NCL Viva Southern Caribbean Cruise

Norwegian Viva Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 27

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Viva

7 Night Caribbean: Barbados Antigua & St. Lucia (San Juan Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 14, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Viva

Cabin number: 5734

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 11 months ago

Review summary

Not sure I would go on the Viva again. While it is a beautifully decorated ship it is lacking in a lot of areas overall. The shopping was nil to none and when you could shop it was only in the late evenings. This seems so odd to me. Not enough fun shops, just mostly the jewerly and watch ones. Couldn't get food 24/7. Buffet was small and although the other complimentary ones were decent with the views and such they just didn't offer a lot of choices either. If you are solo then the solo lounge was amazing. I wore out the espresso machine in there.

Embarkation

4 out of 5
Getting on the ship was fast and easy. Actually was able to get on the ship a 30 minutes prior to my actual slotted timeframe.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
This ship is laid out differently and a lot of the available places to eat differed throughout the day and nothing was 24/7. The food was just ok overall. Have had better food on other ships.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
I went solo and unfortunately there was not a lot of communication/signs where the solo group was meeting so didn't end meeting anyone till 2 days before the ship came back. This needs major improvement. I was able to do the escape room with the group for free and it was a lot of fun. Other than that too much nickel and diming to want to do any of the other fun things that were on there. Only used one of the infinity pools once while at port and most everyone was on excursions. Too many people in them typically which equates to lots of germs, bacteria and bodily fluids mixing together. No thanks.

Entertainment

4 out of 5
Only went to one show which was Beetlejuice and it was fantastic.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Most of the staff went out of their way to help you, acknowledge you and get your special requests fulfilled.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Very beautiful ship, but it seems to have affected a lot of the areas in being way smaller.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
I had an oceanview and it was very spacious including the bathroom. The room was very quiet as well and love the ability to sit in the port window and look out as there was a built in ledge.

Ship tip

Not extremely kid friendly overall as there wasn't a ton of things for them to do it seemed based on conversations with others. Walk the ship on the first day to get the lay of the land. Research your room location since there are several that end up being so nosy in the evening with shows and such.

Ports of call

San Juan, Puerto Rico Did not visit port

I've been to PR several times already. Didn't need to do anything here.

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

2 out of 5
My least favorite port. It's an ugly island with nothing to do. Go to Virgin Gorda or Jost Van Dyke instead.

Castries, St. Lucia

3 out of 5
Became my 2nd least favorite, will never return. The roads there are terrible and it just seemed so run down by the volcano side. I was not impressed. The Pitons were cool to see though. Maybe the other side of the island is better. I will never return so will never know.

Bridgetown, Barbados

5 out of 5
First time on this island and loved it. The cave tours was amazing. I want to come back and stay to see more.

St. John's, Antigua

5 out of 5
First time on this island and also love it. A lot of history and beautiful scenery.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

4 out of 5
First time on this island and it did not disappoint. Did a boat excursion here.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

3 out of 5
Another least favorite island. Go to St. John's while here. Better use of your time.

Disembarkation

3 out of 5
Seemed like a fuster cluck to a point, but eventually got off and out. Waiting for an Uber was ridiculously slow.
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5 Comments

javawoody     11 months ago

A lot of least favorite ports

Gwbigdog     11 months ago

Thanks for sharing

cruising2004     11 months ago

Thank you for your review.

JustNorm     11 months ago

Hello Is Saint Lucie a tinder port or does the ship dock at port.

Niavlys     11 months ago

Tks for sharing

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