seemoreroyals

Enjoyed your comments as we will be going on the Prima or the first time later this year. In regards to breakfast at Indulge Food Hall. Did you have any issues with having to wait? Also, the only menu I have seen for Indulge has mainly continental and breakfast sandwich type items. What's a must try there? The Tex Mex Bowl looks interesting.

Michelob Ultra most of the time. Mudslides, Chocolate Grasshoppers, Bushwackers, and just about anything with a decent quality vodka in it when I want something different.

We really like the huevos rancheros for breakfast at the MDR. However, they are only available on the menu about once every 5-10 days. Wish there was a way when you first got on the cruise to know what"s on the menu each day so we could plan accordingly. We are going on the Prima for the first time later this year and want to try Indulge Food Hall a couple times for breakfast but do not want to miss the huevos rancheros at the MDR if they happen to be on the menu.

It took us 10 cruises to reach Platinum so not really that easy. They should add a few more things for higher tier levels and not take away from Platinum. In particular we really enjoy the free laundry and the two extra specialty dinners and bottle of wine.

Thank you for doing this live Prima trip report. We will be on it for the first time later this year. Indulge Food Hall has our attention as one of the most popular new additions available only on Prima. Until I read your trip report and took a closer look at the dailes you provided I thought IFH was only open for lunch and dinner. I did not realize they also have a breakfast there. I found a copy of a menu that was posted back in December. It appears that they have quite a bit to choose from. Have you had breakfast there? If so how did it compare to other breakfast choices?

Thank you for your comprehensive Encore review. We will be on Encore for the first time in December. There is so much in there we are going to have to go back and read it again. Until your post today we were planning on flying into Miami. Noticed that you are flying out of Ft. Lauderdale. Googled it and it is only 29 miles away from the Miami cruise terminal. If you do not mind me asking, approx how much did it cost to uber from MCT to Ft. Laud airport? Airfare to and from where we live to Miami is higher than I thought.

We are looking at 13178 angled balcony on Encore. Do you know whether it is bed neat closet or bed near balcony?

Wife and I both ordered filet at Cagneys on the Bliss in November. Cooked perfectly. Probably best steak we have ever had on a cruise ship. If we dined there 10 times it's anyone's guess how many times it would be cooked to this level of perfection. As others have said food and food service is highly subjective and dependent on many variables. At the present time Cagneys is at the top of our list for specialty diners. That may change after our next cruise.

On Bliss this past November, back elevators not nearly as busy as front elevators. Don't remember a single time waiting more than a minute. Front elevators on the other hand always waits and multiple stops people getting on and off going up or down.

I think the Bliss has both.

All of our cats agree with you.

If I had to guess where this is heading, NCL will continue to monetize eating on cruise ships the way they have monetized adult beverages. Not long ago you could get just about anything you wanted with the standard adult drink package. Then the price went up. Then the price went up some more along with the 20% gratuities that came with it. Then the super duper drink package came along and limited what you could get with the standard adult beverage package along with additional price increases on both packages. I would not be surprised if sometime in the near future NCL introduces the super duper all you can eat on a cruise package where for an additional $500 per guest you can eat all you want with an additional 20% added to gratuities of course. If you do not like the idea of being limited to 1-1-1-1 for your eating at both specialty diners and more than likely soon to be added regular diners this will be an option that many cruisers will be willing to pay. Right now this is all conjecture. But based on the success they have had with monetizing the adult drink packages I could easily see this happening with the way they manage our dining choices.

Same for us on Bliss. Very underwhelming. Far as I know still no BTS tours on any of the ships yet.

My main observation in reading through this thread and others like it is that there is a large percentage of people that are still willing to pay the prepaid gratuities, even though they have been increased a number of times lately. Many are tipping even more cash individually as well. That tells me that there is a huge opportunity for NCL to increase profits by exploiting this. That is exactly what they are doing. I think it is only a matter of time before they start charging us gratuities on our platinum specialty dinners as well. Kind of pleasantly surprised they don't.

We did it once and the temperature was a little warm for us. Not sure what we were expecting but it was humid and we never reached a point were we were comfortable. We have been to several spas on land such as Qua Spa Ceasars Vegas and for us the thermal spa paled in comparison. One other factor that led to our dissatisfaction with the thermal spa was that because it is enclosed it is kind of an echo chamber. We were looking forward to quiet so we could read and relax but there was a loudmouth that would not stop talking the hour or so we ere there so we decided to get up and leave. Most people seem to really enjoy the thermal spa. I wish our experience would have been better.

No problem with increasing tips but please quit watering down food offerings and what you get on the drink packages. If you cruise at least once a year you have noticed that the bang for your buck on food and drink packages has decreased.

@Sthrngaryand @LincolnLogSyd Norman's is almost identical to the Cavern Club. District Brewhouse is a distinct bar type. We just got off the Bliss and they had both a Cavern Club and a District Brewhouse. All three have live entertainment but more limited piano player / vocalist type entertainment at the District Brewhouse on cruises I have been on.

In regards to Cagneys, next time try the filet. We also have had some so so experiences with Cagneys in the past. Was disappointed as well with both the prime rib and the ribeye. On our cruise last month wife and I both decided to order the filet. Our filets were wonderful. Perfectly cooked. Best meal we have ever had at Cagneys. Glad you had a good experience sailing out of NOLA. We have sailed from NOLA three times and have found it for the most part a disorganized mess. Good to hear they got it right on your cruise. In regards to entertainment on the Breakaway, we agree with you on the beer house. We thought the best entertainment on the ship was at Syd Norman's. The band that was playing there when we sailed a year ago was fantastic. We went there almost every night. The Fleetwood Mac Rumours set they did one night was superb. ETA: Do you have pictures or pricing info on the Vibe cabana?

As of 11-13 to 11-20 on the Bliss Mudslides were part of the standard drink package. Choc Martinis on the other hand have an upcharge and have had for some time now if you don't have the upgraded drink package.

We were on the Bliss Nov 13-20th. Our Wines around the World was at 3pm on a Thursday. Was expecting it on a sea day but instead it was after leaving Mazatlan on day 5. It was okay. Could have been much better. There were probably 30-40 people attending. There were 5 stations featuring a red and a white wine from each station. It felt rushed. They herded us at the Cellars Wine Bar on deck 8. Then we were marched across to where the event was staged in the Cavern Club. Not much was mentioned in regards to any of the wines. The whole thing took about 30 minutes. In reading posts by others it appears they do the exact same thing on each ship. Sorry to say I agree with others that the whole thing was underwhelming.

Another drink I was unable to get that had always been available before was a vodka stinger. It's basically your favorite vodka with a shot of peppermint schnapps. They were out of peppermint schnapps all week. Our friends we were travelling with like 1942 don julio tequila shots. They were out of the 1942 don julio all week as well.

We were on this cruise 13th - 20th. We had Six on Days 2-3, 7 and 9:30 showtimes and Jersey Boys on Days 5-6, 6:30 and 9:30 showtimes. So they do change from week to week. Main theater Days 1,4, and 7 had Beatlemania Shows. Like restaurants, the theater shows are subjective. We thought Jersey Boys was really, really good. One of the better shows we have ever seen on a cruise ship. Beatle shows better than expected, Six was just so so. We had seen Six before. Maybe that was why we were a little underwhelmed. I still recommend watching them all.

Can confirm that Fireball cinnamon was nowhere to be found on our 11-13 to 11-20 Bliss cruise. Was repeatedly advised throughout cruise to check back next day they may have some by then.

Back to normal cruising. Good for NCL. Surprised it's on a port day. We are doing a hike to the lighthouse that day. We will be back on the ship by noon. Time for a quick lunch, shower, and a nap. Perfect timing for us.

We always use our passport photos. Takes a few attempts but finally go through.