The extra long crossing was the appeal. Turns out this was to allow enough time for NCL to complete some upgrades to the entertainment options on the upper decks. This ship is clearly being positioned to serve Millennial families on 7-day cruises where the Kids must have plenty of experiences (that they could easily have on land at any amusement park.) There is feeling that this is the cruise product of the future - from smaller public venues to multiple opportunities to spend money on experiences. Not sure who thought the theater that converts to a disco was a good idea, but I believe time will prove that it is operationally a loser.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Smooth as silk with no delays, other than gaining access to our room.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Main dining rooms (Hudson's and Commodore) are attractive and modeled on the traditional main dining room experience. Menus were somewhat pedestrian and rarely featured high-value ingredients. Tilapia was a frequent seafood choice. Service was very friendly and sometimes attentive, but the unusually long delays for each course made this an undesirable option at all three meal periods. The buffet on the 17th deck was woefully undersized and poorly laid out to accommodate the 3,000 guests on board. Linear layout created frequent bottlenecks and unnecessary confusion. Seating was absolutely inadequate and led to hot food cooling while we searched for a seat. Food quality was mixed but variety was sufficient to meet most guests expectations. Why the salad bar is so small baffles us. It is one of the few ways to get fresh vegetables but it was poorly sited and always crowded. We suspect the cruise line has a strategy to drive guests from the complementary dining venues to the numerous overpriced a la carte options. The bright spot is the innovative Indulge Food Hall. We would love to see this cooked-to-order spread to other NCL ships and other cruise lines. Once you have the hang of the technology, this is the best quality and most expedient service on the ship. Kudos to NCL. Several of the a la carter options (Palomar and Cagney's) live up to the guest expectations that come with a nearly $100 per person price tag for three courses. We dined three times in Palomar.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
The usual activities such as trivia, dance classes, etc. are what you would expect, but we did not experience any notable standouts.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The "rock and roll" entertainment is excellent. The Freddy Mercury tribute and the rock tribute were genuinely engaging. Beetlejuice is entertaining, but not quite a Broadway road show. Comedians, magicians and a unique hypnotist act were very good.
Children's Programs
No children with us on this cruise
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
NCL has captured the spirit of genuinely welcoming hospitality. We were always greeted warmly in the corridors and public spaces. We had some outstanding food servers and bartenders over the course of 19 days. Our room steward was friendly and outgoing but clearly overworked. There were four separate occasions when our room had not been serviced before 3:30 pm, including on days when we were off the ship until that time. This forced some rescheduling of personal down time - not appreciated. NCL provides once daily room make up (effectively half of the pre-covid level of service) for what is now $20/day per person (effectively a 50% increase in the service fee). Somehow this does not make sense. We can live without turndown service, but it was a nice touch over the last 30 years we have been cruising.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The Viva is only 7 months in service so she is in great physical condition. The design attempts to be innovative in some of the public areas such as the Atrium, but if doesn't always feel like it is the best design. As noted earlier the main dining rooms are attractive in a classical fashion, the buffet is poorly designed, and the main pool area is much too small. The alternative is the Vive beach club, but it was sold out for the cruise and therefore inaccessible for most of the guests. The cantilevered outside promenade on deck 8 is a nice addition with outdoor seating galore and a few special water features along with attractive artwork, but at sea with 45 knot winds, it didn't get used as much as you would think.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Standard size room, awkward closet arrangement with sliding doors and a too-small bedside table that limits what you can set out. Nice bathroom with good size shower. Attractively decorated in contemporary colors and lighter tones.
Ship tip
Try the Indulge Food Hall early on your cruise and find the items you like so that you can enjoy them repeatedly over the remainder of your cruise.
By all means go see the Pitons. You can't really see them from the port of Castries and there are only a few sail/snorkel excursions. Take the bus and experience the diversity of the island.
Although the most rugged of the three islands we visited, it held the most appeal for us. Once you get past the 230+ dormant volcanic sites, the towns are pretty, the salt flats are unique, and the seaside dining is the real deal.
Skip it. The long drive to Taroudant to see the old walled city is the only highlight. However the long drive leaves little free time to shop the souk. The goats in trees are not that common and when you get to stop and see them, it seems a little contrived.
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