Just off the Prima, my thoughts

[uneamie]

12 hours ago, nextcruiseonmymind said:

While reviewing the deck plans for the Prima I noticed that the go cart track is located very close to the pool deck. Will I have to listen to the go carts going round and round while i'm relaxing by the pool. Appreciate any knowledgeable response.

When I was offered an upgrade for a "spa balcony" I took a look at where they are and most of them are right under the cart track...........so I declined because I would no be able to pick or see what cabin I had and I was not willing ot listen to that when relaxing on my balcony. 

[jcscv]

On 2/14/2023 at 1:47 PM, ontheweb said:

We are on the August 6th London to Iceland. If you also are and have not joined the roll call, please do.

Thanks for the invite, but I'm on the Aug 27 sailing 🙂

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, jcscv said:

Thanks for the invite, but I'm on the Aug 27 sailing 🙂

Oh well. When we originally booked 8/6, DW had not yet decided to retire as an elementary art teacher, so 8/26 was not workable. We later thought of transferring our booking to that date, but having our anniversary fall on the second sea day of the 8/6 cruise won out.

[UKstages]

Catching up on older threads after having been away from CC for a few months.

 

The criticism upthread about charters inconveniencing those who have already booked… I find that fascinating. Particularly the part about “thousands” of people being inconvenienced. I have no inside information here, but I doubt that’s the case. If the ship were fully booked or mostly booked, NCL would not likely have taken the charter. It would be rare for them to do so if the ship already had “thousands” of passengers booked. This ship’s capacity is around 3200 passengers, so to say that “thousands” were inconvenienced, would mean that two thirds or more of the ship was already sold. There would be no need for NCL to take a charter for that sailing if it were selling so well.

 

That’s the other thing. Many here assume that NCL is charging more for the charter cruise. That’s not the way this usually works. When a company does a “buy out” of a ship, or a plane or a theatre, it’s generally at a steep discount. The chief advantage to NCL is that every room is pre-sold and it gets to shift the burden of managing the actual sale of those rooms to the charter company, which can charge whatever it wants. NCL gets its money regardless of whether all rooms are occupied when the ship sails. And in that regard, they might make more money, if the ship would typically sale with some empty rooms. It’s a trade off, with advantages for both the charter company and the cruise line. NCL saves a lot of back room administrative costs on a charter, and ensures guaranteed 100% capacity, but they wouldn’t typically sell a charter if the sailing was already booking at a healthy pace…and/or if the sailing’s departure date was rapidly approaching.

 

I’m sure somebody can post their individual tale of woe to prove the exception to the rule, but charter dates are generally secured a year or more in advance and generally do not inconvenience already booked passengers. And if it does, it’s a relatively small number, perhaps a few hundred on this cruise. Again, I have no inside info… I have no idea how many passengers had already booked. But I’d be shocked to learn that there were thousands of passengers inconvenienced.

[sharonann24]

I read your review thoroughly since we are traveling from Iceland to Southhampton on the July 27th cruise and was dismayed with all of the negative comments about the Prima.  We just took a Celebrity. cruise on the Edge and were subjected to the same prior to the cruise but our actual experience was wonderful.  This will be our 4th NCL cruise and we did start at the "top" because a bid for the Haven (at a great cost) was accepted and we were spoiled--full disclosure! However this cruise is not too shabby with a balcony so I will go with the flow.  I think my major concern given our itinerary is the access to the outside venues.  Looking forward to Donna Summer, not so much Price is Right, but DEFINITELY Sad Norman's!  We tend to go to the bars that have music so I am not looking for Broadway reviews. 

Thank you so much for a balanced review.  I am grateful for the opportunity to have these travel experiences.  I think you have to pick and choose what experiences/costs are most important and go with it.  

[phissy]

Thanks for such a thorough review, very helpful.

[Ray25]

I am on the Prima right now as of 3/24/24 and there are black soot everywhere on deck 8. This is a real let down, we can’t sit on any of the lounge chairs unless you want your clothes smeared with black soot. Many people are putting beach towels on the lounge chairs and crew members are vigorously cleaning the area. 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Ray25 said:

I am on the Prima right now as of 3/24/24 and there are black soot everywhere on deck 8. This is a real let down, we can’t sit on any of the lounge chairs unless you want your clothes smeared with black soot. Many people are putting beach towels on the lounge chairs and crew members are vigorously cleaning the area. 

What a shame as you are probably in an area where if it was not for this problem you could get good use out of the features on this deck. We were on a much colder (though in the summer) cruise on the Prima from London (Southampton) to Reykjavik and this deck was very cold especially when the wind blew.

[cheersforbeers]

3 hours ago, Ray25 said:

I am on the Prima right now as of 3/24/24 and there are black soot everywhere on deck 8. This is a real let down, we can’t sit on any of the lounge chairs unless you want your clothes smeared with black soot. Many people are putting beach towels on the lounge chairs and crew members are vigorously cleaning the area. 

We were on the Prima late Jan into early Feb, spent lots of time near the Soleil Bar and outdoor indulge lounge and didn’t have any problems soot anywhere on deck 8. 

[Ray25]

I guess I’m just unlucky. I asked a crew member and he said it happens sometimes. 

[bluefish17]

Likely a result of the wind. If sailing into the wind, smoke from the stack is blown aft by real wind and apparent wind from ship speed. If sailing with the wind, smoke from the stack is blown forward by real wind and canceled out by apparent wind from ship forward motion to allow particles to fall on the decks.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, bluefish17 said:

Likely a result of the wind. If sailing into the wind, smoke from the stack is blown aft by real wind and apparent wind from ship speed. If sailing with the wind, smoke from the stack is blown forward by real wind and canceled out by apparent wind from ship forward motion to allow particles to fall on the decks.

So, to quote Bob Dylan, "the answer my friend is blowing in the wind." 😉

[davencl]

My quess is this occurred during cold engine startup.  I wouldn't expect that kind of soot from a warm engine but I'm no expert.

[cruiseny4life]

On 3/24/2024 at 10:11 AM, Ray25 said:

I am on the Prima right now as of 3/24/24 and there are black soot everywhere on deck 8. This is a real let down, we can’t sit on any of the lounge chairs unless you want your clothes smeared with black soot. Many people are putting beach towels on the lounge chairs and crew members are vigorously cleaning the area. 

Towels are the way to go! When we were on Pr1ma in November, we used towels to cover the loungers so as not to get our clothing all sooty...it's a ship, at sea, that pollutes. It happens. I've seen it on Getaway, Joy and Pr1ma. Is there a ship out there this doesn't happen on? Other than sailing ships! 

[RocketMan275]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Towels are the way to go! When we were on Pr1ma in November, we used towels to cover the loungers so as not to get our clothing all sooty...it's a ship, at sea, that pollutes. It happens. I've seen it on Getaway, Joy and Pr1ma. Is there a ship out there this doesn't happen on? Other than sailing ships! 

Nor is it unique to NCL.  Similar complaints on all cruise lines/ships with a wedding cake stern, ie, one that cabins are stair stepped.   

[vidsmart]

Interesting comments about soot falling on decks. I am a travel writer/podcaster and wrote a feature about the origin of the winged funnel on Carnival—for this very reason—and interviewed the designer on the podcast. Never realized this was a problem prior to that feature.