A transatlantic crossing is a must do, and this particular crossing had two big advantages for us: It departed from our home port (San Juan), and had ports that are not generally included in most crossings. From that perspective, we enjoyed this cruise. However, due to the limitations of the Viva itself (mainly related to venues and hours of operation, see above) we will not consider another crossing in a Norwegian ship.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very easy and fast. But we were slotted for late pm embarkation.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The ship has many dining venues, some complementary, most specialty. But with few exceptions, the spaces are extremely limited. There was rarely a walk-in opportunity.
Main dining room (Commodore, Hudsons) : Food is good quality, variety is not outstanding. Service is excellent. Expect a wait unless you reserve way ahead.
Buffet and informal dining: The buffet size/space is ridiculous for the size of the ship. Be prepared to fight for a table, and maneuver to avoid crashing with other customers. The Local Bar and Grill and Indulge Food Court: hours are very limited, menu is fixed, late night menu basically bar stuff (pretzels, dips). If you want a late (10:30am) breakfast or lunch, you're out of luck and have to stick to the same very light stuff in the Observation Deck.
Specialty Restaurants (we tried all except one) range from Outstanding (Palomar, Cagney's) to OK (Los Lobos). Most are A La Carte so $$$ can escalate quickly.
Bars have a good variety of drinks and wines, the major issue being that table service is slow - very few servers to tend to tables in the main bars.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The main pool is minuscule. The hot tubs and infinity pools, small too. Fitness center is very good, the spa is pricey but beautifully appointed.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The main theater music shows (Beetlejuice, Icons, Beatles tribute) were very good. The venues outside of the main theater (Syd Norman's and Improv) are, again, designed for a much smaller crowd. There is no specific club for dancing, there's music in the Atrium most nights, have to get in early to secure a chair or table. They do have a group (Classic Tones) that are great, as well as a singer (nikolai) that is also really good.
Children's Programs
No children. we were lucky that this being a transatlantic crossing, there were few children on board, otherwise space constraints would have been even more pronounced.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
This is where the VIVA gets hi ratings. Most of the waiters, bar attendants, room attendants, Maitre D's, Customer Service, Photography, were really nice and easy to like.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
This is a new ship, so naturally, it is in top shape. It's a beautiful ship, designed for a much smaller population, or designed assuming people would evenly split across all venues. The layout takes getting used to.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Room and balcony size are OK, similar to other cruise ships. Storage is a little tight for a 19 days cruise. The bathroom, however, is bigger than most equivalent cabins on other ships with plenty of storage.
Ship tip
Reserve in advance everything from complementary dining to shore excursions. Be prepared to skip the buffets.
I'm local so I didnt need an excursion. On ports I had visited before (all of the Caribbean ports, The Canaty Islands, Cadiz) we didn't take excursions because were comfortable walking the city by ourselves.
I was very pleasantly surprised of how nice they have set up the port area in La Romana. We didnt leave the port complex, but it was extremely enjoyable, and a nice chance to get a decent cup of coffee.
The country has a lot of merit, and clearly are doing the best they can with minimum resources. Very clean city. We took excursions both days. An overnight stay here was not the best use of our time, maybe good for the ship but certainly not for the customers. There are many other ports (Cadiz, Casablanca, Lisbon, Palmas) where an overnight stay would have been welcomed.
Except for the "Disney World" Medina the excursion took us too, Agadir was a nice port to visit. (Having seen real Medinas, this was not close to the real experience but still enjoyable - much cleaner than the real thing!)
Casablanca is one of the ports where an excursion is highly advisable. we had visited Casablanca years ago, and we surprised to see how well kept and clean it is these days.
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