Norwegian Prima’s First US Sailing - Bermuda Short Break *LIVE*

[aubreyc1988]

1 minute ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Don't forget the Escape.  It's a BA plus ship that has Howl at the Moon.  It's also slightly older than the Joy, Bliss & Encore, but newer than the Epic, BA or GA. 

It could be at the right sweet spot price wise instead of the sticker shock of the Prima or Viva.

I wasn't away that Escape was BA+. I didn't recommend it over Bliss, Joy, Encore b/c of the smoky casino. 

 

But there are also other things @KmomChicagoshould consider, like itinerary, times in port, etc...so many factors! 😄 

[Red-Sol]

15 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

Also, if you were doing a Breakaway Class ship in Europe...their cigarettes are different than the US...stronger smell imho. 

 

Especially some of those coming from Amsterdam! 🤣

[AstoriaPreppy]

7 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

 

The different vibe is hard to explain but I'll give some examples. ALSO, please remember that this is only my opinion and is based off of my last two RCI cruises this year and my last three NCL cruises in 2021

 

Most of the time on NCL, when returning to the ship after a day in port, they have cool washclothes for everyone to wipe their face, cold water/flavored water,  sometimes even freeze pops. Really nice touch that I haven't seen RCI.

 

The staff on NCL in GENERAL seem more enthused. The only exception to this is the MDR/Room Attendant staff on Royal, they do amazing jobs. But the bartenders/cruise entertainment staff are where I think RCI is failing the most in terms of staff. No one is ever RUDE but they do not seem to be super happy either and don't have the joy NCL's bartenders/cruise entertainment staff do. Also, NCL has some really innovative sea day activities (In terms of trivia and game shows) that I think RCI could learn from. Some examples, Dollar bill folding, this trivia I did where everyone had a buzzer and it was sort of like a game show where everyone worked together, free craft activities for adults, etc. Bartenders on NCL will remember your name after the second time you stop at the bar and will love to have you stay and chat for a while. Bartenders on Royal will maybe give you a small smile, make your drink, then ignore you the rest of the time while  you sit at their bar even though they are not busy. Is any of this bad service, not really but it's just a different from NCL

 

The decline in food on Royal is recent, I think.  Before sailing RCI this year, I would have told you the food is probably comparable (When thinking back to my pre-covid Royal cruises) but now I would tell you that it is NCL's is much, much better.  I was *especially* disappointed in all of Royal Caribbean's specialty dining. A good example of this is how I don't really like La Cucina on NCL...but it's literally better than ANY of the specialty dining I had on RCI...in terms of presentation, taste, menu variety, service, etc. Imagine how much better the really popular venue's on NCL seem to me.

 

All that being said, in a more "Feelings" sort of way, NCL has this freestyle vibe where it's just more casual. It's just too hard to explain. Definitely give NCL a try. Idk if I would do Prima as my first NCL, not sure if @BirdTravels agrees. I haven't been on Prima so I can't recommend it but my recommendation NOW would be: Joy, if not joy then Bliss, if not Bliss, then Encore. 

 

Countering opinion for @KmomChicago, because we've had very different NCL experiences. We've never encountered a particular joyous bartender on NCL (we've done multiple sailings). Especially now that 80% of the passengers have a beverage package, it seems more than not they're just frantically trying to crank out drinks as fast as possible. NCL is famously the line that started installing queues with ropes and stanchions at some of their bars to facilitate ordering. On our Anthem sailing out of NJ earlier this year, we had great service from the bar staff, who remembered names and orders, and would stop to say hi. 

 

Also, NCL's specialty dining v. Royals isn't nearly as black/white in our experience. We've had some great experience, and some really poor experiences at NCL specialty dining (that ended up being comped). None at Royal that went quite as off the rails. Lots of the Oasis/Quantum class surcharge dining is very good, and pricing is often more reasonable than comparable venues on NCL. I'd also say that Jamie's Italian on Royal Caribbean far exceeds La Cucina on every level.

 

Re: the "vibe," I would agree that Royal passengers tend to be a little full of themselves (and also willing to give you an unsolicited TED talk about Crown and Anchor benefits almost to a fault). This can also vary by ship/season. It also depends a lot on your personal perspective: is putting on pants for a sit-down dinner taking you out of vacation mode vibes? Lots of NCL cruisers would say yes, other lines less so, but that's important to keep in mind.

 

Ultimately, we're not evangelists for any line, as we've sailed Carnival, Royal, Princess, and Celebrity and NCL since the shutdown. There's things we enjoy/don't about each line, which is why we hop around. 

Edited October 18, 2022 by AstoriaPreppy

[RussNJodi]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

So, What if I get sick or hurt while on a cruise ship (one too many Adult Beverage Package drinks and you fall off your bar stool)?  The ship has a fully equipped medical center with multiple nurses and doctors to tend to you 24/7. 

Select from a menu of services (like a Spa Menu). 

 

I love how even though these are medical procedures they still feel the need to pull that old gas station trick of trying to make the price appear more reasonable by ending in 9s. I can just imagine: "I wasn't going to get that CPR, but it was ONLY $799. I would have skipped it at $800...."

[KmomChicago]

1 hour ago, Red-Sol said:

 

Yep definitely a premium right now for Prima. Of the NCL ships that I  have actually sailed on myself I would try and steer you towards either the Bliss or the Escape. Those are two vey fine ships that we really had a great time on. Being a cheapskate myself I would recommend booking any cruise on NCL inside 120 days if you can. even 60 days out or less is probably the best. The only drawback is you may not have a perfect selection of cabins at that time...but you will nearly always find reduced fares. NCL claims they don't reduce fares anymore during that time...but they do. 😉

 

Very helpful, thank you! I actually do not care all that much about the room type, like at all.  I am more than happy to wait in order to snag a deal.  I love the tomblike dark and silence of totally inside rooms, but usually my travel companions want something better if I can snag a deal. 

 

Our last four cruises we stayed in:

1. "Premium" Interior - Carnival Mardi Gras, August 2021 - same interior footprint as a balcony cabin and thus larger than a standard interior, but tucked in the lower center of the ship. This is the only one of the four that was truly a dark inside room. I needed to do this to get the cruise into our price range as it was also inflated due to being a brand new ship.

2. Grand Suite - Carnival Legend, December 2021 - great big room the size of 2 balcony rooms with lots of storage and a big balcony - my mom insisted she would not go unless we booked the biggest suite on the ship.  I spent way too much $$ on my share of the room, but easy come easy go. 

3. Interior Walkway Window - Carnival Vista, April 2022 - spacious room for 2 people with the same view as the cap'n.  We really liked it and it was a great value, barely more than a regular inside room.

4. Cloud 9 Balcony - Carnival Radiance, June 2022 - there is a whole story how we ended up in these upgraded spa access rooms that I would never have actually chosen to pay for and I would not pay more $$ for ever in the future over some cheap inside cabin.

 

[KmomChicago]

2 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Don't forget the Escape.  It's a BA plus ship that has Howl at the Moon.  It's also slightly older than the Joy, Bliss & Encore, but newer than the Epic, BA or GA. 

It could be at the right sweet spot price wise instead of the sticker shock of the Prima or Viva.

 

Thank you, I will keep it on the all important short list. 

[KmomChicago]

2 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

I wasn't away that Escape was BA+. I didn't recommend it over Bliss, Joy, Encore b/c of the smoky casino. 

 

But there are also other things @KmomChicagoshould consider, like itinerary, times in port, etc...so many factors! 😄 

 

Yes of course, all the multiple factors are basically why we keep ending up on Carnival. In short, it's usually the cheapest option and they always seem to have a port nearby anywhere we are traveling and my family is not picky.  I usually start my search with an online travel agency to easily compare every option matching the prevailing factors and narrow from there.  NCL has been under consideration more than once over the years, but just never worked out to quite be the winner.  I will say I have read a lot about NCL nickel and diming more than Carnival, but they are doing it more and more and I find I don't mind having a lot of a la carte pricing to keep the fare lower so I don't pay for stuff I don't really want.

 

[KmomChicago]

1 hour ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

Countering opinion for @KmomChicago, because we've had very different NCL experiences. We've never encountered a particular joyous bartender on NCL (we've done multiple sailings). Especially now that 80% of the passengers have a beverage package, it seems more than not they're just frantically trying to crank out drinks as fast as possible. NCL is famously the line that started installing queues with ropes and stanchions at some of their bars to facilitate ordering. On our Anthem sailing out of NJ earlier this year, we had great service from the bar staff, who remembered names and orders, and would stop to say hi. 

 

Also, NCL's specialty dining v. Royals isn't nearly as black/white in our experience. We've had some great experience, and some really poor experiences at NCL specialty dining (that ended up being comped). None at Royal that went quite as off the rails. Lots of the Oasis/Quantum class surcharge dining is very good, and pricing is often more reasonable than comparable venues on NCL. I'd also say that Jamie's Italian on Royal Caribbean far exceeds La Cucina on every level.

 

Re: the "vibe," I would agree that Royal passengers tend to be a little full of themselves (and also willing to give you an unsolicited TED talk about Crown and Anchor benefits almost to a fault). This can also vary by ship/season. It also depends a lot on your personal perspective: is putting on pants for a sit-down dinner taking you out of vacation mode vibes? Lots of NCL cruisers would say yes, other lines less so, but that's important to keep in mind.

 

Ultimately, we're not evangelists for any line, as we've sailed Carnival, Royal, Princess, and Celebrity and NCL since the shutdown. There's things we enjoy/don't about each line, which is why we hop around. 

 

Thank you, this is a very helpful post. On every cruise, every line, and this is going back to my first cruise on Big Red Boat in 1985,  it seems I find at least one crew member who manages to annoy me, a little or maybe more than a little, but the overwhelming majority are fabulous.  I never intended to be a Carnival cheerleader and I don't think I am, but it just works for us most of the time; however I have been feeling itchy, wanna maybe go back on RCI's big'uns or try NCL or maybe Celebrity Edge class or a Virgin Voyage. Or even something like Holland America or Princess. They have some big ships now too.

 

The part of NCL I would love is the freestyle concept for dress codes and dining options and what looks like great entertainment and nice fancy new ships.  What I might not like is all the upcharging and the slightly higher initial sticker price and fewer port options.  

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

Casino Players - wondering if anyone can give me a guess on how many video poker machines they have. In the casino photos I have seen just a few.  We are going on the 10/31 Galveston to Miami voyage and can’t hardly wait!  I play table games but my casino passion is VP.
 

The Bird, thanks for your objective and detailed review.  It was very informative and thorough.

[BirdTravels]

23 minutes ago, WhenIsOurNextCruise said:

Casino Players - wondering if anyone can give me a guess on how many video poker machines they have. In the casino photos I have seen just a few.  We are going on the 10/31 Galveston to Miami voyage and can’t hardly wait!  I play table games but my casino passion is VP.
 

The Bird, thanks for your objective and detailed review.  It was very informative and thorough.

I stopped to talk with the Casino Manager to get get some metrics for the live post. I think she said that there are 26 VP machines (which includes a few in the Smoking Casino). 

 

Because folks ask, I snapped a picture of a Double Double pay table 

 

And a Jacks or Better pay table

 

There was a $30K jackpot last week and a $50K jackpot on a buffalo machine the week before. Last week, there was also a delt Royal Flush on a 10-Play (10 hands of Royalness) $0.25 denomination = $10K handpay. 

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by BirdTravels

[seemoreroyals]

3 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

I stopped to talk with the Casino Manager to get get some metrics for the live post. I think she said that there are 26 VP machines (which includes a few in the Smoking Casino). 

 

Because folks ask, I snapped a picture of a Double Double pay table 

 

And a Jacks or Better pay table

 

 

Those are some better than I thought pay tables.  Last I checked on other NCL cruises we have taken paytables were more in the 6-5 to 7-5 range.   This 9-6 on ddb and 8-6 on job, is that something we should expect to see on all NCL ships nowadays?  Asking as we will be on the Bliss in less than a month.  Are they quarter, dollar, five dollar, single game?  

[BirdTravels]

Arriving home to New York

 

 

[BirdTravels]

6 minutes ago, seemoreroyals said:

Those are some better than I thought pay tables.  Last I checked on other NCL cruises we have taken paytables were more in the 6-5 to 7-5 range.   This 9-6 on ddb and 8-6 on job, is that something we should expect to see on all NCL ships nowadays?  Asking as we will be on the Bliss in less than a month.  Are they quarter, dollar, five dollar, single game?  

They are all multi-function, multi-denomination machines. No dedicated VP machines, per se.

 

I hope that they don't tighten up the pay tables before you get to sail. 

 

Have a great cruise!

Edited October 19, 2022 by BirdTravels

[PistolPete13]

3 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Arriving home to New York

 

 

Thanks for these.  I was sleeping like a baby in my cabin with the alarm set for 4:30AM.  I somehow missed the ONE announcement that we would be arriving at 3AM.  I'll just have to go on another cruise to try and capture this now!

[BirdTravels]

3 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

Thanks for these.  I was sleeping like a baby in my cabin with the alarm set for 4:30AM.  I somehow missed the ONE announcement that we would be arriving at 3AM.  I'll just have to go on another cruise to try and capture this now!

Yeah,,, the ship was doing 13 knots with very strong, buffeting winds. It was hard (and very cold) to get any photos. 

 

The Captain made an announcement that we would be at the bridge around 3 am and SOL 20 minutes later. 

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

Thanks for the Casino responses!

 

Does anyone know the name of the concierge?  I know, sadly,  it’s not Adrian Bica.  I think he has brought out every new ship from NCL since the Epic, until now.  

[BirdTravels]

David Contreras 

[CruizinSusan70]

On 10/17/2022 at 4:52 PM, aubreyc1988 said:

Are you going to do a report? Would love to hear your thoughts on the Vibe, I am thinking of doing an inside and just splurging on the vibe due the high cost of balconies (And honestly most of the cheaper balconies have kind of meh views)

No, don't have the full time wifi.   The only time we get it is when it's included on Celebrity or part of the Princess Plus package.   We turn off the phones when cruising on Carnival and the limited minutes on NCL is further spread out because it's 11 days.   We decided to invest in Vibe and specialty dining.   With the increased cost with dining on NCL, it would be better to purchase 7 nights to go with our 4 included since the per night charge is cheaper the more nights you purchase.   We'll do dinner in the Hudson MDR come Feb/Mar on our B2B.

[CruizinSusan70]

9 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

I wasn't away that Escape was BA+. I didn't recommend it over Bliss, Joy, Encore b/c of the smoky casino. 

 

But there are also other things @KmomChicagoshould consider, like itinerary, times in port, etc...so many factors! 😄 

The smoke from the casino was the only bad thing about the ship.  Liked it so much I cruised on it twice and my DH did it three times, the first was a six day he did solo.   The Howl at the Moon was fantastic and we spent each night they were active there, enjoying many Coronas and shots of Fireball.

[CruizinSusan70]

7 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

Thank you, I will keep it on the all important short list. 

You're quite welcome.

[Coastalbreezes]

7 hours ago, WhenIsOurNextCruise said:

Thanks for the Casino responses!

 

Does anyone know the name of the concierge?  I know, sadly,  it’s not Adrian Bica.  I think he has brought out every new ship from NCL since the Epic, until now.  

David Contreras opened Prima but is currently on vacation. Virginia Brotherton has taken over for him.

[AstoriaPreppy]

16 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

Thank you, this is a very helpful post. On every cruise, every line, and this is going back to my first cruise on Big Red Boat in 1985,  it seems I find at least one crew member who manages to annoy me, a little or maybe more than a little, but the overwhelming majority are fabulous.  I never intended to be a Carnival cheerleader and I don't think I am, but it just works for us most of the time; however I have been feeling itchy, wanna maybe go back on RCI's big'uns or try NCL or maybe Celebrity Edge class or a Virgin Voyage. Or even something like Holland America or Princess. They have some big ships now too.

 

The part of NCL I would love is the freestyle concept for dress codes and dining options and what looks like great entertainment and nice fancy new ships.  What I might not like is all the upcharging and the slightly higher initial sticker price and fewer port options.  

 

All great points, and I'm not here to judge any Carnival-cheerleading. I think their specialty restaurants often exceed NCL's (at a fraction of the price point)!

 

I will say that I've done the Edge, and it was basically astounding. Celebrity really worked to design a class that is transformative from other ships in ways I didn't expect, and I highly recommend. 

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

All great points, and I'm not here to judge any Carnival-cheerleading. I think their specialty restaurants often exceed NCL's (at a fraction of the price point)!

 

I will say that I've done the Edge, and it was basically astounding. Celebrity really worked to design a class that is transformative from other ships in ways I didn't expect, and I highly recommend. 

Could not agree more about the Edge.  It was the last ship we sailed before Covid and the Apex was the first we sailed this past January.  Have 18 days booked on a B2B on the Beyond next November which we're looking forward to. It'll be our longest time at sea.

[JGmf]

19 hours ago, seemoreroyals said:

Those are some better than I thought pay tables.  Last I checked on other NCL cruises we have taken paytables were more in the 6-5 to 7-5 range.   This 9-6 on ddb and 8-6 on job, is that something we should expect to see on all NCL ships nowadays?

 

Agree that these pay tables look like a fluke, out of the factory, like they haven't reduced them yet b/c the ship is so new.  {sigh}.

[KmomChicago]

7 hours ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

All great points, and I'm not here to judge any Carnival-cheerleading. I think their specialty restaurants often exceed NCL's (at a fraction of the price point)!

 

I will say that I've done the Edge, and it was basically astounding. Celebrity really worked to design a class that is transformative from other ships in ways I didn't expect, and I highly recommend. 

 

Edge class is beautiful; I saw the concept art and watched early reviews. I have cruised Celebrity once back in 2001 and I know it's nice. As my husband and I get older and our teen approaches adulthood, Celebrity is certainly under consideration.