nudistcruzer

Unfortunately, there is a statement on NCL's website that says "*Solo Lounge and accessibility varies by ship." I'm not sure what this means, since above it says "And all Solo Staterooms include access to our Studio Lounge*." The "*" points to something that negates the statement in part. So my original statement that said, if your key gives you access, then you have access seems to be most correct. Like having access to the Studio Lounge is not a sure thing... Link: https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/cruise-accommodations/studios It says also: "Complimentary coffee, espresso, and snacks available throughout the day in the Studio Lounge (not available on Pride of America)". This would seem to imply that every single ship has a studio lounge except for "Pride of America". Again, this doesn't seem to make any sense. Since only ships that had studios had a studio lounge and the first ship that had studios was the Epic as far as I know... All very strange and hard to really know what is what...

I even go as far to bring a vacuum with me to hotels. Mostly because I have a dog that sheds more than any other dog, ever. I just double checked and the beds are still small. Even in boarding school when I was 14 the bed was 4 or 5 inches longer than what the studio cabins offer. I did just read that this issue with the bed length is not just the Studio Cabins. Since I have only been in Studio cabins on ships that have had them, I had no idea... Many have complained, so, I am hoping that this issue has been addressed on the Prima Class.

It was 3 days ago, editing is only allowed for a few minutes. No problem. I have learned what the website/customer service says and what happens on the ship are two different things. Just because one is supposed to have access doesn't mean they will. Each key needs to be specifically encoded for the Studio Lounge. One might need to go to guest services if ones key is not working for access to the Studio Lounge. If lounge access is important to someone, I would print the website page and show them if necessary. I have had to do similar things in the past on different cruise lines and only printing these things allowed the situation to be rectified.

I have also always liked the Studio Cabins. I first had one on the Epic in 2012; then on the getaway in 2014. My only issue was the length of the bed. I always pulled it away from the wall to give me a few more inches. Of course the first thing they did was push it up against the wall when they made up the room. The slight overhang of the headboard made it even shorter. So, pulling it away from the wall made it longer.

LINK: https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/cruise-accommodations/studios

Please provide a link to what you are talking about. That would be helpful. If you read what I said, I only referred to the past. I didn't say the new solo rooms didn't have access, I only said they never did in the past. Others have said that all solos always had access in the past which is not true. Opening up other rooms that have access to the studio lounge does cheapen the Studios' exclusivity and security. But since getting to the studio lounge is a pain for anyone not in a studio, I doubt many will use it.

Nor do I; I do not have a Vibe Cabana on the Getaway(just a Vibe Club Pass for 20 days), I do however have one booked on the Viva for the 12/2/2023 sailing. Less than one month away now.... 😁🎉🍾

I think you are right, this is just another example of the terrible NCL website. In this case, totally misleading.

My memory was that they had clamshells as well. But from my Getaway reservation under "Explore and Plan" they show "Vibe Beach Club – Cabana" and that photo but it does say not available to book though. But it is totally bait and switch if that is not what the Cabana looks like. My assumption is that this has been added to the Vibe on the Getaway. Here is the full page: This page is from my reservation for the Getaway on the 2/16/2024 sailing... I did just check and this is the same photo used on my Viva reservation. But, still, if this is not what the cabana is, it is totally bait and switch...

According to my Getaway reservation Cabanas are on the Norwegian Getaway(second Breakaway class ship) . But, this photo only shows two cabanas.

I think you are right, those are not cabanas. My memory was they might have had those clamshells. I wouldn't have known the Prima Class Ships had Vibe Cabanas if customer service hadn't mentioned it.

These are the Viva Cabanas: I didn't remember anything in the Getaway Vibe club, that was worth it anyway. I wouldn't have considered it on the Viva if I could've got a Vibe pass for my 4 day cruise. They said they were not available or sold out on my 4 day Viva cruise.

When I first posted on this thread I wasn't scheduled on the Viva. I am also on the Getaway for 20 days in February/March. I went looking for a short cruise this fall; so, now, I am one the first Viva Cruise out of the United States. In less than one month, I will be on the 12/2/2023 Sailing. Any questions I can answer while at the Vibe Beach club or generally on the Viva starting 12/2, I can try and answer while on the ship...

Once you are on the ship you can book individual days. Customer Service continues to insist they hold back some slots to book on the ship. But these can sell out very fast and essentially you need to be the first one on the ship. There are no guarantees.

12 nights is a Charter, so $0 for that, and $50 for the 3 night. Carnival would be $250 for that, since they still give you the benefit for charters unless it is a free cruise or something like that. Since the rule is "at the time of sailing" I will continue to hold it, besides I hope it goes up more by then as well.

You clearly have a better PCC than I do. In the past, I wasn't getting included specialty meals, so it didn't make any difference. Also I had hoped that I would get credit for a 20 day cruise the way Carnival would give me a $250 credit (shareholder benefit). But they didn't do that anyway. In short, the shareholder benefit with NCL sucks in practice when compared to Carnival's shareholder benefit for same length cruises. I pay double for a charter with Carnival and they always give the benefit based on the total number of days in a row on the same ship, even when one cruise is a charter under a different booking number. With NCL you don't get credit for being on the same ship for twenty days and besides charters although you may be paying a premium of double you still don't get the shareholder benefit. My 20 day cruise in February I am getting $200 shipboard credit with NCL, on carnival the same cruise would be $250. In 2025 a 15 day cruise on NCL I get $50 shipboard credit shareholder benefit, on Carnival the same cruise even if 14 days I would get $250. So, I will be selling my NCL shares happily after the 2025 cruise. I may even cancel the non-charter cruise and sell those shares early. When it come to the ship itself I have preferred NCL over Carnival. When it comes to making reservations, using the website, the shareholder benefits, Carnival shines compared to NCL.

Two B2B 10-day cruises. The "Amenity Confirmation" shows 3 per cruise which does not include the "Platinum" 2 per cruise. QTY 2 "1 MEAL SPECIALTY DINING PACKAGE" and QTY 2 "FAS Plus Dining - 2 meals" The system should recognize all entitled meals, otherwise, it is a stupid system. I designed user interfaces for a living. NCL's website is terrible and practically non-functional at times. No real-world testing is done. I am in a Studio Cabin. All 20 days are shown in the dining reservation system; i.e. it is not separated by cruise. I am making sure to only have 5 reservations per each cruise, there is no system in place that shows anything about included specialty meals. Tech support told me to change it once on the ship and that it might not be possible to reserve Teppanyaki before the cruise. Besides, I am happy with 7 CAGNEY'S meals and 3 LA CUCINA meals.

The other problem is this is a back to back cruise booked under one reservation. It doesn't seem to even mention anything about how many entitlements I have. Since I cannot be sure if deleting 10 reservations will improve anything I am not going to spend all that time. What you are essentially saying is the NCL website sucks, because it doesn't know how many entitlements you have when making reservations. I have 10 total or 5 per cruise. Since I am one person, does it try to take two entitlements per meal? Who knows? The only way to avoid these problems is to choose a cruise line that has a website that works. Every time I have booked a back to back cruise on NCL they have combined it under one reservation number, they didn't give me a choice.

It can't be reserved in advance without paying. Anyone that wants to use a free specialty meal from a package cannot reserve before the cruise. Norwegian's website is crappy. They will charge your credit card for every reservation at Teppanyaki unless you are on the ship. If you are one person you are forced to pay for two people. If you are two people you have to pay in advance for a meal that is supposed to be free. So for Teppanyaki you are, by definition, screwed if you have included specialty meals. If I could reserve for two people without paying in advance I would. Customer service told me it is not possible to reserve Teppanyaki or the Brazilian steak house without paying in advance and even if you plan to pay cash for the meal and not use an entitlement and also have an odd number of people, you are forced when making the reservation to fully pay for the extra person.

Over the phone customer service told me to tell them as soon as I get on the ship that I am just one person or they might force me to pay for two people. Although, I have found that NCL customer service doesn't have a clue.

The "studio lounge" was only accessible to people in the studios in the past. It was a perk because you had a tiny room with not so much as a window. It is still called the "studio lounge". Only people in the Studios have had access to the "Studio Lounge" I don't know what you're talking about when to refer to a "Solo Lounge". Solo Travelers that are not in a "Studio cabin" have never had access in the past, except when there is a specific scheduled solo gathering and the solo travelers coordinator would prop open the door to allow access, only for those events. That said, the Lounge was rarely busy. If your key allows access to the Studio Cabin area then you can get in. Otherwise, no access. On the Viva in a month from today, I might have a definitive answer. Certainly in February on the Getaway I will know for sure. Only ships in the Epic class, Breakaway class, Breakaway+ Class and Prima class have "studio cabins" and/or "Studio Lounges". I've Been on Epic class and Breakaway class and about to go on Prima Class for the first time.

After any change to your reservation you can ask for your "Amenity Confirmation" to be emailed to you, it confirms all of your amenities. (NOTE: It does not show any benefits due because of your "Latitudes Rewards" tier.) (Why?, you might ask, because NCL has a crappy website.) Only paying customers not those with specialty dining entitlements can book some restaurants in advance. The system wanted me to pay $400 in advance for two free meals at Teppanyaki. I suppose I can book on the ship. I will maybe cancel a reservation and change to Teppanyaki. NCL's website is one of the worst I have used. Even when paying in advance for a meal they will charge you for 4 people, so, if you have one child, NCL feels that you must pay for every meal as if you have two. So might as well bring your child's best friend because you are forced to pay for 4 anyway. Why do they prevent people from booking the number of people that will be there? So they can charge one person for two people or three people for four people, etc. ?

I searched for actual news, I couldn't find any specific current information about the ship. But the news you provided, at least, means she is being kept sea worthy for a day when she can sail again. 10-May-2022: "Brodosplit the Croatian shipbuilder has filed for provisional bankruptcy as the company looks for a solution to a financial crisis brought on by the EU's financial and banking sanctions against Russian institutions." 15-May-2023: The restructuring plan of DIV Group was approved. I was unable to find out if they were retaining ownership of the "Golden Horizon" or are forced to sell the ship as part of the restructuring terms. The DIV Group is fully capable of operating the vessel as a cruise ship. Any forced sale would limit the amount they could sell it for. If I represented the creditors, I would suggest that The DIV Group retain ownership for the time being, as being their best way to recover loaned amounts. That is the ship can be a source of continued revenue that can help repay debt. "Never throw the baby out with the bathwater."

Currently, she is back at the shipyard in Split, Croatia where she was built. To see her current position: goto CruiseMapper