You guys put so much work into your videos and you're so personable. Thanks for your thoughts. And yes, the ship is the weakness. They didn't nail the design. I'm reading the next in series has some changes but they would have to make some extensive changes to the venue size and placement to optimize what they do on the ship. Can they or are they locked in for the entire class? Folks, newer isn't always better. Sometimes they nail it, sometimes they don't.
Enjoyed all your videos.They were very informative and helpful to us. My wife (Mary) and I are planning to take Viva's Spring '24 transatlantic crossing from San Juan to Lisbon. We have enjoyed NCL, especially the FOOD.
Thank you for answering. I just love your personality, your integrity and your joy so I thought I would ask. If you can send any pointers would love it
Good to see that NCL is maybe listening to feedback and doing at least one Syd Norman's show in the theater. The prom looked fun! The Viva has many pros but the small venues and overall poor design would not put it at the top of my list. Celebrity Beyond is my favorite for ship layout, general beautiful aesthetic, food and entertainment. Thanks for a great video and series! ❤
Celebrity's Beyond has design issues as well. They put specialty dining rooms in the Grand Plaza so all of the noise from the Martini Bar goes up into Raw on Five, Fine Cut and Le Grand Bistro. The specialty dining rooms aft located on the Solstice had far better ambiance and no music disturbance. The Club isn't a great venue for everything and since there is no forward observation lounge, there's nowhere for non-suite passengers to get forward looks and the Club has to be used for it which is less open feeling. And Eden doesn't have great views of the shows. The Beyond's Craft and Social isn't as big or as versatile as the same space on Solstice. And of course, not everyone loves the Infinity verandas. The Edge ships, because of how they placed the Retreat, are also compromised and flawed.
I was late finishing this series because we had a cruise on Viva! It was seven day out of San Juan with no sea days. For that type of cruise, I think Viva does better. Definitely a few quirks and annoyances that you mentioned, but overall we loved it and enjoyed watching your experience on her!
Thanks for sharing this vlog of the Viva. I sail on it in 4 weeks from today. Will be my first NCL. I've sailed 16 other times, assorted cruiselines. I'm just not sure I will like NCL, but it was a good deal and will definitely make the most of it. I haven't had a bad cruise yet, so we'll see.
Food Republic has been our favorite specialty dining on any ship/ line. A few videos ago you went to the cruise next desk... Any upcoming NCL cruises???
i agree with you on all you said. we had booked vibe club and that saved our cruise, I love outdoors and hot tubs and the Vibe club was wonderful with our own bar and 3 bartenders who they knew our names by day one. Well worth the extra money We try the main pools once and it was packed and loud and we left 5 min later. I will never sail again on Prima ships. but always NCL because the food, the crew and the entertainment are the best!
First off let me just say I love you guys! You are such a sweet couple. Question is this: I love RCCL but am ready to try something different. We are not carnival folks been there done that. Do you think old 60-something folks would like Norwegian?
Norwegian would probably be a decent fit, as their food tends to be better, and they have good entertainment. Also, give Celebrity a look, especially if you have decent loyalty status with Royal, as it carries over to Celebrity!! :D
I don't think it's about age over tastes. I like the NCL Sky over this ship and other NCL classes over this class. And it isn't the size. It's the design of that ship. I like the Solstice class Celebrity ships way, way, way over the Edge class. And again it is design, not size. I like HAL ships because they have the music walk. But what are you sailing for? Shows, spas, deck space and if so what type of deck space do you prefer? Are libraries important because some newbuilds don't have them while others do. This type of video series is extremely helpful because you see what type of activities the ship has and get a taste of them and to see if it is your thing or not. I do think people overly emphasize age of passenger, age of ship, size of ship, because it's really tastes and preferences that should dictate not only what line you choose, but the class of ship in that line. Not all 60s somethings like the same thing just like not all 30 somethings or any other age range.
Enjoyed this because looking at option of Transatlantic to Europe on this class of ship tp wrap a 12 day land tour. I got bored after 3 consecutive sea days which were 2 scheduled then a missed port. That experience has made me reticent about 5 sea days.But your videos show if scheduled, non stop things to do. And fun. Thank you for sharing. Aqua is supposed to be bigger including larger indoor venues and replacing race track with water activity. Not sure though smart idea to add 500 more passengers which might defeat purpode of expansion.
I agree with you guys! What gets me is all the extras that you have to pay for. You ask yourself.. what did i pay for in the first place then? And that is why i probably will not sail on the prima or viva again unless there is an amazing deal. Went on the prima for christmas and although i enjoyed it, it came out being one of my most expensive cruises.
The menu at Food Republic seems to have a lot of Asian influence, so we don't find it too similar. Rather than having the "one app, one entree, one dessert" format like many other restaurants, you get 4 items of any type you like off the a la carte menu with a dining credit.
That is okay Jay, I never went to my prom either. I went to the Yankees game that night instead. In terms of the ship, seems like they are trying to cram everything from a Breakaway class into a smaller ship.
Maybe a dumb question but we are sailing on carnival horizon on Saturday and we have passports, do we need to bring birth certificates too or is the passport sufficient? It’s been years since we’ve cruised!
Ooooh, I think we showed the price list on Prima, but didn't bother on Viva. From what we're seeing around the Google, it's $8 per individual game/ride, $29 for a 90-minute pass, or $199 for a cruise-long pass, and the escape room seems to be $15/pp.
Probably will never cruise NCL again ( long story) But one of the things I have a problem with is their loyalty program. Everyone should check their points because even if you have proof, if you don’t tell them within 12 months of sailing…..too bad. During the big C we received an email telling us we had more than two accounts but they merged them ( 2 sailings ) and don’t worry they had us covered. When we went on our 3rd sailing I told them we were missing a cruise and was told too bad. I told the customer service rep I didn’t think I had to make sure that they were competent. She said go figure.
Their system of creating multiple accounts is a bit crazy. Personally, I've somehow had three different accounts that had to be merged, though all my points remained on one account. One of Dee's clients had four separate accounts merged the other day, and some of their points went missing. They're trying to track them down still, from what I understand. Yeesh!! ~Jay
@@parodeejay , I called them and they could see the cruise that was missing but wouldn’t give us credit. I’m not going any further on this. Other thing which was a first : I checked on a possible cruise for my sister and was signed in my NCL account and received an email within 10 minutes asking me did I still want to book it and within 5 minutes after that received a call ( she left a message) from a cruise consultant they assigned to me. Look 👀 out for your job. They know when you’re sleeping and when you’re on the web site.😂
That's awesome! With our travels, time wouldn't allow for mentoring, but that's normally where a host agency comes in handy. They've got tons of tools and support for new agents. Hope you have an amazing journey with your agency!! :D
Sad this series is over! Enjoy your videos so much! Looking forward to your next adventure! Take care!
Same here! I live through their cruise vlogs while I await my next cruise adventure lol
That Prom night looked Amazballs!!😂
You guys put so much work into your videos and you're so personable. Thanks for your thoughts. And yes, the ship is the weakness. They didn't nail the design. I'm reading the next in series has some changes but they would have to make some extensive changes to the venue size and placement to optimize what they do on the ship. Can they or are they locked in for the entire class? Folks, newer isn't always better. Sometimes they nail it, sometimes they don't.
Enjoyed all your videos.They were very informative and helpful to us. My wife (Mary) and I are planning to take Viva's Spring '24 transatlantic crossing from San Juan to Lisbon. We have enjoyed NCL, especially the FOOD.
Thank you for answering. I just love your personality, your integrity and your joy so I thought I would ask. If you can send any pointers would love it
Good to see that NCL is maybe listening to feedback and doing at least one Syd Norman's show in the theater. The prom looked fun! The Viva has many pros but the small venues and overall poor design would not put it at the top of my list. Celebrity Beyond is my favorite for ship layout, general beautiful aesthetic, food and entertainment. Thanks for a great video and series! ❤
Celebrity's Beyond has design issues as well. They put specialty dining rooms in the Grand Plaza so all of the noise from the Martini Bar goes up into Raw on Five, Fine Cut and Le Grand Bistro. The specialty dining rooms aft located on the Solstice had far better ambiance and no music disturbance. The Club isn't a great venue for everything and since there is no forward observation lounge, there's nowhere for non-suite passengers to get forward looks and the Club has to be used for it which is less open feeling. And Eden doesn't have great views of the shows. The Beyond's Craft and Social isn't as big or as versatile as the same space on Solstice. And of course, not everyone loves the Infinity verandas. The Edge ships, because of how they placed the Retreat, are also compromised and flawed.
I was late finishing this series because we had a cruise on Viva! It was seven day out of San Juan with no sea days. For that type of cruise, I think Viva does better. Definitely a few quirks and annoyances that you mentioned, but overall we loved it and enjoyed watching your experience on her!
Thank you for bringing us along!! Loved it
13:27 I never went to prom either! Unlike Jay, mine was in the 80s - early 80s at that.
Thanks for sharing this vlog of the Viva. I sail on it in 4 weeks from today. Will be my first NCL. I've sailed 16 other times, assorted cruiselines. I'm just not sure I will like NCL, but it was a good deal and will definitely make the most of it. I haven't had a bad cruise yet, so we'll see.
I love your videos. It's like going along on vacation with you! Keeps me going until I get to cruise again.
Food Republic has been our favorite specialty dining on any ship/ line.
A few videos ago you went to the cruise next desk... Any upcoming NCL cruises???
We snagged some certificates for a family cruise on NCL next year, yes!! :D
That sunset view in Hudson's is stunning. The Aqua sounds like it will be better space -wise.
Thanks for the series! I’m going on Viva in Feb. and can’t wait! First time on NCL.
i agree with you on all you said. we had booked vibe club and that saved our cruise, I love outdoors and hot tubs and the Vibe club was wonderful with our own bar and 3 bartenders who they knew our names by day one. Well worth the extra money We try the main pools once and it was packed and loud and we left 5 min later. I will never sail again on Prima ships. but always NCL because the food, the crew and the entertainment are the best!
TY Both! Big 👍!
First off let me just say I love you guys! You are such a sweet couple. Question is this: I love RCCL but am ready to try something different. We are not carnival folks been there done that. Do you think old 60-something folks would like Norwegian?
Norwegian would probably be a decent fit, as their food tends to be better, and they have good entertainment. Also, give Celebrity a look, especially if you have decent loyalty status with Royal, as it carries over to Celebrity!! :D
I don't think it's about age over tastes. I like the NCL Sky over this ship and other NCL classes over this class. And it isn't the size. It's the design of that ship. I like the Solstice class Celebrity ships way, way, way over the Edge class. And again it is design, not size. I like HAL ships because they have the music walk. But what are you sailing for? Shows, spas, deck space and if so what type of deck space do you prefer? Are libraries important because some newbuilds don't have them while others do. This type of video series is extremely helpful because you see what type of activities the ship has and get a taste of them and to see if it is your thing or not. I do think people overly emphasize age of passenger, age of ship, size of ship, because it's really tastes and preferences that should dictate not only what line you choose, but the class of ship in that line. Not all 60s somethings like the same thing just like not all 30 somethings or any other age range.
Enjoyed this because looking at option of Transatlantic to Europe on this class of ship tp wrap a 12 day land tour. I got bored after 3 consecutive sea days which were 2 scheduled then a missed port. That experience has made me reticent about 5 sea days.But your videos show if scheduled, non stop things to do. And fun.
Thank you for sharing. Aqua is supposed to be bigger including larger indoor venues and replacing race track with water activity. Not sure though smart idea to add 500 more passengers which might defeat purpode of expansion.
I agree with you guys! What gets me is all the extras that you have to pay for. You ask yourself.. what did i pay for in the first place then? And that is why i probably will not sail on the prima or viva again unless there is an amazing deal. Went on the prima for christmas and although i enjoyed it, it came out being one of my most expensive cruises.
Fun vid, Is Food Republic similar to Los Lobos? NCL is good if you have allergies/ dietary needs. I hope the venues will be better layed out on Aqua.
The menu at Food Republic seems to have a lot of Asian influence, so we don't find it too similar. Rather than having the "one app, one entree, one dessert" format like many other restaurants, you get 4 items of any type you like off the a la carte menu with a dining credit.
That is okay Jay, I never went to my prom either. I went to the Yankees game that night instead. In terms of the ship, seems like they are trying to cram everything from a Breakaway class into a smaller ship.
Maybe a dumb question but we are sailing on carnival horizon on Saturday and we have passports, do we need to bring birth certificates too or is the passport sufficient? It’s been years since we’ve cruised!
Passport is all you need! That counts as proof of citizenship as well as a photo ID.
@@parodeejay thank you so much!
Good morning do you know how much the things cost on in the galaxy ?
Ooooh, I think we showed the price list on Prima, but didn't bother on Viva. From what we're seeing around the Google, it's $8 per individual game/ride, $29 for a 90-minute pass, or $199 for a cruise-long pass, and the escape room seems to be $15/pp.
@@parodeejay ok thanks 😊
Probably will never cruise NCL again ( long story) But one of the things I have a problem with is their loyalty program. Everyone should check their points because even if you have proof, if you don’t tell them within 12 months of sailing…..too bad. During the big C we received an email telling us we had more than two accounts but they merged them ( 2 sailings ) and don’t worry they had us covered. When we went on our 3rd sailing I told them we were missing a cruise and was told too bad. I told the customer service rep I didn’t think I had to make sure that they were competent. She said go figure.
Their system of creating multiple accounts is a bit crazy. Personally, I've somehow had three different accounts that had to be merged, though all my points remained on one account. One of Dee's clients had four separate accounts merged the other day, and some of their points went missing. They're trying to track them down still, from what I understand. Yeesh!! ~Jay
@@parodeejay , I called them and they could see the cruise that was missing but wouldn’t give us credit. I’m not going any further on this. Other thing which was a first : I checked on a possible cruise for my sister and was signed in my NCL account and received an email within 10 minutes asking me did I still want to book it and within 5 minutes after that received a call ( she left a message) from a cruise consultant they assigned to me. Look 👀 out for your job. They know when you’re sleeping and when you’re on the web site.😂
No Food Republic for us!
Ooooh, it's our favorite!! :D
Dee I have a question for you
I am also a travel agent (newer) and I’m looking for someone to mentor me a little bit -interested?
That's awesome! With our travels, time wouldn't allow for mentoring, but that's normally where a host agency comes in handy. They've got tons of tools and support for new agents. Hope you have an amazing journey with your agency!! :D