a funny thing happened on my prima transatlantic...

[insidecabin]

A reasonable measure of new is the latest in the fleet once another one is launched its no longer the new one.

 

 

[DCGuy64]

A ship that's only been sailing for a year or less is bound to have some issues. Whether it's new, newER or newEST, a year isn't a long time. It takes time to work out the kinks.

[mthayer295]

I thoroughly enjoy the story-telling abilities of the OP and sympathize with him.  We are sailing Prima in August and I am now concerned about the sea days.  We are in Haven so it is not likely that any noise difficulties there could result in us moving to another Haven cabin.  The OP mentioned the value to NCL of different customer-types - those that spend in the Casino versus those that spend big on the accommodations.  We are the later.  Either way you expect service (btw we are also platinum which I sadly hear folks now consider non-premium).  I agree that all the double and triple points makes it less of a perk.  We earned our points starting over 20 years ago and for some of those we didn’t even get a point per night when NCL changed their plans years ago 😞

[vacation44]

15 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

not haha funny, but funny in the sense of interesting and unexpected. you might find it interesting, too. (If not, there’s nothing to see here! please move along.)

 

first let me say that EVERYTHING that people have said about the prima is true. it is a sensational ship with much to recommend. it also has serious design flaws, and in many cases, these are “bad ideas gone wrong” that have poor execution and delivery on top of ill conception.

 

and, as on any NCL ship, there are crew members who provide best in class top notch customer service. and there are also low lights who are completely clueless indeed, the prima excels at simultaneously offering excellent service and utter incompetence, ingeniousness design juxtaposed against spectacular stupidity.

 

i fully plan to write another post that details miscellaneous observations of my 21 days at sea on this back-to-back adventure because i still believe NCL is trying very hard and wants nothing more than to have a world class ship and deliver memorable vacation experiences to its customers. but before i get into the nitty gritty of all that, permit me to share a notable incident that occurred a few days in on my TA from new york to reykjavik.

 

grab some popcorn. this might take a while.

 

i intend to break the story up into many bite sized posts, for easier consumption.

 

please, hold your applause - or your brickbats - till the end.

Agree with others, you do know how to write.    You are right up there with @YVRteacher.

 

Glad to read the ending where you got another cabin.   My take is that things started to change when you mentioned at Guest Services for them to look into how much you spend.  However, the problem should have been fixed immediately regardless of status and money spent.    When the Joy was having issues with the Aft cabins, I do remember reading they were giving those passengers another cabin just to sleep in.  

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise and the next one too!

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, mthayer295 said:

Either way you expect service (btw we are also platinum which I sadly hear folks now consider non-premium).

I used to think Platinum was premium.  Then I reached Sapphire, and decided that Platinum was pond scum (jk).  I think it is all very silly.  All I care about is the free laundry, Shorex discounts and added specialty dining.  Those equate to $$$ in my pocket.😎

[scooter6139]

Was on one of the first sailings for the Discovery Princess.  Had medium seas on the way to Alaska (early May cruise).  The ship creaked like an old house while it pitched around.  Was worse on the lower decks.  Spoke to some crew, and they said it was really bad on their decks.

 

Asked an engineer and they said it was just the modules built inside the ship acclimating to their locations.  Nothing for them to fix except time.  

[scooter6139]

4 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I used to think Platinum was premium.  Then I reached Sapphire, and decided that Platinum was pond scum (jk).  I think it is all very silly.  All I care about is the free laundry, Shorex discounts and added specialty dining.  Those equate to $$$ in my pocket.😎

 

And we are just tying to reach Gold at this point.  😂

[BrianLo]

Good thing I'm in a Studio. 😅

 

See you onboard in two days.

[ggTexasGal]

 

 

One only needs to take a look at the large jumps in number of points needed between status levels

to realize that only after PLATINUM, does your Latitudes level truly start to mean something.

Having said that, I also believe that many other factors determine how customers are perceived (valued) by NCL.

[AtSeaAlways]

I reported a loud metallic squeak from a loose 3rd bunk on Pullmantur - the Horizon -years ago.  They sent a hotel repair technician who took it apart and put in a sturdy sheet metal screw or two which fixed it.  If the noise is coming from structural framing, and penetrates the steel cabin walls- yuk.  And this might be hard/impossible to try to fix underway.  I wonder if you can remove cabin walls/ceilings other than in a shipyard?   There was a WWII navy movie where the shipyard put a loose ball bearing in the overhead panel over the Captain's bunk.   

 

There is this management tension on cruise lines - all rules and policies from from Corporate - hundreds of pages of them.  The idea is one must follow policies- the ship team cannot make them or change them.   But, the ship crew is responsible for (and measured by) the guest satisfaction scores (aka Net Promoter Score) - so needs to take action to solve problems.   Spare premium cabins mid voyage are likely not a thing however.   

 

You should publish the cabin number so no one else is stuck with it, and maybe record the sound and phones have a sound level meter.   These noises are sometimes related to sea conditions - a glassy sea - not a peep.   Or just the right combination of speed and waves.    

 

BTW I'm not sure NCL HQ follows Cruise Critic any more.  They used to, and still do a nice job hosting CC events and yes you get a note card with all the officer phone numbers and a request to call before you write it up out here.  A note in the "Dear HD" box is a good strategy also.   Usually the cabin steward has a good line on cabin repairs.  On one line, RCI, hotel repairs and ship repairs are separate teams aboard.  Where does this issue fall?  Might be time for the Bat Signal.  @chengkp75

[Just Jo]

@UKstages That was one of the most entertaining "rants" (as someone else called it) I've read here on CC.  Thanks for sharing your experience - the good, the bad and the ugly of it all.  

 

We sailed on the Encore inaugural transatlantic in 2019 and had a noise issue/creaking in our room that kept us awake.  Guest services first explained this was normal for a new ship.  We pressed the issue since sleeping became a problem, and we were eventually moved to a different room.  A smaller room was offered first, yet we politely requested a room at least the same size and we were accommodated.

 

Last year we sailed the Prima inaugural transatlantic.  Our room did not have any creaking but our friends next door did.  They did not complain or request to be moved so they managed. 

 

(We didn't care for the Prima design and cancelled the Viva transatlantic.  Here's hoping for a better ship layout for Leonardo #3.)

Edited May 24, 2023 by Just Jo

[YVRteacher]

For what it’s worth, I’ve been on 35+ cruises with NCL.  (Lost count and am too tired to check.) 

I have stayed in the following cabin types:

studio

inside

balcony

club balcony/mini suite

non Haven two bedroom penthouse

Haven suite

Forward facing suite which had Haven privileges but wasn’t in the Haven 

 

I have, through the years, been a nobody, a bronze, silver, gold, platinum, platinum plus, sapphire and now diamond.

 

The cabin has creaked something fierce on every ship and in every cabin EXCEPT the inside cabin.

 

Doesn’t matter what latitudes you are or what room you book.  Cruise ship cabins creak and rattle.

 

On our recent Jewel cruise, I was talking to the  bar waiter.  He said he shared a cabin with 6 people and 4 of them have girlfriends on board. Can you imagine the creaking in that cabin??? 

[insidecabin]

5 hours ago, AtSeaAlways said:

BTW I'm not sure NCL HQ follows Cruise Critic any more.  They used to, and still do a nice job hosting CC events and yes you get a note card with all the officer phone numbers and a request to call before you write it up out here.  A note in the "Dear HD" box is a good strategy also.   Usually the cabin steward has a good line on cabin repairs.  On one line, RCI, hotel repairs and ship repairs are separate teams aboard.  Where does this issue fall?  Might be time for the Bat Signal.  @chengkp75

if only, 

Star 11-21 May,  no note card, many never got their Dear HD acknowledged.

HD was gone after a few mins and it was the CN manager that remembered to tell us before posting but by then it was too late(11:30 am) day after embark)  CC and FB were already alight 

[MS52]

12 hours ago, BrianLo said:

Good thing I'm in a Studio. 😅

 

See you onboard in two days.

Maybe not.   Here it is Wednesday morning and we seem to be doing circles north of Iceland because of a storm.  No idea when we will dock in Reykjavik at this point.  

[BrianLo]

7 hours ago, MS52 said:

Maybe not.   Here it is Wednesday morning and we seem to be doing circles north of Iceland because of a storm.  No idea when we will dock in Reykjavik at this point.  

I’d be pretty surprised if you were two days late. Another ship is in port already here. I assume your port stop was cancelled today?

Edited May 24, 2023 by BrianLo

[ontheweb]

@UKstages, you said there would be more. Hope it will show up soon.

 

As we are booked and paid for a cruise on the Prima in August, I would really like to hear the rest of your observations.

[QuattroRomeo]

The OP is probably fast asleep in the alternate cabin..Or, the GM's assistant has cancelled OP's wifi..😁

[cabincop]

 

I was on the Joy in the Haven this past Oct. My bed literally shook all nite. Not from the waves of the ocean, but literally up and down shaking me. I called guest services on the third day in tears because I hadn’t slept in three days. My butler also checked the bed and couldn’t believe how much it shaking. At 2 in the morning an assistant GM came to my room with my butler & walked me in my robe & slippers to a balcony room on deck 9. I slept there that nite. Next morning went back to my room , shower & change go eat.  I come back to my room. The concierge explained to me that somehow the mattress was off the frame and that’s why it was shaking so badly. He and the butler were able to pick up the mattress and put it back onto the frame, they credited my account for any expenses during the cruise and that was that.

Edited May 24, 2023 by cabincop

[HBCcruiser]

On 5/23/2023 at 7:16 AM, hoops71 said:

Does anyone think that it being a new ship creates this problem?  In other words, as the ship ages will the creaking work itself out, or only get worse?

We were in a Haven Aft suite on the April 30, 2023 cruise to Bermuda and also had loud creaking noises in our cabin and a loud banging noise in the upper corner of our master bedroom that would not stop during those rougher seas. It was unlike anything we had ever experienced. Luckily we were able to drown it out with headphones and the White Noise App. There is someone who might know why the Prima is making all of these unusual creaking/banging noises - @chengkp75 Have you ever heard of this sort of thing happening with newer ships? Could it just be a Prima thing - many pax reporting loud creaking (beyond normal) and banging noises in their cabins while sailing in 15+ foot seas. 

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

We were in a Haven Aft suite on the April 30, 2023 cruise to Bermuda and also had loud creaking noises in our cabin and a loud banging noise in the upper corner of our master bedroom that would not stop during those rougher seas. It was unlike anything we had ever experienced. Luckily we were able to drown it out with headphones and the White Noise App. There is someone who might know why the Prima is making all of these unusual creaking/banging noises - @chengkp75 Have you ever heard of this sort of thing happening with newer ships? Could it just be a Prima thing - many pax reporting loud creaking (beyond normal) and banging noises in their cabins while sailing in 15+ foot seas. 

It would be interesting to hear from him. Has anyone else noticed that he seems to be missing lately from the cc boards?

[Beer Belly]

On 5/22/2023 at 10:17 PM, UKstages said:

  she admitted noisy cabins due to structural flaws were a big problem onboard the prima from day 1. 

When we arrived in Bermuda on the sailing prior to yours, I noticed a worker hammering slag from weld he just completed on the hull, and another worker behind him spot rolling paint.....could it have been cracks in the Hull ?.

[insidecabin]

56 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

It would be interesting to hear from him. Has anyone else noticed that he seems to be missing lately from the cc boards?

posted in the last hour

 

[golden6911]

This makes me glad for my Bose Sleepbuds.  I have a loudly snoring spouse and these things are a game-changer. 

[laudergayle]

15 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

We were in a Haven Aft suite on the April 30, 2023 cruise to Bermuda and also had loud creaking noises in our cabin and a loud banging noise in the upper corner of our master bedroom that would not stop during those rougher seas. It was unlike anything we had ever experienced. Luckily we were able to drown it out with headphones and the White Noise App. There is someone who might know why the Prima is making all of these unusual creaking/banging noises - @chengkp75 Have you ever heard of this sort of thing happening with newer ships? Could it just be a Prima thing - many pax reporting loud creaking (beyond normal) and banging noises in their cabins while sailing in 15+ foot seas. 

We were on the same 4/30 Prima cruise to Bermuda in a FWD facing cabin.  We thought the noise was due to our forward location and decided then we would not choose s FWD cabin again.  Between the drinks package and white noise app, I slept fine.  DH did complain the first two nights.  However, we loved the cruise and the Prima.

[Sinbadssailors]

One of the best things I've read in ages, every word of it! Thank you

Those of the TLDR-mindset missed a great recap of what it's like to convince NCL of an actual problem. NCL does seem to think, "most won't care/complain- we'll just deal with the few who do", rather than fix a known issue.

 

FWIW I believe you - this isn't normal noise. Normal creaking doesn't force people to sleep on the bathroom floor.

 

The frustration, on top of being sleep deprived, makes things so much worse.

We had a noise problem in an owner's suite years ago on NCL and it took them 3 days to finally give us a sleeping cabin. We weren't expected to move out of the OS, just given those blank keys for the other cabin.

A security detail never came to that cabin to question us though lol - seriously, that made me laugh. Just not surprising at all. Sadly.

 

One time we were in an inside on a very new Carnival ship. There was an intermittent banging noise that would wake us many times every hour the first night. At 3am I staggered to guest services and complained. A person came to our cabin a few minutes later and hung out for nearly a half hour. It never made the noise, while I insisted it had been fairly constant. The person promised to pass on the info and I would hear from someone in the morning. Interestingly, I didn't hear the sound again.

 

The next morning I was contacted and asked how I slept. I told them I didn't hear the noise again. I was then told they were pretty sure what was causing it but couldn't fix it during my cruise. They said they had found another cabin for us and to just pack and stop by guest services for our new keys. Our steward would then move our bags to the new cabin. Our new inside cabin had a bottle of champagne waiting, and an apology.

 

Things happen. It's how they're handled that really matters.