Cruise UK to Barcelona, visiting ports of France, Portugal and Spain.

Norwegian Prima Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean

Faculty

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 26

Overall rating:

2.9 out of 5

Verified Review

12 Night Europe: France Spain & Portugal (Southampton To Barcelona)

Sail date: October 01, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Prima

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 13708

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

New, nice ship. One port was changed after booking. Very expensive excursions. Bad layout. Crowded buffet area with passengers fighting for a table, not enough places to stay (to read a book or relax). Poor entertainments.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

Crowded buffet areas.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Low quality entertainment.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Room steward was good.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

The ship was new, launched in 2022. In a ship with several thousand passengers, there was no space in the buffet area, passengers were fighting for a table. Terrible layout. There was not enough space to relax, to read a book, to have a conversation. The Observation Lounge was always crowded, the library was eliminated, etc.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

No complaints.

Ship tip

One port was changed after booking the cruise (Vigo replaced Porto). The excursions have an unreasonable price in comparison with a similar ship (Bliss, same company) that we experienced the same year. For example, for an excursion in France we paid almost 200 dollars per person. Anything extra in the ship is too expensive.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Southampton (London), England

2 out of 5

Le Havre (Paris), France

3 out of 5

Roen is an interesting place.

Thumbs Up 1

Le Verdon-Sur-Mer (Bordeaux), France

4 out of 5

Bordeaux is a nice place to visit.

Thumbs Up 0

La Coruna, Spain

2 out of 5

There are no attractions in this site.

Thumbs Up 0

Vigo, Spain

2 out of 5

No attractive. The initial scheduled port was PORTO and it was replaced by Vigo, that is not attractive.

Thumbs Up 0

Lisbon, Portugal

4 out of 5

Cadiz (Seville), Spain

4 out of 5

Motril (Granada), Spain

4 out of 5

Ibiza, Balearic Islands

3 out of 5

Palma De Mallorca, Balearic Islands

3 out of 5

Valencia, Spain

5 out of 5

Barcelona, Spain

3 out of 5

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

Baggage claim was disorganized; chaotic disembarkation.

10 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 4 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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Ladyjunecliff 1 year ago

Appreciate your comments about the buffet since that is where my husband likes to go to eat as quickly as possible. I like MDR but also like extra options that buffet offers.

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shipmate13 1 year ago

Loved the Prima. Mainly because it was so different from cookie cutter ships. Don't EVER eat at buffets when I am on cruises. The ship was beautiful, had no issues and would book it again.

Thumbs Up 1

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javawoody 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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AuntPinkie 1 year ago

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

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karlgrgurich 1 year ago

Sad that relaxing places are hard to find.

Thumbs Up 1

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jallaway 1 year ago

I was really chomping at the bit to go on this ship when it comes to Galveston in December; but I've read too many reviews like this. I'm probably going to spend my premium Cruise dollars on the one with the Texas star on front.

Thumbs Up 1

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cruising2004 1 year ago

Sorry you were disappointed with your cruise.

Thumbs Up 1

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Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

Thumbs Up 1

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bubbles60 1 year ago

We loved the Prima. We were on it in July. Sorry you did not like the layout. We like the many options for included dining. wonderful itinerary.

Thumbs Up 2

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