NCL Prima 5-day NYC to Bermuda Semi-Live! (10/10/22)

[PistolPete13]

29 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Dated?  The Prima has an inverted bow and the Enchanted has a standard bow.  If you actually sailed on a Royal Class ship from Princess you would know it's not dated.

What a ship looks like from the outside means squat, IMHO.  What matters is the food, the bars, the entertainment, the ambiance, the venues.

Very true, but I was just discussing how the ship looks on the outside, a very narrow point of view I admit, before working my way to discuss other aspects I found within the ship.

Edited October 29, 2022 by PistolPete13

[The Traveling Man]

15 hours ago, PistolPete13 said:

- The interior areas of decks 6, 7, and 8 felt crowded all the time.  I found myself dodging people left and right.  Soon enough I learned that the best way to avoid crowds was to the outdoor Ocean Walk, weather permitting, to get around quickly.

- Ocean Walk was the place to be for quiet relaxing.  Stay away from the aft area as the bar can get quite noisy at times.

BINGO !  My impression was exactly the same.  Always very crowded on 6/7/8.  We were on the Prima in Norway, though, so spending time outside required a jacket, and sometimes a hat and gloves.  There's lots of seating outside for the restaurants and loungers, but it all went for nought on our cruise.  It was just too cold most days to make use of the spacious outdoor areas.  Glad to hear that it was much more appreciated on the warm weather cruise you enjoyed.

[The Traveling Man]

15 hours ago, PistolPete13 said:

- The interior of the ship is a bit of a mess in terms of just traffic flow.  I hated having to walk by people in the 8th floor Starbucks, or the casino, or the buffet, etc. just to get somewhere.  Want to goto the gym?  Walk past the spa peeking at everyone there getting treatments.   

- The signs on the floors listing the cabin numbers were not visible until you walked into the hallway.  And 50% of the time (or more) it turned out I guessed the wrong side of the ship!  And this is without any drinking.  

Good point about the signage.  I wondered why I always seemed to turn the wrong way when exiting the elevator.  You're right that the traffic flow was a bit convoluted.  It seemed to get a little better toward the end of the cruise, once folks got used to some of the ship's design quirks, but it still could stand some improvement.  Even after ten days of trying to acclimate to the Prima, though, many of the venue locations still seemed a bit odd.  The places they use for lounge acts, game shows, trivia, bingo, etc. just don't seem to be well suited for those activities.  Size of the venue, available seating, sight lines, and acoustics all seemed a bit off.  Let's hope that NCL can tweak things to improve the look and feel.

[IrieBajan54]

23 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Thanks for your brief overview of the 12 day report from NYC to Galveston.  Since you did not mention it, by any chance did you attempt to see any of the shows at Syd's?

Nope! Never went to Syd's except on the first day to sign up for the 3 shows I mentioned which I saw in the Prima Theater.

Edited October 30, 2022 by IrieBajan54
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[IrieBajan54]

On 10/28/2022 at 8:15 PM, PistolPete13 said:

- The interior of the ship is a bit of a mess in terms of just traffic flow.  I hated having to walk by people in the 8th floor Starbucks, or the casino, or the buffet, etc. just to get somewhere.  Want to goto the gym?  Walk past the spa peeking at everyone there getting treatments.   

- The signs on the floors listing the cabin numbers were not visible until you walked into the hallway.  And 50% of the time (or more) it turned out I guessed the wrong side of the ship!  And this is without any drinking.  

I never used the elevators for the entire cruise. I was on Deck 9 and I walked the stairs always. I never figured out whether to turn right or left for my cabin. I think I guessed wrong 90% of the time. 

[cruiseny4life]

On 10/28/2022 at 9:08 PM, PistolPete13 said:

- The ship is beautiful.  Looks sleek and fast like a sports car.  I think we've gotten too used to the big rectangular shapes of the megaships the last decade.  I noticed this immediately on 10/15 when I photographed the Prima leaving NY harbor followed immediately by the Enchanted Princess.

The Enchanted Princess was built just last year but it looks so dated compared to the Prima.

I agree with you! When I look at the Prima, I see not a ship I expect to see. The exterior is just so very different than that of other current cruise ships. From photos/videos I've seen, it looks great. At the very least, it looks much more "cool" than virtually every other ship out there. 

 

Thanks for the entire review: onboard and off! I've really enjoyed reading your posts, seeing such wonderful photos, and spending time getting to know how you spend your time onboard.

 

Here's to many more fine cruises in your future!

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I agree with you! When I look at the Prima, I see not a ship I expect to see. The exterior is just so very different than that of other current cruise ships. From photos/videos I've seen, it looks great. At the very least, it looks much more "cool" than virtually every other ship out there. 

 

Thanks for the entire review: onboard and off! I've really enjoyed reading your posts, seeing such wonderful photos, and spending time getting to know how you spend your time onboard.

 

Here's to many more fine cruises in your future!

Take a look at the updated Celebrity Beyond, many of the areas are similar to the Prima and their main pool is substantially larger.  The Beyond also has the infinity pools up on their top deck, similar to the ones on deck 8 Ocean Blvd on the Prima.

[cruiseny4life]

4 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Take a look at the updated Celebrity Beyond, many of the areas are similar to the Prima and their main pool is substantially larger.  The Beyond also has the infinity pools up on their top deck, similar to the ones on deck 8 Ocean Blvd on the Prima.

Unfortunately I have to put a collared shirt, closed-toe shoes/sneakers, and pants on to dine with Celebrity. Celebrity's Retreat looks amazing...but wearing work clothes isn't my idea of vacation. I'll stick with NCL.

Edited October 31, 2022 by cruiseny4life

[CruizinSusan70]

5 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Unfortunately I have to put a collared shirt, closed-toe shoes/sneakers, and pants on to dine with Celebrity. Celebrity's Retreat looks amazing...but wearing work clothes isn't my idea of vacation. I'll stick with NCL.

But there are still certain venues in NCL where pants are required.  Le Bistro comes to mind as well as the Manhattan Room on certain ships (not the Escape).  

[KmomChicago]

10 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Unfortunately I have to put a collared shirt, closed-toe shoes/sneakers, and pants on to dine with Celebrity. Celebrity's Retreat looks amazing...but wearing work clothes isn't my idea of vacation. I'll stick with NCL.

 

Right there with you! Big 3! Big 3!

[PATRLR]

On 10/28/2022 at 9:08 PM, PistolPete13 said:

In no particular order, here are my thoughts.

- The ship is beautiful.  Looks sleek and fast like a sports car.  I think we've gotten too used to the big rectangular shapes of the megaships the last decade.  I noticed this immediately on 10/15 when I photographed the Prima leaving NY harbor followed immediately by the Enchanted Princess.

The Enchanted Princess was built just last year but it looks so dated compared to the Prima.

I know this won't be popular on this board, but, I think the Princess is better looking.  I don't know what it is about Prima but from the first renderings I saw of her, I never was impressed with her lines.  Just my opinion of course.

[PATRLR]

15 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

But there are still certain venues in NCL where pants are required.  Le Bistro comes to mind as well as the Manhattan Room on certain ships (not the Escape).  

2 or 3 very easy to avoid areas.

[CruizinSusan70]

34 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

2 or 3 very easy to avoid areas.

Other lines are being more lenient concerning wearing long pants.  Both Carnival as well as Royal are no longer enforcing the requirement of men needing to wear pants in their specialty venues and steakhouses.  Know this from first hand experience on the Mardi Gras and the Oasis OTS this year.  My DH wore long pants on the Oasis zero times over 12 days in June. Will wear them once on our current Prima cruise in Le Bistro starting today.

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

But there are still certain venues in NCL where pants are required.  Le Bistro comes to mind as well as the Manhattan Room on certain ships (not the Escape).  

As @PATRLR mentioned, very easy to avoid. We do not go to the aft MDR. And, we do not go to Le Bistro or Ocean Blue (mostly because the husband hates seafood, except shrimp), unless it's embarkation evening where the dress code is relaxed. 

 

We'll stick with the restaurants that let us wear flippie floppies, shorts, and t's...we're an unrefined couple and totally ok with that!

[PistolPete13]

Hey folks,

 

Thanks for all the encouraging responses and I apologize for not wrapping this thread up in a timely manner!  I guess I never realize how busy my normal days are and how I need to get myself "in the zone" for any type of writing that doesn't involve technical work related stuff.

Good thing I'm don't try to make a living as an author with a deadline!

The rooms:

 

- Just saw photos from the other live thread on the Breakaway right now and realized something.  The bright decor of the room interiors make a huge difference in the perceived size of the room.  My previous two trips have been in inside cabins of the Escape and Bliss.  The inside cabin of the Prima felt positively huge compared to the inside of the older and larger ships.  The bathroom as well.  I was very happy with the amount of storage space and never felt cramped or hit my knee on the desk while getting out from the side of the bed.  I know most of the folks here would be in balcony and above rooms but the inside studio on the Prima is not too shabby a place to be in!

The gym:

 

- Plenty of treadmills and bicycles.  Didn't see the place fully packed once in those areas.  The free weight rack and the weight machines were tuck in a corner however.  That area definitely got a bit crowded during peak gym times and folks just need to be considerate in order to not bump into others.  Yes, it was that tight!

Miscellaneous:

 

- For whatever reason on this cruise, I did not hear any announcements being made.  I swear that in my other cruises there were speakers in the cabin that conveyed any daily announcements from the cruise director or captain.

- For my cabin location, 11765, it was dead silent and well insulated from any external noises from neighbors.  
 

- On the way back to NYC we had some very rough winds and waves.  The waves looked much rougher than those I had encountered on the Bliss and I really felt them on the Bliss.  On the Prima?  Not really.  Everything was very smooth given the conditions outside.  At one point Friday morning the outside doors to deck 8 were all shut to prevent folks from wandering out.

- The Internet, well you all know the story, it was terrible in terms of speed.  It was basically useless for me to just check in on updates from social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.  My Internet experience was not like this on the Escape or Bliss.  Back then, my biggest concern was burning through all my minutes.  At the end of this trip, I still had close to 30 unused minutes from my free at sea 75 minute plan.  For an Internet addict like me, that's saying a lot.  Hopefully this will improve as time goes on and they get feedback but just be warned.

[PistolPete13]

If you're still reading at this point I want to thank you for hanging in there through this long and drawn out ramble, LOL.

Based on my limited cruising experience, here are my final thoughts on the ship.

- NCL is trying to go for a more upmarket experience with this new class of ship.  It hits the mark with the decor, food, and overall "feel" created by the hardworking and attentive crew.

- It misses with the large amount of space dedicated to games (ie The Galaxy Pavilion eating into the forward lounge space), slides. and the huge race track.

- More space devoted to performance venues and bars would've probably been more sensible given the demographic of most of the cruisers I saw.

The best way I can sum it up is that they tried to cram all of the big ship activities and venues into a mid-sized ship that may not be able to support all of it.  So it all comes out as a bit schizophrenic from what I can see and feel.  Upscale, intimate, party or kid friendly?  Pick a lane!

You already have the large ships and their fans.  If you're going to go midsized, cut down on the passenger count a bit and the square footage devoted to attractions that may not fit in with the next generation cruising demographic you're trying to attract and grow.

It will be interesting to see what running changes will be made to the design of these ships as there are five more of them in the pipeline from what I understand.

[PistolPete13]

And let me end with a final photo of the Prima on 10/15 as she left for the repositioning cruise to Texas.

Hard to believe I was just on her that morning!

 

[PistolPete13]

Not sure if this is allowed, but here is a link to the complete photo album of my trip.

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAbeRK

All the photos are in 4k high resolution.  The Cruise Critic site does some compression to shrink photos in this thread.

[VegasChic]

3 hours ago, PistolPete13 said:

Not sure if this is allowed, but here is a link to the complete photo album of my trip.

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAbeRK

All the photos are in 4k high resolution.  The Cruise Critic site does some compression to shrink photos in this thread.

Your pictures are amazing!  

[KmomChicago]

@PistolPete13, I really, really enjoyed this review. I shall enumerate the ways.

 

1. Because you are a relatively new cruiser, you do not take for granted certain details that others might not notice or mention.  Your perspective and way of speaking to us are both very pleasant and enjoyable.

 

2. You are not jaded by too much cruising or too many fond memories against which you critically compare each voyage.  Often I read a review from someone claiming extra credibility (i.e. I am Grand Poobah level on Line A and Top Dawg on Line B and Big Kahuna on Line C and this was the WORST CRUISE EVER).  Maybe if they have 800 days at sea they are getting sick of it, there is zero novelty, the misery of long flights/drives to port is killing the joy before they get to the terminal, and it's time to rejuvenate with some new experiences. Just maybe.  You, Pete, are free of this bias. 

 

3. The photos. YESSSSSSSSSS.

 

4.  I am a slightly experienced cruiser (no hifalutin' loyalty levels) but have never tried NCL, just circumstances have not worked out yet. But I recently brought it up to serious contention for something maybe a couple years out.  Your timing is very convenient for me as I begin my research.

 

5. THIS IS A NEW SHIP AND THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW!  Always a winner to be one of the first reviews!

 

6. Just thanks. Well done. See you next time.

[sunkey1]

15 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

@PistolPete13, I really, really enjoyed this review. I shall enumerate the ways

 

5. THIS IS A NEW SHIP AND THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW!  Always a winner to be one of the first reviews!

 

 

Yup, was looking at the Prima but really wanted to get some input from people who have sailed on her, so thank you!!!!

 

[PistolPete13]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

 

 

6. Just thanks. Well done. See you next time.

 

1 hour ago, sunkey1 said:

 

Yup, was looking at the Prima but really wanted to get some input from people who have sailed on her, so thank you!!!!

 

Thank you both so very much!

You've made my day. 

Now off to my weekly status meeting with my boss with a big smile on my face.  He'll know something is wrong immediately...

[Red-Sol]

I would like to take a moment to Thank You as well Pete! Enjoyed it all especially the fact that you kept it real...Well Done Sir!

[SenatorsFan]

I'm adding my thanks also for all your wonderful photos and the in-depth look at this unique new ship. She's on my radar for sure! 😀

[kitty-sail]

On 10/15/2022 at 11:39 AM, PistolPete13 said:

I was in an inside stateroom.  This room was actually cheaper by a few hundred dollars compared to a solo cabin.  I knew I wasn't going to be spending much time inside the solo lounge so it made no sense for me to go for that.  The money saved went to my snorkel excursion!

That said, I was very surprised at the size of the inside cabin compared to the same class of cabins on the Escape and Bliss.  The biggest difference was in the feel of the bathroom.

 

NCL said that they were making the cabins bigger.