Liljo22

I don't ever tip per drink and I have never had a problem getting a drink over someone who tips extra. I have even had bartenders that know what I drink and already have one being poured as I walk up. At the end of the cruise, I give $20-$50 to the bartenders that made the trip better without me having to bribe them.

I agree with you. NCL and probably cruising as a whole is not right for you. But you already know that because, as you say, you are correct about everything. Looks like you bailed but so far this is what we got:. -Pre-Cruise NCL was great (probably the most surprising part of this rant) -Buffet Staff was great -Customer Service was great -Room Steward was great -Captain was great -Food was 9.5 of out 10 -Entertainment was good(could have used more Polka) -Weather sucked -Because the weather sucked, you couldn't use the outside areas. -The gift shop didn't have enough variety for you. -Embarkation was bad -You skipped a port I have been on this board long enough to know that the main issue here was Embarkation. Some people can't get over something that happens before they even step on the ship and it ruins the whole trip for them. After that point, everything is magnified in there eyes. The hostess at dinner didn't smile? The whole staff is rude. They had to wait more than 5 minutes at 1 bar? The bartenders are terrible. If I was on this cruise, I would probably have had a great time.

How do you know they didn't design it bigger. NCL just announced the bigger ships a few days ago. Are you saying that BA should have put in their write up from months ago that NCL was planning on having bigger ships? Is that how the bigger ships should have been announced?

I don't think that means that. The Breakaway Plus class ships are just the biggest ships NCL currently has. This isn't a press release from NCL. Its from the architectural firm that doesn't have that information.

We were on the Prima but I pretty much had the same experience except for the Speedway which we loved. Here are my thoughts on your topics. 1. 100% agree. I don't think I can sail without at least the Premium Plus upgrade but can easily make FAS+ work. I think we covered the cost in Starbucks alone. 2. My biggest gripe with the Prima was the lack of free options during the day. Indulge and the buffet closed to early and there is not really any grab and go options. Everyone has to go to the Local for late breakfast and after coming back from the port. 3. We never saw more than a 10-20 people at any time when we were looking down from the Speedway Bar during the day. Felt it could be better used as a Spice H2O since there is limited space by the pool. 4. Overall the food was great both in the MDR and SD. A few misses but most was good to great. Onda was our favorite SD. 5. We rode the speedway 3 times and could have done it more. The Speedway Bar was always open during the day and was a nice quiet retreat with one of the best bartenders. I do agree about the guns though. They didn't seem to be working. For me, the waste of space was the Galaxy Pavilion. Every time we walked by on our way to the OL, it was closed. It seemed like it was open during the pass time and very little outside of that. I felt the same as you. Prima was a weird ship and we enjoyed it at the time but I think back and remember how much fun we had all week. I think another cruise on a Prima class would allow us to take advantage of its weirdness. I do think that it lacks a big meeting place around the pool and in the atrium. Wish it had a balcony around the Lido deck so they can have bigger crowds. We also spent a ton of time at the Penrose bar area listening to the bands play or learning different dances. It needs to be a bigger space if you plan on using it for that.

Made up person but created by the team behind Rock of Ages for NCL. There is a separate company that NCL contracts with to license the shows. They do restrict where their performers can sing even outside of Rumors.

They are pull out sofa. They are pretty comfortable but are on the smaller size. If you are putting two people on it, I would only do smaller children.

They were playing all the televised NFL games on my last cruise. They were even on the cabin tvs.

The pricing you are quoting is the drink package only. The Premium Plus drink package on its own is $138 PPPD or you can upgrade the Premium Drink Package for $29 PPPD. These prices do not include the gratuities. The price to upgrade from FAS to FAS+ is $49 PPPD and there is no additional gratuity.

No there is not. FAS+ is an upgrade to the FAS package. If you do not select the FAS, you do not have the opportunity to select FAS+.

You do not have the option to unselect the internet or shore ex credits since there is no charge added for selecting them. For FAS+, you need to have the basic options in order to upgrade.

Prima was the same as the local time in December.

No. That experiment ended. It’s back to the same menus you will find on other ships.

That is not true about competitors not collecting sales tax. A few will pay the tax for the customer and not pass it along but those are the small minority. I know Princess, Carnival and MSC charge the customer.

Once onboard, there will be more spots available. Either go to the restaurant reservations desk once onboard or check the app when you get on the ships Wi-Fi.

If its a just a mixed drink that happens to be over the $15 limit, they don't normally let you know its over. If you are asking for a premium liquor to replace a basic one, they will normally check the card and let you know.

Similar to alcoholic drinks, you can get two coffees with one card.

If you buy an excursion on-line, the credit will be applied immediately. If you buy while on the ship, the credit is not applied until after you take the excursion.

Yes. Still be aware of ship time and the time they tell you to be back on board though. It will be listed as you get off the ship.

I mentioned the same thing about pulling waiters from specialty restaurants during busy times. I thought it was great that they did it. Our dinners were right around an hour every night. On my Oasis OTS cruise, dinner was around 2 hours every night and there would be long periods when we would not see our waiter or his assistant. Two of the nights, the waiter let us know that they have too many tables to watch which is causing the delay. One also complained that Royal has taken away waiter stations so that they could add more tables.

The Prima will change times with each port. You will get a card the night before letting you know if you need to change your clock ahead or behind. It will also be listed on the first page of the Freestyle Daily.

The link is the arcade package. Its $25 per person per day but you are paying for the length of the cruise. That is why the OP said the package was $175.

I was disappointed by Los Lobos. The tableside guac was great but the rest was just ok. I got the shrimp plate and it was just 5 small shrimp with a couple of slices of avocado as a garnish. For those saying its better than Mexican/Tex Mex land restaurants, come to Houston and I can point you to a ton of traditional Mexican and Tex/Mex restaurants that are lightyears better. I also thought Food Republic was ok. The sushi is all crab based and several other dishes were just ok. Nothing stood out as amazing. This is my ranking: 1. Onda 2. Le Bistro 3. Cagney's 4. Los Lobos 5. Food Republic

I think they are asking about the regular arcade and not the Galaxy Pavilion. There is not an hourly or daily pass for the regular arcade. I got the Arcade pass on my son's card when we were on the Getaway and felt it was worth it. You can scan the card 3 times in 3 minutes so you can use it for another person in a 2 player game or play a different game while the first person plays. It also worked on the games in O'Sheenan's.

Onda is #1 by far.