First cruise with NCL (Prima Iceland): pros and cons

[Miss_Confused]

Hi all,

 

Personally have loved and found very useful when cruisers post their view and open up to discussion so wanted to contribute and do my own. Recently had my first cruise with NCL (cruised in the past with multiple other lines) and it was a lovely 10 day Iceland and Norway itinerary on the Norwegian Prima. I was traveling solo and booked last minute so this was for an interior cabin. While I very much enjoyed a lot of the cruise there were some areas that annoyed me and made me question if its the right line for me

 

Key pro's:

- Overall enjoyed the ship incl. comfort and layout, even though there are thousands onboard you dont feel it and there is a good variety of comfortable nooks which I love. By splitting people up there also was very rarely issues with queues and waiting times despite a full sailing

- Loved the Indulge hall!!! Honestly one of the best things with the sailing. Food was brilliant, portion sizes perfect and they were great at handling dietary issues (very clear on what was possible). The speed of service was a bit of a shock it was that fast, but honestly made for a great meal where you order something and then when ready order the next thing. Only issue was that ordering drinks on the tablets didnt work with your room card so you either grabbed a waiter or went to the bar

- Amazing drinks and bartenders 

- Booked the cruise for the itinerary and it delivered, really enjoyed my 10 days 

- Pricing on NCL cruises once you account for drinks packages, etc. is amazing - one of the best values

 

Key Con's:

- Food variety was terrible - barring the Indulge hall it was practically the same offering across every venue every day e.g. starters always consisted of the same or practically the same items and you end up having a Cesar salad 4 days in a row (granted a great Cesar ). Every morning it was the same variety of eggs and meats in the same format across all venues - so unless you liked eggs or sweets for breakfast there wasnt much choice. Additionally there was nothing reflecting the areas we were traveling through, even the one time the Buffe claimed a Nordic theme the items had literally nothing to do with the region and Im sorry to say tasted quite bad

- "Entertainment" - personally I dont find an entertainment schedule full of bad knock-off's of cheesy game shows and sales pitches masquerading as parties and seminars all that entertaining. The few actual shows and pieces of music were hard to get seats for and the so called Improv never actually put on any Improv comedy. There also wasnt a single piece of information provided regarding the amazing stops we were having, instead it was all focused on buying crappy bracelets and bingo tickets 

- Solo set-up - a key reason for booking NCL was that they were supposed to be the best at sea for solos. But every daily meetings pretty much always was set at 5pm when we were still in port or during the sail away and any dinner booking followed immediately. The meetings themselves felt like being in kindergarden, everyone facing the "host" who would have some silly icebreaker even 9 days in and allowed for no conversation or interaction between people. It was also typically held in an empty venue with a closed bar, which also didnt help. That said met some lovely people and we organized some fun dinners, etc. but it was not thanks to NCL

- Limited natural light - except for the dining room and the tiny! observatory lounge there wasnt any real natural light. Most areas had no windows or had them covered up so the few areas like the observatory lounge were always so full people were literally sitting on the floor. This likely isnt an issue in a Caribbean cruise where most people are outside by the pool but for Iceland it did cause an issue 

 

Other notes:

- Main dining room was great at handling requests, e.g. I probably had some lovely asparagus or mushrooms added to my main every day

- Only charging for the additional price above your package in terms of drinks, etc. - found it worked better for me to have the normal HIA package and then pay extra when I wanted a specific wine or diet coke.

- Rooms were very comfortable

- Getting bubbly soda's was a pain haha, found it very odd that closed soda cans and bottles of water were not included

- Overall I noted it was a very American experience, great for having all the lovely stuff I missed from living in the US, but lots of having to bite down my annoyance at certain American styles of service and food style - just a heads up for any Euro, SA, APAC traveling

 

Thanks all!

[Ellis1138]

I did the same cruise on the Prima in the Studios on June 23 to July 4th.

 

Breakfast tip: Indulge Food Hall had congee in the mornings! With ginger and scallion topping.

 

And yeah, I don't bother with the Solo meet ups because it's usually at a bad time for me. 🙂

[asctony]

1 hour ago, Miss_Confused said:

Hi all,

 

Personally have loved and found very useful when cruisers post their view and open up to discussion so wanted to contribute and do my own. Recently had my first cruise with NCL (cruised in the past with multiple other lines) and it was a lovely 10 day Iceland and Norway itinerary on the Norwegian Prima. I was traveling solo and booked last minute so this was for an interior cabin. While I very much enjoyed a lot of the cruise there were some areas that annoyed me and made me question if its the right line for me

 

Key pro's:

- Overall enjoyed the ship incl. comfort and layout, even though there are thousands onboard you dont feel it and there is a good variety of comfortable nooks which I love. By splitting people up there also was very rarely issues with queues and waiting times despite a full sailing

- Loved the Indulge hall!!! Honestly one of the best things with the sailing. Food was brilliant, portion sizes perfect and they were great at handling dietary issues (very clear on what was possible). The speed of service was a bit of a shock it was that fast, but honestly made for a great meal where you order something and then when ready order the next thing. Only issue was that ordering drinks on the tablets didnt work with your room card so you either grabbed a waiter or went to the bar

- Amazing drinks and bartenders 

- Booked the cruise for the itinerary and it delivered, really enjoyed my 10 days 

- Pricing on NCL cruises once you account for drinks packages, etc. is amazing - one of the best values

 

Key Con's:

- Food variety was terrible - barring the Indulge hall it was practically the same offering across every venue every day e.g. starters always consisted of the same or practically the same items and you end up having a Cesar salad 4 days in a row (granted a great Cesar ). Every morning it was the same variety of eggs and meats in the same format across all venues - so unless you liked eggs or sweets for breakfast there wasnt much choice. Additionally there was nothing reflecting the areas we were traveling through, even the one time the Buffe claimed a Nordic theme the items had literally nothing to do with the region and Im sorry to say tasted quite bad

- "Entertainment" - personally I dont find an entertainment schedule full of bad knock-off's of cheesy game shows and sales pitches masquerading as parties and seminars all that entertaining. The few actual shows and pieces of music were hard to get seats for and the so called Improv never actually put on any Improv comedy. There also wasnt a single piece of information provided regarding the amazing stops we were having, instead it was all focused on buying crappy bracelets and bingo tickets 

- Solo set-up - a key reason for booking NCL was that they were supposed to be the best at sea for solos. But every daily meetings pretty much always was set at 5pm when we were still in port or during the sail away and any dinner booking followed immediately. The meetings themselves felt like being in kindergarden, everyone facing the "host" who would have some silly icebreaker even 9 days in and allowed for no conversation or interaction between people. It was also typically held in an empty venue with a closed bar, which also didnt help. That said met some lovely people and we organized some fun dinners, etc. but it was not thanks to NCL

- Limited natural light - except for the dining room and the tiny! observatory lounge there wasnt any real natural light. Most areas had no windows or had them covered up so the few areas like the observatory lounge were always so full people were literally sitting on the floor. This likely isnt an issue in a Caribbean cruise where most people are outside by the pool but for Iceland it did cause an issue 

 

Other notes:

- Main dining room was great at handling requests, e.g. I probably had some lovely asparagus or mushrooms added to my main every day

- Only charging for the additional price above your package in terms of drinks, etc. - found it worked better for me to have the normal HIA package and then pay extra when I wanted a specific wine or diet coke.

- Rooms were very comfortable

- Getting bubbly soda's was a pain haha, found it very odd that closed soda cans and bottles of water were not included

- Overall I noted it was a very American experience, great for having all the lovely stuff I missed from living in the US, but lots of having to bite down my annoyance at certain American styles of service and food style - just a heads up for any Euro, SA, APAC traveling

 

Thanks all!

We were on the Prima in Oct & Nov 2023. After reading your review, you nailed it!

 

Great review!

We felt the same about the Entertainment & food in the MDR. Many venues were too small to accommodate guests. People lined up hours before some of the small club type shows. 

 

New concept, but not for us.

Happy Cruising!

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

We cruised Reykjavik to Southampton last year when the weather was poor.   Inside the ship was VERY CROWDED as virtually no one went outside.

[sharonann24]

We were on the Prima last July for the Iceland to Southhampton cruise and loved it.  My husband and I had a balcony room and my father traveled in a solo cabin.  He had no complaints and found it suited his needs both in comfort and affordability since he would have had to pay double for the balcony.  We personally love Hudson's MDR and that definitely has lovely window and outside views from almost every vantage point.  We are in agreement with the entertainment.  We did get into Sydney Norman's and it was crowded but a great show.  I heard from another post that Donna Summer is no longer part of the rotation so we will see.  We are on the Prima in October for a Southampton to Rome cruise focusing Spain, Portugal and France. We have three speciality dinners and our tours set.  We are Platinum on NCL so it goes to show we like the line.  I think people's expectations of what cruise life are like have really been blown out of proportion.  

[PhillyTravelBug]

Love the objective review! We

did this itinerary last year and it checked off so many bucket list items. Truly, a great experience. 
 

would you sail with NCL again?

 

Glad to hear you had an overall good experience. NCL’s entertainment has seriously suffered as of late, but not a deterrent for myself.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, sharonann24 said:

We were on the Prima last July for the Iceland to Southhampton cruise and loved it.  My husband and I had a balcony room and my father traveled in a solo cabin.  He had no complaints and found it suited his needs both in comfort and affordability since he would have had to pay double for the balcony.  We personally love Hudson's MDR and that definitely has lovely window and outside views from almost every vantage point.  We are in agreement with the entertainment.  We did get into Sydney Norman's and it was crowded but a great show.  I heard from another post that Donna Summer is no longer part of the rotation so we will see.  We are on the Prima in October for a Southampton to Rome cruise focusing Spain, Portugal and France. We have three speciality dinners and our tours set.  We are Platinum on NCL so it goes to show we like the line.  I think people's expectations of what cruise life are like have really been blown out of proportion.  

We loved those large picture windows in the Hudsons dining room. On the first night, I asked about a latter night that would be our wedding anniversary, and could we reserve a table by one of those windows. We were told no, it was first come, first served. But, on our anniversary when we gave them the card, they took us right to one of the tables with the large windows. 

 

 

[Asawi]

On 8/16/2024 at 5:23 PM, Miss_Confused said:

 found it worked better for me to have the normal HIA package and then pay extra when I wanted a specific wine or diet coke.

I may be having a blonde moment, but I can't figure out what HIA stands for. 

[ontheweb]

7 minutes ago, Asawi said:

I may be having a blonde moment, but I can't figure out what HIA stands for. 

Have It All.

[Asawi]

2 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Have It All.

Aaahhh... Something like FAS but another cruise line?
OK, apparently Google is a good friend that tells me it's Holland America Line. 😄 

[Miss_Confused]

11 minutes ago, Asawi said:

Aaahhh... Something like FAS but another cruise line?
OK, apparently Google is a good friend that tells me it's Holland America Line. 😄 

Hahahaha I mixed up my line acronyms there! But yes I meant the FAS - Im a big fan of more all inclusive set ups for cruises as these are vacations where I dont want to be having to think and plan 

[Asawi]

6 minutes ago, Miss_Confused said:

Hahahaha I mixed up my line acronyms there! But yes I meant the FAS - Im a big fan of more all inclusive set ups for cruises as these are vacations where I dont want to be having to think and plan 

I hear you! I drink very little, hardly any alcohol, but it feels so luxury to just stop by at a bar and get a mocktail or soda or... (OK, a mudslide or two and a couple of Kahlua shots and a couple of beers seem to find their way to me as well. That is per cruise, not per day though. 😄 )

[Miss_Confused]

4 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

Love the objective review! We

did this itinerary last year and it checked off so many bucket list items. Truly, a great experience. 
 

would you sail with NCL again?

 

Glad to hear you had an overall good experience. NCL’s entertainment has seriously suffered as of late, but not a deterrent for myself.

I think I will do another NCL cruise, even got cruise next credits as overall the value is great. That said I would mainly choose it for something like a Caribbean cruise. Had originally been considering NCL for an African cruise as they have an amazing itinerary but will probably choose another line for that one

[Miss_Confused]

5 hours ago, sharonann24 said:

We were on the Prima last July for the Iceland to Southhampton cruise and loved it.  My husband and I had a balcony room and my father traveled in a solo cabin.  He had no complaints and found it suited his needs both in comfort and affordability since he would have had to pay double for the balcony.  We personally love Hudson's MDR and that definitely has lovely window and outside views from almost every vantage point.  We are in agreement with the entertainment.  We did get into Sydney Norman's and it was crowded but a great show.  I heard from another post that Donna Summer is no longer part of the rotation so we will see.  We are on the Prima in October for a Southampton to Rome cruise focusing Spain, Portugal and France. We have three speciality dinners and our tours set.  We are Platinum on NCL so it goes to show we like the line.  I think people's expectations of what cruise life are like have really been blown out of proportion.  

I get where you are coming from, and normally I do my research before a cruise but in this case I had little time and the information I did find was not fully up to date (e.g. the menus in the MDR were missing a couple of different aps and a main compared to the ones I found online). Now I now what to expect and will plan accordingly 🙂 

 

For any next cruises Ill def. book ahead - normally Im a decide on the spot what to do that night but that works less well on NCL. 

[mthayer295]

20 hours ago, Miss_Confused said:

I get where you are coming from, and normally I do my research before a cruise but in this case I had little time and the information I did find was not fully up to date (e.g. the menus in the MDR were missing a couple of different aps and a main compared to the ones I found online). Now I now what to expect and will plan accordingly 🙂 

 

For any next cruises Ill def. book ahead - normally Im a decide on the spot what to do that night but that works less well on NCL. 

I am reflecting on your last sentence and I think you have really made a great point.  NCL introduced freestyle cruising in 2000 and it was a game changer.  A cornerstone of the new approach was the freedom from a set dining time each evening.  It also introduced many more dining options, entertainment options, and more casual attire.  However, here we are nearing the silver anniversary of this approach, it is undeniable that freestyle requires more individual planning starting many months before your cruise to book excursions, dining reservations, and now entertainment.  It would be unlikely that one could just show up, unpack, and be spontaneous with an expectation that they would be able to partake of all of these things.  That might be fine if your expectation of the cruise is aligned but I suspect most have higher expectations.

 

Our last cruise was in the Haven on Prima and we are about to embark on the Encore also in Haven.  I am lucky that we can afford this and I will tell you that one thing it helps, is to ensure that we will have a good restaurant to eat at every meal without making a reservation, and we will be able to attend the “big show” etc.  We will also dine in some specialty restaurants, because we like to experience the variety.  The luxury lines have become more appealing because you don’t have to do all that planning in advance e.g. Viking.  

 

Now 24 years later “freestyle” has become a bit more of a “pre-plan your own experience” in an environment where the supply of the experiences is lower (in some cases significantly lower) than the demand.  NCL was very successful in building a vacation experience at a price point that attracted significant customers and fueled their growth which has led to more and bigger ships.  I am sensing it may be time for a new approach.  What is next?  Freestyle 2.0 or maybe MeStyle 🙂

[sharonann24]

I even pre book the MDR whenever possible!  My husband and I would have loved to have been in the Hsvrnnad we have done so twice and it was great.  But traveling with my father who will not pay for it so we wait for our next cruise.  TheHaven  Restaurant was always a pleasure and having the bar was a plus too!

[KKB]

On 8/16/2024 at 10:23 AM, Miss_Confused said:

 

- Limited natural light - except for the dining room and the tiny! observatory lounge there wasnt any real natural light. Most areas had no windows or had them covered up so the few areas like the observatory lounge were always so full people were literally sitting on the floor. This likely isnt an issue in a Caribbean cruise where most people are outside by the pool but for Iceland it did cause an issue 

 

 

We sailed Prima last year & I have sailed NCL solo; I would agree with most points overall.

 

I do want to address this--there is an entire wall of windows from deck 7-8, behind Starbucks (7) & the Whiskey Bar (8). But Prima does feel more closed in than other ships. The flow is very odd as well. 

But Los Lobos is one of the top 5 meals we have had at sea (up there w/ Chef's tables!) & Syds is just as great on Prima as other ships, tho the wait to get in was the worst of any ship--lines began 60-90 min. b4 the show!!