Sand and Seas

We love South Beach too. We always stay on Ocean Drive in the 14th block, so the slightly quieter end of the drive. I would think daylight hours will be OK. They have a good police presence keeping an eye on things. We have been there during several busy times and have enjoyed sitting on our property's 'front porch' to watch the crowds. I heard on the news today that they will have a midnight curfew tonight (and perhaps for longer?). Hopefully things will be more settled for your stay at the end of the month.

Great information! We have never sailed from PC before. Does anyone know what is earliest time to disembark the ship? Any strategies on when to get in line? (I know we will need to carry off our own luggage. We usually are among the last off the ship, but with our airline changing our flight to an earlier one, we need to make an 8am shuttle.)

I would think they are great for bathing small children. However, for some of us, we would rather have the regular Club Balcony roomy walk-in shower. I'm not tall and stepping over a tub wall into a narrower space to shower isn't easy.

yeah....the one on the right is half & half? I'm confused😕

Yes! We love the Waterfront on the Breakaway and BreakawayPlus ships. However, we feel they took the idea of the Waterfront and IMPROVED it for the Prima. Multiple seating or lounging areas. Absolutely loved Prima's Deck 8 and spent a great deal of time there on our October Southern Caribbean cruise😎

We are seniors too. Retired for a few years now. We loved our first visit to Galveston for a cruise on the Prima in late October. Hope you decide to come in two days early as we did. We loved staying at the Tremont House and wandering around that area enjoying the great food and live music playing in many of the bars. Very comfortable area to walk around and enjoy.

Our airline changed our 5pm flight to 1pm. We have CruiseControl shuttle booked for 8am and will need to do the self disembarkation. We are used to being the later disembarkation. Any good strategies for NCL 'easy walk-off'?

Yes, both of the Diamond upgrades we used were for cruises over a year out and over 7 days in length. Felt like we got best value using it for 11 or 12 day cruises. OP, hope you are successful in getting a decent diamond upgrade on another cruise. If you have tried to use it and been denied, I think they should extend your time period to book.

We loved our 11 day on Prima a few months ago. Yes, it has a unique layout. We enjoyed exploring the different decks....and getting a little 'lost'😉. It's a whole new concept from the 6/7/8 decks we have been used to and still love on ships like Bliss & Encore. One of the things we have loved most about NCL's larger ships is the Deck 8 Waterfront. We feel that NCL has really expanded and improved that concept on Prima. Ships like Bliss & Encore have been our favorites, but we are now adding Prima to that list of favorites. It is a unique ship to enjoy. Over 11 days, we never ate at the buffet as we loved Indulge Food Hall, The Local or light snacks at the Observation Lounge. We also enjoyed several meals at their specialty restaurants. Also, loved our Club Balcony. So roomy and lots of storage The regular Balcony cabins look very similar to our CB. Soon after returning home from our first Prima cruise, we booked another cruise from Galveston on Prima for next year. (If you have never sailed from Galveston, add on at least two nights to enjoy this lovely island!)

Congrats to your DH as our soon to be newest citizen😊 Looking forward to your review. Hope all of your passport & document name-changing goes as smoothly as possible🤞

Yes! We stayed at the Tremont House and loved the area. Easy walk to lots of restaurants. Every bar seemed to have live music playing. Loved the area and will plan to stay there next time we cruise from Galveston.

Good to know! Might try it sometime. However, just checked it for the same night we have Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon booked (mid-April) and the best rate at Comfort Suites was $41 more per night. We also enjoy the Cuban restaurant across the street. (Plus a Publix grocery!)

Most airport hotels have a free airport shuttle. We use Hampton Inn Airport South (Blue Lagoon) with free breakfast and a pool. They have a shared shuttle to the cruise that you sign up for when you check in. I think the cost is $10 per person to the port.

@sailawaybellaluna Congrats to your friend! Love seeing a minimum bet hit a nice jackpot like that😊

I think it's a charter too. Encore had been scheduled for seven day cruises during that time-period. I had been watching for cruises that were 10 to 12 days out of Miami. In early January of this year I noticed that they now have a ten day scheduled for January 14th of 2024.

Trying to help a friend. She is trying to look at cruises on the Getaway on NCL dot com. When she selects a Family Club Balcony (during a mock booking) on several different decks, they all say they have the dreaded Tub/Shower combination? Is this just a glitch? Or do all of the Family Club Balconies actually have a Tub/shower? (We love the regular Club Balcony with that great large shower. Not sure I could recommend the combo tub.)

Love your awesome photos! Thanks for sharing your review with us😎

DH is not a seafood lover, but he enjoyed the Veal there. He also loved the Greek salad & chocolate dessert. (I had the excellent grilled lobster). We will go back to Palomar on our next Prima cruise.

We are now hearing you can use these to cover our port fees & admin fees. It's starting to look good🤞 Look at post #33 on this thread:

YAY!!! Much better news. Calling back and getting a better informed agent worked! Regarding using your Casino Next certificates- Do you know if you can book within a year for a cruise that is MORE than one year away? Thanks for reporting back to us!

Have you used your CasinoNext certificates yet? Still wondering if you can book within a year but for a cruise more than one year out?

Yes, this is our experience. Never given a choice of what is delivered. I do love the chocolate strawberries but I'm giving away the sparkling wine if anybody is interested... We book the Club Balcony for the awesome shower and larger bathroom. You might also add in the free laundry bag if you are trying to justify the cost. Definitely don't pay extra for this cabin just to get the delivered treats.

Huh? The 'value' is just showing a tip in my hand when it's a crowded bar. I personally think the casino bartenders are the best! Of course, they are really the only ones we use regularly as we don't get the FAS drink package. Just use our CAS free 'ultra' drink card for a couple of drinks, or cans of cola, or cartons of water at the casino bar. Nice to take a couple of cans of diet cola back to our room.

So true! We have been known to flash that Ruby card there, but of more value sometimes is the tip folded next to it😉

That sounds logical.....Hope it works out for you!