Live - NCL Prima - 06/23-07/04/2024 - Southampton, Belgium, Amsterdam, Norway and Iceland - Is it more beautiful than Alaska?

[Seas2mountains]

20 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

It sounds bad (I know), but I always shudder a little when those with dietary needs are at the table. The food is never quite as good even when the chef makes the other food separately. 

Thank you. Yes, I agree. We try to be sensitive but this request ruined the dining experience for seven of nine people at the table. 

[Ellis1138]

Sorry you had that experience. I always pre-order my food, but don't do the Teppanyaki. I don't know what happened with that. 

 

For us, I worried that the 8 hour Jewels of the North with Lunch would be too much. But we had a great time.

[Seas2mountains]

35 minutes ago, Ellis1138 said:

Sorry you had that experience. I always pre-order my food, but don't do the Teppanyaki. I don't know what happened with that. 

 

For us, I worried that the 8 hour Jewels of the North with Lunch would be too much. But we had a great time.

Glad you had a great time with the Jewels of the North excursion.  It sounds like pre-ordering food with dietary restrictions tends to work well. So glad it sounds like it is working for you. 

[Seas2mountains]

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

We also enjoyed very much that botanical garden.

Yes, we did, too.  We expected to pay an admissions fee and were so surprised this was not collected. 

Edited Monday at 11:32 PM by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

Good night from Iceland and the Midnight Sun. 

[odie1024]

@Seas2mountains was that a public bus you took to the Lagoon? I was in Reykjavik last November and did the Sky lagoon which was so much fun. Will have to keep this Lagoon in mind for next year.

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

We did this cruise in reverse.   The Prima is NOT suited to cold weather cruising and should not be used in the North Atlantic/North Sea.

 

Use it in the Caribbean or Mediterranean.

[McFins]

10 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

Thank you. This is the only ship where we have experienced this. 

This happened to us twice, first on the Gem (Head Mixologist) and then on the Prima (Food and Beverage Manager).   We were pleasantly surprised by it.  

[Ellis1138]

So, cookies and real dairy for coffee have been located on the Prima. 

But then I noticed the hot cocoa packets absent at the buffet.

I asked a crew member and they got some out of a cabinet for me.

[Seas2mountains]

12 hours ago, odie1024 said:

@Seas2mountains was that a public bus you took to the Lagoon? I was in Reykjavik last November and did the Sky lagoon which was so much fun. Will have to keep this Lagoon in mind for next year.

It was operated by Forest Lagoon. 
 

Thank you for the suggestion for Sky Lagoon. A crew member said it was closer than Blue Lagoon. 

[Seas2mountains]

11 hours ago, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

We did this cruise in reverse.   The Prima is NOT suited to cold weather cruising and should not be used in the North Atlantic/North Sea.

 

Use it in the Caribbean or Mediterranean.

I agree with you that Prima has so many outdoor options that are best in warm weather environments.  We were lucky to have beautiful weather in Southampton, Bruges, and Amsterdam and the outside areas were definitely being used.  
 

We were happier to get on the Prima than Dawn or Star when seeing these ships in ports this cruise. 

[Seas2mountains]

10 hours ago, McFins said:

This happened to us twice, first on the Gem (Head Mixologist) and then on the Prima (Food and Beverage Manager).   We were pleasantly surprised by it.  

It is a nice touch and kind of them to do this. 

[Seas2mountains]

Here are some photos from our walk around Isofjordur. We appreciated being docked as Coral Princess and NCL Star were using tenders. We know the dock is new. 
 

The small town did seem a little crowded with three ships in port. 

We opted out of climbing up the hill/mountain to the observation area even though the weather was good. 
 

If we were to come here again, we may check into doing an excursion. 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Seas2mountains said:

Here are some photos from our walk around Isofjordur. We appreciated being docked as Coral Princess and NCL Star were using tenders. We know the dock is new. 
 

The small town did seem a little crowded with three ships in port. 

We opted out of climbing up the hill/mountain to the observation area even though the weather was good. 
 

If we were to come here again, we may check into doing an excursion. 

Lucky you, like everyone else last summer, we never made it to Isafjordur because the dock was not  ready and the Prima was not equipped to tender.

 

We had what we thought was an excellent private excursion booked with a small local vendor that basically consisted of a nature walk by a guide in a local costume. We paid in advance and the terms included she kept 5% if the tour did not come off. I kept telling her that it did not look like the ship would dock. She replied it looks like you really do not want the excursion, which would have been a 100% penalty.

 

When we finally got the word that it was an official no go, I forwarded it to her. Her reply was first that since the cancellation was not due to the ship not docking she wanted to keep 40%, but then she realized it was not out fault, and said she was keeping 10%. I would have definitely contacted the cc company if she had tried to keep 40%, but the difference between 5 and 10% was not large enough to really hassle, and I also felt sorry for her as a small business person being screwed by NCL and the people who did not get the dock ready for any time last summer. She did offer us a discount if we are ever back in Isafjordur, but I really doubt that is ever going to happen.

[Seas2mountains]

5 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Lucky you, like everyone else last summer, we never made it to Isafjordur because the dock was not  ready and the Prima was not equipped to tender.

 

We had what we thought was an excellent private excursion booked with a small local vendor that basically consisted of a nature walk by a guide in a local costume. We paid in advance and the terms included she kept 5% if the tour did not come off. I kept telling her that it did not look like the ship would dock. She replied it looks like you really do not want the excursion, which would have been a 100% penalty.

 

When we finally got the word that it was an official no go, I forwarded it to her. Her reply was first that since the cancellation was not due to the ship not docking she wanted to keep 40%, but then she realized it was not out fault, and said she was keeping 10%. I would have definitely contacted the cc company if she had tried to keep 40%, but the difference between 5 and 10% was not large enough to really hassle, and I also felt sorry for her as a small business person being screwed by NCL and the people who did not get the dock ready for any time last summer. She did offer us a discount if we are ever back in Isafjordur, but I really doubt that is ever going to happen.

That sounds like a great tour. We loved an excursion we had in Skagway, Alaska where the guide was in costume but it wasn’t a nature walk. 
 

I’m sorry to hear you did not get to visit due to the dock issues and the fact that Prima cannot do tenders. 
 

That is crazy you had to deal with the issues and cost related to the tour cancellation. For us, Isofjordur was our least favorite port stops of the cruise.  

[Seas2mountains]

We had dinner in Palomar this evening. I have read the CC reviews from others about their experience with food at this restaurant. 

We were pleasantly surprised to be seated at a table with beautiful views by the big windows. We had a later reservation and expected all the good tables would have been taken as the restaurant was mostly full. 

When my husband read the menu, he asked about sharing the fish for two. I was happy to hear that as I had read good feedback about that menu item and it was what I preferred, too. We were told it would take 45 minutes for it to be cooked after we ordered it.  My husband said well after the long wait we had at Hasuki last night to receive our food, 45 minutes is nothing. 
 

Shortly after placing our order, the Maitre D’ (manager) for Palomar let us know she was aware of the feedback we shared about our Hasuki experience and they will likely prepare the food for those with specific preferences or dietary concerns in the kitchen so the rest of the group didn’t have to wait. 
 

Back to Palomar, we had excellent service from one or the best waiters, Marc Phillip, who also suggested a great Sauvignon Blanc which paired well with our food. 
 

The bread is grilled sourdough with olive oil with fresh oregano.  
 

We ordered the grilled octopus and seafood salad for appetizers and we both ordered the Greek salad. 
 

The Branzino fish came with grilled carrots and the fish was cut and deboned at our table which was neat to watch. We ordered grilled asparagus and the pommes puree (mashed potatoes). 

It was all so good and we couldn’t finish it all. We passed on desserts. 

We would go back to Palomar. The views, service and food were fantastic. Keep this restaurant in mind for scenic areas such as departing Amsterdam or any sail aways. 

[Seas2mountains]

We enjoyed time in the mostly quiet thermal spa. We both think Prima has the best thermal spa of any ship and we expect Viva is likely the same. 
 

While it was a little chilly yesterday in Akureyri, we still enjoyed a few hours in the Vibe as the sun made it tolerable and it was fairly busy compared to other previous days. 

[JandC_Cruising]

37 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

We enjoyed time in the mostly quiet thermal spa. We both think Prima has the best thermal spa of any ship and we expect Viva is likely the same. 
 

While it was a little chilly yesterday in Akureyri, we still enjoyed a few hours in the Vibe as the sun made it tolerable and it was fairly busy compared to other previous days. 

We are on this cruise (in reverse) in exactly 1 year!  Your review has been great!  Also glad to hear you have put both the Spa and Vibe to good use.  We will have both as well.  We imagined that being in the Vibe (provided it isn't inclement weather) would be great for some of the scenic moments.  Glad you have validated our thoughts!  

Enjoy the final days of what we can tell has been a fun time!

Thanks for all the great pics and review.

[Seas2mountains]

On 6/26/2024 at 11:11 PM, mking8288 said:

Mandy - LOL, recognized most of the names (not the assistant/younger faces, however ... ) hopefully, I got their names spelled correctly.  Digitally enhancing the images alone isn't enough before, I learned to take multiple images, a section at a time.  

 

Roger Gustavsen, Captain / Master

Daniele Farace, Staff Captain

Zafer Dal, General Manager (also held title as F&B Director, Sr.) with Marc "away" obviously 

- -  Asst. General Manager

Adrian Dumitru, Food & Beverage Director

Alvin Oliva, Cruise Director

Arturo Marcelino, Sr. Doctor

Sarah Mittelstaedt, Guest Services Manager

Rodrigo Rodriguez, Executive Housekeeper

Iran Aguiar, Asst F&B Director

Rochelle Dayrit, Restaurant Manager

- -  Executive Chef

Marjan Stamenkovic, Beverage Manager

Willem Boshoff, Shore Excursion Manager

Taarun Shorey, CruiseNext Manager

Alvaro Marin, Communication Services Manager, new title vs. (Internet Cafe Manager)

 

 

Once Seas2Mountain get a chance to catch up, she can fill in the AGM and Exec Chef, etc. 

Then, you can post the full update in the other thread on who's who.   Regards - Henry 

So sorry Henry and Mandy @www3traveler for the delay in getting the AGM and Executive Chef info 

 

AGM - Nomita Ranbhunjan

Executive Chef - not listed on the photo I took but there may have been updates. I’ll check tomorrow. 
 

Sorry, Henry, I think I may have seen Nomita this evening but wasn’t sure if it was her. If I run into Nomita or Adrian, I will let them know you and Susan say hello. 
 

 

[Seas2mountains]

Any other questions? 
 

I have a lot of Prima photos taken the first morning that I have not posted but will once we have more time. It will probably be once we are at the airport. 
 

I still need to post photos from beautiful Bruges. 

[Seas2mountains]

24 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

So sorry Henry and Mandy @www3traveler for the delay in getting the AGM and Executive Chef info 

 

AGM - Nomita Ranbhunjan

Executive Chef - not listed on the photo I took but there may have been updates. I’ll check tomorrow. 
 

Sorry, Henry, I think I may have seen Nomita this evening but wasn’t sure if it was her. If I run into Nomita or Adrian, I will let them know you and Susan say hello. 
 

 

My mistake. I see the Executive Chef. 
Halilur Mohamed. 

[Seas2mountains]

27 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

We are on this cruise (in reverse) in exactly 1 year!  Your review has been great!  Also glad to hear you have put both the Spa and Vibe to good use.  We will have both as well.  We imagined that being in the Vibe (provided it isn't inclement weather) would be great for some of the scenic moments.  Glad you have validated our thoughts!  

Enjoy the final days of what we can tell has been a fun time!

Thanks for all the great pics and review.

Thank you! Yes, we would recommend Vibe and Thermal Spa passes if the budget allows.  
 

Have a wonderful cruise! 

[Travelicious]

Thanks for sharing your trip.  How many more days to go?

[www3traveler]

10 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

My mistake. I see the Executive Chef. 
Halilur Mohamed. 

Thank You  I will get it posted.

 

Prayers for your safe journey to your home.

Have thought about your next adventure?

 

Mandy

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Seas2mountains said:

That sounds like a great tour. We loved an excursion we had in Skagway, Alaska where the guide was in costume but it wasn’t a nature walk. 
 

I’m sorry to hear you did not get to visit due to the dock issues and the fact that Prima cannot do tenders. 
 

That is crazy you had to deal with the issues and cost related to the tour cancellation. For us, Isofjordur was our least favorite port stops of the cruise.  

We were really looking forward to our Isafjordur private tour. I found it, and DW also liked it very much.

 

As I also posted our cruise missed Bruuge because of "an extremely low tide". We really had that one planned out before we were informed of the cancellation. It was to be on a Monday, and we both knew a lot of European art museums closed on Mondays. But after a google search I found more than enough open to satisfy my art teacher DW, and I also found a French Fry Museum. The idea of a French Fry Museum intrigued me.