Sand and Seas

You have brought back some strong memories for my DH 🤭 He recalls the Love Bug infestation while he was attending Brevard Jr College in Cocoa Beach after Viet Nam. He said people covered their cars with baby oil to help with the clean-up. Thanks for the rental return info!

That makes sense, thanks for letting us know! We had been thinking of dropping the car at 9am but will need to re-think that plan🤔 Was there a place to wait at the rental agency? Restrooms?

Does anyone know when the Terminal usually opens for arriving passengers? (We are fortunate be in Getaway's Haven for this sailing😊) We will need to return our rental car to Enterprise at the port. With three ships in port that day, we would rather return our car at an earlier time, catch the rental car shuttle and possibly arrive early to the terminal. We realize that actual boarding time depends on the ship clearing.

We will be staying in Cocoa Beach pre-cruise and will return our rental car to Enterprise at the port prior to our Saturday May 20th cruise. There will be three ships in port: Disney Fantasy, Norwegian Getaway & RCL Mariner. As it's our first sailing from PC, can anyone advise us if there could be heavy traffic? We would like to drop our rental car at the port at an early time (to avoid long wait) before taking their shuttle to our terminal. Any advice greatly appreciated😊

After boarding, look for the venue where they are selling carton water packages and beverage package upgrades. On the larger ships this has usually been the comedy club close to where they are helping you with dining reservations. I've also been told that any bar can sign you up for it. I recall once signing up for it at the bar in the atrium. After signing up, take the receipt they give you and go to the guest services desk to get your new card printed.

Yes After boarding, you can purchase the Soda package individually. After purchasing, you then go to Guest Services and have them print you a new card with 'SODA' on it.

Yes- That was what I was trying to explain above. I cruise with NCL about 4 times a year. I always purchase the Soda package for one after we board. My spouse shares my cabin, but is not required to purchase the package.

We loved our stay at the Marriott Waterfront. Yes, pricey, but well worth it for us. We were able to roll our luggage across the street to the port for a very easy check-in. Traffic is a mess on embarkation days. Walking across the street was stress-free.

Yes! We watched for these and enjoyed several 'themed' lunches at Moderno on the Breakaway. They also had a lighter breakfast buffet there some days. Much less crowded than the buffet.

We have a lot of OBC to use. After boarding, I use the non-refundable OBC to purchase the soda package for myself as my husband doesn't drink much soda. After purchasing, you need to go to guest services to have the room card reprinted with 'SODA'. When you go by any bar after that you can order one or two sodas at a time. They just glance at the card....no need to swipe.

That's true! Just wanted to give the OP the 'terms' plus our actual experience. It would be great if they are officially adding the extra starter to our Platinum Latitudes meal. I was actually trying to point out our strategy about choosing a restaurant to use the Dining credit where we would enjoy more than one starter. (I could be happy with just starters & dessert.) On the Joy we were also surprised we were allowed to carry-out our Cagney's and Food Republic desserts. On another cruise a couple of months ago we were not allowed to get dessert 'to go'.

Great advice above! If we are using ours at a non-flat-fee restaurant, we look at the appetizers/starters for the various restaurants. The Latitudes voucher is one starter, one entrée & one dessert. The Dining package adds another choice as it is: is one appetizer, one soup or salad, one entrée & one dessert. (Having said that, on our recent Joy cruise our waiter in Le Bistro insisted we add another starter to our Latitudes meal.) From NCL's frequently asked questions: What do the speciality dinner benefits cover? This benefit offers two dinners for two at a speciality restaurant for Platinum, Sapphire, Diamond, and Ambassador guests. Each stateroom will receive a voucher in their Welcome Back card on embarkation day for: • Dinner for Two with a Bottle of Wine • Dinner for Two Service charges are included in this benefit. Guest to present voucher to their server before ordering. Benefit entitles each guest to an appetizer, one entrée, and a dessert of your choice. Upcharges apply on certain premium menu items. Bottle of Wine offered in all venues offering Complimentary Wine list, Palomar not included. In à la carte restaurants, coupon can be redeemed for 4 menu items per person (Sushi, Wasabi, Nama, Teppanyaki, Hasuki, Food Republic, Pincho Tapas Bar or Raw Bar). Dinner coupons are non-transferable. Solo guests cannot claim two dinners. Coupons cannot be used for the same venue twice. 2 guests maximum. Dining options vary by ship.

Thanks for the update! I did like many things on the Prima's original MDR, but it's probably best to go rotating. Do you think its the same series of menus the other ships have? We were pleasantly surprised to find that there are at least three different Lunch MDR menus on our recent 12 day cruise on the Joy. Previously, we had heard there were only two that rotated for lunches.

We saw Footloose on the 12 day that ended just before you boarded. We usually love all of the dancing/singing production shows, but couldn't sit through the whole performance of Footloose🥱 We weren't the only ones to leave. We have enjoyed better performances at our local Junior High School. Maybe they were missing some of the regular actors??? The dance numbers were not as good as the 10 second clip showing in the elevators.

Thanks Amy! Your 'neurotic clock-checking' is exactly what I was looking for😊 We will have all of our luggage with us & have US passports, but I want to make sure the time works. I'll get in touch with my shuttle company and see what we can do.

We agree with the majority of OP's observations. We had to laugh again about some of the furniture choices. (They look great, but really don't hold up well!) Great review that I hope NCL will read🧐 Before our repeat cruise on Prima (next year), I'm still hoping they start using the under utilized Belvedere bar for the casino. The Penrose bar has too much going on to handle everything in the atrium plus casino.

Recently on the Joy. Couldn't access CruiseCritic at all for 'free'. Using minutes, I could. The NCLdotCom site would partially load using the free internet.

We are usually not in the Haven, but will be sailing in Getaway's Haven in a few weeks. Thanks so much for all of the great info & photos! (Our previous Getaway Haven was about 5 years ago. Was in Bliss Haven last fall.) We are really looking forward to the Haven restaurant & private sundeck again😎 Do you recall what time disembarkation started? Our airline moved us to an earlier flight so we have booked an 8:15 shuttle with a private company. I assume we will need to keep our luggage with us and then someone in Haven will escort us off early?

We talked to a lady who was disappointed with her Prima Haven room but loved the Haven itself. She was surprised to hear how spacious our Club Balcony was on Prima. Yes, navigation was interesting on Prima. Some places were difficult to find but we enjoyed the search ☺️

I was told you can use two Casino Next on any cruise booking that would qualify under the Double Up requirements. I wish they would post the Terms &Conditions.

The Joy has the two for $25 tees with Norwegian printed on the back. We saw Aruba, Curacao and some Panama Canal. Just got off the Joy yesterday.

We have been on both and will sail on both again. Our Prima Club Balcony was spacious and had great storange so better than Breakaway CB. We love sailing out of New Orleans. Easy to fly to and stay for a couple of nights. Galveston is a great place to stay for couple of nights too, but harder to get there from airport. Lucky you if can drive there! Prima was like staying at an interesting boutique hotel. Great new dining venues. Loved the food hall and ate several meals there on our eleven day cruise. Prima also has enclosed smoking in casino. Breakaway does not have enclosed smoking so you will notice it on that deck. On Breakaway class ships we love the Waterfront area on deck 8 with great bars and seating areas to enjoy the ocean. On Prima, in our opinion, they improved on that concept. I suggest you research for photos and video of Primas deck 8. We will be sailing on both ships and from both ports again, but if we went by ship choice only, it would be Prima for us.

Did they tell you why disembarkation was late? Our airline moved us to an earlier flight so we scheduled an 8am shuttle.

Thanks for posting the Concierge show escort list😊 Would love to see list for other shows if you get a chance.

Thank you for sharing with us! We hope to enjoy a few meals at the Haven outdoor area. Do they have a different more casual lunch menu outside?