Canaveral port is beyond a Challenge. NCL did their best

Norwegian Prima Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

libbyandbob

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 26

Overall rating:

3.2 out of 5

Verified Review

5 Night Caribbean: Cozumel & Costa Maya (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 11, 2022

Ship: Norwegian Prima

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9806

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

We enjoyed our 5days away , food was good, staff were wonderful. Entertainment was so-so. Elevators on ship very slow so if possible have a cabin with easy walking stairs to decks you will use most . We did a lot on 7 and 8 so 9th cabin was perfect

Embarkation

1 out of 5

Terrible . Arrived at Canaveral on time 11:30am for 4pm sail, found last parking spot on roof. Stood in line for over 90 mins to get to security. 376+ Travel agents folks also there as group . Line cutting in my folks was unbelievable. NCL hleped by fast tracking my husband and eventually getting wheelchair

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

The 375+ group was overwhelming when all seated in The Commodore. NOISE WAS awful, wait staff could not hear and lots of confusion for is other passengers. Worst dining experience ever The Hudson was great fro breakfast and other small eating paces good. Like the Tapas cafe might be called Dining Delight. Place with selforder tanlesy

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Virtual Reality room - 2 experiences closed since they make too much noise over the spa! Test cost $8 On deck Shuffle Table Top Board has wrong instructions ( they posted traditional on deck shuffle board) .surface was rough and chipped. Pucks were very worn considering ship only few months old. Other 'table soccer ' was feeble. Putput golf was ok but not as good as older ships. The race cars were boring to watch . The 2 tube drops were free but didnt seem to get much use. $20 for a virtual game of darts seems a but high.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Too many events were 'booked out' on arrival on ship eg the Improv was held in room that might hold max 200 people for a 2000+ capacity ship . They have a giant 3 floor theatre so they could plan better. Perhaps the giant group of Travel Agents and associates got better access to the events . I know many areas were closed of for ' special events ' most of the days eg Observation Lounge

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Shore staff were very helpful getting wheelchair assistance after terrible boarding experience. All other ship staff were very professional and helpful

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

General Deck Layout is not my favorite. The cabins are great and bathrooms much larger and functional than older ships. 9th floor cabin balcony is not very private since the 8th deck can look up into the balcony and cabin . Glad we were not close to the Drop Tubes which come out 8th deck. Balcony chairs are wonderful, pretty, padded cushions and able to recline. All areas were very clean and even had hand-washing sinks in alcove areas near restaurants . Interesting art everywhere. 8th deck has a zen like area with sculptures

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

See info above about layout - it was good except for privacy issues. Mini refrigerator was nice excepit is in a tight fit closer and seemed to overheat. We wedged the closet door open and it really helped

Ship tip

If possible have some one drop you off and pick you up . parking is terrible and had to climb 5 flights get to car. Lifts were filled with people-suitcases. Took 35 mins to get car and backdown to ground level .

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

1 out of 5

The Terminal embarkation and disembarkation process is POOR ( it was horrendous) because the bottleneck in parking garage . Also poor signage which says pay before going to your car BUT after searching there is no where to pay in advance. NCL do not control this but perhaps could open up a discussion for improvement

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation