Cruise Spotlight
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Carnival Glory vs Norwegian Prima
The Carnival Glory was built in 2003. It was renovated in 2024. It's 19 years older than the Prima, which was built in 2022. The Prima is the first of six in a brand-new class of ship.
Comparison Overview
- Ship Size
- Number of Passengers
- Food and Restaurants
- Bars and Drinks
- Pools and Hot Tubs
- Ship Features and Activities
- Cruise Costs
- Onboard Costs
- See Our Detailed Cruise Blog
Ship Size
The Glory is considered a medium size ship. Coming in at 952 feet long and 116 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 2.6 football fields, as wide as 2.2 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 13-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Prima, the Glory is 23% smaller in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
Carnival Glory holds about the same number of passengers as the Prima based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you look at the "Space Ratio," or the total tonnage of a ship compared to the number of passengers, the Glory has less space per person compared to the Prima.
| Carnival Glory | Norwegian Prima | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Conquest | Prima |
| Gross Tonnage | 110,000 | 143,535 |
| Length | 952 | 965 |
| Beam/Width | 116 | 133 |
| Passenger Decks | 13 | 15 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 2,980 | 3,099 |
| Crew | 1,150 | 1,506 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 2.6 | 2.1 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 37 | 46 |
Food and Restaurants
Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.
The Glory has twelve different dining options like Seafood Shack, The Chef's Table, and Pizza Pirate. Of those options, thirteen are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other four options have an additional fee.
The Prima has five more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Nama, Hasuki, and The Local. six of these restaurants are complementary and the other twelve have an additional fee.
If you like having a variety of places to eat, the Prima might be a better choice. It has 42% more dining options than the Glory.
If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Glory might be a better choice then the Prima. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.
| Carnival Glory | Norwegian Prima | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Dining Options | 12 | 17 |
| Complimentary Dining Options: | 13 | 6 |
| Additional Fee Dining Options: | 4 | 12 |
| % of Included Options | 67% | 29% |
| See the options | See the options |
Bars and Drinks
The Carnival Glory has 3 fewer bars than the Norwegian Prima. The Glory has 12 bars like Ebony Cabaret Aft Lounge, Heroes Tribute Bar and RedFrog Rum Bar. On Glory, you can grab a drink at 15 different bars such as Luna Bar, Soleil Bar and Starbucks.
| Carnival Glory | Norwegian Prima |
|---|---|
| •Alchemy Bar • Atrium Bar • Azure Bar • Bar Blue • BlueIguana Tequila Bar • Casino Bar • Ebony Cabaret Aft Lounge • Heroes Tribute Bar • Java Blue Cafe • RedFrog Rum Bar • The Cinn-A-bar Piano Bar • White Heat Dance Club | •Belvedere Bar • Improv at Sea • Luna Bar • Metropolitan Bar • Observation Lounge Bar • Penrose Bar • Proof Whiskey Bar • Soleil Bar • Speedway Bar • Starbucks • Syd Norman's Pourhouse • The Haven Bar • The Local Bar • Vibe Beach Club Bar • Waves Pool Bar |
In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. The Glory serves the Pepsi family of products. That means Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Starry, Mug Root Beer, and Mountain Dew, although the selection can vary by ship. The Prima serves Coca Cola branded products. That includes drinks like Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship.
You can check out recent the bar menus for the Glory and the Prima below.
Pools and Hot Tubs
Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The Carnival Glory has a total of 2 pools and 4 hot tubs.
Norwegian Prima has more pools than the Glory and more hot tubs. There are more exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Prima. If you don't mind paying for exclusive access to areas in order to have less crowds, this might be a better choice.
Tired of loud kids and splashing? One of the pools and two of the hot tubs are adults only on Glory.| Carnival Glory | Norwegian Prima | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 2 | 4 |
| Pools - General Access | 1 | 3 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 1 | |
| Pools - Exclusive | 0 | 1 |
| Total Hot Tubs | 4 | 6 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 2 | 2 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 2 | |
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 0 | 4 |
Ship Features and Activities
Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. On the Glory, 75% of the activities below are included in the cruise fare. On the Prima, only 47% of the activities are included, meaning you might spend more money while on board.
| Carnival Glory | Norwegian Prima | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area | ✓ | ✗ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Arcade | ✓ | ✗ |
| Basketball | ✓ | ✗ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cigar Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Comedy Club | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dart Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dr Seuss Breakfast | ✓ | ✗ |
| Escape Room | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Golf Simulator | ✗ | ✓ |
| Jogging Track | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mini golf | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pool-side Movies | ✓ | ✗ |
| Race Track | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - musical review | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spa | ✗ | ✓ |
| Splash park | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thermal Suites | ✗ | ✓ |
| Thrill Slide | ✗ | ✓ |
| Virtual Arcade | ✗ | ✓ |
| Water slides | ✓ | ✓ |
| Learn more | Learn more |
Cruise Costs
Carnival and Norwegian are both considered "Mainstream" cruise lines. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.
Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year. Typically newer ships cost more, so a cruise on Carnival Glory will likely be cheaper than on Norwegian Prima.
Onboard Costs
Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests can also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.
Typically guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.
The table below will help you compare onboard prices to see if you might spend more on a specific ship.
| Carnival Glory | Norwegian Prima | |
|---|---|---|
| Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day) | $16.00 | $20.00 |
| Tip added to drinks & services | 18% | 20% |
| Soda Price | $3.00 | $3.50 |
| Domestic Beer Price | $8.75 See drink menus | $7.50 See drink menus |
| Drink Package Price | $83 - $88 Learn more | 106 Learn more |
| Internet Plan | $18.70 to $23.80 per device per day | $29.99 - $39.99 per cabin per day, with $5 for each extra device |
| *Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates. | ||
Norwegian Cruise Line offers a More at Sea fare. Through this program, guests receive open bar, a discount on excursions, some free internet, and some meals at specialty restaurants. If you book using this promotion, you'll be responsible for the gratuities on the dining and drink package. If you won't be using these options, booking a "sail away" rate that doesn't include the More at Sea benefits is considerably cheaper. Also, most of these benefits are the base packages; you can spend more to upgrade to better alcoholic drinks or faster/more wifi.
We sailed aboard the Norwegian Prima
Follow along on our sailing on the Norwegian Prima. We take you through every aspect of our sailing, from getting to the port to debarking the ship. See the schedule of events, menus, what excursions we did, and what we really thought about the ship.
Norwegian Prima - Cruise Blog - Day 1 - NYC
Norwegian Prima - Cruise Blog - Day 2 - Sea Day
Norwegian Prima - Cruise Blog - Day 3 - Halifax
Norwegian Prima - Cruise Blog - Day 4 - Final Sea Day
5 Hits and Misses on the Norwegian Prima
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