium for each of the main stage shows.  Normally, of course, we should have been able to book most entertainment online months in advance of the sailing date, but for some reason that was not possible on this cruise.  Things may have improved on the following cruises, and may get even better in the future, but that was our experience a couple of weeks ago.

Edited October 15, 2022 by The Traveling Man

[CruizinSusan70]

13 minutes ago, Red-Sol said:

 

That is good to know...as long as the 100 people or so waiting in line to get in can also get a seat there shouldn't be any problem.

There will be a problem.  It's a SRO situation and people will be turned away, guaranteed.  Luckily our first time on the Prima is for 11 nights, so I would infer that there will be two showings of Rumours.  By the time we're back on her at the end of February hopefully the powers that be will implement a showing in the theater with reservations.

[BirdTravels]

The Indulge Food Hall uses an “iPad” based ordering system. 
 

The way the food hall is currently configured, it you are at a table, you can order from any food stall. Waiters will deliver your food  to your table. And service is really quick.
 

WARNING: If you are at bar seating at a food stall, you can only order from that food stall.
 

You are welcome to walk up to any other food stall and pick up food and take it with you to your seat. 

 

Edited October 15, 2022 by BirdTravels