Thoughts on recent NCL Prima cruise to Bermuda

[McFins]

Thanks to so many who provided a great deal of info on the NCL Prima…it really helped us manage our expectations and plan a really nice cruise

DH and I are NCL fans and have sailed on the Pearl, Gem, Breakaway, Escape and most recently the Prima. For this sailing there were 6 of us, DH, myself and some friends. 

There was a lot to like…it’s a beautiful ship
*The crew and service were superb throughout ship for the entire cruise.  The most hardworking we have seen on any cruise…don’t know how they can keep up that pace week after week and still have a smile on their face.

*Loved our balcony stateroom. Though it felt a bit smaller compared to other balcony staterooms it was roomy enough for us, the bed was very comfortable, we had enough room for our belongings and we had lots of hangers.  In addition, the chairs on the balcony were very comfortable too.

*Enjoyed the food in the buffet, and to our surprise could always find seating whether it was just 1 of us or 6 of us.   The time it felt the most crowded to me was the last sea day but otherwise was manageable (maybe we just hit it at the right time on the other days?).   However by day 4 or so it seemed like the food selections were getting smaller.

*Enjoyed the food and service in the MDRs : Hudson’s and Commodore.  Though not necessary, we had reservations for the evenings we dined there and didn’t have to wait to be seated.  Had breakfast there twice, the second time on the last sea day and while we didn’t have to wait to be seated,  there was a REALLY long line waiting to get in when we were leaving. 

*Really enjoyed the food and service at Indulge Food Hall, Hasuki, Cagney and Los Lobos.

*Really enjoyed the Donna Summer Show, Price is Right, Blaze Band at the Penrose Atrium and

the great rock shows at Syd Normans (we didn’t like having to wait in line, but if you want to get a seat that’s what you need to do). 

*We found the seats in the Prima Theatre to be the most comfortable of any of the ships we experienced

*Had a great spa service (head to toe special) 

*Though not expected based on some reviews I’ve read, I found the ship easy to navigate.  Never got lost or couldn’t find something I was looking for.

*The casino, while it seemed smaller than the other ships, was wonderful because of the

separate enclosed area for smoking so the smoke didn’t permeate throughout. 
*Although there were many people in the thermal suite, was always able to find a heated lounger and it was very peaceful and quiet
 

Of course nothing is perfect so here’s some things we didn’t like as much 

*The ship felt more crowded than any of the other ships we’ve sailed.   In particular it was difficult to enjoy the entertainment in the Penrose Atrium as it was overcrowded most times we were there. Ditto for the Penrose bar.

*The specialty bars have limited menus so they might not have what you want (and sometimes not even what is on the menu) 

*The pool on the main pool deck (Waves) was out of service the first 4 days.  1 of the 2 hot tubs were out of service on each of the pool deck and the Vibe area for the entire trip.   It seemed that one of the forward areas elevators was out of service the entire trip (it was always on 17) 

*The loungers in the Vibe were dirty with either soot (DH got a souvenir of such on his shorts)

or stains and several had rips in them.  While you can cover them with towels, it doesn’t have as nice an an ambiance when you are looking at furniture in disrepair.  We had not found that to be the case on the other ships. 
*Didn't love the layout of the ship in that there are a bunch of smaller venues but it seemed that a lot of people wanted  to be in the same place at the same time..so some spaces underutilized while others very crowded.
*Wished that the buffet or other food places (besides the Local) were open longer 

*Wished they didn’t use up so much space for race cars as they are only in use limited hours…seems like there could be more efficient use of that space.

 

Overall we had a great trip but not likely to sail on Prima again unless the price/itinerary were really good and not available on other ships 

 

 

[Son of a son of a ...]

Wasted space on cars that race … could not agree more.

[texhockey]

I'm going on my first NCL cruise on the Prima next February.  I do have some questions if you don't mind answering.

 

I'm primarily an RCL cruiser so I can't believe the food can be worse than what they offer but is it worth it to buy extra upcharge dining outside of the 2 we got from the Free at Sea offer?  I will say the menu's I've seen at some of the free venues look pretty good.

 

Do they offer passes for the Galaxy pavilion where you don't pay per ride?  If they do is the Escape room included with them?

 

Did the Whiskey bar only serve higher end brands that I would need the upgraded drink package? If you went to the Cigar bar how were the options for their Cigars or should I just plan to bring my own?

 

Thank you for your review.

 

 

 

[JGmf]

2 hours ago, texhockey said:

I'm primarily an RCL cruiser so I can't believe the food can be worse than what they offer but is it worth it to buy extra upcharge dining outside of the 2 we got from the Free at Sea offer?  I will say the menu's I've seen at some of the free venues look pretty good.

 

Did the Whiskey bar only serve higher end brands that I would need the upgraded drink package?

 

 

Was on Prima at end of April.  Here's my two cents:

 

Food is extremely subjective, but in my opinion it's universally pretty good at every one of the dining venues on the Prima, free or paid.  Indulge is a stand-out for variety and actual spiciness; and the MDR's are very good as well.  Hence, I don't recommend buying the extra dining package.

 

Nope, you can go to the Whiskey Bar and order brands covered in the FAS base package.  I do recommend you go to that bar as it's sort of a 'forgotten' bar location and finding a seat wasn't a challenge on our full sailing.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

 

[klcardella]

We were on the May 7th cruise to Bermuda, and this is my first of 10 cruises with NCL that I was disappointed.  I liked the new layout with exceptions.  As said, there are more intimate seating areas around the ship, but there are several very popular spots (Penrose, Syd Normans), that are simply not large enough, making a ship with supposedly 36% more space pp feel very crowded.  We never got into Syd Normans, even with standing room.  The space holds a total of 70 people with 3200 on board. Doesn’t make sense.  We were able to enjoy the Penrose bar from a distance, but my husband did not like that we could not see the entertainment in the atrium from the upper levels, but I liked that there was more seating in the atrium overall.

 

If you are a pool person, you will most likely be disappointed on this ship.  Besides the main pool closure, the area is just small, plus shaded in large part by the racetrack.  The small pool areas on the sides of the ship are nice, but we had to go down there at 5:30 am to get a lounge chair near either of them.  It’s always a problem with people saving chairs, then leaving, but with fewer staff to remove these items, it seemed worse.  That being said, I enjoyed the outdoor areas of this ship the most of any other NCL ship as there are lots of seating areas not near the pools that were great for hanging out.

 

Another disappointment was the food, plus early closures.  Tried Hudson’s twice; abysmal service both times.  Food came out cold, no sauce as stated on the menu, fish tasted old, and it took more than 30 minutes to bring us new plates that were no better.  The service was great in the Commondore, so not sure if it’s just management of the spaces that is different?

 

Had a great meal in Onda, but for the first time at Le Bistro, we did not enjoy it.  The duck, which I always look forward to, was overcooked, tough, and the skin was not properly rendered, so it was thick and rubbery instead of thin and crispy.  Dessert was pretty, but inedible.  They also forgot a birthday that was set up in advance (2 separate occasions), and their response was it was our fault for not setting it up when we booked the cruise?  If that was necessary, we should have been informed the other 2 times we set it up.  Inexcusable customer service.

 

The limited hours in the venues also did not help with crowds, etc.  For the 1st time, there were several blocks of time where there were no options for food.  We tried to grab a bite before heading out to an excursion and NO venue was serving, and we asked.  We even sat down in the Local, but were told we had to wait until noon to order, but our excursion was at 12:30, so it just didn’t work.  Some of the bars (inifinity pool deck) that never opened the entire cruise, so the Local was the only bar serving inside and out, resulting in huge waits at the bar for a drink. Same with poolside service, or seating areas outside of the immediate bar.  It was non-existent, or extremely slow.  We routinely waited in excess of 30 minutes for drink orders in The Local, so we mostly just stood in line and ordered from the bar.  We were sitting there one night, and watched the bartender tell a passenger seated IN the bar but not AT the bar that he could not take a food order because it was not his job.  The passenger had been waiting for service for 45 minutes.  This is a HUGE departure from previous NCL cruises where service was always friendly and prompt.  
 

Entertainment was also lacking on this trip.  We enjoyed Donna Summer show, but the 10pm show time with no other option,  was too late for a long show.  I actually fell asleep.  Price is Right was well done and a lot of fun.  We tried to go on the go-carts, but the open hours never worked out for us.  We did the mini golf, but it looked run down, and the area was dark and dingy.  The VR area seemed cool, but $8 for a 2 minute game seemed excessive.  You can buy a 1 hour or daily pass, but there was not enough variety to justify that expense for us.  We also love trivia, but the venues were small and crowded, so we only went once.  We NEVER saw our cruise director except introducing the shows, whereas on previous cruises, the CD was everywhere, getting people excited about activities, etc.  We did enjoy the comedians very much.

 

The reduced cabin service was fine, and our room steward was great, as was the cabin overall (balcony).  More space, and the bathroom was very comfortable.

 

This was also the first cruise that I was forced to use the elevators most of the time due to an injury, and the waits were very long a lot of the time.   It may be the same on other ships, but I used the stairs a lot before, so cannot comment.

 

Last but not least was Guest (I hate to say Services).  For reasons still not explained, ALL of our amenities (dining, drink pkg, etc) were removed from our reservation sometime between final payment and embarkation.  We first noticed when we tried to get a drink right after boarding when we had to sign for drinks.  When we went to GS to update what we thought was a mistake on our key card, we found out we had nothing we had already paid for.  We had paid for an upgrade through NCL, and apparently that was when our paid-for amenities were removed.  GS pulled up our final payment receipt from December, and the receipt for the upgrade, showing our payments for everything, but told us we would have to pay again (over $500) since the amenities were not listed on the most recent receipt.  They admitted someone probably did not check the right boxes, but would not budge.  We had to call our TA, who then had to get in touch with her rep at NCL, who then had to send an email to NCL corporate, who then had to contact the ship (NCL rep nor TA were allowed to contact the ship directly) to verify our paid amenities even though we all had the receipts.  It was an NCL mistake, yet they put the burden on us; at one point telling us that when you pay for an upgrade, you lose all of the amenities you previously paid for.  Isn’t that the opposite of an upgrade?  They were rude and unhelpful; again the opposite of our previous experience with NCL.  Luckily, we discovered this while still in port with phone service, or we would have been SOL.  As it was, this did not get resolved until 2 hours after sailing, about 6 hours after embarking.

 

We had a New Years cruise booked on the Viva, but have cancelled due to our experience on the Prima.  We have a smaller ship booked for September, so will see if the problems extend fleet-wide, in which case we will be booking with other cruise lines.

[McFins]

3 hours ago, texhockey said:

I'm going on my first NCL cruise on the Prima next February.  I do have some questions if you don't mind answering.

 

I'm primarily an RCL cruiser so I can't believe the food can be worse than what they offer but is it worth it to buy extra upcharge dining outside of the 2 we got from the Free at Sea offer?  I will say the menu's I've seen at some of the free venues look pretty good.

 

Do they offer passes for the Galaxy pavilion where you don't pay per ride?  If they do is the Escape room included with them?

 

Did the Whiskey bar only serve higher end brands that I would need the upgraded drink package? If you went to the Cigar bar how were the options for their Cigars or should I just plan to bring my own?

 

Thank you for your review.

 

 

 

Hi Tex.   We thought the food and service was good at all the venues we tried including Indulge, Hasuki, Cagney’s, Los Lobos, the main dining rooms:  Hudson’s, Commodore and even the buffet. IMHO I don’t think you need to upgrade your specialty dining package ( we did go to a 3rd specialty restaurant on this trip, Los Lobos, but only because we wanted to try it—-but definitely wasn’t necessary) 

I cannot comment on the Galaxy Pavillion, Escape room or cigars as we didn’t try those.  
Looks like JG answered your Whiskey Bar question (I’m not familiar with many brands and didn’t look at their menu so I’m glad someone could answer for you) 

 

Enjoy your cruise! 

 

 
 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, klcardella said:

We were on the May 7th cruise to Bermuda, and this is my first of 10 cruises with NCL that I was disappointed.  I liked the new layout with exceptions.  As said, there are more intimate seating areas around the ship, but there are several very popular spots (Penrose, Syd Normans), that are simply not large enough, making a ship with supposedly 36% more space pp feel very crowded.  We never got into Syd Normans, even with standing room.  The space holds a total of 70 people with 3200 on board. Doesn’t make sense.  We were able to enjoy the Penrose bar from a distance, but my husband did not like that we could not see the entertainment in the atrium from the upper levels, but I liked that there was more seating in the atrium overall.

 

If you are a pool person, you will most likely be disappointed on this ship.  Besides the main pool closure, the area is just small, plus shaded in large part by the racetrack.  The small pool areas on the sides of the ship are nice, but we had to go down there at 5:30 am to get a lounge chair near either of them.  It’s always a problem with people saving chairs, then leaving, but with fewer staff to remove these items, it seemed worse.  That being said, I enjoyed the outdoor areas of this ship the most of any other NCL ship as there are lots of seating areas not near the pools that were great for hanging out.

 

Another disappointment was the food, plus early closures.  Tried Hudson’s twice; abysmal service both times.  Food came out cold, no sauce as stated on the menu, fish tasted old, and it took more than 30 minutes to bring us new plates that were no better.  The service was great in the Commondore, so not sure if it’s just management of the spaces that is different?

 

Had a great meal in Onda, but for the first time at Le Bistro, we did not enjoy it.  The duck, which I always look forward to, was overcooked, tough, and the skin was not properly rendered, so it was thick and rubbery instead of thin and crispy.  Dessert was pretty, but inedible.  They also forgot a birthday that was set up in advance (2 separate occasions), and their response was it was our fault for not setting it up when we booked the cruise?  If that was necessary, we should have been informed the other 2 times we set it up.  Inexcusable customer service.

 

The limited hours in the venues also did not help with crowds, etc.  For the 1st time, there were several blocks of time where there were no options for food.  We tried to grab a bite before heading out to an excursion and NO venue was serving, and we asked.  We even sat down in the Local, but were told we had to wait until noon to order, but our excursion was at 12:30, so it just didn’t work.  Some of the bars (inifinity pool deck) that never opened the entire cruise, so the Local was the only bar serving inside and out, resulting in huge waits at the bar for a drink. Same with poolside service, or seating areas outside of the immediate bar.  It was non-existent, or extremely slow.  We routinely waited in excess of 30 minutes for drink orders in The Local, so we mostly just stood in line and ordered from the bar.  We were sitting there one night, and watched the bartender tell a passenger seated IN the bar but not AT the bar that he could not take a food order because it was not his job.  The passenger had been waiting for service for 45 minutes.  This is a HUGE departure from previous NCL cruises where service was always friendly and prompt.  
 

Entertainment was also lacking on this trip.  We enjoyed Donna Summer show, but the 10pm show time with no other option,  was too late for a long show.  I actually fell asleep.  Price is Right was well done and a lot of fun.  We tried to go on the go-carts, but the open hours never worked out for us.  We did the mini golf, but it looked run down, and the area was dark and dingy.  The VR area seemed cool, but $8 for a 2 minute game seemed excessive.  You can buy a 1 hour or daily pass, but there was not enough variety to justify that expense for us.  We also love trivia, but the venues were small and crowded, so we only went once.  We NEVER saw our cruise director except introducing the shows, whereas on previous cruises, the CD was everywhere, getting people excited about activities, etc.  We did enjoy the comedians very much.

 

The reduced cabin service was fine, and our room steward was great, as was the cabin overall (balcony).  More space, and the bathroom was very comfortable.

 

This was also the first cruise that I was forced to use the elevators most of the time due to an injury, and the waits were very long a lot of the time.   It may be the same on other ships, but I used the stairs a lot before, so cannot comment.

 

Last but not least was Guest (I hate to say Services).  For reasons still not explained, ALL of our amenities (dining, drink pkg, etc) were removed from our reservation sometime between final payment and embarkation.  We first noticed when we tried to get a drink right after boarding when we had to sign for drinks.  When we went to GS to update what we thought was a mistake on our key card, we found out we had nothing we had already paid for.  We had paid for an upgrade through NCL, and apparently that was when our paid-for amenities were removed.  GS pulled up our final payment receipt from December, and the receipt for the upgrade, showing our payments for everything, but told us we would have to pay again (over $500) since the amenities were not listed on the most recent receipt.  They admitted someone probably did not check the right boxes, but would not budge.  We had to call our TA, who then had to get in touch with her rep at NCL, who then had to send an email to NCL corporate, who then had to contact the ship (NCL rep nor TA were allowed to contact the ship directly) to verify our paid amenities even though we all had the receipts.  It was an NCL mistake, yet they put the burden on us; at one point telling us that when you pay for an upgrade, you lose all of the amenities you previously paid for.  Isn’t that the opposite of an upgrade?  They were rude and unhelpful; again the opposite of our previous experience with NCL.  Luckily, we discovered this while still in port with phone service, or we would have been SOL.  As it was, this did not get resolved until 2 hours after sailing, about 6 hours after embarking.

 

We had a New Years cruise booked on the Viva, but have cancelled due to our experience on the Prima.  We have a smaller ship booked for September, so will see if the problems extend fleet-wide, in which case we will be booking with other cruise lines.

Wow, not admitting and correcting mistakes is a sure fire way to make sure you do not have a repeat customer. Glad you got it fixed, though you did not deserve the hassle and the seeming attitude from Guest Services. I can see why you have trouble using the term "Services" when referring to them.

 

And you have provided another reason why using a TA can be important.

 

BTW, the TA we generally use once said to me if you have problems, don't let it ruin your cruise, contact me afterwards to get it fixed.

[Travelling2Some]

On 5/20/2023 at 4:45 PM, Son of a son of a ... said:

Wasted space on cars that race … could not agree more.

Have not seen anyone say much about the race track but we just took one ride (on the Bliss) and would never bother again.  Total waste of space.  Difficult to steer, boring and had a helmet jammed on my head that was so small that I could not get my glasses back on. Not so easy to get out of those things either if you are an older woman without great upper body strength.  A rather miserable experience.  Definitely one and done for me.

[klcardella]

On 5/21/2023 at 2:10 PM, ontheweb said:

BTW, the TA we generally use once said to me if you have problems, don't let it ruin your cruise, contact me afterwards to get it fixed.

I wholeheartedly agree, but in this situation, waiting until we returned would have meant paying for drink package, etc. again, then hoping for reimbursement.  We were not confident that would happen, and considering we never got our excursion credit, I think it was wise.