Vol_Navy

@PistolPete13 Thank you for snapping a photo of my wife and I in front of the Prima with our camera after we docked in Bermuda last Wednesday. It will be featured on our holiday cards! I have enjoyed reliving our cruise through your excellent photography and fun reviews this week!

@uneamie The concerns you are expressing are spot on with my experience on the Prima when compared to NCL ships dating back to the Dreamward and every class in between through the Bliss. On our prior prepandemic sailings at or near capacity we have always been able to find entertainment / specialty availability after embarkation. Not so on this particular cruise. I believe that reservation availability will greatly improve on future sailings for several reasons. First, this was a five-day cruise and only one port day. With most cruises being seven days or longer there will be more availability in entertainment /specialty restaurant venues because of the extra days. Also, most cruises will have more than one port day and port days seem to open up availability. Most importantly, I believe NCL will make the necessary adjustments if availability continues to be an issue. That is why I would encourage fans of NCL to give the Prima a try if the price is right and the itinerary is to their liking. While our family experienced some of the peculiarities and challenges of the Prima that have been noted, we had a wonderful vacation (special thanks to the personable, hard working staff!). It was fun to experience some of the new, unique additions of the Prima…and my teenage son averaged 20 races a day on the triple decked speedway where there were no reservation issues and where he enjoyed five days of fun rides with newfound friends.

No reservations for specialty are showing with the exception of Los Lobos and Food Republic for only a smattering of times. In all fairness though this is a five-day cruise so the limited days could be a contributing factor (everyone wanting to use the free at sea meals which can’t be spread out as easily in five days versus three days). Also, the hosts/hostesses at Cagney’s and Onda have been very nice and encouraged us to check in any time if there are cancellations. I think NCL is also still promoting the ship to travel companies and influencers. This may be filling the specialty restaurants faster up due to priority reservations or unlimited specialty dinners ( just my speculation though ).

@aubrey The food hall has been a very pleasant surprise. Lunch was great with outstanding options served to your table after ordering with a tablet. The restaurant manager told us that the menu changes each evening and even mentioned filet mignon being a selection. The table set up is very creative allowing what feels like more room. Regarding Specialty restaurants, these are such a hot ticket that there is virtually no availability with all but Food Republic and Los Lobos (at least at this time). We have never booked Specialty restaurants until we boarded before and never had an issue. But it looks like our Free at Sea and Latitude free meal options will be extremely limited. I would advise future Prima cruisers to book dining well in advance. Compared to other NCL ships, my first impression of dining is that the restaurants may not be sized for the crowds that they are feeding. Significant wait times on the first night and the Surfside (the new Garden Cafe) is much smaller than the Joy, Bliss, Escape and is very crowded. Hopefully, limited specialty availability and crowds in other dining areas will subside in time as the Prima gets its sea legs. Hoping it can soon meet the expectations of those of us who have eagerly awaited this new class of beautiful ships.