NORWEGIAN Cruise Line has taken delivery of Norwegian Viva, with the brand welcoming the second ship in its Prima-class.
The milestone event at the Fincantieri shipyard marked the arrival of the second of six ships in the Prima-class set to debut through 2028.
Viva will continue to raise the bar on the Prima-class with new dining concepts, most notably Indulge Food Hall, an open-air food market featuring 11 unique eateries.
The ship will debut the Tony Award-nominated production Beetlejuice, where guests can “Live it Up” with the undead during a musical adaptation of Tim Burton’s 1988 fantasy-horror-comedy film of the same name.
Viva also features The Concourse, an outdoor sculpture garden in Ocean Boulevard, the wrap-around boardwalk, which aims to bring guests closer to the water than ever before.
“Delivery marks an important milestone for Norwegian Viva, and we are beyond excited to bring this spectacular ship to life as we welcome guests aboard next week,” President David Herrera said.
“Ships as stellar as those of the Prima-class are only possible in collaboration with an incredible shipyard like Fincantieri,” he added.
Norwegian celebrated the delivery of Viva yesterday with a ship launch event in Sydney.
Vice President & Managing Director APAC Ben Angell hosted the event, and described some of his favourite aspects of the new Viva.
“The thing that I love most is the outdoor space, it literally is unrivalled. No other cruise line in this class has the amount of outdoor space,” he commented.
“My particular favourite is Ocean Boulevard, it’s perfect for sailing somewhere like the Med…there’s so much space, so many amazing venues to go and enjoy.”
Angell acknowledged cruising’s return, noting expectations for the industry’s recovery from COVID have been smashed.
“There have been a lot of naysayers over the last few years, a lot of people that didn’t think cruise would get back to the glory days of 2019, and I can say with, with absolute certainty that those glory days of 2019 are being surpassing in 2023 – not just locally, but globally,” he said.
“2023 is going to be a record year for cruise, and my guess is ‘24 will be a record year, so will ’25, ‘26, and so on.
“All of the research points to the fact that people want to cruise more now than ever have before, which is fantastic.”
Angell also affirmed Norwegian’s domination of some of its key markets, having earlier this year revealed the command the Prima-class had gained in Australia.
“Alaska continues to be a really hot market…this destination we’re actually selling more than we’ve ever sold before,” he said.
“Asia and Asia-Pacific is an incredibly important part of our business today, and will become even more important to the business going forward…most advisors know Japan is hot with Australians.
“Hawaii remains incredibly popular for our brand.”
