Ship Overview
Norwegian Prima is Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship boasting stunning hull artwork designed by Italian graffiti artist Peeta. We have just returned from the inaugural sailing on this ship and want to share everything with you in our signature day-by-day Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review.
As the first of six ships in the Prima Class, Norwegian Prima is a 143,500 gross ton ship that is able to accommodate just under 3,100 guests at double occupancy. The name Prima, which means first in Italian, is very fitting as this new vessel offers many firsts in the industry and first for the brand amenities.
FULL NORWEGIAN PRIMA SHIP TOUR | DECK-BY-DECK WALKTHROUGH
Norwegian Prima is aimed at attracting a more premium customer base with many upscale finishes and elevated experiences. Norwegian Prima offers more wide-open spaces and more outdoor deck space than any other NCL ship. It also features the most suite categories; the brand’s most spacious inside, oceanview, and balcony staterooms; and the brand’s largest bathrooms and showers in standard cabins.
Additionally, Norwegian Cruise Line has reimagined its popular Deck 8 Waterfront. The new Ocean Boulevard on Norwegian Prima is a stunning outdoor space that wraps around the entire deck. It offers a variety of experiences and dining options. From the forward-facing La Terraza for relaxation, to the OceanWalk glass walkways, to the outdoor sculpture garden on the Concourse, you can’t help but love this space.
Ocean Boulevard also features Infinity Beach with two infinity pools putting guests closer to the ocean than ever before. At the aft of Deck 8, there is another brand new concept for Norwegian Cruise Line, the Indulge Food Hall. This venue features 11 different food carts that are mostly complimentary. There is indoor seating or guests can relax in the outdoor lounge space that exudes a beach resort vibe.
Besides the Food Hall, there are a number of other dining spots on Norwegian Prima. First, NCL has reimagined the main dining concept to now offer two main dining rooms with upscale fixed menus.
There are also a variety of specialty restaurants on the ship. Some of these venues are familiar favorites like Cagney’s Steakhouse and Le Bistro, while some are brand new. Palomar is a new Mediterranean-inspired seafood restaurant; Hasuki is the new Japanese hibachi-style restaurant. Two of our favorites also make the list, Onda by Scarpetta and the Food Republic, among others.
When it comes to signature amenities Norwegian Prima amps up these offerings as well. The Prima Speedway is the first 3-story racetrack at sea. This iteration is 22% larger than its predecessor on Norwegian Encore. This vessel also features new 10-story tall dry slides, The Drop and The Rush, that are sure to appeal to all the thrill-seekers among us.
There is also an interactive darts pub, a Vegas-themed mini golf course, a tidal wave waterslide, the Galaxy Pavilion virtual gaming zone, and so much more.
Norwegian Prima raises the bar when it comes to signature entertainment too. Featuring the first 3-story transformational theater at sea, The Prima Theater evolves from a three-story theater with a state-of-the art performance stage to a Vegas-style nightclub with an expansive dance floor. The featured production here is Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. This space also hosts LIVE on NCL Game Shows like the Price is Right.
Not to mention, there’s Syd Norman’s Pour House with a live rock band and comedy shows in Improv at Sea. With so many onboard activities and entertainment options, the hardest part will be fitting everything in to a week long cruise.
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Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review – Day 1
The Dreaded Overnight Flight
For this Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review, we flew from Boston into Reykjavik, Iceland to board the ship. Flying overnight, we arrived in Reykjavik as scheduled around 6 AM. Thankfully, there were no flight delays and all our luggage arrived along with us!
With a Norwegian Cruise Line shuttle arranged to pick us up at the airport, we made our way through customs and onto baggage claim before being whisked away around 730 AM.
Given this early morning arrival time, we weren’t sure if we would be allowed to board the ship just yet. To our surprise though, the driver took our small coach bus of passengers directly to the cruise port. And, we were officially onboard Norwegian Prima by 8 AM.
The next two days of this trip were going to be extremely busy with christening events, so despite being tired, we made the most of our day onboard exploring this brand new ship.
During our ship tour, we stopped in at the Improv at Sea to make our entertainment reservations. For this inaugural sailing, we were able to book Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, The Price is Right, and two comedians, along with some concerts from special guests.
An Elegant Ship Indeed
Starting our ship tour at the very top of the ship near the Prima Speedway, we explored many of the new amenities. From the Deck 18 Tee Time mini golf and Bull’s Eye darts lounge, to the Galaxy Pavilion and Observation Lounge on Deck 17, we continued on to the pool deck and Vibe Beach Club.
For the next few hours, we continued to work our way down deck by deck, exploring all the new spaces including Ocean Boulevard and the new thermal suite in the Mandara Spa. By now, we were already impressed with what we saw.
Around noon time, we decided to check out our stateroom and do some unpacking. Our BF category balcony stateroom was noticeably larger than typical NCL balcony cabins on other ships in the fleet. The décor was also very modern and elegant.
After taking some photos and videos of this Norwegian Prima cabin, we unpacked and got settled in for the next 8-days onboard this beautiful ship.
Next on the agenda was to check out the brand new Indulge Food Hall. This new space on Deck 8 is a food court of sorts serving international cuisine at 11 different stations.
For today’s lunch, we sampled items from the Tapas Food Truck, the Latin Quarter, and Q Texas Smokehouse. All of these items are complimentary. Yes, the Q specialty restaurant on some other ships in the NCL fleet is now a complimentary food station in the Indulge Food Hall.
After ordering on the tablet placed tableside, our food was delivered quickly. The waitstaff in this venue were friendly and prompt managing all the cruisers eager to test out this new concept.
Around 2 PM, we decided to head back to our cabin to relax for a bit before getting ready for the evening festivities. Up for 24+ hours and still going, we still had a long night ahead of us.
The Art of Iceland
At 4 PM, we were scheduled to attend a welcome reception with other media and NCL executives in the Observation Lounge. This event was followed by a 530 PM gala dinner in The Commodore Room. Here, we got to meet some other content creators who were part of our group and enjoy some delicious food from the evening’s fixed menu.
Following dinner, we were ushered off to the Harpa concert hall in Reykjavik around 7 PM for a special Art of Iceland performance. From a pre-show of local artists to a performance by Icelandic musician Briet, we fought off the fatigue to enjoy this memorable event.
When the event ended around 10 PM, we were bused back to the ship. At this point, we were exhausted so we retreated to our cabin to rest up for another busy day tomorrow. Tomorrow was the naming ceremony for Norwegian Prima.
Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review – Day 2
It’s the Big Day
Day 2 of this Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review was the big day. This evening, Norwegian Prima would be christened by her godmother Katy Perry with a ceremonial breaking of the bottle. Oh, and a concert!
Sleeping in a bit, we were up just before 8 AM. Prior to the cruise, we had booked a shore excursion to the Sky Lagoon. However, we had made the decision yesterday to cancel this shore excursion to give us more time onboard the ship. We had been to Reykjavik a few times already, so we wanted to use the day to capture as much video and photos of the ship as possible.
The hubby set off to get video and our morning coffees while I got ready. Around 10 AM, we continued our ship explorations from yesterday. The weather was much sunnier and warmer today. So, it was much easier to capture some great shots of the public spaces onboard Norwegian Prima, especially the pool deck and all the great spaces on Ocean Boulevard.
By far, Ocean Boulevard was our favorite spot on the ship. This outdoor promenade on Deck 8 essentially replaced the former Waterfront. On Ocean Boulevard, you will find La Terraza at the forward end of the ship which is great for relaxation. There are also two glass walkways called the Oceanwalks and The Concourse featuring several art installations.
Perhaps the best area on Ocean Boulevard is Infinity Beach. Here, you will find a variety of comfy lounge furniture along with two infinity pools. This space is designed to get cruisers closer to the ocean. Unfortunately, we were not able to enjoy this outdoor space as much as we would have liked given that the weather was cool and windy most of our cruise.
Taking a Break From Our Explorations
Around 130 PM, we decided to take a break from our explorations to grab some lunch. Since we sampled many items in the Indulge Food Hall yesterday, we decided to dine at a familiar favorite venue today, The Local. This restaurant and bar has been redesigned on Norwegian Prima, with the bar being separate from the restaurant and also offering live music. The space also has a new seaside décor.
For lunch, I opted for the spinach and artichoke dip along with a chicken salad sandwich. Hubby went with an order of chicken wings and the new sausage sliders. All of these menu items were what we have come to expect from The Local.
After lunch, we headed back to our stateroom to do a little work before getting ready for this evening’s festivities. We were among the lucky guests who scored seats in the main theater for the christening ceremony.
Baby, You’re a Firework
Set to begin at 5 PM, we settled into our seats in the Prima Theater around 445 PM. The approximately 2.5 hour event consisted of opening remarks from the cruise director Simon, the president and CEO of NCL Harry Sommer, the president and CEO of NCLH Frank Del Rio, and Elvis Duran the godfather of Norwegian Bliss.
There was also a performance by the Icelandic musician Dadi and the traditional blessings from religious officiants.
Finally, about an hour into the event, Katy Perry made her appearance. With a ceremonial speech and bottle break on the hull of the ship, it was time for the godmother herself to shine. Dazzling the audience with an hour long concert, Katy Perry had everyone on their feet singing and dancing along to all her favorite hits. Unfortunately, being short doesn’t pay off as it was difficult to see the stage once everyone stood up.
Following this spectacular performance, we had a scheduled dinner in the Commodore Room again tonight for 8 PM. Tonight’s set menu did feature some of the same selections that are typically on the venue’s new menu. Thus, we sampled the veal oscar and the rotisserie chicken. While I enjoyed the rotisserie chicken, the hubby thought the veal dish was just okay.
With dinner lasting about 90 minutes, our group made its way to the adjacent bar, the Belvedere Bar, for some drinks and conversation. After conversing with some old and new friends for about 2 hours, we decided to call it a night. Tomorrow was our first sea day on Norwegian Prima and we had plenty of fun in store.
Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review – Day 3
A Chilly Sea Day
Day 3 on this Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review was a sea day, but we still had plenty of events planned for the day. So, with a 7 AM alarm, hubby headed off on his morning video and coffee ritual while I got ready.
Around 830 AM, we found ourselves back in the Indulge Food Hall, this time to test out the breakfast options. While this venue has table service for lunch and dinner, it is grab and go for breakfast. Each of the stations offer signature items like breakfast sandwiches, continental pastries, fruits, cereal, and more. A breakfast sandwich was the perfect way to start our day.
Next on the agenda was a media press conference with Harry Sommer in Syd Norman’s Pour House. This event lasted about 45 minutes with the CEO answering various questions from the crowd.
We then headed back to our stateroom to change into something a bit warmer for the next event of the day. Our group had a reserved time on the new 3-story Prima Speedway from 12 to 1 PM. This activity is always a good time, and this track is even longer and larger than its predecessor on Norwegian Encore.
On revenue sailings, the racetrack will cost $15 per ride. There is also a new experience called You and The Track where cruisers have 3 attempts to get the fastest time on the track. This experience costs $20, and the high score of the voyage will win a prize.
After the racetrack, we had to grab our passports and head to The Commodore Room to clear immigration in anticipation for our first port of call in Ireland. This process was quick, literally taking less than 5 minutes to complete.
Now, it was time for lunch. Today, we opted to try the third casual spot on Norwegian Prima, the Surfside Cafe. This is a pretty typical cruise ship buffet with offerings like salad, pizza, grilled items, a noodle station, a pasta station, and desserts. On day 4 of our sailing, this venue featured the signature seafood buffet with a variety of upscale offerings.
Following lunch, we spent much of the afternoon gathering restaurant and bar menus for our guides which will be coming soon.
More Fun Onboard Norwegian Prima
This evening, we had a reserved time at the Bull’s Eye darts lounge from 6 to 7 PM. Given it was cold and windy, we were actually some of the very few people in attendance. Still, we were able to play a few rounds on these interactive boards. On revenue sailings, the darts are expected to cost $45 for 45 minutes for up to 6 people.
After about 30 minutes of fun, we headed back inside to warm up and change for dinner.
Given that this was a sailing with all media and travel partners, it was nearly impossible to secure any specialty dining reservations. Thus, we decided to dine in Hudson’s tonight.
Hudson’s is one of the two new main dining rooms on Norwegian Prima. Each of these venues now serves the same set menu for the duration of the cruise. While these menus do offer a large variety of upscale offerings, they do not rotate like main dining room menus typically do on cruises.
Hudson’s is a beautiful space with 270 degree windows offering a great view of the ocean from nearly every seat in the venue. The service here was friendly and prompt as well, getting us out of dinner in under 90 minutes this evening.
For dinner, I enjoyed the spinach salad, build your own pasta entrée, and the honey crème brulee for dessert. Hubby sampled the coconut shrimp, mini crab cakes, shrimp creole, and New York cheesecake.
While some of the items were a bit more upscale than you would find on traditional MDR menus, the preparation of these dishes was no better than the main dining rooms on other cruise lines.
Following dinner, we made it a point to grab some inaugural merchandise from the shops. While hubby was able to secure a Prima t-shirt, there were no ship ornaments just yet.
Come On Down
Next, it was time for a Live on NCL game show. The Price is Right has hit the high seas on Norwegian Prima. During this show, cruisers have the chance to come on down and win real prizes. However, the show we attended was a bit different as it featured all special guests participating for charity. There were appearances from Martha Del Rio, Katy Perry, and Kimberley Locke. This show was a lot of fun!
When the Price is Right ended around 1015 PM, we headed to Syd Norman’s Pour House for the 1045 PM show. To our dismay, the venue was packed already, and we were barely able to get in the door. We did stay and listen to the first few songs but decided to exit shortly after to find a less crowded spot. We really wish this venue were bigger, as we see the crowding being an issue on most sailings.
Thus, we meandered down the hall to the new Metropolitan Bar. This bar features sustainable cocktails and biodynamic wines. While the drinks on the new menu are good, particularly the croissant mai tai, primadonna, and cucumber cool, the venue itself lacks any real theming. It is also situated right next to the Humidor Cigar Lounge, so you can often smell smoke in this area.
While we do miss the Sugarcane Mojito Bar, frequent NCL cruisers will be happy to know that the Chocolate Cowboy has found a new home at the Metropolitan Bar on Norwegian Prima.
We sipped our cocktails here for about 45 minutes before deciding to call it a night. Tonight, we needed to set our clocks ahead one hour, so we wanted to get some rest. Unfortunately, Norwegian Prima had other plans for us!
Our stateroom was located forward on Deck 9, which is essentially right above the 3-story Prima Theater. The Prima Theater transforms into a nightclub in the evenings with music until the wee hours of the morning. The sound was exceptionally loud in our cabin so much so that the walls were literally vibrating from the bass.
Some two hours later, the music FINALLY stopped, and we were able to get some shut eye.
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Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review – Day 4
A Day of Fun
Day 4 of this Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review was our second and final sea day of the trip. Given the situation last night, we slept in until about 9 AM this morning. After doing a bit of work, we ventured out around noon time to check out more of the sports deck activities.
First, we played a round of mini golf on the new Tee Time course. This 9-hole course is an interactive Vegas-themed course which is now an up-charge. While it was free for our media sailing, we were told that the price would be $15 per person. While there is a chance to win prizes, with the grand prize being a free cruise, this is quite pricey considering mini-golf on most cruise lines is complimentary.
Thankfully, The Stadium is complimentary. This new area on the starboard side of Deck 18 features a number of tabletop games for a little competition between friends. We tested out the shuffleboard, ping pong, and beer pong after our round of mini-golf. There is also a pickleball court located here.
Next up on this day of Norwegian Prima fun was the dry slides. The Rush is a pair of slides where guests can race each other to the bottom.
Hubby rode this slide twice on two different days and had a very different experience on each occasion. Today, he came flying out of the slide at the Deck 8 landing zone; however, he didn’t even make it all the way out of the slide on the subsequent day. Either way, the ride is rather mild and lacks any special effects.
The Drop is the first drop dry slide at sea and is located across the way from The Rush. Unfortunately, by the time we made it over to this slide, it had closed. So, we added that to our list for another day.
Time For Some Lunch
With all this activity, we worked up an appetite, so we headed for round two at the Indulge Food Hall. This venue was very busy today, and it took us over 20 minutes to find an empty table. This was surprising to us as a seafood buffet was also being served in the Surfside Cafe today.
During this visit, we sampled some items from Nudls and Tamara. Our selections from Nudls, the shrimp pad thai and the singapore street noodles, were both quite good. From Tamara, we sampled the chicken tikka and the papadum. While we don’t typically eat Indian food back home, we were pleased with these dishes.
Of course, I couldn’t resist also getting a milkshake from Coco’s. Coco’s is an up-charge with a milkshake costing $7 and an ice cream sundae costing $8. This rendition of Coco’s on Norwegian Prima does have a more limited menu than its predecessor on Norwegian Encore.
After lunch, we headed back to our stateroom to get some work done before dinner.
With our dinner reservation not until 830PM tonight, we grabbed some cocktails on tap at the Penrose Bar while people-watching in the atrium around 7 PM.
More Food and Fun on Norwegian Prima
Food Republic is one of our favorite specialty restaurants. Tonight, we had a hosted dinner in this venue with other media friends, so we ordered up a bunch of small plates to share amongst the table.
As always, this evening’s dinner did not disappoint. We enjoyed the Mexican corn, Korean fried chicken, Peruvian beef skewers, Thai chicken lettuce wraps, tiger rolls, pork belly dumplings, and the green tea jar dessert.
If you are using a meal on the specialty dining plan at Food Republic, you can order four small plates per person.
After dinner, it was time to check out one of the last entertainment spaces onboard Norwegian Prima, the Galaxy Pavilion. Our group had a reserved time slot in this venue from 1030 to 1130 PM.
During this time, we got to experience several of the attractions from a haunted Carnival-themed dark ride to a roller coaster simulator and a racing simulator. There is also the only Topgolf Swing Suite at sea, and there will eventually be two escape rooms here.
Most rides in the Galaxy Pavilion are $8, or you can buy day passes and week-long passes as well. Of note, the escape rooms will be a separate charge.
Not ready to call it a night just yet, we made our way to the Belvedere Bar to sample some of the bottled cocktails from the signature menu at this new bar. We both enjoyed our drinks, the Bourbon Myth and the All About Basil, while chatting with some media friends.
Also new on Norwegian Prima is the transformational main theater. The Prima Theater transforms into a 3-story nightclub in the evenings. Thus, we decided to check out the Studio 54 experience before retiring for the evening.
Since this is not really our scene ,and tomorrow was our first official port of call, we only stayed about a half hour.
Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review – Day 5
A Walk Through Cork
Day 5 of this Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review was our first official port of call. Today, we were docking in Cobh, Ireland.
With our tour scheduled to meet at 915 AM, we set the alarm for 7 AM. Taking our time to get ready and grab some coffee and breakfast sandwiches, we made our way to the theater meeting point for the 930 AM City Tour of Cork.
Even though this approximately 4.5-hour shore excursion was advertised as a “walk through Cork”, it was mostly a drive through the city on a bus. We did stop at Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral for a visit then walked to the English Market for an hour of free time to explore on our own.
In retrospect, we probably should have just walked around Cobh on our own as it looked like a quaint little area.
Upon returning to the ship around 2 PM, we took the opportunity to photograph the stunning Norwegian Prima before getting back onboard to do a little work prior to dinner.
Given that we did not eat anything for lunch and had an early show reservation, we were ready to grab something to eat around 530 PM.
With limited options for dinner on this sailing, we opted to dine in the Food Hall tonight. Some of the stations in this venue do have different menus for lunch and dinner but are still complimentary. Thus, we sampled menu items from Q Texas Smokehouse, the Seaside Rotisserie, and Nudls.
Of course, we had to start with the signature deviled eggs from Q along with the jalapeno cornbread and spare ribs. From the rotisserie, Don sampled the tenderloin which he thought was good. I sampled a pasta option from Nudls which was just okay. In our opinion, the Asian noodles from this station were better than the pasta dishes.
More Entertainment on Norwegian Prima
Following dinner, we made our way to The Improv for a 7 PM comedy show. Tonight’s comedian was Jay Stevens, one of the two comedians on this sailing. This is a rather small venue, so reservations are required and you should arrive early for the best seat selection.
After a few laughs during this 40-minute set, we continued our drink around the ship by grabbing a cocktail at the Whiskey Bar. This venue has a large whiskey selection, many over the drink package allotment, as well as a small whiskey-based cocktail list. If you enjoy sipping this spirit, the Whiskey Bar might be your favorite spot on Norwegian Prima.
Around 9 PM, we headed to the Prima Theater for this evening’s showing of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. This approximately 80-minute production tells the tale of this musician’s rise to stardom. With three different performers playing this star at various periods in her life, each had a stunning voice and stage presence.
While we aren’t big fans of Donna Summer’s music, we could appreciate the high quality production. Though, we did think the show was a bit too long for a cruise ship.
Following this show, we decided to call it a night to rest up as we had two long excursions over the next few days.
Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review – Day 6
A Visit to Stonehenge
Day 6 of this Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review was our second port of call in Portland, UK. Today, we had a shore excursion booked to Stonehenge and Salisbury. This was a private tour with just members of our media group, and we needed to meet for 930 AM.
Thus, we were up by 730 AM to get ready and grab our morning coffees.
Our tour got off to a bit of a late start as we waited over 30 minutes for the bus to arrive. During this approximately 2 hour drive, we took a short scenic ride through the coastal town of Weymouth on our way out to this popular attraction.
We spent about 90 minutes at Stonehenge which provided plenty of time to admire and take pictures of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. We also had time to browse the gift shop and the small onsite museum.
Following our time at Stonehenge, we drove a short distance to the nearby town of Salisbury. Here, we visited the Salisbury Cathedral and were given some free time in the downtown area. Unfortunately, many of the restaurants were not serving food while we were there around 4 PM. So, Don settled for a beer at the oldest pub is Salisbury instead. The Haunch of Venison is a small, authentic bar that was established in 1320.
On our drive back to the cruise terminal in Portsmouth, we made one additional stop at a scenic viewpoint of the coastline.
A Special Evening on Norwegian Prima
Arriving back to the ship around 7 PM, we made a quick costume change and headed out for dinner by 730 PM. Tonight, we dined in the Hudson’s main dining room with some media friends.
We sampled some additional menu items including the chicken quesadillas, clam chowder, Asian spare ribs, and NY strip steak. Once again, these menu items were served as ordered, but we did not find them to be any better than the meals served in other cruise lines’ main dining rooms.
Taking close to two hours this evening, mainly because of our chit-chatting, we made our way to the theater for this evening’s special show. Tonight, we were being treated to a special performance from Kool and the Gang.
This high-energy performance showcased yet another configuration of this transformational theater space. Set up mostly like a traditional theater, it also had a standing room “pit” near the stage for those who wanted to dance along with all the hits.
Given we had another long day ahead of us tomorrow, we decided to retire for the evening following this show. We were also losing another hour of sleep tonight.
Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review – Day 7
A Visit to Normandy
Day 7 of this Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review brought us to Le Havre, France. While many decided to take the long bus ride into Paris, we opted for something different. We booked the D-Day Landing Beaches of Normandy shore excursion. While still a long day, we figured it was more likely that we would get to Paris someday in the future over Normandy.
Turning the clocks ahead one hour last night, we were quite tired when our alarm went off around 6 AM. Though, we mustered up the energy to get ready and grab some coffee before the early meeting time for our tour.
Departing on our bus tour slightly after 8 AM, we took the nearly two hour ride to our first stop of the day Pointe du Hoc. This provided a nice viewpoint of the beaches, and we also had some free time to explore these important historical grounds. From here, we drove to Omaha Beach for a quick photo stop.
We then continued onward to the Normandy American Cemetery where more than 9,000 marble crosses stand aligned in an impressive site to behold. The tour also included a lunch stop in Port en Bessin and a visit to the D-Day Museum in Arromanches.
A Low Key Evening
With another 2-hour drive back to the cruise port, we returned to Norwegian Prima around 7 PM.
Getting a little bored with the food selections at the main dining room and food hall, and still no specialty dining availability, we opted for a casual dinner in The Local tonight. I enjoyed some nachos and a chicken salad sandwich while the hubby tried the Cuban roasted pork. This was just the right change of pace.
While we were both exhausted, we couldn’t go to bed this early! So, we decided to check out the Observation Lounge. We figured we could grab a drink here and just relax with some nighttime sail away views.
We ended up running into a fellow content creator and chatting over drinks for a while until we decided to call it a night somewhere around 11 PM. Tomorrow was our final day onboard Norwegian Prima, and we wanted to make the most of it.
Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review – Day 8
Enjoying Our Final Day Onboard
This final day of our Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review originally had a stop in Belgium. However, the itinerary was altered pre-cruise due to the locks schedule. Now, we were arriving into Amsterdam in the afternoon. Here, we would dock overnight before disembarking the next morning.
After a good night’s rest, we were ready for the day and off to breakfast around 930 AM at The Local. You can’t go wrong with the breakfast selections here.
The weather was certainly warmer and sunnier today than it had been most of the previous days. So, we decided that we would head back to the cabin to work for a few hours then head outside to enjoy some of the amenities. With the WiFi not performing as well as we hoped for a brand new ship, we were pretty behind on work for our site.
By the afternoon, we took a break from working to test out the dry slides and play another round of mini golf. The hubby rode The Drop slide first as this one was activity that he hadn’t tried yet. Even though we had seen videos on social media of others wearing an action camera on the slide, he was not allowed to do so.
The Drop is certainly the more thrilling of the slides, but he still said it wasn’t as fast as the drop waterslides on other NCL ships. For good measure, he also rode The Rush slide again.
Of course, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for another round of mini-golf either. This time, it was much less windy so it was a more enjoyable game.
One Last Stroll
For this evening, we had a farewell cocktail party at 5 PM. So, this time table still gave us a couple hours to enjoy the nice weather outdoors on Ocean Boulevard. Taking a stroll around this Deck 8 promenade, we seemed to run into just about every media colleague and content creator that we knew on the ship. I guess we all had the same idea.
Stopping to talk to each one of them, we never ended up with any time to sit down and enjoy the space. Heading back indoors to change up around 430 PM, we learned from our host that he was able to get us a reservation at Onda tonight for 530 PM.
This meant that we would have to say some quick goodbyes at the cocktail hour, as we did not want to pass up the opportunity to dine at this specialty restaurant on Norwegian Prima.
One Final Dinner and a Show
Arriving to Onda a few minutes late, the restaurant was empty. We assumed this was because many were heading ashore in Amsterdam this evening. We just spent two days in Amsterdam back in May prior to our Holland America Rotterdam cruise, so we didn’t mind missing out.
Service in this specialty restaurant was very quick tonight. Yet, we tried to take our time and sample several of the menu items. For starters, I ordered the burrata and Don the braised octopus. We also shared a margherita pizza. These items were just as good as we remembered them.
For entrees, we both decided to go with a pasta option. I did the mezzelune which is spinach and ricotta ravioli, and hubby ordered the pappardelle bolognese. Both of these dishes were great as well. Finally, the tiramisu and butterscotch budino were the perfect endings to this fabulous meal.
After dinner, we headed back outside to enjoy the sunset over Amsterdam and grab some drinks at the Soleil Bar. This aft-located space on Ocean Boulevard is similar to the Sunset Bar on Celebrity Cruises. It has plenty of comfy furniture and great views.
This gave us just enough time to go back to our cabin and quickly pack before the last show of the cruise. Tonight, there was another special performance for this Norwegian Prima christening cruise.
Chaka Khan put on a concert for us in the Norwegian Prima theater. While not as high energy as the previous concert from Kool and the Gang, it was still a good time.
To close out our time onboard Norwegian Prima, we met a friend for one last cocktail at the Metropolitan Bar. With good company, we closed out the bar at 1 AM. Now, our time on this brand new NCL ship was officially over!
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Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review – Disembarkation
Today was the saddest day of our Norwegian Prima Christening Cruise Review, disembarkation day. Though, the good news is that we weren’t ending our travels. Instead, we were flying from Amsterdam to Barcelona to board another cruise ship!
Our NCL airport transfer was assigned a disembarkation time of 730 AM. Thus, we were up this morning around 530 AM to get ready, finish some last minute packing, and grab breakfast.
With a very smooth disembarkation process, we were off the ship with our luggage in hand in about 10 minutes. We then waited in a short line for a bus to take us to the airport. This half hour drive had us to the airport around 845 AM. We then waited until we could officially check-in at 10 AM for our 2 PM flight.
With our new global entry status giving us priority through security, this process was much quicker than our last visit to the Schipol Airport. This gave us plenty of time to do some work before our flight.
With a 45 minute delay, we finally arrived at our hotel in Barcelona around 7 PM. While we originally had plans to explore a bit, we decided to catch up on life and sleep before boarding our next cruise ship. Tomorrow, we were embarking Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady for an Irresistible Med itinerary.
Don’t worry though, we will be back onboard Norwegian Prima in October to share more of this ship with you. In the meantime, let us know what questions you have about this brand new Norwegian Cruise Line ship.
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