Cruise Spotlight
Helping you find cruise ships you'll love
Norwegian Viva vs Norwegian Epic
The Norwegian Viva is a fairly new ship, being built in 2023. It's 13 years newer than the Epic, which was built in 2010 and renovated in 2025.
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 Viva is considered a medium size ship. Coming in at 965 feet long and 133 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 2.7 football fields, as wide as 2.5 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 15-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Epic, the Viva is 8% smaller in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
Norwegian Viva holds 24% fewer passengers than the Epic based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you compare the total tonnage of the ship to the number of passengers, or what we call the "Space Ratio," the Viva has more space per person compared to the Epic. This means that you might have a bit more space to yourself on the ship, although there still could be some crowded areas like buffets, pools, etc.
| Norwegian Viva | Norwegian Epic | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Prima | Epic |
| Gross Tonnage | 143,535 | 155,873 |
| Length | 965 | 1,081 |
| Beam/Width | 133 | 171 |
| Passenger Decks | 15 | 14 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 3,099 | 4,100 |
| Crew | 1,506 | 1,724 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 2.1 | 2.4 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 46 | 38 |
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 Viva has sixteen different dining options like Palomar, Cagney's Steakhouse, and Surfside Cafe. Of those options, six are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other eleven options have an additional fee.
The Epic has one more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Cagney's Steakhouse, Wasabi, and Main Dining Room. eight of these restaurants are complementary and the other fourteen have an additional fee.
The Norwegian Viva has about the same number of dining options as the Norwegian Epic.
If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Viva might be a better choice then the Epic. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.
Restaurants on Norwegian Viva & Epic
| Restaurant | Norwegian Viva |
Norwegian Epic |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Included | |||
| Hudsons | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Indulge Food Hall | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Main Dining Room | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Shanghai's Noodle Bar | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Surfside Cafe | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Surfside Grill | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| The Commodore Room | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| The Great Outdoors | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| The Local | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| A la carte | |||
| Atrium Cafe | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Posh | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Starbucks | ✓ | ✗ | |
| The Bake Shop | ✗ | ✓ | |
| 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 |
| Moderno Churrascaria | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Nama | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Onda by Scarpetta | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Palomar | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Spiegel Tent | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Teppanyaki | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Wasabi | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Exclusive (open to select guests only) | |||
| Courtyard Grill | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Studio Lounge | ✗ | ✓ | |
| The Haven | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
Bars and Drinks
The Norwegian Viva has 2 fewer bars than the Norwegian Epic.
| Norwegian Viva | Norwegian Epic | |
|---|---|---|
| Atrium Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Belvedere Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bliss Ultra Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cascades Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Epic Theater Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Headliners Comedy Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| Improv at Sea | ✓ | ✗ |
| Luna Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Maltings Beer & Whiskey Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Metropolitan Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| O'Sheehan's Bar & Grill | ✗ | ✓ |
| Observation Lounge Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Penrose Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Posh Beach Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| Proof Whiskey Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sake Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shakers Martini & Cocktail Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Skyy Vodka Ice Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Soleil Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Spice H2O | ✗ | ✓ |
| Starbucks | ✓ | ✓ |
| 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 Viva and the Epic 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 Viva 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.
Norwegian Epic has more pools than the Viva and more hot tubs. There are more exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Epic. If you don't mind paying for exclusive access to areas in order to have less crowds, this might be a better choice.
| Norwegian Viva | Norwegian Epic | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 4 | 5 |
| Pools - General Access | 3 | 2 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 1 | |
| Pools - Exclusive | 1 | 2 |
| Total Hot Tubs | 6 | 13 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 2 | 6 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 2 | |
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 4 | 5 |
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. You might up paying more while on board the Viva. Only 53% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare. On the Epic, 59% of the activities are included at no additional cost.
| Norwegian Viva | Norwegian Epic | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (free) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Arcade | ✗ | ✓ |
| Basketball | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bowling Alley | ✗ | ✓ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cigar Lounge | ✓ | ✓ |
| Climbing Wall | ✗ | ✓ |
| Comedy Club | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dart Lounge | ✓ | ✗ |
| Escape Room | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ice Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Jogging Track | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mini golf | ✓ | ✗ |
| Race Track | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shows - Broadway play | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shows - musical review | ✓ | ✓ |
| Spa | ✓ | ✓ |
| Splash park | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sports Square | ✗ | ✓ |
| 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 Viva will likely be more expensive than on Norwegian Epic.
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
Want to Stay Up-To-Date on All Things Cruising?
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, or subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
Articles Related the These Ships
About Cruise Spotlight
Founded in 2020, Cruise Spotlight's goal is to help people understand every aspect of cruising. Plenty of sites focus on the perfect Instagram pictures and marketing fluff. We focus on what really matters: onboard expenses, tips for cruise ships, detailed cruise reviews, and more. Our goal is to provide helpful, unbiased information to new and established cruisers. Over the years, we've helped millions of people get the most from their cruise vacation.
Learn more about Cruise Spotlight.