Pitzel

One interesting thing you will see: None of the stateroom numbers end with a number 4, as it is considered an unlucky number in China. Same with the theater seat numbers -- no ending 4s!

We were in an SL suite (Family Suite with Large Balcony) on the Prima this past April. The room itself is essentially the same as the Club Balcony suites next to it, but came with more perks. The bottle of sparkling wine was WAY better than what used to be given out for Latitudes members. They no longer give out that stuff because so few people actually enjoyed it! The VIP cocktail party was in the Observation Lounge, though it was attended by the Captain and most of the senior crew members. We never got to even see the Haven, unfortunately 😞

- These suites have access to a complimentary expanded room service menu. Not sure if it is identical to the Haven menus or not, but you can certainly order things over and above what is offered on the standard room service menu. - Daily snacks/treats brought by the butler - A bottle of champagne/sparkling wine in the suite upon arrival - Bottle of water upon arrival, IIRC - Fruit basket provided upon arrival. Can be replenished upon request - Butler service is identical (or nearly identical) to what one would experience in the Haven - Breakfast and lunch in Cagney's - Access to the Assistant Concierge, who sets up a desk in Cagney's during breakfast and lunch times, as well as access to the Concierge by phone. - Invitation to suites/VIP cocktail party - Larger fabric laundry bags. You still have to pay for laundry (unless you are Platinum or above), but you can get a lot more in the bag! - Nespresso machine and coffee/tea replenished daily or upon request - Upgraded toiletries (including a bath pouf) - Upgraded bedding - Priority disembarkation

We are on that sailing and are VERY excited to not have to rush back to the ship the afternoon of Day 3. Even though we will probably sleep in and miss sail away on Friday, being able to have a full third day should be awesome!

I seem to recall that they were somewhere between the Haven restaurant menus and the MDR menus. A bit fancier, but not identical to the Haven. Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of them.

We had an outside room on deck 5 on the Getaway and they used deck 4 for loading the tenders...which meant that the tenders were *right outside our window*. In addition to the noise, it was also jarring to see the tenders and lots of people when we opened the curtains. While I loved the family oceanview rooms, I would avoid deck 5 in most cases. Also, deck 5 is under a public deck, so any furniture movement from above can be heard in the cabin. We were startled awake a few times when people in the library or card room above us dragged a chair or a table late at night. Ugh.

Really? We definitely have. Our first butler (Jennifer C., Dawn, 2014) was absolutely amazing and doted on our kiddo as if he was her own. When said kiddo had a meltdown at dinner and we decided to return back to our cabin, she swooped in and had all of our meals packed up and delivered them to our cabin along with some special items to help improve our kiddo's mood. She also did so many other things that made our trip amazing. She absolutely deserved a generous tip! While not a butler, per se, we also received amazing service from our Genie while staying in Star Class on the Harmony of the Seas -- so much so that we were all in tears leaving the ship and having to say goodbye. Also a great trip, with a generous tip to match for fantastic service. We have also had butlers that were "meh", though, and didn't deserve quite as much. That said, we have always tipped them *something* -- often in the ballpark of $10-20 per day.

Other suggestions: - Complementary grats for FAS - Free room service (no fees, regardless of stateroom type) - "line cutting" privileges for non-reservable shows (like Syd Norman's), tenders, reboarding, etc. - Unlimited specialty dining - Complimentary upgrade to FAS+ (every cruise or X times per year)

When we sailed on the Prima in April, we got early embarkation because of our platinum status, not because we were in a suite. It is possible that suites get earlier boarding than non-suites, but it is certainly after the Haven and platinum and above guests.

If they had named the ships in a different order, perhaps it would have been 3ella and 4qua?

A recent USPTO search has yielded that: 1) NCL applied for all of these in 2019. 2) Of this list, only Prima is currently a registered US trademark. 3) The remaining names, including Viva, were all abandoned and were, at one point, considered DEAD. 4) In 2023, 5 of these names were applied for again and are now considered LIVE applications (though all are still pending and have not been registered yet). 2 of the original names were not resubmitted... So, these are now the leading contenders for the 6 ship names in the class: - Prima (registered) - Viva (pending registration, though obviously in use) - Bella (pending registration) - Aqua (pending registration) - Luna (pending registration) - Ultima (pending registration)

Are you looking for the Premium Plus beverage package? Or Free at Sea Plus? P+ beverage package includes a wider selection of drinks. FAS+ includes the P+ beverage package, additional specialty dining, unlimited internet, and an additional $50 per excursion credit for the second passenger on the reservation.

Agree! One potential long shot: It looks like Columbian citizens need to apply for a Canadian visa in person at an embassy. Is there a Canadian embassy near them/you? While the chances are not great, they should contact the embassy directly to see what their options are.

From what I can figure out on the Government of Canada website is that yes, they need a visitors visa...and the current processing time for a visitors visa is 152 days!!! https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/entry-requirements-country.html

We docked with the port side towards the dock while on the Prima in April. My sister in law went on the exact same trip two weeks before us (same ship, same itinerary) and they docked in the opposite direction.

We have done Alaska on RCCL Serenade of the Seas (2008) and on RCCL Quantum of the Seas (2022). A couple of reasons why we picked those ships/itineraries: - The Serenade was going to Glacier Bay at the time and, as a smaller ship, it can get REALLY CLOSE to the glacier. Amazing day. - The Quantum is designed for cold weather cruises. The 270 has massive glass windows, the North Star provides an amazing view from high above the ship, and there is an enclosed pool and solarium. Also, indoor skydiving was amazing! While we didn't go to Glacier Bay on our sailing, we did get to Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan and Victoria. I greatly prefer those ports to Skagway (which is a one-and-done port for me...especially now that there are issues with the Yukon railway) or Ice Straight Point (which was essentially built for the tourists. Also, RCCL docks in downtown Juneau, whereas some other cruise lines dock outside of downtown. This location makes it much more convenient to walk around or go to the Roberts Tramway, plus it is closer to many of the excursion sites, minimizing travel time.

Accessing Cruise Critic from the ship is free, even without the Wifi package. Advise everyone to check the roll call thread the morning of the meet and greet for any schedule changes or updates.

The only other limitation is that you cannot use both Latitudes vouchers for the same restaurant, so if you want to return to the same place twice, you will need to use your specialty dining credit for the second visit.

You are welcome! Happy to help. If you go to YouTube, you can find many similar videos showing how cruise ships operate. We find them fascinating!

This is not true at all. We toured the bridge on the Harmony of the Seas in 2018 and I know for a fact that it is included in paid tours on many NCL ships today. In fact, the bridge is called out as a feature of the tour in the online description! https://www.ncl.com/travel-blog/ncl-behind-the-scenes-tour

Here is an example of how Royal Caribbean does it. NCL is quite similar.

Most of the meals are prepared from scratch onboard. Some ingredients (like french fries) do come "processed" (eg. precut and frozen) and other ingredients come frozen (eg. fish) for safety and product longevity, but almost all of the provisions are restocked at each turnaround day while in a homeport. There are a number of videos online showing how many of the cruise ship galleys operate and behind-the-scenes tours will show many of the areas where food items are prepared from scratch onboard.

Ooh! I really hope it is Choir of Man. We loved that on the Escape (and actually saw the show twice on one sailing). Where did you hear that?

Note that when shopping in St. Thomas, your customs duty allowance is 2x what it would be from other islands ($1600 pp vs. $800 pp). We used that as a negotiating tactic when purchasing 2 channel-set diamond rings in St. Thomas -- we told them that we wanted to stay under the customs allowance...so they brought the price down to just under that amount, including resizing. We had done our homework ahead of time and knew what a "good" price was for a comparable ring and felt comfortable with our purchase considering that we were provided with documentation about the gems prior to purchase. The price ended up being pretty comparable as buying at home, but we saved the sales tax and duty.

The OBC we get from our TA has always been refundable, so clearly it depends. Always best to ask your TA or ask as soon as you get onboard.