UKstages

the saga is documented in the link below, but in brief: this was not ordinary noise, it was extraordinary noise. and it was, more or less, continuous anytime the ship was at high seas… which, on a transatlantic/north atlantic itinerary this past may and june, was pretty much every day. and, when onboard personnel didn’t provide adequate response or problem resolution after two or three days, i contacted NCL corporate in miami, while still on the ship. there are a few other similar reports here in this forum, with the general consensus that compensation tops out at $500 per person. YMMV. there are, apparently, a number of these cabins on the prima and NCL has been unable to fix the problem, yet they continue to sell these rooms, without disclosing the known defect to unsuspecting guests.

i’ve seen “the price is right” twice on the prima. outside of the final showcase, an $800 win (cash or prizes) is HUGE for that show. the average win, I’d say, is about $200. the food is beyond great, truly remarkable, but the limited seating is off the chart crazypants absurd for this concept. i do agree that it should be a venue with a host/hostess who manages seating and i’d also put a 90-minute time limit on a guest visit. (honestly, the service is so quick, you can get your food and eat leisurely in less than an hour.) they should also make takeout available. as for dining outside, there are normally tablets at the outdoor tables closet to the perimeter of the restaurant (except in inclement weather). but they also have paper menus! they have these chiefly for when the ipads are down (happens frequently during and after a software update, as the tablets use the same crappy wifi connection we do.) but they also have them for folks who don’t understand how to use the tablets, or for outdoor tables that don’t have tablets. roaming servers are supposed to be there to offer the paper menu and take your order. by the way, I recognize you guys from the photos. i believe we were in the haven cabin next door to you on the joy’s canada/new england itinerary last september!

hmmm... i don't own a hot tub. and i have never installed a hot tub. and i have never purchased multiple hot tubs for commercial or hospitality use. but i've been in hot tubs at homes and on NCL ships, both in and out of the haven. which "whole system" is the staff member referring? aren't these all self contained units? is there some sort of central processing or plumbing unit somewhere on board through which all hot tub activity is funneled? i can understand there has to be plumbing to get water in there to fill the tub. but as far as i have been able to determine, everything pertaining to an individual hot tub is self contained within that particular hot tub. these are not christmas tree string lights from the 1960s... just because one goes out... that doesn't mean they all have to go out. in addition to this sucking out loud in technicolor for you and others affected, it just sounds like a load of hooey. i can not imagine any maintenance that would require all hot tubs to be shut at once for a period of five weeks. maybe the hot tubs are due for maintenance after a year of use, i'll buy that... but if they're shutting them all down at once for a period of five weeks, that just sounds like a stupid scheduling decision... like they are going from room to room and they don't know how long it will take, so they'd rather inconvenience all guests rather than inconvenience the staff members making the repairs/doing the maintenance. they want the tubs to be ready and available when they are. and, not for nuthin', but five weeks with NCL often turns into eight or ten weeks.

as do the captains. there are a number of videos used throughout the ship, including the “farewell” video that have to be updated when various senior officers depart… captain, cruise director, GM, etc. as for syd’s… it’s virtually the same show, with the same playlists, on every ship. it is highly scripted.

i have it on good authority that the port is being renamed “is-you-is-or-is-you-ain’t afjordur.”

$500 per person seems to be their limit for cabin inconveniences or malfunctions. it’s what i received back in may for an excessively noisy cabin and it’s what some others have reported for similar problems. i’m not exactly sure how they will manage this, but i’m pretty damn confident that NCL will somehow blame the hot tub maintenance on the port of isafjordur. they will most likely claim the hot tubs need to be dredged.

is your husband a late riser, by any chance? these tours are often at 8 or 8:30 am. he could sleep in, while you do the tour.

except for those stuck in a room next to unchaperoned teenagers. i’m sure the teenagers in the OP’s family are all fine upstanding individuals who would never dream of slamming doors all hours of the day and night, playing the TV at super high volume, inviting all their friends over for raucous room service parties and yelling and screaming whenever it suits them… but many other unsupervised teenagers are not.

you may wish to consider joining them for an evening or two in the casino and risking a modest amount of money. you may find, a few months after the cruise, that your modest spend has yielded big savings.… anything from 10% off to an entirely free cruise.

opposing views are always welcome. belittling other posters, questioning motives, challenging their education or vocation, demanding “proof” for stated opinions… not so much.

on the prima, ALL comedy shows have been moved to the theatre. at least that was the case on my transatlantic B2B in may and june of this year. i assume they have done the same on the viva. on the prima, they use the improv space for trivia, solo traveler meet ups, lectures and such, this making the branding a puzzlement. there is no longer any comedy presented in the dedicated space for comedy. as for ben and david, you couldn’t hope for two more passionate, independent and unbiased reviewers. while I generally agree with them, I took exception to some factual errors they made in their video of the viva. and while that video review (which is about an hour long) leans toward the negative, i actually thought they were overly generous with their praise, based on my experiences on the nearly identical prima. as for the troll, JITT. just ignore the troll… literally set the message board settings to ignore anybody who - in your opinion - doesn’t contribute or edify the conversation and only seeks to stir the pot, poke the bear. don’t engage. don’t respond.

i’m not aaron, nor do I play him on TV, nor am i onboard the viva. but I think I can answer this one. the prima itself reverted to rotating menus back in april or may. the prima no longer has a fixed menu. NCL abandoned that strategy months ago, presumably based on highly negative feedback from many. so, most of us here on cruise critic assumed that viva, too, would have rotating menus, just as the prima now does. it would be odd for NCL to reintroduce a failed experiment on its newest ship. but, again, i’m not onboard.

i think the point that some may be missing in these recent posts is that it is indeed legitimate to wonder what sort of entertainment may be on your cruise in six months… or a year down the road. after all, folks who booked the joy, for instance, for a november cruise this year were expecting to see “footloose.” and that won’t be happening. while entertainment - like ports - is not guaranteed, there is an expectation that if something is eliminated, it will be replaced with comparable entertainment. that no longer seems to be the case. most folks here have shared recent experiences with a fully booked entertainment schedule which still represents the old NCL; the phase out of some of the larger stage shows has only just begun. what we’re promised in the future is fewer large scale stage shows, fewer broadway-style presentations… and lots of solo performers, with duos and trios in the lounges. it would not surprise me one bit to find a literal one-man band onboard, using synthesizers and supplemented by additional recorded vocal and music tracks. hell, maybe they could buy a bunch of animatronics from chuck-e-cheese and not have any human performers at all. what time do you go to bed? most of the outlandish behavior - and the yelling and screaming and puking and fighting and the running through the halls naked - occurs from 10 pm or so till about 4 in the morning. it would seem that many go on cruises primarily to drink and these folks far exceed the amount of liquor they normally consume on land… every day of the cruise… presumably because it’s “free” and they’re on vacation and they paid a lot of money for their fare and, gosh darn it, they’re gonna drink as much as they can to get their money’s worth. i always see excessive drinking onboard.

i’m a very frequent flyer on united and they also offer the 70 pounds perk. i think most airlines allow elite flyers to check bags heavier than what is normally allowed. the 70 pound limit on united also applies to business class fares. united actually allows bags up to 100 pounds, but you’ll pay as much as $400 for that privilege, regardless of status. as for how the luggage is processed… it all goes to the same place and is handled by the same people. the only difference is they hang a “heavy” tag on it to warn handlers that it is overweight. there are no protocols per se, other than bending at the knees when lifting.

with regard to the original question… what is allowed with a latitudes coupon vs. a FAS benefit: it’s not really the fact that you’re in onda that makes a difference. what is allowed can vary wildly from one restaurant to the other and even from night to night or server to server in the same restaurant. the NCL rules are one thing… what the staff of a particular restaurant will allow is another. and what they let you have at onda on one ship may vary from the way they enforce the rules on another ship. it can even vary from one restaurant to another on the same ship. it’s good to know the rules and to expect them to be enforced, but just tell the server what you want. they should be able to tell you whether they can accommodate without an upcharge or additional charge. as for onda, i’d say the pizza is damn good and not to be missed. and, unlike la cucina, my experience has been that it is considered to be an appetizer. (it’s big enough for an entree, but it’s considered an appetizer.) onda was one of my favorite restaurants on the prima.

some members of the cast of “summer,” along with a couple of the performers from syd’s, debuted a broadway-themed revue when i was onboard the prima in may and june. presumably, they’re still doing it. in its first performances, it was rather undisciplined and could have benefited from some direction (i don't think there was a director at all). about half of the songs were done to a recorded music track. the other songs had live keyboard backing only.

one can certainly hope. and the comedians were all excellent on my TA from new york. outstanding, in fact. i was onboard for a B2B and there were no comedians on the second cruise. the prima cruise director told me that NCL doesn’t book comedians on cruises that originate outside the USA. she said that comedy is not universal and nobody understands the comedic premises outside of america. (I disagree.) so, traveling on the prima to new york from europe… there may not be any comedians at all.

i also did a recent transatlantic on the prima… new york to southampton. there’s plenty to do… not all of it is worthwhile. but there is plenty to do.

which terminal? if i recall correctly, there are at least two cruise ports in reykjavik. one has services, the other doesn’t and isn’t really a terminal, but more like a shack. (but it’s within walking distance of city center).

to my knowledge, they do not hold back any excursion reservations for sale onboard. what they will do is start a wait list and they will process cancellations, if any. or, if there is sufficient interest, and they can book an an additional bus and guide (or whatever is required), they will open up more reservations. but it is conditional upon available capacity with the tour operator... and they must have critical mass... they will generally not operate an additional tour with three or four people on the bus.

yes. on the prima, i believe it's in cagneys, at least for lunch. not sure where the suite breakfast is on the prima..

as for personal "escorts" at ports... they do exist and you won't have to search very far. any cab driver can usually help you find one. they do prefer payment in the local currency, however. and they are, of course, forbidden to come back onboard the ship with you.

i did the 80s tournament last year (on the joy, i think)... there was indeed an 80s themed party one night, with many people in costume. i stayed in there for about ten minutes. it's unclear to me if you booked a CAS discounted rate (or comped cruise) or if you paid outright. if you have any sort of CAS rating at all, you can call to see if you can be "invited" to the tourney, even if you've already booked the cruise independently on a paid fare. i have heard of people who have talked CAS into inviting them to a particular tournament after the fact.

there are no butler services for suites on those ships because those ships do not have non-haven suites (except for the erroneously named "club balcony suite"). so, it's not that they don't have butler service... it's that they don't have non-haven suites.

the most important factor here is the size of the group in proportion to the occupancy of the ship. will you have to cut a swath through the goths at the buffet? will there be a gaggle of goths gathered on the gangway? will you experience delays at the bar when goths get their grog? if 50% or 60% or more of the passengers are part of an organized group, they will indeed take over the ship. i'd say that about a goth as much as i'd say that about men (or women) of the cloth. any sizable group has the capacity to make the entire ship into a private club, with other passengers feeling like outsiders. that's true regardless of how "respectful" the group is to other passengers.