I spent four days at sea on Norwegian Prima’s third inaugural cruise and I’m not trying to be cliche when I say you don’t want to miss this ship. The first in her class of ships, the Prima features a number of technology, design, and programming upgrades that make for a fun and luxurious cruising experience. Here are 9 reasons why you should sail Norwegian Prima for your next cruise vacation.

1) Prima Ship Design

Norwegian Prima looks unlike any other cruise ship you’ve seen. The first in a new class of ships, the layout and configuration does not mimic any of Norwegian’s previous classes. You’ll notice there’s no pointed bow at the front of the ship. This new class has broader, more rounded fronts to help with fuel efficiency.

The ship is shorter in length, but taller than previous ship designs, making it easier to walk from one end of the ship to the other and ascend or descend to different levels for activities and spaces. You’ll still get lost trying to get around, because it is still a massive ship, but you’ll hopefully orient yourself a bit faster than on previous cruises.

You’ll be hard pressed to walk in a straight line on this ship. Interior hallways throughout the levels are curved, bringing you from one unique space to another and blocking off sightlines to make the ship feel less crowded. The idea is to mimic how you would walk through an old European city. These curving hallways come together on decks six through eight to form an open-level, circular atrium. This atrium is home to two bars (on levels six and eight) and one of the Starbucks (level seven) on the ship, has floor-to-ceiling windows to look out over the water, and plenty of seating areas to relax and enjoy the view.

All of the spaces on the ship have their own unique design, from bars and restaurants to lounges and even the hallways. There’s a modern and brightly colored art gallery, a “grunge” rock bar, and many gathering spaces on the ship (such as the observation deck) that are designed with warmer tones and cozier seating to feel more like home.

Prima also has more outdoor space than any other Norwegian ship (a great development for the post-COVID world). The ship has outer decks on the top three floors and surrounding the eighth floor, one large main pool on the 17th level, two smaller infinity pools on the eighth level, and two infinity hot tubs on the 17th. Prima also boasts Ocean Boulevard, an outdoor space that allows guests to walk completely around the ship on the eighth floor, including two oceanwalk sections with see-through flooring. With more options, Norwegian hopes to make getting in the water on the ship more accessible and to spread out some of the outside lounging and relaxation into larger, separated spaces, complete with easy-access bars literally everywhere.

2) Entertainment

There is so much entertainment on board Norwegian Prima you cannot possibly get bored. The ship’s programming and entertainment directors create custom schedules for each sailing based on guest demographics such as age and port of origination. This allows them to design the entertainment schedule to fit a large variety of interests while also catering to that sailing's specific customers (such as a potentially large age group likely to enjoy 80s music).

We had the great privilege of opening our cruise with a welcome performance from Kelly Clarkson to honor the 100 teachers on board who won a free cruise through Norwegian’s Giving Joy award. Norwegian’s Giving Joy program celebrates the connection between travel and education and awards cruises to North American teachers each year, all nominated by their local communities. Since 2019, Norwegian has celebrated 230 teachers and given over $185,000 to schools. I grew up listening to Kelly Clarkson and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t fangirling from the theater seats.

Large concerts aren’t your only musical options, though. There is live music on board the ship daily in multiple different bar spaces, including Syd Norman’s rock bar, outfitted with cozy leather couches and high-top bar tables, and poolside and in the Penrose Atrium with all kinds of different themed music, from jazz to motown to sing-alongs.

Playing on board Norwegian Prima is the Broadway Musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Adapted from its original version to work at sea, this high energy musical will have you learning all about Donna Summer’s life and up and dancing along. You can also see Noise Boys while sailing, a show of tap dancing, beat boxing, and singing all combined into a fun and interactive audience experience (trust me, you’ll want to see this).

There are comedy shows throughout the sailing. This route had a headliner show with Jay Stevens and Scott Henry in the Prima Theater & Club, and there are also smaller shows at the Improv at Sea comedy club on board.

When you’re ready to put on your dancing shoes, head to the Prima Theater & Club for a late night dance party. New to Norwegian is Sensoria, a Vegas-inspired club experience with costumed dancers and a fantastic light show. On other nights you can also dance to 70’s disco and 80’s flashback music in the theater, as well as party with celebrity DJs in other bar areas on the ship.

Don’t be surprised if you get asked to “Come on down!” while on board. Yes, that’s right, The Price is Right game show runs on Norwegian Prima. Be a guest in the audience, a participant in the game, and try your luck at winning some incredible prizes. Many of the Norwegian staff noted that this show is their favorite of the ship’s entertainment options, nostalgia and all.

Much of the ship’s entertainment takes place in the Prima Theater & Club, a three-story theater space with insane flexibility thanks to its retractable first floor seating. In a matter of minutes, the theater’s first floor can go from full seating for a broadway show or concert, to half seating to allow for fancy stage setups that branch out into the audience, to no seating for a full dance floor during one of the club or party experiences. This multi-purpose theater is never sitting vacant.

3) Activities on Board

When you’re not watching a show or enjoying a live band, there’s a plethora of other activities to do on board. And yes, of course, that includes hanging in the pools and tubing down The Wave water slide, but also so much more.

The Prima Speedway is the first three-story go-kart raceway on Norwegian’s fleet. The track weaves up and down over three levels of the ship and zigs and zags around tight corners and loops. You can race in singles or doubles go-karts, or if you’re feeling like taking a leisurely ride and looking out over the ocean that’s fine too, just stay to the right. There’s also a viewing platform to watch the go-karts zoom around on the track and first, second, and third place pedestals for the competitive racers.

Next to the Speedway on the 18th level you can also play mini-golf, throw darts, or check out The Stadium, where there’s a pickleball court, foosball, ping pong, air hockey, and even beer pong tables.

If you’re feeling really adventurous, don’t miss the ten-story dry slides. Yes, like a waterslide but without the water, these dry slides plummet and weave down ten levels of the ship to pop you out on the eighth floor. The Drop is a free-fall slide straight down, for the brave, and The Rush curves and loops all the way down, with two slides for racing a friend to the bottom.

Finally, you can enter virtual reality in Prima’s Galaxy Pavilion. This space has numerous VR games and activities for the whole family to experience. You can race virtual go-karts (in case the real ones weren’t enough), jet ski, golf, throw a strikeout, hunt zombies, and dance dance to your own revolution.

4) Fantastic Food on norwegian prima

I’m not exaggerating when I say that I had some of the best food of my life on Norwegian Prima. The ship has both complementary and specialty dining options. My favorite of the complimentary (and maybe of all of them) was the Indulge Food Hall. Home to 11 different food options (if you include Starbucks), you can literally taste the globe with this food experience.

Take a seat at any open table and grab the tablet there waiting for you. On this tablet you can order Indian, Mexican, Asian noodles, Italian pasta, Texas BBQ, Mediterranean platters, Spanish tapas, salads, and much more. Order dishes from multiple places if you want, and they’ll be brought out to your table in a matter of minutes. You can also grab a variety of decadent desserts in the food hall and drinks from Luna Bar.

Other complimentary restaurants on board include Prima’s formal dining room Hudson’s, The Commodore Room, the Local Bar & Grill (for a sports bar experience), and the Surfside Cafe & Grill buffet. Honestly the food is absolutely fantastic at all of these (the loaded breakfast hashbrowns at Hudson’s are to die for).

For an even extra luxury dining experience, make reservations at any one of the ship’s specialty dining restaurants. On board is Cagney’s Steakhouse, Food Republic, Hasuki Habachi Grill, Le Bistro, Los Lobos, Nama Sushi, Onda by Scarpetta, and Palomar. I dined at Los Lobos and Hasuki while on board.

Los Lobos is seriously the best meal I’ve ever had. Between the seafood mixta, the carne asada entre, and a dessert platter of Mexican coffee, churro donuts with caramel sauce, and sorbet tasters, I think I literally rolled back to my room after. The wait staff were incredibly kind and a joy to talk to, and even helped me select my food options.

Hasuki was also an amazing dining experience. This is definitely a high energy dinner spot. With four hibachi tables in the restaurant, and four hibachi chefs cooking and entertaining at once, it can get loud. They’ll dazzle you with their knife skills, make you laugh with their corny dad jokes, and break into song, often all four singing together, as they cook up your meal. With massive portions, definitely go with a light lunch before dining here.

5) Mandara Spa

You must spend a morning, afternoon, evening, or entire day enjoying the Mandara Spa on Prima. Get a day pass to the Thermal Spa to enjoy an atmosphere of total relaxation. The Thermal Spa includes a lounge area across the front of the ship with giant day-bed loungers and heated lounge chairs. The heated lounge chairs felt so amazing for my calves and it was far too easy to fall asleep in there. It also includes two thermal pools in front of a gorgeous waterfall wall, a salt steam room, and a hot coal sauna. Combine all of these therapies to relax your muscles and rejuvenate your skin all at the same time.

You can, and should, book appointments for a massage or facial (or both!) with one of Norwegian’s professional spa therapists. There are multiple styles of massages and skin treatments available. Your therapist will do an assessment of your needs (and pain, if applicable) and recommend the best treatment.

Attached to the spa are the ship’s salon and barber shop, where you can get beauty treatments of all kinds, and the entrance to the massive fitness center. You can get your workout in while gazing through the floor-to-ceiling windows out over the water. And let me tell you, the place was packed! While working out isn’t my go-to activity on vacation, I was super impressed with how many people were getting a good sweat in.

6) Prima’s Luxury Rooms

When you're not out-and-about exploring, you’ll be comfortable and cozy in your room on the ship. Norwegian Prima hosts multiple room options for everyone from solo-travelers to families, all of which are quite spacious for a cruise ship and host luxurious features and decor. I’d be remiss not to note: the showers are massive for a ship. There’s actually room to step out of the water within the shower. It’s fantastic.

The Staterooms are the most common on the ship, with balcony, ocean-view, and inside options. All have a comfortable double bed, seating area with a couch, a television, a desk/vanity, a very comfortably sized bathroom, and loads of closet space. The balconies come with comfortable and sturdy seating.

In addition to the staterooms, Prima has suites for families, some with pull-out couches in addition to the bed in a larger room, and some with separate bedrooms from the living space. Corner and front-facing suites have larger balconies for hanging out (but watch out for that breeze from the front-facing balcony door when you open it!).

Prima also has studio rooms for solo travelers, so people traveling on their own don’t have to pay the double occupancy fee. These studios are smaller, with single beds, but the same sized bathrooms as the staterooms, massive amounts of storage, and access to their own lounge and kitchen space to meet and mingle with other solo travelers.

If you’re interested in paying a bit extra for an exclusive luxury experience, you can book Norwegian Prima’s Haven Suites. The Haven rooms occupy a private area of the ship, complete with their own butlers, concierge service, restaurant, pool and lounge area, and even private elevators.

7) Amazing Staff

I honestly think that Norwegian’s staff on board the ship are the biggest reason you should sail with them. Seriously, they are absolutely amazing. Each room has a steward who will make up the room for day and night every day and make sure you have everything you need. The restaurant staff are up-beat and the most helpful people you’ll ever meet.

The over 1500 people working on Prima maintain an energy, excitement, and kindness that truly make a difference for your trip experience. My steward caught up with me every day, asking how I was doing, how I slept, and just generally chatting. My wait staff at the restaurants made recommendations, asked about my cats, and treated me like family while I was dining alone.

Norwegian does more staff training than any other cruise line, and it shows. All of the staff on board are fantastic at their jobs and genuinely kind to their guests.

8) Norwegian’s Sustainability

Norwegian Cruise Line is committed to creating a positive impact on society and the environment through its global sustainability program. We got to see some of that first hand through a sustainable cocktail experience on board, with bartenders showcasing how the ship is turning food waste into unique and tasty cocktails.

Prima’s daily specialty cocktails are all sustainably made: from locally and sustainably sourced liquors to flavor syrups made from food waste on the ship. We tried one with syrup made from watermelon rind, one with syrup made from banana peels, and one with syrup made from almond croissants (yes, you read that right, there is an almond croissant mai thai). The watermelon twist was my favorite, but they all were delicious.

Norwegian’s commitment to sustainability goes well beyond improving your drinking experience on board, though. They’ve eliminated single-use plastic water bottles and replaced them with biodegradable water cartons. You’ll find no plastic straws on board, or plastic drink picks for that matter. Even the “plastic” cups for the outdoor spaces are made from plant-based, compostable materials.

Prima’s ship design is optimized for fuel efficiency from the shape of her bow to the engines she runs on. She is a huge step in the right direction for Norwegian to meet its goal of the entire fleet of ships being net-zero carbon by 2050.

9) Destinations

Of course, people don’t just go on cruises to experience the ship, but also to experience the places the ship is bringing them. Norwegian Cruise Line visits almost 500 destinations globally, and Prima will be a major contributor to that number.

Scheduled with cruises out through September 2024, Prima will be traveling around Bermuda, through the Caribbean, around Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, and across the Atlantic, all available for booking now!

Samantha Linnett is a travel planner, writer, and content creator with a passion for sharing local experiences from around the globe.

She practices social impact travel, exploring and supporting local communities, economies, and ecosystems in mindful and respectful ways. She's a local government nerd and values local, cultural experiences over tourist attractions or luxury travel (but that’s not to say she doesn't do those too). She's currently based in Washington, DC, soaking in some sunshine with her fiancé and three cats after spending 8 years in-love with a very snowy Syracuse, NY.

Find her work here on Trusted Travel Girl, on Fodor’s, on her own travel blog, and on Instagram @discoverwithsam. You can also hire her to plan your next trip!