If you are taking a cruise on Norwegian Prima, you may be wondering if a balcony cabin is a good option for you. In this article, we look at what you will get if you book a standard balcony cabin.
We stayed in Standard Balcony Cabin number 13730 – which was in the middle of deck 13. This review is based on that cabin
Below is a photo of our balcony cabin
Cabin Design
When I first walked into the room 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, open and spacious. I wondered if it was actually a larger, mini-suite.
I’ve stayed in mini-suites on other ships in the past that felt far smaller than this standard balcony cabin.
The first thing that I noticed was an incredible mural on the wall behind the bed, it would be quite difficult to miss that!
I loved the subtle uplighting and the butterfly design, this is the same in all of the cabins across all of the cabin grades.
There was a big sofa complete with cushions and a desk on the other side of the room.
In 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. Very posh!
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.
The bed was so comfortable and I slept really well during the cruise. The two pillows were huge and the TV right opposite the bed was great for checking things like the daily schedule or our onboard account.
The TV had lots of different channels for me to watch, and there was a good variety of movies and documentaries.
The bed could be pulled away from the wall and angled towards the sofa if you prefer to watch TV there.
Changing The Bed Configuration
Our cabin had a double bed, which was fine for us.
If you are sharing with a friend or family member and need twin beds, you can speak to your room steward and ask them to split the bed into two singles.
You can sometimes select twin beds when booking, but it isn’t uncommon for this message not to get through to the ship/cabin steward.
Standard Balcony Cabin Size
The size of Prima’s balcony cabins is larger than that of most cruise ship’s balcony cabins.
Prima’s standard balcony cabins measure roughly between 230 and 355 sq ft. (21-34m2) Ours felt very large and spacious.
To learn more about how the size of cabins compare across cabin grades, check out this post: How Big Are Cruise Ship Cabins? 27 Examples, All Cabin Types
Our standard balcony cabin contained the following:
- A double bed
- Bedside table/nightstand on each side of the bed
- A Desk with a stool
- A large Sofa with two cushions
- Drawers and Closet Space
- A safe
- TV
- Phone
- Hairdryer
- Mirrors
- Bin/Trash Can
- Mini Bar/Fridge
This balcony cabin did feel modern, bright, airy and spacious. It was very well designed.
Our cabin was cleaned once a day by our wonderful, friendly cabin steward.
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.
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!
A paper daily schedule was delivered to us every day, and this was left outside the door, in a holder next to our cabin number. This daily schedule told us what was going on, what time and where.
You can also check the daily schedule on the TV if you would prefer.
Norwegian does have a very good App that you can use onboard. It has many uses, including checking the daily schedule and your onboard spend.
You don’t need to buy the ship’s Wi-Fi package to use the App.
To find more details about cruise ship Apps, how to connect to them and what they can be used for, check out this article below:
You Don’t Need to Pay For Wi-Fi To Use a Cruise Line App – Here’s Why
Which Plug Sockets Are There In the Balcony Cabins On Norwegian Prima?
There were USB C’s and A’s and US plug sockets over by the bed, and there were another 3 US sockets and a European socket on the desk.
Having USBs beside the bed means that I don’t have to worry about using plug adapters – which is always very much appreciated!
The cabin was certainly well-equipped in terms of power and sockets, but you would expect that on such a modern ship.
How Was The WiFi On Norwegian Prima?
I was working during my time onboard, and I sat a the desk to do a live stream over on my YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/@EmmaCruises
The Internet Speeds on Norwegian Prima were fantastic! It was probably the best ship’s WiFi I have ever found
The internet speeds on the cruise were excellent and the live stream was an hour long. It didn’t buffer or break once – I don’t think I’ve ever had that on a cruise before!
I had the “Unlimited Premium WiFi Package.” This costs around $40 a day.
Often I don’t get a WiFi Package whilst cruising, preferring to use the 5G on my phone when in port.
As I was actually working from the ship, I needed the WiFi to be as reliable as possible – and I wasn’t disappointed.
Was There Enough Storage In Norwegian Prima’s Balcony Cabins?
There were plenty of shelves, drawers, baskets and hanging space in our balcony cabin.
One of my favourite design features in the cabin was the basket drawers 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 a 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 wanted that instead of more hanging space.
The pull-out baskets at the bottom of the wardrobe were a really practical design feature!
The Bathroom
When I went into the bathroom, I immediately noticed how big the bathroom felt – and in particular how big the shower part was.
The sink and the area surrounding it was also a really good size, far larger than on many other ships I have sailed on.
I’ve had shower cubicles on cruise ships in the past that were literally half the size of this one. 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!
I usually prefer baths to showers, but if I had a shower like this one in my house, I might change my mind!
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.
It had a proper shower door that was designed to fold back unobtrusively into the shower, freeing up extra space in the room. Another great design feature that I loved!
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, and it was amazing to be able to put everything I used daily in one place without having to always be emptying and repacking toiletry bags.
There was also lots of storage on the side and all of the space under the sink was free for storage too. They had clearly put a lot of thought into making the most of the space available.
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 good friend of mine, Tony, recently reviewed this same balcony cabin on the Norwegian Prima from a “plus-size” perspective. He rated it very highly!
The Balcony
On the balcony, I noticed that the chairs 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!
The balconies on Norwegian Prima are between 45-100 ft2 (4-9 m2) in size. A good size!
Our Cabin Was Towards The Front of The Ship
The cabin was in a great location for us, just past the forward stairs/elevators and near the middle of the ship.
Prima is a large ship, and has 20 decks! It has a capacity for 3250 Passengers and around 1380 crew members.
It was four floors up to deck 17 to the buffet if we wanted something to eat. This is easily manageable for me, but there are plenty of lifts/elevators if you don’t want to – or can’t climb the stairs.
Many of the main bars, theatres and restaurants were down on deck 8, so not too far down for me to walk.
We were very comfortable and happy in our balcony cabin!
We were very slightly towards the front of the ship, 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 floor 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!
Things I Wasn’t So Keen On…
We had a cabin with an interconnecting door to the next cabin. Although this door is always locked, it isn’t as good at keeping noise out as the normal cabin wall.
There was a family next door to us, and we could always hear them in their cabin.
It wasn’t too much of a problem, as the children were always in bed and quiet during the evenings – but if you don’t need a cabin with an interconnecting door, I would advise that you choose one without.
To find out more about noise in cruise ship cabins, read the article below:
Are Cruise Ship Cabins Soundproof? (Thin Walls, Balconies ad Travelling Sound)
Another thing that I wasn’t keen on was the strong spring on the bathroom door. I couldn’t make my squash (a fruit drink) and take it out of the bathroom without the door shutting in my face! This was only a minor annoyance, but I have never noticed this on any other ship.
Would I recommend This Balcony Cabin?
We were very comfortable and happy in this cabin. It is very well designed to make the most of the space available.
I loved the modern, bright and airy feel of the cabin. I would definitely recommend this balcony cabin to other cruisers considering the Norwegian Prima!
In Conclusion
We had a wonderful time onboard Norwegian Prima, and I would definitely recommend the balcony cabin we had. Having said that, there are many other more affordable cabin options you can choose from.
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