ColdCruise

Embarkation Lisbon The Portuguese pilots had a scheduled strike that ended at 0700 the 16th which delayed Viva’s arrival and turned debarkation for those with early flights into a bit if a mess. Covered in detail elsewhere (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2853119-norwegian-viva-november-16-2023-lisbon-to-miami/ & https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2969073-viva-live-21-days-rome-to-miami-plus-a-few-days-in-rome/ ) Our Bolt dropped us off by the road instead of in front of the terminal. Once we got to the terminal we were directed into the conga line for pax with baggage tags. Surprisingly so priority there for suites or Haven. However it moved pretty fast. Baggage drop, security screening (TSA style), suites registration, escort on board and muster station = 1 hour 9 minutes muster station was just a card swipe

Will post after the cruise, out of safety/privacy are you port side or starboard side? I might be able to check the outside for obstructions from top side

we have very nice support staff for this cabin: Roque - cabin steward Jenzer - butler Lanie - asst. concierge

SJ cabin - separate master bedroom, areas are separated by a pocket door. This locks from bedroom side and if not locked will slam open/close with ship’s movement Note: bed is right inside the door Lots of closet space (robes are lovely - puffy with fine microfiber lining)

SJ cabin bathroom, in the entryway. This suite’s bathroom was exactly the same physically as the standard inside and balcony bathrooms. The only difference was in the toiletries, this had L’Occitane, which is what is in the Spa Balconies on Pr1ma (last Sept) and V!va this sailing. Still this class ship has best bathroom size for non-Haven AFAIK.

Our SJ cabin - Master Bedroom suite, midship by slides (lots of complaints online but no problems here) Sitting area entryway ( sorry upside down issue) balcony ( everything was pre-positioned in the deep section outside the bedroom and a welcome treat

catching up on the Daily Freestyles Embarkation Day, Lisbon (Day 1) and the promotions

In case you’re wondering on the on board promotion 1- pushing the AQUA 2- offering double up on cruise next for any cruise or cabin at least 4 months out

And the man onboard with the most nights under his belt … 1,000+

And the other section of Ambassadors there are 17 onboard of the 340 total. Cruise Next director said most ever on board a sailing …

And the senior staff calling out their dance team IMG_4545.mov

Latitudes Gathering 1130 Day 4 Viva Theater - packed Sorry - forgot how to fix the flipped photo issue … on the viewer to adjust 😆 lots of ambassadors aboard too the entertainment the Cruise Director the Ambassador seating the Staff Captain

Day 4 Sea Day after Punta Delgada Rough Seas is the title for the day woke up to 57-62 knot winds, with the 15th Deck feeling like I was riding a drunk elephant. Good day to catch up the trip report

Thank you for sharing that info @PATRLR wasn't aware of that site. Interrupt anytime, this thread is not going as originally planned for various reasons (mainly days gave been too busy). Agree - SeatGuru went south after acquisition by another company & I hope the same doesn’t happen with this dearly loved subsidiary 🧐

TAP flight from on Sunday from Lisbon to Porto was a smooth operation. Lots of TAP crew in business class seating, likely going home for a break or to relieve other crew (mostly men). Picking up luggage was easy, luggage hitting conveyor belt shortly after we arrived in that area. Straight shot out the “nothing to declare” path and our driver was waiting right in front of the exit from arrivals. I’d say 15-20 minutes from walking off the plane to driving away from the airport. Very well organized airport with clear signage.

The inside we were provided for sleeping last night was pretty spacious for an inside, exact bathroom layout as our SJ, and close to the same amount of closet space. Thousands less moneys, so I’d consider it for a port heavy itinerary. Forgive the disarray- too tired to photo last night, so this is the after shot 😉

Slight delay arriving into Punta Delgada due to strong winds. We’re averaging around 19 knots and 274 degrees (no whistling!)

The wind whistling in the sliding glass door in the bedroom. We have an port-side SJ, the bedroom has the slider on an angle while the sitting area has the slider parallel to the ship’s silhouette. The whistling only occurs in the angled slider. It is not constant, but a factor of ship’s direction and speed IMO. Other than this annoyance, we really like the room and the slide’s presence isn’t an issue. We’ve heard a few people going down the slide but all the structure is behind our deck. I hope you will enjoy your cabin as well as we have so far, based on only 1 full day 🤨.

I have some catching up - we have been running since we landed in Lisbon Sunday and returning to our accommodations only to crash and fall into a deep slumber until the alarm woke us the next day. Currently: End of the first full day of the cruise and sitting up at 1050 pm waiting for maintenance to come fix the bedroom balcony which has been whistling up a storm. 2nd TA, 2nd time we’ve had the same issue. Maybe we’re cursed by some ancient mariner’s wind god? I think the noise goes away when on different tacks (or is it tacts? Tacks, I think), so when we reported it this morning, the maintenance team may have come by when it wasn’t making noise. We were in the room late afternoon for a short spell - no noise, so we thought it was fixed. But when we returned to turn in, there it was … like a giant steam kettle! sheesh i think the night butler is trying to arrange a sleeping room for tonight. (Is that a suite advantage?) yep he gave us an inside 1 deck down so we can sleep 😴 well once we. Quieten the empty hangers … good night BTW very roomy inside cabins, post pics in the morning

Thank you for posting this @JIMESOPUS 48 hours till boarding and NCL hasn’t communicated anything about this to us. I logged in to ask, can you ask which terminal Viva will dock at? That detail is not anywhere I can see. I even pulled up Port schedule and that was more worrisome than helpful - didn’t see Viva even listed for the 16th!

Sorry important typo slipped by - Bosenoise cancelling headphones are NOT tuned to a baby’s crying… A critical and important difference!

Sorry, imma little late with pre-cruise updates TAP out of Dulles was good - the airline sensibly boarded the plane back to front, minimizing aisle way traffic jams. Plane was pretty full. The flight was shortened almost an hour thanks to the tail wind mentioned earlier, although despite numerous pilot interruptions errr announcements while attempting to sleep, no mention was made of the extra speed. I guess that left us to infer it was nimble piloting. Well at least those pax not tuned into Cruise Critic 😆 Unfortunately my upgraded E+ seats didn't come with the expected benefit of some shut eye so we could hit the ground running. I booked myself in one window seat and DH in the window seat behind me so we could both sleep (especially critical as I had ❤️ hours the night before. Well we got the seats we booked … and shared BOTH rows with a lovely family of 5. Yes 5 humans in 4 seats. Two lovely well behaved elementary aged girls shared my row and the parent and very young baby shared DH’s row. BTW, he discovered Bose noise cancelling headphones are tuned to a baby’s crying… needless to say it was a rough crossing, not counting the touch of turbulence or two we encountered . lisbon airport was pretty efficient and I’m impressed with the speed of the 3 immigration police processing what had to be 3 planes similarly blessed with an early arrival. Also amazed that virtually all the restaurants in the good court area were open and serving good food at 5am. I think what we get at they time of day in our favored airport - 1 or 2 restaurants grudgingly serving coffee, donuts and breakfast sandwiches. Lisbon- good cappuccino and an abundance of beautiful pastries and freshly made crusty bread stuffed with various Presunto and other cured meats. And, not to be outdone, all the nice shops were either opened as we arrived or certainly by 6am. Great way to while away a couple hours!!

Thanks for the photos and the details @JIMESOPUS photos are pretty crisp!

That’s pretty generous of Allegiant. Never flew them, don’t think I’ve even seen their flights.

One more work day, short, so I can get home & finish packing. Busy Saturday- drop-off the critters to various locations, take the trash to the county convenience center (forgot Friday is a holiday & all government workers are off). Drive up to get a rental, drop the car at the parking lot at work (free, secured and about a $15-20 Uber from the airport). Drive to Dulles and hope for a good checkin. Happy Veterans Day to all who served (both observed and on 11/11)! And if your on the ship, look for the veterans get together - always meeting interesting people with crazy stories to tell.