Oxo

Prima 10/15 - 10/27 NY to Galveston, TX Cabin B4 10760 This is our review based on our experiences during this cruise. We are Seniors, seasoned cruises and have over 125 cruises. We have cruised Celebrity, HAL, MSC, NCL, Princess and RCI. We are in the top tier on each one of them. We have cruise 13 times since Sept 2021, post Covid. Remember, this is our experiences and you may have others comments that will be different from ours. No two people see everything the same. Food is very subjective, so is Entertainment, ship layout and decour. Boarding - Getting on the ship in NY was very easy and very quick. Only question there was if you submitted a pic of yourself when you checked in online, why do they need to take another pic and a pic of your passport? Cabin - we had a balcony and it was one of the best for the dollar we have had recently. Two USB outlets on each bedside lamp. Would definitely book that cabin again. Close to elevators without any noise. Room size - very adequate, well laid-out, 3 separate closets (2 with sliding doors and 1 open.) Safe normal size. Bathroom - Big shower with 4 setting rain head. Shelve, mirror, lighting and towels more than adequate. Balcony - 2 comfortable chairs and one table. Ship - Very different than any other ship we have been on. Anyone could rate this as a positive or negative. Our impression was: Penrose AtriumDeck 6 - Too small for the bar and entertainment. A divider with glassware took up space where tables could have been place. The couch in front of the divider was very uncomfortable for us. This area could only accommodate approximately 40 people. Columns between the tables and bar required space for guests to pass by people sitting at the tables. Suggestion, remove divider and allow most of that space for more tables, allow 3 tables across, to accommodate more guests to view the entertainment in the Atrium. Noise level compare to all the other NCL ships is minimal. Prima Theater & Club - No real bad seats as they are all on separate levels. We always entered via Deck 6 by the Penrose Atrium. Must have reservations for the shows. The only show we did not like was the Magician. Many people walked out during his act. He was on 3 nights. The two main shows were Noisy Boys and Donna Summer. Both excellent. On two nights in a row due to stage setup time. Noisy Boys at beginning or cruise 2 nights, 2 times per night. Summer on late in the cruise, 2 nights 2 shows per night. The Price is Right another very good show with guest participation. The Irish singer was fantastic and appeared 2 nights. Never went to the theater after the shows when it was converted to a club. MDR - Menu the same every night. We did attend the Hudson’s for breakfast and diner. What can you say about breakfast? Quick, good selection. Dinner, I tried the NY Strip medium rare. Seriously, could not cut it and the waiter could not either. Tried the pork cops, too thin and done too much so they were very dry. Same as the veal chops. Wife had the fish and chips and pasta, OK. Again, food is very subjective and you may find it excellent. We went to the Speciality Restaurants using our perks from Latitudes and booking. Speciality Restaurants - Make sure you know where they are at before you try to find them. They are almost completely hidden from the inside of the ship. Located on various decks. Cagney’s Deck 6 Aft - Excellent Starter, Black Tiger Shrimp Trio, very good and big. Main, DW- Double Cut Australian Lamb Chops 12oz. More than she can eat and very tender (Medium.) I had the NY Strip 12oz medium rare. Excellent in all aspects. We don’t eat desert. Palomar Deck Deck 17 - Excellent Starter, Grilled Octopus Excellent. DW - Greek Salad Excellent. NY Strip medium rare. Excellent! DW - Grilled Australian Lamb Chops, OMG 5 lamp chops that we could have shared. One of the best meals as we both like lamb and cook it at home. Only thing missing is Mint Sauce, we don’t like mint jelly. Le-Bistro Deck 7 - Excellent Excargots, very good. I had the Filet De Boeuf Rossini - Beef Tenderloin. Excellent medium rare. DW had the Braised shank and roasted lamb chop. Excellent medium. Los Lobos Deck 8 - Excellent 2 times since you may only use 1 vouch/meal for two. Chips n Salsa Guacamole prepared at table side. Very good Main - Camarones - 6 tiger shrimp on a screwer. with 3 corn tortillas. Excellent Food Republic Deck 17 - Excellent 2 times ordered/shared 4 items thus could use only 1 vouch/meal for two. Tiger Roll - big and excellent Firecracker shrimp 4 pieces with spicy sauce. Spicy Korean Fried Chicken Chicken Teriyaki Thai Steak & Noodle Salad Vietnamese Pho Tai Local Bar & Grill Deck 8 - Excellent Shared 6 Chicken Wings. Not same as other ships. Very small 2nd wing piece. OK Shared Reuben & fries. Lot of meat, OK Breakfast 2 times. Never crowded in the AM and shared the English style breakfast with 2 eggs, beans, hash browns, mushrooms. More than enough for two. Very busy other times of the days. Becareful of the door going out to the deck. Opens towards the inside. Second door opens out. Indulge Food Hall Deck 8 - OMG! Be extra careful. You will get lost and turned around in this venue. It is totally different! You name it and it has so many choices. Tapas, The Garden, Nudls, Latin Quarter, Seaside Rotisserie, Coco’s ($$$$).You order via a Tablet and they will deliver you order to your table. Too many choices to list. We tried many things and were totally satisfied. Did I mention Indian Curry, try it. Elevators - Doors close to quick for you to get on. The sound notifying you that this is the elevator to use is too soft. The light does help, but you must be quick. Doors close very fast. Haven has the aft Elevator and only Haven Guest may use it. So, all other passengers must use the other 2 elevators The Haven accounts more than 100 of the 1,600 cabins and around 6% of occupancy. Yet, the AFT elevators may only be used by the Haven Guests.I know they pay for that privilege, yet, why not allow everyone to use those AFT elevators and control entrance by a door to enter the Haven? Shops - If you need a watch, your in luck. Never seen so many watches on a ship. Shops all over the ship, not in one area or deck. Bars - Yes, speciality bars which limit the drinks they serve. No martini bar and if you like a martini, very limited selection. Whiskey bar, basically whiskey and noting else. Many bars open late in the morning.No, I am not a drinker, just showing limitations. Example: Luna bar on deck 8 11am Penrose bar on Deck 6 9am Local bar on deck 8 7am Observation on deck 17 11am Waves bar on deck 17 8am. In a Speciality Restaurant, if you have a favorite drink, bring it with you as you may not be able to get it from that SR or on that deck. Syd Norman’s Pour House and Improv at Sea - Very limited seating and no reservations. People line up an hour or more before a show. Never attended either one. Observation Lounge Deck 17 - Much smaller, half the size of the Joy, with very few lounges and more seats. Lovely area to sit in at front of the ship. Bar opens at 11am, food served 3 times a day with coffee/tea. Very quiet, however, may be very hot based on sun position. Staff - Excellent throughout the ship. Very accommodating and always there to help. Never had any problems with the staff in any venue. Special Thanks to General Manager Martin Ivanov and his staff for being the best of the best. Always there to answer any question and go above and beyond! Met Tony Pearsall, Manager of Music Programs who was on this cruise. Very on-hands individual. He really did a fantastic job on getting some of the best musical entertainment. We enjoyed them very much in the Penrose Atrim. Duo Rika, Purple Sundaze and Familiar Strangers. Play various types of music and guest really got involved every night NCL application - very good and easy to use. Keep you up-to-day on your daily ship activities, billing account, deck plans and more. Internet - Slow at times, but overall very good and ensure you log out when you are done so you time does not run out. Easy to log in and out if you follow directions. Ports - we have been to them many times, thus we do our own thing. Some excellent others OK. Your decision. Air/Transfers- Used NCL air going to NY, great time and flight using United. We flew in a day early, went from NJ Newark to Manhattan Hotel via Coach 1 hour and very reasonable. Stayed in Times Square Hotel and very centralized, took Uber from hotel to ship. Going from Galveston to MI, we did our own air and even came out cheaper than if we bough our own air. Bus transfer from Galveston to Houston airport well worth the money and very easy to use. Overall Assessment - New ship, new design, however, very worth while as it was Excellent food, entertainment, staff and YES, we are cruising again on Prima Nov 19 out of Miami 7 days. Only you can determine if this ship or cruise is for you. We meet some excellent guests who make our cruises very special. We will meet the staff again in 2 weeks who make our cruise very special.They knew our names and what we drink. Always greeted us like they knew us for years. They are Friends and Family now!! Thank you Prima Staff!!!!!

Thanks for your reply. Totally surprised. A Lavender martini is just Lavender juice added to a Martini. We always get if as one of our Diamond+ drinks on RCI. Will have to wait and see.

Can you get a Lavender Martini using your Classic Drink Package? TIA

Are drinks really unlimited to the number of drinks you may have from 5 to 7pm? Now with the drink packages, the drinks from 5 to 7 pm are no longer a perk. JMHO!

Just got off Prima 10/27. Yes, we were sitting outside by the Local and there was a lot of soot on the chairs/loungers.

It should be for what you pay! Even to become a Rock Star. LOL

FYI- https://www.cruzely.com/14-questions-answers-about-norwegians-drink-package-is-it-worth-it/

Yes, shows on a couple times a week. When using the onboard screens many people have problems with them. The screens are slow, card reader poor, info displayed not totally correct. So, go to a location to get NCL staff to help you book your requests.

FYI https://www.cruzely.com/14-questions-answers-about-norwegians-drink-package-is-it-worth-it/

NCL tried years ago to charge for certain shows. It went over like a lead balloon. If they try something like this or that again, I will go to my other options.

We were on Breakaway Sep 4 - 18, 2022, B2B. We could not book online. Once on the ship, both cruises, during the first 2 hours, entertainment reservations were booked up. Ship had 2,800 passengers. How is that possible?

Why can't we make entertainment reservations online? We can make dining, excursions, etc., online. Covid has nothing to do with online reservations.

I will! I think we need to know. The Good, BAD and Ugly! Stay Safe and Happy Cruising!

I have to agree with you based on what I have seen on YouTube and read on all the sites. Ship seems too modern, venues to small, furnished cheaply, entertainment minimal. JMHO! However, we are on her 10/15 12 days and 11/19 7 days. We will make our assessment on the 12 day cruise and give a review. We are avid cruisers and cruise many cruise lines to make our judgement.

Apparently Covid is not a valid reason. Are they afraid the Covid would transfer through the keyboard? LOL We were on Oasis B2B May 2022 out of Bayonne and made reservations On-Line for Cats and Aqua shows. However, when we got on the ship, they cancelled the shows during the first cruise. All Oasis class ships allowed reservations before we cruised. Sailing on Apex next month and cannot check-in until Oct 21. So, will let you know what they allow now on X.

Covid is used to explain everything. That does not seem valid. Been on Celebrity x2, NCL x4, MSC x2, RCI x2 since Sept 2021. NCL is one who does not allow show reservations. Yet, they allow reservations for Specialty Restaurants.

Excellent review!! Too many people are expressing their opinions about the lack of seating in the shows. This really should not have been a problem considering the size of the ship/passengers compare to the size of the Breakaway Class. Bad planning all the way around. As for casino, never use them so of no interest to me. Why don't they allow you to make reservations for shows on-line? Other cruise lines do. Why can't you change Specialty Restaurant reservations via the NCL App? You can make them, but can't cancel/change them. Not User Friendly.

They don't have my money for these meals. We are Platinum so we get 2 meals each. We have 3 meals each for cabin. I can stretch yhat into 8 meals each. I wanted to change from 1 SR to another.

Thanks for your confirmation that you can't. Not User Friendly!

Want to cancel Specialty Restaurant reservation via NCL app on-line. Don't see anyway to do so. Anyone - HELP! TIA

The same ole response! If you don't like it, don't say anything to provide your comments/suggestions. Just cruise another cruise line. SMH Accept whatever they do and say. You are only paying for it. LOL

Moscato wine you can NOT buy it by the glass. It cost $27 per bottle. Yet other wines that cost $26 by the bottle may be bought by the glass for $8. Then other wines that COST $27/bottle are sold for $17/glass. I thought that i could order a drink up to $15/drink. So, I asked if I could get 2 glasses with 2 cards which would equal 1 bottle using my Premium Package and they said NO. I HAD TO BUY THE BOTTLE . LOL

Thank you all for taking the time to let us know! We will enjoy our search from your info. Stay Safe and Happy Cruising!

To those who have been on the Prima. Does the Prima have a Martini Bar? If not, which bar serves Martinis? TIA

I always bring my 'Honey' back without any problem. We have been married 60 years!