Beautiful new ship, but has its flaws
Norwegian Prima Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 5
Helpful Votes: 95
5 Night Bermuda & Atlantic Coast (New York Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 10, 2022
Ship: Norwegian Prima
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 16104
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
Our Prima "diary"... Nothing here is in any sort of order, more like notes I've made through out the dau about the good and bad that we saw and experienced. This will not be in any type of a pro vs con list, just what we (the wife and I) observed during the day. The atrium, while nice and different, after a couple of days, feels more like the center court of a multi level shopping mall. On the topic of shopping, the stores are not your typical walk in and shop,having a defined space with an entry. Instead, they are on both side of deck 6,7 and 8, heading from the atrium - aft. So, having to walk toward the aft of the ship makes you feel like you are walking the gang plank, with sales people on both sides of you trying to get your business. If you're looking for NCL branded products, they are in the REAR of the Pandora shops taking up the space of 2 display racks. The LARGEST issue with the Prima is the SMALL dining venues. Every complementary dining room, from the buffet to Indulge and The Local to Hudsons and The Commodore room, the dining rooms are very small for the number of passengers on board. I would hazard to guess, that if everyone went to eat at the same time, there are not enough seats for everyone (keep in mind, the Commodore room isn't open for breakfast or lunch). Also, the tables and chairs are so close together that you can measure the distance between two people sitting in inches. I LOVED how NCL has broken down a lot of the spaces into small, intimate sections. Deck 8, the Ocean Boulevard, which could be just a long vast space on some ships, is well managed with multiple different types of spaces. All defined by different colors and styles of furniture. It was always easy to find a quiet place to sit and not feel crowded. Even on the Sun deck, there are lounge chairs, beds, large cushioned chairs, loungers, etc… The cabins are, for the most part, larger than on previous ships, with balconies that are wider than I've had on previous sailings. The staff ratio is larger than any other NCL ship and it is an obvious difference. Staff is everywhere. From dining staff in the buffet and Indulge Food Hall (which is a good place to get lunch, especially on embarkation) to servers on Deck 8 and on the pool/sun decks. My wife, who is a smoker, doesn't like the small corner on deck 18 that they have roped off as the only smoking section (other than in an enclosed section of the casino). This area is only accessible via stairs, so not very ADA friendly. There is a stair lift, but you need to find someone to operate it. As a former smoker, I see both sides of the issue. It appears that the smoking area was either a last minute addition or an intentional attempt by Norwegian to greatly reduce the amount of cigarette smoking on their ship. The Thermal Spa was VERY nice, but get there early or late, otherwise it was crouded and while nice, not as pleasant as when we were there early in the morning. For a new ship, it is having several technical and mechanical issues. The tablets for ordering in the Indulge are hit or miss. Some times they're fine, other times they were very glitchy. The internet reminds me of old school dial up days. Several cabins around us had Air Conditioning issues and three cabins around us, had to be moved because of mechanical issues with the climate controls. While in Bermuda, with a whole lot of people looking to get ashore, the ship suffered a ship wide power loss that lasted about 10 minutes. During the power outage, there was a heavy amount of black smoke coming from the stacks. Not a good sign for a new ship. The Prima, overall is a very nice ship full of the latest and greatest features. There was a lot that I really liked. The small intimate areas to sit back and relax. The Indulge Food Hall is a great concept, when everything works and it is not over packed. The spa is wonderful, when it's not over crowded. The fact that the MDR doesn't change the menu is nice. You can't eat everything you like in one sitting, so being able to come back another day and order something else you wanted is nice. However, the Prima suffers from what I call Covid construction. By that I refer to items that were built during the pandemic are just not at the same caliber as the same item before the shut down. This applies to cars, RV's, boats, homes, etc… These items just seam to not be up to the same par as its previous years counterparts. Here on the Prima, it consists of stairs that are loose and wobbly. A section on deck 19 (the sun deck) when if you step on it, you feel the metal floor refract about half an inch. Railings that don't line up, so you end up banging a knuckle or two. They are already repainting several areas. When closing the bathroom door, I can feel the entire wall vibrate from it. And I'm constantly hearing people in the halls (and I have BAD hearing). The one thing I noticed (and I couldn't quite put my finger on it until the last day), the Prima seems to be continuing a pattern noticeable lately across the cruise industry in New ship design. That is, reducing the space for free, complimentary items to make room for events and attractions that cost extra and make the cruise line more money. There is a reason why EVERY major cruise line is reporting that sales on board are up dramatically. On the Prima, the small pool deck and small buffet area enables them to have a three story go cart track,a darts lounge and a large Vibes section that abuts the Havens. The observation lounge is small (maybe twenty feet wide) and wraps around the Galaxy Pavillion that is basically in the middle of the space. All these areas generate revenue for the cruise line, so they take away seats (which on a rainy day heading back to New York are desperately needed) to make a buck. In conclusion, the good parts of the Prima are very good, but the negatives on board are not avoidable. It is a beautiful ship, with wonderful amenities, but it has its flaws (as most ships do).Embarkation
Manhattan Terminal is always bad. Their biggest choke point is security
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Both Summer and Noise Boys were excellent shows!!
Service and Staff
Our Cabin Steward was wonderful.
The wait staff in Indulge, at times, appeared frustrated (usually when the tablets went down, which was often).
The bartenders were all very friendly and knew how to makes the drinks,even a few obscure ones I threw at them!!
Ship Quality
This should be two separate questions.
The ship was constantly being cleaned. The cleanliness was never an issue.
The ships layout felt choppy. I hated the fact that to get Aft on Deck 6,7 or 8, we either had to walk outside or walk thru the corridor of sales people.
Cabin / Stateroom
Cabin was a Thermal Spa Balcony. The cabin size was much larger than on other NCL ships we've been on. The one thing everyone was loving was the size of the bathrooms and showers in the cabin. These were spacious and comfortable for a big guy!
Ship tip
Go to Indulge on embarkation. Avoid the dining areas during peak times, they ALL get over crowded
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Royal Naval Dockyard, West End, Bermuda
Bermuda was wonderful. By skipping Norfolk, we got into Bermuda at 5:30 then evening before. Although they considered this an overnight, there wasn't much available to do until the next morning.
Disembarkation
Always easy getting off!
Traveler Photos
