Almost Live …. Sailing Aboard the NCL Viva on Her Maiden Trans-Atlantic

[JIMESOPUS]

6 hours ago, ColdCruise said:

Yes it was Taino Bay. We were the only ship docked (that I saw). First time in Taino Bay & first time in DR.

 

there is another cruise ship 1 bay over from Taino towards the wind mills. Not familiar with this. Any ideas? (iPhone on max zoom)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amber Cove, Carnival Cruise Port 

[ColdCruise]

12 minutes ago, JIMESOPUS said:

Amber Cove, Carnival Cruise Port 

Thanks! They are really close to each other (Taino Bay & Amber Cove)

[ColdCruise]

Dinner tonight at Palomar

 

bread service (olive oil with fresh snipped herbs)

 

Grilled shrimp appetizer (not jumbo prawns advertised, maybe sized 21-25)

 

Mushroom tartare with fingerling chips

 

grilled filet (truly MR, warm

center, meet still moist) looked a bit lonely on the large plate!

 

 

lamb chops

 

Shareable sides: whipped potatoes, grilled fat asparagus, honey roasted carrots (too much cumin - very spicy!)

 

French apple tart with vanilla bean ice cream

 

Galaktoboureko - orange custard pie with greek yoghurt sorbet (tied with OMG cheesecake for best dessert on board)

and the best (strong!) coffee on the ship (caveat: haven’t tried the french press)

Edited November 26, 2023 by ColdCruise

[ColdCruise]

After dinner entertainment - very good singing across a broad range of styles

 

the headliner

 

the duet

 

the officers & crew also take a bow

[ColdCruise]

And good night from off shore of the Island of Hispaniola

[kasimir]

@ColdCruise not sure if you still have a chance, but could you post pictures of the Indulge Food hall lunch/dinner menu from your cruise? 
We are currently on the Prima TA cruise and noticed some Indulge changes and was wondering if this affects your cruise as well. 

[ColdCruise]

3 hours ago, kasimir said:

@ColdCruise not sure if you still have a chance, but could you post pictures of the Indulge Food hall lunch/dinner menu from your cruise? 
We are currently on the Prima TA cruise and noticed some Indulge changes and was wondering if this affects your cruise as well. 

I”ll hove it a try. Which option r k noticing the most changes?
 

We've only had lunch there once - whenever we’ve tried to go it’s been a madhouse… more so than even the buffet. Probably timing since I don’t hear others mentioning it as a problem. Plus that one tome we did go (1st sea day), they weren’t serving outside. On our Prima cruise, we ate there several timer & really lijed the food and concept 

Edited November 26, 2023 by ColdCruise

[kasimir]

4 minutes ago, ColdCruise said:

I”ll hove it a try. Which option r k noticing the most changes?
 

We've only had lunch there once - whenever we’ve tried to go it’s been a madhouse… more so than even the buffet. Probably timing since I don’t hear others mentioning it as a problem. Plus that one tome we did go (1st sea day), they weren’t serving outside. On our Prima cruise, we ate there several timer & really lijed the food and concept 

We usually try to get there early for lunch, like 11:45, just before they start the tablets, that always has worked for us. Dinner is less busy, and usually there is always a table available. 
 

When it comes to noticeable differences on the Prima, there are some items missing at Latin Quarter and Nudls. For example we don’t see the option for Tuna or Crab Tostadas anymore. 

[ColdCruise]

Quickly catching up and providing some skipped posts for Days 2-5 (what happened? Did I time warp???)

Freestyle listings (will post an index to freestyle posts near thread end)

For now Day 1 lunch in Cagney's (Menu in Post#45)

Decor - similar to Prima’s (I ❤️ the rain forest stone walls, was going to use that in my master shower but couldn’t find big enough slabs)

in this photo, the tables & chairs mysteriously hang from the ceiling… flip your viewer 😄 those whitish- grey bluvks are some polymer meant to resemble concrete I think.

 

Roasted tomato soup - very good

 

shrimp scampi - dry & flavorless (ordered with extra sauce and extra shrimp later, still just meh)

 

butternut risotto - very good & repeated often

 

Banana Banofee Cream - fancy banana pudding- good

 

Strawberry pound cake - dry and coarse, not repeated

[ColdCruise]

57 minutes ago, kasimir said:

We usually try to get there early for lunch, like 11:45, just before they start the tablets, that always has worked for us. Dinner is less busy, and usually there is always a table available. 
 

When it comes to noticeable differences on the Prima, there are some items missing at Latin Quarter and Nudls. For example we don’t see the option for Tuna or Crab Tostadas anymore. 

Thanks for the advice- today looks like it’ll be a great day to Indulge outside!!

[ColdCruise]

And on that note …. GOOD MORNING from the V!va just north of Holguin, Cuba and south of the Magellanic Banks

 

 

 

Currently at 81F

Edited November 26, 2023 by ColdCruise
Typo

[ColdCruise]

Cuba emerging to the south, about 15 minutes after earlier photo. I assume were still in international waters, so 12 miles away and probably the closest I’ll get to Cuba

 

 

 

what beautiful skies!!!!

[ColdCruise]

Mandara Spa price lists (did not indulge myself here - stuck to the thermal suite downstairs since we bought passes)

 

 

 

And the upcoming Fitness classes

 

 

despite telling myself I would exercise, I regretfully did not … but should have ‘cuz going back to regular home routine will that much harder!

[ColdCruise]

Elevator panel 

there are also interactive panels by the rear elevator bank. You can select where you want to go and they will display the best path to get there.

 

I didn’t notice if the same panels were near the front elevators.

[ColdCruise]

Wines on board V!va

 

all the sit down restaurants will present you with essentially the same Wine List. Even the wine stewards will recommend from the same list. However the wine stewards do have info in additional wines, some even available by the glass although most “off menu” wines are bottle only. Its kind of like the Starbucks “secret menu”

 

Exceptions:

Cagney’s -ask for the tablet to see more options, most NOT on the Premium package 

Onda - they have a Super Tuscan inly available in Onda. It's on the Premium package

Le Bistro - specialty wine is Veuve Cliquot champagne ($70ish at Costco)

Palomar - specialty is organic, natural and/or biodynamic wines. Some of these are also in the Metropolitan bar (only 2 locations). AFAIK most are listed only in the tablet, they hand you the standard wine list when asked. Specifically ask to see the tablet. The wine steward suggests wines from the standard list unless pressed. Sime of these.

Hudson’s/Commodore - they provide the standard wine lust but the wine stewards, Chris and Jayson (in H & C respectively) are very enthusiastic and may guide you off menu.

did not eat at Los Lobos and Food Republic and had beer at Indulge and The Local

 

The standard Viva Wine List

 

 

 

 

 

sorry its a bit chopped up, I wanted to make sure I could read it!

Edited November 26, 2023 by ColdCruise

[fstuff1]

14 hours ago, ColdCruise said:

 

IMG_5023.mov  

 

Video of Viva pivoting to sea and a couple folks going down the drop (i have a bird’s eye view)

 

"We could not locate the item you are trying to view."

[insidecabin]

6 hours ago, kasimir said:

@ColdCruise not sure if you still have a chance, but could you post pictures of the Indulge Food hall lunch/dinner menu from your cruise? 
We are currently on the Prima TA cruise and noticed some Indulge changes and was wondering if this affects your cruise as well. 

These are the menu from the App not X ref to actual.

 

Viva-Indulge-Dinner-Mobile-Menu.pdfViva-Indulge-Lunch-Mobile-Menu.pdf

 

 

We did notice Food Republic is not the same in the restaurant as the app, limited choices and not great experience.

 

Indulge has been very busy most  lunches

 

evening has always been quiet a good time to try it as an alternative to MDR and buffet.

 

The meal times are designed to compress service and keep the breakfast lunch venues busy while open.

 

The size of venues does not allow for overlap like may other ships where they can for example close part of the buffet to prepare for next service, keeping part open for longer and opening that for next service a bit later

 

Yesterday was 3:30 all aboard and many tours return afternoon only local open after 2:30. 

 

 

[ColdCruise]

2 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

"We could not locate the item you are trying to view."

I’ll check that out @fstuff1, thanks!

[ColdCruise]

1 hour ago, insidecabin said:

These are the menu from the App not X ref to actual.

 

Viva-Indulge-Dinner-Mobile-Menu.pdf 4.44 MB · 2 downloads Viva-Indulge-Lunch-Mobile-Menu.pdf 269.37 kB · 1 download

 

 

We did notice Food Republic is not the same in the restaurant as the app, limited choices and not great experience.

 

Indulge has been very busy most  lunches

 

evening has always been quiet a good time to try it as an alternative to MDR and buffet.

 

The meal times are designed to compress service and keep the breakfast lunch venues busy while open.

 

The size of venues does not allow for overlap like may other ships where they can for example close part of the buffet to prepare for next service, keeping part open for longer and opening that for next service a bit later

 

Yesterday was 3:30 all aboard and many tours return afternoon only local open after 2:30. 

 

 

We were planning for Food Republic tonight. Cannot possibly eat 2 x 4 items with FAS or Platinum meals, so are going a la carte just for the couple things we truly enjoyed on Prima. Indulge may be a good option if we’re still peckish after 😃

[ColdCruise]

Freestyle Day 11 - Final Sea Day 26 Nov

 

 

 

 

 

the promotions

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2023 by ColdCruise

[fstuff1]

 

Anyone know what time the deck 8  outdoor ice cream shop opens?

[ColdCruise]

Breakfast at Cagney’s 

mixed pastries 

 

chocolate muffin would not have passes in my culinary baking class (too coarse, chocolate only on top)

 

however the MR breakfast steak and poached egg were 100% on point today

 

 

 

Cagney’s staff - thank you for some truly delicious breakfasts!

[insidecabin]

3 minutes ago, ColdCruise said:

We were planning for Food Republic tonight. Cannot possibly eat 2 x 4 items with FAS or Platinum meals, so are going a la carte just for the couple things we truly enjoyed on Prima. Indulge may be a good option if we’re still peckish after 😃

Go check the menu at the door different to the App make sure they have what you want.

 

You can do 1 package and share 4 items.

(Might have to push if they say no.)

[insidecabin]

1 minute ago, fstuff1 said:

 

Anyone know what time the deck 8  outdoor ice cream shop opens?

Seems to be around indulge times, noticed it closed yesterday afternoon for a while.

Didn't get exact times

[ColdCruise]

6 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

 

Anyone know what time the deck 8  outdoor ice cream shop opens?

I’ve NEVER seen it open, sorry @fstuff1