Seas2mountains

The filet.

We didn’t have dinner reservations tonight and went to Hudson’s which is the beautiful aft facing dining room. It is definitely more beautiful than any other NCL dining room we have seen. We were told it would be a 20-30 minute wait and were given a pager. It was probably a 15 minute wait. We were given what we think was the best table they had at the aft in the center. I was really hungry as the Pad Thai from lunch wasnf enough food. I ordered the brushetta (not pictured), cheese ravioli, and twin lobster tails with a $25 charge. My husband got the artichoke dip, Caesar salad and a filet with a $20 charge. Food and service were excellent. We were impressed with how fast they were with each food course. . My husband said he was “entertained” sadly by a large family with family drama. Without turning my head, I felt so bad for the Hudson staff who had to deal with these 10 adults and 5 kids and I could give more detains but it is such a sad situation from what we observed.

After a much needed 2 hour nap, it was time to get ready for the VIP (Suites and Haven) reception at the observation lounge. We enjoyed the ‘spoon” appetizers and I really liked the bourbon smash drink.

After lunch, we went to the thermal spa and were initially the only ones there. It is nice that the pool area is separate from the heated lounge.chairs. It was soooo quiet and peaceful. We easily fell asleep for a bit as we are a little sleep deprived Since the spa was empty except for us, I took photos.

I’ll post updates on Bruges on the sea day. I’ll try to get up to date so this is live again After a great visit to Bruges, we enjoyed lunch at Indulge or Overindulge as my husband called it. He tried the fried okra, pulled pork sandwich, extra pickles, and chicken legs. I had the Pad Thai with shrimp. We also tried the bacon wrapped dates and while we have liked this in the past, these dates were huge and did not taste the same as the smaller dates wrapped with bacon. The Pad Thai with shrimp was excellent. My husband said he would go back to get the chicken legs.

Our initial immersions of Prima are very positive. It’s almost feels like we are on a different cruise line with the very different designs and layout of the ship. We are loving the spacious SJ suite and the extended balcony is nice. We enjoyed our time in Bruges today and are so glad we got off the ship as soon as it was cleared. The town of Bruges felt crowded as we were trying to leave. Here are photos taken at about 4am.

Hello from beautiful Bruges. I have a lot of photos to add but we have been busy enjoying the wonderful Prima and the perfect weather to explore Bruges. Here is one photo from Bruges.

Dinner was at Onda. It was nice enough outside to sit outside on deck 8. We had yellow tail credo and Burrata for apps with Sciatiellia and Filet for entees. We were too full to have dessert. The bread is amazing as always!!! Food and service were excellent!!!

We went to sailaway in Vibe. It was not crowded and will likely be where we go to watch sailaways.

Some cabins on floors 2,12 and 13 were ready before 2pm and all others were ready by about 2pm. My husband walked down the hall and found our luggage right after cabins were ready Sailaway was scheduled at 5pm but is delayed until 5:45pm according to the captain due to marine traffic.

We are doing a @Sthrngary “Haven Lite Strategy” with the suite (not Haven) but it gives us more space and access to Cagney’s for breakfast and lunch. We will probably eat most or all breakfasts there but will try different options for lunch. The Vibe Beach pass gives us the hot tubs and a non crowded space for sail away and time outside. We got thermal spa passes, too. We are feeling spoiled after being in a club balcony with our granddaughter earlier this month. Our cruise after this one will be in a balcony. We booked category SJ which are family suite with master bedroom and balcony. These are the ones with the slides blocking some views from the balcony but the balcony is slightly bigger. We will find out soon if there is a lot of noise from the slides and if there is noise when we move due to wind. There is a sliding glass door in the bedroom and one in the other room. Here are photos of the suite.

Hot tubs at Vibe. There is one on each side. One is shaded and one is not. We could not get the non shaded one to turn on after pushing the button. The shaded one works great.

The next drinks were margarita’s at Vibe Beach Club. This is our first time trying Vibe and we know we might not get a chance to use it due to the port intensive itinerary and the cold weather. My husband is very happy with how few people are in here and the hot tub was so nice being on the side of the ship. The bartenders don’t let you have empty glasses. I feel bad for the bartenders who keep having to chase people out who are coming in when someone leaves or after someone enters. One guy even pried the glass doors open to get in and they didn’t break.

The first drink was Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio at Cagney’s. Husband ordered fried wontons, shrimp scampi, and 7 layer chocolate cake. I got Greek salad, salmon, a side of fries, and Banana Banoffee. Everything was really good but the fries tasted a little different. While waiting for lunch, we made three dinner reservations with Cindy, the concierge who has a table in Cagney’s. We also found out when dinner with the officers is scheduled and requested that along with sail and sustain and the behind the scenes tour.

Yes, it is very walkable with sidewalks. We recommend using traffic signal controlled cross walks when possible especially near busy roads even if it means walking further. Drivers didn’t seem to stop for pedestrians at the non traffic controlled cross walks.

The Haven and Suite people walked on together and we split off when we got to Cagney’s where we will be able to eat breakfast and lunch.

We got on at 11:51am.

Thank you @graphicguy, @Sugar Magnolia and @debenson0723 for your fun and entertaining live review. Did you know each other before the cruise? When is your next cruise? We are waiting to embark on the Prima. I know to watch out for the puddle in the Local if it is still a problem. Have safe travels home!

Thank you! We know this happens at times and we will be on soon. I’m sorry to hear how iit impacted the ability of the people disembarking to catch flights and go on excursions.

Yes, we did. If gate 8 is open, it’s a 0.5-0.6 mile walk. If you have to go all around like we did, it’s a one mile walk. We love to walk and our luggage wasn’t too bad to haul on the paved sidewalks. Gate 8 was open the past two days as other cruise ships were there. It was closed today as the cargo ship in berth 101 had a lot of cars coming off the ship.

We received an update from a butler who said we should be able to embark soon. The delay was said to be related to immigration and customs delays. It’s 11:36am local time.

It’s now 11:20 and we are still waiting.

We paid a little extra to have breakfast included. Here are the breakfast buffet photos. They had two coffee/expresso/ cappuccino machines.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Southampton in a king standard harbor facing room. The staff were very friendly and were often checking in on us especially when we were at the restaurant. It was a convenient locations and the rooms were clean. It was an older hotel so some things like the doors in the room seemed worn down. The bed seemed new and was comfortable as we slept well all three nights. We could hear noise and music from the cruise ships when they were in port but it was quiet at night when we slept. There was a refrigerator and working safe in the closet.

Here are a few more photos of the terminal. The ceilings are gorgeous with the arched wood beams. It’s 11:06am and there is a steady stream of people getting off the ship …still.