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

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, albertamom said:

I've loved your review, @BirdTravels!  Is there a jogging track onboard?

 

No. Joggers have to go to the gym and use the treadmills. The Ocean Blvd has a lot of walkers early in the morning doing laps. And it is really nice that you can actually walk the ship bow to stern (versus the BA class ships where you have to cut through the elevator lobbies from one side of the Waterfront to the other). But it is definitely not designed for running. 

[kayjaypea42]

Thanks so much for posting all this! I tried looking through the Dailies you posted, but didn't see it: Are there any "Dress Up Or Not" nights on Prima?  Or days where photographers are more present than others?  Thanks for the review! Really enjoyed it!

[PATRLR]

20 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

I think it's stupid to have couches in a small venue taking up valuable real estate. 

I have to agree, each time I see pictures with those couches I think it seems very strange. 

 

If this was the old days of cruising where you had 3 or 4 or more places to go for evening entertainment then it might make sense, but when this club is one of only a couple options I'm not sure what they were thinking.  Did they really expect it to be a causal crowd like one would have in their living room?

[aubreyc1988]

Man, I am really thinking about doing Prima when she does Bermuda again but think it might be too cold in April...

[PistolPete13]

12 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

No. Joggers have to go to the gym and use the treadmills. The Ocean Blvd has a lot of walkers early in the morning doing laps. And it is really nice that you can actually walk the ship bow to stern (versus the BA class ships where you have to cut through the elevator lobbies from one side of the Waterfront to the other). But it is definitely not designed for running. 

If you go out to Ocean Blvd in the morning, the entire deck will probably be wet from the ocean spray and humidity.  Be very careful walking along it (never mind jogging).  It's an accident waiting to happen, especially on those transparent glass walkway sections. 

[uneamie]

11 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

Man, I am really thinking about doing Prima when she does Bermuda again but think it might be too cold in April...

We are doing the last one before they reposition Prima May 6th for 7 days. I wish they would do them closer to June so it would be warmer but maybe hurricane season gets in the way of that...not sure. I"ve been to Bermuda in May before and the temp there at that time is never consistent. We had one day of 80 degrees and the rest were cool and rainy. ugh! 

[Red-Sol]

39 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

Man, I am really thinking about doing Prima when she does Bermuda again but think it might be too cold in April...

 

I feel your pain..we struggled over that same question before we ended up deciding on doing the April 30th cruise. We finally concluded that going late April (really first week in May.) would have a high probability of weather at least being very mild to warm (pleasant really) but probably not hot and possibly water being too cold for bathing. Another deciding factor on that date for us is that schools mostly are not out yet so the families going might be less. (Nothing wrong with families but I am way more than old enough to appreciate fewer kids running around)

 

Check this out as a quick reference:

 

https://travel.usnews.com/Bermuda/When_To_Visit/

 

Here's a list of the 2023 NYC to Bermuda cruises in March through May:

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by Red-Sol

[cruiseny4life]

34 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

Man, I am really thinking about doing Prima when she does Bermuda again but think it might be too cold in April...

We went in April. All three days were warm (to us, anything above 75 is warm). Two of the three days were overcast, spitting rain. 

 

In September we booked a cruise heading to Bermuda, alas one of the hurricanes kept us from getting there. 

Good luck - it'll be warm, cold, or hurricaney when you go! 

[aubreyc1988]

26 minutes ago, Red-Sol said:

 

I feel your pain..we struggled over that same question before we ended up deciding on doing the April 30th cruise. We finally concluded that going late April (really first week in May.) would have a high probability of weather at least being very mild to warm (pleasant really) but probably not hot and possibly water being too cold for bathing. Another deciding factor on that date for us is that schools mostly are not out yet so the families going might be less. (Nothing wrong with families but I am way more than old enough to appreciate fewer kids running around)

 

Check this out as a quick reference:

 

https://travel.usnews.com/Bermuda/When_To_Visit/

 

Here's a list of the 2023 NYC to Bermuda cruises in March through May:

 

I was trying to decide if I should do Oasis class Royal ship in Jan/Feb and then Prima in April...OR do Prima in Jan/Feb (which has different itinerary, less desirable in terms of I've been to those ports SO many times) and then do Oasis class in April. 

 

I've only been to Bermuda once but idk what I would want to do in Bermuda if I can't snorkel/beach day...and then no swimming on the ship, hmmm. And as I am sure you know, Prima has a high pricetag right now so I gotta make it super worth it haha. 

[aubreyc1988]

45 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

If you go out to Ocean Blvd in the morning, the entire deck will probably be wet from the ocean spray and humidity.  Be very careful walking along it (never mind jogging).  It's an accident waiting to happen, especially on those transparent glass walkway sections. 

how is the gym on Prima? I have been trying to get morning walkies in everyday and can't break my apple watch ring streak lol

[PistolPete13]

34 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

how is the gym on Prima? I have been trying to get morning walkies in everyday and can't break my apple watch ring streak lol

The guy isn't that large and most of the space is filled with treadmills and cardio. 

The free weight area is tiny with 4 benches next to each other, a dumbbell rack, and about 6 weight machines. 

Bird posted photos earlier in the thread and I will most some of my own on my thread later tonight.

[aubreyc1988]

6 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

The guy isn't that large and most of the space is filled with treadmills and cardio. 

The free weight area is tiny with 4 benches next to each other, a dumbbell rack, and about 6 weight machines. 

Bird posted photos earlier in the thread and I will most some of my own on my thread later tonight.

oh totally missed those photos, was too focused on other things. Well I am sure I can find a treadmill to hop on and they look nice enough!  

[Red-Sol]

37 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

I was trying to decide if I should do Oasis class Royal ship in Jan/Feb and then Prima in April...OR do Prima in Jan/Feb (which has different itinerary, less desirable in terms of I've been to those ports SO many times) and then do Oasis class in April. 

 

I've only been to Bermuda once but idk what I would want to do in Bermuda if I can't snorkel/beach day...and then no swimming on the ship, hmmm. And as I am sure you know, Prima has a high pricetag right now so I gotta make it super worth it haha. 

 

Bermuda has a lot to offer actually and much of it depends on what you like doing. Just a couple things come to mind:

 

Crystal and Fantasy Caves
https://caves.bm/

 

Horseshoe Bay

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147261-d147919-Reviews-Horseshoe_Bay_Beach-Southampton_Parish_Bermuda.html

 

Tobacco Bay

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147256-d147471-Reviews-Tobacco_Bay-St_George_St_George_s_Parish_Bermuda.html

 

St. Geoge's

https://www.gotobermuda.com/our-island/east-end

 

Swizzle Inn

https://www.swizzleinn.com/

 

Hamilton
https://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda2_00001d.htm

 

Many Many More...just takes a little research. Bermuda has ended up being one of our "happy places" and we never tire of going.

[CruizinSusan70]

4 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

I was trying to decide if I should do Oasis class Royal ship in Jan/Feb and then Prima in April...OR do Prima in Jan/Feb (which has different itinerary, less desirable in terms of I've been to those ports SO many times) and then do Oasis class in April. 

 

I've only been to Bermuda once but idk what I would want to do in Bermuda if I can't snorkel/beach day...and then no swimming on the ship, hmmm. And as I am sure you know, Prima has a high pricetag right now so I gotta make it super worth it haha. 

Here's an option.....do the Prima in Jan/Feb with better weather, ignore the ports and stay on the ship, then do your freebie on Oasis class in April.

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

how is the gym on Prima? I have been trying to get morning walkies in everyday and can't break my apple watch ring streak lol

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

I was trying to decide if I should do Oasis class Royal ship in Jan/Feb and then Prima in April...OR do Prima in Jan/Feb (which has different itinerary, less desirable in terms of I've been to those ports SO many times) and then do Oasis class in April. 

The Birds love those Oasis-class ships. 
 

But there is a difference between 3100 passengers and 6000 passengers (max capacity of 7000). We were on the maiden (first paying passenger) voyage of the Wonder of the Seas in March. That new ship smell was intoxicating. 

[aubreyc1988]

9 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

Whats on the treadmill screens? is it one of those things that "makes you think you are walking through a forest, a desert, or in the mountains" 😄 TV available on the screens?

Edited October 17, 2022 by aubreyc1988

[aubreyc1988]

19 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Here's an option.....do the Prima in Jan/Feb with better weather, ignore the ports and stay on the ship, then do your freebie on Oasis class in April.

I believe that is what we are going to do...I'd hate to not have nice enough weather to test out all the stuff on Prima

[CruizinSusan70]

29 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

I believe that is what we are going to do...I'd hate to not have nice enough weather to test out all the stuff on Prima

We are on the 11 day repo cruise from Galveston at the end of the month and a B2B in Feb/March from Port Canaveral.  Looking forward to 11 nights of specialty meals and 11 days in the Vibe.

[aubreyc1988]

1 minute ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

We are on the 11 day repo cruise from Galveston at the end of the month and a B2B in Feb/March from Port Canaveral.  Looking forward to 11 nights of specialty meals and 11 days in the Vibe.

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)

[snorklinbarb]

On 10/13/2022 at 12:26 PM, BirdTravels said:

Main Dining Room Menus don’t change day to day. 
 

The breakfast menus are fixed on all the ships.  But besides the above there are 2 daily specials.  There are 3 "sets" which rotate.  For example, biscuits & gravy, loaded baked potato, avocado wrap, shakshuka w/feta.  @Seemoreroyals, they do have huevos rancheros on specials!

 

Hashed browns in the form of large tater tots (but at least they had them unlike on Joy a few weeks ago).

 

Local serves breakfast as well (Bird posted menu) as well as Indulge Food Hall having some quicker "Grab as you Go" items.  Nice touch if you're running off to a tour.

Edited October 17, 2022 by snorklinbarb

[snorklinbarb]

On 10/13/2022 at 11:35 AM, Red-Sol said:

This is a total WAG on my part but I am starting to wonder if having Syd Normans and The comedy venue being unacceptably small is because there is an intention to have some of the acts/groups there play in the theater instead. At least that is what I am hoping for because their size and the way they are being utilized definitely isn't going to work. To me the theaters on Many/Most of the latest NCL ships have always been underutilized...I  certainly am keeping my fingers crossed that this will happen.

Syd's band does not play in the theater, at least not on our short cruise (but have never seen them on Breakaway in the theater, either).  One of the singers mentioned on BA that they prefer a small, intimate club venue like the Pour House but even there,  line started forming 30-45 minutes in advance. 

 

Two comedians had lots of shows (some general, some adult) and spaces are released 10 minutes in advance, like in the theater.  One night both comedians performed in the Theater so you've gotten 1/2 your wish!  

 

If you can't get reservations in advance or quickly enough onboard (box office, TV, kiosk) keep checking.  Many guests changing from one Donna Summer night to another, not showing up at comedy,  etc. so don't give up right away!  

 

[PistolPete13]

1 hour ago, aubreyc1988 said:

 

Whats on the treadmill screens? is it one of those things that "makes you think you are walking through a forest, a desert, or in the mountains" 😄 TV available on the screens?

The screen had about three looped videos of a walking path of a coastal town in Greece, the heart of Rome and one other place I don't recall.  The other items on the screen are various workout programs.

The only screen I was interested in was the ones with NetFlix and YouTube apps but no go on those because none of the treadmills were enabled for the ship WiFi.

[snorklinbarb]

On 10/15/2022 at 11:45 AM, Red-Sol said:

 

It may not have been from Bird's check off list...but I am certain that someone in one of the various reviews mentioned needing reservations for Rumours in Syd's. 🤔

Bird has done a fantastic job and has tried to delineate between main shows in theater (like Donna Summer, Noise Boys, Price is Right) needing reservations and the others in Improv and Syd's.  Comedy and Syd's do not take reservations, not for Rumours show, either.  

 

I heard other guests say they were so glad the "rock band" wasn't a theater offering....and with only 5 nights and the 2 big shows to fit in the theater, it didn't leave room in the schedule for much else.

 

On longer voyages have never found the main theater "Broadway" show productions to be a big booking issue because they get repeated.  On 5 nights we did have "Noise Boys" two nights and "Donna Summer" 2 nights with comedy as the 5th night.  There were many other entertainment options such as two duos, a guitarist, a good Caribbean band, etc. so the emphasis on entertainment has not disappeared and remains a real draw on NCL.

 

Some things greatly expanded like the deck 8 whole waterfront, infinity pools, seating while others (like Comedy Club) remained about the same as other ships.  Syd's has been a challenge on all the ships recently due to soaring popularity so maybe NCL will take that into a/c in future new builds.

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

41 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

The screen had about three looped videos of a walking path of a coastal town in Greece, the heart of Rome and one other place I don't recall.  The other items on the screen are various workout programs.

The only screen I was interested in was the ones with NetFlix and YouTube apps but no go on those because none of the treadmills were enabled for the ship WiFi.

ah ok, I will make sure i have shows downloaded on my phone them...