Norwegian Prima Cabins To Avoid

All cruise ships have more quiet or enjoyable cabins than others, and Norwegian Cruise Line‘s ships are no exception. As a lover of quiet cabins and someone who has sailed on the Prima, I have studied its deck plans and made a list of Norwegian Prima cabins to avoid when booking.

The cabins you may want to avoid on any ship include those with an obstructed view, and those near noisy areas that include:

• Cabins above or below entertainment venues
• Cabins below the fitness center
• Cabins near the elevators
• Cabins near the anchor
• Cabins below the pool deck
• Cabins below the buffet
• Adjoining cabins

For those prone to motion sickness, it’s best to choose a cabin in the middle of the ship, neither too far forward nor too far aft, or on too high or low a deck. This will ensure the least motion in your cabin during choppy seas.

Below you will find suggestions for specific cabins to avoid for these reasons.

Cabins Obstructed By The Slides

Although you should know that if a ship has slides going down the side of the ship, some will obstruct cabin views, I was still shocked when I realized that NCL’s website doesn’t note most of the ones that are obstructed. Some balconies even have slides going right through them! I would be very upset if I’d booked a cabin and walked in to find a huge tube going through my balcony, and I wasn’t aware of that fact beforehand.

After studying the deck plans, I made a list of the cabins that appear to be affected by the slides for you, their view either obstructed or partially obstructed.

The cabins most affected by the slides appear to be the Family Suite with Master Bedroom and Balcony (in dark teal in the diagram below), and the Family Suite with Master Bedroom and Large Balcony (in light teal in the graphic below).

Check the Prima’s deck plans for the location of your cabin to ensure it is not in this area of the ship on any deck. The gray arcs in the corner of the graphic represent the water slide.

This list is not all-inclusive but does note the cabins that I would personally not book after closely studying the ship’s deck plans.

• Deck 9: 9816, 9818, 9900, 9216, 9218, 9300
• Deck 10: 10814, 10816, 10900, 10902, 10214, 10216, 10300, 10302
• Deck 11: 11812, 11814, 11900, 11902, 11212, 11214, 11300, 11302
• Deck 12: 12810, 12812, 12210, 12212, 12900, 12300
• Deck 13: 13808, 13810, 13900, 13208, 13210, 13300
• Deck 14: 14790, 14792, 14900, 14190, 14192, 14300
• Deck 15: 15796, 15798, 15196, 15198, 15300, 15900
• Deck 16: 16190, 16192, 16790, 16792

Cabins Obstructed By Lifeboats

Lifeboats are usually the culprit for obstructing cabin views. However, on the Prima, the lifeboats are on Deck 7, which has no passenger cabins, and no cabins either above or below them.

Cabins Above Or Below The Theater

The two lower levels of the Prima Theater & Club are located on Decks 6 and 7, which don’t have passenger cabins. However, the forward portion of Deck 5 is below the Theater and the forward portion of Deck 9 is above it. Here are the cabins to avoid:

• Deck 5: Cabins 5100 through 5124, and Cabins 5700 through 5724.
• Deck 9: Cabins 9122 through 9152, and Cabins 9722 through 9752.

Ultimate Cruise Planner

Need a little assistance organizing and planning your cruise? Our Ultimate Cruise Planner can help!

Learn More

Cabins Below The Fitness Center

The Fitness Center is located in the front (bow) of the ship on Deck 16. The sound of dumbbells being dropped and people running on treadmills can disturb guests in the cabins below. I would suggest avoiding the following cabins:

Deck 15: Cabins 15100 through 15108, and 15700 through 15708.

Cabins Near The Anchor

The anchor is in the ship’s bow, meaning that guests in cabins very far forward are likely to hear the anchor dropping very early on port days, disturbing their sleep. We have stayed in a forward-facing cabin before and experienced this personally.

Cabins Near The Elevators

Check the deck plans for the cabin you are thinking of booking to ensure it is at least a few cabins away from the elevators. Hearing them ding at all hours of the day and night can be annoying. Again, this suggestion is from personal experience.

Cabins Below The Pool Deck

The Pool Deck is located on Deck 17 slightly forward of midship. When crew members are setting out deck chairs each morning, the noise can be disturbing to guests in the cabins below. I would suggest avoiding the following cabins:

Deck 16: Cabins 16124 through 16152, and 16724 through 16752.

Cabins Below The Buffet

On the Prima, the Surfside Cafe is the buffet, and it is located on Deck 17. Directly below are some passenger cabins that may hear noise from chairs scraping the floor while being moved for cleaning, or from carts being rolled around.

Deck 16: Cabins 16168 through 16190.

Cabins Below The Haven Restaurant and Sundeck

We stayed in cabin 15902 in the Haven on the Prima and heard a lot of noise from chairs scraping and carts being moved around in the Haven Restaurant above us. If we were to book in the Haven on the Prima again, I would avoid all Haven cabins on Deck 15 because of possible noise from above.

Cabins Too Far Forward Or Aft

Ships will rock in choppy seas, either up and down or from side to side. If you are prone to motion sickness, you will want to avoid cabins that are too far forward or aft, instead choosing a cabin midship. Also, you may want to avoid a cabin that is on a very high or very low deck, and instead choose one on a middle deck.

Adjoining Cabins

Cabins that adjoin with connecting doors tend to allow noise to penetrate through those doors, making them not as desirable as cabins that don’t connect. Connecting cabins are denoted on deck plans by a double arrow between them, as seen below.