MCMC100

I can’t speak to the overall value of package as everyone’s opinion and interests are subjective. However, I read the comments regarding the tenders and it reinforced my thought that priority in your mind may not match the definition of priority at NCL. A more accurate description seems to be - “You’re not first. You’re first in line to be brought to the area where we have everyone wait in line,” I have never understood priority embarkation or disembarkation. What is it? Embarkation has always seemed somewhat chaotic. Boarding has often seemed like a Black Friday 60” inch tv sale at Walmart to me. I was on the Bliss just before Covid and boarded early to get the Vibe. I talked with people who paid extra for “priority boarding” and were behind me in line for the Vibe. They weren’t thrilled All I did to priority embark was show up at the pier before them. About half the time I take my luggage off with me and depart the ship very early. Grab my suitcase, wander to the designated disembarkation point, say goodbye to security, walk off, hail a cab by 915am. On cruises where I don’t carry my luggage off I have always found myself at the mercy of the dock workers unloading the luggage. Do they remove priority disembark luggage first and place it somewhere for priority access? If not, where you going?In my experience, no one can enter “luggage hall” until every duffel bag and dented Samsonite has been removed from the ship. Aren’t you just the front of the line waiting for luggage? Are you paying just to leave the ship and wait on the gangplank until 3,800 pieces of luggage are removed? Why not wait in the buffet with coffee and an omelette? You may “priority disembark” at 915 but if your luggage is still sitting in the bowel of the ship until 1030 what difference does it make? If you’re in a hurry and physically capable, take your luggage with you, for free. You will be off the ship before some people are awake. Am I missing something?

I can’t think of a port where I went thru security after I checked in for my sailing. My two most recent ports were NY and Seattle. I definitely went thru security before I checked-in. Fairly certain I did in Miami as well, but my memory is not what it once was. Are there ports where you check-in and then go thru security?

In multiple sailings from several US ports I’ve never had a port employee look at my eDocs for my check-in time. I’m not certain they even know NCL allots times. Go whenever. Platinum and above priority check-in is a separate line at the terminal where you have 15 people ahead of you waiting to go thru security screening instead of 350 people.

Depends on the ship. It may be a shipboard technology issue. On the Encore last summer it was encoded on the cabin card. On the Getaway this past January it was a separate card. Can’t recall on Bliss or Escape…..

I’ve done the Getaway Vibe in January from NYC to Eastern Caribbean. It’s windy and cold on departure afternoon and the entire first day. Many of us still visited the Vibe to familiarize ourselves with the staff, facilities and other passengers, but we were wearing coats or heavy sweaters (in NYC in December bet on 42 degrees and cloudy, but hope for 58 and sunny and pray you don’t get 17 and snow-all are possible. I’ve lived here for 50+ years and seen it all) By the second sea day you can begin to enjoy the Vibe, but the winter winds can wreak havoc. Wind will be an issue and it is not uncommon to find the loungers lashed down and unusable. I’ve never bothered with a cabana because I fail to see the value/advantages other than the fact you have the same spot every day. Sometimes you’re better off being able to move somewhere else to avoid the wind or avoid/seek sun/shade. On windy days the very front of the Vibe is sheltered and can be enjoyed. In a cabana you’re sitting in a windstorm with a choice to either live with the wind or abandon your cabana and move. It’s very common to find one side of the Vibe being hit with significant wind and the other side very pleasant because the wind is blocked by the Haven structure in the middle of the ship. The special food/drink menu is a bit of a misnomer. They have a cocktail menu that is basically identical to the pool bar menu. It’s merely suggestions-you can order anything you want. The Vibe bar is well stocked and the bartenders are skilled. I’ve seen people drinking frozen drinks, Manhattans, shots, beers, sangria, wine…..whatever. I’ve never seen anyone order from the special food menu. They bring fruit and cookies around during the day, and occasionally sandwiches. People frequently bring items in from the buffet. On the Bliss in Alaska the Vibe staff would bring chowder from the buffet to passengers. I suspect the special food items that you will pay full price for are obtained from the buffet two decks below the Vibe on most ship or are simply items tossed into a convection oven for 30 seconds by Vibe staff. Go to the buffet and bring in your own panini. The Vibe on port days is very enjoyable and a favorite spot for me and my family. Great place to go after spending the day sightseeing in port. On the return home the Vibe usually gets cold/windy the afternoon before arrival in NY. Depending on itinerary you might have 2 sea days before arriving in NY at 4 am. The last day is probably a lost day-we stop in, tip the staff, say thank you and goodbye then move to an inside/heated bar-I’m not crazy. Hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise.

Long drink lines are a CruiseCritic myth. Are some bars busy at certain times? Yep. Will you have to stand in long lines all the time to get a drink? Nope. I have never waited 15 minutes for a drink….I doubt I have waited 5…ever. At dinner time the bars immediately adjacent to to the main dining room or popular specialty restaurants may have a bit of a crowd, just like any bar in a popular restaurant in your hometown. You will be “beer’ed” or “Margarita’ed” within minutes at every bar, every day, anytime. Don’t lose a moment worrying about it.

The Vibe is opened on embarkation day. On some ships your cabin key opens the Vibe door, on other ships you need a separate keycard that will be in your cabin. (It seems to be driven by the age of the shipboard technology.) The wristbands are unnecessary and nobody wears them. The Vibe staff has your name on a list and when you order drinks your cabin keycard tells them you paid for the Vibe when they swipe it.

The Vibe is best described as a private sun deck. In my experience (4 ships with Vibe), the hours are generally morning (9am-ish) to early evening (7pm-ish). Each ship may have a slight variation based on itinerary, but it won’t be a late night location on any ship (the bartenders will be working in the theatre or somewhere else at night.) The Vibe is open on port days-which can be the best time to visit. If you stay onboard, the Vibe will be empty. If you get off the ship, it’s a great place to return for a hour or two before dinner. The hours generally don’t change during a cruise and they won’t be posted in the Freestyle Daily. The Vibe staff will tell you when it’s open. They may be slightly flexible on closing if they are busy and the weather is great, but they definitely start to shut down and you get the vibe that the Vibe is closing. It’s not a big deal because it’s time for dinner and nighttime activities anyway. If you wouldn’t be sitting at the pool deck, you wouldn’t want to be at the Vibe-it’s a daytime place.

No….This changed a few years ago. If FAS drink package is selected for a cabin, all guests over 21in the cabin receive the package and must pay the gratuity. FAS drink package is an all-or-nothing cabin package. I suspect it was done because NCL realized that guests 1-2 were sneaking drinks to guests 3-8.

There is no smoking in the Vibe- both as policy and practice. Never seen it….. SpiceH2O has a large smoking section where I frequently see people smoking cigars which, in theory, is limited to the cigar lounge.

Just sailed the Getaway and ate at LaCucina. I ordered a pasta and the beef tenderloin. Other family did the same with one exception who wanted a pasta as a main entree. The entrée portion was notably larger. The menu states that you can order the pasta as an entree for $5 more (assuming you’re paying for the meal outside the FAS package) so clearly they view the pasta as the first part of the main entree as is traditional in most Italian restaurants.

How do they take over the public music on the ship?

I wonder if this is becoming the new normal because it makes more sense for NCL. It eliminates the ability to pass on a sail date if the Vibe is sold out when shopping itineraries/dates (something I and other posters admit we would do). Now instead of the old “race to board first” to get the Vibe it will become the battle of the midnight 120- day checkin. If you check in too late and the Vibe is sold out you’re locked into a cruise that can’t be canceled without penalty. Instead of foot speed it’s going to come down to internet speed.

The list posted above is not all inclusive, nor a guarantee as to availability of the listed liquor on a specific ship at a specified time. They will have a variety of “high end” liquor onboard. I seems to vary by ship and itinerary based on the availability at the distributer on the day the ship was stocked in port. I am very certain Enigma was on the Getaway when I sailed in January. I was able to enjoy a few nice bourbons on my cruise. Hopefully you can complete your Quest.

Cruisemapper.com

You can specify the liquor with no charge as long as the choice is one of the many options in the FAS category. Most of the common liquors are included in the FAS package. Some top shelf liquor, many wines and a few other items have an up charge ranging from $1 and up (one or two odd things have a $1 up charge, such as Baileys and Crown Royal. This is a great mystery to the world because they are generally not viewed as top shelf, but nonetheless.) The bars have cocktail menus and there is the “Drink of the Day” but the bartenders will make just about anything. You’re not limited to the cocktail menu. I usually ask them to surprise me and see what they make.

Interesting. That’s informative. I’ve never really understood how this works. Are the “gratuities/tips” we pay on the specialty dining and FAS drink package treated differently? Could you ask that they be removed? They seem like part of the cruise fare when paying. I’ve always just viewed it all as fungible and the true cost of the cruise is buried in various charges, fees, taxes, tariffs, requests, demands, hopes and dreams. If the bottom number is ok, I book the cruise. The crew is working much harder than I am onboard and I have no intention of trying to beat the bartender out of a $2 tip for my Manhattan.

The question of “is it really worth it” is too subjective. The question should be “is it worth it to you?” I’ve been on many NCL cruises and have never eaten at Le Bistro….one of the most popular restaurants aboard. I don’t find the food or atmosphere particularly appealing to what I am looking for on a cruise. To many people, Le Bistro is a “must do” onboard. Neither of us are wrong. Same with the Vibe. Many people, myself included, view the Vibe a must do. To others, it’s not worth the cost for what they want to do onboard. Some people visit every day for hours, some people visit every day for an hour or two, some visit occasionally, some people visit almost never. It’s a personal choice. The Vibe value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

I agree. I just got off the Getaway on 2/1/23. I purchased the Vibe in August when I booked, but the lingering question “do they hold availability” was of interest, so I asked. Two Vibe staffers told me the Vibe was sold out before the cruise and nothing was available. I have also read comments about staff stating availability is being held for embarkation sales, so confusion reigns. I’m skeptical of them holding availability. It would seem logical that NCL would sell every spot ASAP if they could. They had over $1,000 of my family’s money (4 in my group) since August. The Vibe is space limited - get every dollar you can as early as you can would be my marketing strategy. Is NCL really going to say “we don’t want your money today because we might be able to sell this at the same price in six months?” The Vibe was clearly busier on this cruise (12 days NY to E Carib) than I have seen on multiple prior cruises. It appears that the pre-cruise sales have increased volume (in my experience). What is going to be interesting is the long term impact of pre-cruise sales. I have never sailed without the Vibe. On several cruises I had to arrive at the terminal early to have a low boarding group to obtain the Vibe. Never had a problem. Now, with pre-cruise sales, it’s possible I could be looking at a date for which the Vibe is already sold out. If that’s the case, maybe I can change my date to a “Vibe available” cruise or maybe I ditch the cruise stay in an all inclusive land based resort instead. I’m not fighting for a deck chair at Spice H2O or sharing a hot tub with 10 people and three kids in diapers. The Vibe is a dealbreaker for me. All that said, there will be cancellations up to embarkation so check EVERY day.

The settings on your printer are set to b&w most likely. Not a major issue. The color identifies the ship. It’s more of an aid to the longshoremen if there are two ships in port on same day - teal tags go on NCL Getaway; other tags go on Carnival, Disney whatever….You can also get a colored tag at the port when you arrive and hand over your luggage to the baggage handlers.

Agree 100%. Who is “they” directing you to the buffet? I’ve never encountered a “they” directing me anywhere, at anytime, for any meal on any NCL cruise. We go wherever we choose. Why would “they” care where you eat lunch? The buffet, O’Sheehan’s (aka The Local), Taste/Savor are all open, what difference could it possibly make to “they” where you get your sandwich or soup? It might be your first day on the ship and the start of your magical 12 day vacation, but to the crew, it’s another day of their 180 day contract and no different than yesterday, tomorrow or two weeks from next Saturday. “They” don’t care where you eat lunch.

Same for me on the 1/20/23 Getaway sailing. Received offer last night to upgrade on all Haven categories yet they show sold out online. 🤷‍♂️

I have taken a photo of passport photos and uploaded them. It works as long as no glasses in passport photo. I’ve done it 8 times over various cruises (for myself and family) and the system has accepted the “photo of a photo” on 6 occasions. Give it a try.

On which ship? It appears to only be fully operational on Prima.

Nothing unsubstantiated. A review of NCL.com reflects that Junk’d is no longer advertised as appearing on the Getaway. It is no longer listed as an item available for purchase ($29.99 pp) within my app for my 1/20 sailing on the Getaway. Syd Normans is no longer displayed as an entertainment venue or bar on the Getaway and Escape in NCL marketing or within my app. Passengers on the GA have reported limited entertainment and karaoke as the only entertainment in Syd’s. A posting of the GA daily for the current cruise confirmed karaoke night. On the Breakaway, Syd’s appears under the Bar and Lounges tab in the Explore Our Ships field, but not an entertainment venue (where it has been consistently advertised for at least the past 8 months). On the Prima it remains both an entertainment venue and a bar.