15 things I loved and hated about my Norwegian Viva cruise!
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- čas přidán 8. 06. 2024
- I recently returned from my first time sailing onboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest and grandest ship, Norwegian Viva, during one of its first sailings departing from the United States. The itinerary was a quick 4-night sailing that visited Nassau and Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas.
From the Indulge Food Hall to the tiny pool deck, we were able to assess some of our favorite and least favorite things about this brand-new ship during this 4-night cruise!
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Agree with pretty much everything you said! Tiny pool area, and that bar was always NUTS! BUT- the little infinity pools were a decent place to lounge, even though those were pretty full too. We’d pop in the observation lounge for drinks instead of pool bar- much less crowded! Another thing to note was the smoking area- I don’t smoke but my boyfriend does, and it was SO TINY, and no way to get to it without being outside which was an issue when it rains. I wish he didn’t smoke at all, but it’s really not smoker friendly in my opinion. It was GORGEOUS though- I loved our room.
Having cruised with Norwegian Line for my fourth time, and having previously enjoyed great and wonderful experiences with their hospitality, service, and food quality, it was an unpleasant surprise to find this cruise falling short of expectations. What was promised to be the best of all turned out to be a major letdown. We shipped from Venice on the 16th of May and entered into a twilight zone.
My friends an I, 10 guests, Joined on the Norwegian Viva cruise for an unforgettable experience, but not in a good way. Prepare yourself for subpar food that will leave your taste buds disappointed. The poorly organized tours are a logistical nightmare, often leaving you confused and frustrated. To top it all off, you'll barely have enough time to explore the cities visited, making the entire trip feel rushed and unsatisfactory. If you're looking for a relaxing and enjoyable cruise, this is definitely not it.
In Istanbul, our guide only gave us the story of his life, including details about the three restaurants he owns, but never provided us with the rich history of the Ottoman Empire or its famous mosques. This lack of insightful commentary made what should have been an enlightening tour feel like a missed opportunity to truly appreciate the city's cultural and historical significance.
The lack of organization in tender undocking is unforgivable, leaving you stranded for more than two hours just to leave the ship in Mykonos. Expect long waits, confusion, and missed opportunities to explore the destination. This cruise promises frustration at every turn, making it a vacation you'll want to forget. If you value your time and sanity, steer clear of the Norwegian Viva cruise.
I hope this complaint serves to better there future performance.
Wow... extremely high quality stable video clips make this review look super-professional. Nicely done. Whoever shot the video clips knows what they are doing and has invested well in good equipment.
Thank you for the review. We are sailing on Viva for 10 day in the fall.
Hi Hayley...Royston from Johannesburg South Africa 🇿🇦. My wife and I are sailing on the Viva in June this year. A 10 night cruise. We're sailing from Lisbon to Civitavecchia....We can't wait... I'm going to head straight to the Indulge Food Hall. Thanks for such an informative video 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
The old White Hot Party was the best; especially on European sailings. I would also mention the unique art collections on Prima class ships. These collections rival Celebrity’s collections and are fun to hunt down and read about the different pieces.
Thanks for the great review and tips. Going on the Viva in 3 weeks out of PR and looking forward to it.
Excellent vide, very helpful.
We love NCL! One huge dislike for us on NCL is how small and ill-fitted the gyms are on the ships! We workout, especially on sea days and the gyms are so disappointing!
Thank you for your well balanced review and excellent video. I enjoyed them. As you mentioned, we also liked many things about the NCL Viva. My wife and I sailed the Viva this past January. For some odd reason, Beetle Juice was cancelled, which left the show room entertainment to be minimal. I was curios to know why it was cancelled, and a customer service agent paused for a moment and said "it was cancelled" with no explanation. We sailed on a Celebrity Cruise last year, and every night had incredible entertainment which we looked forward to. We also disliked the new buffet. Most of the food was repetitious, selections were poor, and seating was difficult to find. For example, regarding the food, only one choice of soup was available, while on other ships, there are at least two soups to chose from. And the soups were not of the caliber of other ships, mostly broth. We went to two specialty restaurants, one was excellent, and one was not. Also, we were a little displeased with house keeping. It reminded us of the type we would receive in an extended stay at a motel. It used to be that when we would leave our state room in the morning, we would see many stewards in the hallway cleaning rooms. One this cruise, it was not uncommon to see one steward down the hallway. I mentioned these concerns in my NCL review, and was disappointed that I did not receive a reply. Later, I wrote NCL customer service about my concerns, and also did not receive a reply. My wife and I have been on nine NCL sailings, on seven different ships, and we are considering booking future cruises with different cruise lines.
I went on the Prima last January. This looks like a duplicate ship.
Thank you for a balanced and good v-blog. Regarding the 5 complimentary restaurants, how does it work? (We travel Haven on the Encore last time). Do you order at the table to a waiter? We have paid service charge in advance, is there a pressure to tip? We are going there in 28 days, and very much looking forward to our 10 day cruise.
i just finished a cruise on the viva the ship is beautiful ship i went out of san juan the only music they played the whole spanish and the same thing happen on the epic last just spanish music seems like they where catering to the spanish since we where going out of san juan maybe norweigan should check in to this i will never go out of san juan again thank you
Well done. I have to say the interior decor is now becoming standard beige or grayscale "contemporary." It's not unlike what's on Celebrity Edge class or many areas of Silversea Super Nova. Those are more upscale, especially Silversea, but it's the same color palette and it's not my favorite. I prefer deeper, richer and darker colors or at least more of a mix. The pool is probably small due to the amount of space the go kart track takes up. There's seems to be a lot of stuff stuffed onto this ship.
RC cruises have way more things to do, even the older ones have more than this one. Plus RC don't change u extra for most activities on the beat
Hi Hayley! Hope you had fun! Have never sailed NCL but hope to. If I am going on my first NCL cruise what ship should I go on?
Hi Parker Jensen! Thank you so much for following along with Cruise Blog! Picking a Norwegian Cruise Line sailing will be all about what is important to you on your vacation, whether it be an exciting itinerary or a modern ship with lots to do onboard. If it is your first sailing with Norwegian Cruise Line I would choose one of the Breakaway Plus Class ships such as the Norwegian Bliss or Norwegian Encore! These ships feature some of the best amenities and activities in the NCL fleet, and will give a good overview of what Norwegian Cruise Line is all about. Both of these ships have a wide variety of itineraries to choose from as well, such as Caribbean and Alaska sailings. I hope this helps with your cruise planning! Thank you for watching and following along with Cruise Blog!
I'd go with Encore or Escape for first timers. The Prima or Viva could also work assuming your expectations are realistic
I agree about too much area devoted to shops, but if it wasn’t profitable, they wouldn’t be there
Doing the Haven on this Feb 2025
NO GLOW PARTY??!! Rats!
Narrator’s voice is difficult to listen to and if she said, “Norwegian Viva” one more time, I might jump overboard!
I know you said there was so much to do onboard, but I didn't really see it in this video. It seemed like the entertainment was lame and lacking, and other than the food, they nickel and dime you on everything else (like all cruise lines).