Norwegian Viva to undergo minor refurbishment on resposition cruise

Norwegian Viva is brand new, having sailed her maiden voyage only in August last year, but already Norwegian Cruise Line are planning to undertake upgrades to the ship.

The cruise line has announced that during the ship’s repositioning voyage from the US to Europe, several public spaces will be either upgraded or overhauled entirely.

This work during the 19-night cruise will entail some disruption to onboard experiences for guests, the cruise line said. 

Norwegian Viva will depart from Puerto Rico on April 7th and cruise to Lisbon. 

During the cruise, her Speedway Bar will be replaced with a dedicated lounge for teenage passengers, while the Galaxy Pavilion will be updated with new virtual reality games.  

The Speedway Bar, which was designed for guests to visit after finishing their ride on the three-deck race track, will become Entourage, a space for teenagers up to 17 years old. 

The work will require the Bull’s Eye darts area, Tee Time mini-golf, the Stadium area with games like shuffleboard, The Wave waterslide and a section of the Galaxy Pavilion to close during the cruise.

It’s not uncommon for cruise line’s to make minor adjustments to the design of a vessel so soon after delivery, especially for an entirely new class of ship, such as the Norwegian Viva.

The ship is only the second in the all-new Prima class, which introduced a range of new-to-the-line concepts and experiences, such as the expansive Ocean Boulevard promenade deck.

However, the class does not include a dedicated teen’s lounge, which has proven a point of contention with some passengers, especially those who like to travel in multi-generational groups.

Because the Prime class features the Speedway go-kart track like the Breakaway Plus vessels, its popular with younger passengers, making the abesense of a dedicated teens lounge all the more conspicuous.

It’s unclear whether the upgrades to Norwegian Viva will be reflected across the Prima class, or if it is unique to this ship.

Brand new cruise ships typically only undergo dry dock after around five years in service, for classification surveys and technical work, but also refurbishment of their public spaces.

Norwegian Cruise Line may therefore wait to update Norwegian Prima and her other sister ships, or undertake retrofits while underway to introduce the Entourage club onboard.