Semi-live 48 day adventure: Prima, Getaway, Dawn, and beyond

[Travelicious]

6 minutes ago, Mommapadraig said:

Good night.Im looking forward to cruising with you.,we get on MSC out of port Canaveral next Sunday..

Have a great cruise!

[Travelicious]

@mking8288 sadly, I have not been able to keep up with your live since getting to NYC.  Maybe I can catch up over the sea days.

[mking8288]

@Travelicious  Hey, happy & pleased for 2 of you in getting the most of your short stay in NY and all that walking.  Nothing to be sad about, not to worry ... Peter has the pub crawl under his belt, we'll get to the M&G early for some of us to get acquainted first.  Seemed like just about everyone did fine with ground transfer on their own. Here's to a smooth and earlier than "expected" embarkation, see all soon onboard. 

[Hogladyrider]

@Travelicious WOW what a way to kick off your cruise adventure!  Action packed for sure.  I'd need a sea day or two to recover.  Enjoying following your travels.

[Travelicious]

We could not have asked for better weather during our time in NY!  It was mostly cool and crisp, with a bit of cold and then warming in the sun.  Perfect walkabout weather, and no worries of sweating. 

 

We're patiently waiting in the room for time to summon the Uber.  We've received no less than 10 texts and emails over the last week reminding us not to show up before noon.  I wonder if that means we should get there early.  🙃  I suspect, with the late arrival times, everyone will get there at noon even if their check-in time is 3:00.  Good times!

[Travelicious]

We had a 12:00 - 12:30 check-in time, and arrived at the pier about 12:05 to find that what appeared to be thousands paid no attention to the numerous emails and texts warning to arrive no sooner than noon.  I’m pretty sure most of them were not scheduled for 12-12:30.  Bottom line was that we stood in line outside for 2 hours.    It was a bit chilly, but that is much preferred to bring hot.  

 

We finally moved in to a very long line for security.  Once we were through security, we were able to skip the long check-in line and head to the Latitudes Priority section with no waiting.  

 

We stepped onto the ship right at 2:50, and immediately spotted Penrose Bar.  Obviously we wouldn’t get our traditional sit down embarkation day lunch, so we e ordered our first drinks.  I had a cosmo and then a Monkey Business, which is pre-made and on tap.  It has Screwball whiskey in it and is very tasty.

 

Okay, I’m really not very good at this, as I keep forgetting to take pictures.  No photos of yesterday’s drinks, or our cabin before we junked it up.  Sorry!  I would have forgotten dinner photos if Pookie hadn’t reminded me.

 

Anyway, we were allowed to get into our cabin at some point - I’m guessing a little after 4:00.  All luggage was in the hallway.  We spotted ours and drug them to the room, got unpacked, and rested for a few minutes before heading to dinner.

 

We had a 5:30 reservation at Onda, which we decided to keep even though we d not be outside for sail away.  It was SO good, even the bread!  We will go back during this cruise.  I can’t remember all the names of what we ordered, except the creamy polenta.  This came with a mushrooms in a gravy, which is mixed in with the polenta.  We absolutely loved this!

 

Pookie had a pasta with seafood, and I had a ravioli with ricotta and other good stuff to make a great tasting filling.   I’ll have to get a photo of the menu next time so I can remember the names.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honestly, after just standing so long yesterday, I was in pain and worn out.  Walking is much easier on the body than standing.  I decided to call it a day and retired to the cabin.  Pookie went back out for another drink or 2.  Luckily, I was still awake when she returned so I could remind her to turn off her cellular data and put the phone in airplane mode.  

 

Today is the Meet and Greet.  It will be nice to finally see our roll call friends.

 

I will probably not post again until tomorrow, as I’m going to use the free internet minutes for a couple of days before purchasing the unlimited package.

[JIMESOPUS]

Next visit to Onda try the Filet Mignon, it was some much better than Cagney's. 

[Von & John]

Woo Hoo  --  The Pre-Party is over & the Party has started!!!

Wishing both you & Pookie a Fantabulous Cruise filled w/ Happiness, Adventure & FUN.
Happy Retirement & Von Boyage...

Cheers  --  Von

[Travelicious]

Just popping in for a quick update.  We had a great turnout from members as well as officers.  Even the captain made an appearance.  But the highlight was getting to meet the folks from our roll call at last.  Many didn’t put their CC names on the name tags, so I wasn’t sure who they were and didn’t get to talk to everyone, but did meet two Cruise Critic famous people, @mking8288 and @Sugar Magnolia, along with a host of others.

[schmoopie17]

53 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

Many didn’t put their CC names on the name tags, so I wasn’t sure who they were and didn’t get to talk to everyone, but did meet two Cruise Critic famous people, @mking8288 and @Sugar Magnolia, along with a host of others.

Lucky you, getting up close and personal with two of CC's biggest celebrities. I'm jealous. Did you get their autographs? Is Sugar Magnolia as sweet as her name implies?

[cruiseny4life]

On 4/26/2024 at 7:43 PM, Travelicious said:

We decided to walk to the Empire State building after a bit of a rest.  When we arrived and were pointed to the entrance for those wanting to go to the top, we headed that way.  There was a small line, and a guard-type person providing tickets.  She said $44 per person.  We said, "Nope." After all, we could get almost 2 cocktails each (okay - 1.5 cocktails) almost anywhere in Manhattan for that price!  Made the block and hit the subway to get back to the hotel.  

 

We stopped in long enough to get ourselves on the "waitlist" for 2 coming to Crab House.  By the time we arrived, there was no waiting and we were taken to a table.  Before we left, I saw that I had received a text from Crab House saying, "Dear [Travelicious], we regret to inform you that due to your no-show, we will move on to the next customer in line . . . ."  

 

Almost immediately upon being seated, a waiter dropped off a sizzling tray of scallops and poured what I assume to be a butter mixture on top.  We thought it was a "welcome" greeting, but soon realized they brought it to the wrong table.  Too late!  

 

Crab House is a "buffet," but not in the traditional sense.  You choose from a list, and it is freshly prepared.  And you keep choosing until you are stuffed silly or until 2 hours elapse.  We chose the former.  No way we could keep eating for 2 hours.

 

If anyone at the table chooses the lobster selections offset on the bottom left, the price is $115 pp.  If not, it is $80 pp.  We figured the latter was enough, and we also each had a mai tai.  

 

That I remember, we had the lobster cake, lobster ball, edamame, spring roll, snow crab legs, blue crab with cajun butter sauce (too much trouble for too little reward), spicy shrimp (terrific!), shrimp garlic noodle, and crispy flounder.  Not all are pictured.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not all was ordered at once.  We ordered a few things, and the waiter would come get the menu we marked on.  After the food was delivered, a new menu was provided.  

 

We enjoyed the food, and declared this meal and the Mexican food from last night were superior to the steakhouse on Tuesday night.

 

Satisfied and then some, we happily waddled the 7 blocks back to our hotel.  

Well, after this review, I'm most certainly adding Crab House to our next NYC adventure. Thanks for sharing your experience!!

[Travelicious]

23 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Lucky you, getting up close and personal with two of CC's biggest celebrities. I'm jealous. Did you get their autographs? Is Sugar Magnolia as sweet as her name implies?

She is very sweet!

[Travelicious]

Well, someone over indulged last night and is spending the day in bed.  If you guessed me, you are correct.  Will update here tomorrow.  

[Travelicious]

After the Meet and Greet we had lunch in Hudson’s, then explored more of the ship.  It is a beautiful ship, though a bit confusing to get around.  We are very familiar with the Away ships, and this is nothing like those.

 

We had dinner at Palomar.  I agree with those who have posted that it is not really that good, especially when compared to Onda.  Pookie’s assessment was, “I mean, it’s not disgusting.”  We have another reservation here later in the cruise.  I’m going to change it.

 

She had the Mediterranean salad, which was probably the best part of the meal.  I had grilled octopus.  We shared the whole fish for two, some kind of potatoes and asparagus.  We skipped dessert.

 

 

 

 

Like a big dummy, I decided to get a Sidecar and go to the casino.  That Sidecar wasn’t my only drink.  I don’t know what time I headed back to the room, but there weren’t many people around as I was leaving the casino.  Must have been really late, which I don’t ordinarily do.

 

 

We were in Halifax today.  I did get up, showered and we went out for lunch in town.   Pookie had a burger and I had gnocchi.  

 

 

 

I wasn’t well, though, and came straight back to bed, where I’ve been ever since.  Pookie brought some pizza from the buffet, and now I’m starting to feel human again.  At least I got that out of the way and the lesson will stick for a while.  I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.

[Faulkh]

Just found your report and have been speed reading.  Congratulations on your retirements, enjoy your incredible journey, thanks for sharing with us. 

[Sugar Magnolia]

4 hours ago, Travelicious said:

She is very sweet!

Blushing I am

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

4 hours ago, Travelicious said:

She is very sweet!

@mking8288 is sweet as well and a good sport for taking my blows and punches. 
 

[Travelicious]

Back in the land of the living, but still a super lazy day.  Basically, we at breakfast in Hudson’s, walked around a while to give our room steward time to make the rounds, only to return to find out I touched “do not disturb” instead of “make up room.”  We were sending out the first load of laundry today, so left again to make sure it was collected.

 

We were hoping for a light lunch at Indulge, but every table was taken before they even opened for lunch.  We went to the local for what turned out to be a not so light lunch:  wrangler burger and Reuben.  I also had a Moscow Mule.

 

 

 

 

I saw the last half of Elvis a couple of night ago.  It was coming on when we got back to the room, so decided to watch the beginning.  Then promptly fell asleep.  
 

Dinner was Los Lobos, where they’ve changed the recipe for the chili relleno.  Not it is stuffed with quinoa instead of cheese.  I like quinoa, but not what I expected.  Anyway, it was lots of food and we are stuffed.  We each had 2 margaritas, and a decaf cafe Mexicano.  I forgot to take photos of the mains before we dug in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of days ago, Pookie mentioned that one of her crowns was loose.  This is one she just had redone a month ago.  We joked that she should stay away from corn on the cob.  So tonight she had the corn cut off the cob, and the crown still came off during dinner.  Guess we’ll try to find a dentist in Reykjavik to glue it back on.  It is way too early in the trip for this.

 

Fret not, Dear Readers.  Despite have a few drinks, I’m not going to the casino and am done for the night.  Hopefully we can try Indulge tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

[schmoopie17]

1 minute ago, Travelicious said:

Back in the land of the living, but still a super lazy day.  Basically, we at breakfast in Hudson’s, walked around a while to give our room steward time to make the rounds, only to return to find out I touched “do not disturb” instead of “make up room.”  We were sending out the first load of laundry today, so left again to make sure it was collected.

 

We were hoping for a light lunch at Indulge, but every table was taken before they even opened for lunch.  We went to the local for what turned out to be a not so light lunch:  wrangler burger and Reuben.  I also had a Moscow Mule.

 

 

 

 

I saw the last half of Elvis a couple of night ago.  It was coming on when we got back to the room, so decided to watch the beginning.  Then promptly fell asleep.  
 

Dinner was Los Lobos, where they’ve changed the recipe for the chili relleno.  Not it is stuffed with quinoa instead of cheese.  I like quinoa, but not what I expected.  Anyway, it was lots of food and we are stuffed.  We each had 2 margaritas, and a decaf cafe Mexicano.  I forgot to take photos of the mains before we dug in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of days ago, Pookie mentioned that one of her crowns was loose.  This is one she just had redone a month ago.  We joked that she should stay away from corn on the cob.  So tonight she had the corn cut off the cob, and the crown still came off during dinner.  Guess we’ll try to find a dentist in Reykjavik to glue it back on.  It is way too early in the trip for this.

 

Fret not, Dear Readers.  Despite have a few drinks, I’m not going to the casino and am done for the night.  Hopefully we can try Indulge tomorrow.

 

The next time you're in the Local, see if they can make you a Matador. They had them at O'Sheahan's on the Jade, so they probably make them at the Local. It's a bourbon drink, but a little sweeter.

 

If you order it and don't like it (highly unlikely), send it my way and I'll finish it.

[princess76021]

3 hours ago, Travelicious said:

Back in the land of the living, but still a super lazy day.  Basically, we at breakfast in Hudson’s, walked around a while to give our room steward time to make the rounds, only to return to find out I touched “do not disturb” instead of “make up room.”  We were sending out the first load of laundry today, so left again to make sure it was collected.

 

We were hoping for a light lunch at Indulge, but every table was taken before they even opened for lunch.  We went to the local for what turned out to be a not so light lunch:  wrangler burger and Reuben.  I also had a Moscow Mule.

 

 

 

 

I saw the last half of Elvis a couple of night ago.  It was coming on when we got back to the room, so decided to watch the beginning.  Then promptly fell asleep.  
 

Dinner was Los Lobos, where they’ve changed the recipe for the chili relleno.  Not it is stuffed with quinoa instead of cheese.  I like quinoa, but not what I expected.  Anyway, it was lots of food and we are stuffed.  We each had 2 margaritas, and a decaf cafe Mexicano.  I forgot to take photos of the mains before we dug in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of days ago, Pookie mentioned that one of her crowns was loose.  This is one she just had redone a month ago.  We joked that she should stay away from corn on the cob.  So tonight she had the corn cut off the cob, and the crown still came off during dinner.  Guess we’ll try to find a dentist in Reykjavik to glue it back on.  It is way too early in the trip for this.

 

Fret not, Dear Readers.  Despite have a few drinks, I’m not going to the casino and am done for the night.  Hopefully we can try Indulge tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

if you want to wait till you get home you can try using fixodent

(retired  dental assistant) 

hugs from texas!!!

Edited May 1 by princess76021
more info

[Seas2mountains]

4 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

The next time you're in the Local, see if they can make you a Matador. They had them at O'Sheahan's on the Jade, so they probably make them at the Local. It's a bourbon drink, but a little sweeter.

 

If you order it and don't like it (highly unlikely), send it my way and I'll finish it.

I agree.  This is now my favorite NCL drink as was recommended to me last summer by @bluesea777 when I was on the Spirit.
 

But now, I’m super picky about how this drink is made and I have not found a bartender in the Local or O’Sheahan’s who can make it just right.  I usually need to go to the whiskey bar like Maltings on the Pearl or Gem to find the bartender who could make it just like it was made in Henry’s pub on the Spirit.  I won’t be on Prima until later this summer but if you find a bar that makes a great matador, please let me know and thank you! I’m not a picky person but it’s something about the ginger or orange bitters that makes or breaks this drink. 

 

Have a wonderful cruise! Loving your live review and photos. Congratulations on the retirements. So excited to read about your adventures on all three ships! Thank you for taking the time! 

[FlatFooted Freda]

Traveliscious - thanks so much for this great review.

Have you found a good hotel for Copenhagen?  We too will be staying one night, then flying out the next day.

[Travelicious]

4 hours ago, FlatFooted Freda said:

Traveliscious - thanks so much for this great review.

Have you found a good hotel for Copenhagen?  We too will be staying one night, then flying out the next day.

We are staying at the Comfort Hotel at the airport.  From reviews, I can’t say it is good, but very basic.  Our flight is at 6:30 a.m. the following morning, so proximity is most important to us for this stay.

[Travelicious]

After eating way too much yesterday, we skipped breakfast and headed to Indulge at around 11:15 to claim a table for the 12:00 lunch service.  We learned yesterday that this was a necessity.

 

 I read on my Kindle and Pookie played a game on her phone as we waited.  The time finally arrived, and we placed orders for several items, which soon began to arrive one at a time.  Again, I forgot to take photos of most items.  Sorry.  Here’s what I got:

 

 

 

We also ordered the bacon-wrapped dates, a salad, soup and one or two other items.  Surprisingly, the soup and salad arrived last.

 

It wasn’t too long into the service that people were coming through looking for a table.  Someone stood a few feet away and looked at us for a while, then approached to ask if she could have our table when we were done.  But “take your time,” she said.  Eventually she must have decided to go elsewhere.  Then a man circled by a couple of times before leaning on the column next to our booth, right next to me, before asking if we were almost done.  We told him that we still had items coming, so he moved on to someone else.  It was like vultures, really.  There has to be a better way for this facility, which seems to be the only one without a hostess.

 

As far as the food, it was just okay.  The best items were the gnocchi and the dates. We won’t go back for lunch, but may try it for dinner if there is a different menu.  I guess we’ll either go to Hudson’s or The Commodore Room for dinner tonight.

 

We were waitlisted for dinner with the officers, and received a letter today advising the date and time.  We had a conflicting dinner reservation, but were able to get it changed, so we are good to go.  Hope we get interesting people.  Pookie has never done this and I’ve done it only once.

 

One other oversight has occurred related to Latitudes benefits.  We have not yet received our cartons of water, and we should get 2 each.  We advised Cruise Next yesterday, and again today.  Hopefully they will be delivered before we get to Iceland, as the smaller cartons are easier to take off the ship.

[Travelicious]

Oh, and I just discovered that Pookie did not really bring any warm clothes.  🙃