Norwegian Prima: Sanitation Record & Health Report

Let's talk about the Norwegian Prima, because a ship that debuted in 2022 with a design so acclaimed it basically forced the rest of the industry to go back to the drawing board deserves better than a shrug. This is Norwegian's flagship-of-the-moment, 142,500 tons of Fincantieri steel carrying 3,219 guests and 1,388 crew across 20 decks, and on the one metric that actually matters when you're deciding whether to eat the sushi — CDC inspection scores — it is not messing around. A latest score of 99 is about as clean as it gets, and it wasn't a fluke: the ship jumped from 97 in January 2025 to 99 in June 2026, which the data flags as an improving trend. Two inspections is a thin sample, sure, but going up instead of down is the direction you want to see.

Against the fleet, this is a standout. Ship Tea tracks 162 ships with an average latest score of 96.7 and a median of 98 — the Prima's 99 sits comfortably above both. Its all-time average and five-year average both land at 98, with a low of 97 and a high of 99, meaning this ship has never had a bad inspection, only merely-excellent ones. We can't speak to outbreak history here — that data's currently unreachable on our end — so consider this a scores-only verdict, not a full clean bill of health. But on sanitation alone, the Prima Class is doing exactly what Norwegian promised when they built a ship around an actual go-kart track and a three-story free-fall slide: looking incredible while also, apparently, being run tight below deck.

Who it's for: people who want the newest, shiniest thing NCL makes and don't want to gamble on inspection scores while they're at it — this is a genuinely strong pairing of design flash and galley discipline, and with departures from San Juan, Port Canaveral, and Southampton, it's not hard to get to. Who should skip it: anyone who finds "3,200 passengers and a go-kart track" stressful rather than fun, or cruisers who specifically want a slower, quieter ship — the Prima Class was built for energy, not serenity, and its inspection record won't change that vibe one bit.