Norwegian Takes Delivery of Norwegian Viva from Fincantieri

Fincantieri’s shipyard in Marghera, Italy today delivered the second cruise ship of Norwegian Cruise Line’s Prima class, Norwegian Viva. This ship comes as the cruise industry reports it has recovered from the effects of the pandemic again sailing at capacity, building reservations stretching far into the future, and recovering its pricing power helping the lines to begin to recoup from the massive debt taken on at the height of the pandemic and industry-wide pause in operations.

The second ship of the class, Norwegian Viva (143,535 gross tons) is a sistership to the Norwegian Prima introduced a year ago. At a length of 965 feet and with a capacity for 3,100 guests, the two ships are smaller than the industry and Norwegian Cruise Line’s largest ships, designed with more upscale appointments and greater flexibility for deployments.

The Prima class is based on a prototype design developed by Fincantieri and launched in 2017 with MSC Seaside. The design also influenced the cruise ships built for Virgin Voyages. It uses a narrower superstructure to increase the number of cabins while also creating outdoor deck spaces closer to the water. The machinery is located midships to improve weight distribution and performance.

Based on a Fincantieri design, the machinery is placed midships and the ship has more cabins and outdoor spaces closer to the water (Norwegian)

Fincantieri highlights that it adapted the design concepts to Norwegian’s signature brand offerings including freedom and flexibility in the passenger amenities with increased dining options and entertainment. The main showroom can convert from theatre-style to a large dance hall and the ship has a wide wraparound promenade as well as a three-level go-chart racetrack. The suite enclave was also enlarged and has features such as a private elevator, restaurant, lounge, and outdoor pool area.

“Ships as stellar as those of the Prima Class are only possible in collaboration with an incredible shipyard like Fincantieri,” said David Herrera, president of Norwegian Cruise Line. “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.”

The industry continues mostly to move forward with the construction and introduction of ships ordered before the pandemic. Fincantieri remains one of the leading builders of cruise ships, which account for approximately half the company’s business, and today it has the strongest orderbook for new cruise ships among the major yards. In addition to a total of six ships ordered by Norwegian, Fincantieri also has two cruise ships building for Carnival Corporation’s Princess Cruises which will be the largest cruise ships yet built in Italy and the company’s first LNG-fueled cruise ship constructions. The Italian group is also building two large cruise ships for Germany’s TUI Group and has orders for smaller, luxury cruise ships from Norwegian’s Regent Seven Seas and Oceania brands as well as additional ships for MSC’s newly launched Explora Journeys brand and Viking’s ocean cruise ships. Also, the group launching cruise ships under the Four Seasons brand has now ordered two luxury vessels from Fincantieri.

(Fincantieri)

The Norwegian Viva becomes the 19th ship in the company’s fleet. She enters service on August 10 sailing in the Mediterranean and Greek islands before repositioning to North America. She will be christened in Miami in November before beginning a winter cruise season from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Earlier this year, Norwegian announced plans to modify the future ships of the class. The third and fourth ships will be approximately 10 percent larger, or approximately 158,000 GT, and 72 feet longer. Capacity will be increased to 3,550 passengers. The fifth and sixth ships of the class will be 20 percent larger than the first two, or approximately 172,000 GT. Additional modifications to the final two ships of the class Norwegian announced will accommodate the use of green methanol as an alternative fuel source. Delivery of the ships is scheduled to continue through 2028 for the class.