Beautiful, wonderful trip!

Norwegian Viva Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean

teenipini

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 9

Overall rating:

4.9 out of 5

Verified Review

10 Night Western Mediterranean (Lisbon To Rome)

Sail date: April 26, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Viva

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10188

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 1 month ago

Review summary

We had an amazing time overall! However, there's nowhere else to share this: You NEED to update your system to allow parties of 10 people to book restaurants! It goes from 8 to 12 and 8 people only have late times available. We should NOT have to take time out of our cruise when we board to book these and we are paying way too much to be left out and unable to book ahead of time.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Could have been quicker, very long lines

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Wonderful this time around!

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

We really wish things like mini golf, racing and the escape rooms weren't an extra charge. We pay a lot to be on board and it feels like NCL is nickeling and diming customers. These should be free. The escape room also already had broken parts and the ship is brand new - pay to get them fixed.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

We were really bummed there was no comedian on board and the instrumentalist the first night was underwhelming. David & Stephanie (entertainers) – they are amazing humans and so entertaining! We spent some time getting to know them and after we met them, they made sure they always said hi and shouted us out during their sets. They work incredibly hard and know SO many songs; they are very impressive! We always made sure to catch their set when we could. E-duo (entertainers) – these guys have such pure, buttery, beautiful, incredible voices!! We thoroughly enjoyed every set we caught. They had some great song arrangements…amazing! The actor that played Beetlejuice – INCREDIBLY HILARIOUS!!!! We couldn’t take our eyes off him during Ocean Music Fest, as his personality shone there too. The whole cast of Beetlejuice was really wonderful! Great show!

Children's Programs

No kids with us

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Dreyfus Mejia (Restaurant Host from Honduras) is such a nice person! He’s extremely professional and was one of the first people we met when we boarded. We had to adjust ALL our restaurant bookings (as mentioned in the bad) and we spent an hour working with Dreyfus to get these updated. He was patient and helpful. We kept seeing him throughout our cruise and he is such a positive and welcoming addition to your team! He pays attention to detail and made us feel very special. We hope he will be up for a promotion soon because he very much deserves it! Jay Bee Morales (Maitre’d HP# 28975) – guided Dreyfus when we were booking our restaurants. He made sure we had great tables and that the staff knew there would be 10 of us because the system doesn’t allow staff to book for 10 people. He made sure to visit us and check in when he knew we would be at Palomar and this small act goes a long way! All of our bookings were flawlessly executed because of Jay Bee & Dreyfus. Dileon Nainggolan (Bar Waiter from Indonesia) WAS THE LIGHT OF OUR LIVES on this cruise!!! He may be the happiest person we’ve ever met! He was always quick to take care of us and we had so much fun joking around with him. He is truly a special person. Ariel Jallorina (Bartender from the Philippines) has an incredible memory! He was always ready with a welcoming smile and basically had our drinks ready as soon as he saw us. He is amazing and made a big impression! Jose Aleman (Waiter from Mexico) – Los Lobos & Palomar. I had to be very specific about the food I was ordering at Los Lobos because I cannot onions make me sick. Jose paid very close attention to this and made sure to check everything for me. I know I took up much of his time trying to find something I could eat, but I very much appreciated everything he did for us. He is generally a great server, as well! Cesar (room steward) – an amazingly sweet man who greeted us warmly every time we saw him. Our room always looked great!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Viva was a gorgeous ship and we really liked the new layout.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Amazing size, especially compared to Encore where you can't really move comfortably past the tv & the bed. Viva rooms felt very roomy and comfortable!