Norwegian Prima out of NY - is Prima recommended for 1st time cruiser?

[starfish54]

I just posted in RC section about our plans out of NY but I am also considering Prima on Dec 21 2024 — Jan 2 2025 voyage,

which is a longer voyage and we have the time, but I am not sure about the odd size/design of this vessel. Is it good? I think it's smaller than some of other NCL vessels and a bit more less outdoor spaces despite spending a long time in the caribbean. Is it recommended for 1st time cruiser that we will be taking with us, we should be OK but want to make sure if this is something you would do out of NY?

Edited October 10 by starfish54

[FLAHAM]

Prima is a fine ship and I have Found NY to be an easy port.  Always nice to sail past the Statue of Liberty.  The only problem with NY in winter, as opposed to Port Canaveral or Miami, is that you lose about 1.5 days in each direction due to cold weather.  

[BirdTravels]

The Prima is the newest NCL Ship along with her sister the Viva. It is smaller than her older, bigger cousins in the Breakaway Plus class, but packed with all of the features of the biggest ships in the NCL fleet. 
 

People complain that some things are smaller than the big ships (e.g., the buffet), but they need to match the size of the ship. I think that most things are “right sized” on the ship. 
 

We have sailed on the Prima twice and Viva once. And would happily sail on them again (we have a cruise on their sister, the Aqua in a few months. 
 

Enjoy!  

Edited October 10 by BirdTravels

[UKstages]

opinions are sharply divided about the prima. it is in many respects a lovely ship, with large staterooms, some great restaurants, a knock your socks off "food hall," a sensational state of the art theatre, a lot of specially curated art and sculptures, as well as many fine onboard services. but the ship is poorly managed by its executive leadership team.

 

i did a long B2B last year on the prima. here is my review; it may help you decide if it's right for first time cruisers such as yourselves. 

 

 

[starfish54]

Thanks for the replies, we have been crusing with NCL and I must say our most recent cruise with NCL was a delight! I can only wish everyone has this much fun and satisfaction out of a cruise program. So I am no stranger and NCL was the one that made me love cruising, so my only worry is the 1st time cruiser that will be joining us. In a way, they got nothing to compare to so should be OK on the other hand I agree with the first 2 days losing time at sea, which is why I wanted to be on a ship with enough amenities.

My alternative is driving to airport, dealing with flights, hotels, car rental, all that stuff and cruise out of south, and the same hassle on the way back, so I am considering just driving to NY pier and park my car there, even car service should be reasonable if I have to.

 

Thanks for the review link, I'll read it. 🙂Edit: WHOA.. Noises? Is this a common complaint? I am now worried.

Edited October 10 by starfish54

[Sand and Seas]

We enjoyed our first Prima cruise so much that we immediately booked another on her.

For reference, we also love cruising on the larger NCL ships like Bliss & Joy.     

 

Bliss, Joy and other Breakaway/Breakaway Plus class ships have one of our favorite features-  the WaterFront on deck 8.   For us, the Prima class actually improved on that concept with the Ocean Walk on deck 8.  Lots of lounges available on our cruises.  As a bonus, the awesome Indulge Food Hall is on the same deck so we never felt the need to vist the buffet and upper pool deck 😎

 

[Vegasvolfan]

I am a fan of the new Prima class ships I think they are my favorites.  I personally love the food hall in my opinion best new concept on newer cruise ships.  Really enjoy the lqyout.  Only drawback I can think of is if weather is cold lot of ship is designed for outdoors and first few days and last few may be to cold to utilize the outdoor areas.  But that being said if given a choice would sail the Prima class ships.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, starfish54 said:

Thanks for the replies, we have been crusing with NCL and I must say our most recent cruise with NCL was a delight! I can only wish everyone has this much fun and satisfaction out of a cruise program.

 

Here's one of my live posts from the Prima.

 

Edited October 11 by BirdTravels

[stinkyharriet]

I was on the Prima last year in April (NYC to Bermuda) during spring break.  There were so many kids on board.  The weather was still chilly so while we were at sea most people were staying in the indoor areas.  The kids, specifically teenagers, took over many spaces and could be very loud & annoying.  The Christmas holidays is a popular time for families to cruise so your dates might also have a lot of kids on board.

 

Despite the kids we really liked the ship and had a good time. It is beautiful and while many people complained about the layout and said it was hard to get around I had no issues.  We stayed in an Ocean View cabin on deck 5.  I heard some creaking noises in the cabin one afternoon but that was it. The cabin was bigger than I expected and was very comfortable.  
 

I would sail on the Prima again, just not when a million kids are out of school.

[UKstages]

3 hours ago, starfish54 said:

Noises? Is this a common complaint? I am now worried.

 

it's a fairly common complaint on the prima, but i have not heard anybody mention it regarding the viva. it's a manufacturing defect in the build of the ship. it affects an unknown number of rooms, mostly in the aft of the ship. haven and club balcony suites are not immune to this problem. (i was in a CBS on the prima.) NCL has all these rooms documented, they know which rooms they are, but they continue to sell these rooms at full rate, without disclosing the problem.  if somebody complains once onboard, most people have said the compensation is $500 per person. if you book a room midship, you will most likely not encounter this problem.

 

most people onboard do not encounter any problem whatsoever with excessive cabin noise.  some do.  i was one of those people.

[mking8288]

One of the many changes with the Prima was/is that the "evolution" of freestyle dining onboard for the MDR, that is, unless you are a party of 6 or more, you don't need reservations for dinner, not just lunch or breakfast in the MDR  - none.  Put it differently, you cannot make dining reservations ahead of time, until you are onboard (good luck with that) - for party of 2, 3, 4 or 5.  I cannot speak for suite (exclude those CBS) and Haven as to their dining scheme. 

 

You can, of course, make specialty dining reservations pre-cruise, at 120 days.  Wait, you haven't book yet and odds are that the better, preferred time slots are taken already.  Do that once at Pier 88 and/or onboard the ship connect to ship WiFi inTRAnet (free) and use the app to look up & book quick, faster & easier than standing in line.  

 

Buffet is small, much smaller than the *Away class ships, smaller than the Gem/Dawn/Jewel/Star class ships, really but there's a smaller section in the back, that's where you can find the burgers & fries, hotdogs (but no wings that I can recall) and it close promptly at 9 PM nightly, no exceptions.  Indulge Food Hall is complimentary (still) with individual food stations, check the hours & go early - has a slightly different menu for the evening, and can be less crowded if the lines for the MDR are long.  The smaller MDR, when open, seemed to be better & faster for getting seated, etc.  The Local a/k/a O'Sheehan's isn't as large as one might expect and is rather busy, despite the simplified menu.  

 

Shows have changed and times/dates subject to change, both times we sailed, they're changed & had to do it onboard, which conflicted with dining plans already made ... annoying.  If game shows are fine, by all means, go and see the theater/night club.  Smaller venues do not take reservations, be prepare to go early and join the line.  

 

Holiday sailing, expect and plan for a sailing at/above double occupancy and close to max lifeboat capacity and plenty of children & teens; and, coupled that with colder weather - and a ship not designed for indoors only gathering, can made for a rather crowded feeling everywhere, including the noisy & often jammed packed tri-level forward atrium.  

 

Knowing better on what to expect is key to making an informed decision and whether it's a good fit and introduction for your friend.  Good luck in whatever you decide.  

 

P.S.  Both times we sailed here, our mid-ship balcony cabins (Deck 9 and 10) had a little bit of noises when ship is in motion and at speed, but not so bad to keep us awake ... the other AFT section balcony (Deck 10) we had was worst, but not horrible enough to warrant filing a "complaint" - next door to CBS.  

Edited October 11 by mking8288

[starfish54]

Thanks for all the helpful comments! 🙂 I saw the thread about staterooms and noise (or absence of noise) listed by cabins, i'll check that.

Regarding kids, I am OK with them, but I know it can be challanging when there are just too many especially running around and constantly riding elevators up and down like they are toys. I was thinking maybe because it's cold in NY they probably could find other activities, but cruise is still popular for lots of families.

[mistertomatoe]

A holiday cruise on the Prima. I assume it'll be more than full. The ship is the first in a new class and they need to fix a lot of things with the design. There are a lot of places that look like they didn't use all the space while at the same time other places feel very cramped and noisy. On a winter cruise people will be spending even more time inside.

[ontheweb]

We loved the ship, but I realize opinions are mixed. It seems to be a ship that you either love it or hate it. We sailed on her the summer of 2023, London (Southampton) to Reykjavik, not really a warm weather itinerary even in the summer. We are now booked at the end of November from NY to the Southern Caribbean. We realize there will be cold days and nights at the beginning and the end, but are really looking forward to when we get to warmer weather.

 

If you go in looking to have a great cruise, chances are excellent that you will. If you go in just waiting and expecting things to go wrong, chances are your cruise won't be so great. 

[luv2kroooz]

12 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

People complain that some things are smaller than the big ships (e.g., the buffet), but they need to match the size of the ship. I think that most things are “right sized” on the ship. 
 

Right sized? Everything on Prima is smaller than the Jewel class ships and Prima holds 1,000 more passengers. We state facts (not complaints)that areas on the Prima are smaller than the Jewel class. Prima takes way more passengers than Jewel and areas are way smaller. The "right sized" theory that you repeatedly trot out doesn't hold water because you never compare Prima to Jewel class.

[graphicguy]

Not out of NYC, but I sailed Prima out of Galveston earlier this year.  The actual cruise portion of the review (with pics) starts on page 9.  LOVED sailing her.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2982046-live-prima-feb-2-9-2024-from-galveston-western-caribbean-with-pics-haven-he/page/9/

 

Edited October 11 by graphicguy

[graphicguy]

I think the Prima is the perfect ship for a first time cruiser.  It has all the "goodies" that NCL offers.  And, it's not a behemoth ship like the Breakaway Plus class. 

 

-Indulge is the BEST dining concept at sea, on any cruise line.  You dine inside or outside.  You choose from a variety of cuisine (Indian, Salads, etc).  It's made fresh and served pronto to wherever you are seated in "INDULGE".

 

-the outdoors area wraps around the entire ship, with chairs, couches, infinity pools and a walking path.  It's the kind of space that makes cruising "cruising".

 

-the decor is fresh, modern and appealing

 

-Burn the Floor, Bossa Nova show is amazing

 

-The Syd Norman's shows are phenomenal (get there early to get a seat)

 

I could go on, but if there were ever a ship that's a good introduction to cruising, it would be the Prima.

[wahoowa12]

My cousin's first cruise was on the Prima this past July with seasoned cruisers. We all loved the Prima. My cousin is now hooked on cruising and busy planning her next one!

[Grandmafreddie]

If sailing out of New York book the spa. No kids great lounges and indoors for sailaway never have to worry about cold first two days then we book the vibe also no kids and always a lounge and great bar. Worth every extra penny

[Travelling2Some]

We loved the ship but it is true that it is more suited to warm weather.  (We did the Med.)  We won't cruise any ship during a school vacation but I realize you may not have that choice.

[BirdTravels]

17 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

Right sized? Everything on Prima is smaller than the Jewel class ships and Prima holds 1,000 more passengers. We state facts (not complaints)that areas on the Prima are smaller than the Jewel class. Prima takes way more passengers than Jewel and areas are way smaller. The "right sized" theory that you repeatedly trot out doesn't hold water because you never compare Prima to Jewel class.

Buffet??? You need to consider that the “space” is really the Seaside PLUS the Indulge. Plus seating in food republic and Palomar. 

[graphicguy]

Yeah....Prima spreads out the guests from the Buffet to also include Indulge.  There's also the Local.

 

Always found a place to sit and dine, even at peak lunch and breakfast times.  Don't know about dinners...never went to Local, Indulge or Seaside for dinner.

[starfish54]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and comments. We decided not to take a chance with 12 day first cruise for the new cruisers in our group, so we are going to fly to Orlando and catch Epic. 🙂 If anyone has any pointers/recommendations for Epic, please let me know. 🙂

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, starfish54 said:

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and comments. We decided not to take a chance with 12 day first cruise for the new cruisers in our group, so we are going to fly to Orlando and catch Epic. 🙂 If anyone has any pointers/recommendations for Epic, please let me know. 🙂

Epic is obviously an older ship.  Sailed her late last year….she’s well cared for.  

 

First time cruisers will want to check out THE CAVERN CLUB.

 

She also has NCL’s well

known and loved Specialty Dining Restaurants, like  Cagney’s, Le Bistro, etc.  

 

O’Sheehans is the “grab a bite” when you want restaurant.  

 

Spice H20 is an adults area with a big screen and bar that’s always fun.

 

Manhattan Room is a great MDR!

 

It’s the ship that really started NCL’s foray into eat, dine where and when you want to!

 

First time cruisers will be awed by it!

Edited Sunday at 01:06 AM by graphicguy

[ontheweb]

23 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

We loved the ship but it is true that it is more suited to warm weather.  (We did the Med.)  We won't cruise any ship during a school vacation but I realize you may not have that choice.

😊, married to a now RETIRED teacher. We had done all our cruises during school vacations. Then we did a river cruise this past spring and now have the Prima booked for its November 31st Southern Caribbean cruise. I guess we'll see the difference it makes.