Great itinerary, mediocre ship

Item: Norwegian Prima
Rating: 3.7
Author: kentospaz

Norwegian Prima Cruise Review

kentospaz

Contributor Level: Second Mate

19 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 23

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

10 Night Northern Europe: Iceland & Norway (Reykjavik To Southampton)

Sail date: July 06, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Prima

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 13206

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Loved the itinerary despite the many issues we had with the ship. Staff was amazing and did their best. Food was outstanding.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Arrived at 11AM and on the ship in 15 minutes

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Food was very good everywhere. We were in The Haven so my criticism is around the never changing menu and poor wine by the glass quality. On a 10 day cruise it is too much of the same thing day after day. The menu should change more often. At least cycle a few different menus like The Retreat Luminae. Also, the by the glass wines in The Haven are not good enough. I’m not asking for premium drinks across the ship on the standard drink package. But for lunch and dinner in The Haven restaurant, pouring a glass from a $9 bottle of Shiraz is pretty pathetic. One last point is around the availability of the beer listed on the menu. This ship sails to Belgium many times on these itineraries. No Leffe Blonde or Tripel Karmeliat even though listed on the menu???

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Limited activities compared to other ships or past NCL cruises. Everything seems paired back. The Stadium is full of broken or worn out items. Non working mini golf. Dry slides that you get stuck on half way down. Shuffle board that looks damaged and destroyed. Not a lot of fun on this ship.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

What happened to the NCL experience I've raved about to family and friends??? No comedians, mediocre music and a boring show only shown two nights on a 10 day cruise. Karaoke and game shows are not an adequate replacement. The band at Syd Norman’s was great. Unfortunately, with a small venue we were forced to wait 1.5 hours to get a decent seat. Otherwise it was standing room only.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Amazing service. Staff was top notch.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Ship is form over function everywhere. It looks beautiful until you have to enjoy it. The bars look sterile and austere. The Metropolitan bar looks like a food court establishment tucked beside a lower floor mall pathway. The others aren’t much better. The Haven is beautiful but with double the guests more crowded and less accessible. Very clean and well maintained though. Love the new waterfront despite everything covered in bunker fuel exhaust soot. Poor staff is cleaning furniture covers many times daily. The lighting is also strange… During the day it is great, but at night the ship is too lit up. It is very bright and doesn't give you a nice tranquil feel.

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5

We loved the design of The Haven penthouse balcony cabin. It was very stylish. Unfortunately, it smelled like a moldy, musty, tropical resort. The bathroom also was off-gassing weird smells all the time. We talked to the butler and the head concierge but there was no fixing it. We ended up never going back to our room unless to sleep. The ship was full, so there was no other alternative. I feel this is a fundamental design issue with the ship. When unpacking five days later, all our clothes smelled strongly of mould and mustiness.