Just Off Prima Feb 5 - 12

[awinte2]

Please keep in mind this is my opinion and I had read the ship reviews before we cruised on Prima but would not judge until we sailed.

We are not new to cruising and have sailed on NCL many times as well as other cruiselines. 

Will share with you the Excellent , the Good and the not so Good.

The Excellent, was our interior stateroom on Deck 12. Decor was very modern, tons or storage and the bathroom especially the shower was the best we have experienced on all our cruises. The service and staff were absolutely wonderful in all areas.

The entertainment was good.  Noise Boys and Price is Right very good, Comedian was Good, Donna Summer Show ok.  Could not get into the smaller venues as people lined up over an hour in advance to see the entertainment.

We are dining room people and the fixed menu is definitely not to our liking.  No you will not starve but we have always had great food in the dining room on any cruise line we have been on.  I believe NCL has gone to this type of menu so more people will choose their specialty restaurants and will save them an enormous amount of money and planning. Just a note the food never seemed to be hot enough.  Buffet was continuously crowded especially on sea days. Big lines and not enough seats. The Endulge was good for lunch but if you want finer dining do not go here for dinner.  There is very little service. If you want condiments you have to go to a table to get them and the salt and pepper comes in the little paper bags.   There is  only one type of salad dressing available for your salad. Will not go on about the Endulge as you may or may not enjoy this type of dining.

Cagneys was good.  The Local was very good. (Best cob salad  and chocolate sundae anywhere).

Pool area is definitely too small . Never enough room on sea days and the bar line ups were everywhere.

The design of the ship made us struggle sometimes.  Felt like a maze.  Very dark in a lot of areas, Atrium was ok but nothing special, had to walk through buffet to get to pool and it always felt crowded in all the common areas.  

Just a few notes for people going on this ship.  Take bandages for small cuts as the shops on this ship carry basic minimum unless your looking for jewelry.  We went to get throat lozenges and they do not carry anything like that so they sent us down to Medical.  Was told had to make and appointment with the doctor and pay for his time.  We did not do this.  A young girl was waiting outside medical to get a bandage for a small cut on her finger. Was told she needed to make an appointment and pay the doctor for his time to get one.  I took the young lady to my stateroom and gave her 2 small bandage.

If you have any questions would be happy to answer and for those people who did not like my opinion in this review  keep in mind they are mine and not directed to anyone in particular. 

 

 

 

[Rycheff]

Same experience. Beautiful ship but service and staffing was abysmal. I tried indulge for dinner once and ordered tikka masala and Naan to go with it. 20 minutes for the Naan bread and another 15 before I gave up and ate the bread. Left after 45 minutes total and no entree ever came.

[awinte2]

Yes Rycheff understaffing was a real issue  but I must say the service we got from the staff who took care of us was top notch.

[SeaShark]

15 minutes ago, awinte2 said:

The design of the ship made us struggle sometimes.  Felt like a maze.  Very dark in a lot of areas, Atrium was ok but nothing special, had to walk through buffet to get to pool and it always felt crowded in all the common areas.  

 

Not sure why you think that you "had" to walk through the buffet to get to the pool.

 

The aft elevators for Deck 17 allow access to Food Republic, Palomar, the Buffet, and the Vibe

 

The forward elevators for Deck 17 allow access to the Observation Lounge, Galaxy Pavilion, and the Pool...in fact, each forward elevator lobby has a door that exits directly to the Pool Area.

 

It is possible that you "had" to walk through the buffet because you weren't using the correct set of elevators?

[Pat.D]

Same here, sailed the Prima in January and though I did not outright hate the ship (it IS beautiful and the new remodelled Solo Studio staterooms are amazing!) there are so many small irritants that made the cruise less pleasant that I definitely will not be sailing her again.

To be perfectly honest out of dozens of NCL cruises this was unfortunately the first time I was not sad getting off the ship at the end of the cruise (I did mention this and my concerns to a bridge officer on the last sea day of my cruise and he admitted they get massive amounts of complaints every cruise and head office knows they need improvements).