Just off Prima...lots of thoughts

[KKB]

1 hour ago, Red-Sol said:

Leaving on a 7 Day Bermuda Cruise in a week and as far as all the negative comments about Prima go "I can't hear you"

 

in 25+ cruises over 20 years on 7 mainstream lines...never had a bad one.

Had things we liked & disliked on every cruise, some cruises we LOVED, others liked.

Now you know potential issues...you are now prepared to avoid them or deal with them.

Have a great time!

Edited April 23, 2023 by KKB

[laudergayle]

1 hour ago, KKB said:

Now you know potential issues...you are now prepared to avoid them or deal with them.

So very true.  I am happy that we’ve had the benefit of hearing the good and bad about the Prima.  Because of the CC members I knew how and when to make specialty dining reservations, what to expect from the MDR menu.  CC also alerted me that entertainment reservations for some things and Vibe passes could be booked before boarding.  We have been warned to expect crowds/lines for Syd’s, Improv, Indulge and the buffet…but the elevators are fast…lol. The pools are small and..oh no…there are chair hogs.  While there are elements I disagree with (buffet/Indulge hours)…I know what they are.  So, all-in-all…all the positive and negative comments have positioned us for a very enjoyable cruise.  And the weather forecast looks fine, too.  Thank you cruise critic 🛳️😎

[KKB]

5 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

So very true.  I am happy that we’ve had the benefit of hearing the good and bad about the Prima.  Because of the CC members I knew how and when to make specialty dining reservations, what to expect from the MDR menu.  CC also alerted me that entertainment reservations for some things and Vibe passes could be booked before boarding.  We have been warned to expect crowds/lines for Syd’s, Improv, Indulge and the buffet…but the elevators are fast…lol. The pools are small and..oh no…there are chair hogs.  While there are elements I disagree with (buffet/Indulge hours)…I know what they are.  So, all-in-all…all the positive and negative comments have positioned us for a very enjoyable cruise.  And the weather forecast looks fine, too.  Thank you cruise critic 🛳️😎

100% agree--I have learned so much here that has made my cruising easier & better.

I have tried to pay it back by sharing what I learn.

 

SYD NORMAN'S IS WORTH IT! (if you are into late 70s/80s pop/rock)

On the Getaway we would sit at the end of the Whiskey Bar with a drink so we could see the doorway to Syds, about 90 min prior to showtime. As soon as one person/group got in line, we jumped in!

If you can, scope out Syds earlier to determine where you want to sit. 

We preferred the stools facing the stage right behind the booths closest to the bar...great vantage point. (not sure that is exactly the same on Prima)

[laudergayle]

4 minutes ago, KKB said:

SYD NORMAN'S IS WORTH IT! (if you are into late 70s/80s pop/rock)

On the Getaway we would sit at the end of the Whiskey Bar with a drink so we could see the doorway to Syds, about 90 min prior to showtime. As soon as one person/group got in line, we jumped in!

We did the same thing on the Breakaway last Fall..but for whatever reason they opened the doors and we just walked in and sat down. The rest of the cruise it seemed like there was a line.  

[KKB]

1 minute ago, laudergayle said:

We did the same thing on the Breakaway last Fall..but for whatever reason they opened the doors and we just walked in and sat down. The rest of the cruise it seemed like there was a line.  

That first day it seems a lot of passengers don't realize what a great show it is...those lines seemed to grow as the week progressed.

[uneamie]

8 hours ago, KKB said:

in 25+ cruises over 20 years on 7 mainstream lines...never had a bad one.

Had things we liked & disliked on every cruise, some cruises we LOVED, others liked.

Now you know potential issues...you are now prepared to avoid them or deal with them.

Have a great time!

We are leaving on the May 7th cruise to Bermuda. I feel the same. I've been reading all these issues with Prima but secretly realizing that some of those issues are either blown out of proportion or ones that will not be a "big deal" to us. We are not high maintenance. We go with the flow and figure things out as we go. Only thing I was concerned about was not being able to book a show....which we already did online. All the other stuff seems to be issues we have always encountered on all our cruises and learned how to avoid them, work around them or not let them affect our joy! I love cruising so none of this stuff is ever going to stop us. 

[laudergayle]

Do you have any idea how many guests onboard were Soca? Do you believe much of your seating availability was due to Soca cruisers being off ship or at other private soca events?  If so…yay for you. 

[EPTCB]

On 4/20/2023 at 6:50 AM, bruzin_for_a_cruizin said:

I saw that sign one day during the (brief) lunch period, but they certainly weren't serving what you show in the picture, which looks like pizza. They were serving as @dexddd suggests: some inch-thick bread with a meagre amount of cheese and some other topping sprinkled on top. Calling it "pizza" is a stretch....

Different strokes for different folks but it sounds like the pizza described in a recent Prima review by OrangeCatRamblers: "We had a quick buffet snack of focaccia pizza. Do not miss this! It's only available at lunch and it's an A+++ pizza."

 

 

 

 

[Barb Nahoumi]

On 4/18/2023 at 10:48 PM, uneamie said:

I was thinking the same thing.....some excursions go out before lunch hours and return after lunch hours. Granted we won't starve, but surely they should have something substantial open for passengers. I personally think the buffet should not close till 11PM at night and open back up at 6AM. 

I agree.  I hope that NCL executives will read this and extend the hours of the buffet .

[Barb Nahoumi]

On 4/18/2023 at 10:48 PM, uneamie said:

I was thinking the same thing.....some excursions go out before lunch hours and return after lunch hours. Granted we won't starve, but surely they should have something substantial open for passengers. I personally think the buffet should not close till 11PM at night and open back up at 6AM. 

I agree.

[bjtravelnews]

On 4/18/2023 at 11:00 AM, mitchtech said:

 My husband and I just got off the Prima to Bermuda out of NYC on Sunday. Our background:  we are both in our 50s and we have been on many cruises on almost every major cruise line and are Platinum on NCL.and elite on Celebrity.

Our first impression was that it's  a beautiful ship and everything had that "new car" feel. We were not disappointed  with the lack of grandeur in the atrium. We heard others complain that it wasn't  architectually appealing but I guess we're  just not that sophisticated,  haha. We also heard and read on cruise critic how it's  very confusing  to get around and how easy it is to get lost. I even read how one person was in tears because she couldn't  find her cabin. I find this ridiculous. We didn't  get lost once including  this first day. There are signs by every elevator which direction everything is including cabin numbers. It just doesn't  say port or starboard and the arrows on the carpeting show if you are going to the front or the back. So no worries about that. Also heard that you have to walk through the buffet to get to certain parts of the ship on that deck. Not if you take the correct elevator you don't . We had a balcony cabin which was spacious and beautiful. The most comfortable  balcony  chairs!

The food:

I find this very subjective so I'll just talk about the restaurants  in general

The buffet: A disaster. Way too small. Very crowded. While I understand why they made it smaller on this ship because there is so many other eating venues, NCL should understand  that most people like the buffet so most people want to eat there. It also seemed to me that the hours were shorter so everyone  went at the same time. We checked it out a couple of times but never stayed

Indulge: Great concept. We liked the food. But again too small, too short hours for lunch and very crowded. Again, I think for that reason. We went to lunch there only when we were in Port and could get a table. Also, don't  like the idea that there is not a full bar there, only beer, a few specialty cocktails and 2 wine choices. I understand for ordering drinks from the tablet that is fine but the bar in the Indulge should be able to make other drinks. 

Local: Great. And when we couldn't  get a seat at a table we ate at the bar, which we preferred anyway.

Hudsons: Great for breakfast. Not so good for dinner. We only went there once and they rushed us out. Brought out the courses before we finished the previous one. That's  a pet peeve of mine but that could only be my experience 

Specialty restaurants: We went to Le Bistro, Cagneys. Palomar twice and Onda twice. All were excellent

Bars: Didn't  find one we didn't like! And we went to all!! Lol

Entertainment: Price is Right, Donna Summer show great. Didn't  see the comedian. Timing wasn't  good. Same with the Newlywed show. They did have Deal or no Deal and of course Bingo but thats not our thing

The first couple of days there was some game shows and the last day but other than that really no entertainment  besides a couple of trivias and arts and crafts. No pool games or anything else during the day

That leads me to the pools. 

My review may be a little skewed because there were a lot of kids on board but boy was everything  crowded!

The main pool is way too small, I would think even if there are fewer kids on board. The infinity pools are awesome and nice and warm. However on this cruise they were like kiddie pools. Little kids doing laps, kicking and splashing. Not very fun at all. They should make these adult only pools especially  because the ledge on the infinity side was low and I saw kids hanging  over it. Not very safe. Inviting disaster. 

Also, no music at any pool. Not even from overhead speakers. 

Staff everywhere was so nice and accommodating.

Didn't  go to fitness center or spa. 

While this may sound more negative  than positive, we had a great time. While there was some issues we always found a way to pivot and do something  else. I would go on the Prima again but maybe not when the kids are out of school. Hopefully  they will fix some of these fixable problems  and especially  on the newer Prima class ships being built.

I would be happy to answer any questions. Hope you all found this helpful

Great review!  I totally agree with you on the size of the buffet and lack of seating at Indulge.  On my sailing the ship was only about 2/3 full.  And it was still very crowded, to the point there were times it was difficult to find a seat in the buffet area.  Several time I walked out of Indulge because there was no place to sit.  Having sailing on several different NCL ships. I found the layout a bit confusing.  It wasn't until about day 3 that I felt I could find my way around pretty easily.  The ship was over-the-top beautiful.  However, I had major issues with how many things were extra cost.  Even the mini golf was extra $!  Families with teens would probably end up spending a huge amount of extra money to keep the kiddos from getting bored,

 

[mitchtech]

1 hour ago, bjtravelnews said:

Great review!  I totally agree with you on the size of the buffet and lack of seating at Indulge.  On my sailing the ship was only about 2/3 full.  And it was still very crowded, to the point there were times it was difficult to find a seat in the buffet area.  Several time I walked out of Indulge because there was no place to sit.  Having sailing on several different NCL ships. I found the layout a bit confusing.  It wasn't until about day 3 that I felt I could find my way around pretty easily.  The ship was over-the-top beautiful.  However, I had major issues with how many things were extra cost.  Even the mini golf was extra $!  Families with teens would probably end up spending a huge amount of extra money to keep the kiddos from getting bored,

 

Yes. People with kids were very disappointed. There was a limit to 40 kids at the kids club and parents had to be on a queue in order to get them in. On our sailing the mini golf was free but all the cool interactive  features were not working. The stadium area was great for some activities but everything else that they wanted to do was an extra charge. Probably why the infinity pools were used as a kiddie pool! I also saw a lot of people  disagreeing and said they could always get a table in Indulge. But then they prefaced it by saying they arrived 15 minutes before opening! Those are probably  also the same people that sit there the whole 2 hours of lunch, which is of course their right but.... Maybe if they opened up the empty seats at the bar of the individual  food trucks to serve any menu it would help with the overflow. Those seats were always empty

[nextcruiseonmymind]

On 4/23/2023 at 1:20 PM, KKB said:

100% agree--I have learned so much here that has made my cruising easier & better.

I have tried to pay it back by sharing what I learn.

 

SYD NORMAN'S IS WORTH IT! (if you are into late 70s/80s pop/rock)

On the Getaway we would sit at the end of the Whiskey Bar with a drink so we could see the doorway to Syds, about 90 min prior to showtime. As soon as one person/group got in line, we jumped in!

If you can, scope out Syds earlier to determine where you want to sit. 

We preferred the stools facing the stage right behind the booths closest to the bar...great vantage point. (not sure that is exactly the same on Prima)

What time does Syds typically open?

 

[StellaTN]

So we are going on the Viva in early Sept, and I've been reading all the Prima reviews to figure out what to expect.

 

I noticed our Viva itinerary in Europe (and the subsequent US Viva itineraries that will be leaving out of San Juan) - are all VERY port heavy. As in, no sea days at all.  I'm not crazy about that - but then it occurs to me that maybe this is NCL's way of addressing the pool issue - keep people off the ship most days!

 

Sept will be our first NCL cruise - on the Viva in the Med. I'm hoping it is awesome 🙂 I'm thinking we really won't be on the ship as much as we are used to with Celebrity and Caribbean sailings, except evenings and late afternoons after ports. Looking forward to race cars, specialty dining and the observation lounge 🙂 (And Istanbul/Croatia/Greece!)

[KKB]

1 hour ago, nextcruiseonmymind said:

What time does Syds typically open?

 

On the Getaway it was 30 min prior to showtime--which varied by night.

[SpacemanSpiff]

7 hours ago, bjtravelnews said:

I totally agree with you on the size of the buffet and lack of seating at Indulge. 

I think I read somewhere that they've made some adjustments of the Viva, eliminating the second (smaller) Starbucks unit in the Indulge area in order to put in more seating.