New to Norwegien

[jonyboy]

We have cruised on HAL and Celebrity and are now looking for a cruise out of San Juan on the new Norwegien Viva.  I know no one has cruised on this ship yet but can anyone let me know how you feel about Norwegien compared to HAL and Celebrity?  

 

Thanks

[graphicguy]

HAL and Celebrity are much more sedate and formal. NCL has much more to do.  Entertainment on NCL is more Broadway style than "cruise ship style".  You can make reservations, or not on NCL.

 

Those are the big ones.

[pete_coach]

We are Celebrity cruise fans.

We have also done 2 and have booked our 3rd NCL cruise.

Celebrity is great,, all aspects of it.

NCL is trying very hard to get families with young kids (Laser Tag, Go Karts, Splash areas, Kids clubs, water slides etc) and that makes it sometimes very crowded.

Also, it seems that it is difficult to get into the entertainment venues. Lineups and you have to get in line early.

Food, well food is far to subjective to even discuss. Personally, if we don't have to cook, clean and have it served to us, that is good 🙂

So, which do we like best? We choose for itinerary as there are good things with all of them and there are bad things with all of them too.

 

[mugtech]

2 hours ago, jonyboy said:

We have cruised on HAL and Celebrity and are now looking for a cruise out of San Juan on the new Norwegien Viva.  I know no one has cruised on this ship yet but can anyone let me know how you feel about Norwegien compared to HAL and Celebrity?  

 

Thanks

Based on reviews of sister ship Prima, you selected a good ship to not have any cold weather.

[schmoopie17]

32 minutes ago, mugtech said:

Based on reviews of sister ship Prima, you selected a good ship to not have any cold weather.

Based on reviews of sister ship Prima, you might want to rethink the Viva. (Yes, we've been on the Prima and no, we don't recommend it.)

 

But as they say on CC...YMMV.

[bluesea777]

52 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Based on reviews of sister ship Prima, you might want to rethink the Viva. (Yes, we've been on the Prima and no, we don't recommend it.)

 

But as they say on CC...YMMV.

 

After reading the reviews of Prima I deduced that the Prima and Viva are better suited as warm-weather ships. We're booked on Viva's maiden transatlantic crossing this November from Lisbon to Miami via the Caribbean.

 

I would not go on either for the Iceland or northerly transatlantic cruises. But yes for Caribbean and southerly TA cruises.

 

 

[schmoopie17]

7 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

 

After reading the reviews of Prima I deduced that the Prima and Viva are better suited as warm-weather ships. We're booked on Viva's maiden transatlantic crossing this November from Lisbon to Miami via the Caribbean.

 

I would not go on either for the Iceland or northerly transatlantic cruises. But yes for Caribbean and southerly TA cruises.

 

 

We were on the Prima for a Caribbean cruise. The weather wasn't an issue...but the ship was. 

Just sayin'...

[omahabob]

We're on the Viva out of San Juan in March, and I'm holding my breath. However, we rarely go to entertainment venues, which a lot of the Prima complaints center around. The only thing that specifically concerns me is seating for food venues. But we're in the Haven, and we don't follow a 'normal' schedule, so hopefully we can work around that if necessary. Time will tell.

[ellenw]

One of the things offered on NCL that I haven't encountered on RCI, Celebrity or Carnival is having a dining room open for lunch on embarkation day. That is such a great experience rather than dealing with the crowds in the buffet.

 

Hope you like NCL and cruise them again. 

[BirdTravels]

7 hours ago, mugtech said:

Based on reviews of sister ship Prima, you selected a good ship to not have any cold weather.

You know that is true of any ship. The Prima and Viva are no worse. They do have fabulous spaces when it is sunny and warm. And they do have an observation lounge which is right size for a 3K passengers ship. 

[mugtech]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

You know that is true of any ship. The Prima and Viva are no worse. They do have fabulous spaces when it is sunny and warm. And they do have an observation lounge which is right size for a 3K passengers ship. 

Right, no ships should go to Iceland or Antarctica.

[dexddd]

20 hours ago, omahabob said:

We're on the Viva out of San Juan in March, and I'm holding my breath. However, we rarely go to entertainment venues, which a lot of the Prima complaints center around. The only thing that specifically concerns me is seating for food venues. But we're in the Haven, and we don't follow a 'normal' schedule, so hopefully we can work around that if necessary. Time will tell.

Haven dining one of the highlights of Prima.  Never crowded for us.  Local also not bad.  Buffet and Indulge, yes, crowded.

[laudergayle]

The southern Caribbean itineraries that are port intensive in Q1 next year would be ideal for the Viva.  If you want to avoid kids or rowdy young adults I’d try to book outside spring break (march - mid April).  We sailed Prima and thoroughly enjoyed the ship.  If Viva is similar to Prima, and if you’re not in Haven, I would recommend booking a cabin that is closer to the forward elevators.  More elevators with fewer people.  We will consider Viva if the prices come down.
 

 

[rodndonna]

On 7/1/2023 at 8:42 AM, jonyboy said:

We have cruised on HAL and Celebrity and are now looking for a cruise out of San Juan on the new Norwegien Viva.  I know no one has cruised on this ship yet but can anyone let me know how you feel about Norwegien compared to HAL and Celebrity?  

 

Thanks

 

Like you we have sailed only HAL and Celebrity (since Covid). We have sailed NCL in Europe, but it was many years ago and a very port intensive 1st cruise ... so treating NCL as "new" to us.

 

We really like HAL and Celebrity and they seem to be the best for us, but still have interest in cruising other lines. The San Juan itinerary on the Viva gives us a chance to check out a more current NCL experience as well as trying a "new" and large ship, both of which would be a different experiences for us. 

 

We figured this "trial" on a great southern Caribbean  (no port days!) was a safe bet that we would enjoy ourselves regardless. We have done a very similar itineraries on Carnival and Celebrity and have it booked again on Celebrity for 2025, so clearly, we know we like the itinerary and assume we will have a good time.  😃

[jonyboy]

9 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

Like you we have sailed only HAL and Celebrity (since Covid). We have sailed NCL in Europe, but it was many years ago and a very port intensive 1st cruise ... so treating NCL as "new" to us.

 

We really like HAL and Celebrity and they seem to be the best for us, but still have interest in cruising other lines. The San Juan itinerary on the Viva gives us a chance to check out a more current NCL experience as well as trying a "new" and large ship, both of which would be a different experiences for us. 

 

We figured this "trial" on a great southern Caribbean  (no port days!) was a safe bet that we would enjoy ourselves regardless. We have done a very similar itineraries on Carnival and Celebrity and have it booked again on Celebrity for 2025, so clearly, we know we like the itinerary and assume we will have a good time.  😃

We like the itinerary as well.  Previous caribbean cruises were out of Florida and there were 2 sea days where this cruise has none.  No reviews on the Viva yet but NCL does have many positive reviews

[graphicguy]

It’s been a while since I sailed HAL, so will reserve comment.  Have Sailed Celebrity in the last 24 months, on their newest ships.  Edge and Apex (although I guess there is Beyond now sailing, which is newer).

 

Liked Celebrity.  Different vibe.  Much more traditional.  I know some people commented they didn’t like the “Magic Carpet”, which is a different Celebrity feature.  I loved it.  But, just goes to show, if ANY of the cruise lines break with what people are used to with them, there’s going to be some “hand wringing”.

 

NCL is the same….they’re doing something different.  They are probably the most innovative of all the cruise lines.  I applaud them.

[omahabob]

2 hours ago, laudergayle said:

The southern Caribbean itineraries that are port intensive in Q1 next year would be ideal for the Viva.  If you want to avoid kids or rowdy young adults I’d try to book outside spring break (march - mid April).  We sailed Prima and thoroughly enjoyed the ship.  If Viva is similar to Prima, and if you’re not in Haven, I would recommend booking a cabin that is closer to the forward elevators.  More elevators with fewer people.  We will consider Viva if the prices come down.

 

That's out itinerary. Unfortunately it's in March, but hopefully the Haven will provide respite from any revelry/noise.