Cruise Spotlight
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Liberty of the Seas vs Viva
The Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas was built in 2007. It was renovated in 2016. It's 16 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 Liberty of the Seas is considered a large size ship. Coming in at 1,112 feet long and 185 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 3.1 football fields, as wide as 3.5 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 14-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Viva, the Liberty of the Seas is 8% larger in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas 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 Liberty of the Seas has less space per person compared to the Viva.
| Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas | Norwegian Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Freedom | Prima |
| Gross Tonnage | 154,407 | 143,535 |
| Length | 1,112 | 965 |
| Beam/Width | 185 | 133 |
| Passenger Decks | 14 | 15 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 3,798 | 3,099 |
| Crew | 1,360 | 1,506 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 2.8 | 2.1 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 41 | 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 Liberty of the Seas has twelve different dining options like Windjammer, Vintages Wine Bar, and Johnny Rockets. Of those options, nine are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other eight options have an additional fee.
The Viva has four more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Hasuki, Surfside Grill, and Surfside Cafe. 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 33% more dining options than the Liberty of the Seas.
Both ships have a similar number of paid versus included dining options.
| Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas | Norwegian Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Dining Options | 12 | 16 |
| Complimentary Dining Options: | 9 | 6 |
| Additional Fee Dining Options: | 8 | 11 |
| % of Included Options | 33% | 31% |
| See the options | See the options |
Bars and Drinks
The Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas has 1 more bar than the Norwegian Viva. The Liberty of the Seas has 15 bars like R Bar, Solarium Bar and Star Lounge. On Liberty of the Seas, you can grab a drink at 14 different bars such as Luna Bar, The Haven Bar and Vibe Beach Club Bar.
| Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas | Norwegian Viva |
|---|---|
| •Boleros • Casino Bar • English Pub • Olive or Twist • On Air Club • Pool Bar • R Bar • Schooner Bar • Sky Bar • Solarium Bar • Squeeze • Star Lounge • Suite Lounge • The Plaza Bar • Vintages | •Belvedere Bar • Improv at Sea • Luna Bar • Metropolitan Bar • Observation Lounge Bar • Penrose Bar • Proof Whiskey Bar • Soleil Bar • Starbucks • Syd Norman's Pourhouse • 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. Most Royal Caribbean ships also have Coke Freestyle machines where you can make 100 different flavor combinations.
You can check out recent the bar menus for the Liberty of the Seas 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 Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas has a total of 3 pools and 7 hot tubs.
Norwegian Viva has more pools than the Liberty of the Seas and fewer hot tubs. There are more exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Viva. If you don't mind paying for exclusive access to areas in order to have less crowds, this might be a better choice.
Tired of loud kids and splashing? One of the pools and two of the hot tubs are adults only on Liberty of the Seas.| Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas | Norwegian Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 3 | 4 |
| Pools - General Access | 2 | 3 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 1 | |
| Pools - Exclusive | 0 | 1 |
| Total Hot Tubs | 7 | 6 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 5 | 2 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 2 | |
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 0 | 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 Liberty of the Seas, 81% 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.
| Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas | Norwegian Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area | ✓ | ✗ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Arcade | ✓ | ✗ |
| Basketball | ✓ | ✗ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cigar Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Climbing Wall | ✓ | ✗ |
| Comedy Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dart Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Escape Room | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| FlowRider | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ice Skating | ✓ | ✗ |
| Laser Tag | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mini golf | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pool-side Movies | ✓ | ✗ |
| 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
Royal Caribbean and Norwegian are both considered "Mainstream" cruise lines. 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 Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas 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 compare onboard prices to see if you might spend more on a specific ship.
| Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas | Norwegian Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day) | $18.50 | $20.00 |
| Tip added to drinks & services | 18% | 20% |
| Soda Price | $3.50 | $3.50 |
| Domestic Beer Price | $8.25 See drink menus | $7.50 See drink menus |
| Drink Package Price | $77 - $118 Learn more | 106 Learn more |
| Internet Plan | $19 to $30 per device per day | $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. | ||
Royal Caribbean uses dynamic pricing, which means the pricing for many things will vary per sailing. The daily gratuities and tip are consistent across the fleet, but the pricing for the drink package, internet, and excursions will change. The only way to know your price is to consult the Royal Caribbean cruise planner once you're booked.
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 Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas and Norwegian Viva
We sailed aboard both of these ships. Follow along on our sailings at the links below. 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 ships.
Liberty of the Seas - Cruise Blog - Day 1 - Bayonne
Liberty of the Seas - Cruise Blog - Day 2 - Sea Day
Liberty of the Seas - Cruise Blog - Day 3 - Bermuda
Liberty of the Seas - Cruise Blog - Day 4 - Bermuda Still
Liberty of the Seas - Cruise Blog - Day 5 - Final Sea Day
5 Hits and Misses on Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas
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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