ricksurf

Good Saturday Morning; loved your photos and your visit to Southern California. Sadly, it's raining this morning; not our fault here. Blame it on Mother Nature. If you are going to Long Beach, then a good place to visit in the rain would be the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach Shoreline Village. Also, many nice places to eat in that area.

I don't like the Club Balconies on the Epic, since in most cases, the bathroom has a tub instead of a shower. You don't really a significant amount of exta space in the Club Balcony.

You made the perfect choice for Easter week by getting the VIP pass. Isn't it fun to see how the movies are made?

Welcome to Southern California. We will see you Sunday onboard the beautiful Bliss. We love this ship and especially the repositioning cruises to the North. There will be 5 of us from Orange County; including a Canuck, who will be visiting her parents in Vancouver. Hopefully, we can bring the warm California sunshine with us up the Coast.

Our most recent cruises were on Prima Transatlantic and Getaway Med. The food selection and preparation on both cruises we found to be very good and really a step up from the past. The Food Hall concept on Prima was excellent. NCl added more kitchens with Prima closer to the the restaurant and the food preparation was fresher. We are Diamond Level, so have been cruising with NCl for many years.

You can take your son to dinner with you as the 2nd person on your free Platinum Specialty Dinners. Also, you can share with him if you go to a restaurant such as Food Republic where you order 4 items off the menu. If he is paying for a dinner at one of the Specialty Restaurants and you are there using your Free At Sea, then you can give him one of your courses. You can't give him your Card and let him present himself at the restaurant as you for the Free At Sea or for him to take someone to a restaurant for the two for one Platinum dinners without you.

You can make all your dining reservations online without any charges. When you check in for your dinner at the individual restaurant, then they will ask you how you want to pay for the meal. You just tell them to use your meal plan.

It is not difficult to make reservations for specialty dining and especially on an extended cruise, since there are so many more nights and times available for people to dine. You can make the dining reservations on the NCL website, where your reservation is posted 90 days in advance. Also, you can make shore excursions reservations, show reservations, etc. For extended cruises, then we have rarely made reservations, since in most cases the Specialty Restaurants had sufficient openings on most nights. Cagney's is probably the most popular; so keep an eye on it and you may need to make a reservation in advance for a particular time.

I did a three week cruise on the Jade this last year from Athens to Dubai through the Suez Canal. Since, I have cruised on this ship in the past, then I was very familiar with the amenities which this ship offers versus others. The only fault that I have is the Club Balcony Suites under the pool area, since you can pick up some noise from above due to moving about of lounges. We, always choose the suites under La Cucina in the aft portion, since there is no noise from this area. The Jewel class ships are smaller and offer a nice experience. We were port intensive on this cruise, so exiting and reboarding was done quickly. The aft open area behind the buffet is an excellent place to have meals and to spend time outside with amazing sea views. Five years ago, I did a Transatlantic cruise on this ship from Venice to Houston. The cruise experience was the same positive vibe as I had last year. What's nice about the NCl ships for long cruises is the number of dining choices. The food choices never get boring with so many different dining venues. I noticed that Princess is copying this NCl experience with the launching of their new ship The Sun. They have added a separate Suite area with private dining room and pool area. Also, they have added more Specialty Dining Venues, which is similar to NCl.

We did the first crossing on the Prima with Norway and Iceland. These ships, as suggested in the video are best for warmer weather. There is just not enough interior space for the colder weather. It was impossible with our crossing to go outside. If you intended to eat on sea days at busy times, then you'll find it difficult to find a seat. In the evenings with the colder weather, then Good luck finding a seat in any of the entertainment venues. The plus for the ship is the food. Since they have added so many new local kitchen areas, then you'll find freshly cooked foods in many places. If you can breakaway from a buffet mentality and enjoy the other food venues, then you will love this ship. While the food was equally as good in the buffet, the size of the area is challenging. The staterooms are excellent with new larger designs. In all, I don't think that I would pay an upcharge to sail on this class of ship.

I hope that they take the next step and convert the space into the Food Hall concept that they have on the Prima and Viva, which are complimentary. Wouldn't that be an amazing addition?

I usually don't when we have a lot of ports. The Haven is best on the sea days, when you can really enjoy it. Save your money for another cruise.

Thank you for your review. We enjoyed the Prima on the first Transatlantic to NYC; even though the route was a little cold. We, also found the balcony cabins really well appointed. The food was a notch above what we experienced in the past from NCL. The biggest problem with the ship is the interior common areas and the lack of. We couldn't find one common area which was large enough to accommodate the number of passengers on the ship.

They will ask you if you would like to join another table at check in. Also, the concierge in the Studios has posted in the past that any Single on board can join their group at the Studios for dinners, etc.

Time for everyone to telephone NCL and demand refunds for the all inclusive alcohol programs. It's not the end all with the consumption of alcohol as stated above, but it's the false advertising that NCL is practicing in selling these packages, knowing that they cannot produce in these UK ports and supposedly in Italian ports, also. Other Cruise Companies are not subjecting their customers to these problems.

After reviewing the Boards from the other Cruise Lines, then why is this same topic not appearing in those other Boards? It would appear that NCL has a problem with the local authorities. It would be good to hear from NCL an explanation on why they are being targeted. NCL is charging us for an all inclusive alcohol program and are not delivering on that program.

I had the same problem with this person on Prima and I am Diamond, also. I never felt that she was concerned at all about the cruise experience, but pushing the up sell.

Thanks for your review of the Port for the City of Los Angeles. The port is the worst excuse for a large city like Los Angeles and for the Federal authorities that manage the immigration and customs process. The city needs to put some money into this port facility and upgrade to modern standards. The city has a new mayor; maybe writing letters to her will start the process for beginning the process. Sadly, all the cruise companies are burdened with having to provide excellent customer service in a run down facility.

Hudson's MDR offers an excellent lunch selection for your first day of sail. It will be an oasis of tranquility compared to the other areas of the ship

We were on the Prima for 22 days and loved the new menu in the MDR. Considering that you are mixing the choices on that menu with your other choices when visiting the other restaurants, then we never tired of that menu. There are so many new items on the menu; plus they offer a number of side items which you can add to your main course similar to Cagney's. We found some favorites which we wanted to repeat, then wanted to try some new items which looked so good. The quality and the prep of the selections have definitely been increased and was appreciated.

The casino on the Prima is quite large and has a separate enclosed area for smoking; so it smells very clean when you walk through it. I would say it's as big or bigger than any of the other older ships that I have been on.

Be sure to book all of your shows as soon as your board Prima. There will be a restaurant or venue open for Show Reservations. They have a sheet available with all the shows listed; just go through and check the ones which you want to see. If you don't do this, then you will be challenged to see any of them later in the cruise since they book up from that very day. I just finished 22 days on Prima and know this for sure.

We spent 22 days on the Prima from Copenhagen to New York. The ship is beautiful with many new concepts for NCl and the cruise industry. Since our cruise was Scandanavian and North Atlantic, we couldn't appreciate the design of the ship for outdoor activities. Because, they have expanded the 8th deck for outdoor use and the larger Haven, many of the indoor common venues have been downsized and a little too small for such a large ship. This was a problem for our indoor focused cruise, but should be better when the ship is in warm waters. The food choices are outstanding and each area has really bumped upped the quality and variety of foods offerings for NCl. The Inndulge Food Hall is a jewel and with a few small changes will continue to be a leader in the cruise industry. The buffet, while offerings are excellent is far too small for the ship and bad design for crowd flow to the pool. The cabins have taken a step up from previous ships and the balconies have expanded again. The addition of so many new kitchens on the ship, which have increased the quality of the food has created a decrease of common area venues. The bar situation can be a bit confusing since many have focused themes. Some find it difficult to find their favorite beverages. Since the ship was new, we expected a few bumps, but in all found the cruise to be enjoyable and would book this class of ship again but in warmer waters.

Consider the UK Bus transport service from the airports to Southampton, which is National Express UK www.nationalexpress.com From Heathrow, the service is direct and less than 2 hours. Large Luggage goes under the bus so no lifting of heavy luggage as you do on the train. From Gatwick, the service requires a change of bus at Heathrow and is less than 4 hours. Prices are inexpensive if booked in advance. For example 11 pounds from Heathrow Buses leave frequently all day.

The new NCL policy of having guests responsible for their own Covid testing for overseas cruises makes it a hardship for people who are not in their own country and trying to enjoy their vacation days. I have no problem with testing in my own country since I am most familiar with the testing options available to me, and most times free of charge. If NCL wants the ships completely test (and I do, also) then they should offer testing at the dock as they did before overseas either free or a small charge $20 and not the exorbitant rates which they are suggesting.