Trying to decide between NCL Viva and RCCL Voyager. Voyager is older but way cheaper. Viva is new but getting mixed reviews.Since we’ll be off the ship every day for at least part of the day, does it really matter? Is Viva worth the extra cost if we won’t have much time to enjoy it?We’ve been on RCCL Mariner before (another older ship in the Voyager class) and had a great time.
Here’s a copy of the original post for reference.
We did NCL last year for an Italy/Greece cruise with 9 ports in 10 days. It was exhausting. We barely had any downtime on the ship.
Terry said:
We did NCL last year for an Italy/Greece cruise with 9 ports in 10 days. It was exhausting. We barely had any downtime on the ship.
That’s what I’m worried about. If we barely get to enjoy the ship, is it worth spending more on Viva? I’ve read so many different opinions on it. But Voyager is old, so that’s a concern too.
@Zuri
We went on Viva in December 2023 and really liked it. The Observation Lounge was our favorite spot. We’re doing the Greek Isles cruise on Viva in August, and even with minimal sea days, we’re not too worried.You don’t have to stay in port the entire time. Viva is a great ship, and we had a good experience overall.
We did the Prima out of NYC to Bermuda in 2023… I wouldn’t recommend the newest NCL ships. The public spaces and restaurants felt cramped, and there wasn’t enough seating. Our favorite NCL ships are the Escape and Encore—much bigger with more space for dining and activities.I haven’t done RCCL, so I can’t compare, but after my Prima experience, I’d probably try RCCL next time if I were in your position.
I did the Greek Isles on an older ship, and it was totally fine. When I wasn’t out exploring, I was eating, sleeping, or relaxing with a book. Didn’t need any fancy extras because we were too tired to use them anyway.