Why is Norwegian Prima so DISLIKED? - My Full Cruise Review

I sailed on Norwegian Prima to find out why this cruise ship is so disliked. In my full cruise review of Norwegian Prima I will tell you all there is to know about one of the newest, and most expensive, ships from Norwegian Cruise Line. Norwegian Prima debuted in 2022 and has received many negative cruise reviews from her cruisers. Why is Norwegian Prima so disliked? My Norwegian Prima cruise review will tell you all about the Norwegian Prima ship, the food on Norwegian Prima, the entertainment on the cruise ship, the ports of call we visited, and the service on Norwegian.

This exciting 10-day journey on Norwegian Prima will took me to Iceland, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium. My Prima videos show you everything from onboard the cruise ship and tell you my honest thoughts on the ship, the cruise, and the food in my cruise review and food review videos. I will also do a full ship tour and a room tour of my inside cabin on Norwegian Prima.

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE for more cruise ship and solo cruise videos. I cover lots of cruise ship travel - including Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line, Virgin Voyages, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, and more. From the latest cruise news to cruise ship reviews, ship dining guides and food reviews, best excursions, and more!

#norwegianprima #norwegiancruiseline #cruisevlog
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00:00 Introduction
1:56 Ship Review
11:20 Food Review
15:45 Entertainment Review
19:48 Ports Review
20:05 The Cruise Maps
25:10 Service Review
26:00 Final Score

[rossfortini]

NOOOO, Zach...we absolutely *love* Prima, and your mostly positive review (excellent, as always) is only going to make it more popular. :). We totally agree with all your positives/negatives, especially the Indulge Food Hall's Indian offerings...we ate our annual quota of poppadoms on our last 2-week sailing. One thing to note: if you sit at a specific station at Indulge (vs. a table), you can only order from that station, which we found annoying. This class of ship has gotten so much hate and we've never understood why. Seriously, I'm glad to see that Prima/Viva are finally getting some appreciation.

[SoloCruiserJan]

You have knocked it out of the park AGAIN! Zach, your take is always refreshing and well thought out. I'm sailing Prima in Feb 2025 out of Galveston and cannot wait! Thanks for the off to find your other Prima videos!

[jennie-leegardiner]

We just got back in late July from 25 nights on Jewel of the Seas on back to back cruises exploring Iceland and Norway. Like you we were just blown away by both countries. Absolutely spectacular and we can't wait to go back and explore more of both countries. Thanks for the promotional discount on The Cruise Maps! I just ordered a framed map to commemorate our adventure.

[coonpoon]

I really appreciate your reviews! Seems honest and fair, you've convinced us to try the Prima class shiips!

[jennifertaylor]

Thank you. Zach. Just booked a trip last night on the Prima for Nov 2024 to Bermuda, you made me so happy we picked this ship.

[petra]

These ships have such bold, beautiful, creative designs! The carpets, furnishings, decor, recessed lighting are all spectacular. It must have been nice to be surrounded by such lovely aesthetics. So glad you had a great time.

[petros]

Just stumbled across your videos and I'm pleased to see the quality and thorough cruise reviews on your videos. Great review of the Prima and it goes to show that sometimes people need to experience something for themselves rather going by other people's reviews or experience. I had seen a few not so good reviews of Prima, but your insight and detailed review is completely different. It made me look into booking a Norwegian cruise. Never done one. Great job!!!

[Tripwithmeandmore]

I’m so excited!! I just booked this for my first solo cruise next year! Thanks

[crankybastid]

The Prima is a beautiful ship. My wife and I sailed on the April 27th Transatlantic cruise from NYC to Southampton. It was a 15 day cruise. The weather was cold, which we knew it was going to be so we were prepared. It handled beautifully in the rough North Atlantic.
The problem we had with the ship is that it was sold out and it's not geared for cold cruises. People camped out at venues and spaces inside and there was nowhere to go.
I get the idea of a multitude of smaller venues but when you have 3000 people trapped inside, there's nowhere to go.
I disliked Indulge food Hall and the Local. I love O'Sheehans on other ships, it's big, lots of tables and is truly open 24 hours. The Local is divided in two, the dining portion is small an closes at 10:30, the bar is open all night but has a very limited menu. Indulge food hall has some hits, but a lot of misses. It's hours of operation really limit when you can dine there, and it's not that big.
If you're a seafood fan Palomar was superb, we were blown away at how amazing it is. Hindsight being 20/20, I would have used our 3 complimentary dining packages at that restaurant.
The one advantage of the cruise we took was double Latitude points. It bumped us from Bronze to Gold
This is not a ship you want to take in a colder North Atlantic cruise that's full to capacity.
The only entertainment we enjoyed was an awesome comedian they had and that's it. I'm really picky about entertainment because I have been spoiled. Maybe Andrew Lloyd Webber can start some productions onboard NCL. LOL

Thanks for the Video

[angieking]

Thanks Zach, great review. Sailing on Prima in November; cant wait!

[barbaram]

Enjoyed this video so much--so helpful--thank you!

[catsrus]

I'm a big NCL cruiser and had heard so many bad things about Prima, but now I want to go on it. Thanks for an excellent video...as usual! 😊

[theneverendinghighway]

I kind of feel like the ports are going to skew the results a bit on this particular cruise. You could probably take the Margarita at Sea cruise ship and do this same itinerary and get a pretty good overall rating. With that being said, I think you are spot on with everything you said regarding food, entertainment, etc. To me, if you take this ship on a basic Caribbean cruise out of Miami, this is probably a 4/5 ship. Luckily it does seem like NCL has been improving some of the flaws on Aqua and Viva.

[sarahj.]

You truly give great reviews...sounds wonderful!!!

[iriswagstaff]

Great review. I sailed the Celebrity Ascent in March and the NCL Viva in April and agree with the similarity in design. I loved my solo studio cabin, solo lounge and activities, Indulge Food Haul, Hudson's, and Ocean Blvd. The venues and pools were too small. Food Republic was my favorite specialty restaurant. My meals at Onda and Palomar were not that good. The Local was also good.

[debsterlee]

Great review. If you love Iceland, try to either do a land visit there or go a few days early before a cruise or after. So, so much to see in that country...I have been twice and haven't even scratched the surface. Going on the Prima for the 2nd time in November...16 days, Rome to NYC. So Med cruise and TA combined (but one cruise not B2B). Join us!

[fiffanj]

We loved Prima - Caribbean March 2023. ❤ Indulge food hall, our favorite too!

[bingo]

I absolutely looooved Prima. Our first family cruise. The ship felt like a spaceship to be honest. I was always saying wow looking at different areas. The food we thought was great. The staff was great. Hoping to get back on board next year.

[nikkib]

I won't be on the Prima but on the VIVA next summer in Turkey & Greece ! This is good info for me. I am so excited. I had the feeling it will compare to the Ascent, which I will be on this November ..

[danielodonoghue]

Great video Zach. Totally makes me want to do that itinerary.