*LIVE* from the Inaugural Voyage of the Norwegian Viva December 2, 2023

[BirdTravels]

Another one of The Bird’s goto places is the Food Republic with international small plates. Yum!

 

[BirdTravels]

How fast is Starlink when shared on the Viva

 

[destar]

Following along, will be sailing on the Viva next March out of San Juan. Enjoy your cruise.

[destar]

Hopefully the whiskey bar has a better selection of scotch.

[BirdTravels]

The best place for complimentary food is the Indulge Food Hall. 
 

 

[BirdTravels]

At Indulge, you order complimentary foods using an iPad. 
 

[BirdTravels]

The Vibe Beach Club is a private, for fee, adults-only sun deck with a private bar, comfy loungers, and private hot tubs. 
 

 

[BirdTravels]

The Viva transforms the 625 seat theater into a nightclub in less than 15 minutes. Once a cruise, the staff allows guests to watch as seats and handrails are collapsed and the entire orchestra section of the theater is retracted, lighting rigs lowered, and booths rolled out to create the largest nightclub at sea. 
 

 

[FLAHAM]

Indulge is an outstanding NCL innovation.

[kwokpot]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The best place for complimentary food is the Indulge Food Hall. 
 

 

In your opinion would you do embarkation lunch in Indulge or a sitdown at Hudsons?

[bluesea777]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

At Indulge, you order complimentary foods using an iPad. 
 

 

These are lunch menus - can you go back in the evening for the dinner menus ....

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

In your opinion would you do embarkation lunch in Indulge or a sitdown at Hudsons?

We always do embarkation lunch in Indulge. BUT,,, we are first to board after Haven and make it a priority to get a table there (after sorting dining). 
 

Today, Indulge opened at 12:30 for lunch. By 12:15 most tables were full. Some people showing up at 12:49 were very upset. From The Bird’s perspective, snooze lose. You have to wait 30-45 min for “first shift” to finish and lots of tables started opening up. 

[BirdTravels]

46 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

 

These are lunch menus - can you go back in the evening for the dinner menus ....

Edited December 3, 2023 by BirdTravels

[BirdTravels]

Day 2 brought to you by Hudson’s Main Dining Room. 
 

Edited December 3, 2023 by BirdTravels

[Sand and Seas]

@BirdTravels,  your pictures are awesome as usual😊

 

Will you be giving us a review of Beetlejuice?   I see they have scheduled it at the same time as the very popular Rumours in Syd Normans🤨

Edited December 3, 2023 by Sand and Seas

[PistolPete13]

3 hours ago, kwokpot said:

In your opinion would you do embarkation lunch in Indulge or a sitdown at Hudsons?

It would depend on how much luggage you're carrying.  On the Prima I went to Indulge hoping that no one knew about it yet and it worked out BUT most of the seating as you can see in the photos are stools and chairs right next to each other.  It will not work well if you have large bags or even carry on sized luggage with you.  A bit more elbow room at Hudsons.

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, PistolPete13 said:

It would depend on how much luggage you're carrying.  On the Prima I went to Indulge hoping that no one knew about it yet and it worked out BUT most of the seating as you can see in the photos are stools and chairs right next to each other.  It will not work well if you have large bags or even carry on sized luggage with you.  A bit more elbow room at Hudsons.

Given the later room availability on NCL and the inability to place hand luggage in your cabin straight away we have decided to check our carry-on size bags and will only have backpacks with us. Our current preference is to go for a sit down lunch. This is a nice option most cruiselines don't offer and will offset the inconvenience of not being able to access the cabin to deposit hand luggage (Carnival and Celebrity allow this) and if 2:00 seems to be the average time for room access a bit late, IMO (most other lines are 1-1:30) 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

Given the later room availability on NCL and the inability to place hand luggage in your cabin straight away we have decided to check our carry-on size bags and will only have backpacks with us. Our current preference is to go for a sit down lunch. This is a nice option most cruiselines don't offer and will offset the inconvenience of not being able to access the cabin to deposit hand luggage (Carnival and Celebrity allow this) and if 2:00 seems to be the average time for room access a bit late, IMO (most other lines are 1-1:30) 

The Indulge Food Hall is a “sit down” meal. As you order [more and more] items on the iPad, waiters bring the items to your table. 

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

@BirdTravels,  your pictures are awesome as usual😊

 

Will you be giving us a review of Beetlejuice?   I see they have scheduled it at the same time as the very popular Rumours in Syd Normans🤨

 

The Birds enjoyed the Betelgeuse show. There were a few that did not appreciate musical theater and left early. Most of the cast were strong singers and put on a great show. 
 

About 35 minutes into the show, the production manager stopped it due to an off stage injury of a cast member. The show resume after a 15 minute stop. 
 

On this short cruise, there were only two performances. The Viva theater holds around 625 passengers. That’s 1250 seats for the 3300 passengers. Like the Titanic, there are not enough seats for everyone. 
 

And, like the titanic, about 1/4 of the lower orchestra seats are reserved for Haven “first class” guests. . 
 

The actor who plays Betelgeuse was excellent. As was the actor who played Lidia. 
 

A must see show!

 

The Birds saw Rumours on the Escape in May. Another Excellent show. 

[BirdTravels]

Good night from the stunning Norwegian Viva!

 

[BirdTravels]

Good Morning, Nassau!

[BirdTravels]

[Lupush]

On 12/2/2023 at 5:07 PM, BirdTravels said:

On a cruise and need some mommy and daddy time, make sure to enroll the kiddos in the Splash Academy on embarkation day and have them attend on the first night to make friends. 
 

The Academy space on the Viva is small and it is made smaller since they have not created a separate teen club,,, yet. 

This is one of the biggest misses of the Prima Class ships so far IMO.  Splash Academy holding a max capacity of 50 kids on ships these sizes is unacceptable.  Especially during Holiday/School Break cruises.  On our Prima sailing last march kids club was a total disaster.

[Liljo22]

11 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

The Birds enjoyed the Betelgeuse show. There were a few that did not appreciate musical theater and left early. Most of the cast were strong singers and put on a great show. 
 

About 35 minutes into the show, the production manager stopped it due to an off stage injury of a cast member. The show resume after a 15 minute stop. 
 

On this short cruise, there were only two performances. The Viva theater holds around 625 passengers. That’s 1250 seats for the 3300 passengers. Like the Titanic, there are not enough seats for everyone. 
 

And, like the titanic, about 1/4 of the lower orchestra seats are reserved for Haven “first class” guests. . 
 

The actor who plays Betelgeuse was excellent. As was the actor who played Lidia. 
 

A must see show!

 

The Birds saw Rumours on the Escape in May. Another Excellent show. 

Loved Beetlejuice on Broadway.  How did the Maitlands pass in this version?  They had to change it for the touring version because not all venues had the ability to do the original.

[BirdTravels]

46 minutes ago, Lupush said:

This is one of the biggest misses of the Prima Class ships so far IMO.  Splash Academy holding a max capacity of 50 kids on ships these sizes is unacceptable.  Especially during Holiday/School Break cruises.  On our Prima sailing last march kids club was a total disaster.

On this short, off-season cruise, we have over 300 kids (out of 3300 passengers).