Beautiful Ship With Lots Of Problems

Norwegian Prima Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 21

Overall rating:

2.8 out of 5
Norwegian Prima

9 Night Caribbean: Cozumel Jamaica & Grand Cayman (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 30, 2022

Ship: Norwegian Prima

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

The Prima is gorgeous. Unfortunately, all of the beauty is wasted on poor design and not enough space to accommodate the number of people on board. The staff, overall, were very nice and did the best they could. Bars do not have enough staff and restaurants have limited hours and not enough seating. There was also a food borne illness issue (I, along with many others became ill) which NCL has yet to acknowledge in a complaint I filed. There are several posts by others on the ship on several travel sites that share the same experience we have outlined. The biggest problem is that NCL really doesn't care. My formal complaint was pretty much ignored and we were told our experience was "unusual." Reading reviews of others who were on our sailing, along with reviews of other sailings on the Prima show that there was nothing "unusual" about our experience.

Embarkation

1 out of 5
Embarkation was very disorganized and disjointed. Checking in can be streamlined and not as cumbersome.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5
Restaurants are beautiful but not large enough to accommodate the number of passengers on board. Bars, restaurants and other service areas were understaffed. Getting a drink took forever. Very little service on deck or around pools.

Palomar

4 out of 5

Like the other specialty restaurants, the food was good, not great. The space is beautiful and the view off the side of the ship is outstanding. I am not a fan of the open kitchen concept so it was a little too loud for my preference.

The Commodore Room

3 out of 5

Like Hudson's, the food was good, not great. Because the ship was so crowded, the staff tried to turn tables quickly. We felt pressured to order quickly and dine quickly. Staff were very nice but it was obvious they were pushing to turn the tables.

Cagney's Steakhouse

4 out of 5

Cagney's staff did a nice job. The food was good, not great. The dining area is beautiful. We enjoyed it but it certainly wasn't exceptional.

The Local Bar & Grill

2 out of 5

The bar is midship and the primary bar for all the outdoor spaces on level 8. It was understaffed and the wait to get a drink was ridiculous. Obviously, that carried over into the speed of service in the dining area. The food is ok but nothing exceptional. The dining area is also a major walkway for people going to the outdoor seating areas so it was constant traffic around your table while you were trying to eat.

Surfside Café & Grill

2 out of 5

Poorly laid out, not enough seating, not enough room to move around, and very average food. This is where I contracted the food borne illness. Nothing about this dining set up is done well.

Onda By Scarpetta

4 out of 5

The space is nice, the service was very good and the food was just ok. For a restaurant that is supposed to be a signature establishment, I really expected a much better menu. Food wasn't bad but certainly not exceptional.

Le Bistro

5 out of 5

Our favorite restaurant on NCL ships. The restaurant space is beautiful, service was good and the food was good.

Indulge Food Hall

3 out of 5

Interesting but way too small, way too crowded, and very limited hours. Not impressed.

Hudson's Main Dining Room

3 out of 5

Like the other dining venues, the food was good, not great. Because the ship was so crowded, the staff tried to turn tables quickly. We felt pressured to order quickly and dine quickly. Staff were very nice but it was obvious they were pushing to turn the tables.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5
There is not enough outdoor seating for the number of people on board. A canceled port call made it even worse. Many of the public areas are not well designed to handle the number of people that are on the ship during sea days.

Infinity Beach

2 out of 5

Cool concept with the pools but they are very small and there is not nearly enough seating on the decks and around the pools. On the day we were stranded because of the ship's engine problems, it became very obvious that the outdoor seating areas were not well thought out.

Entertainment

2 out of 5
The shows are outstanding - if you can get in to see them. The bars with live entertainment (comedy club and Syd Norman's) are way too small. Many of the performances in Syd Norman's were canceled because members of the band contracted food borne illness, as did many guests, including me.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
The guest services staff were curt and couldn't care less about customer service. Many of the ship's service staff were over-worked because there were not enough staff for the number of people on board. Most of the crew were very nice but you could tell they were being stretched to the max.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5
Beautiful ship - poorly designed. Comedy Club and Syd Norman's are way too small. Theatre can't accommodate a full ship. Outdoor areas and pool areas do not have enough seating for a full ship. Soot was falling from the exhaust system all over the decks, chairs, in drinks and on people.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
The cabins are beautiful, spacious and well done. Plenty of storage and good sized bathroom. We had a balcony cabin and we thought it was well designed.

Ship tip

DON'T! There are much better options than NCL and especially the Prima. NCL customer service and commitment to health and safety no longer exist.

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5
Kennedy Space Center is amazing!

Cozumel, Mexico

3 out of 5
We have been to Cozumel so many times that it really isn't special anymore. Nothing bad about it at all. Plenty to do for first-timers and those who like the tourist areas.

Harvest Caye, Belize Did not visit port

We did not get to go to Harvest Caye because of issues with the ship. Instead, over 3000 people were stuck on board with limited outdoor seating, understaffed bars and restaurants (with limited dining hours), and very few activities.

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

3 out of 5
Like Cozumel, we have been here many times. We like getting away from all the tourist areas. We rent a golf cart and go further down the beach to hang out.

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5
Beautiful place. Look forward to going back when we can spend more time.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

5 out of 5
We booked a private tour that was not associated with NCL. We paid a lot less money and got a great tour of the area and had lunch at a local establishment. If you get out and away from all the tourist stuff, Jamaica is a beautiful country.

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

2 out of 5
Beautiful but WAY over crowded. Just like on the ship, there were not enough seating areas for the number of people on the island. Unless you want to sit and drink all day, not a lot to do.

Disembarkation

3 out of 5
We carried our own bags off so we did not have to wait for the bags to be brought into the terminal.
Was this review helpful? 21

6 Comments

trenstravels    1 year ago

Thank you for sharing, I appreciate your review. So sorry you experience wasn't as you expected.

norbe    1 year ago

Thanks for the review. We are going on the Prima in April. Now we have to lower our expectations going in!!

Jerrec    1 year ago

Most of your issues are shared by a lot of others. NCL did a poor job with the Prima class. Tried to put everything from a Breakaway Plus class ship into the smaller Prima and failed at it. Most of the venues are far too small. Should have done less and made them larger.

AuntPinkie    1 year ago

Sorry this cruise didn’t meet your expectations. Appreciate your feedback.

javawoody    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

Other reviews of this sailing