JandC_Cruising

In January, on the Encore, they did not have any wristbands or other signifier. Your key card is programmed so that it will open the entry door, but it doesn't have any indication on it that you paid for the Vibe. The staff will know if you have paid for access as soon as they run your card for your first drink. Later on day one, when we got to our room, there was a sheet detailing the Vibe hours and services, but still not wristbands. And yes, the Vibe was open as soon as we boarded. We first had lunch, but we were in the Vibe knocking back our pina coladas by 1pm!...

Yes. We always grab them and bring back to our room. Just do not drink the ones that are in your mini-fridge with the price tags (as @BirdTravels pictured). Even if you have the Plus package, you will be charged for drinking those bottles.

Our most recent cruise on the Encore we were able to get Aqua Pana and San Pellegrino at every restaurant, as well as the buffet bar. Many other bars also had a stash of bottles.

No... You do not "earn" the points until after the completion of the cruise. You typically receive the points within a couple of days after disembarkation. Your next cruise will be at the higher level with the appropriate benefits.

This was our experience as well on the Encore last month. Nobody ever said anything to us when we wore robes back to our cabin. we were in a spa cabin, so perhaps they knew not to ask us to take them off. hovwever I don’t think they would tell some to leave them and let others wear them out. Seems like a customer relations nightmare waiting to happen right in the spa lobby.

Very simple. If you prepay the DSC for your current cabin now (before you win an upgrade bid) you will not be charged any additional DSC. this is what we did last year when we won a bid. Had already prepaid and didn’t get any additional charge. if you wait until you win and didn’t prepay (you may not hear until the day before you cruise). You will be charged the prevailing DSC of $25pppd for the haven.

I think NCL started "offering" this pay-for program just before the pandemic hit? I don't recall exactly, but most experiences have been since re-start. If you are Platinum already, is there really any benefit to "early boarding perk" of this pay-for program? You already get on just after haven, those needing assistance, and military...That is pretty much as early as you can get on if you are in the terminal when boarding begins. If you arrive to the terminal late and boarding has already gotten to "group 1", you will be able to just go right on board as a Platinum. We're not much for eating breakfast in our room, so honestly that isn't worth much in our eyes.

Not sure which Free at Sea promotions you are taking, but be sure that you are assessing the price AFTER you put in the ages of your children. IF you opt to take the Open Bar (drink package), the system first assumes all are over 21 and charges you the gratuity for that program for ALL passengers on the booking. That's another $21.80 Per person per day included in your total that will be removed once you tell them the kids are under 21.

You will be fine going after if that works better for you. We’ve gone to the desk after an excursion day to have them fix billing errors without issue. just be sure to deal with it before the last day as that is always a crazy day to fix things. And NEVER try to fix things after the cruise ends and your at home. That won’t end well 😜

There is no issue at all. The CC used for the Upgrade Advantage program can be a completely different one than what was used to pay the cruise. We've done this before where one of us has paid for the cruise and the other has done the bidding payment.

I believe that is exactly what it is...JADE is the first teir of the "Casino at Sea" program https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/casino-cruise/players-club Jade, Pearl, Saphire, Ruby, Elite

Earlier this month, the Vibe staff had to double as "door police" to keep non-paying cruisers out for the first couple of day. During sail-away this was the biggest problem as dozens would try to sneak in behind others who had access when they opened the door. It's a great place to be for Sail-away btw. Sure, some were just trying to "see what's behind the curtain" to assess if it worth buying, but there were many that were just treating it like a game (can I sneak in and call down to my buddies on the main pool deck to brag) After a couple of days however, repeat offenders were quickly recognized and asked to leave rather quickly. Even if you confidently get in and get settled in place, once you "try" to get a cocktail the server will see you have not paid for access when they "swipe" your card.

Only you can decide your personal "risk" aversion for spending just over $1500 (today's price) to get 100 shares. I will not even begin to try to give you advise if you are looking to "purchase" for any other reason than the OBC benefit. Do not mistake all of us "cruising fools" for professional wealth managers (no offense to those here who actually may be just that 🤪) .....This is exactly how we look at things. If you cruise even once per year and get $100 OBC, that is like a 6.6% dividend each year. (tax free btw). Hard to find that type of consistent return which is completely in your control. The more you cruise the bigger your "dividend" each year.

They did not on our cruise.

I agree that there was no rush to kick anyone out, but those were the "official" hours on our cruise. Here is the sheet we received on embarkation day within our cabin since we had pre-purchased the passes.

On our most recent cruise, the Vibe was open for bar service from 9am to 7pm each day. The hot tubs from 7am to 7pm. Yes, the Vibe is open on port days. We just got off the Encore and spent the day in the VIBE when we were at Great Stirup Cay rather than tendering to the beach. It was a perfect day!

Done both within the past year and here are a few of our thoughts: Escape Pro's: -Pincho's Tapas (as mentioned by others) is one of our favorites in the fleet. We've had lunch there on sea days for a change of pace and love it. - Howl at the Moon - at least 2 evenings per cruise they have this instead of comedy shows and we love it. (comedy can always be hit or miss, but the talent of the dueling piano players is always great) - Ropes course (if open) is more our speed (pun intended) than the go-carts Encore Pro's - Observation Lounge has the indoor relaxation spot for drinks and light bites (off meal hours). Great for bad weather or cold weather cruising and the Escape doesn't have anything comparable. - Thermal Spa is in the aft rather than front of ship...The spaces are similar, but personally we like relaxing and staring out the back of the ship in the spa. (very minor difference) - Cavern Club - Love the Beatles tribute band! On other difference that may matter depending upon your inclinations. We get Vibe passes as we prefer the quieter space and more comfortable loungers. Escape Vibe is less than 1/2 the size of the Encore Vibe, but I'm sure they manage this by selling less passes. The Escape Vibe has fully cushioned loungers vs. the Encore which has standard loungers with a simple pillow at the head. We've enjoyed both spots and the dedicated bar service is phenomenal in both. I guess if I had to chose and knew I would get a pass and the place wouldn't be overcrowded, I'd pick the Escape Vibe for the more comfortable loungers.

There is a bar in the Buffet that can pour you a glass of wine.. They will likely have only a few choices. BEWARE OF THE SELF DISPENSING WINE KIOSK IN THE BUFFET. IT IS NOT INCLUDED IN ANY DRINK PACKAGE (And it specifically states this on the machines).

We have been on the Escape, Joy, Epic, and Encore. As many have told you the Haven restaurant is wonderful. However, we always use our specialty meals from the F@S program outside the Haven. We are recently off the Encore and Ocean Blue and Le Bistro were wonderful. Yes, there are a couple of upcharge items on the menu, but we just avoided them. Frankly, we are no longer fans of Cagney's as we have had too many "fails" there and the Filet and Lobster tail or NY strip in the Haven are both great. But we enjoy getting out and experiencing the meals in the other specialties at least a couple of times on a 7-day cruise.

Here's a map of the Taino Bay port area. https://www.porttainobay.com/en/map We were there last March. We just walked around a bit and purchased some Rum. Didn't try any of the food or drinks there.

@BirdTravelscould not have answered this any better!

Wow! A bit of an exaggeration here! Two weeks ago on the Encore, we were delayed boarding as well. Honestly, we saw passengers disembarking as late as 10:30 or so. So a delay wasn't really surprising. It didn't start until 12:15 or so.. And yes, by then the terminal becomes SRO. I woudl hardly would call this delay "UNHEARD OF"....

When we've had non-haven proper cabins (Haven Spa Cabin for example), we've packed up, said our good-byes to our Steward and Butler at our room, and then gone upstairs for one last Haven Breakfast (my favorite meal up there). We are then up there, ready for disembarkation. It also provides us with the chance to say additional farewells to additional staff or even some fellow cruisers we've met along the way.

So the craziness continues to another day!. This morning our fully paid March cruise is showing a balance due of $1,022.67! What a complete cluster!

Thanks for the notice. This has been happening to us for over three weeks. Our next cruise is in 64 days and this morning there is a mysterious $224 balance on our account!. Last week I had to call on two separate occasions to get some phantom balance removed that had been sitting there for over a week. We are still waiting for our Air confirmation and so now I check each day to see if they have assigned those yet I am fearful that if the system shows a "balance due" , even though we are fully paid, that they may not book our flights.