kasimir

Thanks... We just confirmed with the Indulge restaurant manager on the Prima that the Indulge menu was changed in September fleet wide. Many nice items were removed, I guess cost-cutting. Some items were even downgraded like the Salchicha (from Seaside Rotisserie) is now a thin sausage instead of the typical thick short sausage. So yes, it should be the same on the Viva as well. Really sad...

We usually try to get there early for lunch, like 11:45, just before they start the tablets, that always has worked for us. Dinner is less busy, and usually there is always a table available. When it comes to noticeable differences on the Prima, there are some items missing at Latin Quarter and Nudls. For example we don’t see the option for Tuna or Crab Tostadas anymore.

@ColdCruise not sure if you still have a chance, but could you post pictures of the Indulge Food hall lunch/dinner menu from your cruise? We are currently on the Prima TA cruise and noticed some Indulge changes and was wondering if this affects your cruise as well.

Looking at @mking8288 pictures, I think they served the same thanksgiving special from the MDR in the Haven restaurant. Which was fine with us, and it was really yummy.

Yesterday we had lunch for the first time in Indulge on this cruise, and we were really hyped to go as we loved Indulge on our last Prima cruise in May 2023. But we’re somehow disappointed as some of our favorite items were not on the lunch menu anymore. At Nudls they used to have a pasta dish that was super yummy and at Latin quarter they had the tuna tostada, both gone! Not sure if they are gone as part of cutbacks, or there is another reason, but I also noticed that the salchisas from the Rotisserie used to be those typical thick sausages, are now thin versions and look really sad. But on the positive side, the Tamara (Indian venue), is still as amazing as we remember from last time. Attached the pictures from the pasta and tuna tostada from our last cruise.

I can report that the Haven restaurant had thanksgiving specials. The specials were not on the menu, but there were two entree specials and two desert specials. For entree, they had a turkey special and a ham special. Wifey and me both chose the turkey and it was yummy. For desert they had a special cheesecake or a pecan pie, we choose one each. They were all really yummy 😋 … Sorry for the dark pictures, but somehow we were in the darkest spot of the restaurant 😉

Same here, same cruise also in the Haven on deck 14 all the way at the back, except for a few rattles and cracks due to movement in choppy seas it’s quiet. Nothing that I haven’t experienced on other ships before either. Will report exact cabin number after the cruise.

FYI, we are on the standard unlimited WiFi.

Quick update as we just boarded the Prima on the TA cruise and I can confirm that we have Starlink onboard and it’s quite quick for cruise ship standards.

This is great, got two CC live reports on the cruise we are on 😁 We are also looking forward to get going and started packing this weekend. Funny enough, we are also staying in one of those H10 hotels. Here is to a fantastic cruise 🚢

We also got them a cabin in the Haven, couldn't leave them in the bowels of the ship 😉 I like the way you think 😁

Awesome post! We are on the same cruise as you, also in the Haven and invited our parents to join us for this cruise. We are very excited and counting the days! When are you flying to Barcelona? We will be on the plane 16 November, arriving the next morning in Barcelona. Hoping to meet you at the Haven Bar at some point during the cruise. 😁

In short, the priority of NCL right now is to pay off those pandemic related loans as quick as possible. The interest on those loans are killing them financially and until a majority of that debt is off the books I don’t see them changing course quickly. But the results are promising, but honestly I would not expect them to change course anytime soon.

Something I noticed on the new Aqua is that the aft part (the thinner section) of the Aqua is a bit longer compared to Prima/Viva. You can see it very well on deck 16 where two H9 cabins have been added before the Haven area on each side. And I noticed more cabins on the decks below as well. I guess the slightly longer aft part of the ship should also translate to a slightly larger Indulge Food hall and Local Bar & Grill and an outside boulevard area on deck 8. Also it seems, they went from 3 dry slides on Prima/Viva to 1 dry slide on Aqua, eliminating the dry slides on one side of the ship completely.

So the price difference is always on the price you paid, and the current price for the cabin you are looking to upgrade to.

First do a mock booking online to see what the price difference is towards a higher cabin category (let’s say for example balcony). If the price difference is lower than putting in an upgrade bid, you call NCL right away and make that upgrade on the phone or with your TA. There is not a simple answer to your question, but always check the prices by doing a mock booking. There are many cruises with NCL where the price difference between inside to oceanview/balcony is quite small. But it very much depends on the itinerary, ship, and date. The last two cruises we upgraded via phone, as the price to upgrade was so good, that it was a no-brainer and we also were able to choose our cabin. With the upgrade bidding you get a cabin assigned and have no say in it, and in our case the upgrade bid would have been more expensive.

You will get twice the impressions from the same cruise as @cruiseny4life and us are on the same cruise. 😉 But summarized on the Prima (non Haven), the ship seems quite controversial, as it is conceptually completely different compared to the previous ships. While you have quite a lot of people that actually really like the Prima class (but don’t voice it), there are loud voices out there that give the Prima bad reviews. And trust me, some of the complaints are warranted, like the size and layout of the buffet, the size of Syd Normans and the small pool area. Some individuals are complaining about “noisy” and/or “smelly” cabins, but we had no issues, and I am not sure if it happens more on the Prima compared to other ships. A lot of the complaints are actually not related to the ship, but to the cold weather itinerary choice made by NCL to go to Iceland and rendering lots of those beautiful outside areas useless. But yes, the ship is absolutely gorgeous, feels a lot like a take on Celebrity and Virgin! Everything feels a bit more premium, the cabins are larger, the Indulge Food hall is an absolute highlight and the food choice and quality is fantastic, the outside promenade is really nice and we loved those heated infinity pools (even on our Iceland cruise). There is a lot more… We like it, and we feel the Prima class has a lot of potential. So if NCL fixes some of those major issues on the next ships, they have a real winner on their hands.

I think it’s also a matter of priorities, I mean me and my wife are doing fine, but we work very hard as well. We don’t spend money on expensive hobbies or luxury clothes, cars, watches etc… Our luxury is traveling! We do our research to get the best deal possible, and often times the premium to fly business class or cruise in Haven, or stay in a nice hotel is not too crazy, but it is definitely worth it for us. Trust me, there are plenty of people out there that could easily afford business class flights, but would always book the cheapest seats in the plane, because for some it’s just not important. I think the folks that openly complain as mentioned by @Sthrngary are in the minority. Most non-Haven cruisers don’t care, have no idea what the Haven is or look in admiration thinking “one day I shall be in the Haven”. We used to be part of the last group, until our next cruise 😉

Correct and this doesn’t affect NCL

Small feedback from my side, as we also loved Indulge. The previous posters hit it on the nail, for lunch, either come early late, in between is just too busy. And I mean early, actually come like 10 minutes before the official opening hour (11:50am), then it’s empty and the staff starts turning on iPads a few minutes before anyway. Because from what we saw it fills up quickly at lunch time, especially on a sea day. Regarding dinner time, from our experience, most of the days, it was on average half full regardless what time we went, as it seems that most folks try to eat at Hudsons. But if you ask me, the food quality is way way better compared to the MDR. Also keep in mind that the Indulge menu is different between lunch and dinner, so it’s worth to check out both to try the different items. My wife is obsessed with the pasta from Noodles, but the Indian menu for us is the highlight.

I am wondering the exact same thing. Anyone that can provide some insight on this?

Great review and in a nutshell you got most points covered, I am just surprised you haven’t mentioned the positive of your cabin as we feel that the cabins compared to other ships are a huge improvement when it comes to space and modern feel. It is unfortunate you had to deal with septic smells and creaking sounds. Fully agree with you!!! This and the buffet for us were major pain points on the Prima. It is a shame as the Hudson’s is absolutely gorgeous with amazing views, but the food quality during dinner time was awful. But we loved breakfast there. So after the first night dining at Hudson, we dined at Indulge when not enjoying a specialty restaurant and Indulge blows the Hudson away when it comes to food quality. I wish your friends would have tried Indulge at dinner time, it’s not even busy around that time and the Indian menu at dinner time is even better 😉

So as we have established by now this is a US federal requirement and NCL is not responsible for individual travel/visa requirements. That’s where a travel agent can help you with. FYI, from our experience as international and experienced cruisers, most cruise lines leave travel documentation and visa as your own personal responsibility, NCL is not unique. Instead of ranting on social media why don’t you use your time to arrange for an emergency passport, which can be issued within 1 day and that resolves the issue. Lessons learned I would say. Don’t want to be mean, but how is that relevant?

We have been on the Prima in May cruising from NYC to Iceland and had a great time, even though the weather was cold once we got to Iceland. While there are certain issues with the Prima/Viva, there are a lot of positives on this ship and for us a big positive was the very spacious and modern cabin, that are in our opinion one of the best in the entire industry. I will not list all of the pros/cons as these were brought forward many times already, but I want to mention one very important thing since you mention that you haven't cruised in 6 years. In general I would highly recommend that you manage your expectations as a lot has changed in the cruise industry in general, not only with the new Prima/Viva, not only with NCL, but really the entire cruise industry! You can hear complaints about cutbacks and cost-savings on all the major cruise lines, not only NCL. Try to keep checking the prices of your cruise and have NCL reprice (prior to final payment) your cruise, so you pay the lowest price possible. Enjoy your cruise and have a great time, but try to manage your expectations and enjoy the positives on that ship. 😃

Indeed, and actually not only Europe, but the Prima/Viva Haven seem to be discounted quite heavily outside of the high season dates around 2-5 months before the sail date. Would be really curious to hear your opinion regarding the Haven on the new ships. Even though we see a lot of deals at the moment, we decided to first experience our first Haven cruise in November, and from there we have an idea what we think the Haven is worth to us and what we are willing to pay in the future. The truth is (atleast for us), the more you pay for something the higher your expectations become, and the higher the chances are that you will be disappointed. For standard balcony cabins we set ourselves a limit with NCL to not pay more then $175-200 per person per night (including gratuities) and so far that has worked really well for us. Can we pay more? Sure, but for us we think thats the right price for an NCL balcony cabin and that has avoided us to be disappointed if something doesn't work out. On the other hand, if we are positively surprised and certain individuals go above and beyond (and we are easy to please), then we will tip very well. It just means that we need to search a bit harder up front to find the cruises that fit our criteria. 😉