Detailed NCL Viva Review (Feb. 4-11 Southern Caribbean from San Juan)

[dshefter]

For Starters, this was my 15th cruise overall and sixth with NCL. Previously, I have sailed on Royal, Princess and Carnival. My DW and I find cruising to be a great value and an excellent way to spend a vacation. We chose the NCL Viva because it was a brand-new vessel, the price fit our budget and we love all of the ports, some of which we have visited multiple times (i.e. St. Thomas, Tortola and Barbados)

 

At first glance, the Viva is a beautiful ship and once aboard, we found her to be bright, modern and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Before we set sail, I made sure to familiarize myself with the Deck Plans, and on embarkation day, we walked around to get a feel for where the public areas were. One thing I repeatedly heard from passengers is it was difficult to sometimes find things. That wasn’t the case for me.

 

There were far more positives about the ship than negatives and I will get to both later in the review. Now I’ve never been on a bad cruise, dating to back to my first one in 1982 on the old Cunard Countess (cruising was far different then, think no drink packages or specialty restaurants, and no wow factor things like slides and virtual reality rooms). Now, there have been some weak ships, but never had I not had a great time aboard a cruise.

 

As for our vacation, we made sure to fly into San Juan a day earlier. Even with a late departure (8:30 p.m. on Feb. 4), I never want to take a chance of a flight being canceled or delayed. There were several passengers who had to hustle to the ship on Feb. 4 due to flight delays. We stayed at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Resort & Casino on Marriott points, which turned out to be a 5-minute ride to the Pan American Port, where the Viva departs. UBER is ever-present in Puerto Rico and we had no issues getting rides from the airport, to our restaurant and to the ship the following day. We enjoyed a nice dinner at Casita Miramar, a restaurant that came highly recommended by a work colleague who grew up in PR. It was a short UBER ride from the hotel.

 

Embarkation was an absolute breeze. We signed up for 11:30 a.m. check-in but arrived around 10:45. It took about 5-10 minutes from the time we walked into the terminal until we boarded. We went to our Muster station and within minutes we were enjoying the Viva.

I quickly found my spot for the week: the Humidor Cigar Lounge. One reason we sail on NCL is all of its modern vessels have a dedicated cigar lounge. A huge feather in NCL’s cap.

 

One key component of a cruise for me is the food and service from the crew. Viva gets an A+ in this area. Every restaurant was great. We did not visit Nama (sushi), Food Republic or Los Lobos (Mexican). But all of the other venues were terrific, including the two main dining rooms, Hudson’s and Commodore Room. Because my wife is Platinum and we already had 3 specialty dinners pre-booked, we managed to enjoy 5 specialty dinners. Those with Platinum or greater status receive two vouchers for specialty dinners, including one that includes a bottle of wine).

 

The service was outstanding. Everyone we encountered had a smile and appeared to thoroughly enjoy serving us. Slotko from Montenegro who worked the Cigar lounge on Epic for our Mediterranean cruise in 2022, even recognized me at the pool area. He has since moved to the Viva and it was great catching up. Was shocked that he remembered me. Salomon, from Peru, was another great server in the cigar lounge.

 

For food venues, don’t miss Cagneys (steak), Onda by Scarpetta (Italian), Palomar (seafood) or Le Bistro. You can also order off a portion of the Cagneys menu in the two main dining rooms for a small upcharge. Indulge Food Hall also was outstanding. Just make sure to get there when it opens as it fills up fast. You can order off an iPad and there are four different restaurants to choose from. I loved the pulled pork sandwich from the Smokehouse.

We also enjoyed The Local. We rarely hit the buffet and like many have previously said, it should have been built to accommodate more people. Only have one side for all of the offerings just doesn’t work for the number of passengers on the ship.

 

We managed to grab a quick bite during non-peak hours and never ate there for breakfast. We chose Hudson’s or The Local (limited breakfast menu) each morning and it worked well. You can also dine at Hudson’s for breakfast on debarkation day. Highly recommend over the buffet, and if you get there when it opens, there is never a line.

 

As for the other public venues like The Improv, Syd Norman’s Pour House and pools, they are just too small in proportion to the number of passengers. The Improv and Syd Norman’s can barely house 100 people. And without reservations, you end up standing in line an hour before showtime (doors open 30 minutes prior) just to see the comedians or musicians. NCL should figure out a way to allow for reservations, and also have multiple shows of the same act to give everyone a chance to see the act. We thoroughly enjoyed Andrew Kennedy, one of two comedians on our cruise. Saw him 3 times (opening night in the main theater, and then his PG-13 and R-rated performances in The Improv).

 

But we never saw anything in Syd Norman’s. Missed the popular Rumours show because our dinner was at 8 p.m. and by the time we got done, the room was already jammed with people. That is one show that belonged in the main theater or performed multiple nights.

We did book Beetlejuice, the Broadway show on the Viva, and we saw it performed for the first time by this group of actors/singers. Not bad, but not awesome either.

 

Again, I never worry about entertainment aboard a cruise ship. That is not why I book cruises. But I like to enjoy music and comedians and it was very difficult to do so on the Viva without standing in line. Other ships in the NCL family also do a better job of spreading around the entertainment.

 

As for the bars themselves, there are plenty aboard Viva, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find one open before 11. On the Epic, the bar near the main dining room was open in the morning and I could get a soft drink. There are also only a select number of bars where you can get a frozen drink (Pool Waves, Observation Lounge and The Local). Keep that in mind when choosing a bar to enjoy a cocktail. But even though the ship was fully booked, I never had to wait more than a few minutes to get a drink, and that included the always-packed Pool Waves bar. And there were plenty of servers walking around on the pool deck.

 

The pool area itself is rather small compared to other NCL ships. I think the designers of Viva wanted to make sure they had room for extra-fee activities like a 3-deck go-kart track, mini-golf and virtual-reality room. While the go-kart track was cool – my DW chose to spend $20 apiece to ride solo on the track – I wouldn’t be disappointed if future ships eschewed this activity to enlarge the pool area. The Infinity Pools on Deck 8 are very nice as well, but they, too, fill up fast. NCL also spent money for an enlarged Vibe Beach area that appeared to hold around 100-plus people. While I have enjoyed this area on past ships, we chose not to spend nearly $300 pp for this privilege. It does have its own bar, but not a dedicated pool. We just figured it wasn’t worth the money given the port-intensive itinerary.

Now if NCL wanted to give a discount for Platinum members and above, we might have thought about it.

 

We did enjoy the Infinity pools on Deck 8. Would be nice if NCL had put in a hot tub in this area. There were only two on the entire ship for the general public and both on Deck 17.

 

One area that was beautiful was the Observation Lounge. It is very big and encompasses the entire front of the ship on Deck 17. This was a great place to hang out and enjoy a drink. It’s also where NCL had our Cruise Critic Meet-N-Greet. We had a chance to meet the GM and the rest of his team. The Captain did not show up, but the GM allowed us to ask questions.

 

As for our stateroom, we stayed in an Inside Cabin on Deck 10 forward (10121). This was my first time in such a cabin since we sailed on the Pearl in 2008 when our daughter was 4. I was very impressed with the amount of storage space as well as the size of the bathroom. The water pressure was outstanding/ar There was an ample amount of plugs to charge our phones.

 

I also was impressed with the workout facilities on Deck 16. Plenty of treadmills and nautilus/free weights. And you get a nice view, especially at sunrise or when pulling into a port.

 

As for the ports, we love Barbados. Just took a cab to Harbour Lights, where we had two chairs and an umbrella booked. You can go onto their website and book chairs, jet skis and even snorkeling with turtles ahead of time. In Antigua, we took a cab to Valley Church beach and rented chairs and an umbrella for $20. Our snorkel excursion through NCL was canceled in St. Thomas due to inclement weather. A storm had come through the night before. In St. Maarten, we used NCL for a transfer to Maho Beach (where the planes fly right over your head to land) and glad we did as there was a lot of traffic. Took more than an hour to get there and return on what normally is a 30-minute ride. Four ships in port that day had something to do with it. Did a rum tour through NCL in St. Lucia and thoroughly enjoyed. Did nothing in Tortola as we had been there multiple times and already gone to The Baths (Virgin Gorda) and Jost Van Dyke.

 

Debarkation was an absolute breeze. We waited for a color to be called (Pink) and we were off the ship and outside the terminal within 15 minutes.

So where can NCL improve? Bigger public rooms would be a place to start. They could have easily removed some of the shops and art area on Deck 7 to enlarge The Improv and Syd Norman’s. Take out the go-kart track for more pool space. Replace the 8-story dry slides (The Drop and The Rush, both are fun BTW) with water slides. I think both would see heavier usage if they were water slides. Allow for reservations in the entertainment areas. Spread out the entertainment. Maybe add a piano bar.

 

Would I sail NCL Viva again with the right itinerary and price? Absolutely. We had a fabulous time.

 

Happy to answer any questions.

  

[Hmmcminn]

Thanks for the great review!  I’ll be on the Viva next week, so I’ve been looking for info.  
 

Do you happen to have the dailies from your cruise?

[Spencer71]

Thanks for the detailed review! Trying to plan our excursions. Our group is two couples, about 50 yrs old with varied interests. Some like snorkeling, history, some not so much. Not interested in NCL's excursions, but will book through Viator or even custom. Want to keep costs down though. While I can look up things to do at each stop (and I will), I'm interested in what are the absolute best 3-4 things to do from all of the stops. What should we absolutely not miss? What should we book in advance? I figure we'll book a few things at some ports but then nothing at the other ports. Where can I best find this info? On CC there is no category for Southern Caribbean, but instead they have categories for each one of the stops.

[herbanrenewal]

Totally agree. Great review 

[ZsaZsa2019]

Thank you for taking the time to write the review!  Loved reading it.  We sail in March.

[FLAHAM]

Enjoyed your review.  Helped me relive my great Mediterranean cruise on the Viva in October.

[nordicacres]

Wonderful, TY! I am considering this cruise in the future so very helpful!

[olemissreb]

Thank you for this review! My group will be in the Viva in March '25...and we can't wait for a week of relaxation, adventures, and laughter. My BF is a bourbon drinker, so we'll probably hang out there...A LOT!

[Panhandle Couple]

12 hours ago, dshefter said:

For Starters, this was my 15th cruise overall and sixth with NCL. Previously, I have sailed on Royal, Princess and Carnival. My DW and I find cruising to be a great value and an excellent way to spend a vacation. We chose the NCL Viva because it was a brand-new vessel, the price fit our budget and we love all of the ports, some of which we have visited multiple times (i.e. St. Thomas, Tortola and Barbados)

 

At first glance, the Viva is a beautiful ship and once aboard, we found her to be bright, modern and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Before we set sail, I made sure to familiarize myself with the Deck Plans, and on embarkation day, we walked around to get a feel for where the public areas were. One thing I repeatedly heard from passengers is it was difficult to sometimes find things. That wasn’t the case for me.

 

There were far more positives about the ship than negatives and I will get to both later in the review. Now I’ve never been on a bad cruise, dating to back to my first one in 1982 on the old Cunard Countess (cruising was far different then, think no drink packages or specialty restaurants, and no wow factor things like slides and virtual reality rooms). Now, there have been some weak ships, but never had I not had a great time aboard a cruise.

 

As for our vacation, we made sure to fly into San Juan a day earlier. Even with a late departure (8:30 p.m. on Feb. 4), I never want to take a chance of a flight being canceled or delayed. There were several passengers who had to hustle to the ship on Feb. 4 due to flight delays. We stayed at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Resort & Casino on Marriott points, which turned out to be a 5-minute ride to the Pan American Port, where the Viva departs. UBER is ever-present in Puerto Rico and we had no issues getting rides from the airport, to our restaurant and to the ship the following day. We enjoyed a nice dinner at Casita Miramar, a restaurant that came highly recommended by a work colleague who grew up in PR. It was a short UBER ride from the hotel.

 

Embarkation was an absolute breeze. We signed up for 11:30 a.m. check-in but arrived around 10:45. It took about 5-10 minutes from the time we walked into the terminal until we boarded. We went to our Muster station and within minutes we were enjoying the Viva.

I quickly found my spot for the week: the Humidor Cigar Lounge. One reason we sail on NCL is all of its modern vessels have a dedicated cigar lounge. A huge feather in NCL’s cap.

 

One key component of a cruise for me is the food and service from the crew. Viva gets an A+ in this area. Every restaurant was great. We did not visit Nama (sushi), Food Republic or Los Lobos (Mexican). But all of the other venues were terrific, including the two main dining rooms, Hudson’s and Commodore Room. Because my wife is Platinum and we already had 3 specialty dinners pre-booked, we managed to enjoy 5 specialty dinners. Those with Platinum or greater status receive two vouchers for specialty dinners, including one that includes a bottle of wine).

 

The service was outstanding. Everyone we encountered had a smile and appeared to thoroughly enjoy serving us. Slotko from Montenegro who worked the Cigar lounge on Epic for our Mediterranean cruise in 2022, even recognized me at the pool area. He has since moved to the Viva and it was great catching up. Was shocked that he remembered me. Salomon, from Peru, was another great server in the cigar lounge.

 

For food venues, don’t miss Cagneys (steak), Onda by Scarpetta (Italian), Palomar (seafood) or Le Bistro. You can also order off a portion of the Cagneys menu in the two main dining rooms for a small upcharge. Indulge Food Hall also was outstanding. Just make sure to get there when it opens as it fills up fast. You can order off an iPad and there are four different restaurants to choose from. I loved the pulled pork sandwich from the Smokehouse.

We also enjoyed The Local. We rarely hit the buffet and like many have previously said, it should have been built to accommodate more people. Only have one side for all of the offerings just doesn’t work for the number of passengers on the ship.

 

We managed to grab a quick bite during non-peak hours and never ate there for breakfast. We chose Hudson’s or The Local (limited breakfast menu) each morning and it worked well. You can also dine at Hudson’s for breakfast on debarkation day. Highly recommend over the buffet, and if you get there when it opens, there is never a line.

 

As for the other public venues like The Improv, Syd Norman’s Pour House and pools, they are just too small in proportion to the number of passengers. The Improv and Syd Norman’s can barely house 100 people. And without reservations, you end up standing in line an hour before showtime (doors open 30 minutes prior) just to see the comedians or musicians. NCL should figure out a way to allow for reservations, and also have multiple shows of the same act to give everyone a chance to see the act. We thoroughly enjoyed Andrew Kennedy, one of two comedians on our cruise. Saw him 3 times (opening night in the main theater, and then his PG-13 and R-rated performances in The Improv).

 

But we never saw anything in Syd Norman’s. Missed the popular Rumours show because our dinner was at 8 p.m. and by the time we got done, the room was already jammed with people. That is one show that belonged in the main theater or performed multiple nights.

We did book Beetlejuice, the Broadway show on the Viva, and we saw it performed for the first time by this group of actors/singers. Not bad, but not awesome either.

 

Again, I never worry about entertainment aboard a cruise ship. That is not why I book cruises. But I like to enjoy music and comedians and it was very difficult to do so on the Viva without standing in line. Other ships in the NCL family also do a better job of spreading around the entertainment.

 

As for the bars themselves, there are plenty aboard Viva, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find one open before 11. On the Epic, the bar near the main dining room was open in the morning and I could get a soft drink. There are also only a select number of bars where you can get a frozen drink (Pool Waves, Observation Lounge and The Local). Keep that in mind when choosing a bar to enjoy a cocktail. But even though the ship was fully booked, I never had to wait more than a few minutes to get a drink, and that included the always-packed Pool Waves bar. And there were plenty of servers walking around on the pool deck.

 

The pool area itself is rather small compared to other NCL ships. I think the designers of Viva wanted to make sure they had room for extra-fee activities like a 3-deck go-kart track, mini-golf and virtual-reality room. While the go-kart track was cool – my DW chose to spend $20 apiece to ride solo on the track – I wouldn’t be disappointed if future ships eschewed this activity to enlarge the pool area. The Infinity Pools on Deck 8 are very nice as well, but they, too, fill up fast. NCL also spent money for an enlarged Vibe Beach area that appeared to hold around 100-plus people. While I have enjoyed this area on past ships, we chose not to spend nearly $300 pp for this privilege. It does have its own bar, but not a dedicated pool. We just figured it wasn’t worth the money given the port-intensive itinerary.

Now if NCL wanted to give a discount for Platinum members and above, we might have thought about it.

 

We did enjoy the Infinity pools on Deck 8. Would be nice if NCL had put in a hot tub in this area. There were only two on the entire ship for the general public and both on Deck 17.

 

One area that was beautiful was the Observation Lounge. It is very big and encompasses the entire front of the ship on Deck 17. This was a great place to hang out and enjoy a drink. It’s also where NCL had our Cruise Critic Meet-N-Greet. We had a chance to meet the GM and the rest of his team. The Captain did not show up, but the GM allowed us to ask questions.

 

As for our stateroom, we stayed in an Inside Cabin on Deck 10 forward (10121). This was my first time in such a cabin since we sailed on the Pearl in 2008 when our daughter was 4. I was very impressed with the amount of storage space as well as the size of the bathroom. The water pressure was outstanding/ar There was an ample amount of plugs to charge our phones.

 

I also was impressed with the workout facilities on Deck 16. Plenty of treadmills and nautilus/free weights. And you get a nice view, especially at sunrise or when pulling into a port.

 

As for the ports, we love Barbados. Just took a cab to Harbour Lights, where we had two chairs and an umbrella booked. You can go onto their website and book chairs, jet skis and even snorkeling with turtles ahead of time. In Antigua, we took a cab to Valley Church beach and rented chairs and an umbrella for $20. Our snorkel excursion through NCL was canceled in St. Thomas due to inclement weather. A storm had come through the night before. In St. Maarten, we used NCL for a transfer to Maho Beach (where the planes fly right over your head to land) and glad we did as there was a lot of traffic. Took more than an hour to get there and return on what normally is a 30-minute ride. Four ships in port that day had something to do with it. Did a rum tour through NCL in St. Lucia and thoroughly enjoyed. Did nothing in Tortola as we had been there multiple times and already gone to The Baths (Virgin Gorda) and Jost Van Dyke.

 

Debarkation was an absolute breeze. We waited for a color to be called (Pink) and we were off the ship and outside the terminal within 15 minutes.

So where can NCL improve? Bigger public rooms would be a place to start. They could have easily removed some of the shops and art area on Deck 7 to enlarge The Improv and Syd Norman’s. Take out the go-kart track for more pool space. Replace the 8-story dry slides (The Drop and The Rush, both are fun BTW) with water slides. I think both would see heavier usage if they were water slides. Allow for reservations in the entertainment areas. Spread out the entertainment. Maybe add a piano bar.

 

Would I sail NCL Viva again with the right itinerary and price? Absolutely. We had a fabulous time.

 

Happy to answer any questions.

  

Thanks.  Nice to see a review that doesn't "sweat" the little things, and enjoys the overall cruise experience.

[dshefter]

On 2/13/2024 at 11:51 AM, Hmmcminn said:

Thanks for the great review!  I’ll be on the Viva next week, so I’ve been looking for info.  
 

Do you happen to have the dailies from your cruise?

We did not save them. Beatlejuice was on Friday. Rumours was on Thursday

 

[dshefter]

20 hours ago, olemissreb said:

Thank you for this review! My group will be in the Viva in March '25...and we can't wait for a week of relaxation, adventures, and laughter. My BF is a bourbon drinker, so we'll probably hang out there...A LOT!

No shortage of bars. Plenty of bourbons fit into the regular beverage package. Have a great time.

[dshefter]

On 2/13/2024 at 11:56 AM, Spencer71 said:

Thanks for the detailed review! Trying to plan our excursions. Our group is two couples, about 50 yrs old with varied interests. Some like snorkeling, history, some not so much. Not interested in NCL's excursions, but will book through Viator or even custom. Want to keep costs down though. While I can look up things to do at each stop (and I will), I'm interested in what are the absolute best 3-4 things to do from all of the stops. What should we absolutely not miss? What should we book in advance? I figure we'll book a few things at some ports but then nothing at the other ports. Where can I best find this info? On CC there is no category for Southern Caribbean, but instead they have categories for each one of the stops.

Tortola: The Baths (a must)
Barbados: Any beach. Do on your own. Harbour Lights allows you to book chairs in advance (they have a turtle snorkel adventure right there on property for $25)

Great snorkeling in St. Thomas/St. Johns
Antigua: Great beaches. We went to Valley Church Beach, but there are others

St. Lucia: We zip-lined in the past there. Wonderful experience in the rain forest. The rum tour we did was not expensive and something different.

Feel free to book outside of NCL

You can take a cab to Maho Beach in St. Maarten. Just plan accordingly as traffic there can be brutal. Our 30-minute ride turned into more than an hour each way.

[olemissreb]

1 hour ago, dshefter said:

No shortage of bars. Plenty of bourbons fit into the regular beverage package. Have a great time.

Already upgraded our FAS since BF is a Blantons drinker! Since he's never cruised before, I figure if I can get some Blantons in him (lots of it), maybe he'll fall in love with cruising as much as I have.🤪

[cruiseny4life]

What a wonderful review! Thank you so much for sharing. You really did a swell job giving us all an idea of how your cruise went, what you enjoyed, and what Norwegian could do a bit better.

[tmisinski]

Thank you for your excellent review.  

We are actually going on the Viva on March 10.  What excursion did you do with NCL to get to Maho Beach?

Thanks!

[Destaw71835]

This is a great and detailed review. Thank you!

[maggieq]

@dshefter  thanks so much for posting.  Looking at this same cruise next year. 
 

shows - ncl does not allow you to book any of them pre cruise?

specialty restaurants - is pre cruise reserving allowed if no status with ncl?

[dshefter]

25 minutes ago, maggieq said:

@dshefter  thanks so much for posting.  Looking at this same cruise next year. 
 

shows - ncl does not allow you to book any of them pre cruise?

specialty restaurants - is pre cruise reserving allowed if no status with ncl?

Yes. You can't pre-book shows. When you board the ship, you can make reservations for Beetlejuice as well as specialty restaurants. You can book specialty restaurants 90 days prior to the cruise. Keep on the lookout after making your final payment.

[dshefter]

On 2/18/2024 at 1:34 PM, tmisinski said:

Thank you for your excellent review.  

We are actually going on the Viva on March 10.  What excursion did you do with NCL to get to Maho Beach?

Thanks!

We booked the Maho Beach Transfer. Basically a bus to the beach. They give you about 3-plus hours to enjoy the beach and the Sunset Bar. You can also take a cab. Just beware that we experienced a lot of traffic in St. Maarten the day we were in port. 4 ships (15,000 passengers). Check ahead to see how many ships are in port that day.

[maggieq]

1 hour ago, dshefter said:

Yes. You can't pre-book shows. When you board the ship, you can make reservations for Beetlejuice as well as specialty restaurants. You can book specialty restaurants 90 days prior to the cruise. Keep on the lookout after making your final payment.

@dshefter   That’s disappointing.  We were able to book specialty restaurants prior to our cruise on the encore then booked all entertainment (including comedy shows) once onboard first day (11/2019). Any reason they are no longer allowing this?  Thanks!

[dshefter]

4 minutes ago, maggieq said:

@dshefter   That’s disappointing.  We were able to book specialty restaurants prior to our cruise on the encore then booked all entertainment (including comedy shows) once onboard first day (11/2019). Any reason they are no longer allowing this?  Thanks!

You can book specialty restaurants. We were unable to book entertainment. Check with NCL as policies can change. But you should have ZERO difficulty booking the main show. Can't book comedy club or Syd Norman's.

[CRUIS4ME]

On Feb 25th Viva cruise.   Having a discussion with our tour guide in BVI as our itinerary and cruise mapper says we will be in port in Tortola from 7am until 4pm.   Our tour guide checked with BVI port schedule…local…who says we are in port from 8am till 5pm.

 

Can you recall the times you were in port for Tortola?  And…can anyone tell me their itinerary times for their port visit to BVI?   Thanks 

[dshefter]

13 hours ago, CRUIS4ME said:

On Feb 25th Viva cruise.   Having a discussion with our tour guide in BVI as our itinerary and cruise mapper says we will be in port in Tortola from 7am until 4pm.   Our tour guide checked with BVI port schedule…local…who says we are in port from 8am till 5pm.

 

Can you recall the times you were in port for Tortola?  And…can anyone tell me their itinerary times for their port visit to BVI?   Thanks 

Seem to recall it being 7 to 4. Plenty of time to do any shore excursion.

[Spencer71]

On 2/19/2024 at 6:33 PM, CRUIS4ME said:

Can you recall the times you were in port for Tortola?  And…can anyone tell me their itinerary times for their port visit to BVI?   Thanks 

I'm on March 31 cruise and it's 8-5.

[dshefter]

On 2/21/2024 at 8:15 AM, Spencer71 said:

I'm on March 31 cruise and it's 8-5.

That is plenty of time to enjoy an excursion. Enjoy your cruise on Viva.