Prima / Live / Solo / Feb - 5-12 - 2023...

[sid_9169]

“Call me Ishmael. … Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.”   Herman Melville

 

 

[sid_9169]

I like big boats and I cannot lie. You other brothers can't deny. When you see da big boat commin' down the channel with that big fat aft in ya face, you get sprung!... Sir Mix-a-Lot

 

 

 

[sid_9169]

You could say that this one has been a long time coming… By the time that I step on board the now not so new Norwegian Prima, it will have been a little over three years since I sailed an NCL vessel… 1,155 days, to be exact… The origins of this sailing go all the way back to the “pause in operations” during the pandemic in 2021… I was scheduled to sail upon the NCL Joy from Jamaica, in what they had dubbed “The Great Cruise Comeback”... I had already booked my airfare and hotel in Jamaica, when on May 27th 2021, I received an email from Norwegian stating that the entire idea had been scrubbed. At that point I hadn’t been on a cruise since December of 2019 on the Encore, and I was determined to get myself back on board as soon as possible. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity had already begun fully vaccinated sailings from ports outside the US, and it appeared that things might begin to start happening stateside soon. 

 

 

 

[Slainte57]

🎉🎉🎉Thanks for doing a live review🎉🎉🎉

Ready to rock n’ roll 🥃🍸🍷🍺🛳✈️😎

[vacation44]

Looking forward to reading about your adventure.

[sid_9169]

Three more days of work to go until heading down to Port Canaveral for an afternoon and evening of food and adult beverages... Four more days until I FINALLY get to board the new Norwegian Prima!...

 

 

[sid_9169]

When I had booked the Joy cruise, the customer service rep had suggested I purchase a “Cruise First” certificate wherein I would receive $300 worth of value for only $150… Seemed like a great deal to me, however once the cruise had been canceled, the only way to get use of my purchase was to book another Norwegian cruise. To tell you the truth I was pretty angry about the situation, as they promised that it was really happening this time around. I’d already suffered multiple cancellations on three different lines, so this was nothing new at this point. I decided to take a wait and see approach prior to booking something again, so I just put my Cruise First deposit on the back burner while I already had plans in the near future on Virgin Voyages and Carnival. 

 

 

 

[Lupush]

30 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Three more days of work to go until heading down to Port Canaveral for an afternoon and evening of food and adult beverages... Four more days until I FINALLY get to board the new Norwegian Prima!...

 

 

 

Sid!  Long time, Brother!  Made my day seeing you'll be doing a review of Prima.  I'll be on Prima with the Fam March 19th.  Might have some questions for you while onboard if you don't mind.

[Shaded Lady]

YAY!  A Sid Review! Helps to pass the days!

[cml4958]

So glad you are doing this since I'm on the ship the week after you.  Are you doing Vibe?

[figmentfreak]

Looking forward to vicariously cruising on Prima thru your review. 

[nhtravels]

This is making my freakin' day/week!  Even though I am heading out myself on the Epic, there is nothing better than a Sid live! 

[sid_9169]

Finally, at the end of September 2021, on my birthday no less, I placed a hold on a sailing of the still under construction Norwegian Prima. I had been following the “Everything Prima” thread from the very first post, and this brand new class of ship was world’s away from the previous “away” and “away plus” class of vessels… Most of the new venues had yet to even be revealed, but I knew that I would want to check out the latest and greatest of what they had to offer. I decided that I was happy that my chosen cabin (in the Solo Cabin sector) was fine, even though the price seemed a bit high… I went online and turned my courtesy hold into an actual booking… There were still 497 days to go, and I had sailings booked on 2 other lines at the time, but I figured the prices could only go up from there… 

 

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

2 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

 

 

 

 

Oh my gosh this is the truest meme I have ever seen in my entire life. Enjoy your week full of Saturday's with no errands!

[sid_9169]

Must be some kind of law of the Universe that the last few days prior to vacation are always living Hell... This week seems to be going right along with that law... I should've said "call me Murphy" instead of Ishmael...

 

 

[SenatorsFan]

Bring on the tequila! I can't wait to read all about Prima and see the fun you get into, Sid! 🍹😊

[ceilidh1]

Here for the ride. Or the sail. Or the food. Nah. It's for the alcohol. Better tell my boss that no work will get done for the next week or so...

[sid_9169]

Fast forward to the summer of 2022, and real passenger pictures began to emerge of Norwegians’ new flagship. It was apparent that it would be a huge step towards becoming a more upscale experience. A clear shot across the bow of brands like Celebrity, Viking, and Oceania… The all new, exclusive to the Prima class dining venues were a monumental step forward for NCL, and I don’t even know if I’ll be able to test drive all of them in seven days and nights, although I will give it my best shot. 

 

 

 

[sid_9169]

[AmyJA]

“Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly.”

 

I'm ready!

[Hogladyrider]

@sid_9169....this one is going to be a record setter for sure....already 20+ following.

 

You definitely need to pursue writing and/or food/cruise blogger.

[PistolPete13]

17 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

So true. 

I was riding the NYC subways in 7th grade by myself going to school.  How old is that, 11 or 12 yrs old?

This was during the early 80's too when the subways were really fun!

Looking forward to your impressions of the latest and most controversial ship in NCL's fleet!

Edited February 1, 2023 by PistolPete13

[ontheweb]

59 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Finally, at the end of September 2021, on my birthday no less, I placed a hold on a sailing of the still under construction Norwegian Prima. I had been following the “Everything Prima” thread from the very first post, and this brand new class of ship was world’s away from the previous “away” and “away plus” class of vessels… Most of the new venues had yet to even be revealed, but I knew that I would want to check out the latest and greatest of what they had to offer. I decided that I was happy that my chosen cabin (in the Solo Cabin sector) was fine, even though the price seemed a bit high… I went online and turned my courtesy hold into an actual booking… There were still 497 days to go, and I had sailings booked on 2 other lines at the time, but I figured the prices could only go up from there… 

 

 

 

We also booked the Prima back in 2021 while it was still under construction, though our cruise is not until August. DW and I both fell in love with an itinerary London (Southampton) to Reykjavik. It includes Brugge, Amsterdam, plus stops in Norway and Iceland including an overnight in Reykjavik. We had a previous cruise scheduled in the Norwegian fjords that ended up a Covid cancellation,.

 

I at first did not realize the ship was still under construction, and the cruise would be in 2023, not 2022. If it was 2022, we would have had our 45th wedding anniversary on the ship. We usually do something extra special for the anniversaries ending in 0 or 5 including some cruises. On our 46th on the ship, I intend to pretend it's our 45th. 😉

[rwest898]

Glad you are doing this review, looking forward to it!

[MeganGC1983]

Present. Ready to Prima and “love” and “few”.