Wedgie Wedgie

A voice of reason above. On a recent Getaway my buddy and I did a blind taste test of Bailey's for a buck vs Maloneys for within our FAS package=

the verdict was negligible at best. 

SAVE A BUCK THE MALONEY WAY!

13 hours ago, bren61 said:

What is in the steak tartare?

 

Is sole a mild fish?

 

Thank you for the photos BirdTravels!!

Tartare is raw chopped tenderloin, it is mixed with a raw egg, capers, worstie sauce and olive oil. I have them leave out the capers and add a little dijon mustard. Sounds caveman but delish!

Sole is much like flounder. White and mild.

So answer me this Starbucks experts:

We went on the Getaway during Thanksgiving in the Haven, we also dined in Cagneys and Ocean Blue. Every night my wife and I ordered a double Starbucks Espresso that was on the desert menu. We would also order shots of Maloneys and Kahlua and mix them all together- we would even ask for a large cup. Never charged once for any Starbucks Espresso.

Then we sailed on Prima right before Christmas outside of the Haven and dined in 4 different specialty restaurants. Again we ordered the same after dinner drinks with the Starbuck Espresso- in Paloma I asked if there was a charge for the Espresso and the waitress said, "I'll take care of it, sir" and there was no charge. In Onda and Le Bistro again I asked and both times they said "no charge." Then in Cagney's I was told there was a charge for the Espresso and I simply changed the order to regular coffee and then still spiked it.

We are hopping the Escape (back in the Haven) soon so we'll see what kind of consistency we receive there.

22 hours ago, 2 Fun Guys said:

For what it's worth, there is Pickleball on Prima & (planned) Viva.

I was just on the Prima a few weeks ago. That "court" is a far cry from a bona fide pickleball court. It is half the size and tightly enclosed by a fence. More like Thunderdome. And the net dipped down way below regulation height. I brought 2 paddles and balls and left them in my backpack.

I play all over the state of FL and I have been on a Holland ship that had two temp nets they would put on the basketball court. But at least the courts were lined regulation size and they had wind screens. It was fun. NCL has a long way to go when it comes to pickleball.

Can you use a platinum coupon here too? Is that where you used 1 coupon for 4 items for 2 people or did you use your FAS dinners?

I know 2 rolls each would easily satisfy us.

You can order two at a time and with a little grease you can get them unopened. I would just go do a "beer run" with my backpack and hit a few bars and then stock my fridge.

Just did this a couple weeks ago:

We sailed out of #10 on the Getaway last month. It is an easy drop off and park. Then we sailed on Prima a couple weeks ago on #5, you have to weave around within the parking garage and then you use the crossover right at level two from within the garage to get to check in.

One caveat- when we got to the crossover there was a big sign to "bring your parking pass with you", naturally I had left it in the car. So I went back to the car and nabbed the pass and kept it in my wallet. When we disembarked the walk up kiosks to pay were not operating and you still had to drive down and have your pass scanned at the exit. So it was a wasted trip back to the car, but better to be safe than sorry you never know if the walk up kiosks will be working.

R O X A N N E

3 hours ago, Catlady80 said:

We are staying in the same suite in March. Are you able to contact your concierge ahead of departure, or once you’re on the ship? I’m so glad to hear they help with booking shows. Thanks for the info 😄

Our concierge was actually the ship's asst concierge. She had a desk in Cagneys and was there every morning and lunch. She also passed out a show schedule prior to boarding and she took reservations then or you could work with her at her desk to marry dining plans with shows.

Was on it a few weeks ago. I brought 2 paddles and balls. I didn't even bother taking them out once I saw the "court". It's about half the size of a real court and it's enclosed in a tight cage. The net dipped way down in the center.

The only thing it's good for is dink drilling...ride the go-karts instead.

6 minutes ago, slickpat said:

@Wedgie Wedgie thanks for posting! Did you mean Breakfast/Lunch in Cagneys or is it really Lunch/Dinner in Cagneys? Any chance you took a picture of the menus or anything else you can share about the Prima 'Suite' experience? We've done Haven but this will be our first Suite.

Thanks again!

Oops. It was breakfast and lunch. Similar to the Haven's menus.

We're going on a 7 nighter next month on the Escape. With our 2 free at sea and now 4 platinum dinners we'll only have one night to eat in the haven! Oh, woe is us...buttons are popping!

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Were you actually able to dine out four nights for two with these?  That would be something new!

Yes, plus we had our free at sea 2 specialty restaurants of our choice. This was just a 5 nighter. We're both the same latitudes level of platinum so we EACH received the card with the cutout coupons for dinners and laundry.

If you login at NCL.com and go your account and look at latitudes rewards you'll see that these are the current dining bennys for platinum. My wife and I just had our first platinum cruise on the Prima and were surprised to see we EACH received a card with these coupons, meaning we could have dined out 4 of the 5 nights on this cruise in these specialties:

Just off this morning. Yes, they have entertainment in the atrium. There was a band one night where I got up and sang Play that Funky Music White Boy along with them. They were alot of fun.

Also, 32 suites outside of the Haven qualify for private breakfast and lunch in Cagneys. A spiff only found on Prima.

Astounded that I found very good pizza on an NCL ship. All the food was great.

Service was super. Certain bars carried exclusive beers, rums etc. Whiskey bar specialized in - you guessed it.

Stunning art everywhere including a large sculpture stroll on the waterfront. For the first time in my life I actually stopped within a men's room to admire a really cool painting!

As a sports fan the Local can make for tight viewing but fortunately there were enough Dolphins fans on the first night of SNF to make it a blast (even though they lost).

We just booked about a month ago and there were no Haven rooms. So we opted for a family suite with large balcony forward, the very front. When we boarded we learned that we had private access to Cagneys for lunch and dinner! There was never more than a dozen folks in there dining when we went. Excellent menus that changed on sea/port days and pampered service. It was great!

Our concierge (the asst concierge) had a desk in Cagneys and she booked all of our dining and show reservations and it was timed perfectly. She'd even wait for us at the entrance and escort us to the front from a side entrance at the theater. She told us there were 32 suites that qualified for the Cagneys dining and that the Prima was the only ship doing it.

We were also the very first ones on board (ahead of the Haven) because the system crashed when we arrived at the check in counter and they could not print our cards. So they took about a dozen of us to the gangway where they printed our cards on board. We also disembarked this morning at 7:26- a pure breeze. We were home before 10:00 (Citrus County).

I'm not knocking the Haven, I checked it out thoroughly at the Capn's party. If fact I was a little early and they hadn't opened the doors yet and I just followed another couple in and was then directed to the "party". Except it was a guest's bd party at the deck area. I had a nice cktl, some snacks and then realized the Capn's party was in the lounge which is by far the best bar area I've seen on any NCL ship and we're platinum and usually sail the Haven- but not always proving that you can indeed go back!

We have 4 different Haven bids in on the Prima leaving tomorrow. We currently have a forward facing family villa with large balcony. We just received an email that our bids are under "consideration" and they make you sweat it out right up to sail away:

Upgrades may be awarded at any time up until 0 hours prior to the sailing departure.

Just off Getaway last week. Hop Prima in 2 days. Jump the Escape next month. 

Then onward to infinity!

Her Bird-

Are you roaming the halls late at night for these pics? 

There is nobody in any of the photos...

...Rod Serling strikes a smoke. "Welcome to the Twilight Zone."

Just off the Getaway boarded first with Haven group. Went straight to our aft suite and dumped carry ons. No problem. Then we went all the way forward to the haven and had lunch and fine tuned all of our dining and entertainment ressies with the concierge.

14 hours ago, Wedgie Wedgie said:

Thanks for the insights. That is a pretty sad setup for enthusiasts.

Yeah, I was gonna post a pic for my local group but I didn't want to be laughed off the courts later today.

That net is sad...oh well. The funny thing is I found a review somewhere where the reviewer said it was the best pickleball court he'd ever seen! I've seen much better on Holland even though I'll never sail them again.

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Thanks for the insights. That is a pretty sad setup for enthusiasts.

Bird is the Word! Hey Bird, we hop on next Sun too. Please leave some booze.

One favor: Can you please give some detail shots of the pickleball court. I've seen video quick walk bys but nobody actually stepping up to or inside the court and showing the ceiling height and how much space is on the sidelines. It looks like a cage match Thunderdome! 

TIA!

12 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Didn't you know about Rumrunners?  (jk)

I would refill a couple of smart waters with vodka and super glue the cap back together. Never failed.