Prima TA Semi-Live 11 Days to NY from Spain, 4+ days @Barcelona from JFK ... land/cruise early Thanksgiving vacation

[Treacher1]

I thank you for your response - I TOTALLY agree with you respect the line - I was just asking as I know on another cruise line at the check in desk - left was for those with reservations - right was for walk ins?

[mking8288]

Reliable source confirmed, we are arriving into NY early, should be at the VZ Bridge by midnight and passing SOL around 00:30 hours 

 

 

@PistolPete13 Don't worry, you won't spot us on a balcony as we are starboard side on the inbound.  Nurse friend at the medical center on overnight shift, Brooklyn side might go to the upper floor to check out the ship. 

 

Meanwhile, getting ready for a late dinner 🍽️ now that this sailing's account is all set to close out in the morning. 

 

$10 refundable onboard credit p/p has been posted to our account, that is $20 USD for us skipping Bermuda 😲🫢😵‍💫 

That's lower than what was given when we missed GSC in the Bahamas 🤔

Edited December 1, 2023 by mking8288

[Sugar Magnolia]

40 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Reliable source confirmed, we are arriving into NY early, should be at the VZ Bridge by midnight and passing SOL around 00:30 hours 

 

@cruiseny4life earlier posted a sign that says the ship would pass by the Lady at that early/late hour and proceeded to complain about how he would be shaken and stirred at 2:00AM and not being able to fall back asleep.

 

I do feel for him. The last night on board brings up big feelings for everyone.

 

[mking8288]

Last evening of our 11 Days TA, dropped off Hero & Comment Cards on Deck 7.  Can also leave feedback & comments for the GM. 

 

 

All the dining rooms are 100% - a longer wait with a pager (first & last time on this cruise)  - tonight's MDR menu is seen or used less often. 

 

 

 

A more private & quiet area to sit and wait.

 

 

 

 

[mking8288]

Finale  - Hudson MDR, odds are that those staying on B2B will see this menu again, repeated in 15 days as pre-arrival & chef's farewell for Galveston, Texas.  

 

 

There are quite a few that will disembark tomorrow in NY as their 2nd part of B2B comes to an end.  Are there B2B2B onboard - sorry, don't have the answer but I am sure the CruiseNext team knows. 

 

Food pix - 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mking8288]

Straight ahead, VZ Bridge & NYC skyline - JFK starboard side, flights taking off & landing - we are arriving shortly in the Big Apple, right on revised ETA schedule 👌

 

 

[mking8288]

@ 00:15 hour - 1st of December ... proceeding at 17 kts, slightly behind updated schedule - should be passing between Ft. Wadsworth and Ft. Hamilton (under the VZ Bridge that connects Staten Island & Brooklyn) in a matter of minutes.  Statue of (Lady) Liberty ahead +/- 15 minutes, proceed thru NY Upper Bay for the Hudson River, to dock at Pier 88, MCT.

 

 

 

Time to get a few hour of zzz's - a busy turnaround day later on for some, and full inspections and regulatory checks, and disembarking pax to go thru mandatory CBP immigration & custom inspections.  

Edited December 1, 2023 by mking8288

[cruiservictor]

Just south of pier 88 at 1:30AM. Picture courtesy of portnywebcam.com. 
 

 

[mking8288]

Here we are, MCT Pier 88 docked - overlooking the rooftop parking at the ship terminal.

 

 

 

[vacation44]

As always,  very much enjoyed and appreciated your semi-live and looking forward to round two!

[dexddd]

Do you ever sleep?

 

Glad to see safe at home.  Was going to ask about beans but see covered.  They look a bit different in color than past.

 

Belvedere bar never busy when we sailed, I think it is just an odd location with not much going on.

 

With early arrival at least this time they didn't park you in the cell phone holding lot.

 

Another 14 days - wow.  Hopefully you could keep same room so Base Station Zebra can stay operational without having to power down.  We didn't see the multi pocket vest but maybe that will get restocked with toiletries to be sold incognito at the Metro bar in the shadows or near Haven special elevators.

[seemoreroyals]

So, you are going on for 2 more weeks to Galveston? 

 

Hope you keep your trip report going.  It has been informative for us having both your and @cruiseny4life's  trip report going to help us become familiar with Prima.  We board on the 15th.  

 

 

[mking8288]

Good morning from the Hudson MDR, a bit chaotic at the hostess station with crew members apparently off to a slow start, despite Alvin calling for Self Walk-Off around 7 AM. Plenty of folks here enjoying a full disembarkation breakfast. 

 

Jan(etc) & Mike on B2B (ran this sailing's CC M&G) are several tables over doing breakfast too. 

 

 

 

[mking8288]

 

No hash browns, maybe next sailing ?

[mking8288]

Disembarkation well under way. Yellow tags called earlier, now other colors at 8:20 - fairly orderly thus far with a pause due to congestion inside the terminal. 

 

 

 

Accessible waiting here for assistance to reach the terminal. 

 

[Liljo22]

2 hours ago, seemoreroyals said:

So, you are going on for 2 more weeks to Galveston? 

 

Hope you keep your trip report going.  It has been informative for us having both your and @cruiseny4life's  trip report going to help us become familiar with Prima.  We board on the 15th.  

 

 

Agreed.  I will be on the first cruise out after they hit Galveston.  Interested to see if anything changes now that the ship is stateside.  

[mking8288]

2 hours ago, dexddd said:

Glad to see safe at home. Another 14 days - wow.  Hopefully you could keep same room so Base Station Zebra can stay operational without having to power down. 

Plan was going to be B2B for 25 days on the Prima, but ... suspending the 2nd leg and power down the base/command until 2024, due to unexpected circumstances. 

 

Relieved that the M&G that I was running all along for the 2nd leg is in good hands, that we foiled the other group's takeover, claiming a CC gathering 3 months ago, something that I plan to follow up with admin at CC. With that resolved while we're heading over to Barcelona, still torn about postponing & taking a hit, insurance will cover most.  

 

We are likely to catch something westbound (TA) again for the sea days, could well be the Prima as we didn't get to check out everything - we shall see. 

 

I think we got a pretty inside look at the nuts & bolts, listening to strange noises behind the walls & whistles on a nearly new ship. An excuse to go again. 

 

Ross & Tom will perhaps fill in other aspects on the repo and Jan/Mike (M&G) are staying on to head closer to their Arizona home. 

 

Uber prices went up with $$ surge pricing as ship arrived, but nearly home.

 

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

2 hours ago, seemoreroyals said:

Hope you keep your trip report going.  It has been informative for us having both your and @cruiseny4life's  trip report going to help us become familiar with Prima.  We board on the 15th.  

 

Have a wonderful time @seemoreroyals. Perhaps you can also start a live / semi-live / almost live / barely live so we can stretch out the fun a bit longer.

 

Happy planning and packing.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

@mking8288 as always, thank you for the facts, the fun and the fun facts. 

 

Hope all is well back in Queens. Wishing you and your family a healthy and happy holiday season.

 

[seemoreroyals]

1 hour ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Have a wonderful time @seemoreroyals. Perhaps you can also start a live / semi-live / almost live / barely live so we can stretch out the fun a bit longer.

 

Happy planning and packing.

 

 

Thank you for the kind words.  I would possibly consider doing one but my wife has already said no.  Out of respect to her and my lack of technical  expertise,  if anything I may tag a thought or two onto somebody else's trip report. 

 

One of the things we will be doing for the first time will be the Vibe Beach Club.  So in addition to this being our first trip on Prima it will also be our first time in the Vibe.   Can't wait.

[Sugar Magnolia]

6 minutes ago, seemoreroyals said:

 

Thank you for the kind words.  I would possibly consider doing one but my wife has already said no.  Out of respect to her and my lack of technical  expertise,  if anything I may tag a thought or two onto somebody else's trip report. 

 

One of the things we will be doing for the first time will be the Vibe Beach Club.  So in addition to this being our first trip on Prima it will also be our first time in the Vibe.   Can't wait.

 

I understand. Happy wife happy life. Your fresh look and contribution would be welcomed, nonetheless.

 

You will enjoy the Vibe Beach Club. Not having to fight for chairs and not having to wait for drinks...all worth the price of admission.

 

[bedfordmom]

Thank you for letting us hitch a ride on the Prima. Hope all is well at home. Looking forward to your next semi live. 

[Liljo22]

5 hours ago, seemoreroyals said:

So, you are going on for 2 more weeks to Galveston? 

 

Hope you keep your trip report going.  It has been informative for us having both your and @cruiseny4life's  trip report going to help us become familiar with Prima.  We board on the 15th.  

 

 

Totally missed that you will be on the same cruise as us.  

[graphicguy]

Thanks for the review, Henry!  Enjoyed every bit of it!

[mking8288]

Good afternoon, folks.  We exercise our option, changed our plans & come home to N.E. Queens instead of continuing onward B2B as originally planned and expected.  Had to cancel last minute - without getting into specifics ... things will be fine.  Disappointed as we / I share some that feeling along with you for an almost live, if not fully live trip report for the next 2 weeks.  Next segment on the Prima "suspended" for now but rest assured, will resume & continue.  We plan to explore these new ship class at NCL and revisit the Prima/Viva, the crew, the soft elements & offerings, etc. and to do a comparative then & now, in the not too distant future.  

 

Maybe, there is going to be another Semi or Live Prima report, filed by someone else onboard the sailing.  Another CC friend of ours told us, book it and sail her, decide for yourself and take into consideration of what others wrote ... that we did, and as best as we can - share some / most of it with the CC community, without being too subjective, biased and overtly opinionated - especially when it comes to food and/or dining, whether it's MDR or specialty.  We didn't try to cover most, but got the chance to sample some - will come back to do a quick overview. 

 

Before I forget and let things slip, is that onboard services on the Prima for the past 11 days - what a good CC Sapphire friend said is so true, the "smile factor" isn't all there, he is currently on another sailing with his wife - he considered it good / improving at 50% ... That isn't quite the benchmark that should be acceptable, I think that's a fairly low bar to achieve.  We (that's 4 of us, collectively) aren't sure if the crew (some of them, said to be new & still learning the ropes) are smiling and showing that at the 50% range, seriously.  We've seen them laughing, joking and talking among themselves while on duty, working on their assigned jobs in the presence or within vicinity of guests or passengers.  Interesting enough, most of the crew below deck - while we're on the 60 minutes Behind The Scene Tour, say their hello and greetings, if not 95% to 100% of the time, at least in the 75% range ... roughly speaking. 

 

Earlier this week, we were escorted to a table for 4 of us by one of the regular hostess in the Hudson, promptly dropped (put) the menus on the table, turn around & left - wow - most of the time if not always, s/he wait until we are seated, helping to move the chairs and hand us the menu while saying, enjoy your lunch, breakfast, dinner, or what not. No Sir, not the other evening.  Another incident this morning at the "express disembarkation" breakfast - that really got our friend annoyed and called for the manager on duty to come & file a complaint. 

 

Enough said, subtle observations and encounters elsewhere in other restaurants onboard and dining venue with these two and another encounter earlier during the cruise - made us wondered, is there a serious & underlying issue with staffing, employee morales, training and ongoing supervision ... retired bank vice president and retail bank branch manager/banking officer (DW) believed we have valid reasons to question where NCL is heading ... Will come back to this - subjective opinions - once we cool our heels & shoes, and take care of other matters.  

 

Maybe, this should get diverted into the thread on "service expectations ..." and it is not about the missing hash browns or petite bakery items - we can live with the changes & understood the reasons for NCL doing what they need to do, one can always double up and order an extra portion.  

 

P.S.  16:30 hours (4:30 PM EDT) Prima on the move, backing out of MCT now - not bad, sailing just 30 minutes behind schedule and with full USCG and PHS inspections & clearances earlier.  Bon Voyage to all those onboard  👍 

Edited December 1, 2023 by mking8288