Hits and Misses
Norwegian Prima Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 25
11 Night Northern Europe: Iceland & Norway (Southampton To Reykjavik)
Sail date: August 06, 2023
Ship: Norwegian Prima
Cabin number: 5100
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
We loved the ports but feel we paid too much for this cruise. After final payment, we saw that the price dropped $3000 CA. I asked our agent to ask what we could do and he said we were locked in. A gentleman on the ship at dinner shared that he called NCL when he saw this and got a $2200 Future cruise credit. It put a real damper on the cruise but at that point it was too late to do anything about it. Keep checking the prices and don't take no for an answer. They also cancelled two of our ports after final payment. The Belgium stop was important to us. They said it was because of the tides. The Iceland stop of Isafjordur was due to dock extensions being done. These were being done for the entire year so NCL knew in advance but didn't let us know until after we had paid and would lose big bucks if we cancelled. We complained and got a $200 OBC but really this was just a refund of the port taxes we would have been charged for these ports. Other reviews indicate that port cancellations on this cruise itinerary seem to occur often. What you see may not be what you get.Embarkation
We rebooked the shuttle to the ship but our names were not on the list. Luckily they had extra seats. Another passenger said hep rebooked, was not on the list but they had no room for him. He had to find his own way to get to the ship. Contact NCL before flying to ensure you will have a shuttle seat. At the terminal, we got through quickly but then had to sit with hundreds of people in a small space for two hours waiting to be allowed on the ship. Once on the ship, we had to wait another two hours before our room was able to be accessed. Since we hadn't slept all night, this was not ideal. Seemed like a very long process compared to other cruise lines.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Dining: We really enjoyed our main dining room meals on Prima. The food was great. The upstairs dining room Hudson's has huge windows that overlook the water. Beautiful. We went there for lunch but enjoyed the Commodore downstairs for dinner which seemed to have more room between tables and shorter line ups. We liked the Local Bar and Grill for a quick breakfast or lunch since the hours were earlier than the main dining room. The Indulge Hall was good and fast but the food comes all at once. We only went twice since we didn't like the ambiance and were confused with the iPad ordering. The buffet was a zoo with so many people it was hard to walk through. We had two free specialty dining and we chose Cagney's and Hasuki. If you eat at the Commodore, there are options to pay for a steak from Cagney's since they share a kitchen. Had we known, we would have chosen another restaurant and just paid for a steak at the Commodore. Hasuki was fun but I don't like Miso soup and didn't like the tea cake for dessert. The food was good at both but not that much better than the main dining rooms. Drinks and Free at Sea: We got the free drink option and were charged $690 CA for the beverage and dining service charge. Since we don't drink all that much, there is no way that we used up this amount of tips. Is it really free at sea? I would uncheck this option if I were to ever book with NCL again. It would have been cheaper for us to just pay for our drinks and tips. You are only given 150 minutes wifi which we blew through in 2 days. We had to buy more but don't buy it before you board. They have a sale in the first couple of days. Also not free.
Onboard Activities
This ship is large with about 4000 passengers. Everywhere you look there are people and line ups. The venues are small so getting a seat anywhere means going early. We usually had to just move on to the next place where we couldn't get a seat. The race track looks great but we had lots of bad weather so it wasn't open. You have to sign up for a slot but we always missed our chance. We never got to do it. There are games outside but there is a charge for the mini putt and darts (expensive) so we didn't do it. The pool is very small but heated which was nice. They have a lifeguard but close the pool early each night. The whirlpools are on each side and nice except they were packed usually with kids jumping in off the side. Expense kept us from doing the VR. All in all, unless you get great weather, you won't be doing much.
Entertainment
Good but very limited. Lots of music but no comedians, port lecturers, magicians. The Donna Summers show was great but book your tickets on line in advance. They had a Fleetwood Mac Rumors show that was great but the venue only seats about 50 so most people had to stand. Why wasn't this in the large theatre? We enjoyed the Price is Right and Deal or no Deal. The line up for Bingo was crazy so we passed that by. There were great musicians that performed in the bars and lounges but it was almost impossible to get a seat since these venues are very small. The male and female main act singers can sing but the act was cheesy with big screens behind them with random colourful images. More annoying than entertaining.
Children's Programs
NA
Service and Staff
Service was great but it should be considering that we paid about $1100 CA for our beverage, specialty restaurant and steward gratuities. This is the most we have ever paid for tips.
Ship Quality
The ship was very new, beautiful and very clean. We did not like the design. There are lots of outdoor spaces but when you have bad weather and everyone is inside, it feels very crowded and cramped. We would walk from lounge to lounge looking for a seat and often just gave up. The lounge areas are small so when there are performers, you often have to stand. The centre area is open for three floors. When they were doing karaoke in the bottom floor area, we could hear it in the Whiskey Bar which was on the top level which was playing other music. The shops are all over and tiny. Not much selection in my opinion compared to other cruise lines.
Cabin / Stateroom
We loved our verandah cabin which was clean and new. Great shower. We did not use our balcony because of the weather so we could have saved some money and just got an Oceanview.
Ship tip
Be at the main dining room right when it opens to avoid long lines.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Disembarkation
Oh my. We chose the shore excursion to take us to the Reykjavik Museum, church and then the airport. We met in Syd Norman's and waited and waited. So disorganized. We were finally led off the ship but they put us in line with the hundreds of others who were getting off. We were very late to the bus so by the time we got to the museum, we were given only one hour to see it. Since we had to get in line for 20 minutes for the Northern Lights show and since it took 30 minutes to run, we only had a few minutes to run up top to see the view. We didn't see the majority of the museum. Waste of money. Most annoying was getting dropped off at the airport 30 minutes early. Why weren't we given the extra 30 minutes at the museum. Not impressed with the two shore excursions we did with NCL. Booked the rest with Viator and Get your Guide and had great tours at half the price.