Prima Galveston Western Caribbean Cruise 12/15-12/22 2023 Review and Observations

[Liljo22]

Just got back from an amazing cruise aboard the Prima out of Galveston and wanted to give a hopefully short review of our time onboard.  We are a family of 4 with two teenagers(1 boy/1 girl).  This is our third cruise in the past year; two with RCCL and one with NCL.  I will not have any pictures since I didn't really think to take any other than family photos but I do have Freestyle Dailies to post.  We had a bad storm going through the Gulf on the way out so they ended up flipping Costa Maya and Cozumel so your day 3 and day 5 might be different.  My family all loved this cruise and had a great time but I will say that I heard a lot of complaints around me and from the facebook group I was on so this will not be the experience for everyone on my cruise.  Will break this down to categories and then hits and misses from the ship at the end. 

 

Embarkation

We live in the Houston area so we have gone out of Galveston several times.  NCL is sailing out of Terminal 2 which is the terminal that RCCL used previously.  We park at Patriot Cruise Parking which was previous Falstaff.  Its covered parking and a short shuttle ride to the terminal.  My kids had to take finals that morning so we didn't get there until about 1pm.  At that time, the lines were almost non-existent.  No line at security and one family in front of us for check-in.  We went from parking to on board in about 30 minutes.  People from the facebook group that went early were showing long lines at the start so if you don't need to get on early, you may want to make a later time around noon.  

 

After getting onboard, we went straight Hudson's for lunch at the suggestion of someone on here.  It was the right call.  From others onboard, the buffet and Indulge were a mad house.  At Hudson's, there were plenty of open tables and we were served quickly.  The food was pretty good.  Standard lunch items like cheeseburgers and philly sandwiches.  My son remarked that the fries tasted like McDonald's fries and it was true.  

 

We explored the ship after lunch while we waited for cabins to be ready.  The ship really is beautiful.  Not always functional but very beautiful.  It seems like they are trying to target the premium line cruisers from Celebrity while keeping the family cruisers they have been targeting.  Our room was ready about 2:45ish.  They opened up the rooms by floor instead of all at once.  

 

 

[Liljo22]

Cabin

We had cabin 10144 which was a balcony cabin for 4 midship.  It was forward of the elevators so I would almost call it a forward cabin than a midship one.  The cabin was aesthetically beautiful with three closets for storing clothes.  The pull out drawers were a little shallow and awkward but were used.  Small safe for keeping money, passports and jewelry but you couldn't get bigger items like an iPad in there.  There was a small fridge with the three different bottles of water in there for purchase but had room for more cartons of water that we brought back from the bar at night.  

 

Bathroom was one of the biggest we have seen on a ship.  Plenty of room on the shelves for toiletries.  The shower was the best part.  It was huge with a full sliding door.  No more curtain and no more of the two sliding doors on RCCL that open up while you shower.  Water pressure was great and you could get the temp as hot, cold or warm as you want.  There are two nobs.  The one on the left is to turn it on and adjust the pressure.  The one on the right is the temp with down hot and up cold.  There is a stopper button that won't let you get the water burning hot unless you push it.  I found that leaving the water right at the stopper point was perfect.

 

There was a nice big tv that was interactive.  You could watch tv which was mostly your normal cruise related channels, news channels, a sports channel that played the NFL games, and movie channels that were labeled by genre.  There was also a large selection of free and pay movies on demand.  For the free movies, there was a pretty nice selection like Super Mario Bros, Guardian of the Galaxy 3, Creed III and similar movies.  The pay movies were $9.95 and had newer movies like the Barbie movie.  You could also book your dining reservations, speedway and shore excursions on the tv as well as check your on board account. 

 

The one complaint of this room was that its not really a room for 4.  The pull out bed while comfortable, was tight for two teenagers.  My kids went back early one night and fell asleep in our bed so my wife and I slept in the pull out and we were on top of each other.  The room really needs a pull down bunk bed above the pull out bed.  I would not suggest this room for more than 3 or 4 with two smaller children.  Also, once the bed is pulled out, there is only a sliver of space to slide through by the desk.  

 

Overall, great cabin but I would get two rooms next time.  

Edited December 23, 2023 by Liljo22

[KKB]

@Liljo22 Thanks for your thoughts. 

We are on Prima in a few weeks.

Almost 40 cruises under our belts & all good to great (even MSC which won't sail again--still had fun!)

We hear people complain & think--"Are we on the same cruise??!!"

Now, not one has ever been perfect.

Each ship usually has things we really like & other things we don't.

Crew overall has been great on every cruise...but we have had some average service as well. (and rarely some not so great service, on all lines).

Attitude is everything!

[Liljo22]

Service

Honestly, this cruise was one of the best we have had in terms of service.  We had one small service issue that I will mention but other than that it was great all around.  I am really bad with names but will mention names of those I can remember.

 

Dining Rooms

Great service all around.  In Hudson's on the first day for lunch, we were served by a younger waiter, Andian.  At the end, he struct up a conversation with us about how often we cruise, what ships we have been on and what we are looking forward to most.  He has been on the Jewel and Getaway before and loved that ship which is also our favorite.  He said he was a Le Bistro waiter but they move him where needed.  We ran into him several times during the week and every time he made sure to come see us and see if everything was ok.  Great crew member.

 

For dinner, we ate at Hudson's twice and Commodore Room once.  Service in both were top notch.  The longest dinner was about an hour and fifteen minutes and we didn't have to wait long between dishes.  On our two RCCL cruises in the last year, we never had a dinner under 2 hours.  Twice on the Oasis we had waiters unprompted tell us how overworked they were and how RCCL added more tables and took away workstations.  I think the biggest help to this is that NCL will pull waiters from the specialty restaurants if they are not busy.  It was not uncommon to see someone wearing a Food Republic apron or a Los Lobos shirt in the MDR.  I know aesthetically this is weird but I would rather get out in an hour being served by someone from Food Republic than two hours just to keep everyone looking the same.

 

A couple of other great service situations.  Our daughter loves cruise ship soup, especially French Onion.  One night she couldn't choose between the three on the menu so she ordered all three and no entree.  The waiter asked her which one she look forward to the most and brought her a large bowl of it as her main dish.  Another time at Le Bistro, we had the FAS+ so I asked if we could get a bottle of Veuve Clicquot.  He said the bottle was not included but don't worry and order it by the glass and he would take care of it.  He never let the glass get below half full before he filled it back up again without us asking.   Also, Raul in Food Republic was just a barrel of laughs.  He was just so happy and joking with everyone.  

[Liljo22]

Service continued..

 

Bar Service

Like I said before, we had FAS+ so we pretty much had the full bar available to us.  It was never long to wait for a drink at almost any bar other than then Penrose Atrium bar during sporadic rushes.  Several bartenders learned my name during the week and would call on me if they saw me standing at the bar. 

 

There is one superwomen that I wish I could remember her name.  She is from Romania with dark hair that always is pulled back in a ponytail.  She was easily the hardest working crew member onboard.  She would show up at just about every bar through out the day.  I found her at the pool bar during the day, the Luna Bar in Indulge during the afternoons and Syd Norman's at night.  She would also show up randomly in places when Syd's was not open.  She was working her butt off the whole cruise and doing it with a smile on her face.  I ended up tipping her $50 at Syd's the last night and let her know how great she was.  

 

Steward

Our steward was good.  With moving to once a day cleaning, he was working hard all day on both sides of deck 10.  He would usually have the room done while we were out and would come back at night to drop off the next days Freestyle and let us know if the clock was changing.  This was the spot where we had the really only negative interaction though.  We ran out of body wash in the middle of showers before dinner one night and just used the shampoo to finish.  We let the Steward know that we were out and asked to have it refilled.  We left the boat to go to Roatan the next day and reminded him before we left.  Come back around 3 and the room is still not done.  Not an issue, he was close by so we went to get food.  We came back at 4:45 and the room was still not done and we needed to start to shower and get ready for dinner.  We went to him to let him know we still needed body wash and he kind of snapped back at us that he has 23 cabins and he will get to it.  We usually don't bother the Steward for much but we ran out of body wash the night before so he had not been checking the levels.  He came by about 10 minutes later and apologized and said he was ready to clean the room.  We let him know that he didn't need to clean at that point but asked for our body wash/Shampoo to be refilled and for new towels.  He ended up cleaning the bathroom also.  

 

Like I said, he was good all week and it was only this small incident that needed to be mentioned.  

 

Overall, service was impeccable all week and really stood out.  

[FLAHAM]

Interesting.  I really enjoy French onion soup and dining at Le Bistro, but find Le Bistro’s French onion soup to be really poor.

[seemoreroyals]

@Liljo22 Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on debarkation.  What a mess.  I read on FB that some people had to wait in line for an hour and a half to get off.  I guess we were lucky.  We only had to wait in line about 45 minutes.  We were in the chaos on deck 6 when one of the NCL people told us to break the line and sent us in a different direction.  I am glad she did.  

 

Evidently the FBI was looking for someone and held up the debarkation so that they could take care of their business.  Meanwhile Alvin the CD who was coordinating the debarkation kept sending people down to deck 6 where it was already congested.   We were all relieved to get through the process to claim our luggage.

 

[Liljo22]

13 hours ago, seemoreroyals said:

@Liljo22 Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on debarkation.  What a mess.  I read on FB that some people had to wait in line for an hour and a half to get off.  I guess we were lucky.  We only had to wait in line about 45 minutes.  We were in the chaos on deck 6 when one of the NCL people told us to break the line and sent us in a different direction.  I am glad she did.  

 

Evidently the FBI was looking for someone and held up the debarkation so that they could take care of their business.  Meanwhile Alvin the CD who was coordinating the debarkation kept sending people down to deck 6 where it was already congested.   We were all relieved to get through the process to claim our luggage.

 

I agree.  It was a major mess.  I did find it weird that they announce led they are closing the process to let the port catch up and then didn’t start again for a half hour.  That would explain it if the FBI was involved.  
 

The holdup was getting off the ship because it was straight to the customs if check once you got off.  Alvin was calling the colors way too fast and also everyone was taking the forward elevators to 6 and trying to push into the line that everyone was already in for 15

minutes.  
 

Since this was the first regular cruise out of Galveston, hopefully they figure it out soon.  

[rmfortin]

FWIW, we were on the 14-day repositioning cruise from NYC to Galveston just before your cruise. There were two signficant rotations of crew during our sailing, and it sounds like maybe having a good number of "fresh" crew members helped make the service even better for you all.

 

That's not to say our cruise suffered from poor service--quite the opposite! But there were clearly more than a few crew who were burned out and counting the days until they disembarked for home...especially the bar staff poolside and in The Local, who I would generally categorize as being "professional but curt". Conversely, the Whiskey Bar staff were absolutely the best in terms of friendliness, rapport and competence, and we regretted not finding this gem earlier in our cruise!

 

Disembarkation was a bit of a mess for our sailing, too...Alvin was definitely announcing the color groups far too close together, and Deck 6 was somewhat chaotic for us as well. He also kept reiterating we should have our passports out and ready, but upon reaching the customs area, the terminal had people telling us to put them away (b/c they used facial recognition for verification). I'm guessing maybe he only told us to have passports out to reduce the number of cruisers who would forget them in the room otherwise...

Edited December 24, 2023 by rmfortin

[Liljo22]

Food

I know food quality is very subjective and something I thought was good the person at the table next to me may find it terrible.  That said, I thought food quality across the ship was pretty good.  There were a few misses and one item that was completely unacceptable but most items were good to excellent.  

 

Where NCL really falls behind is the availability of included food.  There were times when the only option on the ship was light snacks in the Observation Lounge.  We came back to the ship a little after 3 in Roatan and Indulge and the buffet were already closed.  The Local also had a long wait to sit.  The only options were hamburgers and hot dogs at the grill.  This was the biggest complaint I have seen/heard from other passengers whether it was the breakfast times ending early or only option after 9:30 is to wait for a table at the Local.  Both RCCL and Carnival lap NCL in this category especially with pizza available pretty much around the clock as well as Carnival having so my included options open most of the day.  Onda has a good pizza open.  Even if they used less quality ingredients, they could have a window open during the day and after dinner where people could get free slices.  Everyone loves Sorrentos and that is just cheese on a premade crust.  Its not that hard.

 

MDR Food

We ate in the MDR for dinner three times over our 7 days.  Twice in Hudson's and once in the Commodore Room.  Food quality in the MDR was mostly good.  Just about everything came out on time and was cooked well.  I did hear a few people say that stuff was coming out cold for them but I did not experience that.  We did have a couple o misses here with soups.  The Minestrone was pretty much all broth with a few items in it.  Also the chicken noodle soup came out with the noodles undercooked.  Nothing terrible but just off.  The major miss that almost everyone had the same experience with was the beef medallions.  The quality of the meat was bad.  It was just a piece of leather that you could not chew through.  Most people were sending it back.  Besides those items, it was a good experience.  Out of probably 40 items, 3 were misses in our opinion.  Not all was high end restaurant quality but was good.  

 

Specialty Restaurant Food

We had FAS+ so my wife and I had 4 credits which we used at Los Lobos, Le Bistro, Food Republic and Onda.  Le Bistro was just me an my wife and the others were all 4 of us.  These are how I would rank those restaurants:

 

1. Onda - Amazing.  We all agreed that this easily was the best restaurant on the ship.  The amount of food you get with the credit is almost too much.  You get 2 choices out of the appetizers, pasta or pizza plus 1 entrée and 1 dessert.  You can also choose a pizza or pasta as your entrée.  The margherita pizza  was about as good as you will find at sea and even rivals your local pizzeria.  We also got the macellaio which is a twisted crust stuffed pizza but the sopressata was an odd choice.  They also have a calzone option which also looked good.  We also had the pappardelle bolognese, tuna, mezzelune and filet.  Everything was excellent.  For dessert, we got the Tiramisu and the Butterscotch Budino.  The budino was the best dessert and maybe the best overall item we had all week.  

2. Le Bistro - Everything from the food to the service was excellent.  It might have helped that our waiter kept filling our glass with "yellow label".  I had the escargot and my wife had the scallops.  Both were very good.  I wasn't at the MDR 4 of the nights but I don't remember seeing escargot on the menu so this might be there only place to get it now.  For our main, my wife got the sea bass and I got the filet without foie gras.  I was still charged the $10 supplement but I also didn't ask for it to be removed.  Both were also very good but my wife likes the sea bass she gets on land better.  For dessert we had the sponge cake and the vanilla creme which was picture worthy.  

3. Los Lobos - I would say Los Lobos is good but we also are surrounded by great Tex-Mex restaurants here in Houston so our opinion might be tainted.  Tableside guac was amazing and so was the queso.  We were expecting a liquid queso and it came out thicker.  I guess we missed the fondue in the description.  Still good but unexpected.  For mains, we got the beef tacos, burrito, enchilada and the camaron.  The burrito is huge and very good.  I was underwhelmed by the shrimp.  I was expecting more than just 5 small shrimp on a dish with avocado.  They give you tortillas but I would have ordered shrimp fajitas if I wanted those.  The churros were excellent though.  It was like a churros ring tower that they pour caramel over.  That was worth the price of admission.  

4. Food Republic - We used 2 credits and split 8 items between the 4 of us.  I know a lot of people say this is their favorite restaurant but I personally did not see it.  Everything was good but very few standouts.  All the rolls except one are made with crab which is just the cheap way to fill the roll.  The one highlight was the miso chicken.  The miso sauce came out with the perfect amount of sweet and saltiness to add to the chicken.  We didn't eat dessert here as we didn't like the options and just went down to Indulge to finish.  

 

Indulge

Like many have said, this is a great new concept.  The food options were great and most items tasted better than what you would get in the buffet.  My wife was shocked how good the shrimp pad thai was.  I also really like the turkey breast from the Q smokehouse although I would like them to allow you to customize the items to take the sauce off.  Just a very sweat BBQ sauce.  My kids also loved just stopping by and ordering guacamole and french onion soap and a couple of deserts.  At times it was hard to find a seat but you could usually find one within 5 minutes.  Its been mentioned before but when you sit at the counters, you can only order items from that venue.  We sat down for salad and soup at the garden and several people left upset that they only had options from the Garden.  NCL just need to open it up for everywhere. 

 

Buffet

We only stopped at the buffet a couple of time so I don't have much to say about this.  When we did go, we found a table even if it was one outside between the buffet and the pool.  As a note, the Surfside Grill is located beyond the buffet through a sliding glass door and its open later than the buffet.  Its your standard hot dogs and hamburgers, fries and a few other sides.  They also have a rotating alternative selection which included bratwurst and chicken breast. 

 

Observation Lounge

We were there a couple of times when they were serving grab and go breakfast or light snacks.  It wasn't much.  The breakfast was premade egg bites, Danishes and croissants which light snacks later in the day was cookies and other desserts.  Not much and really isn't there as a meal.     

 

[seemoreroyals]

@Liljo22Somehow we missed out on Onda and went to Palomar instead. Lucky for you you picked the right one. 

[Liljo22]

1 hour ago, seemoreroyals said:

@Liljo22Somehow we missed out on Onda and went to Palomar instead. Lucky for you you picked the right one. 

Palomar didn’t seem like one we would have liked just knowing my family.  
 

I missed that each credit also got two sides probably because we sadly didn’t touch them.  Not because they weren’t good.  

[seemoreroyals]

2 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

Palomar didn’t seem like one we would have liked just knowing my family.  
 

I missed that each credit also got two sides probably because we sadly didn’t touch them.  Not because they weren’t good.  

We were hoping Palomar would be like Ocean Blue which we liked very much on two other ships.   Sadly was not the case.  Next time we sail on a ship that has Onda we are definitely going to give it a try.

[rmfortin]

@lilijo we agree the availability of included food is a definite miss on NCL's part.

 

Simple example: My wife went out on several occasions to find just a plain ol' apple/orange/banana, and came up empty. At one point she went all the way up to the buffet, saw a bowl of fruit sitting out at one of the stations, but was told she could not have any b/c that station was closed. Fortunately one of the chefs walked past her conversation with the hostess, and he simply grabbed the bowl and brought it over to my wife to pick from. I don't know what 'policies' NCL has in place that discourage many staff from 'bending the rules' even slightly for so simple a request as an apple, but it's those little things that stick in customers' minds (at least they stick in ours).

 

We were most disappointed in the weird hours for Indulge. On many occasions it didn't open for lunch until 1pm, and a few times until 2! It always seemed like we were either 30 minutes too early to eat there, or they were rushing us to order because they were closing. Frankly, we often ended up at The Local, despite the limited menu. The hours were the best by far, thewait was never more than 5 minutes tops--we usually wanted to eat outside, which helped shorten the wait, oddly-- the service was quick and efficient, and the food quality was consistent. Unfortunately, my cholesterol levels have probably not recovered from the steady dose of those Local reubens I inflicted on myself!

 

Finally, my ranking of our specialty dining: 1. Palomar, 2. Food Republic, 3. Los Lobos, 4. Le Bistro, 5. Hasuki

 

None were bad per se, but frankly our Le Bistro server made us feel like second class citizens because we were there on our dining package and not purchasing a la carte, and Hasuki was typical hibachi fare we could get at home...including the 'show'. There weren't a ton of folks there that night, and the energy level of both staff and diners just wasn't great...lesson learned!

Edited December 27, 2023 by rmfortin

[seemoreroyals]

@rmfortinWhat did you get at Palomar?  Maybe we ordered the wrong thing there.  Two of us ordered the dover sole, wife had the sea bass, and out other friend had a steak.  All three of us that ordered the seafood dishes were dissatisfied.  Must have been pretty good to finish ahead of Los Lobos. 

 

While the "show" at Hasuki wound have been better received if we had some 4 year olds in our group we all thought the food was pretty good there.  

 

We also thought it was a bit strange the times that complimentary eateries were open.  There was one day we really wanted to try lunch at Hudson's and it was at 11:30 and it was not open yet.  It was the day they had Monte Cristos on the menu.  

 

When we did our post cruise survey we tried to let them know about our feelings about the strange hours that the free dining options were open.  Not a very good survey by the way.  The way the survey is designed unless you give the worst response possible they do not give you a chance to expand upon your experiences they were questioning with the survey.

 

Prior to taking this cruise I spent quite a bit of time researching experiences by others who had previously sailed on Prima.  I can now understand why there is such a wide variation of responses to Prima.  In some ways it was the best ever.  In other ways it was severely lacking.  The post cruise survey is one way NCL can improve in areas where they need to improve. 

 

Frankly, I don't know if they spend much time focusing on the issues that many cruisers consider shortcomings.  I am sure they are aware of them, and they are now baked in.  They have decided for whatever reason to leave things as is.  It is a shame because there appear ti be easy solutions to many of these issues that diminish the potential of what Prima has to offer.

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

On 12/23/2023 at 11:05 AM, Liljo22 said:

After getting onboard, we went straight Hudson's for lunch at the suggestion of someone on here.  It was the right call.  From others onboard, the buffet and Indulge were a mad house.  At Hudson's, there were plenty of open tables and we were served quickly.  The food was pretty good.  Standard lunch items like cheeseburgers and philly sandwiches.  My son remarked that the fries tasted like McDonald's fries and it was true.  

I'm with your son! They are so close to McDonald's fries. And that makes me happy. Man, if they mess with those. 🙂 

 

Before I go too far, I'm so happy to see your thoughts on your cruise! I was so excited for you and your family when you mentioned you were jumping on Pr1ma in Galveston! Yipeeee!! It sounds like a success.

 

On 12/23/2023 at 1:18 PM, Liljo22 said:

Great service all around.  In Hudson's on the first day for lunch, we were served by a younger waiter, Andian.  At the end, he struct up a conversation with us about how often we cruise, what ships we have been on and what we are looking forward to most.  He has been on the Jewel and Getaway before and loved that ship which is also our favorite. 

We had Andian also when were in Hudson's. He is a great server. Quick to smile, get whatever you need, and very professional. Unfortunately, we weren't able to have a conversation with him. I'm glad you had him as well! 

 

15 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

Observation Lounge

We were there a couple of times when they were serving grab and go breakfast or light snacks.  It wasn't much.  The breakfast was premade egg bites, Danishes and croissants which light snacks later in the day was cookies and other desserts.  Not much and really isn't there as a meal.     

One day while passing through the Observation Lounge (to see the food offerings) I did try one of the egg bites. It was surprisingly good. In the afternoon, from 3 - 5 (on my cruise) they did have a decent selection of scones, tea sandwiches, and desserts. Nothing that I tried, but the selection seemed good. It's so hard on a cruise ship to eat outside of meals given how full you are from the actual meal before! 

 

15 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

4. Food Republic - We used 2 credits and split 8 items between the 4 of us.  I know a lot of people say this is their favorite restaurant but I personally did not see it.  Everything was good but very few standouts.  All the rolls except one are made with crab which is just the cheap way to fill the roll.  The one highlight was the miso chicken.  The miso sauce came out with the perfect amount of sweet and saltiness to add to the chicken.  We didn't eat dessert here as we didn't like the options and just went down to Indulge to finish.  

I think the reason Food Republic rates highly for my husband and I is that we just get the rolls. We don't see crab as the filler (I get it though). The last time we went, both of us ordered four rolls and nothing us. It was delightful to try different varieties to see what we really enjoyed. 

 

On past trips to Food Republic, we've tried the items that are not rolls and have found them poor to ok, especially in terms of portion size. If we paid a la carte prices, we'd be disappointed. We don't and have found that eating rolls fills us up (to the very brim).

 

But, having said that, I definitely understand why Food Republic may not be a favorite for others. 

 

15 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

Indulge

Like many have said, this is a great new concept.  The food options were great and most items tasted better than what you would get in the buffet.  My wife was shocked how good the shrimp pad thai was.  I also really like the turkey breast from the Q smokehouse although I would like them to allow you to customize the items to take the sauce off.  Just a very sweat BBQ sauce.  My kids also loved just stopping by and ordering guacamole and french onion soap and a couple of deserts.  At times it was hard to find a seat but you could usually find one within 5 minutes.

It's a phenomenal concept! Even if they did seem to steal it from Virgin. 🤡 The Shrimp Pad Thai is sooo good! I really enjoyed the Chinese Noodles (forgot the entire name). 

 

If you go to Indulge in the future (I very much look forward to a future review of a Pr1ma class ship from you), be sure to note that you can customize your items. On the order screen, just tap where it says "name" and put your customization. Mine typically included no sides, extra BBQ sauce (I liked it). We always got exactly what we asked for in the customization area. 

 

There was one time we went to Indulge and gave up finding a seat. Every other time (I think we went five total times between lunch/dinner) we found a seat within minutes and we did go during the very busy times sometimes. 

 

Anyway - thanks so much for your review! Absolutely love reading it and I'm so glad you all had a great trip! 

[rmfortin]

Hi, @seemoreroyals -- Probably easiest to comment within your original quote below!

 

50 minutes ago, seemoreroyals said:

@rmfortinWhat did you get at Palomar?  Maybe we ordered the wrong thing there.  Two of us ordered the dover sole, wife had the sea bass, and out other friend had a steak.  All three of us that ordered the seafood dishes were dissatisfied.  Must have been pretty good to finish ahead of Los Lobos. 

We actually switched our original specialty dining reservation last-minute from Cagney's to Palomar b/c we had heard from *several* other cruisers that the "turf" at Palomar was actually better than Cagney's...and I 100% agree with that. Two of the four of us had the filet mignon, which was excellent (that is saying a lot since that's not my favorite cut of beef by a long shot). Paula had the Festoni (scallops and clams), and absolutely loved it...and she's squarely in "scallop snob" territory, so I trust her judgement. With that said, we did *not* dine at Onda during our sailing, so it's hard to say it would've surpassed our Palomar experience or not. Frankly, we thought using a specialty dining credit for Italian was not good value-for-money, but I think that on our next Prima cruise in Jan 2025, we'll try Onda for sure based on all the great reviews we are seeing.

 

While the "show" at Hasuki wound have been better received if we had some 4 year olds in our group we all thought the food was pretty good there.  

Like I said, it's not that it was not good--it definitely was really good food--but it was not show-stopping in either quality or "show". I have to wonder if my own rating would've been higher if the overall dynamic in the room was higher "energy" and chef/diner engagement. And to be fair, maybe we had unrealistic expectations since it was our first specialty dining of the sail--on sailaway night, no less.

 

We also thought it was a bit strange the times that complimentary eateries were open.  There was one day we really wanted to try lunch at Hudson's and it was at 11:30 and it was not open yet.  It was the day they had Monte Cristos on the menu. 

We found the same with Hudson's, and were surprised that the lines started forming 30 minutes before it opened. Crazy for a MDR! FYI, I subjected my previously-mentioned cholesterol levels to the Monte Cristo as well as the Local's ruben...I would like to tell you that you didn't miss anything...but I cannot tell a lie. 🙂

 

When we did our post cruise survey we tried to let them know about our feelings about the strange hours that the free dining options were open.  Not a very good survey by the way.  The way the survey is designed unless you give the worst response possible they do not give you a chance to expand upon your experiences they were questioning with the survey.

We tried to do the same, and I agree the survey makes it hard to be (constructively) critical. Frankly, I grabbed a couple of the "Dear Marc" sheets ahead of time while still onboard, in hopes that it might be more impactful than the post-cruise survey. We were lucky enough to have him host the officer's dinner during our cruise, and he seemed to genuinely listen to our (verbal) feedback and take any criticism we had personally.

 

Prior to taking this cruise I spent quite a bit of time researching experiences by others who had previously sailed on Prima.  I can now understand why there is such a wide variation of responses to Prima.  In some ways it was the best ever.  In other ways it was severely lacking.  The post cruise survey is one way NCL can improve in areas where they need to improve. 

Sounds like we are cut from the same cloth...I booked our cruise in January of 2023 and spent the next 11 months researching every aspect of the ship. We spent a fair amount of time meeting/talking to other cruisers (usually in one of the Infinity pools, lol), and I agree that it is definitely a love-it-or-hate-it vessel...and opinions were almost exactly 50/50 on that scale. What frustrates me--and I hope they take our feedback to heart--is that the issues with this ship are *easily* fixable. No need to send it to dry dock to add/refurbish venues (though I am encouraged that Aqua will be 10% bigger,and that the 4th Prima class ship will be a full 20%-25% larger). During our cruise, I just kept reminding myself this is a "quirky" ship that is unlike any other, and whenever something frustrated us with our experience, we only had to go back to our *incredible* (standard) balcony cabin to appreciate one of the many Prima positives (I thought our cabin, balcony and bathroom size were *incredible* for the price). We'll be back on her a little over a year from now and cannot wait...if only to see how things have changed (hopefully for the better).

 

Frankly, I don't know if they spend much time focusing on the issues that many cruisers consider shortcomings.  I am sure they are aware of them, and they are now baked in.  They have decided for whatever reason to leave things as is.  It is a shame because there appear ti be easy solutions to many of these issues that diminish the potential of what Prima has to offer.

Absolutely agree. A concern I have is that our NCL cruise consultant told me on our last "planning" call that they are already something like 70% booked for 2024 across all ships! If that's the case, my fear is that NCL will have little reason to change what's "broken" based on feedback. Only until reservations/capacity/revenue drops will our concerns be taken seriously.

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by rmfortin

[laudergayle]

Thank you @Liljo22 for your comprehensive review.  Every time I read about the Prima (and now Viva) I immediately start searching cruises.  One of my favorite, life long comfort meals is McDonalds Happy Meal.  On the Bliss last month, I told my husband the fries were as good Mickey D’s…and have been every cruise since restart.  I agree with @cruiseny4life.  Change the fries…and there is going to be mutiny on the ship!!  

The Ile Flontante in LeBistro is my all time favorite dessert on NCL.  Here’s my picture!

if we were to sail out of Galveston, which airport is more convenient (getting from airport to cruise port)?  Also, is there are area near the port which is better for an overnight stay?  

Edited December 27, 2023 by laudergayle

[laudergayle]

Every time we’ve looked inside any Food Republic it has been nearly empty.  IMO NCL should reconfigure FR to an Indulge concept.  And on Prima and Viva, reconfigure to make buffet larger.

Edited December 27, 2023 by laudergayle

[UKstages]

39 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I definitely understand why Food Republic may not be a favorite for others. 

 

in my opinion, food republic makes no sense on a ship that has the indulge food hall. it may have come first, but it pales by comparison.

[graphicguy]

7 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

in my opinion, food republic makes no sense on a ship that has the indulge food hall. it may have come first, but it pales by comparison.

I was wondering that on the Prima and Viva (and soon, Aqua).  I like the Food Republic.  But, wondered if it was just too close in concept to INDULGE.  

 

I still believe NCL is moving to a different concept for future ships...that is, smaller buffet and more small and focused dining venues.  I'd love to see the latter.

 

I think the buffet is a worn out concept.  It's crowded.  It tries to be too many things to too many people.  And, it takes up a lot of real estate.

[cruiseny4life]

19 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Every time we’ve looked inside Food Republic it has been nearly empty.  IMO NCL should reconfigure FR to an Indulge concept.  And on Prima and Viva, reconfigure to make buffet larger.

 

13 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

in my opinion, food republic makes no sense on a ship that has the indulge food hall. it may have come first, but it pales by comparison.

 

1 minute ago, graphicguy said:

I was wondering that on the Prima and Viva (and soon, Aqua).  I like the Food Republic.  But, wondered if it was just too close in concept to INDULGE.  

 

I still believe NCL is moving to a different concept for future ships...that is, smaller buffet and more small and focused dining venues.  I'd love to see the latter.

 

I think the buffet is a worn out concept.  It's crowded.  It tries to be too many things to too many people.  And, it takes up a lot of real estate.

Agree completely with all of you. Indulge is very similar to Food Republic. It doesn't make much sense. When we want our sushi (like every cruise it's available) we could easily go to the very not crowded Nama. I've never seen more than eight people there or at Wasabi (Getaway's sushi joint). One of the reasons we did only want to get sushi at Food Republic is due to Indulge offering the appetizer style food. I just really hope NCL doesn't see such a huge success in Indulge that they monetize it. That'll keep me from going there, real quick.  

 

I don't know if I can agree with you about the buffet @graphicguy. On Getaway, Joy, and Prima, it has always been really busy. I could find a seat, but I was almost always alone. I see so many posters on Cruise Critic and Facebook talk about how they eat almost every meal at the buffet. We may be in the minority saying that the buffet is a worn out concept. Personally, if the quality was there, I'd eat at the buffet. I enjoy the concept. I just don't enjoy the food. But, others seem to go there and find an eating experience they value.

[RocketMan275]

33 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

if we were to sail out of Galveston, which airport is more convenient (getting from airport to cruise port)?  Also, is there are area near the port which is better for an overnight stay?  

Your questions answered here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/316-gulf-coast-departures/

Edited December 27, 2023 by RocketMan275

[rmfortin]

Hi, @laudergayle -- I know you weren't asking *us* for info, but I can say we *loved* staying at Harbor House in Galveston. It is walking distance from not only the cruise port (assuming a 5-10 minute walk is within your abilities), but the rooms are *huge* and the staff is really friendly and helpful. 

 

We disembarked Prima at 9:30 and had booked Harbor House for a post-cruise stay. Even though we could not "officially" check in until 4pm, we stopped by early and they let us leave our luggage in the lobby...and called us (while we were sightseeing) at around 11am to let us know our room was ready for check in a full 5 hours early...with no early check-in fee applied.

 

They also have a *huge* rack of "beach bicycles" available (with locks) to use free of charge, and they allowed us to use them even after we checked out for the entire afternoon, with no problem (all while allowing our luggage to remain in the lobby prior to our Galveston Express shuttle to IAH at 4pm). We were able to see almost all of Galveston in an afternoon cruising around on these bikes. 

 

Full disclosure: it is not the cheapest place to stay in Galveston. But if convenience, location and customer service are your priority (like it is for us), it's hard to beat. 

 

If you have time, the Mooney House tour was really impressive and interesting...the online audio tour was well done and the docents there are very helpful and engaged. The history of the home is very interesting (if you are into that type of thing). But do *not* go through Groupon or other discount sites for your tickets, as the entry fee is actually *less* at the house than it is online. 

 

Airport-wise, Houston Hobby is closer to Galveston than Bush Intercontinental, but is much smaller...our shuttle actually picked someone up at Hobby before continuing to Bush (IAH) to drop us all off. I would say they are at most 20 minutes apart, so go with whichever is best for you itinerary-/cost-wise. And a quick unsponsored plug for Galveston Express--their shuttles are very nice and new (Mercedes) vans, and the drivers are communicative, time-aware, and helpful. Customer service is very good, too--I was a little worried about having time at the airport to get to our gate, and they quickly and easily rescheduled us on an hour-earlier shuttle only a day beforehand (which they did *not* technically have to do based on the "customer agreement" I agreed to when I reserved our spots). Just keep in mind that there is a good amount of construction on I-45 (which is about the only way to get to *either* airport from Galveston), so check with your shuttle service/Uber/Lyft to make sure you will have enough time for check-in, TSA, boarding, etc.

 

Safe travels--we're sure you'll have a great time! Ross/Paula, Chicago

[UKstages]

9 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Indulge is very similar to Food Republic. It doesn't make much sense.

 

they should turn food republic into a 24 hour pizzeria, a restaurant category for which NCL is at a competitive disadvantage. or they could open something i would call "the local express," or "the local limited" serving grab and go versions of a limited menu of easily prepared favorite dishes from the local.

 

#MakeItHappenNCL