Norwegian Prima Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This is not just another review. This is a very well thought of explanation of why, no matter who you are, or what you do, and what you like, you should avoid spending a dime, and any of your time on an NCL cruise. We should have read the reviews. They voice the same things. And yet NCL carry on disappointing. I’ve attached the first review that comes up on google. First of all I have to say that the general design standard of the NCL Prima is like a premium hotel. It’s well made. And the bathrooms in the cabins are big compared to Royal Caribbean. Also the staff on board are really nice people. And they make you feel welcome. It’s the layout, the standards and the rules that are a big problem. HYGIENE & CLEANLINESS On the hygiene side. The room attendant is a lovely person. But the cleaning standards are lower than they should be. And I’m talking everywhere. To the point where sometimes the toilet which is an obvious element wouldn’t be cleaned. And I’m not talking minor things. Not to be too inappropriate, I’m talking major toilet dirt, hair on the counter… multiple times. Then you notice in the restaurants the washed knife with some food left on it. The glass that’s not clean on the ring, or worse that is chipped where it touches your mouth. When it happens often it feels like a standard. Or in this case a non-standard. We got to the room and the couch had stains. Big ones. The coffee mugs were dirty. And when I say dirty I don’t mean something most people won’t see. We’re not that picky. I mean black goo on the ring. We complained. Came back to the room to see that the couch cushions were turned. And the coffee mugs were not washed, just wiped with a tissue! And the tissue WAS UNAPOLOGETICALLY THROWN IN OUR BIN!! Motel standards at best. ROYAL CARIBBEAN: A BENCHMARK Having been on Royal Caribbean Wonders of the Sea before the NCL Prima. Both newest ships of both companies. The difference is HUMONGOUS. It’s like NCL are 20 steps behind. Or, as the Financial Times coincidently reported while I’m on the ship this week: while in 2022 they were at the same level, Royal Caribbean’s stock is now worth 3 times more. And now I know why. A FAIR COMPARISON The Royal Caribbean ship is spacious. The restaurants are in Avenue type spaces. Where there’s a pathway or greenery in the middle and restaurants on the sides. Which have seating outside, where the ceiling sometimes is full glass, or open sky. One of the avenues is kids friendly with a Johnny Rockets, a toy store, a show pool, climbing wall, and arcade basketball and such games. Restaurants that are not in the avenues are adjacent to the adult pool area. They’ve got a park on the ship! A water park for the kids, next to a big kids pool area. Even on the inside. It’s like a small city. Where rooms are rooms. And entertainment spaces are big, obvious, different. On NCL the open Space is just one. And it’s small. Like the lobby of a small building. And has Starbucks and customer service. A couple of wide corridors that have shops that don’t sell anything useful or interesting. And then then most restaurants are at the side of a kind of a labyrinth. Free included dining is good at the surf side bar on NCL. Which is a buffet. Always crowded. Food dropping on the floor is too frequent. But when there’s an excursion (that is very expensive) that comes back after lunch time is closed, they don’t change the schedule. They let you miss major lunch time and figure it out on your own. DINING The outlet called The Local has such a dreadful kitchen. Food is very bad. And always has that smell of cheap restaurants who don’t clean well after food production or after customers leave. Premium dining on NCL is good quality. But it should be great. Shouldn’t it?. But that’s just the main course and the desserts. For some reason the appetizers are generally bad in most of the restaurants. And the understanding of meat cooking has nothing in between medium and very well done. So either soft pink or burned. NCL has less outlets. And they only open at night! While on RC they open for lunch too. And are much much more pleasant. On RC we practically never had to dine in free included dining areas. Unless we wanted to. And when we chose to, at breakfast for example, their version of the buffet is separate areas that don’t intersect with each other. There could be 1,000 people there and you wouldn’t feel it. And the food options were bigger. On RC there’s even an afternoon big dessert buffet, just in case you wanted to indulge. While on NCL it’s just the dessert decision of the lunch or dinner buffet. And they close from 3 till 5:30. You buy a dining package on NCL you’re likely to waste a part of it. Unless you know beforehand that they only open at night. Then you buy less meals. You buy a soda package on NCL you get normal soda while you’re dining, or at the bar. Using your card. On RC, on top of the above, you get a beautiful souvenir cup with a chip that activates many Coca Cola machines on the ship with infinite choices of drinks. ENTERTAINMENT Entertainment on Royal Caribbean is a multitude of shows that are almost at Cirque du Soleil level. Amazing. And there are many. With actors flying around. Professional stuntmen doing mind blowing acts. Professional ones! Mechanical stages that change shape. One that turns into a pool with a superb water show. There’s so much entertainment that you can’t do it all on one trip. And you feel that you got so much value for your money. On NCL you’ve got ONE theatre that has a magician, one singing show and the game the price is right. And is too small to accommodate for the demand. So we’ve never been. And it’s incomparable. And since they don’t have any other decent space. They turn this theatre into a night club at night. Clubbing on RC is in the adults area with a view of the sea all around. A very different experience. OUTDOOR ENTERTAINMENT That’s beside the fact that when you’re going to put a cruiser in a part of the world where your outdoor facilities aren’t useable because of bad weather, you have to find replacement indoor entertainment, or just don’t put it there and disappoint! Iceland to England, there was barely an hour of sun in ten days. The rest was too cold. We tried the infinity pool on NCL it’s nice. But if people knew there was going to be good weather, and brought swimwear, the pools would’ve been too crowded. But either way, people would go out wearing layers. Only to find that the mini golf games didn’t work. “They need maintenance”. The darts they give you are bent and worn out like a cheap bar. The ping pong and such games area is dirty and unpleasant. And too small for the ship. The karting track is nice. The idea of doing that on a ship is cool. But you do it once. Then it’s not that great. They could’ve used that space to create four or five things. Like maybe a climbing wall, more theaters or things that entertain a big number of people. INDOOR ENTERTAINMENT They advertise that they have a VR place instead of an arcade. First it’s too small for such a ship. Second most of the games are low level. Low resolution. And all of the interesting games didn’t work. And, again “needed maintenance!” What?? I paid an arm and a leg to be here. And I get bad quality games or ones that don’t work and mediocre entertainment?? Are they allowed to claim that anything on such a ship with such a ticket cost “needs maintenance”?? HOW THEY RUINED OUR VACATION WITH UNREASONABLE COVID RULES And the cherry on top of the experience is when my son got mildly sick for one day mid trip and it turned out to be Covid. They forced us to keep him in the room, even without symptoms, for 5 days which killed the remaining days of the trip for him. And for us. And the hypocrisy is that the child who gave him Covid is also one who goes to the kids area, and is without symptoms (or mild ones) and who is running free in the ship. We said you, NCL, gave us Covid because of nonchalance or because you don’t care if someone comes in with Covid and roams on board. Then how come you ruin our kid’s vacation when his situation is not any different from the people carrying the virus, which you don’t care to identify? Their answer: because you were responsible and came to us. We have to apply the Covid rules to you. And keep your son in your room and unfortunately ruin his vacation. If you hadn’t come into the infirmary, even with extreme symptoms, we would let you go about the ship and risk infecting everyone. They got to a point where they had SIXTEEN confined guests with screwed vacations!! SIXTEEN. And the one who spread the virus was still free on the ship. Him and anyone who didn’t go to the infirmary when they got symptoms. Either you’re concerned about the general safety and so you treat the virus as a threat or you don’t. And you let the people who are without symptoms wear masks and enjoy their vacation. Whenever I said or pleaded didn’t work. They had security on us. Threatened us to throw us out of the ship at the next port if our son went out of the room. But oh by the way, we, his parents, who are in the same room as him, could go anywhere we want. No masks needed. They even didn’t let us take him off the boat to see the cities where we docked. Even with no symptoms. Even with a mask. The only way to get out of this was to disembark and leave the ship for good. Then they’d let him out. The irony on top is that they know some people have Covid on the ship and they only confined the responsible ones who came forward. And yet they apply all the “precautions” like cleaning our room last, asking our son to be escorted by security on the day of disembarking to “protect other passengers”. While they know that they can simply ask our son to wear a mask and enjoy his time. And he’d be acting safer than the loose people who carry the virus carelessly. All this hypocrisy in the approach to safety while they know that the virus carriers who didn’t come forward are probably breathing in everyone’s face, especially in the kids area and such. This remained till the last day. As we were asked to leave after everyone even though we paid for priority. Our luggage that was supposed to be in priority but it was in a “Covid area” partially wrapped in plastic. The most stupid thing I’ve ever seen. The funnier part is that they said that we have priority in-room dining because they confined us. As I write this review we have been waiting for close to TWO HOURS for lunch. The kids are cranky and hungry. And every time we call they ask us to wait. I’m glad that I am able to voice this to the world. Because NCL is not cheaper than Royal Caribbean. In fact it might be more expensive. And the difference in the experience between both companies is absurdly high. This is their best ship. The epitome of the NCL experience. Feels like a Royal Caribbean knock-off at best. The difference in the experience is so high, that even if NCL was 10 times cheaper. Which it should be. I wouldn’t buy a trip with them ever again.

NCL has already cancelled 2 ports of call and given zero accommodation for the cancellations. That was the bad start. The ship is beautiful, each common area is inviting and elegant, restaurants are excellent. Shops are lacking in both choice and options. Entertainment is unusual - lot's a game show / trivia. Donna Summer show was good. Magician show was average. Live music was good but venues got very crowded. Spa seems very crowded and pricey. Fitness center is small and way too warm. It's annoying to have t walk through the spa to get to the fitness center but not the end of the world. Nice video game room and games on the deck for families. overall we loved it - we had a great time. NCL crew was great!

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

We loved the Indulge Food Haul, wish the hours were longer, the ports were wonderful with breathtaking scenery, Wish the entertainment was better and they had more of it.

Just wanted to share with everyone that my trip was absolutely perfect until on the last night before our arrival to a final destination mine and my husband stuff was stolen from our bags . We were stying in Haven vip suites and this happened . I am so disgusted by this whole incident that my whole overall trip which was wonderful got ruined completely. We believed that our butler and the cleaning person were involved in this scheme . So disappointed, we filed multiple claims and awaiting for some sort of resolution . So for everyone who stying in the Haven and will be planning on stying beware!!!!! The working personal can steal your expensive stuff and they will do it on the last night of you journey !!!! Check u items and make sure nobody takes it away from u !!!!

Overall, I'd rate our trip a B-, mainly due to a lot of little hiccups that tarnished an otherwise great vacation. The ports were wonderful, great scenery and a lot of walking. This is not a "lay on the beach" cruise.

great destination but not the best experience that we have had. Norwegian needs to assess how it operates its cruise and also be a little flexible within its restaurants , people will pay for stuff but they hate to feel nickeled and dimed. We Will not cruise this cruise Line again. Tried it a second time and this confirmed the experience from the first cruise with this company.

Was expecting the worst from all the other reviews that I had read for a few months. Had the most magnificent time on this ship. The most we ever had to wait in line for a meal was 10 minutes. When you go out for dinner to a rest you wait much longer. I never saw any shortage of staff. They didn’t look miserable like they disliked their jobs. Couldn’t find a seat at one bar another had a seat. Never waited to be served at any bar. By the way the ship was a capacity. Loved this ship. Might do the return transatlantic in November

Some design issues, but I’m sure they’ll make some changes in the future.

Overall a good cruise. Room size was good but not done right. Bathroom was small for a suite. Food was good but not all was what I expected. Buffet is too small..beautiful ship but more like a hotel. Not big open spaces like the other ship classes. Embarkation and disembarkation could have been better organized. You could have a 9:30 time and get off with the self assist. Ask 2 people the same question and get 2 different answers. Ship is more expensive. I liked the ship and as always enjoyed the cruise but undecided if I would book back on the prima anytime soon. Great staff.

Beautiful ship. Wonderful staff. Expensive cruise. We felt cheated. No late night fun and food. This cruise put you to bed early. They nickel and dime the whole way. Any worthwhile activities to do you had to pay extra for. Our main pool was closed for 4 of the 7 days. Entertainment was weak. I'm an avid cruiser but this is my 1st time on Norwegian. Probably my last.

5 stars for decor, layout & design 5 stars for food 5 stars for entertainment 4.5 stars for cabin 4.5 stars for bars 4.5 stars for embarkation 4.0 stars for IT staff and wifi 4.0 stars for waitstaff and hotel staff 0 stars for Guest Services 0 stars for disembarkation

Overall it was fantastic , disembarking was very disorganized though.

Although our embarkation and disembarkation was a terrible experience, we had a fantastic time. We rate them as our second favorite in all our cruises for best free food options. The food was excellent. Service was great. The shows outstanding. The talents that they are able to recruit and the productions that they put together is what keeps me sailing on NCL. (Also the food). Price is right is a must attend. They did such a good job with the set and it was a great crowd pleaser. Perhaps my most memorable game that I ever watched on a ship.

Love the ship. It is beautiful even with a few misses. Take advantage of all it has to offer. Book your dining reservations early and really enjoy the specialty restaurants. The food and the service are exceptional.

The Prima is a beautiful ship. We had a really wonderful cruise. Kind and talented staff. Great bars throughout the ship. The Observation Deck was outstanding but sadly always crowded during the day. Yes, the ship layout is awkward and less than ideal. It gets better to navigate as the days go on. The atrium, deck 6, 7,& 8, is a new concept and looks lovely but it does lack the shock and awe of the first arrival onto the ship. It was odd to not be able to see the performers from decks 7 and 8 because of the way it’s laid out. Also, the Penrose Atrium Bar is way too small for the number of people it serves. The popular areas get crowded especially if it’s too cold or windy to be outside. The small venues get crowded for popular events but people cycle in and out so there is usually always space. Dining & entertainment required reservations beforehand but were still fairly available if you just showed up to either place. For the theatre, there was a queue and most folks got in. For dinner, all you had to do was call or visit the restaurant and you would very likely find a time. Indulge Food Hall was cool but stalking seating not so much. Avoid popular times and it should be fine. Same with Surfside Grill. The spa can be pricey but it is a nice treat. I bought a pass so when the rest of the ship got overwhelming, I’d go lounge in the spa. I found it was a great alternative to Vibe which sold out prior to embarkation. It was too cold to use the pools but the area was tiny. Entertainment and activities abound on this ship. I found it hard to be bored. Read your Freestyle Daily. Enjoy your cruise!

My experience for the Prima (4/23) Check-in Process: C- During the online check-in, why do we need to upload photos if they take them at the normal check-in? The online check-in should expedite the embarking process and save time but it did not. We were one of the first to arrive (10:30 am). We arrived early, checked bags quickly, got through security quickly, and ended up being the 16th boarding group. Many people that checked in after us were boarded before us. Embarkation / Disembarkation: C Facial recognition takes too long and creates very long lines. Each time we returned to the ship, we were not offered a wet cloth or drink. Halfway through the disembarkation process, it becomes a free-for-all. The tag colors don’t matter. Entertainment: F You cannot pre-book entertainment when booking (I booked last August), when restaurant reservations become available, or when completing the online check-in. The only chance I had at making reservations was as soon as we boarded. The problem here is that the Haven and guests with disabilities get priority booking and by the time my family was called for boarding, everything was sold out. Sometime after we made our booking, the Noise Boys were removed from the ship. My family was looking forward to this show. To top it off, they weren’t replaced with another performer… they were just removed, causing even fewer options for entertainment. There is a huge lack of family activities and things for kids to do. My children were often bored. Tee Time was in terrible shape. We needed to wait for a family to finish the 2nd half of the course just so we could have the golf balls to play. We didn’t even get enough golf balls for all four of us to play. The course looks like it’s seen 9 years of usage, not 9 months. The Prima Speedway was poorly managed. The staff was very dull and unengaged. The time and lap tracker was not working properly. The attendants kept stopping and throttling the cars so it was a poor experience. This should have also been open more. Galaxy Pavilion needs more than just virtual reality. There is no variety here. Everything is way overpriced and not worth $8 per person for 2 minutes of VR. There is no jogging track, basketball court, or sports deck, of any kind. There must not be anything for teens on the ship. Groups of teens were constantly running through the halls. Splash Academy: A (Staff: A / Activities: A / Reservation System: F) The Splash Academy should be open all day. Several times, my wife and I wanted to have dinner together but reservations are impossible to change and Splash Academy is often closed. There were massive delays in messaging between the Splash Academy and the waitlist in the app. Pools and Sun Deck: F This ship was not designed to accommodate sun seekers. There is no “flow” to the pool area. There are obstacles, the stairs are too narrow and seats are too close together. The pools are tiny. I’ve seen bigger inflatable pools. NCL should be embarrassed. The pools on deck 8 are also a laughable mistake. Why would anyone want to go in a pool that has a 12-story shadow cast over it? The pool water was dirty… several times, we found bandages and other gross debris floating around but our kids were so bored, we had to wedge ourselves into the pool. Bars: C- During our sailing, the NBA and NHL playoffs were occurring as well as the NFL draft and MLB season. None of the bars were showing any relevant sports. At the Local Bar, I asked them to change the TV from a rugby pre-game show to a playoff game and they wouldn’t. If you’re a sports fan, this is not the ship for you. The servers at the Local Bar were slow and unattentive. We and several other guests needed to go to the bar to order or get the server’s attention. The pool bar is a disaster. Expect long waits here. The servers would not come to the part of the sun deck where we were sitting (or they reached their drink order limit before getting to us). We had to get our own drinks. The drinks were very inconsistent across the ship. For instance, a Mai Tai at one bar would be sweet while other bars would make it tart. Some bars garnish and some don’t. Restaurants: C (Food: A / Reservations: F / Service: D) The menus don’t offer enough variety. We often felt like we were settling on meal choices. I purchased additional specialty dining meal options for our kids and they could not be used for our kids. We were charged a la carte for our children’s meals at specialty restaurants because they got sick of the kid’s menu very quickly. Restaurant reservations are nearly impossible to get and change. Surfside is the most inadequate dining venue on any ship on any cruise line. More guests and less main dining? Indulge is a great idea, but poorly executed. They need a hostess for this venue. It was CHAOS! I walked around the restaurant for 20 minutes holding my child looking for any table that might become available. We went to try to eat here 3 times before actually finding a table. Starbucks always had a long line but the staff was pretty good here. Itinerary: B- I’ve never had a previous cruise change itineraries… even during hurricane season. Without any notice or reason, Virginia Beach was removed from the itinerary. Guest Services: D I tried calling from the NCL app and the phone does not work for making calls. Several times I needed to see guest services but the line was too long. On the 6th day, I’ve only been able to speak to them once and they weren’t very helpful. App and WiFi: F The app has major delays in messaging, particularly with Splash Academy messages. I often have to refresh the status page in the app because the messages are delayed by up to 20 minutes. The phone does not work for calling restaurant reservations and guest services. I tried to watch a sporting event on my phone because the bars only show things that appeal to 1% of the passengers. I was not able to watch the event due to poor signal. Elevators: C- There are at least 5 elevators that are out of service on a full ship. Getting around was very difficult and it took a long time. Spa: N/A The Thermal Spa closed at 8:00 on day 7. I would have paid for 2 entire day passes for my wife and I to use the spa if it was open till 11:00. Gift Shop: C The “Gift Shop” hardly had any souvenirs. There are no provisions. It is essentially a jewelry store with a few side items. Rooms: B– The “Family Balcony” rooms do not have Pullman beds. The only additional sleeping area is a pullout sofa that is maybe the size of a full bed. It’s not ideal for two people to share. My kids didn’t sleep well because of it. They both have bigger beds at home and sleep alone so now that they had to share a smaller bed, they kept bumping each other and accidentally hitting each other and waking each other up. Our room was on the 16th floor and I think the pool deck was above us. We heard the crew moving deck chairs late at night and early in the morning. There is also a lot of creaking in the walls and ceiling. A vacation for me should be relaxing and this vacation frankly was anything but. We paid for a high-end cruise and got a bargain basement equivalent. This is not the NCL that we have known in the past and built loyalty with. All-in-all, the free (or included) amenities are being scaled back to make way for things they can upsell and upcharge. You can expect lots of waiting, long lines, and constantly being let down. I would not recommend the Prima unless you are staying in a Haven suite. From the reviews I’ve read and guests I’ve talked to, those are the only people that seem to enjoy the ship.

The food on the ship was very good. Lots of choices for food venues. Ship design is a bit odd. Our cabin was very comfortable. We enjoyed the larger cabin balcony and the more comfortable cushioned chairs on it. In spite of some of the negatives, we still enjoyed our cruise.

Very nice time and the cruise ship was not as big as everything makes it out to be.close

Great 7 day cruise on the Prima, great food and I love Bermuda.