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

[styles27]

10 hours ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha.  With all due respect we would never sail to Bermuda unless it was July after a first cruise when I was young with my parents in April of 1971. The Atlantic is not welcoming in April, May, late August and afterwards. I do not know why the cruise lines sail there during these shoulder times except Bermuda must offer them reduced fees. The weather is also iffy.  For many years we would fly there and spend Memorial Weekend. It is a beautiful island but a short season similar to the Carolinas. I truly believe the lines count on unsuspecting travelers of which there are many. It is so necessary to research weather. We have been doing that for decades now. For example the South Pacific, South America etc etc. Even Hawaii has a rainy season but I fault the cruise lines for not properly disclosing this. Sorry you had to fly home.

I politely completely disagree.
 

April is our favorite time to cruise/fly to Bermuda.

We always have great beach weather.  

Our first cruise to Bermuda was in July in the 90’s and we had the worse seas…it’s also hurricane season.  
We had a family member get married in Bermuda in May 2018 and we all nearly melted in our wedding attire. 

[styles27]

15 hours ago, mking8288 said:

@GWAE @Broons77  and all others onboard the Prima, an early pre-dawn arrival, welcome "home" safely back into Lower NY Bay ... super early.  A few more hours before early disembarkation for the express self walk-off while others tried to get a bit of sleep first, now that the sea is much calmer with just 2 meters or 5 to 6 ft. waves.  Been tracking her movement off & on all day - when we cruise and head out to sea, mother nature gets the final say but the bridge team earned their paychecks.  

 

There's going to be plenty of stories to share, tell and years from now, to look back and laugh about - you've earned sea legs conditioning for sure - I trust that the CD and Captain "briefed" and informed or advised all passengers (and crews) of expected conditions for this sailing, reasoning behind the decision to leave port and sail home early.  Disappointment, upset and unhappy - sure, I would but that's mother nature - which we can't directly challenge; and, dance with and around the storms.  

 

Extended families and their "gang" of friends boarding just a week from now, and going to debrief & prepare them.  Safe travel later in the morning in getting home, etc. etc. and continue to follow to read & listen to stories, feedbacks and reviews.  Thanks for the periodic update again while things were rocking and rolling.  

I will be doing a “Live from Pearl” review starting this coming Friday the 7th. 
Would love for you to join the thread and share your very helpful forecast for our ride down to Bermuda! 
I’ll start it on Thursday night!

[mking8288]

5 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

Not so sure about the "express" part - yeah to walk off ship, but ... Let's hope to hear from @Broons77 again how his disembarkation went.   [Footnote] My "bad" for not using the proper emoji

Haha, absolutely nothing "express" about the self style walk-off NCL ships - besides, not my style to wait up at 5:30 am, skip breakfast & scramble to get ahead of most to drag the rollerboard and/or spinner & carry-on as "exercise".  We do made a beeline to the MDR for a sit-down breakfast first ... then, figure out if and when it's less chaotic to head for the gangway to join the queue into the terminal building.  

 

OP should be home in MA by now, de-compressing with his strengthen sea legs.  CC friend from Hell's Kitchen that ran the small Roll Call's M&G has been home for a while ... comments over there.  Preaching to the choir below - for the benefits of others:  

 

We've ran into some rather nasty storm & weather systems in the Atlantic over the last 2 decades, whether it's the Florida/Bahamas or Caribbean routes or the Bermuda runs - mother nature always get the upper hand & last say ... IMHO, 15 to 20 ft. waves aren't pleasant but manageable except for those adversely prone to motion sickness.  Still got vivid memories from the GEM & Crown being tossed around in 30-35 ft. waves; and, it's a given & not just bc it's "hurricane season". 

 

What I feel, is, we are seeing the tip of the iceberg with climate change (and - some will disagree - global warming) - practically zero snow fell in NYC this winter aside from a handful of dry storm but the Atlantic has been smacking ships around.  Cruiselines cannot guarantee perfect weather, calm seas and smooth sailing regardless of the season - motto for me: go with the flow, pack humor & patience and flexibility.  Folks that expect otherwise, ought to invest in and buy CFAR insurance where available & sold, to insure & cover possible cancellations and be prepared to sit down for 5 days or whatever nights otherwise on a cruise ship.  Afterall - Prima is sold out again, left nearly on-time & close to lifeboat maximum legal capacity with premium pricing. 

 

As for ship's design, staffing and service issues & matters - those discussions are standalone on its own.  

[Oceansaway17]

On 4/1/2023 at 4:30 PM, Neveragain2023 said:

I was on this ship, I disembarked in Bermuda yesterday and flew home. The room was nice, beds were comfortable, Bermuda is beautiful, and some of the staff were great. I've been keeping up with this because I'm hoping everyone gets back healthy and safe. It was my first and last cruise though.

I did not think one could leave a ship and not return back to original port?

Were you that afraid or why did you not return to NYC?

 

[mking8288]

@styles27 Kudo for those points about Bermuda ... actually, that's valid anytime someone step onboard a ship & leave the shorelines, LOL.  We've done 2 trips on the Crown - 43,000 tonnage - about a 1/2 sized Pearl that you are embarking this Friday ... if you did that trip in the 90's - probably s similar ship in that range.  What a wild ride in those days ... DW spent 36 hours in the stateroom but 30 years later, we haven't stopped.  Bermuda in April, May, September, October & November - experienced our share of Nor-Easters, hurricane and strong gale force wind ... 30 to 40 ft. waves.  From all the descriptions, charts & tracking data, and live webcams that I've seen - this past week wasn't as bad to me (subjectively & personally speaking, of course) and should've been expected.  Perhaps, the ship's captain and/or CD could've done a better job informing, advising and cautioning folks onboard in what to expect, how to be better prepared and silly things to not do, etc.  

 

Thanks for extending your "invite" to join & comment on your Live Report this weekend - will give it a best effort, disclaimer: I'm not a weather expert & have zero credentials.  Will do it to entertain and make it fun, and hopefully watch it play out to see how things turn out.  My "gang" is waiting for the Prima to come "home" to fetch them this Sunday & they are heading out to Dockyard this Sunday, so will be tracking & watching anyway - why not, right.  Lastly, I need to practice a bit since we do have a stop at Dockyard too, coming up shortly ... but, fully prepared for that to be called off & become a "fun day at sea" - will be loading up the Amazon Fire Tablet soon with videos, music & eBooks, etc. as I don't want to put 1/2 doz. eggs into the other basket - satellite WiFi is never 98% reliable while at sea, regardless.  

 

Isn't this fun and appreciate the "invite" to join as a guest commentary, LOL.  Friends that we met via CC just left Lisbon, Spain on the "Sun" & both of them nearly lost both of their checked luggage on Air France in FRT.  Apple Air Tags "save" them but the courier services nearly ruined their embarkation, failing to delivered them last night ... life is full of surprises.  Roll with sense of humor, pack patience and go with the flow - that's our motto these days.  

[Broons77]

6 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

 

Not so sure about the "express" part - yeah to walk off ship, but ... due to the defection of several passengers in Bermuda, the cruise may have gone from "closed-loop" to an "open-loop" which means CBP not being so breezy.

 

Let's hope to hear from @Broons77 again how his disembarkation went. I may be wrong.

 

 

Yikes, guess I missed out on that part, I did walk off and was in my truck pulling out of the lot by 8:15ish.  Everything seemed to be fine, CBP was pleasant, gave my passport a glance and sent me on my way.

[bluesea777]

Just now, Broons77 said:

 

Yikes, guess I missed out on that part, I did walk off and was in my truck pulling out of the lot by 8:15ish.  Everything seemed to be fine, CBP was pleasant, gave my passport a glance and sent me on my way.

It’s great to know- all went well, and I guess I was wrong, lol. 
 

Glad to hear you had a good cruise. We’re on the Viva in Nov for her maiden transatlantic from Lisbon to Miami. 
 

[LouChamp]

1 hour ago, styles27 said:

I politely completely disagree.
 

April is our favorite time to cruise/fly to Bermuda.

We always have great beach weather.  

Our first cruise to Bermuda was in July in the 90’s and we had the worse seas…it’s also hurricane season.  
We had a family member get married in Bermuda in May 2018 and we all nearly melted in our wedding attire. 

Aloha. Thank you for being so respectful.  Yes May is when we have gone regularly as I said Memorial Day weekend. As for April that was my first time in 1971.  We have just found its not only the weather but the rough water. I personally love it having sailed around South America, Bay of Biscay, South Pacific, Pacific and North Atlantic Transatlantic. Daughter loves it too.  The Rest of the family…not so much lol! 

[styles27]

15 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

@styles27 Kudo for those points about Bermuda ... actually, that's valid anytime someone step onboard a ship & leave the shorelines, LOL.  We've done 2 trips on the Crown - 43,000 tonnage - about a 1/2 sized Pearl that you are embarking this Friday ... if you did that trip in the 90's - probably s similar ship in that range.  What a wild ride in those days ... DW spent 36 hours in the stateroom but 30 years later, we haven't stopped.  Bermuda in April, May, September, October & November - experienced our share of Nor-Easters, hurricane and strong gale force wind ... 30 to 40 ft. waves.  From all the descriptions, charts & tracking data, and live webcams that I've seen - this past week wasn't as bad to me (subjectively & personally speaking, of course) and should've been expected.  Perhaps, the ship's captain and/or CD could've done a better job informing, advising and cautioning folks onboard in what to expect, how to be better prepared and silly things to not do, etc.  

 

Thanks for extending your "invite" to join & comment on your Live Report this weekend - will give it a best effort, disclaimer: I'm not a weather expert & have zero credentials.  Will do it to entertain and make it fun, and hopefully watch it play out to see how things turn out.  My "gang" is waiting for the Prima to come "home" to fetch them this Sunday & they are heading out to Dockyard this Sunday, so will be tracking & watching anyway - why not, right.  Lastly, I need to practice a bit since we do have a stop at Dockyard too, coming up shortly ... but, fully prepared for that to be called off & become a "fun day at sea" - will be loading up the Amazon Fire Tablet soon with videos, music & eBooks, etc. as I don't want to put 1/2 doz. eggs into the other basket - satellite WiFi is never 98% reliable while at sea, regardless.  

 

Isn't this fun and appreciate the "invite" to join as a guest commentary, LOL.  Friends that we met via CC just left Lisbon, Spain on the "Sun" & both of them nearly lost both of their checked luggage on Air France in FRT.  Apple Air Tags "save" them but the courier services nearly ruined their embarkation, failing to delivered them last night ... life is full of surprises.  Roll with sense of humor, pack patience and go with the flow - that's our motto these days.  

Yes indeed our first Bermuda cruise was on the old Majesty from Boston.
I believe she was around 37,000 tons.
I made very good friends with our  tiny inside room (student loans and 2 kids we were broke back then lol) I never remember feeling that sick.
I like your wife didn’t see the light of day until we arrived in St George!  Those were the days of docking in St George and Hamilton! Never heard of Dockyard/Kings Wharf back then. 
 

But like you guys all these years later we’re still cruising to Bermuda (and now taking our little grandson along with us) and funny that some now consider Pearl to be a small ship!  
 

I really appreciate and look forward to your contribution on my upcoming review! 

[nybumpkin]

57 minutes ago, Broons77 said:

 

Yikes, guess I missed out on that part, I did walk off and was in my truck pulling out of the lot by 8:15ish.  Everything seemed to be fine, CBP was pleasant, gave my passport a glance and sent me on my way.

Broons77, they didn't even look at our passports. It was all biometrics. Scary.😮

 

I'm sorry I missed you aboard - for a variety of reasons we missed the get-togethers. That aside, we enjoyed the cruise. I felt we were well informed about the weather and I thought the compensation for the shortened port day was more than fair. Daughter-in-law spent much of yesterday in bed, but today she's saying she had a good time. 

[PistolPete13]

Wow, what an adventure for the first Prima sailing from NYC in 2023.  During my 5-day sailing last October to Bermuda on her we also hit rough seas on the way home but I was pleasantly surprised at how stable the ship felt given how it looked outside.  

Of course wind speeds and direction could be a major factor.  On the Getaway last month we enountered seas that to my untrained eyeballs didn't look at bad as what I saw on the Prima but that ship was rocking all over the place.  Enough water splashed out of the main pool to basically render it empty.

I had read somewhere (can't find the source now) that due to the more central location of the engines on the Prima (also a cause of the weird layout complaints?) the ship would be more stable in rough waters compared to ships with more weight in the rear with a traditional engine layout.

Wish someone with some real knowledge would chime in and help with my curiosity.

[Broons77]

Home, unpacked, even logged into work for a bit to plow emails and take care of a few things.  Still have to do the laundry but that can wait for tomorrow.

 

So I've gone back over the chatter on this thread, and it doesn't seem overly positive, which is a shame.  I had a great time!  However, I can see where it may not have been the best choice of a cruise for everyone.  Going to try to go back over things in some sort of coherent order.  Internet was slow for postings, although it seemed to be OK via phone but no way am I typing posts of any length with my thumbs.  😄

 

So this was certainly a memorable time for several reasons.  My solo experience was great, I'm so glad I went.  I had great conversations with a bunch of folks from everywhere and enjoyed the hell out of not doing one thing that I didn't want to do.for 4+ days.  Regardless of who you are and what you do, I would recommend something like this to anyone if you have the means to do so.  Doesn't have to be a cruise and doesn't have to be for 5 days.  Go where you want for as long as you want, but go only with yourself and go somewhere that you don't have to lift a finger.  I could go on and on about it, but I'll stop here just by saying that I'm incredibly thankful that I was able to go on this trip.

 

So here's my final grades.  I could not grade entertainment, as I went to exactly 0 shows or performances.  Not much of a theater guy to begin with and most wound up canceled due to the rough weather.  Also, I was never able to make it to St. George due to the early leave on Friday.

 

Check in - C

Parking at the terminal was an expensive breeze.  Flew right through security in less than 5 mins.  But then found that terminal was looooooooong.  By the time I got to my check in area all the way at the end, I found a line that wasn't moving due to tech issues.  They got it worked out but it took me a bit in line to get to the counter.  And I had arrived at 11:30 for a noon check in too.  So it probably took me about 40 minutes total from pulling into the lot to getting on the ship.  This doesn't sound terrible, but it just seemed like an annoying 40 mins

 

Cabin -- A

The studio cabin wasn't made for everyone.  It's admittedly a tiny box, and while the bathroom is just as tiny, the shower was pleasantly roomy which is almost all the battle for me as a larger sized human.  Plenty of storage for my small batch of stuff for a shorter cruise.  I found that the bottom of the closet was in the correct position to act as a bedside table as I had no problem reaching it.  Rarely saw my steward but he was very warm and pleasant when I did and he took care of my few requests very quickly.  And loved loved loved the studio lounge.  Site of my pre-bed cappuccino and cookies each night. 

 

Food -

So I only ate at the buffet (B), Indulge (B), The Local (B+) and once at Onda (B-).  Even though I'm usually big on at least a couple nights at the restaurants, it wasn't a priority this time.  I didn't want to deal with reservations, or any kind of bother.  I went only because I did want to try Onda, and because I was able to get a reservation at a reasonable time.

 

The buffet was good, but small.  Because of that the variety is limited, especially at breakfast however I went there because it was much easier for me to access.  The quality was good.  Big eggs bennie fan here and every time the yolks were just about perfect.  Dinner was good and so were the desserts.

 

Indulge was good, and while NCL clearly went to great lengths to put together the various menus for the various venues (ha, that sounds funny), there wasn't a lot that really did it for me.  But the things I did get were all fairly good.  My big complaint is that it's tucked away in the way back of the ship and depending on where you're coming from, it can be quite a chore.  Unfortunately for me, it was a pain.

 

I sat at the bar when eating from The Local, I got the fish sandwich and nachos which were both great.  No complaints and I even got to watch the Bruins rip the hearts out of the Pens and darken their playoff chances.  Based on that alone, I'm bumping up this grade to an A-.

 

I'm actually bumping up Onda's grade to a straight B.  I was disappointed in the Veal Milan I ordered. It was a bit dry and kind of bland.  It did have a nice crust and crunch but was actually more of a panko rather than a traditional Italian bread crumb.  However, the carpaccio and the linguine with seafood pasta course were both home runs, they served 3 different breads with 3 accompaniments and the house chianti was delicious.  Service was good, but unremarkable.

 

Crew - A

Always a smile and a hello without fail.  All things asked for were taken care of quickly and efficiently and it didn't matter who that person was or what their function

 

Thermal Spa - A

If you like this sort of thing, by all means go.  It's great and you'll come out feeling like a noodle if you do it right.  The heated loungers on the last sea day during the storm was the place to be.

 

Bars - B

Would have been an A but for 2 problems.  Many were tough to get a seat at.  And the Luna and Soleil bars are a bait and switch as all they have a limited cocktail menu.  These need to be full bars.  And it did seem to take a bit to get service at times.

 

My overall ship experience - B+/A-

I'm wrestling with this answer as I'm coming to the conclusion that this is probably one of the more subjective ships you'll ever be on.  100 times out of 100, I would repeat this trip I took.  There was nothing about this ship that I actively disliked.  And many of the issues I noted - mainly crowds - were directly related to the weather.  This would have greatly reduced the crowds in a lot of areas.  But I didn't get the wow factor I was expecting either.  I had said to some folks on board that I wasn't sure if I'd make it a priority to sail it again, but in looking back, maybe I should give it a better shot when she can have the chance to show off things I really didn't get to see or enjoy.

 

Oh yeah, for the first time ever on a ship, I hit for a decent amount at the casino.  Others seemed to report the same thing.  YMMV.  Actually, YMPWV.

 

Probably will think of more stuff to say, but that's probably enough for now.

[Broons77]

Good lord, totally forgot to mention the storm on the way back...

 

So, there was a fair bit of motion, but all in all not terrible.  As I mentioned as it was happening, life just kind of went on.  People ate, drank, gambled and did whatever they normally would.  Seemed that there were less people about, but that's not surprising.  The storm was impressive, good waves, lots of booming and shuddering of the ship, but she handled it quite well.  Not sure how the Gem and Pearl did with it on the way there, but I don't know that any cruise ships anywhere would do any better than the Prima did.

[Broons77]

Pictures

 

First view in person

 

 

Studio Cabin shots

 

 

 

 

 

Studio Lounge

 

 

 

Slides

 

 

Beds by Infinity Beach

 

 

Loungers by Soleil Bar

 

 

Sausage Plate and chili for lunch from JT's BBQ in Indulge

 

 

What great views for a vruise port.  Usually these places are in spots that are a bit less photogenic.

 

 

 

 

 

I kinda like the cranes in the background of this

 

 

Day 2 dawns with the breakfast of champions.  But stay away from the 'corned beef hash'.  Not sure what that is, but it ain't that.  On the other side of the coin, the hash brown pucks are the best.

 

 

Gray and cloudy pm day 2 but seas weren't too bad

 

 

Yum

 

 

But too many of those and this happens.

 

 

Haven Sundeck

 

 

French Onion Soup, Crab Tostada and short rib stuffed ravioli from Indulge

 

 

 

Welcome to Bermuda!

 

 

 

Boat for the Famous Homes and Hideaways tour

 

Some famous homes and hideaways

 

 

More pics to come later....

 

 

 

 

 

[skatie]

How did you find being in a small solo cabin during the rocking and rolling of the storm.  I am prone to motion sickness but since this is just a girls trip, my friend and I chose to try out the solo cabins. Maybe if we get rough seas I’ll just down the gravol and hopefully sleep through it!?    We are also on 13 floor. Is it easy to slip down to lounge on 12?  Thanks

Edited April 3, 2023 by skatie

[OrangeCatRamblers]

Great photos!

[Broons77]

6 minutes ago, skatie said:

How did you find being in a small solo cabin during the rocking and rolling of the storm.  I am prone to motion sickness but since this is just a girls trip, my friend and I chose to try out the solo cabins. Maybe if we get rough seas I’ll just down the gravol and hopefully sleep through it!?  

 

There was motion, but I didn't find it terrible.  But I'm not prone to motion sickness, so I'm probably not your best bet.  The solos are on decks 12 & 13, which is a bit higher.  That makes more of a difference than the cabin size in my opinion, you may be better off in an interior on a lower deck.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Broons77

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Enjoying your posts and of course the food pictures. Grew up in Manhattan and then moved to Battery Park City across from the World Trade Center. Always enjoyed watching the ships sailing up and down the Hudson River and when sailing out of New York sailing under the Bridge.

Enjoy!

[The P]

Chris, I posted on the roll call but wanted to tell you how much I'm enjoying your round up of our cruise. Your photos are beautiful!        Sharon

[graphicguy]

Thanks @Broons77.  Appreciate the review and especially the pics.  I’m due for a other Bermuda cruise and have made up my mind, I want to sail the Prima to do it.

 

Regarding the Atlantic…..overall…it will never be as smooth and sailing the Caribbean/Bahamas out of Florida in my experience.  But, these ships are stable.  I’ve been through some pretty horrendous storms (the infamous sailing of the Breakaway through a bomb Cyclone).  Aside from some tossing and turning, and some plates on the floor, the ship came through it with flying colors.

 

Sailing in the Spring and Fall in the Atlantic exacerbates the issue.  But, those are normally the times to book for the cheapest fares on those sailings out of NYC!

 

Knowing what to expect helps.

[Broons77]

Glad to hear that everyone has enjoyed the thread.  More pics!

 

Spa price lists

 

 

 

Dinner at Onda - was pleasantly surprised to find that I was seated at my table for 1 directly next to @The P!  You're served a wonderful bread and spread selection....

 

 

Sharon enjoyed the Burrata

 

 

And my appetizer - When rare just isn't enough, there's carpaccio.  So good!

 

 

I had the Scialitelli pasta course, again was very yummy

 

 

@The P had the salmon.  I had the veal but for some reason, the pic won't attach.  It wasn't that good anyway, I should have gone with Sharon's choice.

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by Broons77

[mking8288]

Loving those photos, especially food ones - hungry looking at them. Thanks for sharing 

Edited April 3, 2023 by mking8288

[GWAE]

On 4/2/2023 at 11:57 AM, bluesea777 said:

 

Not so sure about the "express" part - yeah to walk off ship, but ... due to the defection of several passengers in Bermuda, the cruise may have gone from "closed-loop" to an "open-loop" which means CBP not being so breezy.

 

Let's hope to hear from @Broons77 again how his disembarkation went. I may be wrong.

 

I was wondering if this was a big deal. I wanted to ask the captain when we did our tour but I forgot once there. 

 

[GWAE]

19 hours ago, Broons77 said:

 

Yikes, guess I missed out on that part, I did walk off and was in my truck pulling out of the lot by 8:15ish.  Everything seemed to be fine, CBP was pleasant, gave my passport a glance and sent me on my way.

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. 

 

[GWAE]

17 hours ago, Broons77 said:

Home, unpacked, even logged into work for a bit to plow emails and take care of a few things.  Still have to do the laundry but that can wait for tomorrow.

 

So I've gone back over the chatter on this thread, and it doesn't seem overly positive, which is a shame.  I had a great time!  However, I can see where it may not have been the best choice of a cruise for everyone.  Going to try to go back over things in some sort of coherent order.  Internet was slow for postings, although it seemed to be OK via phone but no way am I typing posts of any length with my thumbs.  😄

 

So this was certainly a memorable time for several reasons.  My solo experience was great, I'm so glad I went.  I had great conversations with a bunch of folks from everywhere and enjoyed the hell out of not doing one thing that I didn't want to do.for 4+ days.  Regardless of who you are and what you do, I would recommend something like this to anyone if you have the means to do so.  Doesn't have to be a cruise and doesn't have to be for 5 days.  Go where you want for as long as you want, but go only with yourself and go somewhere that you don't have to lift a finger.  I could go on and on about it, but I'll stop here just by saying that I'm incredibly thankful that I was able to go on this trip.

 

So here's my final grades.  I could not grade entertainment, as I went to exactly 0 shows or performances.  Not much of a theater guy to begin with and most wound up canceled due to the rough weather.  Also, I was never able to make it to St. George due to the early leave on Friday.

 

Check in - C

Parking at the terminal was an expensive breeze.  Flew right through security in less than 5 mins.  But then found that terminal was looooooooong.  By the time I got to my check in area all the way at the end, I found a line that wasn't moving due to tech issues.  They got it worked out but it took me a bit in line to get to the counter.  And I had arrived at 11:30 for a noon check in too.  So it probably took me about 40 minutes total from pulling into the lot to getting on the ship.  This doesn't sound terrible, but it just seemed like an annoying 40 mins

 

Cabin -- A

The studio cabin wasn't made for everyone.  It's admittedly a tiny box, and while the bathroom is just as tiny, the shower was pleasantly roomy which is almost all the battle for me as a larger sized human.  Plenty of storage for my small batch of stuff for a shorter cruise.  I found that the bottom of the closet was in the correct position to act as a bedside table as I had no problem reaching it.  Rarely saw my steward but he was very warm and pleasant when I did and he took care of my few requests very quickly.  And loved loved loved the studio lounge.  Site of my pre-bed cappuccino and cookies each night. 

 

Food -

So I only ate at the buffet (B), Indulge (B), The Local (B+) and once at Onda (B-).  Even though I'm usually big on at least a couple nights at the restaurants, it wasn't a priority this time.  I didn't want to deal with reservations, or any kind of bother.  I went only because I did want to try Onda, and because I was able to get a reservation at a reasonable time.

 

The buffet was good, but small.  Because of that the variety is limited, especially at breakfast however I went there because it was much easier for me to access.  The quality was good.  Big eggs bennie fan here and every time the yolks were just about perfect.  Dinner was good and so were the desserts.

 

Indulge was good, and while NCL clearly went to great lengths to put together the various menus for the various venues (ha, that sounds funny), there wasn't a lot that really did it for me.  But the things I did get were all fairly good.  My big complaint is that it's tucked away in the way back of the ship and depending on where you're coming from, it can be quite a chore.  Unfortunately for me, it was a pain.

 

I sat at the bar when eating from The Local, I got the fish sandwich and nachos which were both great.  No complaints and I even got to watch the Bruins rip the hearts out of the Pens and darken their playoff chances.  Based on that alone, I'm bumping up this grade to an A-.

 

I'm actually bumping up Onda's grade to a straight B.  I was disappointed in the Veal Milan I ordered. It was a bit dry and kind of bland.  It did have a nice crust and crunch but was actually more of a panko rather than a traditional Italian bread crumb.  However, the carpaccio and the linguine with seafood pasta course were both home runs, they served 3 different breads with 3 accompaniments and the house chianti was delicious.  Service was good, but unremarkable.

 

Crew - A

Always a smile and a hello without fail.  All things asked for were taken care of quickly and efficiently and it didn't matter who that person was or what their function

 

Thermal Spa - A

If you like this sort of thing, by all means go.  It's great and you'll come out feeling like a noodle if you do it right.  The heated loungers on the last sea day during the storm was the place to be.

 

Bars - B

Would have been an A but for 2 problems.  Many were tough to get a seat at.  And the Luna and Soleil bars are a bait and switch as all they have a limited cocktail menu.  These need to be full bars.  And it did seem to take a bit to get service at times.

 

My overall ship experience - B+/A-

I'm wrestling with this answer as I'm coming to the conclusion that this is probably one of the more subjective ships you'll ever be on.  100 times out of 100, I would repeat this trip I took.  There was nothing about this ship that I actively disliked.  And many of the issues I noted - mainly crowds - were directly related to the weather.  This would have greatly reduced the crowds in a lot of areas.  But I didn't get the wow factor I was expecting either.  I had said to some folks on board that I wasn't sure if I'd make it a priority to sail it again, but in looking back, maybe I should give it a better shot when she can have the chance to show off things I really didn't get to see or enjoy.

 

Oh yeah, for the first time ever on a ship, I hit for a decent amount at the casino.  Others seemed to report the same thing.  YMMV.  Actually, YMPWV.

 

Probably will think of more stuff to say, but that's probably enough for now.

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