NCL Prima eastbound 15 days TA (Live) 27 Apr, 2024 - N.Y. to Southampton via Halifax, Iceland & EU ports - preview intro

[mking8288]

Sitting by Starbucks, iConnect or iCafe manager is off for dinner break, it seemed that the Libby library app is broken or offline, but I can access my home Library's eCollection readily - going to ask & find out what's happened to it, as NCL Prima is not referencing it in the FSD anymore, not on this sailing. 

 

 

Starlink WiFi speed remained consistent, not faster nor better, not worst either - inside The Commodore Room while 2 UK officers were doing their inspections this morning, or now at the iCafe - just as consistent and half the speed compared to last Nov's Prima TA 😯

 

 

Direct messaging, targeted & bilingual, mini signs at nearly every bar & Starbucks table here, maybe & hopefully will herd those player's group into the provider venues at designated time, to foster sharing of limited public spaces, respect and common sense.  It only takes a handful of them to ignore etiquettes, get loud & ruined the cruise experience for everyone onboard and just shameful - I appluad Prima leadership for addressing & doing this, and other measures as see fit.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 7 by mking8288

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, againsthesun said:

I was searching to see if anyone had mentioned these! I’m in Indulge and have been watching out the window!

I was doing something else early, a lot of marine vessels on the move for sure, and probably submarines below the surface on patrol ... have my binoculars ready to spot them on the horizon. 

[mking8288]

View of the lifeboat on Deck 6 and the open deck below (Deck 5 with Oceanviews & Inside cabins) where it appeared to be closer for public access unless it is for emergency egress & Assembly Station staging use.

 

Calm seas and barely feel any movements, waves & swells, etc.  Going at 20.3 kts with ETA to Amsterdam as early as 6 AM - per MT - on Thursday vs. 10 AM scheduled arrival 

 

 

 

 

[schmoopie17]

43 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

I was doing something else early, a lot of marine vessels on the move for sure, and probably submarines below the surface on patrol ... 

Submarines are reportedly headed to Iceland to peruse the specimens in the phallic museum.

Gives new meaning to the term up periscope.

[mking8288]

The Commodore MDR tonight was nearly full when we walked up to be greeted, cheerfully, I must say, by the hostess and she didn't tell us to wait outside by the bar / lounge as there were others sitting around, no sure if they are waiting. But, we were seated by the window within 2 minutes of getting there ... the Hudson is staffed by a higher count of greeters but never enough to be escorted to a table.  What a difference 🤫 

 

 

By coincidence, it was our friendly waitress from Palomar on the last Prima TA and she also took care of our DWO dinner table on that cruise hosted by Adrian, Asst F&B Director.  Service tonight, excellent as it was done with a friendly smile.  One of the Asst Manager also came by to say hello to see that dinner is good.  What more can I say 👍

 

 

Smoke duck - bravo 

 

 

Curry Lamb

 

Broiled Pollock

 

 

[mking8288]

Elsewhere, LeBistro & other specialty restaurants doesn't look as busy tonight - 2 shows, 7 and 9 PM has the crowds spread out ... besides, probably most used up their Platinum vouchers and dining packages by now.  Expect the MDR to be busier tomorrow evening and rest of the week, except possibly not with Le Havre w a late 10 PM sailaway to arrive by 6 AM in Southampton, disembarkation 😯😯😯

 

 

Listening to music by Duo Rita in the Penrose Atrium, excellent voice & choice of easy listening music varieties. 

 

 

 

[toeloop]

What has the temperature been like on the ship?  We are boarding on 5/23 and trying to decide how to pack.  We will be visiting Iceland and Norway before heading to Europe. Thank you!

[mking8288]

FSD for Day 11 in pdf

 

 

PDF document.pdf

[mking8288]

@toeloop onboard & inside, it's very comfortable, temp maintained to around 70 degrees F, unless you step into outdoors as a warm fleece and/or windproof jacket is likely needed, especially sailing north to Norway & Iceland ... be prepared for wet & showers, and walking poles if doing the popular tours to see the NP and crater, thermo springs, etc. 

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[mking8288]

Sunset was about 9:30 PM and smooth sailing this evening, doing 21 kts w extra calm seas, waves of 1 to 2 m, maybe 4 to 6 ft. at most - approaching the North Sea ahead ~ after midnight.  One hour ahead on the clock again. 

 

 

[toeloop]

Thank you for the information.  We will pack our walking sticks.

[mking8288]

FSD for Day 12 - tomorrow is the last full Sea Day on this TA, spring-like forecast w temp in 60's 😎 🌅 👌 and after 3 port days 🛅 ... we will be homeward bound 👋 

" leaving on a jet plane ... " 

 

 

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

12 hours ago, Fogfog said:

Have things improved at Hudsons do you think?

Why am I not at the Prima Club right now? Because we finished dinner at 10:45pm. 
 

We have a standing reservation for 8:00pm so we were seated immediately. At 9:45pm our dinner plates were still sitting in front of us and dessert menus were nowhere to be found.  I ordered mint tea but was given a green tea bag in hopes that I would not notice that they did not have mint tea available. Green tea would have kept me up all night, so hot water it was for me. Someone else in our group ordered tea with milk but the milk never came. 

On the positive side it was a beautiful sunset tonight with no supplement charged. 
 

[mking8288]

3 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Why am I not at the Prima Club right now? Because we finished dinner at 10:45pm ... I ordered mint tea but was given a green tea bag in hopes that I would not notice that they did not have mint tea available. Green tea would have kept me up all night, so hot water it was for me. Someone else in our group ordered tea with milk but the milk never came. On the positive side ... 

I have a stash of instant coffee ICE (in case of emergencies) whenever traveling but the organic black tea that I sourced somewhere else probably won't help ... down to 1 ginseng tea bag too, plus another herbal drink mix for sore throat, etc.  If any of those can work, would cheerfully gift them to you. 

 

 

We finished our dinner in The Commodore around 8:30 and went over to Penrose & found some chairs to listen to the Duo close out the evening.  Maybe your group should try The Commodore tomorrow night.  Pop our heads into the Club & looked around, night still young for many, and then called it the night as Mrs getting sleepy already. 

 

Sounds like no Vacation Hero Card for your server this evening - we got 2 cards to fill out.  

 

Calling it an early night ?  We are going to do Hudson in the AM and lunch, but avoiding dinner there - no welcoming smiles from the 2/3 of the hostesses out front is just isn't cool as we watched & see them do selectively laugh ... we've seen enough to call them out after 11 days onboard.  The same group on our last Prima TA, they don't remember Mrs M and I with 2 different faces but I have a good memory & undercover photos (post #460 on last Nov TA) from Nov to match up. 

 

It is leadership by example, starting from the top - seriously. 5 more days before issuing my / our final report card. 

Edited May 7 by mking8288

[Sugar Magnolia]

4 hours ago, mking8288 said:

I have a stash of instant coffee ICE (in case of emergencies) whenever traveling but the organic black tea that I sourced somewhere else probably won't help ... down to 1 ginseng tea bag too, plus another herbal drink mix for sore throat, etc.  If any of those can work, would cheerfully gift them to you

@mking8288 thank you very much for the kind offer but our posh solo lounge is stocked with different teas including mint. Just no cookies. 
 

Speaking of cookies…I was advised today by someone high up in the food chain (pun intended) that they have stopped putting out cookies because it became too wasteful…people would grab a bunch and then end up tossing them in the garbage. However, if we wanted cookies, we can always have them delivered to our stateroom. 

And there you have it. Blame it on those who walk around with ziploc bags. 
 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Even though dinner at Hudson’s lasted nearly three hours tonight, I did pop into the Prima Club for a brief visit. It was a night of ABBA, Bee Gees, disco, funk and soul. I missed the ABBA and Bee Gees portion which was fine with me, but who could resist Barry White?

 

 

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

6 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Maybe your group should try The Commodore tomorrow night. 

We did have a good experience at The Commodore when the group returned from the Blue Lagoon on Sunday night. We were able to grab a table just before 9:30. Many others were seated after us having returned from their excursions. 
 

As we were scheduled to overnight in Reykjavik and excursions were returning late into the night, it might have made sense to extend the buffet hours beyond 9:00pm. I do not know whether this happened. However, I do know that the Local was overwhelmed. One friend ordered chicken wings to go because the wait time for a table was unknown. Another friend mentioned that crew members from other departments, who were unfamiliar with the operations at the Local, were asked to pitch in. Under these circumstances, I can’t blame the crew for the chaos. The fault lies with management. 
 

[mking8288]

7 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

@mking8288  Speaking of cookies…I was advised today by someone high up in the food chain (pun intended) that ... if we wanted cookies, we can always have them delivered to our stateroom. 

I was just busting chops on the tea options and oh yes, the variety of coffee options in the studio lounge 😸🤫🫢🫢😉 

 

So, will they cheerfully deliver those cookies to our stateroom for a nominal fee of $9.95 plus 20% - in the quantities requested, for our convenience to sail & sustain ??? 🙄  What about as a part of breakfast delivery at $4.95 

[mking8288]

7 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

We did have a good experience at The Commodore when the group returned from the Blue Lagoon on Sunday night. We were able to grab a table just before 9:30. Many others were seated after us having returned from their excursions ... might have made sense to extend the buffet hours beyond 9:00pm. I do not know whether this happened. However, I do know that the Local was overwhelmed. One friend ordered chicken wings to go because the wait time for a table was unknown. ... can’t blame the crew for the chaos ...

I echo your summation:

The fault lies with management. 

 

One of the Asst Mgr (they're been servers & know what's involved before getting promoted) said if they see guests returning & coming in, they are expected to AND should let them in and provide the services. 

 

We're wondering how The Local could possibly handled several bus loads of hungry passengers coming back to the ship after a long tour - the other option being Room Service for a fee, and possibly something in the Haven lounge.  Casino used to have a late night snack at 12 PM, but I heard it's been scaled down 👎 as well.

[mking8288]

Good early morning as it is 6:30 in NY but 10:30 AM onboard the Prima now - Day 12. 

 

Per Captain Kevin "Out" we were about 360 nm to Amsterdam, cruising at 18 kts with seas at 1 meter or less, 2 to 3 ft. with a breeze and light wind, reaching the IJmuiden lock at 6 AM, at the mouth of the 27-kilometre-long North Sea Channel that links Amsterdam.

 

Hudson MDR was relatively empty at 8:05 AM but began to fill up after 8:45, sleeping in late or didn't see the notice about time zone change & moving the clock ahead by another hour overnight 😳

 

 

 

[mking8288]

Prima only offered the $34 Laundry Special once thus far.  We are sending our 2nd bag down to wash, dry & fold this morning.

 

[Dukemstr]

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

Prima only offered the $34 Laundry Special once thus far.  We are sending our 2nd bag down to wash, dry & fold this morning.

 

Do you think we can get two complementary laundry bags, free as platinum latitude members because of the length of the cruise?

[mking8288]

2 hours ago, Dukemstr said:

Do you think we can get two complementary laundry bags, free as platinum latitude members because of the length of the cruise?

We should except CruiseNext doesn't really want words to get out to 900+ Platinum members currently onboard, including 300 Sapphire & in smaller numbers, Diamonds - you can stop at their desk & ask about it.  

 

If there's a charge for our two (second) bags from 2 cabins, I will have a word or two with a friend, supervisor at Guest Services to get it waived as well. 

 

I know others had already sent theirs soiled items including undies to be washed ... and I am prepared to report the facts on CC "Live" w 35,000 views - which frankly, is shockingly a huge # with numerous live report ongoing. 

 

Telling it like it is now, not last week, nor from a month ago or how things went on the last TA ... But, 3 free bags on a 12 days TA cruise on the Prima. 

[dexddd]

Ok, so I had to look twice if that lunch was chicken parm, being expert in field.

 

Determined yes, but looked a bit dark, maybe a bit burnt and definitely small.

 

Probably not the best but probably better than what I've had at home the past week. 

[dexddd]

6 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

We should except CruiseNext doesn't really want words to get out to 900+ Platinum members currently onboard, including 300 Sapphire & in smaller numbers, Diamonds - you can stop at their desk & ask about it.  

 

If there's a charge for our two (second) bags from 2 cabins, I will have a word or two with a friend, supervisor at Guest Services to get it waived as well. 

 

I know others had already sent theirs soiled items including undies to be washed ... and I am prepared to report the facts on CC "Live" w 35,000 views - which frankly, is shockingly a huge # with numerous live report ongoing. 

 

Telling it like it is now, not last week, nor from a month ago or how things went on the last TA ... But, 3 free bags on a 12 days TA cruise on the Prima. 

36.2 views.  All waiting for more proprietary pictures of Base Station Zebra.