I’ve been cruising for years and have stayed in balcony cabins on Norwegian cruise ships in the past, so when I boarded the Norwegian Prima and found my cabin, I thought I knew what to expect.
Disclosure: I was invited onboard this cruise and didn’t pay for my cruise fare, all opinions are my own.
When I actually walked into the room though I genuinely had to check the deck plans to make sure that I had been assigned the standard balcony cabin that I had booked.
The cabin felt so bright and open and spacious – and I’ve stayed in mini-suites on other ships in the past that felt far smaller than this.
I stayed in cabin 13730 which was towards the front of deck 13. I can confirm, this is a standard balcony cabin.
The first thing that I noticed was the incredible mural on the wall behind the bed, it would be quite difficult to miss that one!
I loved the subtle uplighting and the butterfly design. This is the same in all of the cabins across all of the cabin grades.
Little did I know that I would find small things that surprised me in every corner of the cabin, from the wardrobes to the bathroom, there were things I’d not seen on cruises before.
On the desk, I found the first of many big drawers, this one I affectionately named my “bits and bobs” drawer!
My “bits and bobs” drawer was perfect for all of those everyday things – like chargers and hairbrushes that usually end up cluttering up the cabin.
This drawer was huge, and as I tested it out I noticed that it was also soft close.
There was a lot of space under the bed. I’m a big fan of putting my suitcase under here so I can tidy away my dirty clothes throughout the cruise. This was fantastic for that.
At one point I did test out the space under the bed and I could quite happily sleep down here if I wanted to.
When I shared this photo online I had quite a few comments that said:
“I wouldn’t go down there, think of the dust!”
Other cruise passengers…
Well, I’m happy to report that this cabin was spotlessly clean and, having been under the bed, I think I’m more qualified to talk about that than most! I wanted my review to be thorough!
The cabin was cleaned every single day of the cruise and our cabin steward was fantastic.
He would say “Hi” to us every time we left the room for breakfast, or came back for an afternoon nap.
Due to the amazing “Make-Up Room” buttons, he always knew when we wanted our room cleaned.
Speaking of naps, the bed was so comfortable, I slept really well during the cruise.
The bed can be made up either as a twin or a double bed. There wasn’t a noticeable dip in the middle when it was made up as a double, as you’ll find on a lot of cruise ships.
The two pillows were huge and the TV opposite the bed was great for checking things like the daily schedule or our onboard account.
When I was testing out the comfort of the bed I noticed that the chairs on the balcony were different from any I’d ever seen on a cruise ship before.
Usually, you get the standard plastic or metal chairs but these were comfortably cushioned and they were adjustable so you could recline a little.
There was a decent table here too. Looking out, and around the ship, I realised that we had a really great location.
This balcony was a wonderful place to sit and enjoy the sunset! I always think sunsets at sea are better than on land, I mean look at this picture – it’s incredible!
We were towards the front of the ship a little but it wasn’t a very long walk from the stairs. The corridors were in a similar design to the cabins and the triangles on the carpets actually point forwards.
I think this might be a nod to the older Norwegian ships where they used to have fish always swimming forward. I have no sense of direction so love little things like this.
Next to our bed were two bedside tables, mine was the bigger one so I guess I just pulled the lucky straw there! Both had not only the regular type of USB & USB A but also a USB C which is the newer kind.
I usually use a USB-C charger to charge my phone, so this was perfect. Using USBs means that I don’t have to worry about using plug adapters, and that is always appreciated.
There was also a US plug behind my bed and a light switch which turned on the main lights. I took a cruise years ago on the Norwegian Encore and I remember also having a light switch like this.
I loved how good it felt to get into bed and then turn off the lights. Usually, I get comfortable and think “Oh, I forgot to turn the lights off” – but that wasn’t a problem here.
Looking across at the desk I noticed a little cupboard and wondered what was inside.
It probably won’t come as a surprise to you if you’ve cruised before, but this was actually a minibar/fridge.
It comes stocked with a few things that you can buy if you’d like, but you are also always welcome to use the fridge for anything else you might want to keep cold.
There was a hairdryer near here too and it was very powerful, better than my hairdryer at home that’s for sure!
The hairdryer also had a holder which was cool, quite often it’ll take up draw space but this left my drawer free for those “bits and bobs” I mentioned earlier.
There were lots of mirrors in the cabin and I usually used the shelf under the main mirror to store my sunglasses.
I’m always losing my sunglasses when I cruise so having a space where I could see them, meant that I never once lost them. That might not be a big deal to some people but for me, that’s a very rare occurrence!
As well as the USB C’s and A’s and the US plug sockets over by the bed, there were another 3 US sockets and a European socket on the desk.
The cabin was certainly well equipped in terms of power and this wasn’t even my favourite use of tech in the cabin. It gets better.
It was at the cabin desk that I sat to do a live stream over on my YouTube channel.
The internet speeds on the cruise were fantastic, I did a Youtube live stream that was an hour long – and the internet didn’t buffer or break once. I don’t think I’ve ever had that on a cruise ship before!
One of my favourite design features in the cabin were baskets in the wardrobe that I used to put my T-shirts and trousers in.
They provided us with lots of extra space, and because they were baskets, you could instantly see everything we had without having to root around in the drawer.
The closet space was split into three sections. There was loads of hanging space in the first area, with a place below where we stored our shoes.
In the second and third areas, there was more hanging space, plenty of drawers, a safe, and a pull-out section that became an extra shelf if you needed that instead of more hanging space.
We stayed in this cabin for a week and had plenty of space for all of our stuff.
The room does actually hold 4 people and there were only 2 of us. If there were 3 or 4 of you sharing the room you’d probably have to be a bit more organised than we were!
Having all that space under the bed for the suitcases really did help. On some cruises, I have to use up wardrobe space for my suitcase, so not having to do that was a nice touch.
Heading into the bathroom I immediately noticed how big the room felt, and in particular how big the shower part was.
I’ve had showers on cruise ships in the past that were literally half the size of the one on Prima. Not only was it a good physical size, but the shower itself was pretty powerful and it had lots of different settings.
My personal favourite was the massage setting which felt as though it was massaging your head! It spun and kind of tickled – but I did like it!
I usually much prefer baths to showers but if I had a shower like this in my house, I might change my mind. Maybe…
There was always shampoo and shower gel in the shower to use and the water never ever leaked out into the main room which was amazing.
I loved the overall look of the bathroom and it was here I found another drawer for all of my bathroom “bits and bobs”.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a drawer like this in a bathroom before. It was amazing to be able to put everything I used daily in one place without having to always be emptying and repacking bags.
On a cruise, you can have your towels changed every day if you want to, but I usually opt to use them multiple times.
The secret cruise ship code is that if you want them changed, you leave them on the floor, if you’re okay to use them again, you put them back on the rack.
I liked how the rack for the towels was on the side instead of behind the toilet, as on some other ships. Then you are surrounded by towels whenever you sit down, which isn’t pleasant if they’re damp!
There was lots of space around the toilet area too, which was good. A friend of mine Tony, describes himself as a “fluffy cruiser.” He reviewed this cabin from a plus-size perspective – and rated it very highly.
There was also lots of storage on the side and all of the space under the sink was free for storage too.
Outside and by the main door was my favourite feature of the cabin. It may seem small to some people but it makes a big difference to the cruise every single day and I wish all cruise ships would adopt this.
There is a “Makeup Room” button that you can press inside the cabin. This puts a light on outside your cabin, so the cabin steward knows when to come in and clean your room.
There is also a “Do Not Disturb” button. Press this and the staff will not knock and disturb you. It is genius!
On a lot of cruise ships, you’ll find a little piece of paper that you hang on the door handle if you want the room to be cleaned, or you don’t want to be disturbed.
The problem with these of course is that anybody in the corridor could turn it over, or it could fall off!
I’ve had knocks on the door in the past when I thought my cabin was on “Do Not Disturb” but the person from housekeeping has said that they found it on “Make-up Room.” That’s never fun!
Some cruise ships have similar signs in a magnetic form that you stick to your metal door – but the same thing still applies. People walking by could swap them over – if they really wanted to!
I loved this cabin but there is so much more to a cruise than just where you stay!
If you want to find out what I got up to on the rest of the cruise, including what I thought of the entertainment, bars and restaurants, check out this video over on my YouTube channel next.
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