Jim The Lizard

7 hours ago, SteveM812 said:

I recently booked the Viva out of San Juan for February ‘25. While booking it says the Vibe is “too soon to book” and come back 120 days out. The only offering is a cabana rental. Is this a new policy? A glitch? Or does this mean the Vibe is already sold out 11 months in advance? 

I’ve got friends who booked Vibe (regular passes, $269 each) two months ago for this cruise.  Last week another friend went to book it and it only let him buy a cabana.  My guess is regular pass is sold out. 

I've been on Vibe on Escape, Bliss, Encore, Getaway, and Prima.   Love the small Escape Vibe.  But I have to go with Prima as my favorite.  The aft location really cuts down on the wind, love the circular bar, the accessible buffet and pergola shaded tables are awesome, larger hot tubs and the lack of cabanas give it an open feel with loungers and day beds readily available.   I miss the cookies (skewers of grapes now!), I remember the $99 pass days, just paid $269 for my next cruise!   Worth if!!!

On 2/2/2024 at 8:34 AM, graphicguy said:

Wanted to give a special shout out to Galveston Saltwater Moms.  Small family transport run mainly by….well…a local Mom…Lori.  On time, pleasant, nice vehicle, competitive pricing (albeit cash only), great communication.  Highly recommended!

Look them (her) up on social media!

 

Booked with Lori for March!   

3 hours ago, laudergayle said:

Every time we’ve looked inside any Food Republic it has been nearly empty.  IMO NCL should reconfigure FR to an Indulge concept.  And on Prima and Viva, reconfigure to make buffet larger.

Buffet is included.  Republlic garners additional revenue.  So I doubt it.  Not a bad idea.  But these lines are scraping for every additional dollar to get back in the black.  And I always enjoy reading your comments!  

On 12/22/2023 at 6:55 PM, alexirina said:

Hello fellow cruisers!

 

This morning we returned from our first sailing on Norwegian Prima out of Galveston and while things are still fresh in our minds, we wanted to share thoughts on this journey, and offer a few tips. Not the kind of tips "bring flipflops, sunscreen and cash", but real advice that would have helped up a month or two ago.

If you'd rather watch a quick video with the same information and a few snippets of Prima, here is a link: https://youtu.be/RoLQ2TEs2S0

 

We are not travel agents, we are not sponsored and videos/posts are not monetized, so this is as close to honest opinions as it gets!

First things first: in general we enjoyed our time and this cruise was 10-20-100 times better than the mess of MSC Seascape (in a Yacht Club!) we experienced a year ago. 
What made this trip for us was the ship itself and Vibe Beach Club! Prima is relatively new, very beautiful and well laid out. Not without quirks such as tiny Comedy Club, but overall we were happy.
Food experience was very nice indeed. Close to the top of everything we ever tasted on seven seas over the past 15 years. Whether in the Food Hall or in one of several specialty Restaurants (we tried French and Mexican and enjoyed both), everything was fresh, very consistent and just overall yummy.
Entertainment was OK. While we did not fully embrace a 60 minutes narrated biography, that was advertised as a production show. Comedy was hit and miss, but we loved the shows they had when Prima theater converted to the Nightclub and all shows they had there were superb!
We stayed in a regular balcony room this time, none of that fancy Haven stuff. And we loved it for the comfort of the bed and overall unpretentious little details!

Now to the tips we promised:

1. Prearrange your parking in Galveston as early as possible, as good spots close to the port are selling out fast. We wanted to get into the multilevel parking garage right next to the port, but it was sold out, so we settled on EZ Cruise Parking open lot, which worked out well. Alternatively you may want to look into hotels that offer free or reasonably priced parking if you stay with them pre cruise.

2. If you get a beverage package, mind that the bottled/boxed water is not included. Quite unusual, probably the first time we experienced that. So we brought couple of aluminum water bottles and refilled them at the buffet with ice and water, as water packages are very expensive

3. NCL specifically states on their website that cruisers with drink packages can bring their own wine and pay no corkage fee. To our surprise our wine got confiscated by the security at the port and there was no point in arguing there. Took us a couple of trips to guest services on board to get wine returned, but we got it back after all... Our wine was not fancy, but a gentleman in line behind us brought along some vintage he was saving for this occasion and naturally he was not pleased...

And on the topic of alcohol: while you are docked in port or Galveston or even sailing in TX waters, expect a very limited selection of beverages and tax for those beverages will be charged to your room. Not an advice, but a curiosity really: why our great state thinks this is a good idea is beyond me. Or is this an NCL thing? If someone knows, please let us know, I'm genuinely curious when it comes to deviations without a logical cause.

4. Interestingly enough, on NCL private island Harvest Key in Belize you have to pay for food and drinks even if you have a drink package.

5. And we saved best for last: book Vibe Beach Club experience early. If you can't book it early, consider how important quiet 18+ experience is to you. Keep checking an app before the cruise: this is how we got our Vibe reservation: someone canceled theirs. And if all fails, run to the guest services the moment you are onboard: rumors are, they sell a significant amount of those reservations on the ship only...
In our opinion, Vibe is super awesome, it is not nearly as expensive as Haven, but it gives you freedom from kids, from noise and plenty of super comfortable loungers. Truth be told, we only spent time in Vibe and did not even bother going to the main pool or infinity pools

Cheers, again, if you found this useful, drop us a comment and feel free to ask a question! Happy cruising!

Great comments and I subscribed to your YouTube Channel.   Enjoyed your comments and positivity.   Thx for a great report. 

23 hours ago, vacation44 said:

And I know my family will definitely pay it.   

us too!   Damn it!  

6 hours ago, vacation44 said:

I believe as of now, passes on all ships are being sold for cruises up until December 31, 2024.     Passes for 2025 have not been released yet.   My thought is they are going to be increasing the price again. 

I have no doubts.  And they will get the new price also!

5 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

 

the joy's current vibe is pretty darn big and encompasses two sides of the ship and has two hot tubs.  while it is rumored that the joy vibe will be expanded in dry dock (by taking over the laser tag space), two of the three vibe bartenders currently onboard said that the laser tag space would actually become an expanded sun deck for regular (non-vibe) guests. so... who knows?

 

the relevant point here, however, is that the joy vibe - in its present form - is quite large, so if we're trying to draw a correlation between size of vibe and the propensity to hold back passes for day of embarkation, the joy's vibe would certainly qualify as a larger vibe "eligible" to do that.

 

but whether that's the way it actually works is strictly conjecture. personally, i don't think there are some vibe beach clubs that don't hold back passes and others that do. i think it's far more likely that they all hold back passes for sale on the day, but that the number of passes they hold back is in direct proportion to the size of the vibe. one vibe might hold back fifty passes... another might hold back fifteen.

 

it seems to me, to be fair (not that NCL is always fair), if they are not going to allow OBC to be used for advance booking, then they have to hold back some passes for sale on the day of embarkation... otherwise folks using OBC don't have a shot at getting passes at all. nor do people with close-in cruise bookings.

 

some people seem to think the relatively recent switch to making vibe passes bookable in advance online means that they are only bookable online... and NCL never said that. nor did they say that all the passes for a particular journey or a particular ship would be made available exclusively online. to me, it's no different than restaurant reservations... cagney's is often shown as "sold out" online. but if you board at 11:30 or 12:30 on embarkation day, you'll usually have no problem booking cagney's or any other restaurant. so, too, the vibe... based on my recent experience on the joy.

 

it's true that a number of passes may become available when people cancel their cruise or get upgraded to the haven... or die, but i think those would be incremental to the number i believe they are holding back for sale on the day and which i was told they hold back for sale on the day.

Guess we’ll never know.  As much as I like NCL, I don’t think they’re worried about being fair regarding OBC, Haven guests, folks that “know” the staff or on board crew.  I believe cash in hand and a sold out Vibe is their goal.   Regardless, I certainly hope that anyone who wants Vibe or thermal spas or dinner reservations gets to have the vacation they want and they are able to obtain passes.  

11 hours ago, nudistcruzer said:

So the way it was last month isn't the way it is now? Just saying, two posts in a row, one with direct experience from last month and yours are completely opposite. Were you on a cruise last month like "UKstages" was? Where are you getting your information from? 

UK Cruiser posted that he was able to buy passes on board for the Joy, warm weather cruise at embarkation.  Joy still has the smaller Vibe as it will become the expanded Vibe like Encore after the spring 2024 dry dock.  So the ability to purchase Vibe at embarkation is strikingly different than many other reports that Vibe is sold out upon embarkation on many ships.  For example, Vibe for a  February Escape cruise and Prima March cruises are sold out in Vibe (at least according to the groups I belong to).   Many posts on Facebook of cruisers asking if Vibe is available because the app reads “too early to book” which is simply translated to “sold out”.   Some passengers cancel because they change plans, or even cancel if they upgrade to Haven.   When that happens, NCL releases those passes for sale; I guess that allows others to purchase onboard if there are still passes available.  I have purchased passes online three times now, and previously ran for passes five times.  Those mad dashes for Vibe usually saw Vibe sold out within an hour of embarkation.  UK Cruiser is a great source of info and his information is sound; but I have to believe that the ability to purchase on board as he reported is less the norm these days.  

8 hours ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

That site shows hours of course subject to change as 7a-11p.. I've normally seen things listed as 8 or 9a - 7p.. What's anyone's experience with the 11p close time?  

Bartenders are usually gone no later than 7 pm.  

23 hours ago, vacation44 said:

Yes, the Vibe is expanded on the Joy.

So it’s selling around 200 passes like Encore.   Makes sense that there might be some for sale at boarding with more than double available passes on other NCL Vibe ships. 

4 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

On 10/24/2023 at 1:39 PM, Jim The Lizard said:

Not a lot of success stories out there getting those passes once onboard.

 

i see lots of recent success stories about passes being purchased onboard on the day of embarkation.

 

Wow!  You’re the first I’ve seen that mentions passes being held back!  Does Joy have the expanded Vibe like Encore?   Regardless, congratulations and enjoy. 

On 10/24/2023 at 2:38 PM, vacation44 said:

I certainly do not miss the running along with the stress!   We had a perfect four for four record before the change last summer.

On 10/24/2023 at 4:06 PM, D_And_K_gocruising said:

Holy crap, the escape only has 75 passes?  That's insane!!  (coming from a couple that has vibe passes lol)

 

So true.  We are 8 for 8 on passes and it was crazy how we had to run!  As for knocking down old ladies, our very first Vibe some guy was angry with my wife accusing her of bumping him.  We all were in Vibe all week and he wouldn’t let it go (my wife is a pretty small woman and didn’t touch this guy).  One year I got bumped at the top of the staircase on Encore by an old guy and wiped out trying to get to the Social one deck down.  I’m a pretty big guy, and this little dude took me out.  Ran into Social as the attendant was putting the “Vibe Sold Out” sign right in front of me.  Thankfully it all worked out.   I love this new book as soon as you can and take that get to the port at O Dark 30 and then mad stampede out of the equation.  

Not a lot of success stories out there getting those passes once onboard.   I've even read some where a couple was looking for an individual pass to join the only person in the cabin who acquired it.   Of course, ship choice matters here: Encore with it's supersized Vibe is going to have a lot more passes than Escape's 75 passes.   Some folks are upset because their latitude status doesn't translate to the acquiring of the passes.   I love that.  Started getting Vibe on our first Breakaway class ship and haven't sailed without it since.  Used to be luck and a lot of running, now it's planning!  

17 hours ago, kayjay76 said:

Hi!! We have vibe passes for our sailing on the prima in February. Just curious how many passes total they sell, how many people fit in the prima vibe. Thanks!!

Hi, bartenders told us 86 passes sold per sailing.  Remember, no cabanas on Prima Vibe.  

I tried to get this discount for a cruise in March 2023, I had booked it in 2022.   When I asked my TA, they were strict with “new bookings” only.   My TA advised me as I booked my 2024 cruises that it’s not so stringent now, and military members are being granted some exemptions.   Good news is once you’ve acquired your military status, it stays attached to your NCL account for future cruises.  
 

I was not listed on my March 2023 Prima sailing as a veteran because the program was not resurrected when I booked in 2022. So when Marc the F&B director was talking to us on Prima, my veteran status came up in conversation and I let him know I was looking forward to the discount and patch, coin, letter that NCL is providing vets on their ships.  As we were having dinner in Le Bistro, Marc came dressed in his full blue uniform and presented me with the military package and letter that is now in your cabin for veterans when you board.  I was grateful for the acknowledgement and extra care. It’s those types and levels of service that truly make NCL our line of choice. 

Just now, Jim The Lizard said:

Escape has a walk in mister with two fixed seats.  Bliss has a mister.  Escape has a mister.  All three have a shower.  Prima doesn't have a mister, just shower next to a hot tub.  But Prima and now Viva have the pergola which provides share despite wind (unlike umbrellas).  

I meant Encore on the third mister.  

On 8/14/2023 at 10:50 PM, PATRLR said:

That B+ ships is my experience, I (apparently mistakenly) assumed they all did.   I thought from the pictures Prima/Viva did too but perhaps not?  I'll find out first hand in December. 

Escape has a walk in mister with two fixed seats.  Bliss has a mister.  Escape has a mister.  All three have a shower.  Prima doesn't have a mister, just shower next to a hot tub.  But Prima and now Viva have the pergola which provides share despite wind (unlike umbrellas).  

4 minutes ago, BethID said:

Is there any shade? We just got off the Escape and had vibe passes. We did not use it as much as I had hoped because there was not a lot of shade. I love the idea of an adult only, limited access space but don't want to spend the money if I can't use it.

There is a pergola that runs down the middle of Vibe with low chairs and tables.  In addition, less wind than on Escape (Escape Vibe is in front of ship, Prima Vibe aft with racetrack blocking some wind) which allows for more umbrella coverage. 

40 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

On other ships, it is just a different option for booking the Vibe

 

I would note that Cabanas are an option on our upcoming Viva cruise... so there is hope for the Prima. 

 

Remember they had the same listing for Prima cabanas and had to do refunds.  But good call Bird!  

11 hours ago, MrsTocko said:

Hi all - 

 

I just bought vibe beach club passes for our upcoming Prima cruise in March 2024.  Have done some research, but still have some questions based on what I have read here on CC.

 

what I understand:

adults only area with a dedicated bar, fruit skewers, cold towels, padded loungers, some cabanas, close to the buffet, limited availability, and even though it may be sold out, I’m thinking the concierge has a handful to “work their magic” to accommodate haven guests when needed. Most likely plenty of seating to accommodate the number of passes sold.

 

what I am wondering:

are the cabanas assigned?  Is that an additional charge? Will I have the same cabana all week? How do I know which one os mine?
How do they know who has bought the passes? I mean, could I have saved the money and just gone, because no one checks?  How is it enforced?

 

we really only took advantage of spice h20 for the first time last year.  So I’m guessing it is along the same lines, just with paid access

 

thank you in advance.  While I may be a vibe newbie, I don’t want to look like one…

I was in Prima Vibe 2023 and have it booked for March 2024.  No cabanas in Prima Vibe; some day loungers along the edges against the windows (under the Speedway Bar overhang) and some assorted with little or no shade amongst the loungers.  
 

It is enforced by the bartenders and attendants.  This will be our 8th time in Vibe on an NCL ship.  Bartenders have a list so they can check your card and verify purchase, and after day 2, they have a pretty good idea who has paid for entry and who hasn’t.  They do ask people to leave, and unfortunately on Prima Vibe this past March, security had to get involved and escort an obstinate couple out.  The entrance to Vibe on Prima is by key card access, but because of its location directly off the buffet, several curious guests came in on the heels of those who did purchase access. 

Sometimes the bartenders will put a small sticker on your card so that they can more easily identify those who have purchased access.  But when getting a drink, key card is swiped.  If it shows you have not purchased access, that’s when they ask you politely to find another bar on Prima. 
 

it’s a great Vibe.  You will meet other people if you like to talk to others.  But it’s very laid back and relaxing.  Some times it can get louder with a group or a longer sea day of drinking, but it’s pretty chill.  Biggest problem?  For many, it becomes vital to their NCL cruise experience.   Lots of people will say “I won’t sail without it”.   I won’t tell you where I stand with that thought process.  But I’ve had Vibe 8 times out of 9 NCL sailings.  I guess that speaks how I feel about it!   See you on board!   
 

18 hours ago, room with a view said:

Jim, we are not pool people on land or sea !!! . We love port intensive cruises. Looking to book the Viva 2024 with a cabin between accommodation decks .

Then I would suggest 8 or 9.  Closer to restaurants and the atrium. 

4 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Apologies...I was being facetious...taunting @graphicguy

 

Omg, I completely read that wrong!  Now it’s funny!   

1 minute ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Yes I was so disappointed I sailed on the Prima twice!

 

Me too!  I’m sorry you didn’t like it.  It’s expensive to find out the ship wasn’t for you.   For us?  Our best NCL ship experience.  We loved her and enjoyed all her different and unique venues.  

On 6/30/2023 at 10:20 AM, graphicguy said:

IKR?  LOL!

 

One of my favorite features of the recent NCL ships is the WATERFRONT with all the outdoor spaces.  Agree about sailing her in warmer climates.

 

But, I sailed the Bliss and the Encore in Alaska. I took advantage of being outside a lot given the stunning views.  I didn't mind layering up when it got chilly.  

 

Looks like the Prima and Viva offer the same outdoor areas.  I mean, you're on a cruise.  Isn't a major part of the appeal to be outside on deck?

 

Stop making sense graphic guy!   I literally just paid HALF of what I pause for my March 2022 Prima cruise.   I need people to keep complaining, it only drives the price lower for a fantastic unique ship like Prima!