Thoughts on the Viva

[room with a view]

Fabulous looking ship .....any thoughts on best deck with a midships balcony cabin . 

On the Viva is there much difference between a balcony cabin or a club balcony cabin ... we are Platinum Latitudes .

thanks

[Karaboudjan]

2 hours ago, room with a view said:

Fabulous looking ship .....any thoughts on best deck with a midships balcony cabin . 

On the Viva is there much difference between a balcony cabin or a club balcony cabin ... we are Platinum Latitudes .

thanks

 

Club balcony on Viva appears to be the same as Prima, which means either forward facing (I think) or in the tower at the stern.  We had one of the stern ones on the Prima.  The cabin was a bit larger than the standard balconies and the balcony itself was also a bit larger (I think; since it is curved it was not easy to calculate although I tried)  However, because of the curvature of the tower the size of the cabins and balconies can vary a bit, although I think they are all at least a bit larger than the regular balcony cabins.

 

As for the deck question, I would definitely get a cabin far enough forward to be away from the slides.  Another consideration would be the proximity to the public areas on Deck 8, so maybe higher is a bit better.

[room with a view]

Thanks for your reply .

 

We have never been on one of the "big" NCL ships  - so never gave the slides a thought . We prefer mid ships so will have to go higher and also we want to be between decks .

 

We will be on the Gem this Autumn (Fall) so the Viva will be a BIG change. Haven't booked yet  still in the planning stages .

 

thanks

[mugtech]

Avoid cold weather

[room with a view]

On 6/30/2023 at 11:25 PM, mugtech said:

Avoid cold weather

??????

[luv2kroooz]

Poor design of this class of ship creates huge bottlenecks inside during periods of high demand - cold weather.

 

The thought is that if you book a warm weather itinerary, the problem can be mitigated somewhat as passengers are more evenly disbursed in and outside the ship.

[graphicguy]

On 6/30/2023 at 3:59 PM, room with a view said:

Thanks for your reply .

 

We have never been on one of the "big" NCL ships  - so never gave the slides a thought . We prefer mid ships so will have to go higher and also we want to be between decks .

 

We will be on the Gem this Autumn (Fall) so the Viva will be a BIG change. Haven't booked yet  still in the planning stages .

 

thanks

Actually, the Viva holds only about 10% more passengers than the Gem, and Viva is a bigger ship.

 

Obviously, no guests have sailed her, yet.  But, if Prima is a guideline, the dining venues are different than they are on a traditional cruise ship.  Viva and Prima have smaller dining areas, but there are more of them.  So, if one dining venue is crowded, you can go to another.

[debenson0723]

32 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Obviously, no guests have sailed her, yet.  But, if Prima is a guideline, the dining venues are different than they are on a traditional cruise ship.  Viva and Prima have smaller dining areas, but there are more of them.  So, if one dining venue is crowded, you can go to another.

I am confused about this part of your answer. There are 2 MDRs on the Prima/Viva, while the Breakaway/+ class have 3. At the start of the Prima sailings, there was the same menu every night with an additional specialty restaurant entree available for an upcharge. This concept failed and the Prima now has the rotating menus like the other NCL MDRs (and I am guessing the Viva will too). There is the Indulge Food Hall that is open for dinner also but as others have mentioned it gets extremely crowded during the popular dining times. Either get there as soon as they open or go later.

[graphicguy]

4 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

I am confused about this part of your answer. There are 2 MDRs on the Prima/Viva, while the Breakaway/+ class have 3. At the start of the Prima sailings, there was the same menu every night with an additional specialty restaurant entree available for an upcharge. This concept failed and the Prima now has the rotating menus like the other NCL MDRs (and I am guessing the Viva will too). There is the Indulge Food Hall that is open for dinner also but as others have mentioned it gets extremely crowded during the popular dining times. Either get there as soon as they open or go later.

I think Indulge Food Hall alone has 11 different venues.  If one is crowded, you can go to another.  This is true of any Dining venue on any cruise ship, though.  

 

Then, there are all of these…

 

https://eatsleepcruise.com/norwegian-prima-restaurants-guide-with-menus/

 

I think some want the traditional MDR experiences.  Nothing wrong with that.  But, there are other options on the Viva/Prima.  Some don’t like those changes.

 

From what I’ve read, the same can be said for the VIVA.

 

NCL is trying something different….offering something like Indulge Food hall.  If you’re looking for more of a traditional dining experience with big MDRs, I believe Prima/Viva are probably not for you.

 

Personally, I’m looking forward to sailing either Prima or Viva (maybe both, given I have a couple of CN certs sitting in my account).  I like new and different.

 

 

[debenson0723]

4 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I think Indulge Food Hall alone has 11 different venues.  If one is crowded, you can go to another.  This is true of any Dining venue on any cruise ship, though.  

 

Then, there are all of these…

 

https://eatsleepcruise.com/norwegian-prima-restaurants-guide-with-menus/

 

I think some want the traditional MDR experiences.  Nothing wrong with that.  But, there are other options on the Viva/Prima.  Some don’t like those changes.

 

From what I’ve read, the same can be said for the VIVA.

 

NCL is trying something different….offering something like Indulge Food hall.  If you’re looking for more of a traditional dining experience with big MDRs, I believe Prima/Viva are probably not for you.

 

Personally, I’m looking forward to sailing either Prima or Viva (maybe both, given I have a couple of CN certs sitting in my account).  I like new and different.

 

 

Indulge Food Hall  has a lot of 'stations' not venues (think of a food court at the mall or large airport). You go into a main seating area where there are tablets on the tables. Each tablet list the menu for all of the stations. You can order whatever you want from each station (so a couple from Q, one from Tamara, a tapas or two) and it is brought out to you by a server rather quickly. There are also seats at each station (maybe 8-10) but if you end up sitting there, you can only eat the food served by that station (not ideal). Those are always usually full at lunch and dinner prime times too. It's a great concept but they just need more seating, as it is very popular.

I have sailed the Prima and will be on the Viva in December. I think you will enjoy the ships as they are definitely different.  

[jemz1949]

Here's my issue with Indulge....not so much the area itself but the people that occupy it.  As some have said, it is not an extremely large area.  My problem is that far too many cruisers go into the Indulge seating area and "camp out"....not to eat but instead to play cards or board games or read a book...and in doing so, make an already limited seating area even smaller.  

 

[room with a view]

6 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

Poor design of this class of ship creates huge bottlenecks inside during periods of high demand - cold weather.

 

The thought is that if you book a warm weather itinerary, the problem can be mitigated somewhat as passengers are more evenly disbursed in and outside the ship.

Thanks for that - something I never considered. We had our Christmas/New Year cruise on the Epic cancelled by NCL - now that is a ship with a poor design  !!

[room with a view]

Thanks everyone for your very informative replies.

 

Looking at the photos of the Viva - some balcony cabins must be very very close to the slide.

So perhaps looking for a forward cabin.

 

On deck 14  forward of the Haven private elevators there is an open are - could this be staff stairs etc 

Deck 13 directly below are cabins . 

[room with a view]

1 hour ago, debenson0723 said:

Indulge Food Hall  has a lot of 'stations' not venues (think of a food court at the mall or large airport). You go into a main seating area where there are tablets on the tables. Each tablet list the menu for all of the stations. You can order whatever you want from each station (so a couple from Q, one from Tamara, a tapas or two) and it is brought out to you by a server rather quickly. There are also seats at each station (maybe 8-10) but if you end up sitting there, you can only eat the food served by that station (not ideal). Those are always usually full at lunch and dinner prime times too. It's a great concept but they just need more seating, as it is very popular.

I have sailed the Prima and will be on the Viva in December. I think you will enjoy the ships as they are definitely different.  

Hi debenson0723   did you chose your deck from your experience on the Viva  ?

thanks

[debenson0723]

18 minutes ago, room with a view said:

Hi debenson0723   did you chose your deck from your experience on the Viva  ?

thanks

The Viva hasn't sailed yet...first cruise is next month. I was in a balcony cabin on deck 10 on the Prima, midship. I wanted to be a bit higher but it really didn't matter since I was unable to use my balcony due to bad weather. I haven't been assigned a cabin on the Viva (guarantee). 

[room with a view]

Just now, debenson0723 said:

The Viva hasn't sailed yet...first cruise is next month. I was in a balcony cabin on deck 10 on the Prima, midship. I wanted to be a bit higher but it really didn't matter since I was unable to use my balcony due to bad weather. I haven't been assigned a cabin on the Viva (guarantee). 

Thanks, yes ... I should have typed the Prima !!!   

[Jim The Lizard]

If you’re using Vibe or a pool person, deck 15 and 16 mid ship are ideal.  You simply walk up a flight of stairs or two and you’re good.  We’ve stayed in 15758 which oddly enough is on YouTube as a featured video (not ours).  We are sailing Viva and Prima again, booked on the 16th floor mid ship.  One flight of stairs to Vibe, buffet, pool.  

[Sugar Magnolia]

9 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

There are also seats at each station (maybe 8-10) but if you end up sitting there, you can only eat the food served by that station (not ideal). Those are always usually full at lunch and dinner prime times too. It's a great concept but they just need more seating, as it is very popular.

 

You can now also order from any other station while sitting at a station counter at Indulge. The old way never made sense to me.

 

[debenson0723]

1 hour ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

You can now also order from any other station while sitting at a station counter at Indulge. The old way never made sense to me.

 

Good to know...that will help with some of the seating issues during prime dining times.  Thanks!

[room with a view]

12 hours ago, Jim The Lizard said:

If you’re using Vibe or a pool person, deck 15 and 16 mid ship are ideal.  You simply walk up a flight of stairs or two and you’re good.  We’ve stayed in 15758 which oddly enough is on YouTube as a featured video (not ours).  We are sailing Viva and Prima again, booked on the 16th floor mid ship.  One flight of stairs to Vibe, buffet, pool.  

Jim, we are not pool people on land or sea !!! . We love port intensive cruises. Looking to book the Viva 2024 with a cabin between accommodation decks .

[Jim The Lizard]

18 hours ago, room with a view said:

Jim, we are not pool people on land or sea !!! . We love port intensive cruises. Looking to book the Viva 2024 with a cabin between accommodation decks .

Then I would suggest 8 or 9.  Closer to restaurants and the atrium. 

[amygutman]

I may be in the minority here, but both the Prima and Viva look "modernly ugly". Taste is personal and subjective, but it looks like Ikea vomited up a over-crowded cruise ship. Don't get me wrong...this class is striking, but not in what we thing is a good way vs. a more traditional ship design. 

 

Did it stop us from booking the Viva? No...but with trepidation. We went from a cancelled Spirit cruise on a beautiful ship to the Viva to which our first (and subsequent reactions) have been "ugh". Even Emma and Ben & David, some of our favorite vloggers who just raved about the Prima, could not convince us to book that ship. So why did we book the Viva, and in a Haven to boot? Simply because the middle East and Greek itinerary is amazing. This is the 3rd time we booked for itinerary > ship: The Dawn (Bermuda...itinerary a win, ship a toss-up), The Pearl (Panama Canal...itinerary AND ship winners), and hoping to be pleasantly proven wrong on the Viva.

 

Looking forward to actual photos / videos from the Viva and hoping the itinerary doesn't change (like the recent Irish cruise no longer going to Ireland!). Any day at sea is better than a day at work, but still having a tiny bit of buyer's remorse...would love to have my mind changed. 

 

Warmest, Amy

[room with a view]

2 hours ago, amygutman said:

I may be in the minority here, but both the Prima and Viva look "modernly ugly". Taste is personal and subjective, but it looks like Ikea vomited up a over-crowded cruise ship. Don't get me wrong...this class is striking, but not in what we thing is a good way vs. a more traditional ship design. 

 

Did it stop us from booking the Viva? No...but with trepidation. We went from a cancelled Spirit cruise on a beautiful ship to the Viva to which our first (and subsequent reactions) have been "ugh". Even Emma and Ben & David, some of our favorite vloggers who just raved about the Prima, could not convince us to book that ship. So why did we book the Viva, and in a Haven to boot? Simply because the middle East and Greek itinerary is amazing. This is the 3rd time we booked for itinerary > ship: The Dawn (Bermuda...itinerary a win, ship a toss-up), The Pearl (Panama Canal...itinerary AND ship winners), and hoping to be pleasantly proven wrong on the Viva.

 

Looking forward to actual photos / videos from the Viva and hoping the itinerary doesn't change (like the recent Irish cruise no longer going to Ireland!). Any day at sea is better than a day at work, but still having a tiny bit of buyer's remorse...would love to have my mind changed. 

 

Warmest, Amy

We had many a fabulous cruise on the Spirit . 

[room with a view]

5 hours ago, Jim The Lizard said:

Then I would suggest 8 or 9.  Closer to restaurants and the atrium. 

Thanks ...now back to planning !!

[schmoopie17]

It will be interesting to hear reports from early Viva cruisers as to whether they had the incessant rattling of their cabin walls that many (including us) experienced on the Prima. That alone would make us think twice before scheduling the Viva.