nitesiren

Yes, saw Hurricane Lee is hitting soon...whoever is on this itinerary, man you are missing the best ports - Bar Harbor & Halifax IMHO. Oh yea the fog in Halifax smh...but it eventually cleared in the afternoon in town, can't say for Peggy's Cove.

I was on the Prima this past April and did a tour of the Thermal Spa....not impressed with the layout. Escape and other older ships have a much better layout. You felt like you were in a maze on the Prima's Thermal Spa.

On the Escape, it was $299pp and $79 for day pass only on port days. If you want access to the Thermal Spa, your best bet is booking a Spa Balcony or Club Spa balcony which is cheaper.

Just got off the NCL Escape New England/Canada itinerary. We had great hot weather in each port. Rhode Island was added last minute. Our cruise was fully booked. I've attached the dailies including spa specials and shore excursion prices and details. We stayed in a balcony stateroom #14772. Layout of the stateroom is once you enter the stateroom, you have the couch to the left and the bed in front of the balcony (some people like this type of layout, #14770 is the opposite-once you walk in is the bed then space where couch is to balcony), Daruis was our attendant. Note with the exception of the Haven cabins, the room attendant is cleaning 22 cabins now, which results in the once a day bed turnover. They are working their butts off. Some we spoke to couldn't even go out to port because they are either so tired, covering for their mates, etc. FYSA..if you are a steak lover, the quality of meat has gone down. Our filet mignons at Cagney's was cooked to perfection BUT once you try to slice through it...forget it...it was like sawing a piece of wood, chewing was hard. I did the surf and turf and the lobster tail cooked cooked to perfection BUT one bite and it tasted powdery. I don't think lobster meat is supposed to be powdery. Le Bistro - had the braised Lamb Shank - cooked to perfection BUT hard to cut and chew. Went to guest services the next morning and said something to them, got a phone call from Leonora the asst. manager of the restaurants and she said alot of cruisers have complained to her about it, she said this year was a new supplier & she hopes NCL changes the supplier. Staff is friendly as usual. Taste/Savor - breakfast service is a hit or miss. Sometimes we saw the waiter & then sometimes we wouldn't see them for awhile. NCL has really made these guys & gals do double triple duty now. Entertainment - Go to Choir of Man - wonderful performance as always, funny guys. Syd Norman's Pourhouse - the team they have on the escape is phenomenal. So entertaining, heard 2 of the members are going to the Viva in November. On our sea day, there was already a line forming for their performance at 9pm, line started around 7:30pm! As for the comedy, we were only bale to see Orlando Baxter for the adults only show...funny guy, go see him for the adult show. Spa - I love spas LOL. Jenevie was awesome...I did the manager's special that was advertised after you attend the 'check out the Thermal spa' on Embarkation day. We did not book any excursions with NCL, we winged it. Grab maps at eh visitor centers! Rhode Island - This is a tender port, NCL is using their lifeboats to tender. Started our journey at around 9am. Walked from the cruise ship to the cliff walk, took about 20 min to get to cliff walk. Cliff walk took about 1.5 hours from start to finish. There will be flat trails & then rocks you will need to step over or climb. At the end there is a bus/trolley, it was free on Labor Day, not sure if it's free during peak season. Shopping was eh, not much to talk about. we had lunch in port at the Black Pearl - Lobster salad croissant roll was yummy, the chowder was ok but on the watery side, Portland - Did a boat tour with Portland Discovery Land & Sea tours, saw lighthouses and a seal. I get motion sickness, so can't remember much LOL. 1 local recommend Luke's Lobster for lobster rolls...not much flavor BUT the amount of chunky lobster meat for the price was reasonable, the chowders we tried were on the watery side but ok. The Holy Donut is a thing there, potato donut, try it not much to write about. Had the Blueberry. Bar Harbor - Love this port. LL Bean offers a free bus to Acadia Park. LOTS of trails, we did the #3 then to #1 back to town. Just know you gonna need hiking sneakers/boots. We did have to climb some rocks here and there. Look out for poison ivy, etc. There were signs posted and bring bug spray. In town, went to Geddy's...had the mini lobster bake which is a mini lobster roll, New England Clam chowder & blueberry tart. It did not disappoint. Also grabbed a butter lobster roll at Downeast Deli, they have a special as well which is a lobster roll (any way you want it), New England Chowder & a slice of blueberry pie. I'll have to do that next time I'm there. Canada - remember the USD to CAD conversion...it was $1USD to $1.36CAD, so around 28% off. We used credit card, saw signs of conversion when using cash and not worth it. Saint John Bay of Fundy - More of a walk around tour we did on our own, there is a small no tiny fort, not worth the hike up to it. Steamer's Co across from the cruise port for lobster rolls, chowder and raw clams. Delish. Halifax - Another good port. This one we tried to be off the ship before everyone, SIL called Casino Cab night before and they have a RT cab ride to Peggy's Cove for $177 total (there was 4 of us) for additional hours i think it was about $50 per hour. Once you exit the terminal, Casino cabs will be showing up, we spoke to one told them what we were told, hopped in and cab ride took about 45min to an hour (there is construction being done as you get closer to Peggy's Cover where you have to wait to drive past...these are 1 way each side roads.) Peggy's Cover beautiful, another need hiking sneakers/boots. There is a lobster roll shack outside Peggy's Cove, we didn't get to try it. Maybe next time. We had the cab driver drop us off at the Citadel. Then we walked to the seaport. There are tour shacks there, we saw one that offered jet skiiing, a boat hopper (equivalent to a duck tour in the US). Will have to do that next time. Had ice cream at Cows, get the waffle bowl sundae, you can choose 4 flavors for $8.99CAD. Had lunch at the Waterfront Warehouse, sat inside...Chef's selection of raw oysters was delish, lobster roll was good, get the seafood chowder! Lots of chunks of fish, seafood and thick creamy chowder. DOC091223-09122023041057.pdf

Just got off the Prima April 9 sailing. Booked through my TA and paid the entire cruise with my Amex Plat. Received the Amex code on my receipt. Received a Le Bistro dinner (note that it’s a coupon voucher they leave in your cabin, we didn’t know this & thought someone gifted it to us) & $300 non-refundable onboard credit. Now my TA(who often offers free gratuities with the cruises) which we cannot name here who is a big box wholesaler who also does travel with many stores in areas unlike the other wholesaler & they told me that the cruise had to be paid in full with the AmexPlat. It maybe different if you book directly with Norwegian.

Don’t know of this question has been asked, but if I get the $500off and want to use the discount with my own travel agent, can it be done?

ENJOY!! I'll be on the Prima 4/9! Just curious what spa specials have they advertised so far?

@BirdTravelsBeen following your cruise adventures & reading up on Haven advice...sir, thank you for all your helpful information! Me & my family will be on the 4/9 Prima in the Haven 2 bdrm Family suite. Any notions on who the Haven crew are on your sailing? And if any other crew (ie: Adi from the Encore-fav bartender) is on this sailing. I've read there is a great Vibe crew on the Prima!

Called the TA again today and got a different agent and yes, NCL is not honoring the CPP for the Haven, Viva and Star sailings only. 🤦🏻‍♀️

This is interesting…my TA says this does not apply to the NCL Prima or Viva sailings. Anyone else hear this?

@tedbearz did you have the Amex platinum cruise privileges with your previous Prima booking?