PATRLR

This is one view of Viva during a sail-away. I wish I had a similar picture of deck 17 but I assure you there were far more people on 17 than down on 8. Warm weather cruise, if the demographic preferred 8, I'd expect to see a lot more people down there.

This is not the only thread where you have insisted that commenters must also be designers.

I don't understand why stating observations and reactions to something instantly makes us designers. Or, at least some people here expect us to be designers. The buffet on Viva is too small. Even the people running the buffet know it's too small so they have to prop open the unmarked back door to Food Republic. Making the statement I did, or taking the action the staff has taken shouldn't require them to come up with a functioning alternative design. (By the way, propping open a door is a real classy way to run your shiny new high class ship) FWIW, my stating the buffet is too small does not mean I am saying they need to make it bigger (e.g. a partial solution might be to expand the hours). I don't know nor do I care how they solve the problem. I'm just stating the observation. I recently was shopping for a new vehicle. I'm a tall guy, long legs. I can't extend my legs in some models, the firewall is too close. Do I now have a responsibility to redesign those cars? Of course not, I just look for one that works for me. Same with cruise ships (we have not ruled out Prima class for future cruises despite a negative observations I might state).

As does the Viva. My observation during my December Viva Southern Caribbean cruise is the "contemporary cruiser" still prefers to be on Deck 17 and the traditional pool. Maybe eventually the demographic will work on these new ships, but my observation is they currently aren't working as I think the designers intended.

Why do any of us have to expound on what the correct number is? Why can't we state observations? If every time I walked by Syds/Improv and I stuck my head in (if I could) and saw a packed SRO venue why can't I conclude that those venues are too small? If I notice that every time the buffet is open, they have to prop open the unmarked back door to Food Republic so people have a place to eat why can't I conclude that the buffet is too small? Clearly the NCL staff has concluded it's too small - or are you going to criticize those folks as armchair designers too?

They do on Prima? I was on Viva and at one point I looked becuase I was curious and I didn't recognize anything that looked like a heater. I didn't think there was anything around either of the "beaches" nor the "Terrazza" areas. Maybe back around Indulge there is? How about back by Soleil?

One problem with Indulge/Local as the alternative to the buffett is they are on deck 8. If I am up on 16/17 I really don't want to go all the way down to 8 to get something to eat. Part of this problem is an operational decision by NCL by limiting hours. But that's NCL being cheap, not a design issue. Maybe they thought more people would be hanging on deck 8. While there are more people on deck 8 than you'll find on the *Away* classes, there aren't so many that it justifies the lack of casual food up top. I think deck 8 has some beautiful areas, but on the Caribbean cruise I was on, that space was woefully under utilized compared to the upper decks.

You seem to imply that the engineers can't or don't make mistakes? I agree with the common criticisms that many have voiced about Prima/Viva, in particular that many venues are just too small. The implication is they should be bigger. Does my saying the venues are too small make me an "amateur nautical engineers "? I think I'm not, I'm just a passenger relaying my opinion based on my experiences.

Wow. We are of the mindset that Vibe is a requirement on an NCL ship - if I can't get Vibe passes, we aren't going to book. I would be absolutely livid if this happened to us. I think my heart rate is up just thinking about it. I'd bet we will eventually learn that a group has taken over Vibe. That didn't happen just days before sailing, that happened weeks if not months ago. That would make me even angrier, NCL waiting until the last minute to notify people so that it's too late to cancel their booking entirely.

Why the do it that way, I don't know. But, I'll bet they assume that the two people in the cabin are familiar with each other enough to be able to work it out.

@skynight thank you for your response. Sounds like there are a few venues that fall somewhere between free and Specialty Dining. If I don't have Plus or Premier, I'd have to pay to eat there. Right? Would these be something on menus in dining rooms, e.g. you can get the apple pie for free, but the super-duper hot fudge sundae is "premium" so need to pay? Or are these in separate venues, sort of like Coco's on NCL which has milkshakes, sundaes and other premium treats for a charge?

I too am likely about to be new to Princess. I have a lot of NCL/RCCL/CCL in my past (and others), most recently mostly NCL. We're now considering the Sky Princess for the July 13 2024 Norwegian Fjords cruise. This thread has been helpful. In the Princess Plus/Premier offers, can someone help me understand what the "Premium Deserts" typically are, what the "Casual Dining Meals" are and what the Ocean Now delivery is? I assume the Specialty Dining Meals are similar to NCL and RCCL's specialty dining (better quality dining experiences). Thanks in advance.

Of course there will always be extenuating circumstances. My comments were more directed to Bird's over-generalization.

I'll start. On our recent Viva cruise, we found nearly nothing in the MDR that was decent enough to order again. To the point where the first time in our cruising history we decided to try the buffet for dinner (not good either). I sure hope Haven folks have better quality food than the MDR in which case you aren't going to want anything that comes from the MDR.

It's not everyone, in my observation. What I have observed is the condescension is typically just directed to people who criticize NCL.

If I paid extra for a feature, hot tub or otherwise, and then found out the feature I was paying extra for wasn't going to be included in what I paid for, I know I would cancel and book something didn't include the feature. I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't cancel and rebook something that didn't include the feature they were paying extra for.

Just worked fine for me.

There are also groups specific to NCL excursions on the other popular social media sites. A group called "NCL Excursion Reviews" I've found to be useful.

OP was talking about embarking from Aruba and disembarking at Curacao. I'm pretty sure hurricanes are rare in the ABCs. Regardless however, there could be any myriad of other reason to skip a port. Ports are not guaranteed. If OP can put this together, I hope they have a plan B in the event they miss Curacao (or wherever they decide to disembark).

We went to Vigie Beach on Dec 18. We found a beach that looked quite different from the photos posted above. First, it was very narrow. Most of the loungers were actually set up under the trees with a 12-18" step down to a more sandy surface where the highest waves were breaking. Even further down to the left (as looking at the water) where there were less people, the beach was nowhere near that wide. The whole place is very primative. The drink/food establishments are a series of shacks that appeared to me to be very similar to hawker stalls you might find in Asia, but not as clean/sanitary. The bathrooms were NOT available (told there was no water). We got drinks only from a guy working out of the back of his truck (reasonable and reliable). I think if we visit St Lucia again, it might be a good place to do a catamaran or other excursion out on the water.

Following up on this question. We went to Divi Little Bay. We took a taxi from Philipsburg (water taxi to Philipsburg first for some quick shopping) $5pp, about a 10 minute ride. Beach was very nice, definitely not at all crowded. $15 for two loungers and an umbrella. Easy access to their beach side bar and grille. Clean restrooms available. My wife walked around the resort and said it was very nice. We had lunch at the grille, we both had burgers which actually were pretty good (better than the ones we were getting on ship, but that's another story). Picture of menu included. The pictures from the beach are later in the afternoon, but, even mid day, the beach wasn't much more crowded than that.

It's an over opinionated insult is what I have learned after reading so many of PORT ROYAL's posts.

We were at Divi Little Bay Dec 20 and I don't recall any vendors walking around. There may have been one or two but obviously no impact to me because I don't remember them. A polite "no thanks" typically keeps them moving along and not bothering you.

I honestly don't think that was mentioned at any time. I'm sure you scoured the Dailies, that's where it would be. I also think the whole picture taking thing has morphed into every night they are set up somewhere, just stop by and talk to them and I'm sure they will be happy to accommodate.

It's a great excursion. I hope you manage to get on it, eventually.