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Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page. Editor’s note: TPG’s Gene Sloan accepted a free trip from Norwegian Cruise Line to attend the unveiling of Norwegian Prima. The opinions expressed below are entirely his and weren’t subject to review by the line. How much weight have I gained this week in the name of research? I don’t even want to know. It’s surely not a small amount.
For the past four days, I’ve been furiously trying to taste every one of the dozens of dishes at the just-opened food hall on Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, Norwegian Prima — all in the name of finding the very best options it has available for you, our TPG readers. Dubbed Indulge Food Hall, the multioutlet venue, which offers made-to-order dishes, is something of a big deal in the world of cruising. It’s one of the first food halls added to a cruise vessel and the first for the Norwegian brand. It’s likely to be a big draw for Norwegian fans once they start sailing on Norwegian Prima in the coming weeks. I’m seeing it this week during a non-revenue preview sailing. 11 venues in all if you count the Starbucks in the middle of the complex. Notably, nearly none of them come with an extra charge.
My goal in recent days was to try every item on every menu and declare the very best. If you think that sounds impossible, know that I corralled several other cruise writers I know on board to join me during a series of lunches and dinners so I could order up a storm. We shared large numbers of dishes. Food items then are delivered to passengers at their tables. There is both indoor and outdoor seating.
Here is a look at all Norwegian Prima’s Indulge Food Hall has to offer and — should I ever feel hungry again — which dishes I would definitely order in the future. Menu: A small selection of classic noodle dishes from around the world. At lunch, you’ll find pad thai, Singapore street noodles, an Italian tagliatelle dish with Bolognese sauce, German spaetzle and an Asian noodle soup. Dinner brings three types of Italian pasta dishes, an Italian gnocchi dish with pesto and a Chinese Lanzhou noodle soup. The TPG take: Nudls is one of the standout options at Indulge Food Hall, offering the greatest hits of noodle dishes from around the world, mostly done well. The pad thai is just like you get it at a good Thai restaurant at home, and the Singapore noodles have just the right amount of spice.
Made to order, each dish arrives fast and hot, and the portions are small in a good way. If you can’t decide, it’s perfectly acceptable to order two dishes! Menu: Classic Indian dishes such as fish tikka, chicken tikka, chicken korma and aloo ghobi at lunch, and roasted pork vindaloo, chicken tikka masala and saag paneer at dinner. There are also sides such as basmati rice, garlic naan, raita and chutney.
The TPG take: Tamara may be the sleeper hit of not just Indulge Food Hall but the whole culinary lineup on Norwegian Prima. Home to its own tandoor, it offers classic Indian dishes done well. It’s the sort of thing for which other big-ship lines would charge extra — a lot extra. Australian lamb chops, beef tenderloin and Hudson Valley duck at dinner. The TPG take: Seaside Rotisserie is mostly kebabs and sliced meats at lunch and then gets stepped up in elaborateness a bit at dinner. In some cases, the concept for the dishes seems more ambitious than what actually arrives, as was the case with the Australian lamb chops that I ordered one night at dinner. They looked great in the picture on the tablet screen, but what arrived was possibly the smallest lamb chops I had ever seen.