Why does everyone seem to dislike the NCL Prima ship?

Question
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It seems like people aren’t happy with this ship, and it has a pretty low rating. I’m wondering why that is. Anyone have thoughts on it?

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Why does everyone seem to dislike the NCL Prima ship? It seems to have a pretty low rating. Anyone have thoughts on it?

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I personally really liked the Prima and will be on Aqua in the spring. I think if you really care about pool deck space, it could be disappointing, as there isn’t much of it. The layout is a bit unusual, but it wasn’t a big deal for me. There are definitely some areas for improvement, but I loved the staterooms, the public spaces were stunning, and I thought Indulge was a good casual dining option. We’re excited to be back on this class.

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@Phoenix
The layout was terrible, not just unusual. They dedicated too much space to the Haven, and I’ve heard from people who stayed in the Haven that there were too many Haven guests. The small venues created a lot of crowding.

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@Cade
It seems like the Prima class tries to spread people out by adding more smaller venues instead of fewer larger ones. This might be a way to make the ship feel less crowded. I also think they might have overdone it with The Haven.

I booked into The Haven based on the deckplan of NCL Joy when my NCL Jewel cruise was cancelled. The Haven seemed small and intimate, but fully featured. I managed to book a 3BR Owner’s Suite for the same price I was paying for two adjacent cabins.

When that cruise was cancelled too, NCL Aqua was really my only other option. The 3BR Duplex suite was more expensive and not as nice, and the Owner’s Suite was way too expensive. Even with more cabins, the 3BR suites were sold out. I ended up booking two adjacent cabins again, but they were far from The Haven amenities.

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@Peyton
They’ve made venues smaller but haven’t added more. Instead, they’ve taken up more space for the Haven, specialty dining, go-karts, and retail. They’ve removed larger venues like the Spinnaker Lounge and a proper theater. There’s no dedicated theater or nightclub now—just a convertible theater/nightclub that takes away one of the regular venues. I was on Valiant Lady recently and felt the same overcrowded issues with the layout.