Second guessing Prima

[SunnyMer]

A quick background. We are not what I would call frequent cruisers, but have some experience. We’ve been on 7 Disney cruises over the years, and once our children were a bit older (they are now 15 & 17), we moved on to RCL and have cruised them 3x (Voyager, Freedom, Allure) and have an Alaskan on Quantum booked this summer. 

We booked the Iceland/Norway cruise on Prima for next summer. We selected this cruise solely for the itinerary. After researching a bit, the Prima looked like an exciting new ship that our older teens would really enjoy. However, the more reviews I read, the more I begin to second guess this. The main issues I see are all related to the design of the ship not handling crowds well. I realize when you cruise with 3k of your closest friends, some crowds are unavoidable. My concern is on a cold weather itinerary, with limited access to the outdoor spaces, the interior crowds will be even worse than the reviews I’m reading for Caribbean routes. 
 

RCL does offer a similar itinerary (excluding Norway) on the Jewel, but we were really looking forward to Norway. 

For those more familiar with NCL, I would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, opinions, etc! We are considering making the switch to the Jewel, but I’m so conflicted. Any help would be great. 
 

Thank you all in advance! 

Edited March 29, 2023 by SunnyMer
Typo

[graphicguy]

Any time there's a new ship from ANY cruise line, there is a bit of hand wringing, especially if the new ship is significantly different than what their past frequent cruisers are used to.  I think that's what you're seeing.  I saw the same when Royal first sailed the Oasis.

 

Personally, I like new and different.

 

The Prima is smaller than the Breakaway ships NCL has recently launched.  Plus, instead of having traditional Buffet types of dining areas, it's broken up into smaller, more geographical centric food areas.  

 

Some people want Traditional Main Dining Rooms or Buffets that mirror what they're used to.

 

The person who had a comprehensive review of the Prima is a respected poster here.

 

You can find his take here.....

 

 

I have sailed the GEM, which is nearly identical to the Jewel.  Nice ship....older, but nice, nevertheless.  It will be more traditional than the Prima.  If you want traditional, that's the way to do.

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by graphicguy

[razor7_us]

LOL.  I know people like you who will believe everything they read on the internet. You have 10 cruises under your belt so you should "be in the know" so to speak.  Every ship you've been on had a capacity exceeding 3000pax and up to 6000 pax.  Was that a concern for you then?

[awinte2]

We just got off the Prima in February and had read the reviews before we sailed but I would not pass judgement till our cruise was finished.  We have sailed NCL many times and other cruiselines with 3500 capacity.

This is my takeaway and all reviews posted are those individuals opinions. 

Understaffed especially in bar areas so was a bit of a wait to get beverages.  Buffet definitely too small for amount of people. New repeated menu in MDR gets old very quickly.  Most entertainment venues are too small and long lines and wait times to get in .  Booking in specialty restaurants and theatre shows sell out fast so do it as soon as you can. Many people on our cruise could not get into the shows or restaurants . Pool area definitely too small.

Found the layout of the ship a bit challenging.

Ship is beautiful. Stateroom the best we've ever been in.  Service was spot on in every area.

Would we go on this ship again even is if is the itinerary we want probably not. We had a good time on this holiday but not a great time as we have had on others. 

Hard decision for you to make and perhaps you will be like us and make the decision to go and be the judge yourself.  You are still going to a beautiful place on a beautiful ship and you don't want to regret not going to Norway.

i

1 hour ago, SunnyMer said:

A quick background. We are not what I would call frequent cruisers, but have some experience. We’ve been on 7 Disney cruises over the years, and once our children were a bit older (they are now 15 & 17), we moved on to RCL and have cruised them 3x (Voyager, Freedom, Allure) and have an Alaskan on Quantum booked this summer. 

We booked the Iceland/Norway cruise on Prima for next summer. We selected this cruise solely for the itinerary. After researching a bit, the Prima looked like an exciting new ship that our older teens would really enjoy. However, the more reviews I read, the more I begin to second guess this. The main issues I see are all related to the design of the ship not handling crowds well. I realize when you cruise with 3k of your closest friends, some crowds are unavoidable. My concern is on a cold weather itinerary, with limited access to the outdoor spaces, the interior crowds will be even worse than the reviews I’m reading for Caribbean routes. 
 

RCL does offer a similar itinerary (excluding Norway) on the Jewel, but we were really looking forward to Norway. 

For those more familiar with NCL, I would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, opinions, etc! We are considering making the switch to the Jewel, but I’m so conflicted. Any help would be great. 
 

Thank you all in advance! 

[paulis]

I just got off the Prima a couple weeks ago and completely agree with everything @awinte2 just said. That being said, if it's the itinerary you're going for - you'll have a great time. NCL went with something different and with that comes risks. Would I travel Prima again for the standard Caribbean stops - no. But if there were specifics port I wanted to visit - sure. I'm sure the follow up ships in the class will be very different based on what has been experienced from all on board.

[luv2kroooz]

Until the capacity of the public lounges like Syd's and the Improv are rightsized and until is able to create a main pool deck, we also have read enough opinions that we would not book a cruise on Prima. I am expecting revisions to the vessels currently under construction.

[SunnyMer]

Thank you for all of your replies. I appreciate the first hand experiences and opinions.  

[Oceansaway17]

5 hours ago, SunnyMer said:

A quick background. We are not what I would call frequent cruisers, but have some experience. We’ve been on 7 Disney cruises over the years, and once our children were a bit older (they are now 15 & 17), we moved on to RCL and have cruised them 3x (Voyager, Freedom, Allure) and have an Alaskan on Quantum booked this summer. 

We booked the Iceland/Norway cruise on Prima for next summer. We selected this cruise solely 
 

RCL does offer a similar itinerary (excluding Norway) on the Jewel, but we were really looking forward to Norway. 
For those more familiar with NCL, I would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, opinions, etc! We are considering making the switch to the Jewel, but I’m so conflicted. Any help would be great. 
 

Thank you all in advance! 

The Jewel is a Radiance class ship that has lot of glass for viewing the sea. I have sailed on her sister Serenade to Norway and Baltics.  But I am booked on the NCL Star that starts in Iceland and goes around and then over to Greenland. It is June 21,2024 and stays in Iceland area.

 

For Norway I would look at the Jewel OTS out of Amsterdam that is 12 nights and goes up to the Artic circle. It sails this itinerary August 10th, 2024.

 

I ALWAYS feel it is best to concentrate on 1 area and get as much bang for buck.  The Star is smaller ship and can get into the smaller ports.

 

 

[The Traveling Man]

6 hours ago, SunnyMer said:

A quick background. We are not what I would call frequent cruisers, but have some experience. We’ve been on 7 Disney cruises over the years, and once our children were a bit older (they are now 15 & 17), we moved on to RCL and have cruised them 3x (Voyager, Freedom, Allure) and have an Alaskan on Quantum booked this summer. 

We booked the Iceland/Norway cruise on Prima for next summer. We selected this cruise solely for the itinerary. After researching a bit, the Prima looked like an exciting new ship that our older teens would really enjoy. However, the more reviews I read, the more I begin to second guess this. The main issues I see are all related to the design of the ship not handling crowds well. I realize when you cruise with 3k of your closest friends, some crowds are unavoidable. My concern is on a cold weather itinerary, with limited access to the outdoor spaces, the interior crowds will be even worse than the reviews I’m reading for Caribbean routes. 
 

RCL does offer a similar itinerary (excluding Norway) on the Jewel, but we were really looking forward to Norway. 

For those more familiar with NCL, I would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, opinions, etc! We are considering making the switch to the Jewel, but I’m so conflicted. Any help would be great. 
 

Thank you all in advance! 

The Prima is a lovely ship and there are good reasons why some have praised her.  There also are valid reasons why some have expressed reservations.  You mentioned one specific area of concern which I can confirm.  We took the Prima on a Norway cruise last September.  The cold, rainy, inclement weather that we encountered on most of the trip limited the use of the outdoor areas of the ship.  The Prima relies heavily on outdoor seating areas for some of its restaurants.  This was most noticeable in the Indulge Food Hall.  It was quite crowded at most meal times, and the outdoor seating was not only unusable because of the weather, but the crew had actually stacked it out of the way.  Even though our cruise was far from full capacity, there were long lines to access some of the other venues, as well, particularly Syd Norman's and the comedy club.  If you approach your cruise with a positive spirit and roll with the punches regarding overcrowding, though, you should have a wonderful time on the Prima.

[UKstages]

to be fair, syd's and the comedy venue and, on some ships, the cavern club... these always experience frustratingly long lines, and lots of disappointed cruisers who get shut out, regardless of the ship. so that may be an unfair criticism of the prima.. i'm sailing on the prima for the first time in may, so i have no firsthand experience, but it does sound like the crowding in indoor spaces such as the indulge food hall is a very real thing. it's almost as if they thought the crowds on the ship would be equally disbursed throughout all venues, regardless of popularity. it also seems to me like indulge should be a 24 hour venue, much like the local and that would take care of some of the crowding problems.

[Liljo22]

6 hours ago, UKstages said:

to be fair, syd's and the comedy venue and, on some ships, the cavern club... these always experience frustratingly long lines, and lots of disappointed cruisers who get shut out, regardless of the ship. so that may be an unfair criticism of the prima.. i'm sailing on the prima for the first time in may, so i have no firsthand experience, but it does sound like the crowding in indoor spaces such as the indulge food hall is a very real thing. it's almost as if they thought the crowds on the ship would be equally disbursed throughout all venues, regardless of popularity. it also seems to me like indulge should be a 24 hour venue, much like the local and that would take care of some of the crowding problems.

If they made Syds and the Cavern Club big enough to handle the guests that want to be there, they will loose all the charm and energy that make them great experiences.  

[BirdTravels]

13 hours ago, SunnyMer said:

A quick background. We are not what I would call frequent cruisers, but have some experience. We’ve been on 7 Disney cruises over the years, and once our children were a bit older (they are now 15 & 17), we moved on to RCL and have cruised them 3x (Voyager, Freedom, Allure) and have an Alaskan on Quantum booked this summer. 

We booked the Iceland/Norway cruise on Prima for next summer. We selected this cruise solely for the itinerary. After researching a bit, the Prima looked like an exciting new ship that our older teens would really enjoy. However, the more reviews I read, the more I begin to second guess this. The main issues I see are all related to the design of the ship not handling crowds well. I realize when you cruise with 3k of your closest friends, some crowds are unavoidable. My concern is on a cold weather itinerary, with limited access to the outdoor spaces, the interior crowds will be even worse than the reviews I’m reading for Caribbean routes. 
 

RCL does offer a similar itinerary (excluding Norway) on the Jewel, but we were really looking forward to Norway. 

For those more familiar with NCL, I would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, opinions, etc! We are considering making the switch to the Jewel, but I’m so conflicted. Any help would be great. 
 

Thank you all in advance! 

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Many NCL cruiser want to compare the Prima with 3100 passengers to her big cousins like the Escape that has 4200 passengers. Yup, the bigger ship has bigger facilities,,, duh…. 
 

We have sailed on the Prima twice and have another cruise booked on Prima class ship this year. We like the ship and have no issues with her. 

[mypleasure]

We are booked to sail on Prima in Sept this year.

 

Right from the day the ship launched I have avidly been following reviews of guests who have already sailed. I have read the reviews and have come to realise that this is a ship which challenges peoples thinking. Complaints seem to revolve around a tiny pool deck, a tiny buffet, lack of staff causing long lines to get a drink served and cutting back on room steward service.

With the design of the Prima and the future ships of this class we will all have to accept that we need to  change our thinking. Prima has a small pool deck and pool but it has the infinity pools on the sides.

 

Prima has a small buffett but offers The Local and Indulge Food Hall as well as main dining rooms to eat all main meals as well as a lot of speciality dining if you like that. Given the complaints about being unable to get reservations for the restaurants it seems they are very popular and will be easing some of the demand elsewhere.

 

There seems to be a lot of bars, so take a short walk and find another nearby with less of a line. Get two drinks if you feel that is necessary.

 

I believe Staffing and Supply chain issues will resolve over time as the world continues to recover from Covid. I am fine with once a day service to our room. Prima has a huge Haven area which has it's own facilities thereby taking a lot of guests out of main areas.

 

Where I think things have gone wrong is by having a virtual reality fun park instead of a decent sized lounge where people could relax indoors in the daytime and enjoy some entertainment at night. Then there is the tiny Pour House and Improv. I am unable to stand in a line for an hour to get in to these areas so have already accepted that those places are off limits to me. I have heart issue that means I can't go on the slides or the carts either. None of this will ruin my experience. I am very much looking forward to the cruise.

[insidecabin]

MSC do Norway Iceland. 

[awinte2]

3 hours ago, mypleasure said:

We are booked to sail on Prima in Sept this year.

 

Right from the day the ship launched I have avidly been following reviews of guests who have already sailed. I have read the reviews and have come to realise that this is a ship which challenges peoples thinking. Complaints seem to revolve around a tiny pool deck, a tiny buffet, lack of staff causing long lines to get a drink served and cutting back on room steward service.

With the design of the Prima and the future ships of this class we will all have to accept that we need to  change our thinking. Prima has a small pool deck and pool but it has the infinity pools on the sides.

 

Prima has a small buffett but offers The Local and Indulge Food Hall as well as main dining rooms to eat all main meals as well as a lot of speciality dining if you like that. Given the complaints about being unable to get reservations for the restaurants it seems they are very popular and will be easing some of the demand elsewhere.

 

There seems to be a lot of bars, so take a short walk and find another nearby with less of a line. Get two drinks if you feel that is necessary.

 

I believe Staffing and Supply chain issues will resolve over time as the world continues to recover from Covid. I am fine with once a day service to our room. Prima has a huge Haven area which has it's own facilities thereby taking a lot of guests out of main areas.

 

Where I think things have gone wrong is by having a virtual reality fun park instead of a decent sized lounge where people could relax indoors in the daytime and enjoy some entertainment at night. Then there is the tiny Pour House and Improv. I am unable to stand in a line for an hour to get in to these areas so have already accepted that those places are off limits to me. I have heart issue that means I can't go on the slides or the carts either. None of this will ruin my experience. I am very much looking forward to the cruise.

Just a heads up on the bars.  They all do not carry the same beverages. Some you can only get draft beer and some only bottled.  Some only certain liquors and some not.   Best to do a little research on which ones carry what so you do not wait in line and then be told you cannot get your drink at this bar.

[UKstages]

11 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

If they made Syds and the Cavern Club big enough to handle the guests that want to be there, they will loose all the charm and energy that make them great experiences.  

 

i completely agree. i wasn't suggesting they make those venues bigger. i was suggesting that it was unfair criticism of the prima to say that you couldn't get into syd's, for isntance,, since the inability to accommodate all guests is a factor for all ships with those small venues.

[mypleasure]

1 hour ago, awinte2 said:

Just a heads up on the bars.  They all do not carry the same beverages. Some you can only get draft beer and some only bottled.  Some only certain liquors and some not.   Best to do a little research on which ones carry what so you do not wait in line and then be told you cannot get your drink at this bar.

I have already done the research. Most bars will have both Gin and Tonic. Most will have Coke Zero or diet coke. Wine may be a bit harder but not insurmountable as I am quite flexible and often like to try something new to me. I like a glass of champagne too. My husband loves Real Ale but never drinks beer on ships as he only drinks cask conditioned real ales and cruise ships do not carry this type of beer. He too will drink G & T, Wine or sometimes a scotch.

 

Your point is very valid and will definitely help many people. Thank you for pointing out my omission.

[Lupush]

I got off the Prima this past Sunday.  I hated the design of the ship from stem to stern. There is not one thing the Prima does as well or better than the Breakaway/Breakaway Plus class ships.  While the service and food were great all around, it did not make up for the Prima's shortcomings. Some of the issues I have with the ship are:

 

1. Wait times for drinks are extremely long at most venues with the exception of the Whiskey Bar.  Over the span of a 7 night cruise I gave up on getting a drink at least 6 times due to long waits.  Every area of the ship with the exception of the Speedway are too small and cramped.  
2. My stateroom bathroom design was terrible.  The H4 w/ Large Balcony's bathroom had no storage, and not even a shelf in the shower to store toiletries.  You need to be a brain surgeon to figure out how the lights work.  No plug in the bathroom for my wife's hairdryer.  Aside of Epic, it was the most poorly designed stateroom I've ever been in.
3. The ship is in a shocking state of disrepair considering it's age.  Switch plates in the stateroom coming off of the wall, a leak and stained carpet in the living room for the entire cruise, glass partition panels on the pool deck near the slide loose, mini golf not working for the entire cruise, self-serve Coca Cola machine in indulge not working the entire cruise, and broken molding in hallways.  I was on Sky last March, and Encore this past October.  I found both ships to be in better condition than the Prima.

Edited March 30, 2023 by Lupush

[knitlady037]

I totally agree with this. I sailed the first sailing out of NY in a haven balcony cabin. This is the first time I can honestly say the haven was not worth the hype. Since it was October, most of the outdoor haven areas were not able to be used. Cabin design ESPECIALLY the bathroom left alot to be desired. Casino was too segmented which made it seem small and claustrophobic. I would not book haven or really any cabin on  this ship again. My next cruise is on Escape in a forward facing penthouse , which will be the type of NCL cruise I have come to expect. 

[awinte2]

2 hours ago, mypleasure said:

I have already done the research. Most bars will have both Gin and Tonic. Most will have Coke Zero or diet coke. Wine may be a bit harder but not insurmountable as I am quite flexible and often like to try something new to me. I like a glass of champagne too. My husband loves Real Ale but never drinks beer on ships as he only drinks cask conditioned real ales and cruise ships do not carry this type of beer. He too will drink G & T, Wine or sometimes a scotch.

 

Your point is very valid and will definitely help many people. Thank you for pointing out my omission.

Good that you have done the research.  It saves a lot of time when you get on the ship.

[luv2kroooz]

Yes, this is the thing. They intentionally made the ship and various venues smaller which is a great goal, in theory. In practice, there are still 3,000 guests onboard. So when you have 3,000 guests trying to fit their way into venues that hold 100, well, you can see the problem. The overall design is a major problem for the overwhelming majority of passengers. You can scroll through tripadvisor and over and again see the same complaints described in different ways.....disappointed.....beware....shortcomings....poor layout....never again....ship design does not work, etc.

[SGCruiser2013]

We really enjoyed our vacation on the Prima. On the latter part, one of our party got sick and that slowed us down of course. But the first 4/7 days were very active. My biggest concern w Norway sailing would be if you thought weather would limit outside usage. If so, the crowd issues get even more exacerbated for the smaller inside venues and I would think this more likely to reduce guest experience. While this is not a new concept - e.g., smaller venues being crowded, bad weather affecting inside enjoyment, etc. - when you have a ship like Prima that has made some of the design choices it has, it in fact can vary from other ships in similar circumstances. Prima has invested a lot of space in the galaxy pavilion, in the speedway, in the Haven outside areas, in the open atrium, in the outdoor dining seating - my view/caution is that all of these design choices can make there less room for the ship to handle bad weather comfortably than others I've been on.

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

I am booked on the Prima's seven-day Bermuda cruise that departs on April 23, 2023. I chose this ship last fall after seeing the video tours of the public areas. The ship looked gorgeous. I am going with an open mind, but I am concerned about some of the shortcomings mentioned in the reviews. I have made dining reservations for each night (four nights in specialty restaurants and three nights in one of the main dining rooms). I have booked a standard balcony stateroom that overlooks one of the infinity pools on the side of the ship. However, I am not yet able to book any entertainment. 

 

My two most recent cruises were on Celebrity Edge class ships (Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Beyond). It will be interesting to see how the Prima compares to these ships. 

 

Chuck

[SunnyMer]

Thank you all again for the input. It gives us much to discuss. As much I I would be disappointed to miss out on the smaller entertainment venues, I realize that’s just the nature of such places. The dining is a bit more concerning for us. For those of you who have sailed Prima, was it difficult to get specialty dining reservations at the 130 day mark? We would most likely want to make reservations at the specialty restaurants at least half of the evenings. What is the likelihood we could get these reservations made before boarding if we make them the first day they’re available to us online? 

[OrangeCatRamblers]

9 minutes ago, SunnyMer said:

Thank you all again for the input. It gives us much to discuss. As much I I would be disappointed to miss out on the smaller entertainment venues, I realize that’s just the nature of such places. The dining is a bit more concerning for us. For those of you who have sailed Prima, was it difficult to get specialty dining reservations at the 130 day mark? We would most likely want to make reservations at the specialty restaurants at least half of the evenings. What is the likelihood we could get these reservations made before boarding if we make them the first day they’re available to us online? 

 

I got exactly what I wanted  - times/locations for both dining and entertainment. I also went ahead and reserved the MDRs which I'd never done before, but why not.

 

I'm more worried about finding a seat at Indulge, and hope to avoid the buffet entirely.