NCL Prima - Observation Lounge closed for the entire cruise

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, robinium said:

I don’t understand why they need to have the speakers playing so loud either. Can they not turn them off in the passenger section… or at least turn the volume down? From the sounds of the claps, there are less than 10 people in there. 

 

I’m glad we’re getting that 20% off FCC. Seriously hope they don’t do this again, as it is impossible to enjoy being here with this audio, I’m leaving after this drink. 

The speakers are loud to get you excited about the art auction.

I expect Park West has a contract with NCL to provide a location.  They may well try this again.

[RocketMan275]

16 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Haven's private courtyard ? 😁 😆 😁

How about Hudson's?  You don't have to have a special key card for access and it has a great view with plenty of seating.  

[luv2kroooz]

Interesting to me to see how many seem to be upset with Park West. That anger is fully misdirected.

[RocketMan275]

Just now, luv2kroooz said:

Interesting to me to see how many seem to be upset with Park West. That anger is fully misdirected.

I suspect directing the anger towards Park West is fully justified.  I suspect using the OL as a venue was PW's idea.  From their perspective, it is an ideal location.

[luv2kroooz]

4 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I suspect directing the anger towards Park West is fully justified.  I suspect using the OL as a venue was PW's idea.  From their perspective, it is an ideal location.

Why would you suspect that? Norwegian Cruise Lines assigns the space for groups. It's not like Park West came onboard and decided to close off part of the observation lounge. On prior VIP cruises, they've occupied the dining room and Syd Normans. Oh, but  Syds on Prima is so small, that wouldn't work.

 

On many cruises, I've never seen the regular art auctions held in Spinnaker, Observation lounge, etc.

Edited June 10, 2023 by luv2kroooz

[graphicguy]

19 hours ago, ggTexasGal said:

NCL: The loss of the Observation Lounge for an entire cruise would be infuriating!!!

Agree…bad move on NCL’s part.  I have to believe NCL personnel are new?  They

seem to be making quite a few questionable decisions that make little business and/or customer service sense!

[RocketMan275]

12 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

Why would you suspect that? Norwegian Cruise Lines assigns the space for groups. It's not like Park West came onboard and decided to close off part of the observation lounge. On prior VIP cruises, they've occupied the dining room and Syd Normans. Oh, but  Syds on Prima is so small, that wouldn't work.

 

On many cruises, I've never seen the regular art auctions held in Spinnaker, Observation lounge, etc.

Park West has a contract with NCL for space for their art auctions.  As you say inside space on Prima is at a premium and many other spaces wouldn't work.  The OL is an ideal space from PW's perspective.  Putting PW in the OL is one way of dealing with the limited inside areas.  Do you have another idea?  

[luv2kroooz]

8 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Park West has a contract with NCL for space for their art auctions.  As you say inside space on Prima is at a premium and many other spaces wouldn't work.  The OL is an ideal space from PW's perspective.  Putting PW in the OL is one way of dealing with the limited inside areas.  Do you have another idea?  

No, I don't have another idea. I've already shared my opinion that Prima is a disaster from a design perspective. Someone at NCL will now need to figure this out because Harry won't want to issue cruise credits to thousands of people each week. Where do they hold the regular weekly auctions on Prima? Maybe they need to keep the VIP program on ships that are more sensibly designed and able to accommodate them.

 

My point is simply that NCL makes the final determination as to where Park West holds  art auctions. People are free to personally dislike Park West, me included by the way, but blaming Park West for holding an art auction in a venue assigned by NCL doesn't reconcile.

Edited June 10, 2023 by luv2kroooz

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, robinium said:

 

Update: The staff operating the bar here just told us they are so unhappy as they have to listen to this sh*t all day long 😂

You really have to feel sorry for them!

[luv2kroooz]

2 hours ago, robinium said:

Update: The staff operating the bar here just told us they are so unhappy as they have to listen to this sh*t all day long 😂

 

Please resist the temptation to sensationalize the issue. If we are talking about a VIP event, it is usually a two hour auction in the morning on sea days  and a preview event from 5 pm to 7pm around cocktail hour.

Edited June 10, 2023 by luv2kroooz

[insidecabin]

17 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Agree…bad move on NCL’s part.  I have to believe NCL personnel are new?  They

seem to be making quite a few questionable decisions that make little business and/or customer service sense!

This would have been planned months ago(maybe over a year for the need for invites).

 

Someone probably knows how far in advance they get these invites.

 

This sort of decision would have gone very high up even if part of a wider program.

 

[The Traveling Man]

44 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

How about Hudson's?  You don't have to have a special key card for access and it has a great view with plenty of seating.  

Hudson's is needed at meal times and would not be available to Park West 24/7.

[RocketMan275]

1 minute ago, The Traveling Man said:

Hudson's is needed at meal times and would not be available to Park West 24/7.

There really isn't a good place for Park West 24/7 which raises the questions why does PW need 24/7 access and what areas would satisfy 24/7 access for PW?

[The Traveling Man]

6 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

Please resist the temptation to sensationalize the issue. If we are talking about a VIP event, it is usually a two hour auction in the morning on sea days  and a preview event from 5 pm to 7pm around cocktail hour.

The entire point of this thread is that this is not "usually a two hour auction."  This is 24/7 for the duration of the cruise.

[The Traveling Man]

2 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

There really isn't a good place for Park West 24/7 which raises the questions why does PW need 24/7 access and what areas would satisfy 24/7 access for PW?

Precisely...WHY?

[luv2kroooz]

7 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

The entire point of this thread is that this is not "usually a two hour auction."  This is 24/7 for the duration of the cruise.

The closure is 24/7, agreed.

I am responding to a comment about the crew complaining that they had to listen to art auctions all day. The VIP auctions are 2 hours per day on sea days only

I am on your side with respect to the 24/7 closure.

Edited June 10, 2023 by luv2kroooz

[luv2kroooz]

5 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

There really isn't a good place for Park West 24/7 which raises the questions why does PW need 24/7 access and what areas would satisfy 24/7 access for PW?

They don't need 24 hour access. Ive been to VIP events. On Breakaway, the auctions were held in Manhattan room from 10 to noon. The evening cocktail event was held in Fat Cats from 5-7, now Syd Normans. Outside of the times mentioned above, the venue was available to the general ship population. Someone at NCL screwed this up.

[The Traveling Man]

1 minute ago, luv2kroooz said:

The closure is 24/7, agreed.

I am responding to a comment about the crew complaining that they had to listen to art auctions all day. The auctions are 2 hours per day on sea days.

I am on your side with respect to the 24/7 closure.

Got it.  Thanks for the clarification.  I wonder how the bar staff feels about having more than half of the lounge roped off for the benefit of only about ten passengers (per an earlier report).  I would assume it means that the total occupancy of the lounge is well below normal numbers. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

Someone at NCL screwed this up.

That pretty much sums up this thread!

[RocketMan275]

20 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

The entire point of this thread is that this is not "usually a two hour auction."  This is 24/7 for the duration of the cruise.

 

18 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

Precisely...WHY?

I suspect the auctions weren't 24/7 but PW wanted an area with limited access where they could set up one time and use for all the cruise.  This is very typical of all the cruise lines where a group, in this case PW, can get exclusive use of an area for a price.  As I've said before, some partial charters have received the exclusive use of a specific dining room for their guests.  Other groups have had exclusive use of areas with great views while in scenic areas.  Sure, their other guests complained.  NCL is the only one I've heard of that compensated their other guests.  In the case of the reserved MDR, the cruise lines response was 'we didn't promise you access to that facility and there are other places to eat'.

PW also wanted an area with great views so that could be part of the attraction to their auctions.  "Come enjoy the view, have a glass of cheap champagne, and find great deals on art".

[luv2kroooz]

41 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

"Come enjoy the view, have a glass of cheap champagne, and find great deals on art".

I can only suspect you've not been invited to or attended a VIP event sponsored by Park West. There is nothing cheap about a VIP event. Granted, their customers have paid for it through their previous art purchases, but to suggest they serve cheap champagne and offer deals on art at VIP events is foolish. VIP events have open bar included during the auctions, which is self-fulfilling for Park West. There are no deals. Many of the works are originals. If you want it, you pay for it. I think you might be confusing the general art auctions with the VIP, invitation only, event.

[foodsvcmgr]

Removing Observation Lounges to add more cabins has unfortunate precedent with NCL - Dawn, Star, and POA.

Taking away public space is never a good idea except to the bean counters…..

[RocketMan275]

30 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

I can only suspect you've not been invited to or attended a VIP event sponsored by Park West. There is nothing cheap about a VIP event. Granted, their customers have paid for it through their previous art purchases, but to suggest they serve cheap champagne and offer deals on art at VIP events is foolish. VIP events have open bar included during the auctions, which is self-fulfilling for Park West. There are no deals. Many of the works are originals. If you want it, you pay for it. I think you might be confusing the general art auctions with the VIP, invitation only, event.

PW is far to wise to invite me to any of their overhyped events selling overpriced 'art'.  I'm too intelligent to ever consider attending.  However, you're comment about an open bar explains why PW wanted to limit access to their vip events.  If, in fact, the 'art' exhibited was original, that would explain why PW wanted to exclude anyone not on their invitation list even during the hours when there were no active auctions going on.  After all, these expensive originals would need protection from the common folk.

 

BTW, I didn't mean to imply that PW's 'art' was cheap.  Only that it was overpriced just like the watches, jewelry, and other trinkets sold onboard.

Edited June 10, 2023 by RocketMan275

[robinium]

2 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

Please resist the temptation to sensationalize the issue. If we are talking about a VIP event, it is usually a two hour auction in the morning on sea days  and a preview event from 5 pm to 7pm around cocktail hour.

It is not sensationalised, the staff running the bar actually told us that, as another couple standing next to us complained about the sound. Also, it was running for quite a long time today. 
 

Those staff have been up there all day, every day for the entire cruise listening to passengers complaining about the issue with the lounge, and on top of that, they’ve been listening to loudly broadcast, pretentious cr*p in the background for a significant portion of each day (more than 2 hours, I assure you). It’s reasonable to believe they’d be a bit disgruntled. 

Edited June 10, 2023 by robinium

[CGinMTL]

On 6/9/2023 at 12:46 PM, robinium said:

Success! All guests have been given some compensation as a result of the situation… 

 

This letter has been placed outside every stateroom. Now, as to whether it will result in NCL ceasing to hire out key venues, I’m not sure, but getting them to acknowledge that they “got it wrong” is a start!

 

 

2023-06-09 18.40.59.pdf 165.78 kB · 150 downloads

Bravo to you and the cc community.