seemoreroyals

Pretty sure that if all parties have iphones you can stay in touch using imessages. Phone needs to be in airport mode and need to use ships wifi. I All you get with the imessaging is texts. If not you have to pay the $9.95. If this has not been resolved definitively we will let everyone know in a couple of weeks when we are on our next cruise

Thank you. New link worked for me as well.

I got a not found 404 message when attempting to view on google chrome. Maybe it is an issue with my laptop.

You are supposed to be able to text back and forth on ship using imessages on iphones. I think you have to have your phones in airplane mode and use ships internet. That way you do not have to pay the $9.95 fee. We are going to try it in a couple of weeks.

Is the pool any bigger than the Prima pool?

Hope you are having a great ride on the Viva. Looking forward to your review.

Thought Prima just left New York on 2 week trip to Galveston?

Already missing the two simultaneous Prima trip reports. When you have time I hope you come back with a final synopsis of your likes and dislikes of Prima and the food, entertainment, and other happenings and activities therein.

Wow. Did not see that coming. Sorry to hear that service issues on the Prima appear to be less than satisfactory. Looking forward to when you come back to this after taking care of other matters. Waiting to hear the rest of the story.

Thank you for the kind words. I would possibly consider doing one but my wife has already said no. Out of respect to her and my lack of technical expertise, if anything I may tag a thought or two onto somebody else's trip report. One of the things we will be doing for the first time will be the Vibe Beach Club. So in addition to this being our first trip on Prima it will also be our first time in the Vibe. Can't wait.

So, you are going on for 2 more weeks to Galveston? Hope you keep your trip report going. It has been informative for us having both your and @cruiseny4life's trip report going to help us become familiar with Prima. We board on the 15th.

Sad to see your trip coming to an end. Unfortunately it is something we must all go through when taking a cruise. I am sure your pups will be glad to see you. Man, you guys pack light. Thank you for your fantastic and informative trip report and amazing pictures.

@cruiseny4life Thanks for posting the dalies. Looks like Familiar Strangers only plays late night . I guess I will have to find time to catch up on my sleep when we get back from our cruise.

Are you going to continue your live trip report on the next leg?

Rubbing it in since you still have 15 more days on Prima. Lucky you.

The tipping thing has gotten out of hand. Both on cruise ship and on land. One of the places we eat has a new device that when you pay the bill literally gives you tipping choices of 20% 25% and other, in that order. We request the waiter to bring us a copy of our bill so we can tip what we want not some preconceived amount they want us to tip. I am not that guy that tips $2 on the total bill regardless of the amount. We all know a few people that do that. I generally tip between 15-20% depending on the level of service. Have tipped less sometimes more. Depending on level of service. On a cruise ship the only time I tip over and above the tips I have already prepaid is when a waiter, cabin steward, bartender, or other NCL staff member does something over and above our expectations. As I have mentioned in previous posts it is genius how NCL and other cruise lines have developed a system whereby cruisers prepay their tips upfront and persist for whatever reason to pay again and again and again for something they have already paid for. I am sure the bean counters are aware of this and take advantage of the generosity thereby continuing to raise the level of DSC and other upfront forms of tipping that have become the norm. What used to be leave what you want in an envelope at end of cruise for tip became $12 per day DSC and is now $20 per day ($25 Haven) and no doubt will continue to go higher. If it makes you happy to double tip every time you order a drink or slipping the room steward an extra $20 or more by all mean continue to do so. IMO treating the waiters, bartenders, cabin stewards, and other NCL with respect and being pleasant and not making unreasonable demands will probably get you just as good or better level of service than by leaving extra money on the table.

If it makes you happy to tip extra I say go for it. Just remember on a 7 day cruise for 2 people you are already tipping over $700 for the week. $280 to room steward, regular dining and other NCL employees, and the bulk of the extra going to the bar staff as the 20% gratuity you are paying as part of the unlimited drink package.

We will boarding Prima on a Friday in a couple of weeks. Only one ship in port day of departure. Three in port day of return. We are staying in hotel about 3 miles away. I have done research but still no clear answer of what to expect coming and going from hotel to cruiseport. Does anyone know if there are ample amount of taxis serving Galveston for this purpose and about what we should expect to pay? There are four of us and would prefer to take a cab together assuming they have bigger cabs for this. How do taxis compare to uber/lyft in our situation?

Who is Shane? Did you get to any of the shows at Syd Norman's? We have seen the Rumours performance on Breakaway and other performances there. They were really good. Not sure if this is the same band. We are leaning towards not going this time as there is so much other stuff to do and don't particularly want to wait in line for an hour. Also some great pictures throughout. Really helps bring the trip report alive.

Both are right up our alley. Wife and I both like all types of music from the 50's to the 70's. Anything more recent than that not as much. We have been on several other NCL ships but do not think we have listened to either FS or DR.

Thank you @cruiseny4life for the time and effort and giving us an early glimpse of what to expect both good and bad when we board the Prima in a few weeks.

Thank you. We will make time to see them in just a few short weeks when we get on the Prima. Listening to the various musical acts throughout the ship is one of the things we really enjoy while cruising.

What type of music does Familiar Strangers play?

Then after that NCL can implement the move to the front of the line drink pass. For X amount of dollars you get to elbow everybody else out of the way to get your favorite drink at the bar of your choice.

I would not pay for it either. Safe to say there is a good portion of CC members on here that would. NCL if you are paying attention get er done. To each his own. The more choices we have the better.