Just off Prima...lots of thoughts

[mitchtech]

 My husband and I just got off the Prima to Bermuda out of NYC on Sunday. Our background:  we are both in our 50s and we have been on many cruises on almost every major cruise line and are Platinum on NCL.and elite on Celebrity.

Our first impression was that it's  a beautiful ship and everything had that "new car" feel. We were not disappointed  with the lack of grandeur in the atrium. We heard others complain that it wasn't  architectually appealing but I guess we're  just not that sophisticated,  haha. We also heard and read on cruise critic how it's  very confusing  to get around and how easy it is to get lost. I even read how one person was in tears because she couldn't  find her cabin. I find this ridiculous. We didn't  get lost once including  this first day. There are signs by every elevator which direction everything is including cabin numbers. It just doesn't  say port or starboard and the arrows on the carpeting show if you are going to the front or the back. So no worries about that. Also heard that you have to walk through the buffet to get to certain parts of the ship on that deck. Not if you take the correct elevator you don't . We had a balcony cabin which was spacious and beautiful. The most comfortable  balcony  chairs!

The food:

I find this very subjective so I'll just talk about the restaurants  in general

The buffet: A disaster. Way too small. Very crowded. While I understand why they made it smaller on this ship because there is so many other eating venues, NCL should understand  that most people like the buffet so most people want to eat there. It also seemed to me that the hours were shorter so everyone  went at the same time. We checked it out a couple of times but never stayed

Indulge: Great concept. We liked the food. But again too small, too short hours for lunch and very crowded. Again, I think for that reason. We went to lunch there only when we were in Port and could get a table. Also, don't  like the idea that there is not a full bar there, only beer, a few specialty cocktails and 2 wine choices. I understand for ordering drinks from the tablet that is fine but the bar in the Indulge should be able to make other drinks. 

Local: Great. And when we couldn't  get a seat at a table we ate at the bar, which we preferred anyway.

Hudsons: Great for breakfast. Not so good for dinner. We only went there once and they rushed us out. Brought out the courses before we finished the previous one. That's  a pet peeve of mine but that could only be my experience 

Specialty restaurants: We went to Le Bistro, Cagneys. Palomar twice and Onda twice. All were excellent

Bars: Didn't  find one we didn't like! And we went to all!! Lol

Entertainment: Price is Right, Donna Summer show great. Didn't  see the comedian. Timing wasn't  good. Same with the Newlywed show. They did have Deal or no Deal and of course Bingo but thats not our thing

The first couple of days there was some game shows and the last day but other than that really no entertainment  besides a couple of trivias and arts and crafts. No pool games or anything else during the day

That leads me to the pools. 

My review may be a little skewed because there were a lot of kids on board but boy was everything  crowded!

The main pool is way too small, I would think even if there are fewer kids on board. The infinity pools are awesome and nice and warm. However on this cruise they were like kiddie pools. Little kids doing laps, kicking and splashing. Not very fun at all. They should make these adult only pools especially  because the ledge on the infinity side was low and I saw kids hanging  over it. Not very safe. Inviting disaster. 

Also, no music at any pool. Not even from overhead speakers. 

Staff everywhere was so nice and accommodating.

Didn't  go to fitness center or spa. 

While this may sound more negative  than positive, we had a great time. While there was some issues we always found a way to pivot and do something  else. I would go on the Prima again but maybe not when the kids are out of school. Hopefully  they will fix some of these fixable problems  and especially  on the newer Prima class ships being built.

I would be happy to answer any questions. Hope you all found this helpful

[laudergayle]

It does appear that the operating hours for lunch in the buffet (I think until 3) and especially Indulge (12-2 pm) are very limited compared to the other ships.  Not sure why NCL felt this was a good choice.  “Over-crowded” has been a frequent complaint on Prima and extending the hours would help spread out the crowd. IMO.

[BirdTravels]

50 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

It does appear that the operating hours for lunch in the buffet (I think until 3) and especially Indulge (12-2 pm) are very limited compared to the other ships.  Not sure why NCL felt this was a good choice.  “Over-crowded” has been a frequent complaint on Prima and extending the hours would help spread out the crowd. IMO.

I think the answer is that she is a small ship. 3100 passengers versus the BA+ ships at 4200 passengers. She should be compared against the Jewel-class ships vs. BA+. 

 

We just got off the Encore who had 4800 passengers and it felt more crowded than our two Prima cruises at capacity. 

[Beer Belly]

8 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

I think the answer is that she is a small ship. 3100 passengers versus the BA+ ships at 4200 passengers. She should be compared against the Jewel-class ships vs. BA+. 

 

We just got off the Encore who had 4800 passengers and it felt more crowded than our two Prima cruises at capacity. 

I didn't read anywhere there was a comparison to BA+ ships on this review ?

[laudergayle]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

I think the answer is that she is a small ship. 3100 passengers versus the BA+ ships at 4200 passengers. She should be compared against the Jewel-class ships vs. BA+. 

 

We just got off the Encore who had 4800 passengers and it felt more crowded than our two Prima cruises at capacity. 

Perhaps, but each class of ship should have dining venues sized to meet their passenger load.  When I’ve looked at the Freestyle Dailies for the Jewel class and the BA/BA+, the dining hours are longer—especially around lunch.  So it just makes me scratch my head why Prima has shorter hours.  As for your recent Encore sailing…I can only imagine how crowded any ship would feel when sailing at 120% double occupancy.  Glad you still enjoyed your cruise.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, mitchtech said:

 My husband and I just got off the Prima to Bermuda out of NYC on Sunday. Our background:  we are both in our 50s and we have been on many cruises on almost every major cruise line and are Platinum on NCL.and elite on Celebrity.

Our first impression was that it's  a beautiful ship and everything had that "new car" feel. We were not disappointed  with the lack of grandeur in the atrium. We heard others complain that it wasn't  architectually appealing but I guess we're  just not that sophisticated,  haha. We also heard and read on cruise critic how it's  very confusing  to get around and how easy it is to get lost. I even read how one person was in tears because she couldn't  find her cabin. I find this ridiculous. We didn't  get lost once including  this first day. There are signs by every elevator which direction everything is including cabin numbers. It just doesn't  say port or starboard and the arrows on the carpeting show if you are going to the front or the back. So no worries about that. Also heard that you have to walk through the buffet to get to certain parts of the ship on that deck. Not if you take the correct elevator you don't . We had a balcony cabin which was spacious and beautiful. The most comfortable  balcony  chairs!

The food:

I find this very subjective so I'll just talk about the restaurants  in general

The buffet: A disaster. Way too small. Very crowded. While I understand why they made it smaller on this ship because there is so many other eating venues, NCL should understand  that most people like the buffet so most people want to eat there. It also seemed to me that the hours were shorter so everyone  went at the same time. We checked it out a couple of times but never stayed

Indulge: Great concept. We liked the food. But again too small, too short hours for lunch and very crowded. Again, I think for that reason. We went to lunch there only when we were in Port and could get a table. Also, don't  like the idea that there is not a full bar there, only beer, a few specialty cocktails and 2 wine choices. I understand for ordering drinks from the tablet that is fine but the bar in the Indulge should be able to make other drinks. 

Local: Great. And when we couldn't  get a seat at a table we ate at the bar, which we preferred anyway.

Hudsons: Great for breakfast. Not so good for dinner. We only went there once and they rushed us out. Brought out the courses before we finished the previous one. That's  a pet peeve of mine but that could only be my experience 

Specialty restaurants: We went to Le Bistro, Cagneys. Palomar twice and Onda twice. All were excellent

Bars: Didn't  find one we didn't like! And we went to all!! Lol

Entertainment: Price is Right, Donna Summer show great. Didn't  see the comedian. Timing wasn't  good. Same with the Newlywed show. They did have Deal or no Deal and of course Bingo but thats not our thing

The first couple of days there was some game shows and the last day but other than that really no entertainment  besides a couple of trivias and arts and crafts. No pool games or anything else during the day

That leads me to the pools. 

My review may be a little skewed because there were a lot of kids on board but boy was everything  crowded!

The main pool is way too small, I would think even if there are fewer kids on board. The infinity pools are awesome and nice and warm. However on this cruise they were like kiddie pools. Little kids doing laps, kicking and splashing. Not very fun at all. They should make these adult only pools especially  because the ledge on the infinity side was low and I saw kids hanging  over it. Not very safe. Inviting disaster. 

Also, no music at any pool. Not even from overhead speakers. 

Staff everywhere was so nice and accommodating.

Didn't  go to fitness center or spa. 

While this may sound more negative  than positive, we had a great time. While there was some issues we always found a way to pivot and do something  else. I would go on the Prima again but maybe not when the kids are out of school. Hopefully  they will fix some of these fixable problems  and especially  on the newer Prima class ships being built.

I would be happy to answer any questions. Hope you all found this helpful

Thanks for your review. We will be on this summer, but I am not really expecting a lot of kids on an 11 day cruise from London (Southampton) to Reykjavik.

 

BTW, spoke to our TA yesterday and he said both the Prima and Viva are selling well as cruise customers seem to be wanting new ships.

[UKstages]

3 hours ago, Beer Belly said:

I didn't read anywhere there was a comparison to BA+ ships on this review ?

 

no, there was no direct comparison, you're correct. but the comparison is apt because what was discussed was the size and hours of the dining venues and the crowding of same. there has to be a point of reference, something to compare it to. how else would you know it's crowded?  if you're comparing it to other ships (which is inherent in the review), then it's perfectly OK for someone to come along and say the prima is a smaller ship and needs to be judged like one.

 

30 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Perhaps, but each class of ship should have dining venues sized to meet their passenger load... 

 

So it just makes me scratch my head why Prima has shorter hours.

 

i believe the may have misjudged the love for buffets, as well as the ability to siphon dining patrons away from indulge food hall and the buffet. indulge in particular, has been ridiculously popular, so the size and the hours may also have been a misstep. but indulge is also very expensive to operate, due to the quality of the food, and so the limited opening hours may have been a calculated response to that. 

Edited April 18, 2023 by UKstages

[FLAHAM]

I found Indulge to be an outstanding (and free) NCL innovation.  It does not surprise me that it is often crowded.

[uneamie]

I can't imagine it to be all that difficult for them to extend the hours in the buffett. I know they need time to get ready for each meal time but if other ships have longer hours then it's doable. 

[nybumpkin]

I sailed on Prima with my daughter-in-law on the March 28 sailing. I think I may have had an advantage to never having sailed a NCL ship before, but I really didn't find the layout confusing. Yes, there were a few times I found myself going the wrong way, but then I've done that on ships I've sailed multiple times. 😮

 

My main observation about Prima is that I thought she is best suited for warm-weather sailing. The North Atlantic in late March/early April is chilly. So many features of this ship draw you outdoors - there are wonderful outdoor dining areas, especially around Indulge. (We never made it to Indulge, BTW - just too crowded.) I'd love to sail Prima in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean. 

[laudergayle]

1 hour ago, FLAHAM said:

I found Indulge to be an outstanding (and free) NCL innovation.  It does not surprise me that it is often crowded.

True. Buffet is crowded, too.  Both would be less crowded if they extended the hours of the buffet and indulge to be more similar to their other ships.
 

The ratio of size of venue to expected occupancy to operating hours should all be similar.  
 

Prima lunch hours for Buffet/indulge combined are significantly shorter than their other ships.  
 

Less time + same % occupancy + properly sized venues = more crowded.

 

3 hours ago, UKstages said:

but indulge is also very expensive to operate, due to the quality of the food, and so the limited opening hours may have been a calculated response to that. 

Most likely.  So Prima needs to rethink Indulge offerings to provide better service (longer hours) with less fancy/expensive items.  They had no problem modifying the MDR dinner menu.

 

We sail in two weeks…and when we get back onboard around 3…the lunch options will be Local, snacking items in Observation Lounge or a crowded, very small, tucked away Surfside Grill. 

[uneamie]

3 hours ago, laudergayle said:

True. Buffet is crowded, too.  Both would be less crowded if they extended the hours of the buffet and indulge to be more similar to their other ships.
 

The ratio of size of venue to expected occupancy to operating hours should all be similar.  
 

Prima lunch hours for Buffet/indulge combined are significantly shorter than their other ships.  
 

Less time + same % occupancy + properly sized venues = more crowded.

 

Most likely.  So Prima needs to rethink Indulge offerings to provide better service (longer hours) with less fancy/expensive items.  They had no problem modifying the MDR dinner menu.

 

We sail in two weeks…and when we get back onboard around 3…the lunch options will be Local, snacking items in Observation Lounge or a crowded, very small, tucked away Surfside Grill. 

I was thinking the same thing.....some excursions go out before lunch hours and return after lunch hours. Granted we won't starve, but surely they should have something substantial open for passengers. I personally think the buffet should not close till 11PM at night and open back up at 6AM. 

[InfrequentPNWCruiser]

On Prima now, and on a port day with the buffet less than 20 min before closing in the morning it was packed. I think that most just head to the buffet on days like these.

[KKB]

On 4/18/2023 at 10:00 AM, mitchtech said:

 My husband and I just got off the Prima to Bermuda out of NYC on Sunday. Our background:  we are both in our 50s and we have been on many cruises on almost every major cruise line and are Platinum on NCL.and elite on Celebrity.

Our first impression was that it's  a beautiful ship and everything had that "new car" feel. We were not disappointed  with the lack of grandeur in the atrium. We heard others complain that it wasn't  architectually appealing but I guess we're  just not that sophisticated,  haha. We also heard and read on cruise critic how it's  very confusing  to get around and how easy it is to get lost. I even read how one person was in tears because she couldn't  find her cabin. I find this ridiculous. We didn't  get lost once including  this first day. There are signs by every elevator which direction everything is including cabin numbers. It just doesn't  say port or starboard and the arrows on the carpeting show if you are going to the front or the back. So no worries about that. Also heard that you have to walk through the buffet to get to certain parts of the ship on that deck. Not if you take the correct elevator you don't . We had a balcony cabin which was spacious and beautiful. The most comfortable  balcony  chairs!

The food:

I find this very subjective so I'll just talk about the restaurants  in general

The buffet: A disaster. Way too small. Very crowded. While I understand why they made it smaller on this ship because there is so many other eating venues, NCL should understand  that most people like the buffet so most people want to eat there. It also seemed to me that the hours were shorter so everyone  went at the same time. We checked it out a couple of times but never stayed

Indulge: Great concept. We liked the food. But again too small, too short hours for lunch and very crowded. Again, I think for that reason. We went to lunch there only when we were in Port and could get a table. Also, don't  like the idea that there is not a full bar there, only beer, a few specialty cocktails and 2 wine choices. I understand for ordering drinks from the tablet that is fine but the bar in the Indulge should be able to make other drinks. 

Local: Great. And when we couldn't  get a seat at a table we ate at the bar, which we preferred anyway.

Hudsons: Great for breakfast. Not so good for dinner. We only went there once and they rushed us out. Brought out the courses before we finished the previous one. That's  a pet peeve of mine but that could only be my experience 

Specialty restaurants: We went to Le Bistro, Cagneys. Palomar twice and Onda twice. All were excellent

Bars: Didn't  find one we didn't like! And we went to all!! Lol

Entertainment: Price is Right, Donna Summer show great. Didn't  see the comedian. Timing wasn't  good. Same with the Newlywed show. They did have Deal or no Deal and of course Bingo but thats not our thing

The first couple of days there was some game shows and the last day but other than that really no entertainment  besides a couple of trivias and arts and crafts. No pool games or anything else during the day

That leads me to the pools. 

My review may be a little skewed because there were a lot of kids on board but boy was everything  crowded!

The main pool is way too small, I would think even if there are fewer kids on board. The infinity pools are awesome and nice and warm. However on this cruise they were like kiddie pools. Little kids doing laps, kicking and splashing. Not very fun at all. They should make these adult only pools especially  because the ledge on the infinity side was low and I saw kids hanging  over it. Not very safe. Inviting disaster. 

Also, no music at any pool. Not even from overhead speakers. 

Staff everywhere was so nice and accommodating.

Didn't  go to fitness center or spa. 

While this may sound more negative  than positive, we had a great time. While there was some issues we always found a way to pivot and do something  else. I would go on the Prima again but maybe not when the kids are out of school. Hopefully  they will fix some of these fixable problems  and especially  on the newer Prima class ships being built.

I would be happy to answer any questions. Hope you all found this helpful

Thanks for your thoughts. 

We were booked on Prima the 16th...but snagged a deal on Retreat on the 9th that was too good to pass up.

Sad thing is that the NCL issues  of too small venues for the size of ship continues.

That & the understaffing on our Dec. Encore cruise do no have us jumping to go back to NCL.

[uneamie]

4 hours ago, InfrequentPNWCruiser said:

On Prima now, and on a port day with the buffet less than 20 min before closing in the morning it was packed. I think that most just head to the buffet on days like these.

We likely wll go to the Main Dinning room for breakfast....just not into the challange of finding a seat with food being cold before you find it, to start my day. 

[ngrund]

3 hours ago, uneamie said:

We likely wll go to the Main Dinning room for breakfast....just not into the challange of finding a seat with food being cold before you find it, to start my day. 

You can also get a quick breakfast at the Local, on other ships I always enjoyed breakfast at O' Sheehan's

[bruzin_for_a_cruizin]

We, too, were on this past sailing. I agree with just about every point nearly every passenger has made about the ship.

It was our first -- and last -- sailing on NCL. They had one chance to make a first impression on my wife and me, and failed miserably. The Prima seems to be built for the Instagram age: it looks great in pictures, but doesn't work in the real world. They made some bold design choices, and almost every single one is a big fat fail:

 

- I usually figure out where everything is by the afternoon of the first day. It took me until Day 5 to understand the layout of Prima, and even then I found myself walking into dead ends. 

- the pools are too small, and putting the infinity pools on deck 8 means shade half the day. On this past cruise, the main pool was closed/drained for 2 days. Thank goodness we were able to secure Vibe passes (at a $600 expense for something that is included on every other cruise line) so we could at least enjoy some sun after the storm passed.

- the buffet is wayyyyyy too small, the hours are too restrictive and it's gross that people have to walk through to get to other venues. No hyperbole: I did not see a single person wash their hands prior to serving themselves at the buffet. NOT ONE.

- the only venue for breakfast after 10:00 a.m. is The Local until 10:30, and good luck getting a table since everyone on board is trying to get breakfast before everything shuts down until 11:30.

- the only option for lunch after 2:30 -- when most people are returning from excursions! -- is finger sandwiches in the Observation Lounge. 

- entertainment is non-existent. My wife and I watched 5 movies on this cruise. We've never had 10 hours in our cabin at night on any other ship on any other cruise line.

- lineups for everything. Again, no hyperbole: People were lined up for Syd Norman's more than 1.5 hours before showtime. Who wants to waste that much vacation time waiting in line?

- no pizza? Really? 

- balcony cabins on deck 9 are blocked from the ocean due to the roof structure on Ocean Boulevard. These should be sold as obstructed view. Extremely disappointing for a cabin I booked more than a year ago.

- no nightclub? Really?

- Premium Plus Beverage Package was a total rip-off. I enjoy tequila, and the best I could find at any bar was Cazadores Anjeo. That's a CAD$47 bottle, hardly "Premium Plus." The Vibe bar, where I did most of my drinking because it was the only bar which wasn't overly crowded, only had 1800 Reposado. That's a CAD$40 bottle. 

 

I could go on, but just read any review on this ship and you'll keep seeing the same notations over and over again. 

It wasn't all bad. The food was uniformly quite good, with Indulge Food Hall for dinner as a standout. I also quite enjoyed Onda, and the service at Cagney's was 100% spot on (coming from someone who waited tables in high-end restaurants for 20+ years). The Price Is Right Live was fun, and the ship is modern with some nice seating and colour choices, though not as nice as the Edge-class ships on Celebrity.

 

There's a reason why Prima enjoys a 2.8 review score here on Cruise Critic. I'm tempted to short NCL stock... they've got 3 (4?) more of this design bought and paid for, and it just doesn't work.

[EPTCB]

3 hours ago, bruzin_for_a_cruizin said:

......

- no pizza? Really?........

- no nightclub? Really?.....

Pizza station at the buffet doesn't count or no longer there?

They aren't still using the main theater for night club type events?

[dexddd]

3 hours ago, EPTCB said:

Pizza station at the buffet doesn't count or no longer there?

They aren't still using the main theater for night club type events?

There have been discussions about NCL pizza for years.  Of course there is pizza in buffet closer to pool doors.  That actually looks fairly good and we only saw that one day of twelve when we sailed.  They otherwise had crust an inch thick with dismal amount of toppings.  No way.

 

We did order pizza room service and it was pretty good.

[bruzin_for_a_cruizin]

4 hours ago, EPTCB said:

Pizza station at the buffet doesn't count or no longer there?

They aren't still using the main theater for night club type events?

I saw that sign one day during the (brief) lunch period, but they certainly weren't serving what you show in the picture, which looks like pizza. They were serving as @dexddd suggests: some inch-thick bread with a meagre amount of cheese and some other topping sprinkled on top. Calling it "pizza" is a stretch.

My experience with Royal Caribbean (Sorrentos) and Celebrity (Oceanview Cafe) set an expectation that cruise lines have a place open most of the day and into the wee hours where one can grab a quick slice and get back to the vacation. I understand Princess has pretty great pizza as well.

As for the night club, they did pull back the seats one night for an event called "Sensoria" or something like that, and it was pretty cool. Other than that, the one DJ on board was more frequently in the very-small Syd Norman's. Not really a night club setting. And a band playing music pressed up against the wall (no stage, mind you) in the atrium doesn't count either.

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, bruzin_for_a_cruizin said:

 

There's a reason why Prima enjoys a 2.8 review score here on Cruise Critic. I'm tempted to short NCL stock... they've got 3 (4?) more of this design bought and paid for, and it just doesn't work.

Before you follow that strategy, I spoke earlier this week to our TA and he said that he is selling a lot of cruises on the Prima and Viva as people are looking for a new ship.

[mitchtech]

So we are sailing on the Escape next and after looking at the you tube tour of the balcony stateroom I think I have now been spoiled by the Prima. Our Prima balcony stateroom was really great, beautiful, seemed very big especially  the bathroom and definitely  the shower. Also the main areas and specialty restaurants  on Prima seem so much nicer albeit smaller. I know there were a lot of cons about the Prima but I hope I won't  be disappointed  on the Escape after sailing  the Prima. It's  easy to forget about all the negatives!

[Jim The Lizard]

20 minutes ago, mitchtech said:

So we are sailing on the Escape next and after looking at the you tube tour of the balcony stateroom I think I have now been spoiled by the Prima. Our Prima balcony stateroom was really great, beautiful, seemed very big especially  the bathroom and definitely  the shower. Also the main areas and specialty restaurants  on Prima seem so much nicer albeit smaller. I know there were a lot of cons about the Prima but I hope I won't  be disappointed  on the Escape after sailing  the Prima. It's  easy to forget about all the negatives!

You'll love Escape but it is different from Prima.  

[McFins]

20 minutes ago, mitchtech said:

So we are sailing on the Escape next and after looking at the you tube tour of the balcony stateroom I think I have now been spoiled by the Prima. Our Prima balcony stateroom was really great, beautiful, seemed very big especially  the bathroom and definitely  the shower. Also the main areas and specialty restaurants  on Prima seem so much nicer albeit smaller. I know there were a lot of cons about the Prima but I hope I won't  be disappointed  on the Escape after sailing  the Prima. It's  easy to forget about all the negatives!

There’s a lot to love about the Escape.  I’d think you will have a great time.  Actually I’m sailing on the Prima soon and am hoping I won’t be disappointed after sailing on the Escape (and I bet I won’t be disappointed, I’ll be on vacation after all ) 🙃. Enjoy your cruise. 

 

 

 

[willow surfside]

Do you mind sharing your cabin number..we are looking at balcony deck 10 or 11 midship.

also do you prefer port or starboard. 
thanks for the report.