Cruise Spotlight
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Norwegian Joy vs Norwegian Viva
The Norwegian Joy was built in 2017. It was renovated in 2024. The Joy will undergo some renovations in Jan 2024. They'll remove the Galaxy Pavilion virtual reality arcade and Laser Tag and add a Thermal Suite and expanded Vibe Beach Club. It's 6 years older 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 Joy is considered a large size ship. Coming in at 1,094 feet long and 136 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 3 football fields, as wide as 2.6 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 15-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Viva, the Joy is 17% larger in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
Norwegian Joy holds 23% 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 Joy has less space per person compared to the Viva.
| Norwegian Joy | Norwegian Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Breakaway Plus | Prima |
| Gross Tonnage | 167,725 | 143,535 |
| Length | 1,094 | 965 |
| Beam/Width | 136 | 133 |
| Passenger Decks | 15 | 15 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 3,802 | 3,099 |
| Crew | 1,821 | 1,506 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 44 | 46 |
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 Joy has thirteen different dining options like Le Bistro French, Garden Cafe, and Cagney's Steakhouse. Of those options, ten are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other eleven options have an additional fee.
The Viva has three more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Surfside Grill, Hudsons, and Food Republic. six of these restaurants are complementary and the other eleven have an additional fee.
If you like having a variety of places to eat, the Viva might be a better choice. It has 23% more dining options than the Joy.
If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Viva might be a better choice then the Joy. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.
Restaurants on Norwegian Joy & Viva
| Restaurant | Norwegian Joy |
Norwegian Viva |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Included | |||
| American Diner | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Garden Cafe | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Hudsons | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Indulge Food Hall | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Main Dining Room | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Surfside Cafe | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Surfside Grill | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| The Commodore Room | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| The Local | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| A la carte | |||
| Starbucks | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Flat fee | |||
| Cagney's Steakhouse | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Food Republic | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Hasuki | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| La Cucina Italian | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Le Bistro French | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Los Lobos | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Nama | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Ocean Blue | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Onda by Scarpetta | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Palomar | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Q Texas Smokehouse | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Teppanyaki | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Exclusive (open to select guests only) | |||
| The Haven | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
Bars and Drinks
The Norwegian Joy has 2 more bars than the Norwegian Viva.
| Norwegian Joy | Norwegian Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| A-List Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Belvedere Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cellars Wine Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| District Brew House | ✓ | ✗ |
| Improv at Sea | ✗ | ✓ |
| Luna Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Maltings Beer & Whiskey Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Metropolitan Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mixx Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Observation Lounge Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
| Penrose Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Proof Whiskey Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Skyline Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Social Comedy & Night Club | ✓ | ✗ |
| Soleil Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spice H2O | ✓ | ✗ |
| Starbucks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sugarcane Mojito Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Syd Norman's Pourhouse | ✗ | ✓ |
| The Cavern Club | ✓ | ✗ |
| The Haven Bar* | ✓ | ✓ |
| The Local Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
| Vibe Beach Club Bar* | ✓ | ✓ |
| Waves Pool Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
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 Joy 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 Joy has a total of 3 pools and 9 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.
Norwegian Viva has more pools than the Joy and fewer hot tubs.
Tired of loud kids and splashing? two of the hot tubs are adults only on Joy.| Norwegian Joy | Norwegian Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 3 | 4 |
| Pools - General Access | 2 | 3 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 0 | |
| Pools - Exclusive | 1 | 1 |
| Total Hot Tubs | 9 | 6 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 3 | 2 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 2 | |
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 4 | 4 |
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 the Joy, 60% of the activities below are included in the cruise fare. On the Viva, only 53% of the activities are included, meaning you might spend more money while on board.
| Norwegian Joy | Norwegian Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (free) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Arcade | ✓ | ✗ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cigar Lounge | ✓ | ✓ |
| Comedy Club | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dart Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Escape Room | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mini golf | ✓ | ✓ |
| Observation Lounge | ✓ | ✗ |
| Race Track | ✓ | ✓ |
| Shows - Broadway play | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - musical review | ✓ | ✓ |
| Spa | ✓ | ✓ |
| Splash park | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thermal Suites | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thrill Slide | ✗ | ✓ |
| Virtual Arcade | ✗ | ✓ |
| Water slides | ✓ | ✓ |
| Learn more | Learn more |
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. Typically newer ships cost more, so a cruise on Norwegian Joy will likely be cheaper than on Norwegian Viva.
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 | |
|---|---|
| Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day) | $20.00 |
| Tip added to drinks & services | 20% |
| Soda Price | $3.50 |
| Domestic Beer Price | $7.50 See drink menus |
| Drink Package Price | 106 Learn more |
| Internet Plan | $29.99 - $39.99 per cabin per day, with $5 for each extra device |
| *Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates. | |
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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