brookie848

4 hours ago, LincolnLog said:

I’m sorry to hear about your lost luggage. I do believe that part. 
 

But a bar with 15 people in line? 
 

Definitely saw it a few weeks ago on the Epic at the Pool Bar -- it was insanity. And this wasn't on a sea day.

When we changed passengers last year right before final payment, our PCC re-priced the cruise for us because prices went down. Somewhere along the way, we got an extra point for each nights Latitudes-wise, too.

It can be done pretty simply, but I'm sure throwing the airfare into the mix may cause some hiccups.

8 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

AirTags (by Apple) - no wonder it's gaining popularity these days, even for cruises *** ... we saw an APB (all points bulletin) for a missing piece of luggage, printed & distributed to all cabins on day 3 or 4 of our recent cruise asking all guests to help look.  How can someone mistakenly "claimed" it and store it under the bed or toss into the closet, I just don't get it - even if it isn't one with a TSA lock.  

 

We cross-pack ours (packing cubes) and always take a photo of the luggage, content & exterior, make it easier to file a claim & document the loss, etc. 

 

*** Although, ship's steel hull likely making it less likely to get ping & tracked, unlike bus terminals, trains & airport tarmac and luggage claims area, etc.  

We used AirTags on our cruise a few weeks ago and had zero issues tracking our luggage.

To the OP -- good luck to you. As mentioned above, we always, always cross-pack just in case something doesn't make it. It can be a bit of a pain, but I'm always glad we do it.

On 2/28/2023 at 11:11 PM, uneamie said:

THis and other reviews is making me rethink our reservation at Cagney's. It's been several years since we did it on the Breakaway and Dawn and i was pretty good then, but so much has changed over the years so I can believe this is one of those things. I may skip it. Thanks for the review. 

As an FYI, we ate at Cagney's twice on the Epic a couple of weeks ago and our meals were good. My husband and I had the filet mignon both times and they came out cooked perfectly and really tender. My brother had a filet once and the pork chops the other time -- he said both were good as well.

I will say that all the meat we had was really good. We even thoroughly enjoyed Moderno, where we are usually disappointed. The filet there just melted in our mouths. Honestly, the only reason we chose to eat at Moderno is because my brother was with us and we knew he would like it. My husband and I expected to be disappointed, but were really surprised!

It may be that Epic is getting their supplies from a different source since they are sailing from Puerto Rico and not visiting the continental US.

@Greenpea2Can you tell me your cabin number? We just booked the Viva today in a 2-bedroom and I'm curious about your balcony pictures.

I'm only part-way through your threat because we were on the Epic the same week you were on the Prima, but I'm really enjoying your insights, especially about the Haven. We know Viva is going to be a different experience.

5 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

Did they provide any drinks/snacks in the Haven waiting area?

Only orange juice and water. No coffee or snacks. This is not the Miami terminal. 😁

We were on the February 26 cruise. We got to the port around 10 to avoid any traffic. We were in the Haven and sat in the designated waiting area. The ship did not start boarding until after 11:00. The waiting area inside was full. I'm not sure if there were lines outside at that point or not.

Deleted because I posted too soon!

On 2/26/2023 at 1:04 PM, bluesea777 said:

Looks like 5 ships were scheduled for St. Lucia on Friday March 3rd: 3 mega and 2 small ones. Getaway and the 2 small ships are "anchorage" and the other 2 mega are "docked": Epic and Mein Schiff 2.

 

cruise-schedule-saint-lucia-2022-2023-updated-10-nov-20221.pdf (slaspa.com)

 

 

Very late to this, but we were on the Epic and I looked for the Getaway and was disappointed not to see it in St. Lucia.

The only ships in the main port that day were us at the main port and Mein Schiff 2 parked across the way in the industrial port.

25 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'm here for all the Sistah action on this cruise! I don't suppose your lovely husband would want to dress up in a similar outfit as your sistah for a day or two, or at least to pose for a photo or two? I think it'd be lovely and sistah would get a kick out of it! I know, I know...but hey, it's an idea. 🙂

 

It'll be amazing to hear all about your Prima experience in the Haven. We have our eyes set on a Prima/Viva Haven sailing in the future...maybe. So, your experience will be super helpful! And, make the review your own. Who cares if there aren't officer lists, daily's, etc. It'll be all you! 

@cruiseny4life Viva has an interesting itinerary out of San Juan next year -- no sea days (I don't know if that is good or bad). We could fly out of ALB and hang out in the Haven together!

11 hours ago, Greenpea2 said:

I’d also like to say that with all the recent Prima reviews (which I loved--thank you all for spending time onboard writing them) I know not everyone will be particularly interested in yet another Prima review. That’s OK, I do understand. At least I will have any number of The Tribe members being nice enough to read this. 😉 I will do my best to entertain you and be informative. I’m not all that great at the informative part (last time I kept forgetting to take pictures of my food, I was scared to take pictures of bare feet on sofas because what if someone yelled at me? I just can’t get motivated to take pictures of all the dailies and post them, and I got frustrated with the WiFi and sometimes whined a little... sometimes). I’m not the perfect “reviewer” that’s for sure. I tend to just sort of share my experience and hope someone out there is interested.  

 

I also am aware that there are those out there who are not particularly interested in a Haven-heavy cruise report. They prefer a regular cruise experience. I get it. And no offense taken. This will be a lot of Haven stuff, I’m sure, but also other places on the ship. DH and I look forward to exploring this beautiful new creature called the Prima. We most certainly will not be only in the Haven.

I likely will not be following live (we are on the Epic starting on Sunday), but I am DEFINITELY interested in a Haven-heavy review. We're thinking of booking the Viva for next year and I would love to hear what you think of the Prima Haven. My husband pretty much refuses to NOT sail in a suite, which since it is his job to pay (any my job to plan), I'm okay with that decision.

And I do understand the sadness of your friend not being able to cruise with you. Our friend who usually stays in the second bedroom with us had to bow out this year as well. We're going to miss her, but my brother is coming as her replacement -- it's his first cruise and I'm curious about how many last-minute panic questions I'm going to get today (we live in different states).

Looking forward to reading this one! I'll likely be late actually reading about your cruise. We sail Sunday on the Epic. We do have Unlimited WiFi, but that's mainly for my brother to stay in touch with people back home. I don't know how much I'll actually spend online.

But are we maybe both in St. Lucia on Friday?

2 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I think I see a shelter up ahead

 

And I'm just now catching up!

There's our hotel where we will be staying next weekend.

21 hours ago, lennythenose said:

We really enjoyed our visit to St. Kitts. Interesting fact, there is a veterinary school on the island. We live in a very small town just south of Dallas and one of our local vets actually went to school there. What a gorgeous place to go to school. She said it was great!

When we visited St. Kitts we did a private tour that drove us around the entire island. We learned a lot, including the fact that St. Kitts is basically the education hub of the Caribbean. There are a lot of different schools/colleges there.

We also saw lots of monkeys.

The train ride looks great. We're going to St. Kitts again in a couple of weeks and I looked at the train ride, but decided against it for this trip. It's the last day of the cruise for us (no sea day before we disembark) and we don't want to be too busy that day.

We've been on partially chartered cruises and I was not a fan.

First of all, you will often have a bunch of people who have never cruised before, so there is a huge learning curve of "normal" or "acceptable" cruise behavior.

And venues do get closed down. Our meet & greet was moved to a really weird place/time on that cruise.

While some of the people on the cruise were cool, a lot of the people in charge were really rude. I actually "yelled" at two of them. We were on the Dawn, doing a martini tasting at Gatsby's. If you've ever done one of these you know that you pay for it and part of the experience is listening to the person running the tasting teach you about the drinks/history. That's one of the reasons we're there.

Two guys were standing right behind us near the entrance to Le Bistro, where their group was holding some sort of event. They were talking LOUDLY right while the bartender is doing his class. After 5-10 minutes, I turned around and told them they were too loud and to go somewhere else and not to disturb us. I got visual high-fives from the other people in the class who were annoyed by them as well.

If you can, find out what kind of charter it is and make a decision from there.

On 2/11/2023 at 4:08 PM, nybumpkin said:

Mine too. Now my problem is next month I'm sailing on Norwegian Prima - first NCL cruise. Any suggestions for reasonable facsimiles?

Someone on the NCL board posted a 36-page pdf ofNCL_Beverage_List.pdf drinks available -- not on all ship or in all bars, but you can take a look.

Yep...tendering is dicey in any situation. A couple of passengers have died while attempting to cross to the tender/vice versa. It is NOT something I would want to attempt with any sort of major mobility concerns.

I know we're one of the few, but we greatly disliked GSC. We hated the tendering process and just weren't impressed by the whole thing (this was before the new area was finished). If we're ever on another cruise that stops there we will likely just enjoy the quiet ship.

The Escape. I've been on both ships twice. The Escape is a better all-around ship.

Thanks for this. We will be on board in two weeks. This is our third time sailing out of San Juan on NCL. The arrival information matches up with my plans -- I'm glad it worked for you.

1 hour ago, cacruisin said:

Love the Pittsburgh Lingo....lol....now excuse me while I go eat my dippy eggs...lol

Before or after yinz red up the kitchen?

1 hour ago, sid_9169 said:

 

 

After awhile, I was starting to prune, so I knew that I would have to get out and get on with my day. I dried off with my ship towel and made my way down the beach towards the ship. The sand here is thick, and it's an effort to make every single step. I walked and walked until I started to get the feeling that my lily white feet could get badly sunburned. I cut through back to the main road, but the rocks and asphalt were beginning to wear on me. I didn't want to put my beach shoes back on due to the clumps of sand sticking to my feet. 

 

 

Tip: Bring a travel-size baby powder with you. It helps remove the sand from your feet.

And I'm enjoying your review -- it's keeping me entertained as I prep for our cruise in a few weeks. Plus, we're thinking of doing Viva next year, so it's nice to see additional perspectives of the Prima.

8 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

It may not be technically considered insurance, but you can purchase "cancel for any reason CFAR" protection in NYS, if you find a commercial agency willing to sell it to you.

 

https://www.dfs.ny.gov/industry_guidance/circular_letters/cl2020_04

Did not realize that this was an option for us, even though we wouldn't normally buy this. The only time we considered it was in 2021 for a beach rental. My husband works for a hospital and rules were constantly changing about travel.

In general, though, we would not "cancel for any reason" -- the reasons we've had for canceling fall under regular insurance coverage. So while it was a ton of paperwork, we didn't have any issues getting a refund.

On 2/4/2023 at 9:55 AM, MsTabbyKats said:

There's also "cancel for any reason" insurance.

Not if you live in New York.

In Antigua, BeachLimerz. Our favorite place to go -- we like it even better than Jost Van Dyke. https://www.beachlimerz.com/

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

 

It normally takes several months to install a new show.

 

They have to disassemble and remove all of the Pricilla scenery and props (including the 1500 lb treadmills and the bus). There is no space to have two sets of sets backstage on a cruise ship. Everything has to be broken down to fit on pallets that can be moved through the ship's cargo doors. 

 

Then bring on the sets for the new show and assemble them. All of those beautiful sets that are the height of the stage all have to fit through the ship's cargo doors (or they would have to cut the hull open during a dry dock,,, which they have in the past). 

 

Somewhere, someone threw out the idea that SIX would replace Pricilla. SIX has fairly simple sets and a giant video wall, so it would be quicker to get those sets on the ship.  

 

Then, program the lighting and sound for the show while the new cast rehearses onboard for a few weeks (esp if they are still working out set movements). 

 

Putting on a stage show is a little more than hiring a magician to do a few tricks on stage. 

I understand the logistics, but I seem to recall that show changes didn't take this long in the past. Going three to four months with only one show option on the Epic is not the greatest. I'm sure they'll have something else in the theater, but it won't be on the same level as Priscilla.

The entertainment on the Epic is just lacking. The are only three things listed -- Burn the Floor, Howl and the Moon, and Cavern Club. That pales in comparison to my first trip on the ship which had Blue Man Group, Legends, and the Cirque show in the Spiegel Tent. Is the Spiegel Tent even being used any more?

This is by no means a deal breaker for me, but it is a disappointment.