mking8288

Booked this TA around the holidays, before final payment & deadline to cancel; and, at 125 days, shows were not available to book ...nor at 120 days, or 90 days, 25 or even 21 days remaining. Perhaps, another true return to freestyle cruising, just go and show up 😳 perhaps, whatever. We also confirmed that parties of 5 or less can no longer book the MDR on the Prima, at least not on our sailing. Where is that pre-cruise concierge services limited for Latitudes Diamond, hahaha 🤣 😂 😁 I know better than to even bother. Hopefully, priority restaurant reservation and seating consideration can be given onboard. Our specialty dining are all booked & confirmed; not going to reschedule dinner plans just to see the shows, nope. AI generated image ... can NCL's AI Assistant do more too ? Tip #99 - pre install that NCL app and get comfortable using it to one's advantage. Tip #98 - learn a little about Airplane Mode, WiFi inTRAnet vs. inTERnet.

T minus 9, time for single-digit dance toward embarkation, planning to be mostly "live" for this 15 days TA, an early launch with bits & pieces of background, related info, side bar details, preview leading up to "switching on the vacation mode". Our 2nd time on the Prima, last November was a westbound 15 days TA, Barcelona to NY ... wasn't really thinking to be back on so soon. But, here we all, final packing mode. She left Miami on April 16th ... During the holidays (early December) - started looking at these 3 TA at the time, sailing out of NY of interest to us. Escape aleady sailed, TA in early April, 16 days out of NY. Long story short, voted for the Prima after checking options, details, airlines and booked it ... 2 oceanviews at that time, took advantage of CN DoubleUp and Latitudes extra point promo, stacked on top of other discounts. Oops, using those CN certs again ("added" more earlier ... thankfully, have a reserve pool (extended F&F sharing) to dip into and transfer them, if necessary) The overnight Iceland stop is the main appeal for us, plus, an excuse to see Halifax & perhaps a clam bake or lobster feast while the ship is docked there. Susan, DW is in one room and yours truly in the 2nd room ... one of the sister-in-law coming along plus a niece that hasn't cruise NCL since 2018-19, more of a regular on Royal & Princess - interested to get her comparative impressions. Other ports are new to us ... and a niece in England, could, be our local guide in London (but ... more on that later.) Itinerary below reflecting the latest time as posted. The Pearl will be sailing 2 days ahead of us, stopping at Halifax and then Reykjavik - they can be tipping us off as the "advance" partner on what's ahead, expect and surprises ... aside from weather and sea state on the crossing. Escape departed NY at a later time than "originally" scheduled - no news on CC about them that I know of. Dining in the Hudson MDR on the Hudson (River) at Pier 88 - sunset cruise down the river: We just learned, officially, from NCL last week that Prima's arrival into NY will be delayed by 2 hours, "instructing" all pax to not show up until 12 noon, as that was the earliest pier check-in time available to anyone at Day 21, when online check-in was open (many wondering "why"). As posted elsewhere here on CC's NCL forum, pax on the Prima repo cruise, Miami to NY (last port of call is Puerto Plata, DR next Wed, sailing at 3 PM ... ) has a change too, arrival time into NY is 10 AM next Saturday. Oh ... due to Right whales maritime protection regulations and other "reasons" - some of ship pax disembarking in NY will likely need flight changes (rebook) for departing later than planned. Not a good way to end a cruise, no matter what. This isn't a deal breaker for us but most are eager to get onboard ... sail away moved back from 4 PM to 6 PM now. Next Saturday, going to be a bit "hectic" at Pier 88. As of now, Prima is basically sold out - 3rd party websites showing at most, 5 Inside cabins available ... everything else are listed as sold out. Upgrade bids are still being unsolicited, haha (more about it later) Here's a quick recap of the ship's vital stats: Before continuing – informal “rules” to go with - basic common sense assumptions & requests, and disclosure for our Semi-Live CC reports - please be kind & courteous, agree to disagree on matters that are subjective and personal in nature, biases and personal opinions are fine, criticism and comments otherwise are welcomed as long as they are constructive in nature or intent. Other CC’ers on this Prima TA, if they choose to, are free & invited to post, add to the report, comments and share theirs, without asking or requesting prior “permissions” to do so, granted hereby. We will not have or reports on the Haven experience although I have a source that might choose to help contribute, or, they might do their trip report. A frequent CC’er is on this TA doing solo again and I expect her to bust chops and bring her dose of humor, fun and crack remarks along the way – be on the lookout. (typo & spelling, grammatical errors, etc. are to be expected, especially while at sea and making best efforts to post live/near-live updates or reports ... your kind understanding appreciated, much obliged) Come along and follow us on this TA, mark it and come back later ... expect to read about a bit of humor, laughs while we try to go with the flow, making the most and best out of this cruise, despite the new, the same old and the unexpected, changes and surprises. Prepared for wet and rain ahead, weather forecast not looking too bad, still early - maybe, we can pack a little lighter. Henry/@mking8288 on CC

Wow, already passed the 2/3 milestone on a TA, thank you & enjoy following it. MDR menu as posted, look no different than 2023, meaning NCL hasn't make noticeable changes to the overall rotation or come up with new ones (better, hopefully). More time zone changes or clock/smartphone adjustment ahead ...

Submitted a request to CC host/mod to correct the year from 2014 and to change to 2024 ... .standby and be kind to fellow CC'ers.

As I mentioned on your roll call, it's best to do the express self walk off with luggage - aside from ship's gangway, sometimes steeper due to river tide, no stairs and just follow ahead to the 2 down escalators, bypass the luggage hall. If you are caught with a long line at CBP, use porter services. On our Prima TA last year disembarking in NY, CBP only opened 4 to 5 booths using facial recognition. That's one less bottleneck to insure a quicker way to your car service across on 12th Ave for EWR. The line was fairly short, porter with our bags in his cart headed straight ahead down the middle, express lane. Use the AFT gangway if you can, much fewer steps or walking with luggage into the building for the escalators. We've cut the chase to 25 minutes from ship security & gangway to 12th Ave, ready for our car services ... that took another 10 minutes with congestion around that area. At the AFT gangway with the entrance into the terminal almost right there. Port traffic congestion - there is going to be early birds showing up at 9 and 10 AM, let alone 11 with the subsequent arrival time moved back by 2 hours to noon.

Haha, as far as I know (seen) Epic's Shanghai Menu is "more" extensive compared to the BA and GA, which is printed on a narrow menu strip with 12 to 15 items in total, including dessert ... not what it used to be (we consider SHN to be more of a diner/counter food than a full restaurant with options) before the fleetwide Covid shutdown. Are you sure that it's checked off as "Cooking Lite" specials, given the petite sizes of those dishes ... we ordered doubled serving (being hungry) of the noodles soup instead, as they only fill it half full at best. Appeared that priority dining/Platinum status helped a little bit whereas, some people (more than 2023) flocked to eat there instead, not less than before - or else, the line & waiting wouldn't be more than 1 hour for the average cruiser. Yay for the stealthy towel animal making a cameo. Keep your eyes out on the daily pillows presentation or arrangements on the bed, if any ... as that seemed to be the new "alternatives" to making towel animals routinely.

Odds are that, given the time zones changed - dinner is done already this evening, somewhere onboard ... if not Shanghai Noodles. For whatever reasons, it was very popular. Assuming your Latitudes status is higher at Platinum or above, make use of "priority seating" when you get to the host/ess and asked about it, she acknowledged us - gave us a pager like everyone else that stood around or hangout at the bar nearby for a drink or two, or three ... Worked for us, as it cut the 30 to 40+ minutes to about half (did this twice) as they don't take reservations and lines started forming 30+ minutes before they open up for dinner. Pan-fried pot stickers preferred over the steamed ones, spring rolls and the roast pork ("cha siu" noodles soup, as well as the spicy seafood noodles soup were all good ... portions were petite, leaving room for the dessert & green tea ice cream.

@rnr4thatsme First, newly purchased CruiseNext Certs no longer expire (was 4 years from date of purchase ...) so you "should" consider buying at least 2 (or more) if you think you will be sailing NCL in the near future. Second, the DoubleUp for ANY stateroom doesn't run that often, unlike the DoubleUp for balcony & higher and cruise is at least 4 months or more out ... and, as you can see, for a "limited" time basis only - plus it is valid for ANY sailings. Sometimes, it is only valid on selected sailings as designated by NCL (i.e. for that month's specials only, translation - slow selling ones with unsold inventory) Odds are NCL won't offer this until the Fall again or Winter into early 2025 when new bookings tend to slow down a bit ... If you buy 2 of them and do not plan to take the OBC, your cost is just $250 for 2 certs with a face value of $250 each ... these OBC cannot be used for certain purchases onboard, i.e. DSC. Noticed that you are from Canada, be mindful that you should buy them in USD terms and not as $250 Canadian dollars (double check this onboard with the CruiseNext staff) ... don't recall the specifics but a number of your fellow citizens had mentioned "issues" when using them b/c of the currency exchange/conversion rate in effect when they decided to endorse or use it for a given sailing. Someone else browsing from Canada with experience can probably help explain this.

FWIW, the newer Prima & Viva ship's "atrium" triplex re-defined the definition of small (here, when chatting about the Epic's atrium) and not one suitable for sailing in colder climate either, especially when outdoors aren't usable. Enjoying this TA review, thank you. Curious as to how the lines are at lunch in the Taste MDR with access via the casino (by French designers, I'm sure) and how crazy the lines are for Shanghai Noodles Restaurant ...

Good point ... most likely a good cautionary alert to get out. Watch out for surge pricing with Uber & Lyft, they've been known to jack up rates by $20 to $25 or more for trips to the airports when we disembarked ... and, I won't be "shocked" of a higher fare quote. Heading there, probably okay if coming off an in-bound flight to NY on that Saturday for the next TA that's now sailing at 6 PM, or later. We shall see & find out soon.

.... well, there is still the possibility of the Prima arriving earlier than 10 AM on the 27th, but announcing this at such a late date, on short or limited notices when air arrangements have pretty much been finalized and locked for just about everyone, really is B.S. Those maritime regulations have been in place for a while, not 2024, not 2023 ... it goes way beyond the Covid shutdown and was a topic of discussion here on CC. We are on the TA and will be eagerly waiting for arrival ... and when we completed OLCI last week, figured something odd is happening - and, one of my theory was, exactly, this ... whale protection zones along the Atlantic coastal waterways. The Escape was "late" and sailed out of NY at 7 PM this past Sunday, and did arrived later than the usual 6 to 7 AM, closer to around 9 AM'ish (I was tracking the ship on other sites but not really that closely for the exact docking time.) Oddly enough, MSC and RC's vessels were pretty much cruising the same route and they're going faster at 20 to 21, 22 knots either in front or behind NCL - it doesn't add up the totality of "to sail & sustain, for our (in)convenience" as one of the popular tagline go. Our eDocs printed was still showing 4 PM sailaway but earliest port arrival/check-in and boarding time has been already changed, adjusted to 12 noon ... nobody, no one could get anything earlier than 12:00 - 12:30 to check-in. Going to be a zoo at Pier 88 later this month, I can just imagine the crowd & madness. Emails pushed out this morning around 10 AM'ish and multiple folks began seeing it ... Another prime example of NCL's corporate communication excellence, and lack thereof. Sorry that many others & you will have to deal with us, wondering if that notice from NCL itself is sufficient to file the claim and use it as documentation & proof of change ... claims for using airline points, you probably should check with their mileage/support desk to ask. With our notices, NCL also informing all that airport-ground transfer to the pier on our sailing will not begin until 10 AM on that Saturday ... logical, as they can minimize the buses dropping off hundreds of early bird with the port folks not allowing pax to go inside, as least - weather should be good enough in late April, to wait outside. Pearl is doing a TA and also leaving from NY later this month, 2 days earlier than ours, and I imagine they are doing the same. NCL just can't seem to coordinate and align the schedule, and make timely notifications ahead of time, when these are "unforeseen circumstances" ... but, we'll get flamed for not being cheerleaders, regardless (fine by me - that's what the ignore list is used for ... don't respond to them at all) Well, on a positive note - wish you and all on the repo a great cruise, smooth sailing and calm seas, wonderful ports and enjoy, seeing that the roll call isn't that active - unlike ours following but we had to tug at it to steer it the CC way with poachers lurking from elsewhere. For the M&G, if you have the list of senior officers on board, might we kindly ask if you can share & post it here (and/or pass it directly to our roll call ... although, I think we have a pretty good idea of who's on her, some will probably go on vacation once in Europe at the end of the TA)

I trusted you are enjoying the TA and look forward to reading about it. Was a beautiful & pretty sunset sail away for your TA. NCL finally emailed all pax, I think 🤔 at T minus 17 days, when impatient folks already finished OLCI and printed out boarding passes & luggage tags. Now, they won't start airport ground transfer until 10 AM and guests won't be able to get checked in until 12 noon at the earliest, ship is arriving 2 hours later than usual. Reason, to protect right whales along the Atlantic coastal migration ... this is seasonal but will affect all ships in the designated zones per maritime regulations. They've been spotted inside NY's harbor & nearby last year.

CC store here sells clear luggage tags, wide ones will be fine - paper folded into 3 is about 2.75" to 2.8" wide by 5.5" tall and insert into the holder. We still have the old logo ones, new ones from CC or Amazon are practically the same "wide" ones that can be used on other cruise lines.

Woohoo ... it's TA season time, checking in to follow this one and to say thanks. We had almost perfect weather last April on Epic's TA that ended in Barcelona. Lots of solo onboard and many in the busy MDR. Happy & safe travel and flying into MCO.

Thanks. All good here, affirmative. Tracking Escape & Pearl, going out following them & heading northeast again. See above eDoc. Semi Live, most likely since Starlink worked last Fall and no reasons otherwise not to try ... best effort to make it fun, interesting, informative and good dose of humor, telling and calling it as we see it. Good # of Diamond, Sapphire & Platinum on the roll call, welcome abroad mats out for others to post on the TR as they wish, as contributors and/or do their own.

Have a wonderful, great and smooth TA sailing, happy & healthy 😊 Other speculations - it's for our (in)convenience to sail & sustain ... nowadays, gotta to pack a good sense of humor with these "unforeseen" changes, and, just go with the flow. Just completed our OLCI for later this month, funny things happening to us. Your sail time is 8:00 PM according to one site since I can't see it on NCL anymore. Our scheduled (per eDoc this morning) remained unchanged at 4 PM ... earliest pier arrival/boarding time is 12:00 - 12:30 PM (and, all abroad is 2 hours prior.) Latest check-in time is 3:30 - 4 PM ... indicating a probably sail time of no earlier than 6 PM. Lots of chatter on our roll call here, almost all agreed & know, shore /pier operations and ship crew has a narrowish 2 hour window to get 3,000+ onboard, luggage - even if they don't have to load any extra lobster tails, hash browns and cookie dough, etc. for the crossing. Ship is coming from Miami via Caribbean after 12 days, and therefore, almost certain or must load additional provisions for 15+ days - concluding that it will take a few hours to load all the luggage plus food, supplies & offset waste destined for disposal. Pax on the repo are getting a 7 AM arrival time into NY - things just don't compute or add up for us. Curious mind wanted to know, what plans do they have for the Pearl's TA crossing, they are ahead of ours - Escape will be the "pioneer" this season out of NY to head east. Will be tracking and monitoring, on the lookout for any interesting update from those onboard. One other possible reason - NCL has scheduled USCG and/or public health, or similar inspection while the ship(s) is in NYC ... and, therefore need (must) to push back early boarding until noon'ish. Best Regards - mking8288 / Henry

You mean, 4th berth is an upper pullman, recessed into the ceiling above that sofa/bed, a ladder is provided to climb up/down. With the new housekeeping protocol in place since 2023, this would be the "stationary" setup for x day of days or duration of the cruise/sailing - just finding a corner to sit can be awful. Was too chilly at night, but our angled balcony definitely has room to put the foam mattress down outside, unzip a sleeping bag and snooze off ... perhaps, securely anchor a mammock to swing & sleep on (like the old sailing days) No recliners out there, but plenty of usable space. Storage was adequate for 3, ours was a connecting door into the next balcony - one less closet to use/share - we stacked all of our large suitcases there, improvised with the flat top to put clothing on. IMHO, not recommended to do this with 4 adults - the toilet/shower setup didn't bother us (aside from any noises) ... an air freshner helped too, LOL.

As long as it is a family balcony designated for 4, that's with an upper pullman that's otherwise recessed into the ceiling; and, the convertible sofa/bed, which has to be pulled out/away from the back of the seatback cushion (non-removable). In reality, 3 is livable but 4 grown up, I wouldn't recommend it. There is very little room to move around, keep in mind those extra beddings will remain in place for the duration of the cruise. Storage room will be tight if not limited ... large luggage can be (and need to be) stored under the main bed, to use as slide-out drawer/trunk. Privacy will be next to none. Weather permitting - one or two can step out to the balcony. On the "up"side, one can shower in 1 of 2 bath closet, another can do #1 or #2 in the other bath closet while a 3rd person can wash & brush teeth in the small sink next to the sofa or bed ... 4th person will have to find another corner to allow other 3 some room to move. Imagine going on Amtrak for 7 days with 2 booked into one of the roomette - very tight and little room to move around. Depending on balcony location, consider book an Inside nearby - as you can see, very little room to pass each other inside. If budget is an issue, find & book 1 of the secret angle balcony for extra outdoor space.

The other consideration for NCL, is the logistics and time involved to tender the *Away/+ class ship like the Breakaway with 3,500+ pax and crews that need to go ashore at ports like Bar Harbor, assuming sea state & weather conditions are optimal on the day of ... which nobody can't predict ahead. On the Dawn in 2019 with a scheduled stop at BH returning after visiting Halifax & St. John first, we had to deal with CBP coming onboard to clear everyone first, before pax were allowed to priority board using ship's lifeboats to get ashore. The entire transfer took 2+ hours and that was with only 2,300+ pax (not everyone went but we sure did) ... shorex didn't leave on schedule despite early arrival, buses were leaving the parking/staging area next to the pier as late as 11 AM & beyond. Imagine the logistics & time needed for 3,500+ souls going ashore ... and, the subsequent return. We're on the Getaway's Caribbean sailing in 2022-23 sailing at reduced capacity and due to "unforeseen" reasons, our tender stop at one of the ABC islands were cancelled & ended up going to a different port with a gangway ... of course, for our (in)convenience - we're only informed after being onboard, etc. etc. As for the port reservations discussed, chats previously here on CC mentioned that cruise lines including NCL almost certainly had their slots booked for this season (2024) prior to the passage of the restrictions, that it shouldn't matter or else NCL wouldn't be (should not) advertising it earlier. We're on the Escape last September to NE/C with BH scheduled, but skipped & cancelled due to weather/stormy forecast but that was different, and nothing anyone could've done otherwise - however, tendering at Newport went smoothly with the ship at/near full double occupancy. At least, this time, it's months before final payment and there is no penalty to cancel and book something else ... those flying in & making their own flight or travel arrangements will just have to manage those accordingly.

Just a suggestion, if you haven't install the BOA App to your mobile device, consider doing so should you plan to withdraw funds at ATM's and/or use it for payments abroad. That should help with getting transactions approved by their AI bolts. It might take a 2nd swipe or attempt to go thru, checking & tapping "Yes" to approve when prompted on the BOA or SMS messaging, that it is a valid payment that you approve and know of when traveling. This is also true when using it for Tap & Pay ... it's mostly fine at home with the U.S. but abroad, BOA should & need to do better but that's another topic & not directly related. Returning to follow your live review and pictures, interesting stories, etc. etc.

Thanks for the update. Shocked and surprised ... not. We were looking at both the Joy & BA as options this Fall as others wanted to tag along. More staterooms for others - book 3 rooms with Royal, going to sail out of CL doing 9 nights, and have Sydney, CBI in NS as a new stop for us in addition to Halifax, which we missed last September. Traffic on the Maine Turnpike can be crazy busy to/from Portland but you don't have to worry about all abroad time and tendering. Have a great road trip.

LOL ... get use to it. Once you tried, experienced and enjoy it - the refreshing & clean experience ... environmentally friendly as fewer paper tissues are needed on a routine basis. You can't and really don't want to go back. Hotels abroad, especially better ones throughout Asia, not just Japan ... also South Korea, Taiwan & even places like Singapore have them ... oops, almost forgot, Honolulu upscale resort hotels too (as they "used" to get huge influx of Japanese visitors to the island) It's easy DIY install but when we remodeled our co-op, general contractor installed it for us - prices varied widely, better ones are several hundreds & up, with remote & sensors ... high end ones in the thousands. Replacement parts are expensive as you can't just order it from Home Depot or pick up a generic lid or seat from True Value Hardware, etc.

@dcipjr welcome home from your Getaway, loved the short, concise & simple report on the Bermuda sailing. Opinions on food, as I always believe & say, is largely personal, subjective & biased ... unless and until it isn't ... how can NCL mess with the kid's basic menu options, b/c they can - next, I foresee, for a nominal upcharge and 20% - for our convenience. Usually, we find ways to spend down those non-refundable OBC - duty-free shop prices are up but the markup isn't too bad compared to airport duty-free zones abroad, we discovered last year. At least, everyone has more than a day to come up with ways of spending it all. No worries about ship's officers currently onboard but good to know the GA's navigational status display hasn't change (yet ?) as the data displayed into the Prima's stateroom was horrible & much worst - nice & bigger Samsung Smart TV, however, is good. Maybe, give the newer ships a try. Instead of sailing the Joy or Breakaway with NCL, we decided to broaden & stretching our "Diamond" wings this year. Loop out of Cape Liberty for 9 nights ... NE & Canada with Sydney, CAN a new port for us. Booked 3 Promenade Inside - 2 of them connecting Price is Right, more than great. After our 3 nights inside NY harbor last September, decided that we can live without a balcony this Fall - going to compare RC's Voom Starlink. Sailing later this month, did you noticed any new or different entrees in the MDR ... it seemed like NCL hasn't refreshed the menus since 2023, just wondering as coming up for us, got plenty of sea days and 5 nights of specialty dining is more than enough. I believed items like prime rib, pork chops and even lamb dishes have disappeared almost completely from the MDR as routine rotations. We didn't even see chicken wings in the buffet ... well, going to look for it as none of us like the ones in The Local / O'Sheehan's. Oh, if it make you feel any better, GA didn't fare any better this week, their stay in Bermuda cut short & they got into Nassau later than 10 AM this morning for a short visit ... then, 2 sea days on the return to NY. Ship was doing 19, 20 to almost 21 kts en route at varies times, mechanical issues apparently no longer.

This happened to us last year while in Spain & Portugal ... only saw the SMS/text alert & email later on, used another cc for payment transactions, no problems with Citi. Nearly forgotten about it until recently when we booked a private ground transfer/tour for our upcoming cruise; here at home - with, you guess it, foreign vendor with a 3rd party processing the payment ... and, it was denied. DW tried twice to use it when picking up her Rx scripts with a large co-pay at local pharmacy, and denied. It wasn't until we figured out & connected the dots, and also live chat with BOA support, that we learned it's best to install the BOA app on the smartphone (iPhone) & have it SMS/text enabled, that we can get it re-submitted as a 2nd attempt if their AI logics rejected or denied it. We are better prepared ahead ... fingers crossed later this month that all goes well ... gotta pile up those double & triple points. Funny thing is that NCL charges always seem to go thru while onboard and at sea, maybe processing via Miami does make a difference, regardless the cardholder's internet IP address can be thousands of miles elsewhere.

One of the credit cards that we run into approval issues all the time is our BOA card, especially when the merchant is non-US based - I chalked it up to their fraud detection/protection logics. Usually, we would get a text alert asking & verifying if we are submitting a payment ... and if we see/reply in time - it will say, try again and it will then go thru. Great and good if you are traveling abroad (or at home/in the USA for that matter) and have cellular/WiFi access at the moment with your registered mobile number/email access to reply. BOA doesn't have a tab to allow the card holder to add travel history / countries being visited so that their "logic" AI system can better decide to approve or reject and notify the user to approve, etc. Our Chase card no longer need that & it's seldom a problem while Citi has that feature and once we set it up, most overseas transactions go thru without needed to respond ... using 2FA or other secured methods to reply. As for the language issues, the Japanese are known to be friendly & helpful ... perhaps, use Google Live Translate (offline dictionary downloaded & pre-installed) can help with simple matters while traveling. (or, Apple iOS's equivalent "Translate" app) Great photos & stories about your land stay/visit and getting around. Surely many of us finding it very informative, useful & helpful - with thanks again.