Once and done with Norwegian. Ugh.

[RB9643]

44 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

As for the excuse that the ship does not have tender boats, doesn't the port have tender boats?

 

 

Do you have any idea what those port tenders cost? I think you would be shocked.

 

 

 

[MagnoliaBlossom]

We are Diamond on NCL but I am well aware of their faults, especially since COVID.  We had a Star cruise in August from Southampton to Reyjakvik that was fabulous, but the Prima (you must say that name in whispered tones of the deepest reverence- the use of sacred oils is optional but recommended) bumped our overnight stay as they had decided to arrive a day early for their christening.    So our 11 day became a 10 day and we were forced to add an additional night to our post cruise plans (not a cheap add on in Reyjakvik, BTW).  The reviews of the Prima have been blistering at worst, ooh it’s so pretty at best, but NCL seems to have done nothing to address the plethora of communication issues with this vessel.  I’m so sorry you missed much of Iceland as it is a truly magical place.  We have memories of a lifetime trip and plan to return in 2025 to finish the sites we could not see in 3 days post cruise.   I do hope my favorite cruise line will find its way out of the weeds and return to the line that it once was.

 

Happy sailing in the future.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, bobkat11 said:

We returned home last night from an 11 night cruise on the Norwegian Prima to Norway and Iceland (and Brugge and Amsterdam). This was, by far, the most disappointing cruise we've ever taken (and I heard many other passengers say the same thing). I'm not the kind of person who is hard to please, or who easily complains, but I'm posting this review for people considering this ship. I'll try to briefly summarize this cruise:

1. Embarkation was a mess! No one was allowed on the ship for several hours past the expected check-in time (our pre-cruise paperwork told us to arrive at 9:30am). Guests were stuck standing in the sun outside the terminal, unsure as to why no one could board. We were told various conflicting explanations. Boarding finally started around 3pm if I remember correctly. My husband and I got on the ship around 4pm , and I got my luggage at 9pm. It was a frustrating and unwelcoming start to our cruise (on the heels of arriving exhausted in London 24 hours late due to flight delays and a missed connection.)

2. Itinerary. I know sometimes itineraries have to change, but I've never had one change to this unacceptable extent. First stop, we arrived late to Brugge, missing our tour for that day. The entire stop at Isofjordour was cancelled.  (We were told we couldn't stop there because the Prima doesn't have tender boats. Don't all of the life boats double as tender boats?? And other ships continue to stop there, so we Prima passengers were frustrated by no satisfactory reason for the cancellation.) So that day became an unexpected (and unwanted) extra sea day. For our last stop, we arrived in Reykjavik, not at 7 am as scheduled, but 1:30 in the afternoon, so once again, we could not do the tour we had planned. Missing 3 out of 8 tours was very disappointing, after traveling so far to see these sights.

3. Sea days. In a word, boring. Most of the time that we were on the ship, we just sat in our cabin and read books. There simply was nothing to do on this ship most of the time. We did go to a History of Iceland presentation in the Prima Lounge one day, which was interesting. The Observation Lounge, which would have been the single best place to pass extra time, was closed to the public for our whole cruise. In a nutshell, The Prima should never sail this particular itinerary. It is the wrong ship for the climate. It has far too much outdoor space for a chilly northern European itinerary, causing the indoor dining areas and lounges to be claustrophobically packed. Passengers did not want to be outside in the cold wind playing shuffleboard, mini golf, pickleball, water slides, Go-carts, pool areas, sitting lounges, or any of the other numerous outdoor offerings.

4. Entertainment. The Prima lounge had The Price Is Right a couple of nights. This is basically a glorified commercial for that game show, with embarassingly little given as prizes. A carry-on suitcase, and $25, were the only prizes won. The Prima lounge also had a Donna Summer musical which I suppose was the best show of the trip (but that's not saying much, as even the Broadway version of yhis show was poorly reviewed). There was a comedienne/singer two nights who was just ok, with her self-deprecating humor and mannerisms, and typical tired jokes about how much food we eat on cruises. I don't expect cruise entertainers to be on par with Broadway stars, but I've always been pleased with the entertainers on previous cruises. There is no shortage of amazing talent in this world, but NCL didn't bother to find and hire such talent. The lounge singers ranged from bland to awful. There was one small lounge that we were told had good music in the evenings (Syd's Pour House), but we were never able to get into there due to the small space. 

5. Food. I found the food to be good overall. Not 5-star good, of course, but similar to that on other cruises. My only disappointing meal was Cagneys, which is an a la carte menu. Our meal there was over $200, yet I can make a better ribeye steak at home. Maybe I just happened to get a dry bland piece, because my husband did like his steak. The Indulge Food Court was crowded, confusing, with online ordering difficult to figure out. Despite us having the beverage package, when we ordered any drinks on the table-top tablets, we had to accept the full charge for our drinks. Other passengers complained about the tablets not working well. Food highlights: Palomar mashed potatoes, and The Local Reuben sandwich were memorably excellent! Hudsons and Commodore were consistently good experiences for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The buffet on the 17th floor was a headache-inducing madhouse with far too little indoor seating.

6. This is a random, weird situation that was handled very poorly by NCL staff. My husband and I came upon two injured passengers, elderly women who had fallen down a set of stairs on top of each other, and we began screaming for help. Long story short, several crew members came and went, making phone calls, trying to get a wheelchair, but not one crew member offered to relieve us as we held and comforted the injured passengers. Crew knew we did not know the women, because we made that clear. We spent about a half an hour helping these strangers before a wheelchair finally arrived, and it was only then that I realized, "Hey, a crew member really should have taken over and not left us there taking care of these strangers." Just pretty weird that not one crew member relieved us, and also that it took so long to get something as simple as a wheelchair.

7. Cabins: layout worked well, bathroom was more spacious than other cruiselines'. Too cold to use the balcony much. Noisy at night, constantly sounded like a torrential rain storm. Other passengers mentioned rattles and other noises.

8. Disembarking. We got off the ship fine, at 8:30 as instructed, took our own luggage off, got on a shuttle to the airport outside of Reykjavik, arriving there around 9:30am. Unfortunately flights out to the US were all late afternoon and evening, so it was a long day sitting at the airport waiting for our 5pm flight, with very few chairs in the waiting area. Actually there was a 10am flight that some of us had looked into, but NCL said they would not allow anyone off the ship early enough to make that flight, despite docking in Reykjavik port 6pm the previous evening. We didn't understand that, but we had learned that unclear, non-answers from NCL was the standard.

 

So, despite getting to see some beautiful scenery in the ports we made it to, overall I am very dissatisfied with this cruise. NCL did give each guest $100 on board credit as an apology for the embarkation fiasco, changed itinerary, and unavailability of the Observation Lounge. But to me, even a full refund would not have made the frustrating experience worth it. The ratio of enjoyable, quality time enjoying ports, to time spent standing in lines or otherwise wasted time, was simply not worth it. 

 

I will not be cruising with NCL again.

 

the incident with the women sounded like standard protocol in any business. If you are not trained and certified to render first aide, then don’t engage. Let the women scream. Any action creates a liability in the event that it causes more harm/injury in the eyes of an Abilene chasing lawyer. That is the world you live in. 

 

Sounds like you described just about any cruise line. Cruising on a middle of the pack cruise line is not for you. See ya. 

Edited June 16, 2023 by BirdTravels

[Selion]

59 minutes ago, UKstages said:

go and experience the prima for yourself and make up your own mind.

I'm sure by now the OP had made up her mind about the Prima.

[RB9643]

5 minutes ago, Selion said:

I'm sure by now the OP had made up her mind about the Prima.

 

 

I'm guessing that happens with every thread. What's your point?

 

 

 

[Selion]

8 minutes ago, RB9643 said:

 

 

I'm guessing that happens with every thread. What's your point?

 

 

 

You told her to "go and experience the prima for yourself and make up your own mind" while she just posted her experience about the Prima a few hours ago.

[RB9643]

55 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

 

When I go to Cagney's now, I ask the waiter which of the steaks are the "good" ones tonight.  They know. 

 

 

That's some seriously good advice right there.

 

 

[RB9643]

4 minutes ago, Selion said:

You told her to "go and experience the prima for yourself and make up your own mind" while she just posted her experience about the Prima a few hours ago.

 

 

Your reading comprehension is a bit suspect. I was quoting the person who has a cruise in two weeks.

 

Please try again.

 

 

[Selion]

4 minutes ago, RB9643 said:

 

 

Your reading comprehension is a bit suspect. I was quoting the person who has a cruise in two weeks.

 

Please try again.

 

 

Obviously I made a mistake.  You didn't even say that!  It was made by UKstages.

Edited June 16, 2023 by Selion

[RB9643]

5 minutes ago, Selion said:

Obviously I made a mistake.  You didn't even say that!  It was made by UKstages.

 

 

No problem. Happens all the time. Sometimes it's hard to keep track.

 

 

[RB9643]

1 hour ago, herbanrenewal said:

The best shows were at Syds, but it was impossible to get in. 

 

 

 

One hour and 10 minutes, you'll be one of the first in line. One hour, and you'll be around the corner. It is what it is.

 

[jimsig]

3 hours ago, bobkat11 said:

2..... For our last stop, we arrived in Reykjavik, not at 7 am as scheduled, but 1:30 in the afternoon, so once again, we could not do the tour we had planned. Missing 3 out of 8 tours was very disappointing, after traveling so far to see these sights.

 

8. Disembarking. We got off the ship fine, at 8:30 as instructed, took our own luggage off, got on a shuttle to the airport outside of Reykjavik, arriving there around 9:30am. Unfortunately flights out to the US were all late afternoon and evening, so it was a long day sitting at the airport waiting for our 5pm flight, with very few chairs in the waiting area. Actually there was a 10am flight that some of us had looked into, but NCL said they would not allow anyone off the ship early enough to make that flight, despite docking in Reykjavik port 6pm the previous evening. We didn't understand that, but we had learned that unclear, non-answers from NCL was the standard.

I'm a bit confused by this.  You said you arrived in you last stop in Reykjavik at 1:30 pm but then said you arrived at 6p the previous evening. 

[herbanrenewal]

21 minutes ago, RB9643 said:

 

 

One hour and 10 minutes, you'll be one of the first in line. One hour, and you'll be around the corner. It is what it is.

 

And how customer friendly is it to have entertainment that limits how many can get in so the lucky few have to be physically able to stand in line for over an hour to have a chance at seeing the show.

The availability of entertainment is an issue to me.

Dont get me wrong - I love cruising and have 4 to 6 NCL cruises booked each year, currently up to Feb 2025. But Prima has design/itinerary issues thatmake it less user friendly

Edited June 16, 2023 by herbanrenewal

[RB9643]

13 minutes ago, herbanrenewal said:

And how customer friendly is it to have entertainment that limits how many can get in so the lucky few have to be physically able to stand in line for over an hour to have a chance at seeing the show.

 

 

It's not. Thus, the problem.

 

 

[scooter6139]

Sorry to hear you had a bad cruise on Pr1ma.  I still really want to try one of these new classes of ships so I can see what all the fuss is about.

 

Please don't write off an entire line just due to one cruise experience, otherwise, you would never sail again on any line.  Give one of the other styles of ships a shot, from the smaller Spirit to the mega-sized Encore.  You might be impressed!

[mugtech]

2 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

 

There are two ways to look at this.

a) I got a "free" meal from the cruise line and it was crap

b) I got a $200 meal from the cruise line and it was crap

 

Most of us who have had crappy steaks at Cagney's (myself included) just shrug it off as "a" and admit that we got what we paid for.  When I go to Cagney's now, I ask the waiter which of the steaks are the "good" ones tonight.  They know.  I'm more concerned about good vs. bad then fillet vs. NY strip vs. Ribeye.

Glad I don't eat steaks.

[ChiefMateJRK]

20 minutes ago, mugtech said:

Glad I don't eat steaks.

That's fine but, as I mentioned, I found a reasonable work around.  The first time I asked, the waiter quickly and confidently proclaimed "RIBEYE!"  That's what I ordered and it was absolutely delicious.  Another time he recommended a filet, and it was not bad, but not something that creates memories. 🤣 (i.e. I don't remember it being either great or not great - it was just a steak).

[MsTabbyKats]

1 hour ago, herbanrenewal said:

And how customer friendly is it to have entertainment that limits how many can get in so the lucky few have to be physically able to stand in line for over an hour to have a chance at seeing the show.

The availability of entertainment is an issue to me.

Dont get me wrong - I love cruising and have 4 to 6 NCL cruises booked each year, currently up to Feb 2025. But Prima has design/itinerary issues thatmake it less user friendly

I'm on the Escape in Sept....booked it a long time ago at a great rate.  I may be "finished with NCL" because entertainment is important to us...decent entertainment.  I don't consider "Choir of Man" entertainment (saw it twice....didn't care for it either time) and comedians are just not my thing.  DH is not a native speaker of English...he doesn't "get them".

I'm just praying that the buffet is still good.  Or I hit a jackpot in the casino!  Or, there's a singing juggler....

[RB9643]

23 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

I I don't consider "Choir of Man" entertainment (saw it twice....didn't care for it either time)

 

 

That's a preference problem. Not sure anything will "fit your bill", if Choir of Man doesn't.

 

The "Q" had a great county band, albeit with an English accent. Maybe that's more your style.

 

 

 

[JIMESOPUS]

As it has been posted here in CC countless times, the Prima is not a cold-weather ship. But NCL continues to sail her in this climate. For those who sail out of NYC in the winter, we are in that group, NCL has decided to homeport the Prima here in 2024 and 2025 with no other ships. Guess we have to look elsewhere. 

[MsTabbyKats]

1 minute ago, RB9643 said:

 

 

That's a preference problem. Not sure anything will "fit your bill", if Choir of Man doesn't.

 

The "Q" had a great county band, albeit with an English accent. Maybe that's more your style.

 

 

 

I like b''way style shows....Las Vegas type reviews.  Yes... it's a preference thing and they've dropped my preferences.  If I want to see guys sitting around drinking beer...I can see that at any bar on the ship!  

[RB9643]

2 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

If I want to see guys sitting around drinking beer...I can see that at any bar on the ship!  

 

*sigh* I'm sorry you didn't get the whole story. Whatever, to each his own...

[complawyer]

please dont pooh pooh all of ncl due to the 1 bad experience. in the past 13 years we've sailed on most of them. i loved the getaway, and the bliss was amazing.

 

ive checked the prima since it was first put into operation, and although i try and book either a haven or a suite on ships without haven complex, im not ashamed to admit, the prima has priced me completely out of that market. interestingly enough, in sept there is a 10 day sailing on the prima from iceland to southampton, and an additional sailing 14 days on the star.  i can skip the bells and whistles on the prima, for the extra 4 days on board the star

 

meanwhile(backatheranch) , i have never had an experience as bad as you described. try another ship, try another itinerary. we're on  the dawn next march from capetown to barcelona (21) days, and next oct 2024 b2b venice to athens, athens to tel aviv each leg 10 days. im sure if you give them another chance with a different ncl ship, you will be more that satisfied with the outcome. 

 

me, ive posted before, i sail with ncl because of their itineraries and price. im happy to just be on the ship, sitting on  my balcony with a glass of champagne or an ice cold beer, reading my kindle.

 

personal philosophy (mine only) book me in, show me to my cabin, and leave me alone for the duration. i think i can handle the rest all on my own

 

i used to rush to book teppanyaki, but since they've taken out filet mignon as a choice, im not rushing back, moderno has also lost its lustre, so i usually go to cagneys. after all these years, and after 25 cruises with ncl, i can honestly say ive never been disappointed in a meal there.  sometimes i'll go to a show, sometimes not, it's not a priority for me, im 75  and on some nights, i might be in the casino until midnight,  though no later than that, and im not overly enthused by any lounge act to justify me just sitting an drinking. 

 

i know as far as being a cruiser im probably in the minority as to my expectations, but basically im generally happy just to be on the ship and cruising along, watching the sun set, and listening to the ocean go by. "nuff said"

[MsTabbyKats]

11 minutes ago, RB9643 said:

 

*sigh* I'm sorry you didn't get the whole story. Whatever, to each his own...

The point is...is they don't offer what I enjoy, there are plenty of other choices for me.

[RB9643]

8 minutes ago, complawyer said:

 

i know as far as being a cruiser im probably in the minority as to my expectations, but basically im generally happy just to be on the ship and cruising along, watching the sun set, and listening to the ocean go by. "nuff said"

 

 

Couldn't say it better. But using capital letters would be helpful.