zackarykeef

I did not. I opted for the thermal suite pass, which was well worth it as always. I always get Vibe in the Caribbean, but honestly, I didn’t miss it in Alaska. We had amazing weather in October, and with the Waterfront on Encore/Bliss, I didn’t miss it. You are so close to the water on the Waterfront, and there were so many places to sit. With the blankets they give and the overhead heaters. We parked it there all day in glacier bay and it was the best. I don’t think you need it 🤷🏼‍♂️

We're thinking of booking an EJ cruise for next year. We mostly have cruised on NCL and X, but we are looking to try our first smaller/luxury line after having sailed twice in MSC YC. Although we are young (early 30s), we do not need entertainment, parties, etc. We enjoy aesthetics, good food/drinks, and are looking for an overall more upscale/relaxed crowd, as some of the mainstream lines are becoming a little too rowdy for us. The only thing is...there are so many to choose from! For those of you who sail these lines, what would you recommend? Viking Ocean? Oceania? Regent? EJ? I don't even know where to start. We cruised once on Princess and absolutely hated it. We tend to like newer and more modern ships (MSC Sea- class, X E-class, NCL Prima class). Any suggestions are welcome!

Not sure what itinerary you’re on, but we just returned today from the 7-day RT San Juan on the Viva…no sea days. We always get Vibe, and it was still worth it. Most excursions are early, and we’re typically back to the ship around 1-2pm. We don’t need to be in port until the last minute, so we like some more time on the ship to relax. Vibe is clutch then, when the other areas start getting crowded and crazy with everyone coming back on board. Also…no sea day itineraries are exhausting. We picked 2 days to not get off and to just stay on board and enjoy Vibe. By day 4 of get up early and go go go…it’s tiring. I don’t think you would regret it!

I’ve found that they let you take the dessert or will even have it delivered to your room. They do, however, always say no to taking leftovers. Not that there are many leftovers I’d want to take, but the biggest one is the pizza from Onda. It’s way too much food, and pizza is easy to take to go for a snack later. I’d wager the waste more food that way. I’d happily eat my leftover pizza later when I’m hungry, or a piece here and there. If I can’t take it, I’ll inevitably end up going to the Local and order something that I can’t finish, thus wasting the rest of the pizza they wouldn’t let me take AND the rest of whatever I ordered from the Local. NCL doesn’t have a lot of “quick snacks,” ie popcorn, chips, etc, so we end up bringing our own for the room. Taking leftover pizza or fries shouldn’t be an issue. Anyway, I did the polite thing and asked to take the pizza to go this time at Onda, and again was told no. We took it anyway (sorry, not sorry) and we’re not tackled 🤷🏼‍♂️

*Recent experience update* We just got off Viva today. Used the coupon with wine at Cagney’s. We both were able to get the standard 2 starters + main + 2 sides + dessert and weren’t treated like it was any different than the dining plan. They happily gave us our bottle of wine unopened, which we brought home. We used the other coupon at Food Republic, which got us 4 items each. This has always been my experience 🤷🏼‍♂️

To avoid this, get a balcony as far forward as possible. Ocean Boulevard doesn’t stick out as much there, and what does is covered. I would say deck 11 or higher. It was perfect for us, and the views were 💯.

I would argue your theory doesn’t hold water either, as I don’t really think you can compare this class up or down. Do the Jewel class ships have Indulge? Do the Jewel class ships have Ocean Boulevard? Do the Jewel class ships have as many specialty restaurants? No, no, and no. I could go on. They made more areas on this class to spread people out. Just because the ship is bigger doesn’t mean every area has to be bigger. You can either increase area size or add more areas, and NCL chose the latter. All the aside from the fact that the Belvedere and Metropolitan bars have some of the largest total bar/lounge areas, but people tend to overlook that. Everyone complaining about the Prima class should just shift to RCCL’s Oasis class…it seems not only do they want one or the other, but both. Bigger AND more.

I haven't sailed in Haven, but I've been in with friends and from what I've gathered, MSC YC is a much better value. I haven't sailed Haven because I think the prices are ridiculous...I'd rather cruise more often than pay that. YC has some extremely good pricing. My last YC was a week on Seashore and was $4900 total for 2 people. Not only does it cost less, but I think you get more with YC. The beverage and internet is top notch. The restaurant menu rotates daily. There is a pool bar and grill. Access to the thermal suite included. Butlers who literally push others out of the way and take you directly on and off the ship at each and every port. AND...your key card gives you private elevator access throughout the entire ship, not just in YC. If you tap your card, an elevator will come straight to you and go to whichever floor you press without stopping. Outside the YC, the rest of the staff treats you like royalty when they see your key card. I can't say enough good things about YC, and I can also see why those who have sailed on MSC without YC complain. They definitely cater highly to YC guests, and I didn't hate it 😂 Their ships are stunning, the Swarovski staircases are stunning, and the Meraviglia is stunning (that was our first YC cruise)...you will enjoy for sure!

Everyone sees the negative reviews and gets nervous and starts posting about cancelling, but no one sees the positive reviews and gets excited and starts posting about packing. If you look on the posts here that may be a negative review, or the posts on another popular social media website that are negative reviews, there are hundreds of comments from people saying the opposite. People tend to read the main post but fail to read the comment. Literally, on the other site, there will be one long, negative review, and all the comments underneath are "disagree," "we had the opposite experience," "it was awesome," etc. People are more likely to post when they had a negative experience...we know this. People with positive experiences only tend to comment/post when they are opposing something negative. Don't cancel or be nervous about something because of what people you have never met think. They function/like/need things that are completely different from you. I sailed on Prima and loved it. Extremely upscale, modern ship design with good food, drinks, and service. That's all I need, and there was nothing to complain about. Viva is the same, and I can't wait to board un 3 days!

I don't care if people are glad or not. I was just stating my experience, and that up until this thread, I have never even heard of 3 vs 4 courses. Do you have an example? All the restaurants are typically app, entree + sides, dessert, sooooo. I mean, sure, I've gotten both the crab cake and the lobster bisque at Cagney's, so I guess that's maybe what you're referring to. Do they skip the miso soup or seaweed salad at Teppanyaki? I guess I'm just confused as to when someone would've not been able to get something with the voucher. Also, the sharing at Food Republic comment was from me, which has nothing to do with the voucher or number of courses 🤷‍♂️

Pretty sure you can’t do that. Each ship has to have a passenger manifest, and they can’t have someone listed on there twice. I’ve never heard of anyone doing that to my knowledge.

Out of all the many times we’ve used them, it’s never been any different. No one anywhere has ever specified amount of courses you get with either the voucher or the package. It might say that in the T+C, but it’s not any different. It also says “4 items at Teppanyaki,” which is not the case. I don’t even think any specialty restaurants specify courses. They’re all the same, except Teppanyaki is standard (other than your entree choice) and FR is 4 items 🤷🏼‍♂️

You don’t get any less. They’re no different than any other meal with a dining package or if you pay to go to a specialty restaurant. We usually get the P+ package, which includes bottles of wine. We also ask for our complimentary platinum bottle to be given unopened and usually take it home.

Wanted to mention that we just got off the Encore 3 weeks ago, and they wouldn’t let us do this anymore. They said they no longer allow you to share a meal. Annoying but I get it. What they did let us do was order 5 things…charged us for the least expensive, and allowed us to use a single meal credit for the other 4. That way, you’re not “sharing” the meal. One person uses their dining credit, and one person just pays for one thing. It was annoying, but allowed us to go there twice and only cost us like $16. (I’m referencing using dining package credits, not the platinum vouchers. We still use those at Cagney’s and Le Bistro). You can get away with this the bigger the group you have though. I was also on Encore in October, and we went with a group of 12. I think only 8 or 9 had dining credits left, so we just said the others would pay. We didn’t order more than 8/9 x4 items, so they ended up not paying anything.

Anyone sailing on Viva this coming weekend from San Juan? We can't wait!