A Cruise of Firsts to Bermuda 3/28 to 4/2 - Solo Live From Prima

[Broons77]

1 minute ago, GWAE said:

it is so weird to get peoples perepectives and hear their stories. I was on the same ship as most here and what, 3000 other people. I see complaints about long lines, crowded areas, broken electronics, terrible disembark, etc. but here I am thinking. I can not believe I didn't wait in line for a single meal, did not see anything broken other than the mini golf, never waited more than 2 minutes for a drink, had great meals, and had overly nice staff my entire time. To be honest, prior to going I had planned on requesting some of the auto gratuity to be removed because paying $40 a day for 2 kids seems like overkill to me but everyone was so nice and everything went so smoothly I just let it be. Even tipped extra in many places. 

 

As for disembarking, we were packing and about to walk out the door to grab breakfast when they called for it. We walked to elevator on floor 17 and had to wait for 4 elevators because they kept coming by full, presumably from the buffet. Once we got on, we went down, the line was right next to our elevator and it took about 20 minutes to get scanned off the ship, 10 min walk to customs, and about another 10 min walk to our car. We were in the lincoln tunnel before 9am. I had no complaints there either. 

 

 

One thing I forgot to mention, when I went through customs, one of the CBP agents said that they were having issues with the face recognition so that's why they were checking passports.  Seems they got that fixed not long after that however.

[Broons77]

27 minutes ago, GWAE said:

enjoyed your review until the Bruins part 😉  Here was our door for the last 5 days.

 

Those little birds look sad...😂

 

But sorry we couldn't have caught the game together!

Edited April 3, 2023 by Broons77

[GWAE]

6 minutes ago, Broons77 said:

 

One thing I forgot to mention, when I went through customs, one of the CBP agents said that they were having issues with the face recognition so that's why they were checking passports.  Seems they got that fixed not long after that however.

we must have been very close to each other getting off the ship. We encountered the same thing. 

 

[styles27]

From a fellow New Englander and B’s fan I’m so happy you had a great cruise and I’ve enjoyed following along!  
Thanks for taking the time to do this review!
 

[JGmf]

Thanks for review and photos and feedback and chiming-in too from @GWAE on the same sailing. 

 

I'm on Prima in less than 3 weeks and am not deterred by dissenting negative comments.  I've read so many good experiences from other seasoned, trusted posters on these boards that I've never been more eager to get on the ship.  Can't wait!

 

[The P]

1 hour ago, GWAE said:

we must have been very close to each other getting off the ship. We encountered the same thing. 

 

 Was at Customs around 9; no passport needed.

Edited April 3, 2023 by The P

[Broons77]

Last batch of pics...

 

Observation Lounge (and other larger bars) drink menu

 

We were joined in port by the Regent Seven Seas Splendor on our second day in Bermuda.  Would like to sail on Regent one of these days...

 

Shots from the sea day home during the storm.  Again, Prima handled these seas very well all things considered.

 

Still not too bad first thing in the morning.

 

 

 

But things did pick up and the pools in the thermal spa were drained.

 

 

So I went up front to the heated loungers.  Kind of surreal, it was so nice and relaxing while nature rages just feet away (pun intended.)

 

 

 

But all good things must come to an end.  At least this ended with a beautiful view of midtown at dawn.  Until my next adventure...

 

 

 

[Broons77]

A few other random things I wanted to mention earlier but ran out of brain space...

 

One odd thing that annoyed me - there's several sets of automatic doors leading to outside areas that swing open rather than slide open.  This means if you aren't paying attention, you could get whacked in the head, or worse yet. spill your drink.  I don't get why that choice was made, someone would need to explain it to me.

 

I was happy to see that there were accessible and family bathrooms throughout the ship.  As someone who's had his share of putting my head down making a beeline for the handicapped stall while rolling my SO into a packed ladies room, I say thank you NCL

 

I wish I had thought to take more time to take a better look at all the artwork and sculptures throughout the ship.  I know all ships have a good deal of artwork throughout, but for some reason what I saw really caught my attention.  I didn't start to notice a lot of it until we were on the way home and when you start looking, you're kind of overwhelmed.  If you're an art lover, you'll probably get lost looking at it all.

 

All hail the studio lounge coffee machine which gave me not only a decent cup of coffee, but I could also get a late night glass of milk from it for my late night cookies.

 

Hope the guy who yelled loudly and in a very threatening fashion at the bartender at the Soleil Bar was the same guy that I saw get pulled over on the Henry Hudson Parkway on my way home.  And I hope the ticket was hefty.  There's no need to act in the manner that he did.

 

I never did mention our CC Meet and Greet.  Was the first one I've been able to attend and it was very nice.  All the senior staff intended, including Captain Kevin.  The GM Nelson, spent quite a bit of time answering questions about Prima and why NCL did some of the things they did with this ship and what they learned about how their idea worked and also spoke a bit about Viva.  There were just over 3500 pax on board and was a full sailing.  No surprise there.  Thanks again to @The P for getting this together.

 

I think that's all I got.  Great trip, and glad folks enjoyed following me along.  If I have the bandwidth, I may try doing this again.  My next cruise is booked with RCI in August, but not sure if I'm keeping that or not. As someone fairly new to cruising, I've done both lines and enjoy them both equally for what I've experienced so it kind of comes down to price.  And if Royal keeps jacking up their drink package pricing, they'll price me right out.  But I digress, please let me know if anyone has any questions and for those sailing on Prima in the coming days, enjoy your time on board!.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Broons77

[GWAE]

3 hours ago, JGmf said:

Thanks for review and photos and feedback and chiming-in too from @GWAE on the same sailing. 

 

I'm on Prima in less than 3 weeks and am not deterred by dissenting negative comments.  I've read so many good experiences from other seasoned, trusted posters on these boards that I've never been more eager to get on the ship.  Can't wait!

 

Wife and I were just talking. We aren't sure if we are just not picky or easy to please. I was really worried going into this trip that it was going to be terrible because of reviews. Most of those reviews I never experienced.  Only one time was a bar overwhelmed and it was up at the gocart track because they had 1 bar tender and a huge group came off the go carts and wanted a drink. We only waited 1 time for a table and it was 11pm at the local. It was a 10 min wait and when we were seated within 10 min half the restaurant was empty so if we came a few min later there would have been no wait. To hijack broons thread here are my minor complaints and favorites. Even my complaints made had no affect on our time. We just moved on to something else if there were to many people. 

 

Complaints: 

1. I don't like the atrium area for bands. Not enough seating and often times had a lot of people. We never wanted to look for a seat.

2. They could use seeting in some areas like the stadium so we had somewhere to sit while kids ran around.

3. Minigolf still broken after 6 months. Either fix or repurpoae.

4. Having to walk through the buffet to get to the pool area is stupid.

5. Mini golf and darts area is outdoors so when we had weather like we did they were closed. Maybe have those 2 indoors so they can be used in bad weather.

6. I wish the food hall had 1 restaurant that was American food like pizza, burgers, chicken. Etc. We only went once because my family didn't have much they liked with the current offerings

 

Favorites:

1. There are bars everywhere. Sometimes they were full and couldn't sit right at the bar but plenty of seating nearby. I was always able to swing by a bar on the way to anywhere and get a drink.

2. Food at Hudsons was great. Fish tacos were my go to but everything we had was good.

3. Service was really good by everyone. 

4. Having the theater transform was neat. Anytime we could.grab a seat on the comfortable side balcony with the couches we did. We sat there for almost every show.

5. The shows in the Prima club aka theater after hours were really good. I can't remember the names of them now but we almost missed them because we didn't realize what they were. One was a band that was all of the house bands put together for a concert. It was really really good

6. We paid to do the behind the scenes tour. It was expensive but tremendous. We got to see the gally, crew deck, crew bar, the place where all the freight comes in, freezers, engine control room, behind the theater, and the bridge. We got to talk to the heads of each of those departments as well and see them in action.

[OrangeCatRamblers]

21 minutes ago, GWAE said:

Wife and I were just talking. We aren't sure if we are just not picky or easy to please. I was really worried going into this trip that it was going to be terrible because of reviews. Most of those reviews I never experienced.  Only one time was a bar overwhelmed and it was up at the gocart track because they had 1 bar tender and a huge group came off the go carts and wanted a drink. We only waited 1 time for a table and it was 11pm at the local. It was a 10 min wait and when we were seated within 10 min half the restaurant was empty so if we came a few min later there would have been no wait. To hijack broons thread here are my minor complaints and favorites. Even my complaints made had no affect on our time. We just moved on to something else if there were to many people. 

 

Complaints: 

1. I don't like the atrium area for bands. Not enough seating and often times had a lot of people. We never wanted to look for a seat.

2. They could use seeting in some areas like the stadium so we had somewhere to sit while kids ran around.

3. Minigolf still broken after 6 months. Either fix or repurpoae.

4. Having to walk through the buffet to get to the pool area is stupid.

5. Mini golf and darts area is outdoors so when we had weather like we did they were closed. Maybe have those 2 indoors so they can be used in bad weather.

6. I wish the food hall had 1 restaurant that was American food like pizza, burgers, chicken. Etc. We only went once because my family didn't have much they liked with the current offerings

 

Favorites:

1. There are bars everywhere. Sometimes they were full and couldn't sit right at the bar but plenty of seating nearby. I was always able to swing by a bar on the way to anywhere and get a drink.

2. Food at Hudsons was great. Fish tacos were my go to but everything we had was good.

3. Service was really good by everyone. 

4. Having the theater transform was neat. Anytime we could.grab a seat on the comfortable side balcony with the couches we did. We sat there for almost every show.

5. The shows in the Prima club aka theater after hours were really good. I can't remember the names of them now but we almost missed them because we didn't realize what they were. One was a band that was all of the house bands put together for a concert. It was really really good

6. We paid to do the behind the scenes tour. It was expensive but tremendous. We got to see the gally, crew deck, crew bar, the place where all the freight comes in, freezers, engine control room, behind the theater, and the bridge. We got to talk to the heads of each of those departments as well and see them in action.

 

Question about Indulge - the have American food like the salad station and the BBQ, right?

 

The after-shows in the theatre, what was that called in the dailies? Sounds fun and I want to make sure not to miss!

 

Which deck did you enter on, to find the couch seating in the theatre?

 

Thanks! 🙏🙏🙏

[GWAE]

12 minutes ago, OrangeCatRamblers said:

 

Question about Indulge - the have American food like the salad station and the BBQ, right?

 

The after-shows in the theatre, what was that called in the dailies? Sounds fun and I want to make sure not to miss!

 

Which deck did you enter on, to find the couch seating in the theatre?

 

Thanks! 🙏🙏🙏

I asked the wife One is Disco wonderland. They play 70s music but have dancers and such. This is a club atmosphere with dancing and the whole floor was opened. She thinks the other one is called Ocean Music Fest or something like that. This was all of the bands playing together. They started with older music and moved into newer music. The kept half the seats opened, enlarged the stage  and had room for dancing. it took some people to get down there to dance but eventually there were a ton. My wife and kids were down there right away dancing away. I hung out on one of the couches and drank.  There is also Sensoria that we missed which is edm type atmosphere.

 

Couches are on deck 7

 

Endulge had a BBQ menu but I can not remember what was on it. It isn't what I would consider BBQ like pulled pork, ribs, etc. It was upscale. I think of the items was bacon wrapped duck. 

 

[MAsquared]

Thank you for your wonderful trip review!   I think I need to plan a solo cruise.

I've done solo travel by airplane and love it so I am sure I will love solo cruising as well.

 

[uneamie]

On 4/3/2023 at 3:21 PM, JGmf said:

Thanks for review and photos and feedback and chiming-in too from @GWAE on the same sailing. 

 

I'm on Prima in less than 3 weeks and am not deterred by dissenting negative comments.  I've read so many good experiences from other seasoned, trusted posters on these boards that I've never been more eager to get on the ship.  Can't wait!

 

We are right behind you on May 7th to Bermuda. We've sailed on NCL several times and always always had wonderful experiences.........althought I was not a big fan of the Breakaway. It was too big for us....too many people. I am hoping Prima will not be the same but I am going to start out with a positive attitude and not let the small stuff bother us. Have fun and enjoy your cruise. 

[Broons77]

15 hours ago, MAsquared said:

Thank you for your wonderful trip review!   I think I need to plan a solo cruise.

I've done solo travel by airplane and love it so I am sure I will love solo cruising as well.

 

 

I would highly recommend doing so, I enjoyed my experience more than I thought I would.

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, GWAE said:

(Dislikes)

#  I don't like the atrium area for bands. Not enough seating and often times had a lot of people. We never wanted to look for a seat.

#  They could use seating in some areas like the stadium so we had somewhere to sit while kids ran around.

Favorites:

#  Having the theater transform was neat. Anytime we could.grab a seat on the comfortable side balcony with the couches we did. We sat there for almost every show.

#  We paid to do the behind the scenes tour. It was expensive but tremendous.

These 4 would be my main "takeaways" from your mini-review/commentary ... not deal-breaking to avoid booking or sailing the Prima, at least not until we get to see things in person ourselves and to experience the new ship design/build at least once.  

 

The # 2 (if not #1) complaint these days with newer mega NCL ships is the "ab/use" of the main atrium lobby for almost everything ... designating it Grand Central Terminal or Penn or Union Station, crossroad for all.  IMHO, this resulted in serious overcrowding, jam-packed with folks on sea days and especially when weather deemed it unwise for anyone to be outside on the waterfront and/or open/pool decks.  Everything from cooking demo, cruise ship talks, game shows, presentations or otherwise a place to camp out for 14 hours - talk about chair hogs ... plenty that'll stalk those prized loungers & comfortable chairs from dawn to dust, except they don't necessary bring their towels - look for jackets, drinking cups & bags used as place holders.  It's probably purposely designed and not a mistake, for whatever reasons NCL see fit - we sometimes avoid going thru that area entirely, unless we have to. 

 

Paid BTS tour was priced at $80 or $85 p/p pre-Covid ... my feeling is that, NCL, knows that they can charge more & folks will sign up and go for it.  Hence, why not.  The complimentary BTS tours are now water downed to 1 hour, maybe 75 minutes at best ... used to be longer, 2 hours if I recall.  Oh well ... It would be interesting to do a free tour, and see the 3 areas that's included on the Prima, as I imagine it's probably a little different.

 

2 qucikie questions, are they enforcing and stopping folks from taking desserts to go (mainly from Specialty Dining) - anything else ordered for that matter (i.e. The Locals) as "announced" ??   Gotta give my gang a heads-on on ziplock bag and be tupperware ready ... younger ones that finally get kicked out of their kids club or whatever late night, sometimes want munchies and have zero patience for room service or sit down somewhere to order, wait & then eat without falling asleep & being tired.   

[GWAE]

7 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

 

 

2 qucikie questions, are they enforcing and stopping folks from taking desserts to go (mainly from Specialty Dining) - anything else ordered for that matter (i.e. The Locals) as "announced" ??   Gotta give my gang a heads-on on ziplock bag and be tupperware ready ... younger ones that finally get kicked out of their kids club or whatever late night, sometimes want munchies and have zero patience for room service or sit down somewhere to order, wait & then eat without falling asleep & being tired.   

Cant help you on that one. We never attempted to take anything but I have seen reviews where they did not allow. I can see them not having doggy bags but if you have your own I can't imagine them telling you no. Anytime our kids were hungry at the odd times we just ran up to the buffet and grabbed a quick bite. If the buffet was closed then we just did the local and most times they were pretty quick, especially on the apps. There were 2 or 3 times that we ran in there and ordered apps and that was it. chicken wings was an app so we ordered a table full of those one of the times. 

 

[mking8288]

@GWAE  Thanks, just wanted to cover the possibilities - our niece/mommy leaving this Sunday on the Prima, Bermuda bound with kiddies in tow ... had they managed to get everyone into Haven, would've been un-necessary but all sold out by the time they decided to book.  One group will get butler services & take care of nearly everything, but the other 3 balconies will have to make do, LOL.  Or, just have them stock "extras" for late night raids.  

 

They haven't sail NCL in a while so I won't say anything about the new chick-wings & let them find out or grade them vs. the old deep-fried ones.  Ship is going to be at 115%+ or practically lifeboat capacity again this month and with Bermuda forecast ahead, not looking pretty - all the indoor space will be max'd out ... we almost joined them, changed our cruise plan to later this month & postponed it further, got a steal on another ship instead.  It's going to be interesting to find how specialty dining work out for groups of 8 and more, to as much as 14 - and, for that matter, in the MDR during the week.  

[The P]

Henry, Latitudes perk Behind the Scenes tour was about an hour. Saw crew bar/lounge, laundry, kitchen, backstage theater. Lots of stair climbing. Took only cookies from buffet but saw plates, glasses in hallway.

Edited April 5, 2023 by The P

[PistolPete13]

3 hours ago, mking8288 said:

 

 

Paid BTS tour was priced at $80 or $85 p/p pre-Covid ... my feeling is that, NCL, knows that they can charge more & folks will sign up and go for it.  Hence, why not. 

 

BTS tour on the Gataway sailing last month was $125 or $135, don't quite remember.  I do remember that even with the $50 excursion credit it was too much for me to stomach despite wanting to get a peek at the bridge.

[OrangeCatRamblers]

I'm reading more on the other site that people were unable to eat lunch onboard, I have seen that complaint more than once. This makesme nervous because the other members of my family will be truly difficult companions if they are unable to eat lunch. 

 

@Broons77 I'd love ANY details you can share about why you think other passengers are unable to eat lunch. It seems like you always were able to eat when you wanted to, right? And if you have any eating tips like "If you can't do A, here's how to do B..." I'd be most grateful for your expertise.

 

If my teenager can't eat lunch...oh boy...thoughts and prayers, please. 

[debenson0723]

3 hours ago, OrangeCatRamblers said:

I'm reading more on the other site that people were unable to eat lunch onboard, I have seen that complaint more than once. This makesme nervous because the other members of my family will be truly difficult companions if they are unable to eat lunch. 

 

@Broons77 I'd love ANY details you can share about why you think other passengers are unable to eat lunch. It seems like you always were able to eat when you wanted to, right? And if you have any eating tips like "If you can't do A, here's how to do B..." I'd be most grateful for your expertise.

 

If my teenager can't eat lunch...oh boy...thoughts and prayers, please. 

Why would someone not be able to eat lunch?  There is the MDR, the Local, the buffet and Indulge Food Hall available at lunch time. Plenty of spaces for everyone to pick what they want and eat. It's possible at Indulge or the Local you might have a short wait for a seat but we never waited at the MDR or buffet. If someone is saying they can't eat lunch (or breakfast, or dinner), they aren't trying hard enough.

[OrangeCatRamblers]

4 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

Why would someone not be able to eat lunch?  There is the MDR, the Local, the buffet and Indulge Food Hall available at lunch time. Plenty of spaces for everyone to pick what they want and eat. It's possible at Indulge or the Local you might have a short wait for a seat but we never waited at the MDR or buffet. If someone is saying they can't eat lunch (or breakfast, or dinner), they aren't trying hard enough.

 

There is a recent very detailed long review with a first hand account of being unable to eat anywhere on a sea day, and resorting to room service. That's not the first time I've heard that people are unable to eat lunch, so, since hearing that more than once, I'm trying to get more details....my son and my husband will be truly dreadful travelmates without lunch, if I don't have a plan!! 

 

Luckily, none of us mind wearing coats to eat outside. It's possible the common denominator with those unable to eat lunch has been "too cold to sit outside." I'm packing coats and hats for next week. 

[EPTCB]

On 4/3/2023 at 6:16 PM, OrangeCatRamblers said:

 

Question about Indulge - the have American food like the salad station and the BBQ, right?......

Some screenshots, lunch and dinner.

[EPTCB]

...and the Garden.

[OrangeCatRamblers]

@EPTCB your photos back up my point, which is to say that Indulge does offer "American" food. You'll see that I was responding to someone who said that there was no American food to be found.