JinxyB

5 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

@JinxyB should be down here around the corner

 

 

 

Uhh. Maybe not. 
 

 

Plenty of menus though.

 

 

“Look, I’m not through with you yet, Bingo”

 

 

Cover the ears.

 

 

Hey video on how to use the smart elevator. I’m sure people will stand here and watch it.

 

 

Up up up

 

 

Holy spit! Except I didn’t say spit. I’ve never seen anyone using this!

 

 

 

There it is..right where I thought it would be.

 

 

 

Right there

 

 

 

oh…what’s that over there?

 

 

 

 

 

I bet that’s a great view during the day.

 

 

 

 

I don’t even know what this is. But if you do, it’s here for you!

 

Thank you for finding these. LMK if you find any of the long shuffleboard tables anywhere. We loved playing on Breeze and Vista in the Red Frog Pub, but that was a million years ago when I last sailed Carnival.

Do they have any of the foosball or shuffleboard tables anywhere? Thanks!

9 hours ago, Tom Sandra said:

@JinxyB Also, did they mention any additional excursions? Especially at ports where no excursion is listed on the PG website...

I didn’t ask- I was at work and had limited time to talk. I’m probably going to book a few more excursions before the cruise, but will ask this question when I call again. 

Just an update to my original post: I called PG today to book excursions and asked the guy about upgrading my stateroom. Since I’m 60 days out, he was able to upgrade me to a balcony for 1K pp (child was not charged). I am very pleased with this! I was worried about triple occupancy rooms being available, but there were several. 

We were on the 3/24 Viva sailing and I agree with you! Every day was a port day and finding snacks at 4PM was impossible. Why they don’t open the buffet longer is beyond me. They didn’t even have the ice cream machine open. Makes zero sense. At least they could open Indulge?

I also did not care for the Galaxy Pavilion- it was always closed and the games were minimum $9 a piece which is craxy. Don’t get me started on the mini golf for $10pp! Pure insanity! We did the go carts once and it was a waste of money. We waited over an hour while they kept letting Haven and single riders through. It was poorly managed.

We did specialty dining 6/7 nights and enjoyed it. Ship is beautiful, ports amazing. Poor selection of merch in the onboard shops. Overall had a great time and loved spending time in PR pre and post cruise! 

We were just on the Viva and the carryon bag drop was in one of the main restaurants near the Belvedere Bar. We dropped off bags and went out to explore Old Sam Juan. I know this does not answer your question regarding Prima, but hopefully it is the same/similar 

Hello, we are experienced cruisers, but have never been to French Polynesia before. We are doing the 14-day Islands Of The Marquesas & Tuamotus this summer. There are 2 adults and one child (13) and we are currently booked in a window cabin. I did a mock booking of our sailing, and all of the lower cost insides/window rooms are sold out….will they discount the balcony rooms closer to sailing? Or do they just drop the prices for local residents to sell out the ship?

I’ve also been looking at ship sponsored and private excursions. How hard is it to hire a local guide while in port or take a taxi to a local beach? Some of our ports seem very remote and isolated, and no excursions are even offered, so I’m assuming we can walk/hike around. 
 

1 Sat PAPEETE, TAHITI ISLAND French Polynesia 0:00 17:30
2 Sun Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands French Polynesia 10:00 16:00
3 Mon At sea At sea
4 Tue Hapatoni, Tahuata Island French Polynesia 12:00 23:59
5 Wed Atuona, Hiva Oa Island French Polynesia 7:00 18:00
6 Thu Omoa, Fatu Hiva Island French Polynesia 7:00 17:00
7 Fri Hakahetau, Ua Pou Island French Polynesia 7:00 18:00
8 Sat Taiohae, Nuku Hiva Island French Polynesia 7:00 23:59
9 Sun Hatiheu, Nuku Hiva Island French Polynesia 8:00 15:00
10 Mon At sea At sea
11 Tue Fakarava, Tuamotu Islands French Polynesia 7:00 17:00
12 Wed Bora Bora, Society Islands French Polynesia 16:00
13 Thu Bora Bora, Society Islands French Polynesia 23:59
14 Fri Motu Mahana, Taha'a Island, Society Islands French Polynesia 8:00 17:00
Sat PAPEETE, TAHITI ISLAND French 

Here us our itinerary. I plan on booking snorkeling excursions in Bora Bora, Rangiroa, and Fakarava. We are happy to go to a beach and swim/snorkel- don’t need anything luxurious. Any suggestions for other ports? I’ve been reading these boards and have gotten tips, but would love suggestions. Thank you!

1 hour ago, BeechMan said:

Have a fantastic time!  If you have a moment to drop us some kid tips right afterward, we'd love to see them.  But don't worry about it if not, for sure.  

I definitely will! 😃

11 hours ago, thedoc29ca said:

Thanks for posting your review.   Brought back memories for us as well.  We love the Getaway - four times worth.   We just returned from a Breakaway cruise and the loss of the rock wall, climbing structures and especially the mini golf was a big miss for my nephews.   
 

I can understand the removal of the rock wall as it needs to be staffed.  Mini golf seems pretty low cost.  
 

We still had a great cruise but it would have been better with those amenities.   

That’s really disappointing to hear they removed mini-golf on the Breakaway, too. We are just off the Viva, and they charged $10pp to play on their mini-golf course, which I refused to pay. I’m assuming they are going to ‘upgrade’ to the for-fee mini golf on the older ships eventually. The ‘Away’ ships are my favorite, but it really stinks they removed something so simple as free mini golf! 

5 hours ago, BeechMan said:

July 6?  We'll be on that boat with a 13 year old and 9 year old.  Can't wait!

We are going in June - so excited!

I don’t think you would have enough time to tour El Yunque with that port time. We just did a full day tour because we stayed in San Juan a few days before our cruise, and it was at least an hour drive to get there. Maybe you could arrange a private driver, but I’d be worried about missing the ship 

There is no way I would bring my child with this condition on a cruise, unless she had a pacemaker/defibrillator implanted….and only then if their doctor said they were stable enough to travel. I’m a medical professional and feel comfortable using an AED, but I’d be a nervous wreck hauling around one on a ship and worrying about my kid dropping dead on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean.

10 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

I may not have specified. I was talking about on this ship

 

Gotcha- that’s gross and hopefully a lifeguard intervened 

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

There was definitely a kid up in the splash area that wasn’t of age. Baby. Mom was holding its hands and just getting it to stomp around and get the feet wet. Probably not hurting anything but I don’t make the rules.

 

Disney’s splash pad is designed for non-potty trained infants/toddlers. They have a separate filtration system for the water there. Swim diapers not allowed in main pools, though. And that Aqua Duck water coaster is sooooo much fun. Disney is worth every cent.

5 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Does anyone know which ship this was?

It says Carnival Elation in the article 

1 hour ago, maggieq said:

The only ncl ship we have been on was the ta encore back in 2019.  We loved the cruise and ship.   Worried about inside space given recent comments on this class of ship.  We love the itinerary and are pretty easy going but do like to be able to book shows and specialty restaurants.  Any tips or suggestions you may have to share would be greatly appreciated.  

I sailed the Prima last year, and it was not my favorite NCL ship for a variety of reasons. I would not sail Prima/Viva in a cold weather environment because the inside venues are a small. The viva itinerary is port intensive with a port every single day, so I’m not too worried. 

5 minutes ago, maggieq said:

@JinxyB  any chance you will be doing a live or review when you get home?  Haven’t found any reviews on viva from SJ and looking at next march.  Thanks!

I don’t plan on doing a review- def not live, but may post some thoughts when I get back. If you have any specific questions, I’d be happy to answer them once I’m on the ship! I’ll be traveling with a teen, so my perspective may be different, anyways 

Following! We are going to San Juan 2 days early for our Spring Break trip on the NCL Viva next month. Similar ports, with the exception of Guadeloupe. I booked an all day tour of El Yunque and kayaking the bioluminescence bay at night, so I’ll be curious to read your review of your tour. Also staying in the Condando area. Have the best time!!!

I have sole legal/physical custody of my child- I always travel with a copy of the court order when I leave the country. I do have a passport for my child and we have the same last name. I have never been asked anything on multiple land trips, cruises, and even entering Canada by air (I have read they are strict about having parental permission). I recommend getting passports and carrying a copy of your court order.

6 minutes ago, #55worktoplay said:

I agree and I certainly have No disrespect for larger people but it makes it very uncomfortable for the person next to them.   There should be seats in place at no extra cost in order to accommodate all but that will never happen unfortunately.

Southwest actually has a policy that a ‘person of size’ can get two seats for free- I’m not sure how this is accomplished, but there is no excuse for this woman to be encroaching in your seat!

Following/lurking…☕️🍿

4 minutes ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

Hi there! 🙂 if you can possibly swing it, I would take him! My son is in college, we just went in June, and I swear it was the best vacation of our lives! Clearly, he was not in the children's program, but if I could have swung it when he was younger, that would have been fantastic. We've taken our son to 26 countries so far, and traveling with children may not be optimal for some, it really opens up their vision of the world. The kids I saw on board the program were having a great time, and so were the parents. The ship is full of nice, well mannered, curious travelers, looking to further themselves and explore the world - you won't find many folks at the bar, crying into their drinks, looking for something to slam.

 

If you do it I hope you have a great time! 🧜🏻‍♀️

We are booked for a 14 day cruise next summer! I’m so excited- this is a bucket-list trip for me and we are going to enjoy it to the fullest. It’s also great that kids are free 😃

On 9/18/2023 at 4:01 PM, mermaid 285 said:

In case anyone else is in the same position as us and would like some information on the Te Moana Explorer programme I thought I'd give some details of our experience.  The programme runs in school holidays and activities can be chosen to fit around anything else that you are doing as a family. Activities will take place even if only one child signs up. Parents can choose to take part in the activities themselves but this is not a requirement.  Our son really enjoyed every activity he took part in, from games in the Captain's lounge, to tug of war on the motu in Bora Bora to snorkelling with turtles in Moorea.  He was always really excited about the activities which centred around learning about the fauna and flora of the islands. On a couple of evenings there were also events such as star gazing and cinema night with popcorn. The programme was fantastic and our son already can't wait to sail on the Paul Gauguin again.

How old was your child? My son will be 13 and I am hoping he will enjoy the program!

The wood fired pizza was really good on Scarlet Lady! Probably the best I’ve had on any cruise line 🤷🏻‍♀️

2 minutes ago, WhiteOptima said:

There is also something about Charleston and Sunshine.  Friends wanted me to do a 5 day in November and as a single it was going to be $1100 with nothing.  My DH and I are doing 11 day on Venezia for the same price.

Yes- I’m sure it’s because it’s the only ship there and they can charge a premium. But 3K for an old ship in an inside room is bonkers