Norwegian’s Innovative Prima Won’t be the Last

Norwegian Prima Ocean Boulevard deck area--rendering from Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Prima is Norwegian Cruise Line’s opening salvo in a new class of ships that will expand one a year to a total of six. The ship has already broken an NCL sales record since bo0king opened for 2022 sailings in Northern Europe, The U.K, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

Here’s a sneak preview of the future of Norwegian Cruise Line:

At 965 feet and carrying up to 3,200 guests, the newcomers will be somewhat smaller than Norwegian’s previous Breakaway Class ships. But they’re designed to offer the most outdoor deck space of any ship coming from other cruise lines, the company claims. There’s more space inside as well, with multiple NCL firsts:

Norwegian Prima from the stern–Rendering from Norwegian Cruise Line

Ocean Boulevard

Created to be a destination around the ship, Ocean Boulevard includes a number of innovations for the line. The Concourse is an outdoor sculpture garden features $2-million worth of art including an art wall designed by famed artist David Harber and six installations designed by Alexander Krivosheiw inspired by ancient mythology.

An Infinity Beach area features two infinity pools close to the ocean surface. And two Oceanwalk glass bridges, will let guests feel they are walking on air over the water. And La Terraza, an open-air lounge, features a retreat for visitors to catch stellar forward-facing sea views.

Norwegian Prima Onda by Scarpetta restaurant rendering from Norwegian Cruise Line

Indulge Food Hall

Part of the experiences on Ocean Boulevard, there is a global mix of culinary venues and a range of indoor and outdoor seating.  The 11 venues include favorites like Coco’s artisan sweet treats; Q Texas Smokehouse and Starbucks; with new venues including Seaside Rotisserie for barbecue; Nudls, serving noodle dishes from around the world and Tamara, featuring classic Indian dishes.

The Latin Quarter will serve a range of Latin American cuisine, Tapas Food Truck will offer Spanish-inspired street food. In Garden Kitchen, guests can order customized salads and Just Desserts, features pies cakes and ice cream.

Three additional dining venues, Onda By Scarpetta, Los Lobos and The Local Bar & Grill will offer both indoor and outdoor seating.

Norwegian Prima Haven sun deck–rendering from Norwegian Cruise Line

The Haven by Norwegian

Spanning eight decks of suites and public areas, the premium key card only access ship-within-a-ship concept provides guests with private amenities, dedicated services and the most luxurious accommodations on board.

Norwegian has located all 107 Haven suites to the aft (the rear of the ship) within close proximity of private elevators exclusively reserved for Haven guests. Every public area in The Haven offers stunning sea and destination views. The Haven Courtyard on Norwegian Prima has been transformed into an expansive Haven Sundeck, boasting an infinity pool overlooking the ship’s wake and a new outdoor spa with a glass-walled sauna and cold room.

One Prima-class ship is set to be delivered from Fincantieri shipyard each year from 2022 through 2027. The new ship series was originally called Project Leonardo.

Profile of Norwegian Prima will be repeated on five other ships

Set to arrive in August next year, Norwegian Prima will undertake a far-flung inaugural season beginning with 10-day voyages from Amsterdam and Copenhagen to the Norwegian Fjords and Baltic. In late September, the ship will depart from Southampton on a crossing via Scotland, Iceland and Nova Scotia to New York.

After a Bermuda round trip, the ship will head through the Caribbean, including Great Stirrup Cay and the ABC Islands, arriving at Galveston. From there, the ship will sail to Miami for a trio of weeklong Western Caribbean cruises including Harvest Caye, Belize.

Based at Port Canaveral from Dec. 11, 2022, to March 19, 2023, Norwegian Prima will offer 15 Caribbean cruises of five, seven and nine days. From Marth through may, the ship will sail seven-day round-trip Bermuda voyages from New York and Norfolk, Virginia.

Norwegian Prima then returns to Northern Europe on a cruise from New York via Nova Scotia and Iceland, ending at Reykjavik. From May 25 to Sept. 7, 2023 the ship will offer a mix of 10- and 11-day Norway and Iceland sailings from Reykjavik and Southampton.

 “Norwegian Prima is already proving to be a gamechanger for NCL,” said President and CEO Harry Sommer. “Norwegian Bliss, which debuted in 2018 and boasted our biggest booking day ever during her unveiling, has been outpaced by Norwegian Prima, which has doubled the prior record. In addition, nearly 20 per cent of bookings are for our Haven suites, indicating the desire for top-of-the-line experiences.”

About Wallace Immen 784 Articles
Wallace Immen is Executive Editor of The Cruisington Times, the Best in Cruising, Travel, Food and Fun. He's sailed on all of the world's seas to ports in over 100 countries and travelled on every continent.