NCL Prima Review. 6 - 17 August, 2023. Southampton to Reykjavik.

[cc-riderslc]

I want to share my opinions and thoughts on the Prima. Of course opinions are different for everyone since they are formed based on age, past experiences and life events. With that in mind I will share a little info about me. That might help you understand where I am coming from. I am a male 75 years old. I worked as a travel agent (retired) for 40 years. Some part time, some home based and later as vice president of a brick and mortar, top cruise selling agency in Utah. I have been on about 50 cruises, multiple cruise lines and ships, and visited over 90 ports of call. So with that in mind here we go. 

Pre-cruise:  we used NCL Air and requested a 1 day deviation on departure. That part couldn't have worked out better as we got a Delta flight non-stop from Salt Lake City to Heathrow. Yes 9 1/2 hour on a plane is a long time but we upgraded to Comfort Plus and all 4 seats in one row. When we arrived at Heathrow it was raining. Lucky for us we had a private transfer with the owner of the company waiting in the arrival hall. He took us into the attached parking garage and we loaded up. There were 4 of us traveling together and no one got wet! Perfect. If you are looking for a private transfer service look into Bridle Private Hire. It is based in Southampton and is a father/son business. http://bridleprivatehire.sqwiz.co.uk/

Our destination was Lyndhurst, New Forest about 20 minutes from the port. We booked the one night at the Avalon House B&B there. 

As I said Lyndhurst is a cute little village. The rain had stopped and our driver Ian directed us to this Fish and Chips place. They do a bang up business with takeout but the dining area is small. Thanks to a young man working in the dining area our wait for a table was less than 10 minutes and the fish and chips were delicious. 

 

 

After dinner we walked around town a little and then off to bed so we can be ready for the cruise to start tomorrow. All in all a good start to our vacation. 

[PhillyTravelBug]

Looking forward to your travels as I’m on the journey currently! Following along.

[cc-riderslc]

Day 2.  I found early on as a traveller I enjoyed the smaller villages, family run cozy hotels or B and B's, different foods and getting to know people. In other words experiencing the culture. That's why I wanted to stay in Lyndhurst and at the Avalon House. For example we got to order the home cooked full English breakfast. Here's the menu. 

And here is the dining room. It was a delicious meal and Nick and Judith told us about why they run a B&B and a little about their lives.

[cc-riderslc]

You can find more info at

www.avalonbandb.co.uk.

Our driver Ian from yesterday's transfer picked us up at 10 am this morning and we made the 20 journey to the cruise terminal in Southampton. The Prima was docked at the newer Horizon Terminal. Our check-in time was 10:30 so we went right in and found no lines. We walked through in a matter of minutes. I was a little suprised by the number of people already there. The terminal is large and nice. At about 11 am they let us board. We went straight to our Muster Station, talked to the cruise line rep manning the station and made sure our names were recorded. We needed to wait a couple of hours before the rooms would be ready so we went to the Induldge Food Hall and found a comfy booth. At 12 we started ordering bits and pieces of lunch from the various stations and the selections were there in an instant. We spent the next hour trying food from most of the restaurants there. And we didn't miss out on the scooped hard ice cream either. I am glad we ate here today. The rest of the trip we never found a seat even after circling the place time and again. 

From here on out I plan to review not in a day by day manner but by subject. The first will be the ship, the entertainment, food, etc. Then I want to briefly review each port. Back soon with more. 

 

[bluesea777]

30 minutes ago, cc-riderslc said:

You can find more info at

www.avalonbandb.co.uk.

 

 

This weblink isn't correct. The correct one is Judith and Nick Welcome you to Avalon House Bed and Breakfast - Lyndhurst (avalonhousebandb.co.uk)

 

Looking forward to continue reading your review.

 

 

 

[ontheweb]

We were also on that same cruise. I also wrote my impressions.

 

 

[cc-riderslc]

The ship - exterior. I think the ship from the outside has been beautifully designed. I like the unusual bow, colors, artwork, her height and overall appearance. 

In the capitan's Q&A he talked about the unusual hull design and how it helps the ship have a smoother ride. He explained that the ship can ride lower in the water because of the way they can utilize the ballast. He said they use fuel as the primary ballast but can add sea water if needed. This was very apparant when we had high seas our first full day at sea. Sea swells were 20' but on the lower floors there didn't seem to be much movement. Up on the 17th floor it did move enough to make you miss a step or two. I think NCL has a winner with this design. 

[cc-riderslc]

Ship - the interior. Top of my list of most favorite interior improvements is the stateroom. We were in an Oceanview cabin, deck 5 #5162. It was large enough to have a sofa which helped make it very comfortable. The colors were soothing with just the right amount of color. The lighting was great too with recessed and overhead lighting. It seemed like there was no area of the cabin without proper lighting. The closets are lit and even the safe has a light to help make sure you don't forget something. Each lamp has USB, USC ports. The desk had the same ports plus 2 US plugs. I've never had so many places to charge a device. The cherry on top is the bathroom. A large shower with a glass door featuring a "rain" shower head with several settings. A bathroom mirror that has backlighting and doesn't steam up was a feature my wife enjoyed. Lots of storage. Don't miss the drawer behind the hand towel rack. It is easy to miss. Hands down for me the stateroom is an A. 

[kasimir]

1 hour ago, cc-riderslc said:

Hands down for me the stateroom is an A. 

Absolutely agree, the cabins on the Prima class is a huge a step up! The cabins alone made us book another Prima cruise, even though the ship is not perfect. 
 

1 hour ago, cc-riderslc said:

In the capitan's Q&A he talked about the unusual hull design and how it helps the ship have a smoother ride.

My wife that is very sensitive to motion sickness, noticed the same thing and really enjoyed the smoother ride, even when we saw significant swells out of the window.

[ontheweb]

I did not think of this at the time, but agree we had some extremely rough seas, but the ride was always smooth.

[PhillyTravelBug]

Best cabins!!

[cc-riderslc]

Venues. I think the ship interior beautiful. Beautiful but not very functional. It's been talked about a lot.

Bar lounges used for the entertainers were always over crowded. Many of those sitting in the lounge were not there for the entertainment. They were socializing with friends in a loud conversational way. Some were playing games. I am not complaining about them. That's what bar lounges are for, right? Feel bad for the entertainers. 

Then along comes a performer and tries to compete. Many who wanted to listen to the music either did so by standing or just walking on through. NCL just missed the boat by making them much too small. Same with the theater, Syd Norman's,

Improve, etc. Don't get me wrong. They are pretty places for sure but too few people got to enjoy them. We got seats in the Penrose atrium only once.

Duo Rica was preforming. 10 minutes later there was an equipment failure. 20 minutes later after the fix they came back for one number and then said it was their break time. Such was my luck with the venues. The Observation lounge was great. Very comfortable. Maybe too comfortable as many seemed to use it as there second bedroom.

But it was a fun place to be. A good gathering place. I had to visit at 3 pm everyday for oatmeal raisin cookies or some other little delight. I also thought the Ocean Blvd was a great concept. Nice seating, infinity pools, art work, Skywalk.

Glad it was warm enough to be out there once in a while.

And finally the sports deck and race deck.

What a fun place to spend some time.

Every one seemed to be enjoying themselves the times I was there. Some concepts, like paying for darts, seem like a fail most the others are worth a try. 

[Sand and Seas]

Enjoying your review!  We will be back on Prima for a Caribbean cruise in the spring.  I'm pretty sure those outdoor areas will look a little more crowded then.

 

Thanks for sharing all these great pictures with us😎

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, cc-riderslc said:

Venues. I think the ship interior beautiful. Beautiful but not very functional. It's been talked about a lot.

Bar lounges used for the entertainers were always over crowded. Many of those sitting in the lounge were not there for the entertainment. They were socializing with friends in a loud conversational way. Some were playing games. I am not complaining about them. That's what bar lounges are for, right? Feel bad for the entertainers. 

Then along comes a performer and tries to compete. Many who wanted to listen to the music either did so by standing or just walking on through. NCL just missed the boat by making them much too small. Same with the theater, Syd Norman's,

Improve, etc. Don't get me wrong. They are pretty places for sure but too few people got to enjoy them. We got seats in the Penrose atrium only once.

Duo Rica was preforming. 10 minutes later there was an equipment failure. 20 minutes later after the fix they came back for one number and then said it was their break time. Such was my luck with the venues. The Observation lounge was great. Very comfortable. Maybe too comfortable as many seemed to use it as there second bedroom.

But it was a fun place to be. A good gathering place. I had to visit at 3 pm everyday for oatmeal raisin cookies or some other little delight. I also thought the Ocean Blvd was a great concept. Nice seating, infinity pools, art work, Skywalk.

Glad it was warm enough to be out there once in a while.

And finally the sports deck and race deck.

What a fun place to spend some time.

Every one seemed to be enjoying themselves the times I was there. Some concepts, like paying for darts, seem like a fail most the others are worth a try. 

I found the same problem with the musical entertainment in the lounges. I actually asked one of the entertainers (the one who was a solo act) how it felt to play his music and have people just talking over him. He just shrugged.

 

And yes that area on deck 8 must be really, really nice for a warm weather cruise. We did at one point sit together in one of those hammock swings just to see what it felt like.

[cc-riderslc]

Entertainment / Activities. 

Top of my list is the Rumours /Fleetwood Mac concert.

Extremely well done. Yes we did have to wait in line an hour before showtime and had about 40 people in front of us. We were lucky and got seats right near the front center sections. I enjoyed every minute of it. I also enjoyed Rock the Pour House and Rock the Prom but not as much as Rumours. I had to stand for the latter 2.

Prima theater I thought was good too. Summer, the musical was very well done. Just wished for a few more of her popular songs to be sung. Price is Right I don't consider a major production show but I did enjoy it.

Probably the movie clips of Bob Barker and Drew Cary as much as the show. So it was fun and entertaining and that is all you can ask.

What I didn't like was rebooking of all the reserved shows from when I first made the reservation online. Frustrating that they would move us every time to the 6:30 pm showing when they should have recognized my 5:30 pm reservation at Hudsons and realize the later show would have been for us. The 2 Singers that appeared in the Prima were also good. JR had a nice voice and a polished show. The backdrop on the screen filled my optokinetic training for the night too so was a bonus! However I didn't care for the fact that one of his 3 shows was just a repeat performance. I didn't really need to see it twice. Nicky Bennett also put on a good show although I must admit I just couldn't quite connect with her stage presence. I will show my age here. Does anyone else miss the live orchestra that used to be on every ship? I sure do. Lots of times they would get a larger round of applause than the singers and dancers. They were that good. Ocean Music Fest was also well done. I liked the first half better than the second because I knew the music and artists but not so the second half. Although I saw lots of the younger generation dancing to that music so I guess it was a good mix for all of us. Brian Gross, one of the lounge acts started off Ocean Fest with a couple of older classic rock hits and I remember thinking where has this guy been the whole cruise. I watched him one other time in a lounge and he didn't seem to have much personality. He did great in the concert though. All the other lounge acts were fun with nice voices. Purple Sundaze, Duo Rika, Familiar Strangers were just fine. 

Activities in my book were extremely poor. Besides not having very many they were poorly organized. Oragami with torn up dailies? Not even squared up? I don't think so. Bean bag toss that had a line of participants so long it took a half an hour to take your turn? Ugh. Not for me. Some of the audience participation games in the Improve were fun. Once again if you could get in. Is it just me or are others tired of seeing the daily schedule filled with ship sponsored time slots like spa, shops, art companies, jewelery, etc?  For me entertainment gets an A while activities get a D. Just more time for cookies in the observation lounge I guess. 

[cc-riderslc]

Final subject - food. It is so subjective take it for what it is, my opinion. 

Speciality dining. Remember when I was upset that I made a reservation 120 days early only to get a letter 45 days later saying it was cancelled due to a glitch in the system? Some of you said just go to the prima theater when I boarded and I could probably get it fixed. I did that and got the same day I originally booked just 15 minutes later at 5:45.  We only went to Palomar and it was excellent. From these boards the octupus was suggested and dover sole as a main dish so that is what I ordered and it was very tasty. Thanks for the tips. Also noted that the dining room was never more than half full while we were there. 

Buffet - the food was OK. I am not a big breakfast eater. All I wanted was a bowl of bircher muesli. I had it every day and was happy. We had dinner there the first night featuring prime rib. It was good and since we got there just as it opened there was no crowd and we got a table. I liked the crepes made fresh and soft serve ice cream that was available by self service. My wife likes breakfast but has a hard time getting ready on time so I would usually take her a plate of food, eggs, bacon, yogurt, milk and a sweet roll. I tried to get my $4.95 service charge to no avail. Note. Yogurt wasn't available the last 3 days of the cruise. Also noteworthy is the grill area in the buffet. They had all the main dishes for breakfast and there was hardly anyone in there. However it was way cold in the room to sit and eat. 

Indulge Food Hall. Great concept but hard to get a seat. We had one lunch and one dinner there. Very good food. Tried the dates that many of you mentioned. Also deviled eggs, grilled pineapple, fruits, breads, cheeses and desserts. 

The Local - we had one dinner because our Donna Summers show was changed to 6:30 pm and this is about the only place to eat at an early hour. I had a rueben sandwich and carrot cake. Both were very good. We also went to lunch once. Had a token Cobb salad (which is good) but of course the real reason is to try the hot fudge Sunday. Delicious. I think every table I could see got one so we were not alone in our quest. 

Hudsons main dining room - we had most other meals here. A couple of breakfasts, a couple of lunches and most dinners. What a beautiful venue. Floor to ceiling windows served as a great viewpoint. I liked the food in general but one complaint I had was they wanted to put sauce on everything and for me that didn always work. I ordered salmon one night and it was a nice filet. But it was covered in some sauce I didn't care for and ruined a perfectly good fish. At least put it on the side and let the customer try it if he will. That was true on a couple of other dishes too. However the bread was always good. I ate way too much but you just can't help yourself. 

 

[cc-riderslc]

One last thing about the ship and then a few pictures of the ports. After the big storm of the first full day our window was covered with salt. We were bemoaning that our beautiful view would be ruined the rest of the day. We left the room for a while and when we came back we had a sparkling clean window! Like magic! Then the next day we caught the washing machine in full function. Two little jets blasted the window with water for a long time. Our window was clean throughout the trip. What a great idea. 

[cc-riderslc]

Stick with me for this final segment and I promise to be done. I wanted to Share a couple pictures of the ports. 

Amsterdam. We have been here before but never made the Anne Frank House so we made reservations for 10 am and made the visit. You have to be in awe of this young girls writing and her grasp on life itself. Very moving. Next door is the WestKirk where you will find a marker indicating Rembrandt is buried here. After that we went to the Albert Cuyp Market where we had to try the original Stroopwaffels. A few miles of shopping and we headed back to the ship. 

Bergen - we braved the morning rain with a visit to the fish market and then when it looked like it might rain more we went to St Mary's church to do something inside for a while. It was built in the 1100's. We couldn't miss shopping in the Bryggen area before lunch. After lunch we saw the clouds had lifted so we took the funicular up to the view point. By now it was a nice day and we enjoyed the views. 

Geirangerfjord - what a beautiful day in one of the world's most beautiful places. 

Ålesund - we took the little blue train ride then walked the town. Stopped for lunch at the fish and chips place. 

Akureyri - another beautiful day. Visited the waterfall, sod houses and I Christmas house. 

Reykjavik - Golden Circle tour with a stop in the national park to see the rift and fissures where the tutonic plates meet, gysir and Waterfall. A little rain but mostly dry and beautiful. 

[ontheweb]

Same cruise, and the yoghurt was available those last days. I also could not find the containers of yoghurt that had been there on previous days for breakfast. I asked where is the yoghurt, and was told to go around the corner to the grill. No containers, but there was both blueberry and plain yoghurt that you could scoop out plus small bowls to put it in.

[cc-riderslc]

Yeah. I found that too but my wife didn't care for it. She tried strawberry and then raspberry but said they were grainy and she didn't like the taste. 

[cc-riderslc]

Conclusion - will I sail on the NCL Prima again? Never say never but probably not. Will I sail on NCL again? Maybe. I did make it to the Latitude level in the loyalty program this last cruise so I might try again just to get the extra goodies. I really am kind of a traditionalist and classic cruise kind of guy. And I do have higher loyalty levels on other lines so I might wander over and see what they have going on. I once heard tell that 40% of the fun of travel is in the planning and anticipation, 20% of the fun is the actual travel and the other 40% of the fun is reliving and sharing the travel you just completed. I think I might sit back and enjoy that latter 40% for a while and see what the future brings. Thanks to all those who shared before I left on this cruise. I learned a lot from you. Thanks for reading my review. I hope it helps someone else in their planning. 

Chuck 

[DCGuy64]

20 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Same cruise, and the yoghurt was available those last days. I also could not find the containers of yoghurt that had been there on previous days for breakfast. I asked where is the yoghurt, and was told to go around the corner to the grill. No containers, but there was both blueberry and plain yoghurt that you could scoop out plus small bowls to put it in.

You must be German. 😉 My ex-wife was half-German and always wrote yogurt with an "h."

[cc-riderslc]

31 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

You must be German. 😉 My ex-wife was half-German and always wrote yogurt with an "h."

That is "on the web" spelling yogurt with an h but you might have noticed all I wanted for breakfast was bircher muesli.  That is because I lived in Austria for 2 years and picked up the habit of eating that almost every day.  One of the pluses for me when cruising on NCL.  Also why my wife doesn't like the grainy texture of the bulk yogurt in the grill area.  Once you have had German/Austrian/ Swiss yogurt it is hard to go back to anything else.

[DCGuy64]

15 minutes ago, cc-riderslc said:

Once you have had German/Austrian/ Swiss yogurt it is hard to go back to anything else.

I've lived in Germany and Austria, as well, and you're right about that. Also have to put in a plug here for French yogurt, which is heavenly. 😊

[ConnieTact]

Thanks for the great review. A good reminder of the ship- we were on the inaugural TA. We agree, we won’t used that class of ship again but have used NCL since. 
I loved the photos that remind me of going to all those places. Thanks for taking the time to share them and your thoughts too.