Cruising the Western Caribbean on NCL’s Prima
Embarkation In Galveston was quick and easy. The weather was breezy and chilly, so it was nice to get on board early and start experiencing this amazing vessel. The Prima is the first of six ships in NCL’s Prima Class. It launched in 2021 and holds over 5,000 guests and crew. Quite a few new amenities, dining options and attractions have been added, which I was eager to explore!
The first thing you notice about Prima’s décor is the color palette. Gone are the dark woods, golden fabrics and warm paints. This fairly new ship, which launched in 2021, is decked out in soft beiges, grays and warm whites. There are lots of windows that bring in light and the stateroom aisles are wider. Take a look at this beauty in NCL’s video below.
Day 1 - Embarkation
We booked an Oceanview room which had plenty of space and storage, including a sofa, which most NCL Oceanview rooms don’t have. The bathroom and shower were a bit larger as well. While we waited for luggage delivery, we went about touring this incredible vessel.
There are 20 decks on this ship! Deck 20 is where you’ll find the Prima Speedway that spans 3 levels during its run. There is an additional fee to race.
Beginning on Deck 20, drivers head down to Deck 19, which is also home to The Wave water slide. As the Speedway makes its way down to Deck 18, that’s where passengers find even more family entertainment, including the following.
· Tee Time is an interactive, kitschy designed miniature golf course. Additional fee to play.
· The Bull’s Eye is comprised of several rooms to be rented by the hour to play darts. Additional fee to play.
· The Drop is a dry slide that takes passengers spiraling down 10 stories on the Starboard side of the ship.
· The Rush is a second 10 story dry slide, where friends can race against the Drop slide.
· The Stadium area offers pickleball, beer pong, tabletop shuffleboard, ping pong and foosball.
Passengers enjoy the Sun Deck and Kids Aqua Park on Deck 18, as well as a clever Super Selfie station for sharing photos back home and on social.
Deck 17 is home to the Vibe Beach Club. Reservations are required, which often sell out before embarkation. It’s located aft of the ship, with its own infinity pool and bar. Mid-ship you’ll find the main pool, pool bar and grill.
A new dining option on this deck is called Food Republic. It offers Asian-Latin fusion cuisine served like small bites or tapas. The Observation Lounge is also on this floor providing stunning views of the sea and Caribbean ports.
Deck 16 houses The Haven, along with it’s restaurant, bar and sundeck. The Mandara Spa and Thermal Suite are also on this deck, in addition to the fitness center. We chose not to book the Thermal Suite on this sailing, as we have before, but it is fully equipped with steam, salt and ice rooms, as well as the first infrared and charcoal saunas at sea. It also features a colorful two-story waterfall.
Passing the next several decks where staterooms are located, we arrived at Deck 8, which features a plethora of restaurants, bars, shops, the Prima Theater, and top level of the Atrium. A new dining concept on this deck is the Indulge Food Hall. This is designed like a food court with a variety of cuisines from around the world served indoors and out.
Deck 8 is home to Ocean Boulevard, featuring a breathtaking glass walkway above the sea, which can be a little unsettling!
The Concourse is also on this level, which showcases a $2m outdoor sculpture garden. The 7 large, contemporary sculptures have beautiful effects as the suns sets and light passes through them, making them perfect for sunset photos. They are lit and dynamic at night as well.
One thing we really enjoyed on Deck 8, is Infinity Beach. This is two negative edge pools and lounge areas on both port and starboard sides of the ship. Both areas were a bit quieter than the main pool on deck 17 and offered extraordinary views of the sea.
Deck 7 features more specialty restaurants, Syd Norman’s Pour House, The Improv, more shops and the second level of the Theater and Atrium. Although we didn’t dine there, Le Bistro is a beautifully designed specialty restaurant.
Deck 6 is the bottom floor of the Penrose Atrium and Prima Theater, and features more specialty restaurants, bars, shops and the ship’s Casino.
At night, the Theater seats on lower levels are rolled back, creating a huge dance floor and stage which becomes the Prima Club. This is where major performances occur, followed by nightclub music and dancing until about 1am. Prima Club is a vast improvement compared to other NCL nightclub lounges, which are quite small.
While the ship does have a physical library, one of the new features on Prima is a digital Library Libby App, where passengers can log in for free and have access to a virtual library from anywhere onboard the ship. Quite clever!
Once our luggage arrived and we were settled in, we headed out for cocktails and music in the Atrium, followed by dinner. We ate most of our meals at the smaller dining rooms Taste and Savor. Food and service were great in both. After dinner, we went to the Levity Comedy show in the Theater, followed by a visit to the Casino. Of course!
Day 2 - At Sea
There were so many options of things to do on this Sea Day! We had breakfast, followed by games in the Atrium. I must say that of all the NCL ships I have cruised on, this Atrium is my least favorite.
It has very little space on the lower level, no stage for activities and no dance floor. Designed with limited seating and shelving units, your view was often blocked when activities were happening. This includes everything from dance lessons to bean bag toss and interactive games.
I went to the wine and cheese pairing, which was an upcharge of $25, and I really enjoyed it. My husband loved the rum experience in the Metropolitan Bar, also an upcharge. The Metropolitan Bar quickly became our bar of choice due to the delicious craft cocktails and fabulous bartenders! Although the Belvedere Bar, which is only open in the evening, had wonderful martinis as well.
The afternoon was filled with more games and a visit to the casino before getting ready for dinner and our favorite theme night - 70’s disco!
The boogey-ing started at 6:15 in the Metropolitan, followed by more disco tunes in the Atrium and continued in the Prima Club at 10:30, where the entertainers presented a heart-pumping show called “Last Dance at 54”. There was a lot of singing and dancing by all. Spectacular!
Day 3 - Costa Maya
I was especially excited to visit the port of Costa Maya, Mexico. I had recently read a book entitled “It Helps To Be Crazy”, which was written by a couple who purchased a dilapidated beach club, bar and restaurant, then transitioned it into the beautiful Maya Chan Beach Resort that it is today. It chronicles all of the trials, tribulations and triumphs they encountered.
We purchased a day pass that included unlimited drinks and a freshly grilled Mexican lunch buffet. It was about a 30-minute ride from the port, which gave us a chance to see a bit of the town on our way.
Once we arrived, we were greeted with cold drinks and a small private cabana with chairs and a hammock. We also booked relaxing massages onsite before leaving in the afternoon. The day was heavenly! Back on the ship, we showered and headed out for cocktails and dinner, followed by some more time in the Casino.
Day 4 – Harvest Caye
Harvest Caye is a developed port and private island that offers passengers a tropical oasis of activities, shops, restaurants and bars. There is large pool with swim up bar, however food, beverages, water sports and cabanas are an additional charge.
We had visited this port previously and decided to stay on board to enjoy some of the ship activities while most passenger went ashore. We played at Tee Time, the interactive golf course, slid down slides and enjoyed the afternoon at Infinity Beach.
This evening after dinner, we enjoyed a Tribute to the band Fleetwood Mac, called Rumours, in Syd Norman’s Pour House, which was excellent. The performance show of The Donna Summer Musical had been cancelled due to an injured performer, so the ship presented a show by singer Angelique in the Theater, where she sang hits by Prince, Beyonce, Whitney Houston and more musical legends. The evening’s theme was Latin Night, so there was an abundance of dancing and south-of-the-border festivities in all of the ship’s lounges and Atrium!
Day 5 – Roatan
For Day 5, we booked a private car and guide to tour us around the Bay Island of Roatan, which is located just 30 miles off the coast of Honduras. It was our first time visiting this this breathtaking destination. What a beautiful, tropical Island! Its crystal blue waters teem with colorful fish and coral reefs, and the people were so welcoming.
We started the day visiting a sanctuary for sloths, monkeys, toucans and other native animals, called Mayan Eden, where you get to interact with many of them. At one point, while we were visiting an animal in its habitat, one of the mischievous monkeys closed the gate latch and locked us in until another guide let us out! So funny! We also visited their butterfly sanctuary, set in a beautiful tropical rainforest, which was amazing.
We stopped at a small roadside craft market, where I bought a beautiful bowl handcrafted from mahogany. Honduran mahogany is the only genuine mahogany species commercially grown today.
If there had been more room in my suitcase I would have bought more pieces of this beautiful art.
Next, it was on to Roatan Chocolate Factory, where we learned all about growing, harvesting and preparing cacao for chocolate. We watched chefs preparing chocolate treats and were able to enjoy a chocolate tasting. I couldn’t help but buying several chocolate bars for friends and family at home.
On our way to a local coffee bistro named Bean Crazy, we enjoyed tropical music by a great streetside group of artists. Bean Crazy is a popular cafe that roasts their own Honduran coffee beans in-house.
Behind the scenes, we enjoyed seeing the variety of beans and roasters, and learning about all that goes into production. It was early, but I tried one of their crafted espresso martinis and it was the best!
We continued touring the island, stopping at the famous West Bay Beach, where we enjoyed some locally brewed beers while looking at the beautiful bay. Then it was on to Roatan Rum Company, where I sampled the most delicious pineapple rum cake I’ve ever had! Brought that home with me as well.
The tour finished off with a delectable lobster lunch at Ocean View restaurant overlooking the sea and our ship. We loved this island so much that we plan to revisit on our own for a couple weeks in the future!
After dinner this evening, we enjoyed great music in the Theater by an artist named Shane followed by The Newlywed Game Show, which is always a hoot. We ended the evening with Ocean Music Fest, a musical production where all musicians from the ship come together to perform a variety of songs and music for this one night only. It was great!
Day 6 – Cozumel
Having visited Cozumel, Mexico many times before, we opted to go into town solely for lunch and spend more time enjoying the Prima on this day. We had a delicious lunch at Chile Tequila overlooking the bay. The only problem was the intense construction noise from outside, or it would have been much more enjoyable.
This evening, we played The Price is Right (We even wore Price is Right tee shirts!) Even though we didn’t get to play, it was fun to watch. We listened to Motown Vibes before dinner and went to Syd Norman’s for One Hit Wonders. We finished off the evening in the Casino, looking forward to our last day of fun at sea tomorrow.
Day 7 – At Sea
We started this morning with a Behind-The-Scenes Tour of the Prima. We visited the galley, laundry, crew areas and even the bridge. Here, we met the very young captain, and learned more about the challenges and rewards of piloting such an amazing vessel. What I found interesting was the machinery in the laundry, where crew can place washed linens and towels into a machine that automatically dries, presses and folds the items. I need one of those!
The afternoon was spent relaxing, shopping and packing to disembark the next day. This evening, we dined at the specialty restaurant Los Lobos. The decor was fun and colorful, service was great, and the food was delicious and quite authentic, as were the margaritas!
Afterwards, we lined up to see Rock the Prom at Syd Norman’s. I highly recommend waiting in line (no reservations) for any of the productions by the talent in that venue
Finally, we ended the evening in the Casino for some final play with Lady Luck before heading to our stateroom for our last slumber aboard NCL Prima.
Debarkation
All went very smoothly as we debarked the Prima in Galveston. We easily arranged for an Uber and headed to the airport.
Conclusion? The Prima is a beautiful vessel with its lightened decor. However, the layout is divided up into smaller spaces compared to other NCL ships. Especially, as I mentioned, the Atrium, where it gets quite crowded during activities and games. There is limited seating and long lines at the Atrium Bar.
The week’s entertainment and shows were top notch though. Our room was spacious and comfortable. The new dining options are a refreshing change. And while we didn’t experience all the rides and activities on Deck 18, it sure is a bonus for families and active adults!
The next cruise I’ll be taking is on the Ruby Princess. Follow along as we cruise for a week up the west coast, visiting Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Astoria, Victoria BC and Vancouver BC.
Till then, keep cruisin’ through life, discovering your own special Things!
CHEERS!
