Norwegian Aqua vs Norwegian Viva

The Norwegian Aqua is a fairly new ship, being built in 2025. The Norwegian Aqua is the 20th ship in the NCL fleet. It's nearly identical to its sister ship which will debut in 2026, the Luna. It's 2 years newer than the Viva, which was built in 2023.

Comparison Overview

• Ship Size
• Number of Passengers
• Food and Restaurants
• Bars and Drinks
• Pools and Hot Tubs
• Ship Features and Activities
• Cruise Costs
• Onboard Costs
• See Our Detailed Cruise Blog

Ship Size

The Aqua is considered a large size ship. Coming in at 1,056 feet long and 133 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 2.9 football fields, as wide as 2.5 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 15-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Viva, the Aqua is 9% larger in terms of overall tons.

Number of Passengers

Norwegian Aqua holds 15% more passengers than the Viva based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you look at the "Space Ratio," or the total tonnage of a ship compared to the number of passengers, the Aqua has less space per person compared to the Viva.

Food and Restaurants

Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.

The Aqua has sixteen different dining options like Hudsons, Los Lobos, and Hasuki. Of those options, six are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other eleven options have an additional fee.

The Viva has the same number of dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Hasuki, Nama, and Onda by Scarpetta. six of these restaurants are complementary and the other eleven have an additional fee.

The Norwegian Aqua has about the same number of dining options as the Norwegian Viva.

Both ships have a similar number of paid versus included dining options.

Restaurants on Norwegian Aqua & Viva

Bars and Drinks

The Norwegian Aqua has 2 more bars than the Norwegian Viva.

In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. Both ships serve the Coca-cola family of products. That means Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship.

You can check out recent the bar menus for the Aqua and the Viva below.

Pools and Hot Tubs

Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The Norwegian Aqua has a total of 4 pools and 6 hot tubs. 1 of the pools and 4 of the hot tubs are exclusive access, which means there's either an extra charge to access them or you need to book a certain class of cabin to have access to them.

The Norwegian Viva has the same number of pools as the Aqua and the same number of hot tubs.

Ship Features and Activities

Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. On both ships, 53% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare.

Cruise Costs

Norwegian is a mainstream cruise line. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.

Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year.

Onboard Costs

Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests can also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.

Typically guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.

The table below will help you understand what you might spend onboard a Norwegian ship.

Norwegian Cruise Line offers a More at Sea fare. Through this program, guests receive open bar, a discount on excursions, some free internet, and some meals at specialty restaurants. If you book using this promotion, you'll be responsible for the gratuities on the dining and drink package. If you won't be using these options, booking a "sail away" rate that doesn't include the More at Sea benefits is considerably cheaper. Also, most of these benefits are the base packages; you can spend more to upgrade to better alcoholic drinks or faster/more wifi.

We sailed aboard the Norwegian Viva

Follow along on our sailing on the Norwegian Viva. We take you through every aspect of our sailing, from getting to the port to debarking the ship. See the schedule of events, menus, what excursions we did, and what we really thought about the ship.

Norwegian Viva – Cruise Blog - Pre-cruise – Athens

Norwegian Viva – Cruise Blog - Day 1 – Athens

Norwegian Viva – Cruise Blog - Day 2 – Santorini

Norwegian Viva – Cruise Blog - Day 3 – Kusadasi

Norwegian Viva – Cruise Blog - Day 4 – Istanbul

Norwegian Viva – Cruise Blog - Day 5 – Mykonos

Norwegian Viva – Cruise Blog - Day 6 – Sea Day

Norwegian Viva – Cruise Blog - Day 7 – Messina

Norwegian Viva – Cruise Blog - Day 8 – Naples

Norwegian Viva – Cruise Blog - Day 9 – Florence

Norwegian Viva – Cruise Blog - Day 10 – Nice

Norwegian Viva – Cruise Blog - Day 11 – Rome

5 Hits and Misses on Norwegian Viva

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