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Items are priced a la carte and will be made to order, with each delivered when ready, rather than all at once. I went with a crabcake, a beefsteak tomato with onions and balsamic vinaigrette, and a petite (5-ounce) filet mignon with a side of truffle fries. If you're someone who doesn't eat meat, fish or seafood, you might consider dining elsewhere. If your stomach is rumbling a bit too much before dinner, the luxuriously appointed Observation Lounge on Deck 17 forward offers gratis between-meal snacks daily from 3 to 5 p.m. The ship has 44 accessible staterooms across inside, outside, balcony and The Haven categories. They offer such accommodations as additional square footage, wider doorways, and shower stools and toilet seat risers in the bathrooms.
Celebrity Cruises
In fact, seating is in such short supply that if you don't get to the club at least 30 minutes prior to showtime, you'll be standing. The place is so popular that if you don't arrive at least 15 to 20 minutes ahead of time, you won't even be able to get through the doors. The state-of-the-art fitness center features yoga equipment, free weights and TechnoGym machines like bikes, ellipticals, rowers and treadmills. From Broadway-caliber shows and live music to dance parties, bingo, trivia, video games, slides and games like "Deal or No Deal," there's a lot that graces the Freestyle Daily, Norwegian Viva's daily schedule of activities. I prefer sweet drinks, so I went with peanut butter whiskey and club soda. Be sure to say hello to Craig — one of the best bartenders I've ever had on a ship — who warned me that adding simple syrup to the mix would make it too sweet.
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Expert Review of Norwegian Aqua - Cruise Critic
Expert Review of Norwegian Aqua.
Posted: Thu, 02 Nov 2023 14:27:32 GMT [source]
The two-level Mandara Spa is also nearby, with an entrance on Deck 16. The Haven suite complex also has a private wake-facing pool and hot tubs on decks 16 and 17 for passengers booked in The Haven suite enclave. Free soft-serve machines can be found in the buffet and outside on Oceanwalk, near Indulge.
Norwegian Viva restaurants and bars
However, many beverages require an additional charge, and there are always restaurants available that come with either à la carte pricing or incur a per person charge. A majority of the activities on board are included, so you are definitely able to have a great vacation without paying anything extra on board. Sitka is the first and oldest city in Alaska so it’s fitting that it was the very first port of the 2024 cruise ship season. I last visited here in late October on the very last cruise of the 2023 season. And I did essentially the exact same thing today as I did 5 months ago. Then I hit the waterfront on the way back to the ship where I snapped some photos and saw my first eagle of the trip perched in a tree near the playground stalking tourist children fattened up from 45 soft serve cones in two days.
Norwegian Sun: Best for retirees
Several others made the same mistake, which caused congestion in the space. Don't feel bad if you find yourself at a dead end the first time you pass through; it happens to most of us. This was particularly true on the day we sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar. There wasn't a single unoccupied table; I circled for 20 minutes to pounce on a table that someone had just vacated. The neutral color palette is worlds away from the stark white with green and purple hues that punctuate previous versions. And that aesthetic carries through to the Studio Lounge, a space exclusive to passengers booked in studio cabins.
But perhaps the biggest differentiator is the entertainment, with the ship offering a version of the Broadway show "Beetlejuice." The vessel itself is smaller than ships in the line's previous class, and although it's family-friendly, it also houses a downsized version of the Splash Academy kids club, which lacks dedicated teen spaces. However, the ship has seen growth in the way of a larger onboard suite area with a better location and one of the fleet's largest go-kart tracks — something the Prima Class adopted from previous hardware. The bigger Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Escape and Norwegian Bliss all have an 82-cabin solo complex, while two older ships — Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway — have solo areas with 59 cabins.
Unfortunately, coffee there isn't covered by the basic alcohol package that's included with most fares. If you have a dining package, you can select any four food items, including desserts. A small wall-mounted touchscreen pad near the door controls the temperature and allows you to activate "do not disturb" and "make up room" options. Instead, they have been replaced by more neutral carpeting with triangles that point the way.
The line's two newest vessels, Norwegian Prima and Norwegian VIva, have 72-cabin solo complexes spread over two decks. At 169,116 tons and carrying 3,958 passengers, Norwegian Encore is the largest ship in the Norwegian fleet. That means it has the most space for the many over-the-top family fun zones that are at the core of the four Breakaway-Plus vessels — a series of ships that was specifically designed with families in mind. Norwegian Breakaway restaurants are spread over multiple decks, allowing for easy access to food from all corners of the ship. And for those who wish to enjoy their meals in the privacy of their cabin, room service is available around the clock for a flat rate. Our award-winning ships are designed for you to enjoy as you choose while cruising to beautiful destinations around the world.
I’d love to sail on a newer Norwegian ship so I could experience one of their full-length Broadway musicals and larger scale production shows. The smaller and older ships tend to be used for port-intensive itineraries that are more destination focused. To take advantage of the cheap cruise fare, we opted to book an inside cabin guarantee onboard Norwegian Sun. I often choose to sail in an inside cabin because the price is always right and I never spend too much time in my cabin anyway. I was shocked by how small the Garden Cafe was onboard Norwegian Sun. Hayley and I looked around to ensure we weren’t missing the other side of the venue somewhere.
Passengers can withdraw cash from onboard ATMs but will pay a hefty surcharge. The vessel will spend the winter months (roughly mid-November through mid-April) offering seven-night Caribbean voyages from San Juan. The rest of the year, it will be based in Lisbon, from which it will conduct Mediterranean and Greek Isles itineraries that range from nine to 11 nights. It will also sail a handful of voyages from Rome and Athens, Greece. Note that the ship does not have laser tag or a basketball court, as do other NCL ships. Also on Deck 18 is the entrance to Viva Speedway, the ship's go-kart track.
Called Entourage, the teen zone is a place for teens to hang out, dance and play games, and it's supervised by counselors who plan activities and challenges. Norwegian also has rooms on its ships for babies and toddlers ages 6 months to 3 years. Called Guppies, the program offers parents a place to play with their youngest children, with occasional youth staff-led activities and games. The top decks of a few Norwegian ships — mostly the bigger ones — also have a ropes course, a climbing wall or both.
The go-kart tracks (now on Norwegian Viva, Norwegian Prima, Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Bliss and Norwegian Joy) are quickly becoming Norwegian's signature can-you-believe-this-is-on-a-ship attraction, and they truly are impressive. The biggest two of them, on Norwegian Viva and Norwegian Prima, are nearly 1,400 feet long and sprawl over three decks. Norwegian ships also all have Mandara Spas, which can be quite big on the bigger vessels, and there are fitness centers on every ship.
Norwegian is known for offering a wide range of accommodations on its ships. You'll find everything from relatively low-cost, windowless inside cabins that measure as little as 135 square feet (perfect for the budget traveler) to massive, multi-room suites that are more than 50 times that size. However, unlike Royal Caribbean, Norwegian hasn't retained any of the trappings of old-style cruising.
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