5 Hits and Misses of the Norwegian Viva

August 13, 2024 Randy Young

This summer I had a chance to sail aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Norwegian Viva, for an epic 10-day Mediterranean cruise. It’s the second Prima-class ship, and nearly identical to its sister-ship, the Prima (four more Prima-class ships are on order, but will be noticeably larger). The ship is a big departure from Norwegian’s Breakaway-class of ships and it’s highly polarizing. I sailed aboard the ship in June 2023, and here are what I think are the main hits and misses of the Norwegian Viva.

Hit – A High-End and Intimate Atmosphere

From the minute you step foot on the Norwegian Viva and enter the beautiful Penrose Atrium, you get a sense of the elevated, premium decor of the ship. The ship is unlike most of the Norwegian fleet; it has a subtle elegance that is unique and more in line with something you’d expect from a premium cruise line like Celebrity.

Most of the Viva has a distinct high-end, intimate feel. It’s very modern and filled with lots of light, both natural and artificial. If you showed people pictures, most wouldn’t even think it was a cruise ship.

The design of the Viva also focuses on “intimacy.” You won’t find a massive interior promenade filled with thousands of people on the ship. In fact, only a few spaces on the ship hold more than a hundred guests. In addition, many of the larger areas are broken up with different barriers or sections to make it feel cozy. There’s almost no time while you’re on Viva when you feel like you’re with 3,000 other passengers.

While the modern and futuristic design aesthetic may not be to everyone’s taste, there’s no arguing that Norwegian does it very well on the Viva.

Miss – The Main Pool Area

Norwegian’s ships aren’t known for having the best pool areas. While other cruise lines have added theming and decor, Norwegian keeps it mostly basic and functional. With the Viva, they didn’t change that.

On a ship where they focus on beauty and high-end finishes, the pool area is spartan and industrial. It’s like it was a complete afterthought to the rest of the ship. The race track looks over one side of the pool, further increasing the industrial feel, and the other side is just a wall of white metal. They have a video screen, but for some reason, they put it at eye level, not raised, making it impractical for movies or sporting events. The Waves Pool bar itself is a simple white bar. If not for the rows of liquor bottles behind it, you might mistake it for a towel sign-out area. At least the size is good for the space and serves the area well.

The main pool, located on deck 17, is small to be a main pool. On our 10-day sailing, it was never overly packed, but during summer breaks, I could easily see it being overrun with children. The entertainment staff would try to do water activities here, but because it’s the only pool, that meant while water aerobics was going on, people just sat around watching. They have a dedicated splash area for the kids, but it’s a prime exact of form over functionality. There are no slides, dump buckets, or pools. I question if whoever designed this ever actually met a child.

In addition to the main pool, The Viva has two Infinity Pools on Deck 8 that are also available. While not huge, they provide an alternative to the more crowded main pool and a more relaxed experience.

Hit – Ocean Boulevard

When you go on a cruise, you want to see the ocean, and it’s amazing how many ships don’t consider that. Norwegian has long tried to embrace that, having debuted the “Waterfront” space on their Breakaway-class ships that offered an exterior promenade with outdoor dining options. On the Prima, Norwegian evolved that concept into “Ocean Boulevard.”

Ocean Boulevard is the exterior promenade that wraps around the entire ship. It’s reportedly double the size of the Waterfront on the Norwegian Breakaway. On the Viva, they expanded the space significantly, installing tons of comfy seating, two infinity pools, loungers, and outdoor dining options. It offers some breathtaking views with a variety of seating options looking at the water. It’s so easy to find a place to get away and chat with friends, old and new. Couches, beds, swings, loungers, you name it, it’s there.

The exterior promenade also had two glass walkways, called Ocean Walk, and an Art Gallery.

Miss – The Entertainment Venues

Norwegian really missed the mark when designing the entertainment spaces on the ship. While the Viva Theater is impressive, probably one of the best multi-use setups I’ve seen on a cruise ship, the rest of the venues just weren’t thought out.

The Improv Comedy Club, which does not have any actual improv comedy, is small. It only holds 73 guests – just 3% of the possible guests on the ship. The space is narrow and has large columns that block sight lines and when the space is used for events, the doors open right into the middle of the space, interrupting the flow and making it awkward to enter.

norwegian viva karaoke in improv — While the Improv Comedy Lounge doesn’t work well for comedy shows (it’s too small), it is perfect for karaoke.

Syd Normans Pour House has a similar problem. It is used for Norwegian’s rock-band-style performances which are some of the most popular events on the ship, but it’s ridiculously small. According to Norwegian, the space holds 70 guests. They have made some improvements over the sister ship, the Prima, by removing bulky couches and armchairs and replacing them with pub tables. Still, Syd Normans can’t accommodate the crowds who want to see the show. While these types of performances work better in more intimate venues (compared to a 400-seat theater), it is just too small for a ship of this size.

To give credit where it’s due, the space looks fantastic. It’s themed to look like a hole-in-the-wall, underground rock club with lots of memorabilia on the walls. It’s actually a great-looking space, but you’ll never be able to appreciate it because it’s jam-packed. For Syd Normans’ popular Rumors show (where they play the album Rumors in its entirety), I got in line 45 minutes early, and once doors finally opened, I couldn’t get a seat; I had to stand.

Another problem area is the Penrose Atrium for musical performances. Here, they created a makeshift band space next to the Penrose Bar. But this area is cut off from the rest of the atrium by awkward shelving with pottery and vases on it. You can’t see the performers at all if you’re not in the handful of seats right under the deck above.

It’s not much better in the other bars. In the Metropolitan Bar, the talented performers are given a space between two circular couches to perform right off the main hallway. The Observation Lounge and Belvedere Bar, don’t even attempt to offer any live music or entertainment.

Norwegian did do a good job with the Viva Theater. It was sufficiently large, had an impressive design, sight lines were good throughout, and the seating was very comfortable, even though they were retractable. However, because the theater is the only space that can hold several hundred people, an evening’s entertainment essentially revolves around what’s happening there. Even if the entertainment staff wanted to hold other events, there’s not a sufficient place to do it.

Most cruise ships have several larger performance spaces, so several events can happen at once, keeping the ship busy with energy. If you look at the Celebrity Beyond, a ship roughly the same size, they have several venues that can handle larger groups: a theater that holds 990 people; Eden, a 3-deck venue that holds 268 people; and The Club, which holds 300. Having all these venues means they can schedule several types of entertainment at once, breaking up crowds and giving options.

While talking about entertainment, I should point out that Norwegian’s entertainment offerings were pretty mediocre. While I really enjoyed Beetlejuice and thought it was Broadway-quality, Norwegian is removing Broadway shows from its ships (they just announced the Prima will lose the Donna Summer musical), so Beetlejuice is not guaranteed to be on future sailings. Their other offerings were what people expect when they say hear “cruise ship entertainment,” uninspired musical reviews and “featured performers.” While other cruise lines are stepping up their game, Norwegian is quickly loosing ground here.

Hit – Indulge Food Hall

While most cruise lines are now copying the idea, Norwegian was the first to put a food hall on a cruise ship when it debuted the Prima. At the Indulge Food Hall, you can choose food from 8 different stalls. All the food is made to order and brought out to you by a waiter. You order using a tablet on the table, so you can mix and match the offerings from different food stalls.

The space is filled with a variety of seating options, including large circular booths, regular tables, and bar tops. The layout isn’t straightforward; instead, it encourages you to meander through the space to find a table. Since waiters are delivering the food, the people flow doesn’t matter as much. Indulge Food Hall also has great seating available outside on Ocean Boulevard for impressive aft views.

On the Viva, Norwegian made a few changes compared to the Prima. They removed the Starbucks, Cocos extra-fee dessert, and one of the food truck facades to provide more seating.

I ate there a lot during my 10-day cruise and never waited more than 7 minutes for my food to come out; usually, it was closer to 3 to 4 minutes. I also never had a problem finding a table. All the dishes I tried were delicious, my favorite being the Totopos (elevated nachos) and the Pulled Pork Sandwich.

For breakfast, the Indulge Food Hall was also a hidden gem. Here, you could find standard breakfast favorites (eggs, cereal, pancakes, bagels, fruit). For breakfast, you don’t order on tablets, but instead visit different stations where they have buffets setup. It was a bit confusing the first time, but the complete lack of crowds made it my breakfast “go to” for our sailing.

See the Indulge Food Hall Menu

Miss – Undersized Buffet / Surfside Cafe

Norwegian’s designers made a big mistake when they designed the main buffet on the Norwegian Viva (called Seaside Cafe). Anyone who has ever been on a cruise ship could have spotted this issue, so it’s odd Norwegian went with this design for two ships.

First, the buffet is too small. According to Norwegian, the Seaside Cafe can hold 238 guests, just 6% of the people on the ship. Norwegian was hoping the large Indulge Food Hall would take away some of the demand for the buffet, it didn’t do so sufficiently. Norwegian has tried to rectify this issue but opening the seating in nearly Food Republic and the outdoor area of Palomar to people sitting for breakfast and lunch, which made a huge improvement. Unfortunately, it’s quite a walk back if you want seconds.

The second problem is that the buffet is also used as a main concourse on the ship. If you want to go from the main pool to the aft elevators, or if you want to access to sports area/race track, you have to walk from the pool into the buffet, walking down the same space where people are trying to get food. This setup leads to people bumping into each other, crowding, and ultimately a chaotic feel. It also doesn’t help cleanliness because the staff can’t encourage people to wash their hands when they enter since they might just be walking through.

Then there’s the Seaside Grill, a seemingly hidden room at the end of the buffet through glass doors. Here, you’ll find burgers and hot dogs as well as some food found in the main buffet. They’d serve food here in some late afternoons, but some guests didn’t even know this area existed. They’d walk into the buffet, see it was closed, and think no food was available.

That being said, while the design was poorly done, the food was actually quite good. The food was all good quality, hot, and constantly being rotated out. I enjoyed the wide selection of entrees from different types of cuisine, although the dessert section was a bit lacking. I would have likely gone to the buffet more often if I didn’t have to worry about the crowds. Still, I found the buffet to be as good, if not better, than buffet offerings I’ve had on other ships.

Hit – Number of Bars and Dining Options

The Viva builds on Norwegian’s Freestyle Dining concept, where you have a large variety of restaurants to choose from on the ship. Considering it’s not a massive ship, it’s incredible how many different venues are available onboard the Viva. You have over 12 different bar options and 14 restaurants to choose from while sailing.

For food, there’s a mix of included venues and extra-fee options. For included dining, the ship has a buffet (Seaside Cafe), Indulge Food Hall, two main dining rooms (Hudsons and The Commodore Room), and The Local, the nearly 24/7 pub. The menus in the two dining rooms are the same, but half of the menu selections rotate each night.

For guests who don’t mind paying extra for food, there are eight specialty restaurants. In most restaurants, guests can choose a la carte pricing or purchase a specialty dining credit, which usually includes an appetizer, a soup/salad, an entree, and a dessert. You have a variety of types of foods to choose from: French, Mediterranean, Sushi, Italian, the options are pretty varied. Again, what makes it remarkable is this ship isn’t a mega ship like Icon of the Seas. Usually, ships this size don’t have that many options.

The ship also has a variety of bars, both indoors and outdoors. Even better, most of them have different menus. When I was on Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas last year, 90% of the drink menus were the same across the whole ship. It got boring. On the Viva, most bars had a dedicated menu with different options unavailable at other locations. It’s especially nice since most people get the “Unlimited Open Bar Package” (learn more here) when booking a “Free at Sea” fare, giving them so many more drinks to try.

metropolitan bar on norwegian viva pineapple surplus — The Pineapple Surplus was one of my favorites at Metropolitan Bar.

See all the Norwegian Viva bars

Miss – Confusing Layout With Lots of Hallways

Norwegian made some odd choices when designing the Viva, making the layout confusing and hampering the usefulness of some spaces.

The biggest issue is one I already touched upon. You literally have to walk through the food line in the buffet to get to the back of the ship from mid-ship on the pool deck level. Whenever you try to get to the aft elevators, someone asks you to wash your hands because you’re walking into the buffet. And during busy buffet times, this hallway gets crowded with people trying to get food.

Down on Deck 8, if you want to get to Indulge Food Hall, you have to walk through The Local Bar, which is fine, but no signage indicates this. It feels a bit odd having to walk through a bar to get to a restaurant, and if they have a game showing on the massive TV in the bar, you have to block people as you walk past it.

the local bar entrance norwegian viva — To get to the Indulge Food Hall, you have to walk through The Local Bar, although there’s no signage that indicates it.

The Viva also has some odd concourses filled with stands rather than stores. It feels like a hallway filled with mall kiosks. I think it was to encourage spur-of-the-moment shopping, but instead, you get an uncomfortable feeling as workers are just standing at these sad retail spots waiting for someone to talk to them.

There are also areas of the ship you can only find if you’re looking for them. For example, the Belvedere Bar and Commodore Room feel forgotten in a back part of the ship in an area that’s only visited during dinner. To get there, you either take the aft elevators, or walk through the casino, but there’s no clear walkway or path through the casino.

The poor layout won’t ruin your experience, but it impacts the crowds and usage of the space.

Hit – Beautiful and Spacious Cabins

You can tell Norwegian wanted to make sure they focused on the cabins on the Viva, and they knocked it out of the park. The cabins are modern and filled with lots of natural and artificial light. The furnishings are high-end and well thought out. For example, they put a full-size hair dryer in a holder on the vanity so someone can use it while someone else is in the bathroom, of the closets had lights that would turn on as you opened it. Hooks are even already on the wall. For my 10-day cruise, we had plenty of storage for all out belongings.

The Viva balcony cabins are 20 – 35% larger than the cabins on the Breakaway, and the balcony is 50% larger. The new cabins are also larger than the standard balcony cabins on Norwegian’s competitors’ latest ships. They’re 28% larger than the Utopia of the Seas and 15% larger than Carnival Jubilee.

One of my favorite parts of the cabin was the bathroom. All levels of cabin on the Viva, from the standard interior to a Club Balcony, have large bathrooms. The showers are rectangular with glass doors and rival the size you might see at home. It also has art, and the dark panels in the shower make it feel high-end.

Miss – Too Much Space Dedicated to Extra-fee Spaces

On the Viva, quite a bit of space is taken up by things that cost extra. It’s not necessarily that you’ll feel pressured to pay more, but some of the things take away valuable public space.

For example, there is no free adult-only section on the ship. On Norwegian’s other ships, they have Spice H2O, which is kid-free and offers a party Vibe throughout the day. On the Viva, they didn’t have room for that because of all the extra-fee areas. If you want a kid-free space, you’ll have to pay. Rates are $279 per person for a seven-day cruise, and it has a very limited capacity, meaning only a couple hundred people at most will get to experience this space. It sells out months before the cruise sails.

Another example is the buffet. Norwegian put a new restaurant on the ship called Palomar that serves Mediterranean food. People rave about it, but the problem with it is the location. It is right next to the small main buffet and could have been used as a split-buffet setup, but instead, they went with an additional extra-fee space on the ship.

The Haven, Norwegian’s premium ship-within-a-ship concept, has a two level sun deck with a dedicated pool and hot tub. It’s great for those who pay for this exclusive area, but it means the rest of the guests are crammed into the open public areas of the main pool deck.

Overall: A Premium Ship Where the Ship Isn’t the Destination

Norwegian Viva feels on par with something you’d expect from a premium cruise line like Celebrity, elevated from the rest of the Norwegian fleet. It feels quite elegant without being stuffy, and I grew to really enjoy the intimate spaces provided around the ship. There’s a lot that Norwegian did right with the Viva, and they really nailed the aesthetic they were going for in most cases.

The ship goes against the trend of a cruise ship being “the destination” in itself. While Royal Caribbean is putting ice skating rinks and entire waterparks on board, the Norwegian Viva doesn’t attempt to be the whole vacation destination. It shines when doing port intensive sailings, where you spend exploring the destination, and return to the ship for dinner, drinks, and entertainment.

Because of that though, I’d be reluctant to recommend it for standard Caribbean sailings. My 10-day cruise had only one sea day, and that worked well, but if it was a 7-day Caribbean cruise with 3 sea days, this ship would not have worked for me.

You Might Enjoy Norwegian Viva If…

You’re a Norwegian Cruise Fan
- If you’re a Norwegian fan, the Viva will have many things you’ve come to expect from the cruise line, just evolved and higher end. You have Norwegian’s freestyle dining, a plethora of specialty restaurants, various shopping opportunities, and plenty of bars. You’ll also find Norwegian’s popular spaces like The Haven and the Vibe Beach Club.
You’re Taking a Couples or Friends Trip
- The ship has lots of lounges, seating options, and bars to meet up at and enjoy each other’s company. Also, since it’s not a mega-ship, it’s easier to meet up with each other. You might bump into each other while going about your day instead of having to set a designated time and space because the ship is so big you wouldn’t see each other otherwise.
You’re New to Cruising
- If you’ve never cruised before and have no preconceptions, the Viva might be right for you. With no expectations, you’ll likely be impressed by the ship’s features and overall look and feel. It might be especially good for cruisers who are looking to avoid the “party” vibe from other lines like Carnival.
You’re Going for the Itinerary
- Because the Viva is not a mega-ship, it can more easily access ports that ships like Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas can not. The Viva, and its sister ship the Prima, both have some unique itineraries with less common cruise ports. Some of the Viva’s most significant shortcomings are the onboard spaces for daytime activities, so if you’re off the ship most of the time, you won’t notice it.

You Might Not Like Norwegian Viva If…

You Like Mega-Ships
- If you like mega-ships, like Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, you will be disappointed. There’s nothing “mega” or “big” about this ship; they wanted it to feel smaller and more intimate. Norwegian Viva doesn’t have any attraction or feature that will make you go “wow.”
You Don’t Like Paying Extra
- While Norwegian’s “free at sea” program covers alcoholic drinks, limited Wi-Fi, and one or two meals at specialty restaurants, it doesn’t cover everything. If you want to experience everything Viva offers, it will cost more, especially with kids. $10 per person for mini-golf, $15 for the race track…it adds up quickly. Similarly, most dining options cost extra, so if you want to experience the whole ship, you will be spending more.
You Have Kids
- While Norwegian says the Viva is geared towards multi-generational cruises, it’s less family-friendly than some other Norwegian ships or cruise lines Carnival and Royal Caribbean. While they have a kids club on board, there are not many other things geared toward the younger crowd (3 – 10). There are no kids’ water slides, the splash area is poorly designed, and you’ll find extra fees for most activities kids might want to try. On top of that, many of the intimate spaces would be a nightmare for parents; kids will easily climb over the furniture or even the sculpture garden. In May 2024, Norwegian tried to improve the kid-friendliness of this ship by adding a dedicated Entourage Teens Club, but both the kids Splash Academy and Entourage Teen Club can only hold a fraction of the kids on board during summer sailings.