Norwegian Luna: Here’s 5 Things that I LOVED, and 3 That I Didn’t!
I took a cruise onboard Norwegian Luna, one of the largest cruise ships in the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet. Although I had cruised with this cruise line before, this was my first exposure to this class of ship. Over the course of the cruise, there were aspects that I loved about this ship, but also others that I didn’t.
In this article, I’m telling you about five of the things that I loved about cruising onboard Norwegian Luna, and also three of the things that I didn’t.
If you enjoy this post, then please don’t keep it to yourself! By sharing this page, you’re directly supporting my channel, so thank you! Speaking of support, did you know that I’m also over on YouTube? You can find me by searching ‘Fraser at Sea’ on your device, by clicking here, or by clicking into the below video. This is my full ship tour of Norwegian Luna, where I show you inside every venue onboard!
What class of Cruise ship is Norwegian Luna?
Norwegian Luna launched in 2026, and is the latest Prima Plus Class cruise ship to join the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet. The Prima Plus Class is a slightly enlarged version of the previous Prima Class, which consisted of both Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva. With a 10% larger capacity and size, the Prima Plus Class consists of Norwegian Aqua, Norwegian Luna and Norwegian Aura.
The Prima Plus Class ships aren’t just physically larger than the Prima Class - they also boast some facilities that you won’t find on the Prima Class, including the Aqua Slidecoaster, which I’m confident you’ll have seen online already!
The Aqua Slidecoaster is a feature that you’ll find on the Prima Plus Class ships, © Fraser at Sea.
So, let’s start by looking at what I LOVED about cruising on Norwegian Luna.
1. Loved: The ‘Included’ Entertainment.
I found the entertainment on this ship to be absolutely excellent, and I’d say that it far exceeded my expectations based on my previous cruises with this cruise line. I’ve previously really enjoyed the entertainment on the Norwegian Cruise Line ships, but I do think that this ship was delivering an overall experience that was a step above both Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Escape (the other ships that I’ve cruised on in the past).
On Luna, the cast from the Syd Norman’s Pour House were used in the Theatre, and this really did help to ‘raise the bar’ from an overall entertainment point of view (it was so popular, too!). I’ve previously found the Syd Norman’s Pour House a very difficult venue to get into around showtime due to the popularity of it, so it’s great to see the cruise line acknowledging this by bringing a show team into the theatre to cover this style of entertainment.
One caveat that I would apply here is that I’ve previously seen ‘Choir of Man’ onboard Norwegian Escape, and none of the shows onboard Luna matched that, but they were better than the usual ‘included’ entertainment that I was used to from the non-Choir of Man nights of the cruise.
I do need to give a special mention to the ‘Elton’ show. On two nights of my cruise on Luna, the Elton show was presented. This was one of the most wholesome cruise ship shows I’ve ever seen, and I really couldn’t believe the overall quality of the production. If you’re looking for a great evening entertainment option during your cruise, you must add this to your list!
‘Elton’ onboard Norwegian Luna is an absolutely fantastic production! © Fraser at Sea.
2. Loved: How ‘Norwegian Cruise Line’ the Ship Felt.
If you’re new to the cruise industry, this one might sound odd. When I cruise on a ship that I haven’t cruised on before, I always find it interesting to discover how ‘like the cruise line’ the ship feels. For example, is the service the same as what I’ve seen elsewhere in the fleet, does my cabin feel like a cabin I’d expect from that cruise line, are the venues in line with what I’ve seen elsewhere? These are a few of the elements that I think about.
I’ve heard so many stories recently of cruise lines launching new cruise ships, and passengers feeling that the ship doesn’t feel quite like the brand that they’re used to. I won’t name any names in this article, but this often happens when a cruise line pushes to build a larger ship than passengers are used to, which could arguably be the case here with the 10% capacity and size increase versus the Prima Class.
For the first 24 hours of my cruise - I’ll be honest - I struggled with Norwegian Luna. The service and my cabin were exactly what I’d have expected based on my previous trips with Norwegian Cruise Line, but the overall ship felt completely different. I’d never cruised on this class of ship before, and so it was natural that it might feel a little ‘alien’ to me for a while, but I wasn’t convinced that the brand translated well in this example for the first day of the cruise.
Once I’d figured out the layout of the ship and I’d started to settle down, I very quickly realised that Norwegian Luna is a ship that, although being very different from many of her older fleetmates, ‘feels very Norwegian Cruise Line’.
Norwegian Luna felt like a VERY different cruise ship during my first 24 hours onboard. © Fraser at Sea.
Many of the venues on this ship will be familiar to you if you’re a loyal Norwegian Cruise Line cruiser, but they’ll probably look a little different if you’re used to the older ships in the fleet. © Fraser at Sea.
3. Loved: The Studio Lounge!
If you’re planning to cruise solo, then you’ll be delighted that the Studio Lounge has made it onto this list. For those who aren’t familiar, Norwegian Cruise Line have a whole section of the ship dedicated to solo cruisers. You’ll find it on both Decks 12 and 13 on the inside of the ship.
In this space (that’s locked-off to all cruisers not travelling solo), you’ll find Studio staterooms (cabins designed for one passenger), and also the Studio Lounge. Only those cruising in cabins within this section of the ship, and some cruising in solo balcony and ocean view staterooms (check with your travel agent if booking one of these options!) will have access to this facility.
I’ve cruised in Studio staterooms on multiple Norwegian ships in the past, and so have seen the lounges on the other ships, too. The lounge onboard Norwegian Luna felt much more premium than I was used to from the other ships - it felt very like a boutique luxury hotel in there, and it was a lovely space to spend time.
In the lounge, you’ll have access to complimentary bean-to-cup coffee from a machine, cakes, fresh fruit, iced water, lemonade, tea, hot chocolate and a few other things, too. There’s also branded soft drinks and even alcoholic drinks taps in this venue, although these aren’t included. To purchase any of these, you simply scan your cruise card on the panel on the machine, and then you’re free to dispense your drink of choice - easy!
If you’d like to see the Studio concept onboard Luna in more detail, here’s my YouTube video tour and review of my Studio cabin. In the below video, you’ll see both the cabin and also the Studio Lounge.
The Studio Lounge onboard Norwegian Luna, © Fraser at Sea.
The Studio Lounge onboard Norwegian Luna, © Fraser at Sea.
4. Loved: The Fact that I Didn’t Eat at the Buffet Once!
This is a big one, as it’s something that I’ve never said about ANY cruise ship before, in well over fifty cruises! Throughout my cruise on Luna, I didn’t eat at the buffet - not even once!
This was for a few reasons, but in short there are so many other options on here that I preferred.
Thinking about Speciality Dining (the restaurants that you pay extra for), there are EIGHT different options on this ship, which is more than you’ll find on lots of other cruise ships. On a 7-night cruise, you’ll struggle to get round all of these, so already I was going to be pushed for time! Here are the 8 Speciality options onboard Norwegian Luna:
1) Cagney’s Steakhouse
2) Hasuki Teppanyaki
3) Le Bistro
4) Los Lobos
5) Nama Sushi & Sashimi
6) Onda by Scarpetta
7) Palomar
8) Sukhothai
Not only are there lots of upcharge venues to tempt you away from the buffet, but there are also lots of ‘included’ dining options on this ship, too. My personal favourite was the Indulge Food Hall - this place was absolutely excellent. Instead of a traditional restaurant, this food hall concept space uses tablet computer technology to completely transform the topic of casual dining.
Simply come into the food hall, find a seat, and then order your food and drinks via a tablet computer (every seat has its’ own tablet). Submit the order, and then your food and drinks will arrive to you - it’s like magic! You can even scan your cruise card on the tablet device to pay for any drinks you order - it really is seamless!
One word of advice on this one - if you plan to dine at Indulge, I found that drinks would take much longer to arrive than food. For that reason, I’d always suggest that you aim to submit your drinks order first, and then a few minutes later submit your food order. This simple workaround should save you waiting for your drinks after your food’s already on the table. Easy!
Le Bistro onboard Norwegian Luna, © Fraser at Sea.
The Indulge Food Hall onboard Norwegian Luna, © Fraser at Sea.
The Indulge Food Hall onboard Norwegian Luna, © Fraser at Sea.
5. Loved: How ‘Virgin Voyages’ this Cruise Ship Felt.
If you’re a very loyal cruiser with NCL, this could be considered a relatively controversial one, but one of the things that I loved about Norwegian Luna was how much she reminded me of Virgin Voyages. I’m fairly confident that the design of this ship has been influenced by the cruise ships operating under the Virgin umbrella, although I’m also confident that nobody will openly admit that.
Is this a bad thing from a passenger point of view? Absolutely not! Over the last few years, Virgin Voyages has really disrupted the market with their unique cruise offering. They operate some beautiful cruise ships, so I guess it’s only natural that the other players in the market would look to discreetly implement some aspects of their ship design in their own fleet.
There are a few examples of where this seemed to be more apparent, for example in spaces like the Luna Theatre & Club. This space on the Virgin Voyages ships is called ‘The Red Room’, and the concept is exactly the same: a multi-use space that can operate as a theatre and then can then turn into a nightclub as the evening goes on.
Another example is the design of ‘The Local’, the all day eatery onboard Norwegian Luna. This space, in my opinion, felt very influenced by ‘The Dock House’, which is a venue that you’ll find onboard the Virgin Voyages ships. Both of these venues offer you all day bites and drinks in a relaxing, light and airy environment - can you see the similarities in the below images?
So, that’s five of the things that I loved about cruising onboard Norwegian Luna, but what were three of the things that I didn’t?
1. Didn’t Love: The Theatre
I mentioned earlier that the onboard entertainment was one of my cruise highlights. If that was the case, then how can the theatre be one of my most disliked aspects of the cruise experience onboard Luna? It’s simple - the space allocated to the theatre on this ship class is far too small.
When I cruise, I don’t think it’s unreasonable of me to expect to be able to find a seat for the evening show if I walk into the theatre about 20 minutes before the show. To be clear - I’m not expecting the best seat in the house, but I am expecting to be able to find SOMEWHERE to sit down.
In my experience of every evening of this cruise, you needed to be in line about one hour before the show would begin, waiting for the team to unlock the doors to let everyone inside. If you didn’t do that, you were going to struggle to find somewhere to sit to watch the show. On every night of my cruise, signage was used to explain that the venue was completely full, and announcements from the Cruise Director would explain that shows were running for multiple nights in order to try and combat the issue.
This is something that I could probably understand if the ship were designed at a time where evening entertainment wasn’t overly popular on cruise ships, but this absolutely isn’t the case - Luna’s a brand new ship (at the point of this article going live).
The element that adds fuel to this fire is that Norwegian Cruise Line are showcasing some absolutely fantastic shows in this space, which means that more people than on some other cruise ships will want to see them. This then creates the perfect storm: greater demand in a theatre that’s smaller than on so many other cruise ships. Sigh!
The Luna Theatre and Club onboard Norwegian Luna, © Fraser at Sea.
The Luna Theatre and Club onboard Norwegian Luna, © Fraser at Sea.
2. Didn’t Love: How Busy the Ship Felt…
The second thing that I didn’t love about cruising onboard Norwegian Luna was how busy the ship felt at times. I should explain that I was cruising directly after her launch - she had completed very few cruises prior to mine - so she probably was a little artificially busy.
I found the ship to be very busy in places. Those words are important - some areas of the ship seemed to be overrun with passengers while others coped incredibly well, and even felt peaceful and quiet.
An example I would give of this is the main pool deck - the top decks of this ship were incredibly busy during our days ‘at sea’, whilst the Promenade Deck had plenty of space to sit down, lie out and relax. If you’re looking to escape the crowds during your cruise, remember this!
It’s important to go onto a ship the size of Luna with clear expectations. It would be highly unreasonable to cruise on this type of ship and expect quiet top decks while cruising in the Caribbean sunshine during a sea day, but if you know what to expect then you’re not going to be hit by the surprise when you walk outside!
On the point of ‘busy’, be sure to secure any dining reservations as early in the cruise as possible. I met countless people onboard who weren’t able to dine at their favourite restaurants, or who had to accept times completely different to what they were hoping for, due to such a high demand from the cruisers onboard. If you have any specific dining hopes and wishes, try to secure them before you even step onboard by logging into your account online in advance.
Some areas onboard Norwegian Luna can feel very busy, like the Pool Deck, © Fraser at Sea.
Hoping to book your favourite Speciality restaurant? Book early! © Fraser at Sea.
3. Didn’t Love: The Location of the Casino…
Laying my cards on the table, I really enjoy spending a little time in the casino when I cruise. I don’t spend a huge amount of time in there, but I do enjoy it. As much as I enjoy spending some time in the casino, I really enjoy the time that I’m not in there, too!
You’ll find the casino on the lower level of the main atrium onboard Norwegian Luna, which unfortunately means that you can hear the output from this venue all around this wider space. On the ships I’ve cruised on from NCL previously (Breakaway and Escape), travelling noise isn’t an issue, as there are no other venues around to really disturb, but the casino on Luna shares a space with one of the primary entertainment team venues.
In the evening, the team will have events like gameshows taking place here, but during the day this space plays host to activities like the ‘Meet the Senior Officers Q&A’, and other events that really benefit from some quiet around it.
Unfortunately, the location of the casino meant that I didn’t go to a great amount of the daytime activities in this space, as I found it incredibly distracting when trying to focus on the event taking place there. It would be great if Norwegian Cruise Line developed a way to remove or at least reduce the casino noise from this space, but who knows… Time will tell!
The Casino shares a space with many other venues within Luna’s main Atrium. © Fraser at Sea.
That’s it - 5 of the things that I loved about cruising on this ship, and also 3 of the things that I didn’t.
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Happy cruising!
