Sand and Seas

Galveston is a beautiful island and a wonderfully friendly port to sail from. Hope you have a great cruise 😊

??? Ruby Tier gets $400 OBC for each cruise, but this doesn't match to our Admin fees of $20 per person/per day unless we book a 10 day cruise. I believe Sapphire Tier gets $200 OBC for each cruise.

We got a rate of about $245 per night which included taxes. Doesn't hurt to check out for your dates. Make sure to check if you are eligible for AARP or 'Senior' discount. It's walkable to several restaurants. We felt very safe walking in the area.

I know they can use any of the menus any day they want, but in my experience (over 40 cruises with NCL) they have generally stayed with the same order of days one to seven menus. I use the list of Days 1 to 12 to plan when to book our specialty dinners. I only recall one time on one cruise that they changed the order of days 5 & 6. (Did you know it's perfectly acceptable to eat dinner at La Bistro and then go to the MDR for Banana Soufflé?) Personally, I wish we would get to see more usage of the other 14 menus. And yes, I wish they would post them in advance for planning😒

That's true, however the link in post #1 above does match what I recall seeing on several cruises for those days. Although they can change those menus around, I have seen that same Day 6 menu in for the MDRs for several cruises. ( I like the Banana Soufflé served on Day 6 menu.😋)

Very well written! Thanks for sharing. I especially appreciate your explanation of what actual 'Suite' amenities are on Joy. Very helpful to the rest of us!

Thank you for sharing your review with us! We love Shanghai's too and will take note to get there early for a pager.

Yikes! I feel sorry for those stuck outside. Hopefully everything will resolve soon and you all will be on your way to warmer weather 😎

We found the walk with our rolling luggage easy enough....and we have been retired for a few years😉 Galveston is a lovely island and a great port to cruise from. We also loved staying at the Tremont and have booked it again for another upcoming cruise. Hope you have a great time!

They couldn't add Bacon to the Burger?!? 😲 Where did they get the Chef for Prima's Haven? He clearly didn't spend time in the Haven restaurant of any other ship😒.

When we disembarked Joy on October 28th, I was surprised we were at Terminal C. Terminal B, the new NCL terminal, did not have a ship. Not sure why they had us at C🤔

@mking8288, thank you for sharing your review and these great photos with us! Hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise😎

We were on a mid- December cruise about ten years ago and the ship was decorated beautifully. We really enjoyed an atrium event one evening watching children listening to a Christmas story being read. Then they served everyone warm cookies and milk😊

@cruiseny4life, have you checked out the Local? We have fond memories of the Hot Fudge sundaes in there. I hope they still have them. Although we have loved the Haven on Bliss, Joy and Getaway.....kind of happy we will just be in another Club Balcony on our next Prima. We have read many other reviews of Prima Haven that just don't seem to live up to other Havens😕

1- I haven't seen the MDR menus offered in the Haven, and haven't missed them. However, when we were on a longer 12 day cruise, the Haven dining room offered some 'specials' later on in the cruise. While the specials may have been from the MDR menu, it wasn't the entire menu. We did enjoy Brisket one night. Others might have a better answer for you on this. 2- We have been inside and outside the Haven. If you want to be close to the Haven bar and restaurant, inside is great. We have also enjoyed cabins outside the are and enjoyed the walk to the Haven. We loved our Forward Facing two room Haven. It was less expensive than cabins inside the Haven proper, but had a great lay-out and awesome bathroom. We also enjoyed the separate living area where the butler could set up our white tablecloth breakfast while we were still sleeping. I would also love to try the Aft Haven suites.

Yes, we were lucky enough to read about it here on CC and got a clamshell rental 'free'. It was shut-down a little while after that😕

Does anyone have a photo of Syd's bar menu? I'm trying to find a drink I enjoyed in there. I think it was called Witchy Woman?? Would like to find something similar in other bars if available.

I've never known NCL's CAS to run their own promotions. I just watch NCL for their promotions.

I have a lightweight 'packable' down jacket that you can fold down into it's own small storage pouch. It's easy to take along but oh so warm on a cold airplane........or when I arrive back home during a snow storm❄️🥶❄️

We always stay at the Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon. Free shuttle from airport. Free breakfast in the morning. Across the street from a Publix and a Cuban restaurant. You can get anything you need in Publix. If you have forgotten any items of clothing like sandals, etc, you can find it in the Burlington store by the Publix. They also have a sign up for a shuttle to the cruise port. (I think it's $10 per person?) Never had any problems walking around in the area and the Hampton Inn is nice.

Indulge Food Hall was great on Prima. It's a complimentary venue that has a huge variety of small plate items. Each table has a tablet to place your orders. Easy to over order so suggest you start with just a couple of choices. Servers deliver your selections.

Yes! Lobster Rolls at the Ocean Blue walk-up window. Much better (in our opinion) than the lobster/shrimp rolls at American Diner. Only open on 'at sea' days during lunch time, so check your Dailies. The first time we tried them was after noticing several officers lined up at that window on the Waterfront 😎

Very common in casinos. Otherwise, everyone would be in a line for the Cashier Cage just to cash out a small balance ticket. They usually are combined with an ATM, but I make it a practice to NEVER use an ATM at a casino😬

I'm guessing that post refers to the 'bill breaker' machine in the casinos. It cashes out your slot machine tickets but also breaks down large bills to smaller ones.

Yes, we still have a CN for $11 we will never use that was left over from a cancellation during covid.