Karaboudjan

I am just the opposite. When I was young, I spent way more than I should have on fine wines. Now that I could better afford them I just don't find it worth the extra money. But I have also been in the Haven and have not gone back, so maybe I am just wired wrong... 🤔

I did not see it mentioned yet but with the Club Balcony you should be able to make dining reservations 125 days out instead of the usual 120. Also, since the side-facing CBS on Prima/Viva are on the rounded section the overall size and the balcony size might differ from room to room. You should also consider that you will be above the Indulge outdoor seating area. Most of it is hidden under the canopy but you could see and be seen by people at the railing. However, we were on Deck 10 and never found this to be a bother. It was a nice cabin, but we are opting for a regular balcony on our next Prima cruise. We got the CBS for $200-300 more than the balcony when Prima cruises first went on sale, and that is about all the premium that I would pay; I don't consider it to be worth an extra $1000.

Unless something has changed in the past few months there are no cabanas in the Prima Vibe. You may be happy sticking with the Haven, but the Vibe bartenders told us that plenty of Haven guests wanted to get into the Vibe to get away from kids in the Haven pool area. I believe there is an area of the Haven that is supposed to be adults-only, but maybe that is not always enforced.

Ah, okay. But NCL's assertion is that they will make up for that 2% with higher fares and onboard spend. I guess the traders pay more attention to the numbers than the explanation. CYA and all that... I guess we will see how it turns out. I'm afraid you are giving me credit I don't deserve for the copyright thing. I figured the thread was locked because there were too many personal attacks, non-relevant comments and opinions stated as facts.

Where do you see that 2024 will be behind 2019, and in what way? I don't see any direct 2024 to 2019 comparison in the Q3 presentation, but they are estimating 105%-106% occupancy going forward compared to 107% in 2019, and there will be three more ships, so I think that would have to make for an increase in at least bookings, and I think they have stated that average fares are up as well.

The Vibe bar on the Prima had some non-alcoholic or at least very low alcohol cocktails. I don't recall many details but the one we liked most was cucumber-based and very refreshing. I don't know if other bars would have the same offerings or some of their own, but I think that most bartenders would be happy to come up with something for you.

Quite a sensationalistic 'article' from someone touting their public health credentials. A lot if it reads like it could have come from a cruise ship comedian's monologue. So there have been 13 outbreaks this year. What does that mean? Is 13 out of the thousands of sailings statistically meaningful? According to the CDC there are over 5 million cases per year of Noro in the US, so is 13 outbreaks on cruise ships really bad or is it good compared to the overall incidence?

In the video at 1:27 I think there are two ships - the 3rd Prima on the right with the Queen Anne behind and to the left. There are some photos on the Fincantieri Marghera FB page that show the two ships much more clearly. So, I don't think the aerial image is of the same ships. It is probably older and showing the Prima and Viva.

This does not apply to all ships, but on Prima (and Viva also I presume) the Vibe is only steps away from the buffet, so it is a great place to bring your food and eat in much more peace and quiet. I'm not sure what the route is back to the Haven but it can't be nearly as convenient.

On Prima in December The Local was showing the men's World Cup.

I am on a Spirit cruise in February 2024. One excursion was added a few weeks ago. I asked about this on one of the 2023-2024 Aus-NZ cruise discussions and was told that their excursions did not show up until around the 120 day mark.

I tried it. I had never used a go-kart before but I found it quite easy to get used to and it was a lot of fun. As noted previously there are plenty of passing spots so nobody should get bothered if you are not as fast as everyone else. There is one hairpin corner where you have to get the line right. We watched a couple of races from the shooting platform and one person got stuck every time around and that did hold people up...

There probably are none. I think most ships are deployed to more lucrative markets like Alaska and Europe for the summer.

Club balcony on Viva appears to be the same as Prima, which means either forward facing (I think) or in the tower at the stern. We had one of the stern ones on the Prima. The cabin was a bit larger than the standard balconies and the balcony itself was also a bit larger (I think; since it is curved it was not easy to calculate although I tried) However, because of the curvature of the tower the size of the cabins and balconies can vary a bit, although I think they are all at least a bit larger than the regular balcony cabins. As for the deck question, I would definitely get a cabin far enough forward to be away from the slides. Another consideration would be the proximity to the public areas on Deck 8, so maybe higher is a bit better.

We were on the Prima the week before Christmas last year. It seemed fairly low-key to me. There were decorations, the big gingerbread village and plenty of crew wearing Santa hats. I don't recall any themed drinks. Not sure about carols or any other activities, but we disembarked on the 23rd.

I'm on a 2/9/24 cruise and I don't see anything that would indicate a change in the status. There is only one excursion as of now, but that was just added in the past couple of weeks. I figure that because it is so seasonal they cannot confirm things with the operators too far in advance. People on cruises in the 23-24 season said their excursions did not become available until nearer the 120 day point.

They were taken off a few months ago. COVID probably changed things so much that what they were showing was too out of synch with what they ended up offering this past winter.

Got it. Thanks!

@ziggyuk Did they offer any excursion after disembarkation in Auckland that ended at the airport?

Here's what I can offer: 1. The Haven restaurant menu does not change. You have no obligation to ever eat there, though. You can arrive any time during their open hours, and I don't believe that they take reservations. I don't believe it is any dressier than the MDR. 2. I don't recall having to sign for every drink, but maybe I was just having too much fun to remember that. I have never heard of a drink limit on NCL. 4. I would probably go to Moderno and Le Bistro on Getaway, but it's very subjective.

I have not done a TA, at least in a cruise ship, but I have been on Prima. I think a big consideration is that these ships are outdoor-focused, so I would take into account the expected weather. Since everyone is aboard on sea days the ship may be quite crowded if the weather keeps people indoors.

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I was on a packed Prima around Christmas and I never found a long line at any bar.

If I am not missing something there is a gap in scheduled cruises between 11/1/23 and 11/12/23.

Yes, but I don't think the issue here is so much how this could happen as it is NCL's response. If this was an extraordinary circumstance that NCL did not consider why did they not reinstate the reservation or at least offer FCC to the passenger? I believe that at least one person reported having a similar issue that NCL remedied, so why did they allegedly not do something here?