I shared many photos on my Facebook Business Page during my sailing but I wanted to share my overall thoughts on NCL and the ship itself.
One word – AMAZING – I was very pleased. I hadn’t sailed on Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) since 2008. Norwegian was actually the first cruise line I’d ever sailed on way back in 2001. We’d stopped sailing them after they’d made the change to Freestyle cruising with no set dining times. Looking back, boy did we make a mistake. We love having a set time for dining, or so we thought. We’ve always enjoyed having the same waitstaff at dinner and knowing how we could plan our day. This cruise changed our minds.
NCL’s Freestyle Cruising and Free at Sea offers really do take them up a notch in my book for cruising. We found ourselves free to make plans on the fly, eat early, eat late or go to the buffet for dinner. It was really up to us and honestly quite freeing. Especially for the day we had been out on an excursion. No need to rush for dinner or miss a show. Having the freedom of the included wi-fi and the drink package included were also nice. We do not normally add any drink package but it was fun to have the ability to try new things.
The Prima may seem large but it was fairly easy to get around after the first day or so. It’s a large ship but it really didn’t feel that way. It felt MUCH smaller than the Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas we were on in June.
In my opinion this is not a ship for young children. While they do have a kids club – Splash Academy – it is not the typical kids club that has separate space for littles and teens. It’s a shared space that has specific hours for each to be there. The Splash Academy was not open during our sailing and was being used for staging of a few things so I wasn’t able to visit. Colleagues on a prior sailing were able to visit, and I’ll share those photos on my Facebook Page. I think the Kids Aqua Park area was also lacking on the ship. Very architectural and not appealing to look at. No real kids slide.
There is definitely AMAZING entertainment on this ship. Top quality Broadway shows, Improv and more. We missed getting to visit Syd Norman’s Pour House, I really wanted to see the shows, but the space wasn’t very large and always full. The Improv hosted karaoke almost nightly on our sailing and there were some great singers.
Multiple activities that would appeal to a wide variety of teens and adults are going to be favorites for future sailors. From The Bullseye electronic darts, Tee Time mini golf and the Prima Speedway, days and evenings can be filled with fun. The Galaxy Pavilion, a Virtual Reality haven, was a really great space. I’ll be sharing more on that in a later Facebook post with videos. Keep in mind that these activities – The Bullseye, Tee Time, Prima Speedway and Galaxy Pavilion are not complimentary and will have an additional cost.
I think the star of the ship for us was the food. Abundant, interesting and delicious. The food was truly our favorite part of the cruise. Two main dining rooms, multiple specialty dining options and the best complimentary restaurants we’ve experienced at sea. The standout for me was Indulge Food Hall. With multiple food stations it’s a great concept, the first at sea. Ordering food on an iPad with flavors from around the World was an experience.
Now, let’s talk about that amazing stateroom. We were in a Family Balcony, Category B4. This included the queen size bed and a sleeper sofa. The star of the room was definitely the bathroom. All of the staterooms include the amazing bathroom with the glass door shower and huge stink. If you’ve cruised before this stateroom will make anything else look miniature in the future.
Would I sail on the Prima in the future – YES! Would I sail other NCL ships based on the service and Freestyle options – YES!
I will end by saying that this cruise was a “freebie” for me. I only paid for my flights and travel to and from the ship. Our sailing was filled with travel agents, bloggers, vloggers, NCL Executives, other vendor representatives and a cool addition, 100 teachers from across the country who had won “Giving Joy” educational awards.
If you have any questions about the Prima, NCL or this sailing in particular, please let me know. I do love cruising and look forward to my next cruise!
Travel with you later!
Betsy
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Betsy Walker Travels 