Final Thoughts on My 15-Day Atlantic Crossing on the Norwegian Viva Prima Class Ship

Introduction: My First Atlantic Crossing on the Norwegian NCL Viva Prima Class Ship

• Emptying my Delta SkyMiles Accounts to get Value Flying to Lisbon Portugal
• The Comfort Inn South Bend SBN Airport Review via Delta Stays – How Very Disappointing
• Checking Bags on Two Separate Delta Tickets (Interlining) – How to Make it Work Seamlessly
• Are Lounges Worth the Effort Anymore in Atlanta?
• Shrinkflation: Review of the Famous Delta Shake Shack Burger – So Much Less Than Old Delta Burger
• Are Centurion Lounges Worth the Effort Anymore at Mexico City T1?
• Air France A350-900 Business Class New Seats Review Mexico City to Paris MEX-CDG
• Air France A321 Euro Business Class Review With Blocked Middle Seats
• THE ONE Palácio da Anunciada American Express Fine Hotels Review Near Lisbon Portugal Cruise Port
• Review: Vibe Beach Club Plus Cabana on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Viva – Is the Upgrade Worth the Cost?
• Norwegian Viva Cabin 16136 Review: Mid-Ship Balcony on Deck 16 – Full Tour & Pros and Cons
• Emergency Dentist in the Dominican Republic: Leaving Norwegian Viva for Urgent Dental Care
• Is Norwegian Viva’s Complimentary Dining Any Good? An Honest Review Plus Photos
• Norwegian Viva Specialty Dining Review – Should you pay to Enjoy “Better” Meals?
• Delta Air Lines “Gave” me a 100-inch Big Screen TV for Giving up my Seats for a Later Flight!
• Delta Air Lines A220-300 Comfort Plus Review. How Much Better than Coach or First Class?
• Final Thoughts on my 15 day Atlantic Crossing on the Norwegian Viva Prima Class Ship

I am already missing the NCL VIVA. That post-cruise crash, my own personal PCDS (Post-Cruise Depression Syndrome), hit hard this time because this was one of the best 15 days of travel I have had in a long time. Before I dive into final thoughts, if you missed any of the individual reviews from this Atlantic crossing on the Norwegian Viva, you can find them all linked above.

So how was it? In a word: a doozy. Eventful, fun, occasionally painful (looking at you, popped crown), and as always, a learning experience.

How We Got There Cost Me Almost My Entire Delta Account

Let’s start with the part that still stings a little. I flew to Lisbon on 105,000 SkyMiles each way in Air France business class on the A350-900 (lovely new seat, by the way), and that emptied my account to near zero. A year ago I got the last-ever 75,000 SkyMiles business class award on that same route. This year it was 105,000. Now even this SkyMiles “hack” to get low-ish level business class seats is dead. Always remember SkyMiles are not worthless – they are just worth so much less than almost any other airlines points.

Here is the part that really makes you stop and think about where SkyMiles sits these days. Just weeks before this trip I could have booked South Bend to Lisbon, full business class, on American Airlines using Alaska ATMOS points, for 55,000 points each way and a few bucks in taxes. I still chose the Delta routing through Mexico City because the timing let me reset my body clock properly (more on why that matters to me below), but let’s not pretend the math made sense. It did not even with a “free” business class ticket to Mexico City.

That is really the headline of this entire trip for me. I have already been pulling back from Delta and only booking them when the price is right, and this trip just confirmed I made the right call. Even when you find value flying Delta’s partners internationally in a premium cabin, it costs you many times what other programs charge for the same seat. I wrote up the full reasoning and points math here if you want to see how I justified it to myself.

Getting There Had Its Bumps (Pun Intended)

Two separate tickets, one cash and one award, meant I had to interline my bags out of my tiny home airport in South Bend. I was nervous about it. It worked, my bags made it to Lisbon without me having to babysit them through a connection, and I wrote up exactly how to pull that off if you ever find yourself in the same spot.

The pre-flight hotel near SBN through Delta Stays, on the other hand, was a swing and a miss. Where do I even start with that one. Not every part of a trip needs to be glamorous, but it does need to deliver what it promises, and that one did not.

Atlanta lounges left me asking the same question I keep asking every time I pass through: are they even worth the effort anymore? And the Shake Shack burger at the Delta terminal has shrunk so much from what it used to be that I had to write an entire post about it. Shrinkflation is real, folks, even at 30,000 feet.

THE ONE in Lisbon Stole the Show

They employ a falconer with two trained eagles whose entire job is keeping the pigeons off the property. That alone should tell you everything you need to know about THE ONE Palácio da Anunciada.

I stitched together three back to back nights using three different Fine Hotels credits between my wife and me, which meant I only qualified for one of the three $100 hotel credits since the terms do not stack. Worth it anyway. This 18th century palace turned boutique hotel near the cruise port ended up almost 90% off list price across the three nights, and it was easily one of the best hotel stays I have had in years. The staff comped us a full dinner one night once they knew I was a blogger, and from the scallop appetizer to the Iberian pork, it was one of the best meals I have ever eaten, falconry included.

The Cruise Itself: This Is Where It Got Good

Once we actually got to the ship, the trip turned a corner fast. We splurged $599 on Vibe Beach Club Plus with a private cabana, and it was worth every penny for 15 days of adults-only peace and quiet with actual attentive service.

My cabin, 16136 on deck 16, was the largest standard balcony I have ever sailed in. I booked that specific floor and room for very deliberate reasons. I would not book it again, and I explained exactly why in the cabin review, because bigger is not always better when you factor in where it actually sits on the ship.

Dining surprised me both ways. The complimentary dining on Viva was genuinely good, better than I expected walking in. The specialty dining made me ask the question everyone wants answered: is it actually worth paying extra for “better” meals? I gave you my honest answer in that post.

The Crown Heard Round the Dominican Republic

This was the moment of the whole cruise. I am sitting in a cabana at Vibe, minding my own business with a toothpick, and my brand new $2,000 3D printed crown pops clean off. My wife asked if I really wanted to risk a Dominican dentist. I Googled, found a 5-star rated clinic ten minutes from the port, and was in the chair with Dr. Victor before lunch.

He was incredible. US trained, better English than me, all new equipment, and the whole emergency visit and cementation cost me 4,000 Dominican pesos. Allianz reimbursed most of it. He also told me something I will never forget: people fly down specifically for vacation dentistry, getting a full week trip plus major dental work done for less than just the dental work alone costs back home. I am genuinely considering it next time I need real work done.

Was it a shore excursion I planned? No. Was it one I will tell people about for years? Absolutely.

Heading Home: Bumps, Big Screens, and a Comfort Plus Bulkhead

The flight home out of Houston turned into one of my favorite Delta stories in a while. Our A220 was oversold by exactly two seats, and I love it when Delta pays me to fly their airline. We took $500 each in vouchers, $1,000 total, picked Amazon gift cards, and I put every cent toward a 98 inch Hisense TV that was on sale for $999. I could not click “buy now” fast enough.

The actual flight home the next day was on the A220 in the front row of Comfort Plus, which is the best seat in that cabin if legroom is your priority over width. Free drinks, solid service, and genuinely more legroom than first class up front.

Then Minneapolis happened. We were staring down a missed connection to South Bend, landed close to midnight, and used our Allianz travel insurance to get 100% reimbursed for an overnight at the InterContinental MSP airport hotel. The next day brought more broken Delta jets and more delays before we finally walked in our own front door.

Final Thoughts

Fifteen days, four flights worth of stories, a cruise I would do again in a heartbeat, and a crown that came off at the worst possible moment in the best possible place to fix it. That is the kind of trip that reminds you why you keep doing this and so much of it paid with points, not for free but nearly, to make it a trip I could afford. Thanks for following along with this whole series. On to the next one: my stunning trip to New Zealand and Australia. – René