Prima Meh

[tcrandal]

24 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Be sure to ask for a free cruise for your inconvenience.

 

Did the Prima dock near Amsterdam's city center? The Dawn will be docking at Ijmuiden in a few weeks which is not near the city center, so was wondering whether we could face a similar issue, thus cutting into my valuable casino time.

 

Yes, we did dock near city center… walked along the water, turned left after the transportation center, crossed the canal and boarded a hour canal tour, then explored the city a bit on our own. All new ports to us, so it has been amazing.

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, tcrandal said:

Yes, we did dock near city center… walked along the water, turned left after the transportation center, crossed the canal and boarded a hour canal tour, then explored the city a bit on our own. All new ports to us, so it has been amazing.

Yes, Amsterdam is an amazing city. We have been there twice on land vacations and will now be there on our Prima cruise.

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, tcrandal said:

Lol I just posted and watching the gate open right now, guess it brought good luck!

That works for me. Often when sitting at a red light for a seemingly long time. I say change already. And it changes finally. And I ask myself why didn't I say that earlier. 🤣

[Smitheroo]

On 6/24/2023 at 6:30 PM, laudergayle said:

I honestly believe you when you speak of cabin noise.  We had it for two nights due to quite rough seas.  With the drink package and white noise, I was fine.  DH…who normally sleeps sound was kept more awake. However, we both loved Prima snd would sail again.

that being said, NCL really needs to find her sweet spot.  TA cruises need to be rock bottom pricing due to the impact of rough seas and cabin noise.

 

Hot summer Caribbean cruises wouldn’t be ideal due to limited pool access and competition.

 

Bermuda out of NYC was ideal (not until Spring) because people left the ship to enjoy Bermuda for several days.

 

Alaska would be a good itinerary…especially the Vancouver/Seward or Whittier/Vancouver run.

 

Mediterranean in shoulder season…awesome.

 

Northern Europe in Summer (not shoulder) season is likely a good fit.

 

NCL will figure it out eventually.  Right now they’re showing off their newest ship…and falling short.  PRIMA is a good ship when on the right itinerary.

 

 

 

 

I dont think rough seas on a TA necessarily means cabin noise.  We had a rough night in January on a TA and there was no unusual cabin noise.  My cabin did have a noise when I first got there, sounded like a toilet flushing in the wall. I thought to myself "this could be a problem" Either it stopped or I managed to block it out because I dont remember it continuing My cabin was aft and someone told me what the noise probably was, i forget,  To me it sounded  like a toilet flushing. 

[LobsterStalker]

On 6/24/2023 at 7:08 PM, laudergayle said:

There’s a couple old sayings (yes I’m older than many).

 

1) don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

2) variety is the spice of life.

 

YOLO… so why not catch a deal and form your own opinion.  Yes, Prima prices are going ⬇️.

 

>>> Wonder why that is ?!?

 

Cheers

[RiverlandGone]

On 6/23/2023 at 12:51 PM, Shynook11 said:

Here is a small sampling of the daily 6am-10pm noise.  I have videos as well as audio to prove this was IN the cabin above us, but this upload is audio only.  Maybe others think this is reasonable noise for 16 hour a day in a cabin.  These are chairs sliding across the surfside girl.   Turn audio up.  Interested in opinions if I am overreacting.

Wow!  I would definitely have found that extremely annoying as I'm very sensitive to sounds.

[Snate]

I am currently on the Prima (we disembark on Sunday) and so far I am not sure all the things I have read about this ship on cruise critic have turned out to be true.  This is my first cruise on NCL.  Done Celebrity, Princess, Royal a ton of times.  The ship is totally full yet I don’t feel that crowded on the ship other than the buffet which does have a lack of seating.  The food lines aren’t bad but you have to really look for a place to sit but I have always found one.  The complaints that the Indulge Food Hall is hard to find seating doesn’t seem to be that way on this cruise.  We have gone there 4-5 times for breakfast, lunch and dinner and always found a seat.  The main dining room has always been able to seat us and I haven’t seen this posted yet but they have a different menu every night in Hudson’s as of a few weeks ago so they dropped the same menu every night for a 10 day cruise apparently.  Food has been solid so far in the main dining room, specialty restaurants, and food hall so no complaints there and I am a real foodie.  You just can’t have the expectations that you are going to get a Michelin Star meal on a cruise ship.  For entertainment, the shows have been the best I have seen on a cruise ship.  We liked the Donna Summer musical, the Fleetwood Mac show, the guest entertainer (Michael Sterling) who has a great voice, and the magician who was decent.  So far we haven’t had any lines getting on and off the ship so that has been run really well.  Our cabin (deck 13 mid ship balcony) has not had any of the sound issues.  Speaking of the cabin, its seems nice, good sized bathroom, bed is comfortable and no real issues with it.  The biggest negatives I have is this ship isn’t built for the cold weather so a lot of the outside deck areas are empty.  This includes the putt putt, pickle ball court, go karts, etc… The only other negative which I have posted on another thread is the food hours from 3-5 and late night which they could use a few more options.  Other than that it seems like a great ship and we have been having a great time.   Some people want to complain about everything and not find things to enjoy but that is no way to go through life, at least for me.

[UKstages]

that is great. i’m so thrilled to hear that the ship is exceeding your expectations and you’re having a wonderful time. there is much to recommend on the prima!

 

have you considered that those “people who want to complain about everything” are simply sharing their truth? their experience may have differed considerably from yours. not all prima defects or faults or inconveniences impact all passengers.

 

for the record, even on the worst posts and reviews about the prima, i have found that most people have many good things to say, even as they “complain” about other things. I have not seen much prima content that is all negative.

[PhillyTravelBug]

I am glad to hear your review  as I have just about a month until sailing. Friends of ours just got off the sailing earlier this month and had a fabulous time. 

[RB9643]

4 hours ago, Snate said:

 I am not sure all the things I have read about this ship on cruise critic have turned out to be true.  

 

 

For certain, but a number of things are. 

 

Prima is our 2nd favorite ship other than Encore. It is a beautiful and unique ship, with many great concepts that may well become the future for cruise lines that have no desire to offer 6-7000 passenger ultra-mega ships. Indulge is a perfect example. The outdoor areas of Prima are the future, IMO.

 

Were mistakes made, yes. The buffet is too small, the focus on outdoor areas is not conducive to cold weather destinations, and for the love of God, double the space of Syd's!

 

All in all, I will sail the Prima class again (and again and again).

 

 

 

 

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, Snate said:

I am currently on the Prima (we disembark on Sunday) and so far I am not sure all the things I have read about this ship on cruise critic have turned out to be true.  This is my first cruise on NCL.  Done Celebrity, Princess, Royal a ton of times.  The ship is totally full yet I don’t feel that crowded on the ship other than the buffet which does have a lack of seating.  The food lines aren’t bad but you have to really look for a place to sit but I have always found one.  The complaints that the Indulge Food Hall is hard to find seating doesn’t seem to be that way on this cruise.  We have gone there 4-5 times for breakfast, lunch and dinner and always found a seat.  The main dining room has always been able to seat us and I haven’t seen this posted yet but they have a different menu every night in Hudson’s as of a few weeks ago so they dropped the same menu every night for a 10 day cruise apparently.  Food has been solid so far in the main dining room, specialty restaurants, and food hall so no complaints there and I am a real foodie.  You just can’t have the expectations that you are going to get a Michelin Star meal on a cruise ship.  For entertainment, the shows have been the best I have seen on a cruise ship.  We liked the Donna Summer musical, the Fleetwood Mac show, the guest entertainer (Michael Sterling) who has a great voice, and the magician who was decent.  So far we haven’t had any lines getting on and off the ship so that has been run really well.  Our cabin (deck 13 mid ship balcony) has not had any of the sound issues.  Speaking of the cabin, its seems nice, good sized bathroom, bed is comfortable and no real issues with it.  The biggest negatives I have is this ship isn’t built for the cold weather so a lot of the outside deck areas are empty.  This includes the putt putt, pickle ball court, go karts, etc… The only other negative which I have posted on another thread is the food hours from 3-5 and late night which they could use a few more options.  Other than that it seems like a great ship and we have been having a great time.   Some people want to complain about everything and not find things to enjoy but that is no way to go through life, at least for me.

Did your cruise actually make it to the port of Isafjordur? (We are on the August 6th cruise from London (Southampton) to Reykjavik,)

[Snate]

10 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Did your cruise actually make it to the port of Isafjordur? (We are on the August 6th cruise from London (Southampton) to Reykjavik,)

No it did not which sucked but that is the ports fault for not having the pier ready from what I understand.  We did go to Akureyri at 1pm the day before we were supposed to and had an overnight stay which gave us time to do another excursion so it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.  We did skip Geiranger for Flam and was notified the day before.  It had to do with port traffic or congestion.  That also sucked as Flam is pretty but there is not much to do there.  I think the London to Reykjavik direction gets an extra sea day and not the overnight so hopefully the pier is done by then. 

[UKstages]

it’s a much more complex issue than just the dredging of the port. NCL keeps saying “maybe next week” for stopping at isafjordur… they have been saying that since mid-may… for two months, they have skipped that port. each cruise, they wait until the last minute to inform guests.
 

meanwhile, other ships have stopped there regularly, so NCL saying the port isn’t ready doesn’t really tell guests the whole story. something else is at play - either an NCL preference or self-imposed limitation - and NCL won’t divulge to guests what that it is.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Snate said:

No it did not which sucked but that is the ports fault for not having the pier ready from what I understand.  We did go to Akureyri at 1pm the day before we were supposed to and had an overnight stay which gave us time to do another excursion so it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.  We did skip Geiranger for Flam and was notified the day before.  It had to do with port traffic or congestion.  That also sucked as Flam is pretty but there is not much to do there.  I think the London to Reykjavik direction gets an extra sea day and not the overnight so hopefully the pier is done by then. 

They could have done Isafjordur and used tenders!

 

Yes the cruise starting in the UK and ending in Reykjavik is a day longer, but I think it is because there is an overnight in Reykjavik. I don't believe it is for an extra sea day.

 

I hope it is done also, but every cruise that misses there makes me less and less optimistic about that. We have what looked to us like a really nice private excursion booked there, but I really don't think we will be able to do it.

 

Oh, and I called NCL in late June, and they were still selling excursions to Isafjordur for July 5th and I presume all the other dates after that.

[Liljo22]

Thank you for your review.  I hope the remainder of your trip goes just as well.  We will be on her in December and can't wait.  Is the MDR menu rotating or is it the same every night?  

[Snate]

5 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

Thank you for your review.  I hope the remainder of your trip goes just as well.  We will be on her in December and can't wait.  Is the MDR menu rotating or is it the same every night?  

It rotates every night.

[ontheweb]

7 minutes ago, Snate said:

It rotates every night.

I guess that is one experiment that did not work. They intended to start the menus that did not rotate on the Prima and then start that on the rest of the fleet. I think it is safe to say that that is no longer happening.

[Snate]

1 minute ago, ontheweb said:

I guess that is one experiment that did not work. They intended to start the menus that did not rotate on the Prima and then start that on the rest of the fleet. I think it is safe to say that that is no longer happening.

The waiter said they switched a few weeks ago due to complaints.  They have some standard every night and 3 steaks up charged from cagneys.

[ontheweb]

2 minutes ago, Snate said:

The waiter said they switched a few weeks ago due to complaints.  They have some standard every night and 3 steaks up charged from cagneys.

So in at least this one instance, complaint worked!

[UKstages]

they switched to rotating menus more than two months ago. (i was on the 5/14 sailing and it had already started a few weeks earlier.)

[MiniJeffrey]

I will really never understand why they sacrifice that much outdoor spacing for a f*** (pardon, my french) carting course. Imagine what they could have done with that space. It's a huge waste of outdoor space for just 1 activity.

[Beer Belly]

To those who have recently sailed, did they open the Hydration station kiosk (I believe thats what it is called) outside the rear of the ship, or are they still using it to house Mops and Mop Buckets ?

[omahabob]

6 hours ago, MiniJeffrey said:

I will really never understand why they sacrifice that much outdoor spacing for a f*** (pardon, my french) carting course. Imagine what they could have done with that space. It's a huge waste of outdoor space for just 1 activity.

 

Obviously everyone will have their own opinions, but it brings in customers, and that's what they want.

[Liljo22]

6 hours ago, MiniJeffrey said:

I will really never understand why they sacrifice that much outdoor spacing for a f*** (pardon, my french) carting course. Imagine what they could have done with that space. It's a huge waste of outdoor space for just 1 activity.

It brings in families.  I have friends that are not normally cruisers that are planning a Viva cruise because of the go kart track.  

 

I also plan on getting week passes for my kids to ride as much as they want during our Prima cruise.  

[DMP609]

On 7/13/2023 at 11:18 AM, ontheweb said:

They could have done Isafjordur and used tenders!

 

Yes the cruise starting in the UK and ending in Reykjavik is a day longer, but I think it is because there is an overnight in Reykjavik. I don't believe it is for an extra sea day.

 

I hope it is done also, but every cruise that misses there makes me less and less optimistic about that. We have what looked to us like a really nice private excursion booked there, but I really don't think we will be able to do it.

 

Oh, and I called NCL in late June, and they were still selling excursions to Isafjordur for July 5th and I presume all the other dates after that.

We were on the 6/25 sailing of the Prima (had a fabulous time) and the Captain was part of a Q&A towards the end. He was asked about Isafjordur and said they are waiting for the dock work to be completed. They don't know when that will be. They get updates every week or so from the dock and I think that's why they don't cancel too far in advance because as soon as it's ready, they will be docking there. He also addressed the tender issue. They do not have tenders on the ship. I think he said the size of the tenders didn't work well with a ship that size or something to that effect. He said if they have to tender at a port, the port must be the one to provide the tenders and Isafjordur does not. This seems like a good explanation. It just would have been nice if NCL explained it like this sooner.