SpacemanSpiff

To paraphrase a movie quote, "drop the horsemeat, try the cannoli. "

Thanks!

Question - where in Santorini was the church interior you took that picture of?

It could well be #3. Viva's on the right, in the water. The ship in the drydock, upper left, has the same "footprint" for Hudson's in the stern ,and the same oval shape in the midsection for the go-kart track.

Yep. Between Mikel's videos and the reports that folks have been able to do online check-in for the August 10 departure tells me things are going to work out just fine.

Yes, Prima has three chandeliers in Le Bistro. I've read they are about $80k apiece (plus or minus, depends on who's doing the writing).

One of the workers, Mikel Tacder Alolor, has recently put up some videos of how things are coming along on the Viva. Here is one where he is walking around on Deck 7, starting at Hudson's and ending up at Le Bistro. https://fb.watch/l_9h4mOieP/

As others have said, it's a good way to "sample" a region. Some cities (e.g. Rome, as well as some aforementioned cities) as a cruise stop are less than desirable because there is so much to see, and little time to see anything except as a drive-by event once you factor in 90 minutes or so each way from the port. We're going on the Viva cruise in September 2023 which starts in Athens and ends in Rome, so that gives us the chance to do a few days before/after in each city. The rest is "sampling." Would I like to spend more time in some of these areas? Yes. But since we're getting up there in years, we figured we'd take the plunge on this itinerary. Otherwise, we'd never even get to have the sample! And, of course, YMMV.

^ This -- but DW thinks I'm nuts for doing so. My shirts are generally quick-drying, so I'm saving laundry for those items (khaki cotton shorts) that don't dry as well.

Just looked at the article. Ironically, it had a banner ad for one of the leading tour companies in Rome. 😄

Reminds me of one of those birdhouse margaritas I got DW once on vacation. It was mostly ice, but it sure made for a grand presentation!

While not (officially) recommending it, we are booked at the Volcano Blue restaurant for a September cruise. From an overall standpoint, if you want a restaurant with a caldera view, do some research and get a reservation well in advance. If you try to find one with available seating on the fly, you are liable to have a long wait. EDIT -- if you see some of the online review, you will see that Argos is highly recommended; be forewarned that many of these are dated, and the restaurant has moved away from the caldera.

My wife is the Starbuck drinker. She doesn't collect the mugs, but she has a couple of friends that we usually get them for (space/weight permitting) when we travel overseas. Not sure if they'd be interested in these, but I might for the office (especially since I can't get a "ship on a stick" on NCL!)

True. I still miss my old BBQ joint from where I grew up. Like many small family businesses, the next generation moves onto something else and nobody wants to take over (or, worse, someone buys it out and doesn't know what they're doing), so it's just a memory.

I'm not sure which one of us would come out red first! And don't give NCL any ideas -- they might decide to turn the hot tub water into a base for lobster bisque (sustainability and all that sort of thing....)

Probably a good idea, yes. And if you want to do it, book it as soon as you can, because a lot of folks have that same game plan!

Color me confused, it looks like it's in the same spot that it's been at since the May sea trials.

You and me both. But I'm sure things will be similar. Of course, we're about five weeks away from the first cruise (early August), so I'm waiting to see what shows up!

I assume this is some kind of glitch, maybe because it's a new ship. The restaurants are available for reservations, but you'll need to call them to make the reservations at this time. The times/restaurants you want might already be gone, but don't worry, I understand that they only reserve a minority of the dates and times available prior to sailing. You might want to go ahead and reserve something (think of it as a placeholder), but you can see what's available when you board the Viva, cancel the first and book the new one.

Better bags under your bed than bags under your eyes.. 🤣

I tried the chat function, and they referred me to the phone number (not sure if it's really the chat function limitations or just the guy on the other side of the box that was the problem). However, given that we're on a 10-day port-intensive cruise, that means a fee of $319/pax for the cruise. Not sure it'd be worth it, given our limited time on the ship.

Might try that, but only if I have $200 of non-refundable OBC on the last day of the cruise.

Most decent hotels can set up a shuttle to the airport (or elsewhere) for you. Just get it set up once you get there and don't wait until the last minute.

I did run across this on YT yesterday -- part of the upcoming Viva entertainment. They seem very excited about getting the gig on the ship.

Mrs. Spiff and I are disagreeing with a point, so I thought I'd throw it out there. We're going in a few months on the Viva in the Mediterranean. She wants to get some feta cheese in Greece to bring back onto the ship to eat later on (not to bring home -- I'm pretty sure that's not allowed). I'm of the impression that it's not allowed, and she thinks otherwise. I do see where there is a "prepackaged" exception to allow foods back onto the ship buried among the rules, but I'm not sure it applies to feta. Let me know what y'all think. Thanks!