trinity91

Costa Maya: We had this port last year and did Maya Chan Beach Club which I recommend! This year, we weren't getting into port until 2PM so we stayed on board. It was fun to hang out at the pool watching the playoff game without the crazy crowds and loud electronic music. I love music, but that repetitive electronic DJ music is not my favorite. My SIL and her family had this port recently on a different cruise and enjoyed hanging out at the large pool and beach in the port area. They had a large group ( 15? ) with kids ranging from middle school to college aged and said all had a great time. Harvest Caye: Private NCL Island in Belize so easy port to navigate! We grabbed loungers under an umbrella on the beach and had fun watching all the zip liners. There were probably 4 restaurants on the property, a giant pool with swim up bar, sand volleyball courts, small bar stands, a place to rent paddle boards and kayaks, shops, and a small nature center. We did not buy any food, selecting to go back to the ship for a later lunch. A very nice stop for an enjoyable beach day! Roatan: Not the best weather, but it didn't spoil our experience! I booked an excursion with Roatan Breakaway tours - monkeys, sloths, snorkeling, beach break. We had a wonderful, friendly driver that took us to all the stops. The sloths and monkeys were AWESOME! My husband thinks that the snorkeling was the best we've done, and I agree it was up there. The beach break was short lived because it started raining really hard. I would highly recommend this excursion! It was a bargain, too! Cozumel: Having been to Cozumel a number of times, it's always fun to try and find new things to do in this port! We did the Amazing Race Cozumel and it was a blast! I'm a big fan of the show and wanted to explore the downtown area versus a beach day. It is physical (you don't have to run!) and we racked up over 12,000 steps navigating the race. So, if you have physical limitations or are not in shape enough to walk that far, this might not be for you. I think families with older kids (8 and up) would have fun doing this! It was very well organized! Final Thoughts: We really had a great time on the Prima! I like that we could see the ocean from multiple vantage points indoors and it didn't feel like I was in the middle of a mall in Anytown, USA. We loved the Ocean Boulevard on 8th floor - lots of comfy seating, handy bar, infinity pools, and really no kids. Don't get me wrong, I love kids, but I like a more relaxing vibe now that I'm not traveling with children! Infinity Beach and Indulge Lounge were almost like "adults only" areas as I only saw kids once??? I liked the comfy loungers and would read and relax there on sea days. We also enjoyed hanging out and playing cards in the Observation Lounge. Yes, the main pool area is small. There are even more loungers with umbrellas, shaded couches just one floor up. I always saw empty loungers when I walked around, around all pool areas (17th and 8th floors). My husband thinks I'm a nut, but I would walk the ship multiple times per day, mostly on 8. I'm sure my fellow passengers thought I was weird, too. I had to try and burn off some of that food! I would not recommend Prima for kids (I just think that there are better choices of ships that cater to families) nor would I book this ship for a cold weather cruise. I know that many are selecting it for Iceland and I'm not sure it would be my choice. I loved all the outdoor spaces for warm weather, but you would be pretty limited for cool, inclement weather. If you are on the fence about the Prima, go for it! In our experience, every ship has its own personality, positives and negatives. That being said, we have had a great vacation on every cruise that we have been on!

I would not recommend the Prima for families with children. I just think it is geared towards adults and there are so many other options. Disney was great and obviously really caters to families with children! Having the split bathroom and divider between bunk beds and our bed was also nice. It's a pricier cruise, but has some unique family friendly features. Carnival was great for everyone! Everyone from the younger cousins to grandparents had a good time. We also enjoyed NCL Escape a few years ago, but my "kids" were old enough to be in the adult area. We went on RCL Allure of the Seas last year (no kids) and there were lots of kids on board. I think kids would like the diving and ice skating shows.

Entertainment: I'm pretty easily entertained! That being said, I think the Prima needs another production show in addition to the Donna Summer Musical. The performers were so talented, but the show just wasn't that great in my opinion. I'm a big musical lover, but I wasn't a fan. I had just seen the touring production of the Tina Turner musical which is quite similar in story line, but it was ten times better. It sounds like Noise Boys made a professional boo boo, but that seems like a great show! Bring them back! Forgive and forget! The comedians in the Prima Theater were so - so. We went to the adult show of one of them. and I just don't think a set full of male genitalia and fart jokes constitutes an "adult" production. The lady in front of us loved it, and I got a lot of joy seeing how tickled she was! We did not try and see any of their shows in the Improv. Syd Norman's was really fun! I think they did 4 shows during our sailing. We attended two - Rock the Pour House and Rock the Prom. We just happened to be leaving dinner when we saw the line forming for Rock the Pour House and got in line. We really didn't need to get in that early, but we just enjoyed a cocktail and chatted with a nice couple who were on the second leg of their back to back cruise. We got to the venue right when the doors opened for Rock the Prom and there were plenty of seats. Both shows were really good! The Price is Right is great! Especially if you grew up watching Bob Barker! The hosts were very good, and they work it to where quite a few people get to participate. We liked sitting on the couches in the 7th floor balcony and our couch had two people called up! Lots of fun even if you aren't called up! We attended the Motown Show put on in the Prima Theater by the house band, Familiar Strangers. They are great entertainers! No matter what genre they perform, they are fantastic! Go see them in the 6th floor atrium when you can! They did bring out extra chairs when they performed. I attended a disco dance class which was fun! I got to show off my new moves at the Disco Wonderland held in the Prima Theater after Donna Summer. Not my husband's favorite, so we left before it was over and discovered that we could still hear the party in our room! So, if you are a light sleeper, 10th floor near the theater might not be for you. We can sleep through anything, so not a big deal. Just very surprising! They had three late shows in the Prima Theater during the week with different themes. We had fun doing the go carts (you get quite a few laps and it was cool to look out and see the ocean!), mini golf, and some of the other games in The Stadium. The pickleball court is tiny, but we had a good time. I did the Rush slide and it was really fast! People kept getting stuck in The Drop so I said "no" to that one. There are a number of other entertainment opportunities listed each day including free fitness classes, dance classes, arts and crafts, language lessons, trivia, games like Pictionary, BINGO, and more that I just can't remember! Each evening there are a number of musical acts playing a variety of music in the bars.

Food/Beverage continued : For lunch, we went to Indulge every day! So, so good! Yes, it gets crowded. Yes, you might have to wait for a seat. None of us on this cruise looked like we were starving, so waiting five minutes for a table didn't kill us! People are also super nice, looking out for others to join them at empty spots at their table. Over the week, we enjoyed guacamole, nachos, chicken korma, stuffed dates, crab on bread, cobb salad, pad thai, gnocchi, french onion soup, and BBQ chicken legs. I apologize for not knowing the Spanish names for some of these items from the Tapas menu. We only had one specialty dining and we chose Cagney's. It was great! Really good service and the food was really too much! You get an appetizer, soup or salad, entree, two sides, and dessert. It's ALOT! Everything was really delicious! We enjoyed a cocktail at almost all of the bars, but keep in mind that not all of the bars have the exact same menu. You can get most of your standards at all of them, though. I really liked the Sparkling Garden Spritz, but the big surprise was how much I loved their cocktail on tap, Monkey Business. It's made with peanut butter whiskey and rum, and I really dislike whiskey and rum, but I thought "Hey, why not? I have the drink package!" It was really good! We did not eat at the Local, but saw a ton of people there each day. Must be pretty good! My take on room service. I am so happy that they charge as I think it cuts down dramatically on people just drunk dialing for food that they don't really want, and then leaving tray up on tray in the halls that you have to walk around. We NEVER saw a tray of nasty old food sitting in the hall!

Long time lurker, first time poster! Cruise Critic has helped me so much over the years that I thought I'd share about my recent cruise thinking it might help others! I will do my best to address the things that I have seen others ask about, but I'm not going to be able to match the quality of the reviews that so many (Sid, et. al) have written! My husband and I went on the NCL Prima 1/26-2/2 out of Galveston. I think that this was our 8th cruise, having cruised on Carnival, NCL, Disney, and RCL previously, usually with a family group of 10. I chose this cruise because of Galveston being driving distance from our home and because it was a ship we had never been on. Since I was the one making the reservation, I chose an inside cabin. My husband kept asking why we weren't getting a balcony (I did promise that next cruise we will have one) as we have enjoyed having one before, but the price difference was almost equivalent to taking another cruise! I'm a cheapskate, we don't spend much time in our rooms, and I don't feel like my experience is that much better with a pricier room. Embarkation: Super smooth and easy! We parked in Express Parking at the port and had a 9:30 time slot. It was quite a line when we showed up, but once the line started moving, it was organized and easy. We were on the boat at around 10:45 ish?? We went straight to our muster station to check in (also very quick) and then went to the Prima Theater to reserve dining/entertainment. We had not reserved our cruise early enough to reserve specialty dining ahead of time, but I did have the Donna Summer Musical and The Price is Right already reserved. I sent my husband to the entertainment line to get whatever he thought we should have, and I went to the dining line. It went quickly and he reserved go carts and I reserved Cagney's. No other shows needed RSVP. We were headed to lunch and to explore the ship by 11:30. The Ship/Our Room: I really liked the blue, cream, and gold color scheme! It is a very pretty ship and I agree with others that it looks more "luxe" than other ships we have been on. As a "directionally challenged" person, I was concerned about the reviews stating that the ship's layout was difficult to navigate. Personally, I didn't find it hard at all after the first day. There are touch screens next to the elevators that you can use to choose your destination and it will give you the route to get there. Our room was very nice and had a ton of storage! Three closets (I recommend bringing a few extra hangers) with drawers, open shelving and a drawer at dressing table, large drawers and open shelves next to fridge, and the bathroom was probably the nicest we've seen! Large shower (I did bring my own shampoo and conditioner despite knowing it was provided.) and lots of storage - under the sink, upper and lower open shelves and a drawer. I recommend watching YouTube videos with room tours. Food/Beverage: Overall, pretty good! I am AMAZED that the ship's food service can crank out meals for this many people! Cruisers are eaters! We had some hits and misses as far as food goes in the main dining rooms, but I've had that on every cruise that we have been on. I did like that we could order off of the Cagney's menu in both main dining rooms (my husband did this twice!) and we had really good service in both Hudson's and the Commodore Room. Hudson's is a really pretty room with large windows! It was my favorite as far as aesthetic, but the menus are the same. The dining rooms get very busy on sea days. I think because everyone is not spread out time wise by excursions, hanging out in port, etc. The screens next to the elevators will also let you look at dining room capacity so you can choose accordingly. I only saw large parties (8 or more) being asked to wait (sometimes up to an hour wait at peak times). The staff even offered to go and get them from the nearest bar when their table was ready. Being a party of two, we were always seated right away. To me, large parties having to wait is typical for any land restaurant. So, if you can make an RSVP, do so. If not, go get a cocktail while you wait. We are not big breakfast eaters nor fans of the buffet, but we did go to the buffet for my husband to get soft serve. There seemed to be a good variety of food stations, but I can't say much else. We did eat breakfast in the main dining room (I like feeling "fancy" and getting served versus serving myself in the buffet) two mornings. I thought my fruit salad (not just grapes and honeydew! Hallelujah!) and oatmeal were good! My husband really liked the breakfast sandwich one day and the salmon bagel another. We also don't like coffee, but tons of our fellow cruisers walked around with Starbucks cups!