Just off Prima - Reykjavik to Southampton

[skatie]

We just did the Iceland to Southampton cruise on Prima and while Mother Nature didn't always cooperate, we had a fantastic time and the ports were awesome!   I was on the Prima in April with a friend doing the NYC to Bermuda cruise so I knew the ship beforehand but this was husbands first time on her.   We loved the spacious balcony room - 10796 - although with the weather we had, it might have been better to save a few $$ and get Oceanview as I don't think we sat out there for more than an hour in total all cruise.  The staff was impeccable, friendly and always smiling.  Our cabin steward worked extremely hard and fulfilled our two requests (more pillows and extra bedsheet) quickly and always chatted with us in the corridor.  We did not miss having the second turndown visit and actually liked not having to "tidy" up before dinner knowing someone would be in cabin later!  I went to the Cruise Critic mingle event - highly recommend showing up - its really brief but there is a card handed out with key contacts in case you have an issue and officers are introduced and Captain attended ours and spoke briefly.  As others have talked, this is not the greatest cold weather ship, as the area its sailing tends to be cooler and windy so it drives more people indoors.  But after a few days, people seem to find their own spaces to relax.  The ports were all stunning - Geiranger was my fav!  I always book my own things to do in each port after I scour CC port boards - saves a lot of money and I'm not concerned about getting back on time as these operators know that their business reputations rely on getting tourists back to ships on time!  Syd Normans is so totally awesome and worth lining up for.  Doors open up 30 minutes prior to show so the most I stood outside was 30 minutes then got a seat and sat for 30 minutes prior to show.  Was a good use of my time as nothing else was going on that I wanted to do during those time slots.  I met Mandy (one of the singers) walking around ship one day and thanked her for such great performances and she couldn't have been sweeter!  We went to the 60s Sock hop in the Prima Club (theatre) and lots of people dancing and singing, but when that was over and DJ launched into 1990/2000 music, it cleared out the crowd.  The average age on cruise was definitely over 60 I suspect, so read the audience and maybe go with flow instead of sticking with schedule.  Price is Right was fun.  Also I'm kicking myself for not signing up for the Thermal Spa package on day 1- on a cold weather cruise it would have been our go-to place to relax and fill out time - I did it one day on our April cruise and the heated loungers and the the spa pools were so relaxing.

 

A few things on my wish list for Prima...

1) Captain announcements - not sure why his microphone always seemed so much lower volume than Simons (LOL), but I always seemed to be in a location where the announcement couldn't be heard or where people thought their conversations were so much more important than listening to captain update!  Can any captain announcement be typed up and put on the TV so that info could be accessed at any time?  So many people had no idea we were going to have an extra delay in Brugges or that we were going to have rocky seas one night as they had not heard his updates.

2) Its cold/covid season and yes a lot of people were coughing more as the cruise went on - I really don't care if someone has a cough (just please cover your mouth!!), but maybe just like when there are high seas and barf bags show up around the ship, maybe the cruise line can just have a few stations where disposable masks can be picked up.  I came prepared with masks and a baggie full of cough/cold medications and I'd recommend you all have that on hand just in case!!

3) Entertainment options "felt" lacking to me.   I always look forward to the Newlywed game that seems to be a staple on every ship (and was on Prima in April), but I didn't seem to find it on this cruise and I scour the Dailies so hopefully I just missed it instead of it not happening anymore!   Since lying around the pool all afternoon and pool games aren't an option on this type of a cruise, the afternoons on sea days seemed to drag with lack of things "we" liked to do.  Maybe its time to do customer surveys on more fun things to do - I saw many people playing cards or other games around the ship - maybe there needs to be a "Game Room" with supervised competitive euchre or bridge tournaments or board game contests.

4) The sight lines on the top of this ship are not great for sight seeing - I think you have to be in Vibe or Haven to see directly out front or back - even the small deck on 18/19 doesn't offer long views.   I think the 3 level race track is a big design flaw - its something for younger crowd, but even then most people would only spend 30 minutes of their entire cruise using that facility.

 

So overall we had a fantastic cruise and the staff just go out of their way to make it a good time.  Don't be put off by bad reviews - yes I have a wish list above, but its not negative/bad things, just opportunities but nothing that ruined my cruise.  Go relax and have fun!

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by skatie

[cruiseny4life]

Thanks for the review! It's nice to see a well-balanced review, although if the DJ launched into 90's/00's music I'd be thrilled! I haven't heard that on a NCL ship and whine constantly about not having good music onboard. 🤠

 

I agree with a game room. The library on cruise ships just isn't large enough! We took over the Starbucks tables on Getaway, but it would be wonderful to have a place to play Cards Against Humanity, Phase 10, or other card games. Great suggestion!! 

 

I'm glad you had a nice time. Where was the space you found to relax? 

[ontheweb]

We were on the 8/6-8/17 London (Southampton) to Reykjavik cruise, and there was definitely a Newlywed Game show.

 

We did not even get to Brugges as there was an extremely low tide. I don't suppose you stopped in Isafjordur, if you did your Prima cruise would have been the first.

 

Mandy came up to me before one of the Syd Norman shows. I was wearing a Grateful Dead tee shirt, and she said they were her favorite group. I told her my wife bought it for me as part of a birthday present from the gift shop at the museum at Bethel Woods, the site of the original 1969 Woodstock festival. I then told her a story from my experience attending that festival back then. She said she wished she could hear more. After the last show I did tell her more, and also to Stephen. They seemed such down to earth people.

[PhillyTravelBug]

@skatie  I’m so glad you had a wonderful trip! Seems about on par with how I felt on the ship. Despite it being more suitable for warmer weather itineraries, it’s still lovely. By the time we got to Norway, staff were definitely starting to mask up and coughing was more rampant. Welcome back and time to plan the next one! 😆 

[skatie]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Thanks for the review! It's nice to see a well-balanced review, although if the DJ launched into 90's/00's music I'd be thrilled! I haven't heard that on a NCL ship and whine constantly about not having good music onboard. 🤠

 

I agree with a game room. The library on cruise ships just isn't large enough! We took over the Starbucks tables on Getaway, but it would be wonderful to have a place to play Cards Against Humanity, Phase 10, or other card games. Great suggestion!! 

 

I'm glad you had a nice time. Where was the space you found to relax? 

I wanted to stay and dance to the 90/00 music but my husband really doesn't like that genre (we are in our late 50s, and I lean to the "younger" music but he loves the 60s decade!)!  It was me and two other people out on the dance floor when we decided to leave 😞.   We did spend more time in our cabin reading when we wanted down time, but did like the observation room (when we could get seats) and also behind Starbucks there are large green chairs to lounge in.  I also liked finding any chair on 6/7/8 near atrium to just sit and listen to music while I surfed the web in the down times in afternoon - nice background music!  One day when sun was shining we found a circular couch outside on deck 8 and wrapped ourselves up in towels to just enjoy the fresh air!

Edited September 20, 2023 by skatie

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, skatie said:

I wanted to stay and dance to the 90/00 music but my husband really doesn't like that genre (we are in our late 50s, and I lean to the "younger" music but he loves the 60s decade!)!  It was me and two other people out on the dance floor when we decided to leave 😞.   We did spend more time in our cabin reading when we wanted down time, but did like the observation room (when we could get seats) and also behind Starbucks there are large green chairs to lounge in.  I also liked finding any chair on 6/7/8 near atrium to just sit and listen to music while I surfed the web in the down times in afternoon - nice background music!  One day when sun was shining we found a circular couch outside on deck 8 and wrapped ourselves up in towels to just enjoy the fresh air!

Those circular couches on deck 8 sure looked like they would be fun to sit in if the weather was actually warm.

 

We did deck walks on deck 8, and there were times when you were walking into the wind that the conditions were brutal.

[cruiseny4life]

20 hours ago, skatie said:

I wanted to stay and dance to the 90/00 music but my husband really doesn't like that genre (we are in our late 50s, and I lean to the "younger" music but he loves the 60s decade!)!  It was me and two other people out on the dance floor when we decided to leave 😞.   We did spend more time in our cabin reading when we wanted down time, but did like the observation room (when we could get seats) and also behind Starbucks there are large green chairs to lounge in.  I also liked finding any chair on 6/7/8 near atrium to just sit and listen to music while I surfed the web in the down times in afternoon - nice background music!  One day when sun was shining we found a circular couch outside on deck 8 and wrapped ourselves up in towels to just enjoy the fresh air!

Thank you!! I understand about the different musical tastes and three or four people on a dance floor isn't too exciting. 

 

I appreciate hearing about the different places to hang out. That circular couch sounds awesome - maybe I'll pack a blanket haha...we're leaving from Barcelona in November, but going to NYC so it won't be the most warm weather cruise ever.

[ontheweb]

16 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Those circular couches on deck 8 sure looked like they would be fun to sit in if the weather was actually warm.

 

We did deck walks on deck 8, and there were times when you were walking into the wind that the conditions were brutal.

It seems no one has mentioned those circular couches are also swings. We did as I said sit on them to see what they were like, but again it would have been so much better in warm weather.

[cruiseny4life]

29 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

It seems no one has mentioned those circular couches are also swings. We did as I said sit on them to see what they were like, but again it would have been so much better in warm weather.

Well that's cool!!! I love swings! And rocking chairs. I'm a child and elderly person all wrapped into one.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Well that's cool!!! I love swings! And rocking chairs. I'm a child and elderly person all wrapped into one.

Yes, it was cool. And it would have been even better if it was warm. 🤣🤣

[skatie]

We sat in those circular swing chairs in Iceland when sun was shining and they fit two and were nice while ship wasn't moving!   The couches we sat in were actually the semi-circle ones that were back up against the wall of the outside deck - they provided some wind shelter for us!   Enjoy wherever you find to sit!!

[MagnoliaBlossom]

We will be on the Prima in February and I’ve read confusing reviews about Food Republic.  I thought it was a free dining venue, but I’ve heard people talk about spending their OBC there.  Can someone give me scoop about that?  Thanks,

MB

[Sand and Seas]

1 hour ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

We will be on the Prima in February and I’ve read confusing reviews about Food Republic.  I thought it was a free dining venue, but I’ve heard people talk about spending their OBC there.  Can someone give me scoop about that?  Thanks,

MB

Food Republic is a specialty restaurant that is on several other ships in addition to Prima.

 

Maybe you have seen postings with the small plates served at the Indulge Food Hall on Prima?  It is a complimentary venue that we loved. 

 

At both venues you order from tablets on the table. 

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by Sand and Seas

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Yes, I think I’m confusing Food Republic with Indulge.  Thanks for the clarification.

[litebender]

Skatie, Were there formal nights on the cruise? If so, how many? TIA

[ontheweb]

There are no formal nights/

[skatie]

22 hours ago, litebender said:

Skatie, Were there formal nights on the cruise? If so, how many? TIA

The dress code on NCL is very relaxed and no formal dining designated (other than Bistro specialty dining room).   I saw a large variety of clothes in the restaurants. With all the different types of clothing you needed for this cruise it was nice to not have to pack anything remotely formal.   Every night for dinner I wore same pair of black pants, slip on black shoes and rotated a few tops.  My husband had some khaki pants that he wore with a rotation of pull over tops or informal collared tops.  I didn’t notice anyone looking out of place in whatever they chose to wear 

Edited September 24, 2023 by skatie

[litebender]

That's good. One less thing to pack (actually 3: sports jacket, dress pants, dress shoes). Thanks!

[litebender]

Another (maybe dumb) question: On the Norwegian app it states "Due to security reasons, all guests must be on board 2 hours before sailing."  Does this apply to every time we leave port, or just the day 1 debarkation?  Did you have to return to the ship 2 hrs. before leaving each port?

[UKstages]

day 1.

 

return to ship on port days is generally a half hour before you're scheduled to set sail.

[litebender]

That's always been my experience, but I've never cruised to Europe before. Thanks.

[ontheweb]

19 hours ago, UKstages said:

day 1.

 

return to ship on port days is generally a half hour before you're scheduled to set sail.

Yes, and they will always post the all aboard time. Plus you will see it when leaving the ship.