Prima TA 9/23/22 to 10/5/22 Semi-Live, Not

[JIMESOPUS]

Truly disappointed in the size and seating arrangement in the Improv and Syd Norman's. If you didn't book the Improv as soon as possible then you are not going unless your in the Haven, out of 10 possible nights we just attended 1 show, we were one of the first ones in line to book a show and most of the nights were gone. 

Improv

 

Improv seating, the bar area is located to right and I'm at the back wall, nice column in the center.

 

Edited October 6, 2022 by JIMESOPUS

[JIMESOPUS]

And at Syd's thing didn't get much better. The place was packed and every show the seating got rearranged, so you had high tables in front and low tables in back. 

 

Before the first show

 

Standing in line 1hr before the show starts, notice the door open in front of the line. That's the Haven entrance, by the time we got in almost all the seating was gone.

 

They really need to attach the tables to the floor, raise the back bench and even limit the attendance.

Almost every show we attended our view was blocked, sitting or standing. Walked out on several shows, just couldn't take the shoving. 

 

 

 

 

[CruizinSusan70]

32 minutes ago, JIMESOPUS said:

And at Syd's thing didn't get much better. The place was packed and every show the seating got rearranged, so you had high tables in front and low tables in back. 

 

Before the first show

 

Standing in line 1hr before the show starts, notice the door open in front of the line. That's the Haven entrance, by the time we got in almost all the seating was gone.

 

They really need to attach the tables to the floor, raise the back bench and even limit the attendance.

Almost every show we attended our view was blocked, sitting or standing. Walked out on several shows, just couldn't take the shoving. 

 

 

 

 

There was no such thing as a Haven entrance to the Cavern Club when we cruised on the Bliss.  It was first come, first seated with movable seats, no couches taking up precious real estate.

Are you saying that there is a special line for the Haven guests and they get let in before those in steerage?  Have 25 days reserved on this ship over the next few months and besides Noise Boys and the one comedy show we can reserve per sailing, Syd's is our source of entertainment.  If we can't get in....

[JIMESOPUS]

5 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

There was no such thing as a Haven entrance to the Cavern Club when we cruised on the Bliss.  It was first come, first seated with movable seats, no couches taking up precious real estate.

Are you saying that there is a special line for the Haven guests and they get let in before those in steerage?  Have 25 days reserved on this ship over the next few months and besides Noise Boys and the one comedy show we can reserve per sailing, Syd's is our source of entertainment.  If we can't get in....

Yes there is a backdoor,  every ship has one. On the Getaway and Breakaway it was a crew door that went thru the bar staging area, you can't see it from the main door. Several shows we stood the entire time. 

[Steff79]

Wonder how ncl will handle this when the ship will cruise  full. 

[ontheweb]

 @JIMESOPUS, thankyou for all your informative posts.

[JIMESOPUS]

21 minutes ago, Steff79 said:

Wonder how ncl will handle this when the ship will cruise  full. 

Pray that the weather is sunny and warm, the ship as you and others have mention is built for Mediterranean, Caribbean and the Mexican Rivera. I have to say with the " engine " in the middle of the ship, she handle the North Atlantic very well, at 20kts and with 20 to 30ft seas she hardly swayed, never saw any of those white bags.

[JIMESOPUS]

Onda, curse you NCL. By far this was the best restaurant for us, located on deck #8 and with seating outdoors this was a homerun. I gained five pounds here, everything looked so good. 

Menu

Our first meal here, no pizza for me.

Killer bread and dipping companions, the first one is a mascarpone butter which seemed to go first.  

Short Ribs as a starter

Chicken for Carol and Ravioli for me ( needed some of that red gravy ) 

 

Dessert time, Tiramisu for Carol and Budino for me

Never had a chance to take any pictures inside the restaurant, had to keep my eyes on that bread. The stuff bread tasted like a Stromboli combined with that butter I could have stopped there, but I didn't ... curse you NCL

 

[JIMESOPUS]

@Steff79 One more location for the Prima or Viva, Hawaii. This ship would be ideal for this market, moving the shops to deck #6 ( no casino aboard just like the POA ) and replacing those areas with more bars and restaurants on deck #8.

[Steff79]

Yes. But the ship will not be under us flag like the pride. So no only Hawai cruises. 
 

i think the viva will be same like prima. Hopefully they will do some changes at the third ship. 
 

i liked the Food at onda too. But the curses came out a so fast. After they took the old one the next one was there after a few seconds. That was much too fast for me. 

Edited October 6, 2022 by Steff79

[JIMESOPUS]

Indulge Food Hall, 11 venues, two bars and a Starbucks ( not free ).

Breakfast, Grab and Go or as I called it, a scavenger hunt. Here is your map and now go ... didn't like this concept.

 

 

Lunch time, if you don't sit near a station you can order from any venue. If you camped out at one, then the menu is just for that station. Easy to use but at times the system crashed and the kiosk had to be reset.

Our first of many lunches, this time it was Q

 

 

At times this place was crowded since half the seating was outdoors. There are overhead heaters out there but it was just too windy. Surprise of the cruise was that dinner was free, I have read that it's a la carte, just like the Food Republic. So many options and so little time. One dinner we sat at Q and Chef kept asking if I wanted more Ribs or Brisket, being polite person, I said yes all the time.. damn you NCL 

 

 

 

[JIMESOPUS]

I should say that we got into a rut, breakfast most of time was in the Local and lunch was at the Food Hall. We did venture into the Hudson's for breakfast and lunch but at times it was too crowded and we got faster service in the Local for breakfast and more options for lunch at the Food Hall. 

Our only lunch at Hudson's, Smashburger for me and Carol had Mac n Cheese with tomato soup

Edited October 6, 2022 by JIMESOPUS

[kayjaypea42]

How was the Smash Burger? It looks good!

[Just Jo]

On 10/2/2022 at 11:47 AM, The P said:

I read a review that said there are robes only in suites and the Haven. Do you know if you're not in those choices you can still ask and get one?

 

I was on this cruise also in a BA cabin.  I asked for a robe and was given two.

Edited October 6, 2022 by Just Jo

[JIMESOPUS]

1 hour ago, kayjaypea42 said:

How was the Smash Burger? It looks good!

Real good but they could have cut back on the secret sauce, got to be a challenge not wearing it.

[JIMESOPUS]

Hudson and Commodore MDR's, since there is a lot of pictures of the Hudson MDR I decided that there wasn't a need for more .. yes the room is beautiful, yes there is a view at every table and yes the menu was great. That being said we ate at the Commodore MDR, same menu, better service ( not as crowded ), reminded me of Taste on the Away ships and there was a view thru the porthole. 

[kayjaypea42]

16 minutes ago, JIMESOPUS said:

2 hours ago, kayjaypea42 said:

How was the Smash Burger? It looks good!

Real good but they could have cut back on the secret sauce, got to be a challenge not wearing it.

Good to know! I'll ask for it on the side! Thanks!

[ontheweb]

29 minutes ago, JIMESOPUS said:

Hudson and Commodore MDR's, since there is a lot of pictures of the Hudson MDR I decided that there wasn't a need for more .. yes the room is beautiful, yes there is a view at every table and yes the menu was great. That being said we ate at the Commodore MDR, same menu, better service ( not as crowded ), reminded me of Taste on the Away ships and there was a view thru the porthole. 

Ah, a view of the ocean from the dining room. We have to make sure we get that when we celebrate our wedding anniversary next August on the Prima. We try on land on our anniversary (usually successfully) to dine out by water generally sitting on a deck. We have had anniversaries before on cruise ships so that counts as being on water, but a table with a view of the ocean would be special.

[ricksurf]

We spent 22 days on the Prima from Copenhagen to New York.  The ship is beautiful with many new concepts for NCl and the cruise industry.  Since our cruise was Scandanavian and North Atlantic, we couldn't appreciate the design of the ship for outdoor activities.  Because, they have expanded the 8th deck for outdoor use and the larger Haven, many of the indoor common venues have been downsized and a little too small for such a large ship.  This was a problem for our indoor focused cruise, but should be better when the ship is in warm waters.

The food choices are outstanding and each area has really bumped upped the quality and variety of foods offerings for NCl.  The Inndulge Food Hall is a jewel and with a few small changes will continue to be a leader in the cruise industry.  The buffet, while offerings are excellent  is far too small for the ship and bad design for crowd flow to the pool.

The cabins have taken a step up from previous ships and the balconies have expanded again.

The addition of so many new kitchens on the ship, which have increased the quality of the food has created a decrease of common area venues.

The bar situation can be a bit confusing since many have focused themes.  Some find it difficult to find their favorite beverages.

Since the ship was new, we expected a few bumps, but in all found the cruise to be enjoyable and would book this class of ship again but in warmer waters.

[herbanrenewal]

I concur with just about everything being said about the Copenhagen and TA cruises on Prima, but especially on the comments about Syd Normans and Improv. Those venues were overcrowded every night, and SRO, despite having "reservations". 

The only way that size would work is if all customers had same requirements for getting reservations, and reservations were limited for each performance. If Havan is going to have special access to shows there needs to be a venue in Havan-only access areas.

If everyone has same ability to reserve and get into shows they would have to have at least 2 seatings every night like they do with some theater shows.

And they definitely have to find better seating arrangement with smaller furniture so more people can sit. 

[JIMESOPUS]

Busy day in the Valley, Uncle Joe was in town while Carol and I started walking, need to get rid of those extra souvenirs before the next cruise in 24 days.

Back to the review, time for Cagney's.

Located on deck #6 the restaurant is smaller than the Away ships and not as cozy as the Jewel / Dawn ships. The location didn't make sense to me and others, would have been better located on deck #8 where Los Lobos is, this would allow outdoor seating and maybe even a view. Food and service for us was great, a little crowded in later seating's which effected the service somewhat. At times the staff from the Food Hall was helping out.

 

 

[JIMESOPUS]

Our final specialty restaurant was Hasuki ( Teppanyaki ). Located way in the back on deck #7. The venue seemed smaller and at our seating,  two chefs were standing next to each other. It's all about the show and how the chef reacts to his group, ours was fantastic, even hatched a chicken or was that a duck? You can see the other guy's back, the actually ran into each other.

Edited October 7, 2022 by JIMESOPUS

[JIMESOPUS]

We never ate at the Surfside Café and Grill ( buffet ) , did look for that cardboard pizza late night ( not offered ). You did have to walk thru the buffet to go from the main pool to the Vibe beach club or back, again one of those strange things about this ship. While passing thru, the place was packed almost all the time. The grill part is located in the back, small seating area that offers burgers.

 

 

 

 

[JIMESOPUS]

Bars - Every picture is blurry? Well I'll try to remember,  

On Deck #6 there is the Belvedere Bar, aft section. Used for group gatherings, plenty of seating and we didn't see any musical entertainment. The meet and greet was held there.

Bar menu, each bar had their own special pre mix drink, enjoyed that Bourbon Myth

Meet and Greet, door in the back leads to Cagney's

Also on Deck #6 midship is the Penrose bar. The bar is also the casino bar and there some poker machines on one end. The place was jumping almost every night ( live entertainment in the alcove ) and you could have almost any drink you wanted. Sorry no pictures, what happens on the ship stays on the ship. 

 

[CruizinSusan70]

6 hours ago, herbanrenewal said:

I concur with just about everything being said about the Copenhagen and TA cruises on Prima, but especially on the comments about Syd Normans and Improv. Those venues were overcrowded every night, and SRO, despite having "reservations". 

The only way that size would work is if all customers had same requirements for getting reservations, and reservations were limited for each performance. If Havan is going to have special access to shows there needs to be a venue in Havan-only access areas.

If everyone has same ability to reserve and get into shows they would have to have at least 2 seatings every night like they do with some theater shows.

And they definitely have to find better seating arrangement with smaller furniture so more people can sit. 

I was under the assumption that the Improv was reservations only just like the comedy clubs are on the other ships.  But isn't Syd's walk in only, similar to the Cavern Club?