Considering NCL, question on vibe

My wife and I are looking into Caribbean cruises and strongly leaning towards NCL, strongly leaning to Getaway or Escape. I had a question on ship vibe.

I am intrigued by the dining options and entertainment. How crowded are these ships and are they complete party ships or can you find places of peace and quiet? I'd like a mix of both. :)

I just cruised through Holland America for Alaska and chose this ship due a great last minute price. I liked being able to find quiet places on HAL and how spacious it felt for a smaller ship, but didn't like how dead most of the ship was after 8. :eek:

Those are pretty noisy and crowded ships but the waterfront is a nice area to relax in. The holland ships are like a morgue compared to the getaway, but have MUCH better food.

Just got off Escape and it was a capacity sailing. Look into the Haven its worth every penny. You can chill in a amazing quiet, beautiful, calm, friendly place. Then when you want to have all the big ship fun head out to the water slides, shows, parties, games ect. Defiantly best of both worlds.

We did not have Vibe but it is hard to get and not guaranteed. It is located right next to the Haven sundeck and is a great place for non Haven cruises to get a more pampered area, but very little shade since the wind does not allow for having the umbrellas up that often.

I would not characterize them as 'party ships', like booze cruises, rather ships with good parties, but, you can always escape (npi) the party. So, essentially you have the option. It's been years since I've sailed with HAL but do recall it was an older, more sedate crowd.

Both Escape and Getaway have essentially similar dining experiences but Escape gets the nod simply for Food Republic.

Places are only really crowded when there's a reason for the crowd. Party, game show, the safety drill. Otherwise, most venues have plenty of space.

2 Getaway and 1 Escape sailing, I never had problems getting seated for dinner anywhere, even without reservations.

Vibe, is terrific. You have to get there early.

Thanks for the responses.

Shows I am new to NCL since I meant vibe in terms of atmosphere :o but maybe I'll have to check it out:cool:

good to know they are not complete party ships.

We loved the getaway! We are in our 50's. DId not purchase anything extra except 1 night in Mederno's and in my opinion not worth the up charge. We had a balcony and our friend had a solo cabin. Many quiet spaces and always something fun to do!