Prima Galveston Western Caribbean Cruise 12/15-12/22 2023 Review and Observations

[cruiseny4life]

40 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

if we were to sail out of Galveston, which airport is more convenient (getting from airport to cruise port)?  Also, is there are area near the port which is better for an overnight stay?  

Take a look at YouTube and podcasts for CruiseTipsTV, if you don't already follow her. She just recently moved to Texas and is ALL about Galveston. It's almost annoying. She has a few podcast episodes about hotels in Galveston (Harbor House was mentioned @rmfortin - thanks for reminding me, I wanted to look it up), what to do in Galveston, and other things. 

 

What? Did you think I just stick around Cruise Critic for my cruise addiction? 🤠

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

if we were to sail out of Galveston, which airport is more convenient (getting from airport to cruise port)?  Also, is there are area near the port which is better for an overnight stay?  

We're in the minority in that we prefer to fly into IAH-Bush which is the furthest from Galveston.  However, there is a marriott in the airport.  There is a tram that runs between all the luggage areas and the hotel.  The tram is free and very convenient.  We like to stay there because it simplifies things.  Fly, get bags, catch tram, spend night at hotel, take a shuttle next day to the port.  It's very smooth.

[Liljo22]

42 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

they should turn food republic into a 24 hour pizzeria, a restaurant category for which NCL is at a competitive disadvantage. or they could open something i would call "the local express," or "the local limited" serving grab and go versions of a limited menu of easily prepared favorite dishes from the local.

 

#MakeItHappenNCL

Didn't think about turning Food Republic into a 24 hour pizzeria but I 100% agree.  Sorrentos and Pizzeria Del Capitano are open 24 hours.  On my last two RCCL cruises, Sorrentos was busy after all the music venues closed at 2am.  Its nice having the Local open at that time but I would rather grab a couple slices of pizza than sit down and wait 15 minutes for pretzel bites and wings to come.  

[mking8288]

Hi, all ... let me join the Prima micro-focus group here for a few comments, unsolicited to NCL in the unlikely event someone from their social media/CC is reading or tracking (probably, AI software use to scan for key/buzz words & phrases, etc.) ... 

 

DW and I had been chatting with others in our tiny circles about the Indudge Food Hall concept on the Prima class of ships ... we basically like it and could use some refinements, without necessary a major dry dock - adjusting and extending the hours, make that an extension of the nearby "The Local" - its own generously sized gallery (which we toured & saw as part of the BTS tour last month) with the  international options, maybe extend it.  IFH essentially, to me, a semi-open kitchen concept with some of the food stations that merged seamlessly with seating for passengers ... With that, we don't see needing to maintain Food Republic on the ship, which also overlapped with Nama (which @rmfortin and others pointed out, was mostly empty for dinner & under-utilized during our TA crossing)   

 

As a matter of fact, just reserved 5 nights of specialty dining ahead and left out FR and Hauski staying for now ...  We dine both in Palomar and Onda, giving Palomar a slightly better grade with the fillet - repeating them next year, giving Le Bistro another chance as we've been skipping LB for a while.  Food opinions and impressions are highly biased, subjective and personal - so YMMV wildly and widely.  Ross ... look for the next "edition" down the ocean in a few months as we shall return to update our impressions.  

 

Convert or expand the FR space into an all day extension of the Surfside Cafe (buffet) to provide more seating options ... the Prima is NOT ideal for sailing in colder climate and the extra indoor seating & dining space would be welcomed and appreciated by a good fraction of pax in steerage.  Nothing against buffet lovers onboard a cruise ship, just not our things and little that we saw on the Prima, not impressed with the simplified selections, almost repeated daily with the same old ... those "theme" nights seemed to be - largely - out & gone.  Seafood night looked nice, limited in varieties ... however.  

 

With digitized DIY tablet ordering, the Food Hall concept can be further expanded into menu & dining add-ons, for a fee or upcharge (which I am sure the bean counters at NCL are probably considering anyway) ... my pet peeve is about clicking, ignoring and skipping the "tipping" for service when ordering - before "sending" - while seating inside the Hall.  I am not - right - the only one that noticed it ... NCL can easily add extra cost items plus 20%.  We're at a local upscale restaurants the other day - suggested tipping begin at 18%, 22%, 25% and 30% ... or custom amount.  

 

Reading like that unfinished & incomplete, late/partial annex to the last semi-live Prima report ... LOL.  

[Liljo22]

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

if we were to sail out of Galveston, which airport is more convenient (getting from airport to cruise port)?  Also, is there are area near the port which is better for an overnight stay?  

It really depends if you have a preference of airlines.  Hobby is the closer airport but is pretty much run by Southwest.  Probably close to 90% of the gates are designated for them.  You can get a couple flights with Delta or JetBlue into Hobby but its not going to be convenient.  Hobby is also the easier airport to flight out of.  There is rarely a line at security and the gates are not far.

 

IAH/Bush is going to be mostly United flights but has more of the other airlines available than Hobby does.  IAH is harder to fly out of as some terminals are a walk and security can be backed up but the food options are really good if you get their early and have time before you leave.   

[seemoreroyals]

@laudergayle we stayed at Gaidos Seaside Inn. Price with taxes was less than $80 for one nights stay. 

 

Gaidos is located on the seawall less than 3 miles from the cruise port.  It is older but when I did my research and read the reviews it had as good of ratings as the more expensive places.  It was clean and well maintained for an older property.  They have a full breakfast free of charge.  Gaidos also has two restaurants on property including Gaidos Seafood Restaurant, probably the best seafood restaurant on the island.  

 

While it is probably not as new or as plush as Tremont or Moody Gardens it provided a great inexpensive place for us to stay and eat the night before our cruise.  Uber for 4 of us was only $16 total each way.

 

ETA -  free cruise parking for those driving to port.

[Liljo22]

Entertainment

Overall, we had a great time with the entertainment options onboard Prima. 

 

The Penrose Atrium was the place we ended up every night at some point.  The late night music was great there but just wish it was bigger and more open.  Our two favorite acts there were Familiar Strangers and Shane.  Familiar Strangers were a high energy lead singer, a drummer, a bassist and a keyboardist that could play a lead guitar on his board.  They pretty much played everything from pop to rock to country with hits and deep track.  They loved to sprinkle in some audience interaction which is always great.  Shane was an Irish guitarist that play pretty much everything.  He said he was on his third cruise of his first contract and I loved his energy.  He just wanted to please everyone and if he didn't know a song, he would spend the next day learning it so he could play it the next time he saw the person.  After his sets, he would just sit down and talk with anyone that called him over.  We saw Aristo Duo and Duo Rika also but they were ok.

 

Rumours from the Syd's group was by far the best thing we saw all week.  For those that haven't seen it yet, they play the Fleetwood Mac Rumours album from cover to cover and tell the story of the divorce and breakups of the band member that crafted the album.  We ended up in line about an hour before the 10pm show but I would say that anyone that got there 45 minutes were able to get a seat.  We also saw the Prom Night on the last night where the crew sang eighty songs and told "stories" of their prom night.  Was a great show also.

 

Ocean Music Fest was so fun and unexpected.  We didn't even plan on attending but heard Queen's Radio Ga Ga playing and had to jump in there.  This is a show in the Prima Theater where the singers from the bands all week took turns singing songs with the Syd Norman's house band playing live.  I highly recommend going.

 

Price is Right was fun and I got called to play.  I was the first to bid so I got out bid but would have played Plinko if I won.  They did end up cancelling the show in the middle because supposedly they could not get the wheel working so that was disappointing.  

 

We had reservations to Donna Summers but it was at the same time as the Rumours show so we choose to skip it.  I honestly don't think we would have liked it.  We would have preferred a musical like Beetlejuice on the Viva that is fun.  I know they ended up cancelling the show on one night because a tech got sick/injured and they had Familiar Stranger play instead.

 

Theme nights were hit or miss in terms of attendance.  We had a 70s night, 80s night, 90s night and Sensoria which is EDM club night.  They transform the Prima Theater into the Prima Club and add booths you would see at a nightclub.  I thought the area was too big for the amount of people that showed up other than the 80s night which was packed.  70s night was pretty much dead and Sensoria was lightly attended also.  90s night was in Syd's and was fun because it was pretty backed and everyone was having fun.  Just about every night they had an 18+ club night in the theater but we were really vibing with DJ Vipers music during the night we went so we didn't go back.  

[Liljo22]

Activities

 

The Speedway was great.  We did it three times over the course of the week and could have done it more.  The karts were pretty fast and its a long three story course that you get 5-6 laps on.  They track your fastest lap time and rank you based on that.  Its' $15 per ride or $199 for the week pass.  If you have the pass, you do not need a reservation.  You just show up when its open and they let you in.  FYI...the best place to make reservations is on your TV or on the TVs by the elevators that have the card readers.  It shows you all the available slots for the week.  I had no trouble booking same day except for the last sea day.  

 

Honestly, the Galaxy Pavilion seemed like a waste of space.  We checked it out the first day before it opened and my kids didn't even mention it again.  Every time we walked pass it on the way to the OL, it was closed.  Why keep it closed?  I know there is an hour slot for people who have passes that is usually around 4-5.  We wanted to do the Escape Rooms but those booked up quick.  

 

Mini Golf seems like it would be fun and my son kept asking to play but we never got to it. Its $10 per person to play.  We also did not do Darts but its $5 per person for up to six people for 50 minutes of play.  
 

In terms on random activities around the ship, we were a bit disappointed.  I know a lot of people say they don't really care who the cruise director is but they as long with their staff are the ones that come up with the activities like trivia.  I don't feel Alvin did a good job in this area.  We are a big trivia family and use it to fill time and we only ended up at two that seemed fun.  The themes were mostly not interest.  Geography?  Flags of the World?  Not fun.  Where are the name that tune trivia contests or movie contests?  We went to 80s visual trivia which was fun and Arcade visual trivia which was just flashing a scene of the game on the screen and asking what game it was.  They also had dance classes during the day but they held them in the 6th floor atrium and blocked the walk way.  We did the Thriller dance class but we were bumping into people seated around us.  This didn't make or break our cruise at all but it could have enhanced the cruise for some people that were not having a great time. 

[Liljo22]

Disembarkation Day

As was mentioned earlier, this was a complete cluster.  We already were starting a little late because the Jubilee was sitting in our terminal but everyone was pushed into floors 7 & 8 of the atrium while they waited.  Alvin was calling colors pretty fast and it caused the line to snake almost completely through every section of the 6th floor.  We went through the casino twice and through the theater.  I was joking that they wanted us to see all 3,500 people one last time.  They also stopped the process for a half hour because they said customs had to catch up but its rumored there was someone on board that the FBI was looking for.  

 

Hopefully they get this worked out but pack your patience if you are going soon.  

[Liljo22]

Ship Review

Our first reaction was the ship was gorgeous but we started to see its flaws after the first couple of days.  The ship grew on me over the week and I wouldn't hesitate on sailing on a Prima class ship again.  Especially the Aqua as they hopefully are making some changes to fix the flaws.

 

I think the three main issues with the ship are the small venues, the wasted space and lack of areas for large events.  These all kind of interact with each other in some way.  Many people have mentioned the small venues but Syd's, the Atrium, Indulge, the Improve and the buffet are the main issues.  They all need to be a bit bigger to handle the crowds. 

 

I think the Metropolitan Bar is a big wasted space.  There is all this extra seating there which is used sparingly.  That area needs a bar but it really only needs to be a bar area with a few tables.  I think they can flip the Improve and Syd's and extend Syd's over into this area.  They can leave the bar part like they have on the Breakaway ships.  

 

I also said earlier that the Galaxy Pavilion is a waste.  Get rid of that space and open up the Observation Lounge up.  The OL is a great space and was well utilized with people playing card/board games or just relaxing(yes there were bare feet people sleeping).

 

I know some people like it but I also thought the Vibe was a wasted space.  There was never more than 20 people that I saw there.  Its a revenue generator that sells out but just add the extra $2-$3 to everyone's base fare and turn it back into Spice H20.  

 

NCL's objective was to spread the crowds out and they accomplished this but at the same time cut the large communal fees on a cruise ship.  I think the biggest issue is that the pool deck doesn't have a balcony around it where everyone hangs out and listens to the band playing or the contest that is going on.  Also the atrium is too closed in causing the same issues. 

 

Now I mentioned all these negatives but I still feel it was a great ship.  Its just quirky at times.  There is a lot to love about Prima.  The décor is great.  The outdoor areas on 8 are a nice touch.  My family loved the speedway although its not everyone's cup of tea.  The rooms are some of the best I have seen on a cruise ship.  You just need to know that Prima is different than what you might be used to.  

[cruiseny4life]

6 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

I think the Metropolitan Bar is a big wasted space.  There is all this extra seating there which is used sparingly.  That area needs a bar but it really only needs to be a bar area with a few tables.  I think they can flip the Improve and Syd's and extend Syd's over into this area.  They can leave the bar part like they have on the Breakaway ships.  

 

I also said earlier that the Galaxy Pavilion is a waste.  Get rid of that space and open up the Observation Lounge up.  The OL is a great space and was well utilized with people playing card/board games or just relaxing(yes there were bare feet people sleeping).

 

I know some people like it but I also thought the Vibe was a wasted space.  There was never more than 20 people that I saw there.  Its a revenue generator that sells out but just add the extra $2-$3 to everyone's base fare and turn it back into Spice H20.  

 

Now I mentioned all these negatives but I still feel it was a great ship.  Its just quirky at times.  There is a lot to love about Prima.  The décor is great.  The outdoor areas on 8 are a nice touch.  My family loved the speedway although its not everyone's cup of tea.  The rooms are some of the best I have seen on a cruise ship.  You just need to know that Prima is different than what you might be used to.  

Your comment about the Metropolitan Bar is so interesting to me. I'm floored by how differently each cruise can be. On our TA, the Metropolitan was filled during the day with trivia and filled at night during a singer, it seemed to be Shane or Artistic Duo. I'm stunned it was wasted space on your cruise!! I'd love to see the studies cruise lines do based on the way people move about/utilize spaces. 

 

I suppose I agree about the Galaxy Pavilion. My husband did purchase a 24 hour pass and enjoyed the rides/games/etc. But, that Observation Lounge. My oh my was it packed morning, noon, and up until about 6 PM. I managed to get a seat there around 8 PM one night when I was waiting for the above-mentioned husband to finish in Galaxy Pavilion. 

 

Vibe - haha, again slightly different on our cruise. Granted it was a somewhat colder cruise. There were never more than six to eight folks in there at a time. I spied over the Haven sundeck divider a few times and generally saw two to three people. 

 

I agree about Prima being a nice ship. Not sure I'd go with great...my husband will not sail on it again (at least he says so right now). I was fine with Prima, but he much prefers Getaway, then Joy. I'm just happy to be on a ship. 

 

Thanks again, truly, for sharing your thoughts. I was able to rekindle the memories of my November vacation as I sit in a dreary, rainy central NY...."working" at the office.

[Liljo22]

Tips

-Go to Hudson's for lunch on Embarkation Day and avoid the chaos.  

-Make reservations ahead of time for the MDRs.  You do not need to keep them but there were times where the family in front of us had to wait while our table was already ready.  

-If you select dining on the TVs by the elevator, it will show you the % full Hudson, Commodore Room, and the Local are currently

-Also use the boards for the deck maps.  I heard a bunch of people complaining about there not being a map but its just an option on the TV.

-Upgrade to FAS+ if you can swing it.  It was great not needing to worry about almost everything being extra.  For the extra $350pp, you don't have to worry about what is included in the drink package including Starbucks which is vital given how bad the regular coffee is.  You also get the extra dining credits which are great because there are so many great restaurants on board.  Unlimited wifi was also great.

-In terms of wifi, Starlink is onboard but it stinks.  You can do your basic browsing but not much more.  I did find that it was easier later in the cruise as people used up their minutes and there were less people logged in.  

-Be aware of the time changes.  The ship changes to the local time so we changed just about every night.  I heard a couple of angry people sitting in Starbucks that didn't know the time changed and they missed breakfast.  

-Don't sweat the small stuff and let it get to you.  I saw many people upset over the smallest of things and couldn't get over it.  I had people on our facebook group that were posting after day two that this was the worst cruise and they won't sail NCL again.  How are you going to say its your worst cruise two days into a seven day cruise?  

[Jim The Lizard]

3 hours ago, laudergayle said:

Every time we’ve looked inside any Food Republic it has been nearly empty.  IMO NCL should reconfigure FR to an Indulge concept.  And on Prima and Viva, reconfigure to make buffet larger.

Buffet is included.  Republlic garners additional revenue.  So I doubt it.  Not a bad idea.  But these lines are scraping for every additional dollar to get back in the black.  And I always enjoy reading your comments!  

[Liljo22]

20 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I agree about Prima being a nice ship. Not sure I'd go with great...my husband will not sail on it again (at least he says so right now). I was fine with Prima, but he much prefers Getaway, then Joy. I'm just happy to be on a ship. 

You are right.  Great is not the right word with the flaws that it has.  Its a good ship.  I went into it thinking that the complaints of the flaws were an overreaction.  Then I saw the flaws but the service and fun we had overcame those flaws.  I don't think I would jump on the Prima out of Galveston on this Western Caribbean itinerary again since I have done it but if it was a ship going elsewhere I would sail on her again.  

 

Oh, I was laughing on board thinking of you using Pr1ma on here.  NCL flips from using Prima and Pr1ma onboard.  I saw it most on the large TV by the pool that was behind the stage.  

Edited December 27, 2023 by Liljo22

[Liljo22]

Oh one funny item.  The first day we all mentioned that we loved the lighting fixtures in Hudson's and how they looked like butterflies.  Hudson's being at the back and so low, they flutter like butterflies when the ship is moving.  Its not distracting but we just found it funny. 

Edited December 27, 2023 by Liljo22

[laudergayle]

3 hours ago, mking8288 said:

the Prima is NOT ideal for sailing in colder climate

IMO, Prima is also not suited to Very Warm weather cruises either due to pool deck bring so small.  Ideal itineraries are mild temperatures like New England, shoulder season Western and Eastern Caribbean, shoulder season Mediterranean, and Bermuda (mostly because you’re off the ship much of the time).

 

We enjoyed Prima to Bermuda and would sail her or Viva given the right climate.

 

Thanks @Liljo22 for sharing your experience.  Wishing you a Happy New Year and a cruise-worthy 2024.

[UKstages]

1 hour ago, Liljo22 said:

The first day we all mentioned that we loved the lighting fixtures in Hudson's and how they looked like butterflies. 

 

to me, the hudson lighting fixtures look like spatulas you would find in liberace's kitchen.

[Liljo22]

Here are the Dailies.  Remember that we flipped Costa Maya and Cozumel due to the craziness in the Gulf.

 

 

Prima Day 1.pdf Prima Day 2.pdf Prima Day 3.pdf Prima Day 4.pdf Prima Day 5.pdf Prima Day 6.pdf Prima Day 7.pdf

Edited December 27, 2023 by Liljo22

[fireman17]

Thank you for the time you put in on this post. I enjoyed it! We leave on the Prima on January 26th and cant wait!