First Cruise ever!: Norwegian Escape to Bermuda June 17th (Vibe Price Increased)

[domestique]

Long time lurker, one of my first ever posts.

 

Vibe price has increased from $100 to 129.... still worth it in my opinion. The Escape was CROWDED.

 

 

A big thank you to cruise critics and all the posters/reviews for giving me the heads up on the Vibe. It MADE my wife and I's trip. Rommel, Michael, and Alistar were amazing and spending the week up in Vibe watching the World Cup and listening to Rommel yelling "wow" the whole week was awesome.

 

Vibe Review: The most people I EVER saw was during departure day and there were close to 40 people on the sun deck. On average there would be 10-15 people, and handful of times where it was just the wife and myself. Even though we are in our 30's I am not a fan of huge crowds, and having to fight for drinks and chairs at the pool deck would have been miserable. The Vibe was soo worth it in my opinion.

 

Cabin: 9134 (port side) "Large Balcony". Our cabin had a table, 2 chairs and 1 lounger. We were able to walk to dinner, shows, and take the elevator to the Vibe. I loved being on floor 9, and the only thing I would change would be to have been on the Starboard side for when in port at Bermuda.

 

 

-Arrived and parked at 0840.

-We were the second family in line for security that wasn't (VIP or in the handicap line)

-First 50 people through security

-Group 6 boarding

-Everyone was off the ship at 10:10am

-Boarding started at 10:45... Group 1-3 was called, then 4,5, and finally 6 all within 3 minutes!

-walked briskly to Vibe: Got passes 27 and 28.. there were about 10 people in front of us (unsure how many were taken for Haven guests

 

A couple notes:

 

-Manhattan room was excellent. We ate dinner there every night when we didn't have our included specialty dinners planned. The longest we waited was 30 minutes at 7:30pm.

-O'Sheehans was our go to for lunch. Fast service and the fish & chips was delicious as was the chicken sandwich.

-Buffet.. we NEVER ate there. We stopped in one time, and it was a mad house.

-Brew house was nice, but we only had a couple beers. I think the record drinker for our cruise was 45 beers.

-Skyline bar was great for waiting for The Manhattan room

-Sugarcane bar outside of Bayamo was the worst during dinner time. It took 15 minutes to get a drink as you are competing with all the waiters who are serving dinner guests.

 

Specialty Dinners:

Teppanyaki: Nice show, the food tasted good, but had a ton of garlic and onion.

 

Cagneys: The food was excellent (rib eye, lobster bisque, and oysters).... But I also got food poisoning from possibly the Oysters.... That was not fun!

 

 

Moderno: Our favorite! I would have booked all 3 dinners at Moderno if I could do it over again.

 

Shows:

-We only did 2 shows. Brat Pack and the comedy show at Headliners. The Brat Pack is excellent but definitely a show for older teens.

 

Excursions:

Shipwreck snorkel: A bust. It was too windy the day were were there and we could only go to a lagoon to snorkel in murky water. The crew gave us unlimited rum swizzles as good faith gesture... normally you only get 1 free

Nightime Bermuda Triangle boat cruise: Excellent! The glass bottom boat was great for seeing the coral and marine life at night. The history the tour guides provided of the island was very fascinating

Horseshoe Beach: Soo windy the day we went. Sand was blowing everywhere and you couldn't lay down unless you wanted sand in your mouth.

RESTLESS NATIVE CATAMARAN SAIL & SNORKEL: A Must Do! This trip was our absolute favorite. The Rum siwzzles are always free, the crew was great, and the location they take you has caves you can swim into, kayaking, paddle boarding, or just swim/snorkel around.

 

 

Tips:

-Starboard side of ship would have been much better as you would have a balcony view of the Port. The Escape does NOT turn around during the 3 days in port.

-Bring Imodium! The ship does not sell it, thankfully the pharmacy in the Naval port is well stocked, and the prices are very decent for Bermuda.

-Beach towels not needed: NCL has plenty of towels, and they let you take them on your excursions.

-RCL will repair broken luggage free of charge (my suitcase was ripped in NYC).

[bluesea777]

Long time lurker, one of my first ever posts.

 

Cabin: 9134 (port side) "Large Balcony". Our cabin had a table, 2 chairs and 1 lounger. We were able to walk to dinner, shows, and take the elevator to the Vibe. I loved being on floor 9, and the only thing I would change would be to have been on the Starboard side for when in port at Bermuda.

 

 

Tips:

-Starboard side of ship would have been much better as you would have a balcony view of the Port. The Escape does NOT turn around during the 3 days in port.

 

It is crapshoot that the captain decides which side of ship to dock - either port side or starboard side. I drive on Harbour Road to commute to work and I see the Escape across the Sound twice a day when she is in port.

 

Great review - glad you enjoyed the cruise to Bermuda!

[PTC DAWG]

You saw no piano music in The District.? Beau was a highlight of my April Escape cruise...

[domestique]

You saw no piano music in The District.? Beau was a highlight of my April Escape cruise...

 

Is he the gentleman that does all the covers that everyone sings along to? We did see him for about 20 minutes before our Brat Pack show started. We also watched another guy play classical guitar in the district.

 

The Manhattan room performers were also very good.

[dexddd]

He was the guy who would get others to sing. He would pass around a cowboy hat in DBH. From the couple times I noted he started in there at 8:45 p.m.

 

This year, Escape is dead on 3/4 times docked starboard side. The week before it was port side.

[Mellylucy]

Long time lurker, one of my first ever posts.

 

 

-RCL will repair broken luggage free of charge (my suitcase was ripped in NYC).

 

Is it -RCL...or did you mean NCL .???

[RelaxingbytheSeas]

Does anyone know where you go to buy your VIBE beach passes on the Getaway? One year it was at Guest Services...another it was in the comedy/piano duel bar area?

[domestique]

is it -rcl...or did you mean ncl .???

 

 

ncl

[092306]

glad you enjoyed your cruise! Just curious if you were able to get straws for your drinks upon request?

[domestique]

glad you enjoyed your cruise! Just curious if you were able to get straws for your drinks upon request?

 

 

No Straws on the ship. I bought a 6 pack of stainless straws on Amazon and took those (3 different sizes for big Yeti style thermos down to small cocktail size).

 

There were other guests that brought paper straws along.

[092306]

Thanks for that info! Wasn’t sure if we needed to bring or not so will definitely check out Amazon.

[vacation44]

Does anyone know where you go to buy your VIBE beach passes on the Getaway? One year it was at Guest Services...another it was in the comedy/piano duel bar area?

 

We were on the Getaway three weeks ago and secured our Vibe passes at Guest Services.

[TickledBlue]

Curious, about how Vibe passes work.

 

We'll be 3 adults and there only will be 2 of us at a time that might use Vibe. Would we need to buy 2 or 3 passes?

[Lisalk12]

What all does the Vibe include? It sounds like you have a wonderful cruise! Thanks for sharing.

[fabnfortysomething]

Curious, about how Vibe passes work.

 

We'll be 3 adults and there only will be 2 of us at a time that might use Vibe. Would we need to buy 2 or 3 passes?

 

the access code will be added to your ship keycard so you wouldn't be able to swap 2 cards between 3 of you as staff will be able to see photo of person who actually purchased

[CruisinHarvey]

We've been on the Escape 5 times, out of Miami. The area just outside of Vibe was never crowded. Few people even knew it existed, and most of those are going to Vibe. It has some amenities of Vibe, without the padded loungers. fruit etc..But, it even has the same bartenders. Obviously no snacks, but has never has a hardly any kids, and plenty of available loungers. Was that crowded the week you sailed?

[ClarkBHM]

It is crapshoot that the captain decides which side of ship to dock - either port side or starboard side. I drive on Harbour Road to commute to work and I see the Escape across the Sound twice a day when she is in port.

 

Great review - glad you enjoyed the cruise to Bermuda!

 

Starboard is great if you want to see the Statue of Liberty as you leave NYC. My understanding is that the ship docks differently each week so that they can conduct lifeboat drills on each side of the ship.