Tales of the High Seas: A journey aboard Norwegian Prima
November 4, 2022
I started my day with some espresso in the Studio Lounge. My room is only a few doors away, which means I get there in under a minute. While there I had a nice conversation with some other nice solo travelers. One just raved about the French Toast at the Local. I am a big French Toast fan, so that was just up my alley. Guess where I am having breakfast? It was very early in the morning. I’m guessing most people aren’t even awake at this point. Because it was so early, no one else was enjoying the Local. I had the waitstaff fawning over me. One server, especially, was very chatty. They made my breakfast. They used a thick slice of cinnamon raisin bread for their French Toast. I’m not even a big fan of raisins. The good news for me is that my slices didn’t contain very many. It was delicious in the Local. I saw a similar French toast later in the week at the Seaside Café and it just wasn’t nearly as good. It just wasn’t the same. I had my usual orange juice and hot, black, tea. Gradually as I was finishing up my breakfast, people started to enter the room. Who do you think showed up? The very woman who recommended the Local breakfast. We sat next to each other and had a good time catching up. Once breakfast was over, I went to explore around deck 8. Eventually, I found a lounger I enjoyed and spent some time relaxing with my noise canceling headphones and listened to one of my favorite playlists on Spotify.
Before you know it, it was time to meet folks at the Belvedere Bar, for what? That’s right! Pub Crawl Round 2! Even fewer showed up this time around. But we had a blast. My favorite part is that Linda O. joined our journey through the ship. She was very quiet over dinner at Cagney’s. But trust me, add some alcohol, stir, and she really opens up. I loved my time with Linda O., Duke Don, and the rest of the eight who embarked on this inebriated passage. The nice thing about such a small group is that you got to know people better. I am very much an introvert and have horrible anxiety with crowds of people I don’t know. But dealing with this crew was easy. They were all so nice and friendly. I had met Duke Don earlier in the sailing at the Belvedere Bar so knowing him and Linda already eased my anxiety tremendously. As you’ve read my pub crawl plans in a previous installment, you know that it basically takes all day.
The next event for the day was a nice dinner at Le Bistro, specialty restaurant. I had changed my outfit to something a little less casual. I needed long pants. Le Bistro has a slightly more formal dress code than the rest of the ship. Shoes and shirt with long pants are required. Le Bistro promises an upscale dining experience with crisp white linens, an intimate atmosphere and attentive service. The room had several chandeliers all the way down at eye level. It was perfection. This French centric restaurant was everything I could want it to be. I started with the escargots a la bourguignonne. Who doesn’t love snails floating in a sea of garlic and butter? This was followed by the Filet de canette roti (roasted maple leaf duck breast, glazed carrots, sweet peas, mashed potatoes, orange sauce). My dinner finished with the Poire Belle-Helene (fortified wine poached pear with spices with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce). It was the jewel in the crown of my Norwegian Prima dining experience. It was just me at the table enjoying all the wonderful food. The only thing missing was someone playing accordion near me.
I got ready for Sensoria a new party on Prima. But for some reason I didn’t partake in the fun. I did join Dee Gee at Improv at Sea for the comedy of Jay Stevens at 10 pm. He wasn’t offensive. He wasn’t hilarious either. If left to my own devices I could have skipped it. I also took this opportunity to view all the sculpture on deck 8 in the evening to see if it was a better experience at night with lights. Upshot was no improvement.
My recommendation to you is a set of noise cancelling headphones. I love my set from Soundcore. They do the trick. As someone who walks through the city regularly, not only is it great for the airplane, but it is great for my daily life. I loved listening to music while lounging on the cruise ship. It was one of the best investments that I made for this trip.
NEXT: A spectacular day followed by disaster at night