Restaurants
I will start with the Haven Restaurant, obviously. Each meal of the day corresponds to a specific menu, which will be the same throughout the cruise. At breakfast, the proposals are all delicious, especially the avocado toast or the Shrimp toast!
The lunch menu is probably the most limited, with plenty of salads (not necessarily light!) and burger variations.
For dinner, the menu is more consistent and the options are clearly more refined. So much so that we end up realizing that the main dishes are all recipes that we find more often in specialty restaurants. The “Grilled Delmonico Steak” has nothing to envy to what you find at Cagney’s, the Surf and Turf also… paying dishes elsewhere on the ship are included here, at no extra charge.
The 2 main restaurants are called the Hudson and the Commodore. Their menu is also now fixed, with the same reasoning as for the Haven: enough options for an entire cruise, with specialty restaurants in addition…
But it is above all the brand new “food court”, called Indulge, which changes the game. Also included in the price of the cruise, this space with multiple themed counters increases the options tenfold, without having to pay extra. Again, the quality is there. But the place quickly fell victim to its own success: lots of people and not enough space. Again, the outer part would have been a great help, but remained impassable in this weather.
The introduction of this new restaurant concept at NCL also led to a sharp reduction in the size of the buffet, as the company reasonably believed that passengers would be spread over all the restaurants. It was clear that not everything went as planned and the buffet, which was regularly overcrowded, quickly also became a source of dissatisfaction and complaints. Norwegian had to regularly open the Food Republic space, located just opposite the buffet, so that passengers could have a table to eat, in the morning and at noon (Food Republic only operating in the evenings)…
It should be noted, however, that the food court concept that is the Indulge restaurant works, both in terms of the variety of dishes offered and their taste quality. The fact that it is included is no stranger to it. And ordering on tablets, like at the Food Republic, is a real plus.
In addition to all these restaurants, there is The Local, open during extended hours so you can eat there almost at any time.
Speciality Restaurants
We find on the Prima the classics of the brand. The steak house Cagney’s, the French Bistro, the Italian Onda, the Mexican Los Lobos, the Food Republic… and others who, even if they have changed their name, are indeed heirs: Hasuki (formerly Teppanyaki) , Palomar (inspired by Ocean Blu), and Nama, a sushi restaurant. There is also a Starbucks Café.
Bistro Restaurant
Cagney’s Restaurant
Food Republic
Hasuki Restaurant
Los Lobos Restaurant
Nama Restaurant
Onda by Scarpetta Restaurant
Palomar Restaurant
Mixology
The bars are not to be outdone, spread all over the ship. Note that the drinks menu can be very different from one bar to another, with sometimes drinks only served in a given bar. It’s different from the brand’s other ships, which sometimes have the same menu in all the bars…
NCL has recently upgraded its loyalty program, adding new levels which are now 7 in number: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Sapphire, Diamond, Ambassador. For the highest tiers (Diamond and Ambassador), loyal passengers are offered a “Mixology” session, which features what the company calls “Sail & Sustain” cocktails, cocktails with certain ingredients derived from reuse of uneaten food. A tasting of 8 cocktails with sometimes surprising tastes!
To be continued, following pages, the spa, the activities on board, the ports of call and the price.
